Josh and Katarena Wedding

On May 12th Scott's little brother, Josh, got married. Back at Christmas time Mike asked me if I would be willing to help Kat plan a simple wedding since she didn't really have any support from her side of the family and was feeling pretty overwhelmed. Planning a wedding is definitely not my forte and I felt like any of the other Murray girls was far more qualified, but being the only local sister, I was more than willing to help in any way I could. Kat was so easy to work with and wasn't picky about anything but just so grateful for our help. With the help of Whitney we created and printed some simple but nice invitations for them. I volunteered to make the wedding cake. Brynn was a great little assistant and loved helping me frost the cake. She was very proud of our finished product which was far from perfect, but overall turned out nice. I guess you get what you pay for. It was fun getting to share that experience with Brynn. I remember when I was younger helping my aunt Marilyn make and deliver wedding cakes and I loved it. The week before the wedding I found out that there would be no photographer because there was no budget for it. I went to work finding an affordable option I could help provide for them because I felt like everyone should have some nice pictures of there wedding day to look back on. I found a girl who lived in our old ward in Orem who was just getting started in photography who agreed to do pictures for next to nothing. The pictures she got were simple but turned out very nice.
Linda worked so hard planning all the decor. On the day of the wedding Vance and I were able to help set it all up, but she gets full credit for how beautiful and nice everything looked.
Josh and Kat had a beautiful ceremony in a church followed by mingling and refreshments with their family and friends in attendance. It was a small and simple affair, but I loved seeing the smiles radiating on their faces and the love in their eyes as they looked at each other.

Ellie Day 2017

As Ellie's birthday approached this year I didn't have anything that was really grabbing me as what I wanted to do to honor Ellie's life like I have in the past. Initially, I was excited to participate in the Running with Angels 5k again now that we are here in Utah, but when I went to register and saw the total at checkout I felt strongly that there was something else I should be using Ellie's birthday money for. A few other ideas came and went but none of them stuck and pretty soon Ellie's birthday was right around the corner and I still didn't have any clear plans of what to use her birthday money for. Surprisingly I was completely fine waiting and knew that when the right thing came along I would know - and that is exactly what happened. The week of Ellie's birthday several situations arouse with family and friends and I was able to use my time, energy, and resources dedicated to Ellie's birthday celebration serving them and helping them in their time of need. While I might not have come up with an official theme for Ellie Day this year, I felt a very strong personal emphasis on family and knew that serving them was the best way I could honor Ellie. .

This year Brynn and Mason took over the design and creation of Ellie's traditional cupcake cake and they totally nailed it! My mom also got new Ellie shirts for everyone since all the kids have outgrown theirs from two years ago but still love to wear them. We went and visited Ellie with her cake and balloon at the cemetery then we had our Hale family dinner at the All-Together Playground to celebrate Ellie's birthday. It was a simple but wonderful evening enjoying time as a family.

One of the things we were able to do in Ellie's honor happened the day before her birthday when our dear 4p+ friend, Brooklyn, ended up back in Primary Children's for back surgery. In January Brooklyn had a magnetic rod put in her back for her severe scoliosis. It has been a horribly difficult recovery and she has experienced one complication after another and had several repeat hospital admissions and surgeries since. As soon as I heard Brooklyn was back in the hospital I knew I needed to go see her and Sarah. I asked the kids to think of what we could do to cheer Brooklyn up and they all decided they would like to go to Build-a-Bear and make a stuffed animal for her. It was so fun watching the kids as they decided the soft and fluffy bunny would be perfect and dressed her in a cheer outfit because Brooklyn wants to be a cheerleader.  Brooklyn's excitement when I gave her the bunny was so wonderful. She snuggled with her bunny while Sarah and I chatted and showed it to everyone who came in her room. I care so deeply for this little girl and am so grateful to be close enough to get to see her occasionally.

Spring Soccer

This is what Spring Soccer in Utah looks like. Most of the games are rainy, windy, and cold. But that didn't stop us from bundling up and cheering on our soccer players - even if sometimes it was from the car in the parking lot.

Brynn and Andlie Allen

Brynn and Miles finished the spring season with their teams from Orem. Going back and forth to Orem for games and practices definitely wasn't as convenient as having them right down the street last fall, but it was totally worth it for them to play with their friends.

Miles once again had a great season. He scored more goals than I could keep track of each game. One game when it was extra rainy and cold I parked the car where I could see the field and stayed in the car with Ryan while Scott and my mom endured the elements to sit on the sideline. Miles was worried I would miss his goals so I told him I would honk every time he scored a goal. That was quite possibly the highlight of his whole season.

