Addie's Dance Recital

I had been waiting for this day, for well lets see.... the minute I found out I was having a baby girl! I could hardly wait for Addie's first dance recital! I cried through the dress rehearsal. I was so proud of her, she looked so cute and knew her dance so well. The night of the performance came and she did just perfect. She even fixed her ballet shoe strings right in the middle of the dance! So classic! Miss Shelia doesn't want the strings sticking out, you know.. :)  Gavin was at State Baseball and missed it, but Grandpa Randy filled in getting her off the stage. Her tap dance was darling. I love my Baby Ballerina!  

Mother's Day

It was a Mother's Day miracle. We were ready for church in time to take a picture! Let's just say, it was a great day!

Preston the Pitcher

Last year during Super League Preston got to pitch. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen! He might be little and the ball may have come in slow, but by dang they were strikes! He struck a couple out and did great for his first time. Now if we could just get some meat on those bones to get his strength up! ;)

Spring Snow

The kids all got snow gear for Christmas this last year. The only problem was, it never really snowed to use it! Finally in late March it Snowed! We decided we had better jump on the chance and head to Pine Valley to play in it. It was a fun afternoon. We couldn't find a hill to sled down, but we had a good time throwing snow balls, making angels and eating icicles. :)

Spring

Spring, my favorite season! Easter, Baseball, Grandma's, Field Day's at School and a little more baseball that about summed it up at the FreiFam!

New Sliderzz

Preston has become a Slider! It is exciting to have two boys playing Comp baseball and both of them Sliderzz. My heart belongs to the Sliderzz and just like when you have another baby your heart grows, it does when I gain a new baseball family. (Especially if their uni's has the Sliderzz logo on it. ;))They Started their season off with a SU Baseball tourney and they took 2nd. Not bad for their first outing! Next up was March Madness, nothing like jumping into the baseball with the biggest tournament in St. George.

But, they did great! It turns out Preston is a good little bunter and plays great outfield. He mad a super catch in the Championship game, that helped his team come away with the Win!! Proud Mom moment! :)

Cute little boys playing a great game. :)

Landon played this tourney too, the big Sliderzz lost against the Venom in a bracket game. I heard it was an amazing game, we just came up short. I wasn't there because I was with Preston at his game. This is now going to be the story of our family's life. Gavin at one field and I'm at the other. Two boys playing at the same time most of the time, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Love the Sliderzz!

Preston Baptism

It's been a very very long time since I posted this this blog. My life seems to be in fast forward. It's all I can do to keep up with laundry, dishes, messes, and meals. I am hoping I can make this blog a priority and get caught up. This is one post I didn't want to leave out. Preston's Baptism was an important day in this little man's life. One I don't want to forget.

When Preston left the house with his dad to head to the church he looked kind of nervous. I just kissed him and sent him on his way, not really thinking much about it. When Gavin got to the Church he pulled up and asked Preston if he was ready to become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? He looked at him and said, "I am, I'll never drink beer..." I guess that is what he was worried about.. Never drinking beer? :) He did great and so did Gavin. He conformation was following the baptism. His circle was full of great men, that I know he looks up to. Gavin did a great job on his blessing. I hope days like this give Preston strength to want to have good friends, choose wisely in his choices as he grows and someday serve a Mission. He is truly a light of Christ, that has great potential. I love him so much and am privileged to be his Mother. 

Snow Canyon

Spring Break is always one of my favorite weeks. It seemed leading up to it we all had a little Spring Fever! It was nice to have a week to sleep in, enjoy the weather, and play with friends. The boys got to spend the night at Jadon's in his new tree house which was a real treat too! We weren't able to go anywhere since the boys were going to be playing baseball in the March Madness Tournament so instead we took a day and went to Snow Canyon. 

It was fun to go on a little hike. I think that is the first hike, we have taken as a family. We need to do it more often, it was great.

We played in the Sand Dunes. Carlee hated the sand on her toes! I thought she would love it, nope she sat there with her toes up and then wanted on the blanket as soon as possible. She is a funny girl! Addie and the boys loved digging and running around. The weather was beautiful. Couldn't have asked for a nicer day. We had a picnic lunch and then headed home. Our own little getaway just minutes away from our home. Good Times!

Piano Recital

{March 5, 2012}

There was so much excitement in our house the day of March 5th the boys could hardly contain themselves, why you ask? Well, it was the Piano Recital of course! Ha! I wish! :) They weren't very excited about it, but they got through it, and I know it will make them better young men as they grow up. Someday they are going to thank me for nagging, and begging and making them practice. Here is to another year of piano, and many more to come!

