Happy x3

I believe we have done it. I actually found a sport that ALL three of my boys are loving!!!!!!

Yes, I signed them up for Wrestling at the local THROWDOWN gym.

This is a 1 month introduction course and if they like it they can go on and do competition.

I personally thought we'd be a soccer, baseball, football, basketball family, but they are having so much fun. So I'll trade sitting on the sidelines of a soccerfield for the soft cushy mat at the gym if they are having fun!!!! David is a natural- he's super fast and he's strong, he's still trying to get used to wierd little boys grabbing his legs but he's a pro.

Eli, well he is out for blood or anything else he can get. He is STRONG and determined to take down anyone that gets in his way. I am thinking he is picturing more WWF style, since he grabbed his partner's shirt and just started swinging him in circles. A little bit of instruction from the coach and he's headed in the right direction now!

David and his partner, this looks more like Karate but they are supposed to be practicing their squatting- I think it's called a stance? I'll have to work on my terminology;)

Alex is doing a more advanced version of what the younger kids are doing. He's a little shy and still getting all the rules down but he's doing awesome. He's also really strong and his long legs are an advantage to him. This is his summary of his first week. "It's really fun but you have to get used to grabbing people in wierd places and putting your head in wierd places and then hoping your opponent doesn't FART!" I thought that was hilarious!!!! Oh, how I love a 10 year old boys!!!!

Lastly, I just had to include this picture! I realized that wrestling is not a sport that is easy to photograph, this "photo shoot" made me seriously question any photographic ability that I may have had! 70% of my pictures look like this one below and the other 30% are the ones above and several pictures of peoples backs, butts, ears & legs. I don't start out trying to get a coach's butt in my photo but they always move before my camera actually takes the picture and now I have some really "precious" pictures that are begging to be deleted from my camera!

Anyway, have a happy week and we'll keep you updated on our little wrestling experience!!!!

Zion National Park

Last Weekend the kids had some time off from school so we took a little weekend trip and headed to Southern Utah. Spencer and Erica came up from Las Vegas, Mom and Uncle Paul came up from Las Vegas and Phoenix, Dad and Georgeanne drove all the way from Albuquerque and Keegan and Katey came from Orem. We missed Noelle and Bree and their families but maybe they can make it next time

The scenery was spectacular at Zion National Park

I decided that while camping would not be my first choice for a family activity it was a fabulous little dose of bonding time. The kids really enjoyed being able to do whatever they wanted. They had a really good time with their cousin and hanging out with aunts and uncles and grandparents. They consumed record amounts of marshmallows and carved record numbers of sticks with their assortment of pocket knifes. They got to go to sleep without taking a shower. They totally loved the tent and Eli even got to sleep in Tryston's tent with him on the last night.

They spent lots of time chasing lizards and Alex actually caught this little guy. Gotta love the dirty hands here! There was no shortage of dirt on this little adventure.

Eli and David were good helpers to scout out wood for the fires. I love this sweet little moment of TEAMWORK!!!!

River and Rocks equals lots of fun, I know you can't see their faces but I loved this picture!

Avery was so proud that she found a walking stick- it was perfect for her and just her size!

I can't believe my kids are so big, and I can't believe Tryston snuck into this picture.

Thanks everyone for a Wonderful Weekend!

Weekend Goodies

I just wanted to share a few goodies from our weekend!

Friday:
*I am the proud owner of a Honda Odyssey. My husband has been testing my vehicle patience since he sold my Excursion a few weeks ago. I am now a minivan driver BY CHOICE, I can finally say it without shuttering. After test driving several cars and factoring in the cost of gas, the size of my family and my sheer dislike for parking GIANT cars in small parking spaces I fell in love with the Honda Odyssey. Yes, it's a milestone for me to be a minivan driver but I'll carry the title proudly!!!!

*I went to lunch with some of the ladies in our cul-de-sac, Thanks Jill for the delish food!

*Manuel's friends and family joined us for a fabulous cookout, we thought we'd send summer off with burgers and dogs on the grill, guacamole and chips and a generous supply of "Death by chocolate".

Saturday:
*We woke up late since it was dark and rainy/hailing/snowing outside. It was heavenly to sleep in!!!!!!