 At the end of the season we had a big decision to make in regards to what level Brynn was going to play at next year. During her spring games several coaches/parents approached us asking if she was going to try out for a competition team for the next season. Several of the coaches wanted her to come play on their team. After a lot of thought and weighing all the pros and cons with Brynn she decided she would rather continue playing in the rec league with her friends at Cascade on Coach Matt's team (which is a great little team with excellent coaching) and not be on a team that would require year round commitment and limit her ability to participate in other sports such as basketball, volleyball, and softball. I was so glad she felt this way because I feel like forcing kids to specialize in one sport this young is doing them a huge disservice and leads to burnout when it really counts. Scott and I are both excited to see is soccer does turn out to be a sport Brynn chooses to focus on eventually because she is good little player.

The White Snowflakes

Brynn and Miles weren't our only soccer players this Spring. 3 years ago Mason hung up his shin guards and soccer cleats deciding it wasn't the sport for him. He changed his mind this year after switching to Legacy and making friends with a couple boys who are avid soccer players. I was thrilled to find out that neither of them played on club teams for the same reasons we don't have our kids involved in club sports yet, and they were playing on an AF rec team. With a little negotiating with the rec department I was able to get Mason on their team for the spring season. Even after a 3 year hiatus, Mason was a great player. They mostly had him be one of the team's forwards and he was one of the leading scorers. It was a lot of fun watching him play.

As fun as soccer season is, it sure is exhausting.

Preschool Graduate

I know this is cliche' to say, but seriously it feels like just yesterday I dropped Miles off for his first day of preschool in Omaha and now two years later the preschool chapter of his life is closing. Miles' first year of preschool in Omaha was pretty Meh. It wasn't bad but it wasn't all that great either. Pretty much felt like a glorified daycare to me. This year, on the other hand, was GOLDEN. We hit the jackpot when we moved to Utah just weeks before the school year started and snagged a last minute cancellation spot in Miss Annette's ABC preschool which had been full since February and came highly recommended by Kacie. From day one I knew this was going to be an amazing year for Miles and it did not disappoint. Miss Annette and Miss Andra are two of the best teachers who genuinely love their preschool kids. They have created such a fun and loving environment for them to learn in and Miles absolutely thrived there. Here is a list of things I want to remember about Miles' year in preschool.

• Every day when we would pull out of our driveway Miles would ask me what time it was and what time we would get to preschool. Pretty soon it became a game where he would tell me to guess the exact minute we would arrive. It didn't take long to figure out that it took Exactly 8 minutes to get to Miss Annette's from our house. Miles was amazed every single day when I guessed the right time. Toward the end of the year I told him the secret to my success and we started having him guess the time each day. It was such a simple thing, but a very fun memory with Miles I never want to forget.
• Miss Annette has a black cat named Jazz. At the beginning of the school year Miles was scared of Jazz and if Jazz was out in the front yard he wouldn't walk back on his own. It must have come up in conversation at school and so Miss Annette introduced them to Jazz and showed how nice he was. From that point on Miles always hoped Jazz would be out because he loved seeing him. 
• Every day when I picked Miles up from preschool he would tell me what treat he got for completing a puzzle that day. At parent/teacher conference Miss Annette told me that Miles and some of his friends were the best puzzle completers they had ever had and they actually had to go out and get bigger and harder puzzles in order to challenge them. Miles was so proud to complete on the 100 piece puzzles at school. He has always been my puzzle boy from a very young age. 
• Miles is a smarty pants and at his beginning assessment he already had mastered all the kindergarten prep skills they work on. Thankfully Miss Annette could see Miles' love for learning and she continued to challenge him and feed his thirst for knowledge. By the end of the year Miles is reading, Can count higher than I care to find out (The highest he has counted for me was to into the 300s), is super good at math facts, and is an excellent writer (as he always has been). 
• Miss Annette and Miss Andra would regularly come out of preschool and tell me a great Miles story from the day. They enjoyed his expressions and personality just as much as I do. 
• In each of his parent/teacher conferences I was told repeatedly what a great friend Miles is and how well he gets along with other children. I was not surprised, but always glad to hear this. 
• I was able to go on all of the field trips this year - per Miles' request. We went to HeeHaw farms, bowling, to the play Alice in Wonderland, and the Dinosaur Museum. I loved seeing Miles in his preschool setting. 
• Each week a letter page was sent home for the letter they were focusing on that week. The children were assigned to fill up the page with pictures of things that begin with that letter. Miles loved doing his letter page and it became the highlight of his week. He was always excited on Thursdays to see what letter he got and then would spend the whole drive home thinking of every possible thing he could that started with that letter. We would search for the perfect pictures to print out and then he would help cut, glue, and write what each word was. At the end of the year he got to bring home his book with all his letter pages and he loves it. 