Sliderzz Off to a Great Start

Sliderzz started off the year with the Super Bowl Tournament. They did okay, but didn't make it to the "big game." Then it was on to President's Day. They were primed and ready...

Landon is pitching a lot better this year and did great. His hitting, not so hot, but he'll get it I know. The team made it to the Championship Day, and played the Rox first. It was a tough game, we were behind for most of it, but we didn't give up and ended up coming back and winning. :) Do you ever wonder what the rest of the fam does while we watch game after game??

They have a blast! All the kids in this family LOVE ball games no matter if it is to play in the game or play at the game. Everyone has fun! Good Times!

The Sliderzz played the Utah Aces for the trophy and won! Great job boys!!

Valentines

Valentines was a nice day. Heart pancakes with a kiss started it off. Then the kids all took their Valentines to school. They love passing out and receiving every year. Addie even went to Preschool and passed this year. She was so excited! I made a nice dinner for everyone complete with heart plates, cups and name tags. It was fun to get it ready the loves of my life. Gavin gave me some yummy chocolate dipped strawberries. We passed a few valentines to some friends and then called it a day. Happy Love Day!

Preston's Birthday!

This boy gets so excited about his birthday's he can hardly sleep. He had a list of expectations that have to happen on his big day, and we made it all happen! The list began with a running through streamer on his door when he woke up followed by a fun breakfast! Aren't those pancakes cute? Easy and cute, just what I like! Then he got to open his present, the one in the big box.. (had to trick him, even if it was just for a minute.) He was so excited! He wanted to be able to text his brother, and now he can.

We had his friend party earlier in the week with Brooklyn at Anti-Gravity. It was fun to share the party with her and to jump and jump and jump. I forgot my camera at that party, so we will just have to remember it in our hearts. ;) We had the family over for dinner and cake to close out his fun day. I can't believe my buddy is 8! I love him so much! He adds so much life and spunk to our family. Happy Birthday Preston!!

Just a little note I want to remember... While Gavin and I were getting ready for the party the kids were going crazy. So, we told them to take Carlee for a little walk around the block. Next thing we knew it was pouring rain outside and it had been 45 minutes and we couldn't find them. I started calling all the neighbors, by this time all the family was showing up. We sent Dennis out to look for them, then Garrett and Gavin went. Finally I called Stephanie and they were in her tree house. She had no idea! It was crazy the boys took Carlee that far and in the pouring rain! They told me they had her wrapped up and she was really warm in the tree house. Oh my...

Basketball Season

Landon did something new this year during basketball season. He joined Think Swish. As parents we felt was the best place for him. He got to play with Reggie his basketball buddy and make some new friends as well as learn more about the game of basketball. He learned how to pass a lot better and a lot more about the mechanics of the game. It was a fun season!

Preston played in the Ivins league and did really well. He's becoming more aggressive and can dribble a lot better. I am not very good at taking indoor sport pictures. I better work on that for next year! Good Job boys on great seasons!

Tea for Three

{January 25th, 2012}

Addie had been wanting to have a Tea Party for awhile. We finally planned it! It was low key and just basically a play date. She invited her best two little friends and we had Tea for Three (plus Carlee!) It was fun to see them be total girls! I wanted to take a picture of each of them but Kate was not having it, so Sadie, Addie and Carlee is all I got. They lifted their pinkies when they drank their "Tea" (really water) and loved all the finger foods we had rounded up from the pantry. Girls are so much fun!

Christmas

Christmas morning was fun! We were up early because we had to be to church at 9:00 am. Everyone was happy that Santa brought them just what they wanted. We went to church and then headed to Grandma Frei's after. I can't believe I didn't snap one picture of anything during the day. I must have been like a walking zombie because of the lack of sleep I had gotten the night before! ;) We also went to Grandpa Dennis' and Grandpa Ken and Grandma Katie came and visited us at our house. That was really nice of them because Carlee really needed a nap!

That evening we went to Grandpa and Grandma Bowler's for dinner. It was a full day, to say the least, but a good day! Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

We started partying on Christmas Eve a little earlier than normal this year because it was a Saturday. Grandma had her party at 2ish and then we went to the program after. I love Grandma's party, Christmas Eve just wouldn't be the same if I didn't have a Deviled Egg and her Layered Green Salad.

I love this picture of us! It makes me remember that carrying around my camera is worth it. I know I am going to cherish this picture for a very long time, 4 Generations of Reber women. I love it.

