Spring Sports? Hey my kid can play all the positions at once.

This year Jeff and I decided to take the plunge and sign our kids up for spring sports. We have hesitated to do this because previous years we felt our Erik and Claire were too young and there were other things that sounded A LOT more fun. Now it looks like May is going to be filled with baseball and soccer games. But we have completed the first week of games and I admit that I really enjoyed watching them run around and play their little hearts out.


Erik was excited from day one when he was signed up to play baseball. He has worn his bright orange team t-shirt 4 days this week. The blog title refers to both children but Erik really was cracking me up with his baseball ability. Erik started by playing 2nd base. The ball was hit and he chased the ball into the outfield. He managed to elbow his team mate out of the way so he could get there first. Erik then threw the ball to 3rd base but also decided to follow up by running there himself. He was everywhere!

Getting Claire to play soccer was more of a process. A friend called up to say that a bunch of kids from the neighborhood were going to be playing and would Claire like to be on their team. I asked Claire if she wanted to play soccer and she promptly responded "no". I have promised myself over and over than I don't want to be a parent who lives out their dreams through their kids. But I at least wanted her to try soccer...then she can decide whether or not she likes it.

Anyway. I sat down and told her that she would be on a team with her friends, they would have matching uniforms and a cool soccer team name. The deal closer came when I told her she would also receive 2 tickets to one of the professional soccer games.

Once Claire got on the soccer cleat's, shin-guards, and uniform it was like a magical anti-princess transformation took place. At the game my girl was all about joining that pack of 4-5 year old kids and chasing down and kicking the ball.

Jeff's parents live close enough that they have been able to attend the games. Scott really is a great cheerleader. Here he just finished doing a high kick and shouting out "Let's go let's go l-e-t-s-g-o!" (Scott would have had a very clever comeback but this is a no comment blog...hahaha) Thanks for coming!

Easter Eggs and Apple Trees

Eggs first.

Easter is low key in our family. We try to have a spiritual focus on Sunday but we enjoy participating in Easter Egg hunts and dying boiled eggs. I don't know if anyone else has heard of "rolling eggs down a hill" tradition, but it is quite popular on Old Main Hill (at the USU campus). It is for the people who don't know what to do with all their Easter Eggs and aren't fans of egg salad sandwiches. People have contests to see whose egg can roll the furthest without braking etc...then if there are teenage boys involved the eggs end up getting thrown at each other. And seagulls love the leftovers.

Jeff and I have carried this strange tradition (have other people heard of this?) on to our family. This year we rolled the eggs down a nearby park hill and even though there were no teenage boys in our group, eggs still got thrown at each other.

I never realized how often this wall at the in-laws has served as a photo backdrop...

After round 1, Erik was done rolling the egg and decided to launch it instead.

Now onto those trees...
Two weeks ago Jeff extended family got together at his grandmas house for family night where everyone helped prune her apple trees, peach trees, grape vines, and mow her lawn. The apple trees on her property were originally part of a large orchard. Now the orchard is gone and houses are in their place. The question was asked how old the apple trees are. Grandma said that these trees were producing fruit when her late husbands parents were married, so she figured they were close to 100 years old! Incredible.