Southern Utah Soccer Assoc.

SOCCER RETURNS!

GO MADDY!

Maddy is fairly aggressive.

She likes to make goals. We have to remind her it is a team sport. It is fun to watch her improvements every year.

Bailey's first year of soccer

GO BAILEY!

Bailey wasn't sure about

actually kicking the ball. She did have a lot of fun running along side her friends. Lot's of smiles!

BAILEY PART II

After I had posted the comments Bailey has been saying lately, she came up with another funny one this evening. I don't want to forget.....it made my day.

The conversation went something like this:

BAILEY: Mom, how do you get a husband?

MOM: Well, you don't just go and get a husband. When you are

older, you might get asked out on a date.

BAILEY: Okay, but what if I don't like them do I just say no, I hate you?

MOM: (me trying not to laugh) No, you need to be nice.

BAILEY: So maybe I could say something like...I am not really

interested?

MOM: Yes, something like that.

BAILEY: So I can't go on a date until I live in my own house?

MOM: Yes, you can. After you are 16 a boy can ask you on a date.

BAILEY: So I can date when I am 18, 44 or 10,000?

MOM: Well, yes except for 10,000. You probably won't be living

anymore.

BAILEY: Oh yeah.... (then came a long sigh......)

After our conversation was over I started wondering what provoked that question. Jared thinks it is from the tween shows she watches on the Disney channel. She is a little too young to be boy crazy!

Maddy and her Valentine

I am still not caught up but trying my best to work on it. I am posting this out of order but wanted to write it down before I forgot. Yesterday was Valentine Day and Maddy made a card for me at school. The inside of the card is hard to read so I am retyping it...

Dear Mom,

Happy Valentines Day.

I hope you have a great day and thank you for being a nice mom

(sometimes).

Maddy doesn't think life is fair and if she doesn't get to make all of her choices she feels like I am being mean. Sometimes what I say goes. She does not like me to be in charge.

She is a joy to have in our home. We have had our difficulties but wouldn't trade her for anything. She is too smart for her britches most of the time. This picture was taken shortly after we moved to St. George. Wow! She has grown up....

I love this picture. They look like they are best friends. They have their moments. I wish more than anything they will realize one day, sisters make the best friends.

BAILEY

Bailey is growing up so quickly. Even though I still consider her my "baby" she thinks she is quite grown up for her age. Sometimes, I wonder if she realizes she is only 5. I guess when there are a house full of older siblings, the younger kids tend to copy what they see. I wish I was better at writing down some of the funny statements Bailey has said lately. I think I will remember but now as I am sitting down to write about them, only a few come to my mind.

.....quit making up fake rules

I guess if she doesn't like the rule, then it must be fake

.....it's a free country....I can litter if I want to.

I also suggested to her if she chose to litter, a policeman would make her pay lots of money. She would get a ticket. Her response, "well, it is a free country mom."

....do you want me to put on some random clothes?

She asks that question from time to time. I am not sure why they have to be random, but it makes me smile everytime she says it.

SWEET BAILEY

Kelee's SENIOR PICTURES

Kelsee was born October 28, 1992. It was a bitter sweet day for our family. She was an identical twin and her sister was stillborn. She died only a few days before. We named her Kendra. She weighed 4 lbs. 11 oz. Kelsee weighed 6 lbs. 1 oz.

We were so excited and overwhelmed with the thoughts of raising twins but up for the challenge! It was not meant to be.....we suffered a great loss. The loss of a child. But yet through it all, I realized how blessed we were. We had this beautiful baby girl, Kelsee.

We weren't informed of a reason for losing our baby, but during a pathology rotation at LDS Hospital, Jared looked up the path reports. In reading over this condition (below), I realized how truly blessed we were Kelsee survived and didn't have lasting health problems.

Twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is a rare disorder that sometimes occurs when women are pregnant with identical (monozygotic) twins. It is a rare disease of the placenta, the organ that joins the mother to her offspring and provides nourishment to the developing fetuses. During the development of identical twins, there are always blood vessels in the fetuses' shared placenta that connect their blood circulations (placental anastomoses). In most cases, the blood flows properly through these vessels. However, in twin-twin transfusion syndrome, the blood begins to flow unevenly, with one fetal twin receiving too much blood (recipient) and one receiving too little (donor). The recipient twin may experience heart failure due to continual strain on its heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular system). The donor twin, on the other hand, may experience life-threatening anemia, insufficient nutrition and oxygen due to its inadequate supply of blood. Such an imbalance in blood flow (i.e., twin-twin transfusion) can occur at any time during the pregnancy, including during delivery.

Kelsee - 6 months old

Kelsee is a beautiful young lady.

She is dedicated, disciplined and hard working. I am lucky to be her mom.

A Mother's Love

Helen Steiner Rice

A Mother's love is something

that no on can explain,

It is made of deep devotion

and of sacrifice and pain,

It is endless and unselfish

and enduring come what may

For nothing can destroy it

or take that love away . . .

It is patient and forgiving

when all others are forsaking,

And it never fails or falters

even though the heart is breaking . . .

It believes beyond believing

when the world around condemns,

And it glows with all the beauty

of the rarest, brightest gems . . .

It is far beyond defining,

it defies all explanation,

And it still remains a secret

like the mysteries of creation . . .

A many splendoured miracle

man cannot understand

And another wondrous evidence

of God's tender guiding hand.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND

Making the trip to Logan takes about 5 1/2 - 6 hours. We don't make it up there as much as we would like. This year, Jared had to work so I made the j0urney alone with the kids. My brother, Kade, was planning to come visit for a couple of days from Wyoming. We rarely see him so we made the trip. I didn't take many pictures. I am hoping my sister did, and I can get a few from her for scrapbooks later on. We enjoyed hanging out, walks, having a cookout at my brother Kelly's home, and relaxing. Aunt Karen always makes sure the kids keep entertained and have lots of fun.

My mom (Grandma), Aunt Karen and Uncle Curtis

Linsey, Aunt Robin, Uncle Kelly and Uncle Kade

Bailey and Maddy

LOUNGING on the hammock

They aLwAyS insist on the silly picture too :)

Dixie Roundup Rodeo PARADE

The kids were asked to be part of the Dave's Direct float during the Dixie Roundup Rodeo parade. They were so excited to participate. They waved and smiled almost the whole time. Great memories!

Emma, Abby S. and Bailey

Maddy and Abby P.

.....waiting for the parade to begin.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

This is a year of firsts and lasts for us. Bailey, the baby of the family, started school. She is officially in Kindergarten. Maddy is now in the 4th grade. Abby will finish up at the intermediate school. She is in 7th grade. Kelsee, the oldest, is a senior and will be graduating this coming spring. My FIRST baby will have her LAST year in high school and my LAST baby will have her FIRST year in school.

Bailey chillin' at the bus stop. The first thing she did was throw her backpack on the ground....just like the rest of the kids. She was so excited to ride the bus.

Miss White and Bailey. She went on a treasure hunt to get acquainted with the classroom and the rules.

Time truly does fly! It seems like Maddy was in Kindergarten just last year. She is growing up too quickly.

Abby hanging out at the bus stop. The whole time I stood with her, she kept telling me to go home because I was embarrassing her by taking pictures (and probably for breathing too). I tried not to take offense and remind myself she is a typical tween.

A SENIOR

Kelsee made it. Her final year in high school!

MADDY'S BRACES

This summer, Maddy got her first set of braces. Her teeth, like all of my girls, have a lot of space. Kids at school can be quite mean when it comes to looking different or unique. We gave Maddy the choice to start her braces now with phase 1 and then when all of her permanent teeth come in, she will start the final phase 2. She opted for the braces.

Maddy's BEFORE PICTURE

The braces are ON!