The Program is always an adventure! I would say I hate it, but then I remember that my most vivid memories as a child during Christmas were at this program. So, that being said it was an great! ;) We got through it and the kids loved it! They were all thrilled to see Santa and get their gift. Addie liked her doll, Preston loved his Spy Watch and Landon especially loved the Skills Hoop Santa brought him. Just what they wanted! Love it when Santa gets it right once and in awhile! :)

Carlee on the other hand.... thrilled was NOT the word that best describes her. ;)

We headed to Grandma Frei's house after the program and partied a little more. It was a busy night. The kids were pretty anxious to get home to bed so Santa could come. We read "Twas the night before Christmas," snapped a picture....

 and it was off to bed.

Only Landon couldn't sleep! I think he finally got a couple hours of sleep around 1:00ish. Wow, it was a night to remember. He came in and asked if Santa came every 30 minutes or so starting around 3:00. So that saying, "And to all a Good Night!" Lets just say it didn't happen that way at our house this year!  Good Times! :)

Bowler Christmas Party

 {December 18, 2011}

The annual Bowler Christmas Party took place once again. It was a fun night with cookie frosting and the nativity played out. We also wrote what our gift to Christ would be again this year. My goal is to attend the temple once a month. We'll see if I can do it?! Hopefully! Gavin was sick with the flu so he didn't make it this year to the party. I love my family and am grateful to mom for keeping these traditions going. I have good memories at these parties and I know my kids do too.

Link to "Not Our Finest Moment"

I recently posted a post about "Not Our Finest Moment." Some have thought I deleted it,  I didn't. It is just posted back when it happened. Here is the link to that post. Sorry for the confusion.

Gingerbread Houses

Making Gingerbread Houses is always a fun project. It has evolved over the past few years. It started as all of us making one house, to now everyone wanting to create their own. This year I just bought graham crackers and hot glued each house together and then they decorated it. This was a lot better on the budget than buying 4 kits. :) I think they turned out really cute. Kids are creative, it was fun to watch the process take place. Carlee loved that candy would fall on the floor. She turned into our human vacuum and consumed most of it! :) Fun night! Thanks Grandpa Dennis for keeping this tradition alive.

Baking Day

Another successful baking day is in the books. I think this was our best year yet! We started early and ended late, but we made 4 huge batches of cinnamon rolls, two batches of divinity, caramel popcorn (Addie's favorite, she ate it all day!) and a whole bunch of Toffee. Garrett came later in the day and decided we needed more toffee, so look at the batch he made! What is that saying? "Go big or go home?" That was Garrett for sure! He looks good in his Pampered Chef Apron, don't you think?? I think we went through something like 16+ cubes of butter. If that doesn't clog your arteries thinking about it, I don't know what will! :) It sure was good though! I am so glad we do this every year, I think it is a great tradition!

Addie Makin' Gingerbreads

{12/8/2011}

I was able to help in Addie's preschool class the day they made Gingerbread Houses. It's always fun to spend time at school. Addie loves her little class and I can see why, it is such a fun place. Miss Mickell does an amazing job. Addie's house turned out just perfect! She had all the candy eaten off of it within the week! Love my little Ads.

Marshall Baseball

Landon was invited to play with the Marshall's 9U baseball team during the Thanksgiving Weekend Baseball Tourney in Las Vegas. We went down after I did my day after Thanksgiving shopping of course. ;) It was fun to get away for a few days and to have Gavin in the stands with us watching. For some reason when Landon plays on other teams I don't feel as much pressure for him to do well. I don't know if he feels like that, but I do. He did good for not even swinging a bat since August. The team made it to Championship day, but got beat. They are a cute bunch of boys with a lot of great talent.  Playing on the Big League Dreams Field again was probably the highlight for Landon. He loves that place, it is such an amazing complex.  Looking at these pictures gets me excited for the upcoming baseball season!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was with Gavin's mom. It was really yummy. Bradi has perfected her noodle making, and Katie's rolls were so good! Katie is really good at making the perfect bread dough. One of these days I will get good at it too! Other than Carlee dumping everyone's drinks (gotta love the age...) it was a really nice day.

They have "pet" squirrels. Landon really got a kick out of holding and feeding it. The girls had to get a picture together, because of all the hours we put into making the dinner so good. :) I am thankful for Thanksgiving to help me remember all I am blessed with. I have so much to be grateful for.

Warrior Football Tournament

 Because our football team did so well during the regular season, the coaches decided to enter them into a football tournament in Mesquite. It was in November so I had brought blankets, coats, sweatshirts... to keep warm. Needless to say the weather was beautiful the first day I took my shoes off and had wished I had worn Capri's. The next morning our game was at 9:00 am thinking the weather would be about the same all I brought was a few sweatshirts for the morning chill. Boy was I wrong, the wind was blowing and it was freezing! Good thing we won, so sitting out in the cold was worth it! ;)

Check out that trophy! Who needs a Grandfather Clock in a home, when you have that?! Also, check out those Uni's they looked really sharp, and played really sharp too! 

