Life Lately

The kids had the day after Rockwell's birthday off school for a teacher work day. It was actually sunny and relatively warm outside so we spent the whole afternoon outside. It was just what we all needed! It has been such a wet and cold winter, and we're all missing the sun and fresh air. Rockwell went on a bike ride and found a bunch of friends from the neighborhood to play basketball with. Damon and Tessa played with every bike and sports equipment that we have in the garage. Damon creamed me at soccer. :)

Tessa and I rollerbladed together.

And Damon was so excited to climb a tree again.

Gary & Julie and their kids came into town late that night. Lindy is on the Contemporary Dance Team at BYU and had a performance on Saturday. The whole family went and supported her, then went to dinner, and hung out at Al's house for the evening. Lindy did so good, and it was really fun to get to see her dance.

Paul had to leave early to go show a house. Damon went with him, and loved going to Macey's after to get an ice cream cone with Dad!

Rockwell was so happy to see Ammon again. These boys had a blast together all day. I loved getting to visit with Julie and even see Gary for a little bit. He flew out Saturday evening, but I sure love seeing him any chance I get!

Damon had his last basketball game. He was sad it's over. 

Paul and I took Tessa and Morgan to a BYU gymnastics meet. It was so fun! They are incredible athletes, and we all really enjoyed watching it.

The girls loved when Cosmo came by!

They painted Y's on their faces in the car and I found a selfie on my phone that night. :)

We had the Ham Fam party for January & February birthdays.

Rockwell loved the money, riddle book, and popcorn that he got!

Tessa and Hallee wore their matching Love shirts to the party. :)

Rockwell Is A Teenager!!!

 

Rockwell turned 13!! I can't believe one of our babies is a teenager! Rockwell loves to play video games on his laptop, especially with his friends and cousins. They talk through the games or on the phone while they play, and it's his favorite thing to do. He still loves popcorn, and his new favorite candy is SweetTart Ropes. He enjoys school well enough, and even said "Math is fun" the other day. He'll deny this, but I caught it on video. Haha! 

He loves being a Deacon, and is really enjoying being president of the quorum. He likes the responsibility, even though he doesn't love the early morning meetings on Sundays. He's grumpy when he leaves, but always comes home happy. He's made good friends in the quorum and really likes his leaders too. He likes planning activities and hanging out with they boys, and girls, on Wednesday nights. And he always says his favorite part of being a Deacon is passing the sacrament.

Rockwell is proud of his mustache, he feels like it's coming in very nicely. ;) He cannot wait to be taller than me, and measures about 5 times a day. He is such a great older brother and is willing to babysit Tessa and Damon any time we need it. He loves to play computer games with Damon, and loves to wrestle and laugh with Tessa. 

He wanted to start off his birthday with some crepes, and Paul even went the extra mile and made him bacon too!

He said he had a great day at school, and even got to dissect a frog which he thought was so cool. He opened presents as soon as everyone was home.

He was hard to shop for this year, but I think he was happy with his scriptures, SweetTart Ropes, Magic Loop, Milky Ways, and Minecraft book.

His friends came over for his party and gave him nice presents.

Then we went to Top Golf. The twins were the only ones who have golfed before, and Ashton was so nice to teach them all how to swing the club.

They all got it figured out...and had a lot of good laughs when they didn't. ;) We got dinner and donut holes and had a really fun night! 

I'm glad Rockwell has good friends. It was fun to sit back and listen to them, they're funny kids! And I appreciated that each of them came and told me thank you at some point through the night. 

Happy birthday Rockwell! We're so glad you're in our family. Thank you for being such a nice, helpful, grateful teenager with a mustache!!

Valentine's Day

 Paul and I went out for Valentine's Day the weekend before to beat the crowds. :) We got dinner at Dona Mary's and then went to the Gem Studio to make more rings. Paul gave me this for Christmas, but said he didn't want another ring and would make me one instead. So sweet!

It's really fun to pick a gem, design the silver, and then make it yourself. It's a fun atmosphere and fun to be creative.

I made the heart ring, and Paul made the blue stone. I love them!!

Paul helped Tessa make her Valentine's box this year. She was so happy with her wolf box!!

I was able to help in Tessa's class party. It was fun to play Bingo with her and her friends in her class.

Damon's class party was at the same time so I wasn't able to help in his this time. Rome's mom sent me a picture though, which I appreciated!

American Fork Gymnastics Meet

 Tessa had her second gymnastics meet in American Fork. Hallee and Al came to watch, which Tessa loved!

She had a great meet! She took 5th on beam.

5th on floor.

3rd on vault.

And 1st on bars!! She scored a 9.8!!! It was amazing!

Her totals put her in in 3rd place in the all-around. She loved that this meet gave out trophies instead of medals for the all arounds. 

Arete took 1st place as a team!

Tessa and Morgan both had a great meet!

Hallee came home with us after the meet. They were begging to go shopping for matching Valentine's Day outfits, and I couldn't say no to those faces. :)

They found shirts that said Love on them, and then they also both bought themselves another shirt they thought was cute. It's so fun to have a bestie cousin live so close!

This & That

 The Clark side of the family have all been talking about Sumo Oranges and sending pictures of when we buy our first Sumo. :) They really are delicious. Thanks for the heads up Chad!

I loved walking into Tessa's room and seeing that she gave all her stuffies something to read. :)

The kids enjoy the hot tub in this very cold winter!

There was a weeknight where Paul and I were the only ones home. Damon was at a friend's birthday party, Tessa was at gymnastics, and Rockwell was at Classic. That never happens! We treated ourselves to some Blizzards and watched The Office. It was a fun, unexpected date night. :)

Grandpa Ham had surgery on his neck to place some plates between a few vertebrae. We didn't want my mom to be alone at the hospital all day, so Mel, Al, and I went and spent the day there with them. Matt flew in to help out too, and after a bit everyone left to go get some dinner. I stayed behind to help out if Dad needed anything. He got a little nap, and then a therapist came in to help him start swallowing some food. I was glad that I could be there when he asked her, "Do I like Jello?" Haha! He had a number of great While You Were Sleeping quotes. :) Then we had some time to just talk together, which I loved.

Matt stayed at their house for a few days and helped out with everything they needed. It was so nice of him, and I also enjoyed getting to see him for a few hours every day too.

Rosalind's blessing was that weekend in Idaho, and Al stayed with Dad so Mom could go to the blessing. She looked so sweet in the pictures!

Hallee spent the day with us Saturday while Al was with Dad. A new Swig opened in Lindon, so we all got some free drinks and cookies.

Tessa and Hallee had a great day together!

Tessa and I also took Hallee and Caitlyn to Amarie's dance recital Friday night. I'm going to be sad when Amarie is finished with dance. I always enjoy her shows. Tessa and Hallee wanted a picture with the temple. :)