The braces are doing their job! Stay tuned for the AFTER photo. Coming in a few months. Maddy documented her own progress :)

Summer - Visit to Mt. Pleasant

This summer we had a special treat. Our Hawaii cousins were able to visit Utah. We met them in Mt. Pleasant and had a great time. The kids enjoyed fishing, celebrating Teague's birthday, attending Teague's baptism, hanging out, movies, sleeping in the teepee, and the older kids did baptisms at the temple. The best part was spending time together.

FISHING....

Mori and Jared were good sports. They fixed a lot of fishing poles for all the kids.

Bailey and Naomi taking a break with their Shasta pop. They seem to find something fun in everything they do. They find the joy in life. I wish I could freeze time and keep Bailey at this age.....two happy kids!

Teague and Maddy changed into their swimsuits to play catch with water balloons. My favorite picture is of Maddy and Teague standing in front of grandpa's teepee. They seem so serious. I love their posture. Both of them have their hands behind their backs. I didn't notice until I loaded the picture but it made me laugh. Glad they will have fun memories.

THE OLD "young" SALT LAKE CLAN

Teague turned eight and was able to be baptized in Mt. Pleasant. The Lawrence family, our friends from Salt Lake, came down for his special day.

We enjoyed spending a little time together.

THE OLD "old" SALT LAKE CLAN

Joey, Stacie, and me :)

SPEAKMAN FAMILY PICTURE

Neglect

It seems as if I am in a losing battle with my blog. I feel like every time I turn around there is another task to do and the blog gets put on the back burner. I love to scrapbook and haven't prioritized my time to keep up on that project either. I want to stay on top of my blog.

Sorry for the backlog of posts. As I have written before, this is my way of keeping track of pictures and experiences until I find the time to put together a more complete scrapbook, whether it be digital or handmade.

I enjoy viewing all of your blogs and hope to get caught up and stay caught up. The task seems daunting at times. I keep telling myself if I will just post 2-3 a day I should be caught up in no time. Wish me luck! :)

Pioneer Day

Ahh....the lazy days of summer.

We had a great 24th of July. We swam in the pool, had a cookout and then did more fireworks. Why is it that kids love them so much? They also love playing with sparklers. It's all about making the memories I suspect :)

Bailey hanging out with Jared. She loves her daddy!

SPARKLERS!

Kelsee...I can't believe she is almost 18. She is such a beautiful young lady.

Abby, Bailey, Kelsee and Maddy

Pictures can be deceiving......

I look back on the pictures I have taken of the girls and sometimes begin to laugh. As I am trying to get them to stand together, put their arms around each other and smile, there are times I feel the picture is not worth the fight. I persevere....

Then when I view the picture later, it looks as if they were happy to be together at the moment. Maybe that's what I need to try and remind myself. I just need to take a lot of pictures of them looking angelic, and then they will look back on their pictures and remember only the good times.

4TH OF JULY

Jack, Emma and Bailey sitting on the sidelines waiting for the firework display to begin. I guess Emma didn't want her picture taken :)

We spent the 4th of July in St. George this year. For the past couple of years, we visited Grandpa and Grandma Speakman in Mt. Pleasant. Jared was working so we decided to stay at home and have our own fireworks display. The kids were given a smores maker from a family friend. They decided it would be a great idea to roast marshmallows (over a lightbulb) while watching the fireworks. The neighbors came over to join us.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

Creativity and fun

Maddy loves to do craft projects. Over the summer, she saw an idea to make puzzles using popsicle sticks. The idea is to draw a picture or scene on both sides and then you have two puzzles in one. I love her creativity.

The kids like to use geometric shapes to build cool designs. This is one of many they have made over the years.

Bailey and Maddy....best buds!

With having four girls in the house, I find we have a lot of drama and emotions. At times, I wonder how I will make it through the day. It's nice to be able to look back through my pictures and realize how much fun the girls have together, Maddy and Bailey especially. They are still easily entertained by the simples things....from making crafts to setting up photo shoots.