Miles with Jazz the cat

Hee Haw Farms

Bowling

Alice in Wonderland

As with everything else they did this year, the graduation program was adorable. Miles was BEAMING the entire time. The smile you see in the pictures never left his face the entire time. It was darling seeing him so proud to sing all the songs and then when it was his turn to so confidently say his part, "You're off to great places, today is your day. Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way." I hate to admit it, but Miles is growing up and he really is off to great places. I am so excited to see all that this boy accomplishes in the years to come.

Take Note of Mason's Birthday

This year was a milestone year for Mason's birthday. He turned the big 1-0! That's double digits folks! Together we decided that this would be a good age to transition from having big friend birthday parties to doing a special outing with just one friend. Mason was completely on board with this because all he wanted for his birthday was a Gordon Hayward jersey and to go to a Jazz game with his best buddy, Daniel. Since his birthday falls right during the NBA playoffs and we were unsure what the availability and cost of tickets would be, we let Mason choose a game at the end of the regular season that he would like to go to. He chose the Wizards' game to which Scott got 4 tickets which made it possible for Miles to tag along which he was pretty excited about. Grandma gave Mason his dream Gordon Hayward jersey as an early birthday present so he was all decked out and ready to go. They started off the birthday celebration by stopping by Mr. E's to pick up a grab bag for each of the boys to open on the way up to the game. Of course when Mr. E heard they were headed to the Jazz game he gave them each a Gordon Hayward card they could try to get signed.  They got the arena early so they could watch the team warm up and were hoping to get an autograph or two. They weren't successful getting any autographs, but that didn't dampen their excitement to being seeing the players practicing up close. Scott tells me that the game consistent of a constant stream of great commentary between the three boys. He said everyone around them was thoroughly entertained listening to these young boys, especially Miles, who know so much about the players and the game. They came up with the chant "Swat lake city" for Rudy Gobert every time he got a block. 

Just when Mason thought his birthday couldn't get any better he got the surprise of his life. I had posted a picture of the boys at the game on instagram and shortly after got a call from my friend, Nicole (Hill) Gerulat. Her sister, Natalie, is married to one of the Jazz coaches and they were at the game that night. Nicole asked if the boys would like to go down in the tunnel after the game and meet the players as they came out of the locker room. So Scott and the boys went down after the game and got to hang out and talk with Raul Neto who was injured and didn't play in the game. The got to see Joe Johnson, Trey Lyles, and Derek Favors gave them a wave as he passed by. Dante Exum, Joe Ingles and Jeff Withy stopped and talked to them a bit and autographed their programs. Joe Ingles teased Daniel and gave him a hard time about wearing a BYU sweatshirt because he's a big Ute fan. Then the highlight of the night came when Rudy Gobert came out and they got to talk to him, get his autograph, and even snap a picture with him. He is HUGE! He makes Scott look like a little boy next to him. Unfortunately George Hill and Gordon Hayward stayed in the locker room watching the end of a big upset during the Womens NCAA tournament and so they weren't able to see them before it was time for everyone to go, but after seeing and meeting so many other players you won't hear any of these boys complain one bit. Pretty much all of Mason's wildest dreams came true for his birthday thanks to Nicole and Natalie.

As if all of that wasn't enough, when Mason's actual birthday weekend came around and the Jazz were in the playoffs we let him invite some of his buddies from school over for a late night to watch the Jazz vs the Clippers. It made for a very wild, crazy, and LOUD night!

Mason, David, Brody, and Treg

Grandma Nancy gave Mason a "pizza" for his birthday

 By this point it started feeling like we had been celebrating Mason's birthday all month, but on his actual birthday Scott and I took him out for the traditional birthday dinner. He asked to go to Buffalo Wild Wings because he had always wanted to go there and since the playoffs were on he wanted to go somewhere he could watch the games. It turned out to be a really fun night with my boys, even if they did spend the majority of the time starring right past each other watching the games on the wall.

Mason has grown up so much that last year and I can see that my days of him being a young boy are quickly coming to an end. We still have our fair share of difficulties with Mason, but at the end of the day he is a pretty good kid with a big heart and I am proud to be his mom.

10-year-old Mason

*Has become the biggest sports fanatic. When it comes to football Mason can talk for days about the Eagles and Carson Wentz. With Basketball it is the Jazz with Gordon Hayward and Rudy Gobert. He wants to play basketball at Duke University - but if for some reason they don't want him then he will play football at BYU and then go to the NFL.

*While he is sure that he will be a professional athlete someday, I think he is greater potential of being a sports caster. He is such a student of the game and knows everything their is to know about the sport, teams, and players and is as good as most callers at commentating the games.

*He continues to have some serious brain power and does amazingly well academically at school. Still working on some of his behavioral and social skills at school, but he has actually made tremendous progress in those areas this year.

*Mason's anxiety has really peaked this last year with our move and switching schools mid-year. We are starting to get a handle on it and help him develop the coping skills he needs.

*Mason is quite possibly the skinniest 10-year-old alive, but he is still so stinkin' handsome.