*We cranked up the heater for some of that yummy first use of the heater smell! It was fun for it to be cold! Yes I like it cold until about February when I'm tired of all the work it takes to go out of the house.

*Manuel went and ran some errands while we cleaned up the house, which went fairly quickly and smooth.

*We made cinnamon rolls and hot cocoa- the best on a cold day!

*I caught up on some work in the office while Manuel set up the tent in the front room to be sure the whole family would fit in it for our camping trip this weekend. We have differing opinions on the sleeping arrangements with some preferring to be sleeping sardine style while others of us prefer our space while sleeping. Either way, it was fun to set the tent up inside the house.

Sunday:
*Woohoo, we made it to church ON TIME, even in the snow. We are pretty proud of ourselves;)

*After church we cozied up in our warmest jammies and fluffiest socks and layed around.

*Manuel's Mom had lunch ready for us after church, she must have been reading my mind b/c I was not in a cooking mood!

*I did a little bit of scrapbooking!

*Since we had a late, big lunch we had scones for dinner, More deliciousness for the cold weekend. Okay not so delicious for my figure, I'll get back to working out this week.

*After scones and showers we watched Nanny Mcphee and I painted Avery's toes and fingers.

I'll take a weekend like this anytime, bring on the cold stormy days!

Yanguez- well represented

Manuel got his 15 seconds of fame today.

While we were at the Temple dedication in Panama Carole Mikita (KSL 5 news) stopped Manuel and his brother Isaac for an interview. They were happy to share their feelings but secretly they were super pumped that they "might" be on TV.

The other day we found out the special for the Panama Temple would air after conference on Sunday. We watched it and loved that we were able to recognize many places and lots of friends of Manuel's and new friends we had met while we were there.

Manuel's niece Stefy was shown in the video practicing for their dance which they performed at that cultural celebration.

Stefy is just under the left side of the screen with a blue skirt on

Manuel and Isaac BOTH had their comments included in the special. We were cheering and it was super fun to see their names on TV and have them represent the Yanguez family!

I guess it takes little to entertain us, but it was such a fun experience and to be able to share it with others is just icing on the cake.

(sorry I couldn't find any footage of the special on the internet, so I suppose you'll just have to trust me if you didn't get to see it)

Better Days

Today was a much better day

(THANKFULLY)!

I realized today that the positives outweigh the negatives. Here are a few of my favorite positives

*Crying feels good once in a while- even if your big

*My husband is so much better at solving teacher problems than I am and that school bully might actually leave Alex alone after getting a talkin' to from maybe the tallest guy he's ever met.

*Pizza Hut pasta is a lifesaver on nights when hornets attack.

*There is a beautiful mountain that I can see from my front porch and it is covered with colors of fall.

*A phone call from an old friend just when I needed to talk is a true blessing (Thanks Trish).

*Halloween decorations are slowly creeping up in my yard and in the house and it feels good to be welcoming the holidays.

*I have three handsome boys and a beautiful little girl who are healthy and vibrant and love me even though I'm far from perfect.

* I have a Heavenly Father who constantly reassures me that I am loved and doing the right things even when they are hard and overwhelming.

Realized

Today I realized a few things:

Teachers can make you cry even if you are the parent- my son's teacher, with the best of intentions I'm sure of, asked me if I had ever considered putting him on medication. He would rather daydream than do his math and his handwriting. Can I blame him, he's a 7 year old boy? Truth be told I'd rather be daydreaming than doing half the monotonous things I have to do everyday too.

Kids are meaner than I remember- I've never wanted to home school my kids, but I can see why some people do it. The kids these days are just brutally mean and can make a 10 year old feel so horrible! I wish I could go to school and just fix everything and we aren't even to junior high yet.

Treasure hunts and hornets don't mix- Okay I already knew nothing mixes with hornets but apparently my boys had to find this out the hard way. So I'm boohoo-ing to my neighbor about my school woes and I hear the "something is really wrong" scream. So we run back home and find David and Eli with multiple hornet stings. I guess they found a "pack of hornets" (Eli's explanation) and the hornets started attacking them. David got stung on the face, head and ankle and Eli got stung on the head. Oh such an awful end to the treasure hunting. I doped them up on Benadryl and Motrin and hopefully it will be a distant memory in the morning.

Ohhh, the hard lessons of life!