April Photos

We haven't blogged much in the past few weeks so I thought that we would catch up by showing some pictures of what we have been up to.

We dyed some Easter eggs with Maddy and Brooklyn.

We took some pictures with the Easter clothes on.

It was a bit chilly and right after church.
No one really cared about getting a picture taken.
P.S. If you were wondering who the short
one with pig tails is, yes it's Kelsey.
Her hair is long enough to do that now.

What did the Easter bunny put in your bucket?

We had Easter dinner with friends followed
by and Easter egg hunt.

Some kids finally get the point of these
egg hunts now. Our son is one of them
and he cleaned house.

Kelsey holding her find. Notice the blue
ring around her mouth? Chalk, not candy.
The candy quality must be weak this year.

I have volunteered at the MS Walk for
the past few years. This time the
entire family decided to help out.

Our happy crew who got to the Zoo at 7:00 A.M. to
pass out water. Jackson was disappointed when
he found out that they didn't need him to carry
tables. He always tells me, "I can carry heavy
things mom".

Posing with a gorilla at the zoo.

Kelsey being Kelsey.
She now say "eese" when the camera
is pulled out. She's a natural.

I thought this was the cutest site.
Jackson's t-ball team waiting to bat.
Jackson is #1 or the kid between 6 and 10.

Thursday was dad's last day of medical school.
Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dad has the month of May off
and then graduation in June.
It's hard to believe he is done.

His fan club!!!
Don't mind the half dressed
child in the middle.

Jackson wanted me to take a picture
of his messy face. He prides himself on
being a messy eater.

Jocelyn didn't want to be out done
and smeared some ice cream on her
face so she to could get a photo taken.
What my kids do to get in the spotlight.

One Shining Moment

This just goes to show that if you believe long enough and hard enough, good things happen. My friend, Matthew, and I had been waiting on Final Four tickets for a month or two. However, once Michigan State won their Great 8 match-up, we knew our chances of getting tickets through our source had taken a serious hit. Well, I listened to conference and attended Priesthood session wondering what might have been..... suddenly the phone rang... my palms began sweating... the heart started skipping beats as I heard the voice on the other line (Garrett "Bronco Mendenhall" Gross) tell me that an extra pair of tickets had become available and that he was offering the opportunity to me!  In a quick conference with my wife (thanks honey your the best) it was decided that I would attend the NCAA National Basketball Championship game in Detroit, MI.  Leaving from Columbus about 4:17 PM I drove with the Gross family (that's their name, not a description) up to Detroit, picking up 2 friends along the way. It was lots of fun and even though my fellow travelers were all Ute fans I found their company to be quite enjoyable.  Since these tickets came through an individual on the NCAA tournament selection committee they were high quality and close to the court. My seats were right next to the tunnel where the players and coaches and other VIPs came out. It was really neat to see and experience. Being a Jazz fan, it was especially fun to be right there when John Stockton was announced as one of the inductees into the Basketball Hall of Fame, along with Michael Jordan and David Robinson.

In the picture to the right, John is the one in the middle of the two tall African Americans. He also happens to be the one wearing a sport jacket while the others have on their nice suits.

Although the game was never really in question it was a fun atmosphere. We were surrounded by crazies, as evidenced by the adjoining photos...

 And Kathryn complains about my BYU fanatacism- at least I don't wear really tight spandex in public! On the other hand, that baby blue wig might cover some of my male pattern baldness!

Matthew, I'm sorry you didn't make it out for this one. We'll all have to catch another one down the road! Thanks to Steve and the Gross family for helping me get there for this awesome event, capped off by a sweet tour of down-trodden Detroit!  

Congratulations to Roy Williams and the North Carolina TarHeels. As much as it pains me to say it, they looked REALLY GOOD... and I could have touched Tyler Hansbrough's sweaty uniform!

This whole thing was well worth the trip, despite getting home at 4:30 AM and taking a quiz 5 hours later!

Jackson's First T-Ball Game

Saturday was Jackson's first t-ball game and it was a hoot. To be on the t-ball league you have to between 4-6 years old. I think a good portion of the kids are 4 years old. They don't really have a clue what's going on. Jackson's team are the Phillies and their opponent were the Yankees. Out team still doesn't have shirts so the team doesn't look as sharp as they could but they were pretty cute out there with their big hats and real baseball pants. The Phillies were up to bat first. The kids really practiced their stance at home plate and it was so cute. They had a dad at each base so the kids would know where to run. It didn't seem to help everyone, some were still confused as to where to run. I guess the fact that we were playing of a grass field instead of a baseball diamond due to mud issues definitely didn't help. If watching the kids hit was fun, watching them in the outfield was hilarious. When the ball was hit into the out field, the entire team would all run to the ball and pile on top of each other fighting over it. They have caught the purpose of what you are suppose to do with the ball once you have it. Our team did the exact same thing when we were in the outfield. This was Jackson's favorite part of the game. Jackson loves a good pile on so he held nothing back to jump on top of everyone else. When we asked him after the game what was his favorite part, he replied with, "Running after the ball and then tackling everyone". I think he has his sports confused. Some of the other highlights of game was when a kid on the other team decide "to quit", exaggerating this statement by chucking his glove to the ground. His reason for quitting was that he didn't get to pitch ever. I guess no one explained to him that in t-ball there is no pitcher. Just a tee. He did this several times and each time his mom told him to get back in the game. The fans on the sidelines were thoroughly entertained by this drama. I can't wait for the next game to get some more entertainment from 4 years old. 

Jackson warming up for the game. 

OK, he was more like trying to get 

warm. It was a little chilly. 

Coach Black giving the pre-game 

pep talk. Jackson looks more like

 he saying, "Duh Dad I know."

Jackson and Seth admiring 

the field of dreams they were

about to play on.

Jackson getting ready to hit the ball.

The outfielders getting ready to

 pounce of the hit ball. Jackson's stance 

is a little interesting. He is the 

one resembling the umpire's

 stance behind home plate. Maybe 

he has a future in that position?

Albino Squirrel

We went to the metro park last Saturday for a little picnic in the park and took a walk. We were walking through the wooded area when John-David spotted an albino squirrel. I did not believe him but suddenly there was this white thing darting through the trees. Here are the photos and you can see a "regular" brown squirrel next to it in the second photo for comparison. Now you can say that you have seen an albino squirrel.

I need a nap!