It was a fun weekend. It looks like I was having a good time, doesn't it? Who knows what we are laughing about. This is what I get for blogging about something that happened 3 months ago! I do remember the food at the Eureka Cafe was good. We went there both days after the games. Trust me to only remember the food, I am crazy like that. :)

Good Job WARRIORS!

Love those boys.

Baby Ballet

{Nov. 14th, 2011}

 

This year I have been able to watch Addie through the outside windows at dance . I have loved being able to see what she is doing unlike last year. When we were able to actually hear the music and see her dance at the same time, it made it so fun! Addie did great on her showoff day, she smiled and danced her little heart out. It made all of us smile, because of how happy she was. She loves dance, the tights are another story. They hurt and squish her, but we manage to get them on every week.  Miss Sheila is so cute with her baby ballerina's. Dance day is a highlight of Addie's week. Lots of fun!!

Football Champs!!

The last couple weeks of the football season were crazy. For starters Grandpa's Funeral was the first week of the playoff's, so I never really thought about football that week, Landon and Gavin made it to the practices on top of the viewing and funeral. When we got to the game, I was sitting in the stands and kind of panicked! I thought a my gosh... if we don't win, we're done. Luckily we won! It was a good day!

Then it was time to prepare for the Championship. That week the boys had dinner after practice every night! Fun! We had some unbelievable parents on the team, everyone supported the boys and participated throughout the whole year! Landon even got a sign in our yard that said "A Warrior Lives Here!" So cute! :)

The big day came, and we conquered! It was a great game, our boys seemed really nervous at first. Finally in the second half they came alive and played like we knew they could. We beat Dixie 25-12, winning the 3rd Grade Tackle Football Championship!

Then it was time to celebrate!!

Fun memories! Gavin was stoked to finally have that golden football! He put a lot of effort into the season and it was so fun to see him finally holding it.

Warrior Nation. So many great supporters.

Then the bus.... Oh how they loved the bus! "The Show Goes On" was thumping, and the boys were screaming! Good Times!! I Love Landon's #1 sign hanging out the window. These boys worked so hard, they deserved those trophies.

As I think back on the 2011 Football season, I think of hard work, discipline, respect, sweat, blood, and tears.  All was left on the football field and we came away victorious. 

Now all we have are the memories, but they are very very sweet. It was a year we won't forget.

We are proud to be Warriors. 

**Thank you Hayley Bradshaw for the good photos.** The not so good ones, are mine. ;)

Grandpa Frei

I have been putting off this blog post for a long time now... well about 3 months. I don't know if I am just hoping that if I don't blog about it he will come back because I am not ready to face the reality that he isn't, or if my heart has just been to broken to write about it? As I put these pictures together, my heart is heavy. Landon Hafen Frei was a great man, the last of that dying breed you could say. He was a  farmer, rancher, husband, father, brother to name a few, but to us he was a Grandpa and a dang good one!

Grandpa was always there for us, I know he loved us and that means so much.

On Sunday, October 30th 2011 we lost him. He had been to Sacrament Meeting at Church, came home checked on Grandma and then decided he didn't feel well. Vicki found him after she got home from Church. She was going down to read them the article that was put in the paper that very day about their 75th Wedding Anniversary. The next few hours are a blur... we went to the hospital where we found out he had a brain aneurism. It's crazy to say we were shocked that a 95 year old man was going to die, but we were. He was so healthy and strong. His heart was the last organ to stop, it just wouldn't stop beating. That I am sure is a testament to his garden full of fruits and vegetables. The vegetables he ate everyday of his life, the ones I will be eating a lot more of. :) He passed with his family surrounding him, and I know he was welcomed on the other side with open arms. 

I had never seen Gavin so sad. He was like a walking zombie. He was not really with us mentally those first few days. Grandpa Frei was everything to him. He had taught him so much. From the time he was a little boy he spent pretty much every minute he could with Grandpa. Fixing water lines, riding for cows, sleeping at the Dutchman ranch, pruning peach trees, picking squash were some of Gavin's fondest memories with his Grandpa. He was able to speak at the funeral and did an amazing job.

 Grandpa has left a legacy for each of us to follow. I hope to work a little harder and endure to the end because that is exactly what he did. Look at this posterity, something he was very proud of.

There is a big hole left in our hearts with Grandpa being gone. He is missed. I know the day I see him again will be very sweet. Love you Grandpa.

**Thank you Bradi for the Pictures. They are Priceless.**