Ty's almost 8!

What does 8 mean to us? That means Ty is old enough to decide for himself if he wants to be baptized. I'm so proud of that young man. He has made the choice and it's coming quickly. 

Here's all the info:

Championship Meet in Great Falls

All 3 of our kids had their final Championship Swim Meet in Great Falls, Montana. It was a 4 hour drive, but it made for a great little getaway. Ty had missed 2 weeks of lessons due to his illness, while Summer was feeling horrible DURING the meet. Check out these results:
Summer took:
3rd in 100 Free
3rd in 50 back
1st in 100 Breast
And 4th in 200 IM
Sydney took: (keep in mind, she was racing against Summer)
8th in 50 Back
9th in 100 Free
5th in 100 Breast
8th in 200 IM
Ty took:
5th in 25 Free
4th in 50 Back
1st in 100 IM
*1st in 25 Breast* he got DQ'd on that one for not touching with both hands simultaneously. :(

They were all amazing! We are so proud of our fish!!!

Our version of Downton Abbey

We are all addicted to Downton Abbey. Here in Billings, there is a mansion that was built around the same time that is being portrayed this season on Downton. It's called the Moss Mansion and we took a tour in our first of the 5 days off. Ty only made it halfway through before he was pale as a ghost and he and Jason headed to the car to sleep while the girls finished the tour. I highly recommend it. It was pretty neat to see their lavish lifestyle here in Montana.

Summer placed a pin on Sedona since no one had visited from there yet. :)

5 days of no school...messed up. :(

So, the kids had a 5 day break. Unfortunately, my little man spent it with fevers, throwing up, and coughing. Bronchitis. Operating with partial lung capacity doesn't help. He has his last big swim meet next weekend and he's missed 7 practices. Could be interesting. Poor Ty. Lets hope he can get back to school soon.

Ty and all of his Valentine's.

The kids all have a 5 day weekend that starts tomorrow. That meant Ty had his Class Valentine Party today. He helped me make my mom's yummy sugar cookie recipe for all of them. They turned out pretty cute, if we do say so ourselves. ;)

Summer's Turn at New Beginnings

Summer:
*She's always been a straight A student
*Going to Fiji this summer for 3 weeks
*Great athlete (soccer and swimming)
*Loves these animals: Okapi, Hyena, Horse

*When Summer was born, we lived on a ranch in Las Vegas. We had 2 horses. 1 of them was named Tug. From the moment she was born, she spent hours taking care of and riding Tug. When she was 7, Tug died from eye cancer. A little piece of Summer died with him. He will forever be her best four legged friend. She still sleeps with a stuffed animal Tug every night, as well as her new Okapi stuffed animal she got for Christmas.

*one of our favorite stories: on her first day of Kindergarten, she was wearing a skirt with shorts underneath. She had a male teacher and he asked them all to sit criss-cross applesauce. Since she was in a 'skirt', she wouldn't do it. He was very strict and made her stay in at recess on her very first day of school. When she climbed into the car after school, I had the video camera rolling and asked her how her first day went. She burst into tears and didn't want to ever go to school again. Needless to say, she recovered, but has never worn a skirt again. :) Maybe Mr. Taylor is to blame for her tomboy ways.

New Beginnings at church

Sydney
*beautiful voice
*amazing athlete (soccer, volleyball, basketball, swimming)
*her best friend Madi and her are the two sweetest friends that have ever existed
*straight A student
*Sydney takes things very literally. :)
When she learned how to water ski, her uncle was in the water with her and the rest of the family was in our boat. We told her, no matter what, don't let go of the rope. It would just pull her up. When they said hit-it, Sydney's skis popped off, but she listened. She held on to that rope! She was being dragged behind the boat, and we were all screaming for her to let go. Jason (who was driving), threw the boat in neutral, dove in and swam to her rescue. She never waterskied again. She does love to go tubing, though.

*She had an amazing bond with her great-grandpa Blaine. So much so, that all of his other grand kids and great-grand kids were jealous. When she was 2, Great Grandpa Blaine was having severe chest pains, but he didn't tell anyone. He went quietly into the living room to lay down. The way he described it was this: As he was lying there, he had his eyes closed because the pain was too much to bear. The next thing he knew, he felt a soft touch on his arm and the pain instantly left. As he opened his eyes, he found Little Syd standing there with the sweetest, silent grin. He swore, up until the day he died, that Sydney was his little angel and she truly saved his life that day.

We love that story because Sydney has never been silent in her life...until that moment, when she was an angel on earth. She is so special. We are all so lucky to get to walk amongst that sweet angel every day. I know her great-Grandpa Blaine is watching over her from heaven and is so proud of the beautiful young woman she is!!!