Spring = Sports

April and May are kind of crazy months for us because we have swimming, soccer and baseball.  Although I haven't yet posted pictures of Olivia playing soccer, she has been playing and I will post pictures of her soon.

Ashlie has been on the South Davis Aquatic Team's Tsunami swim team since September.  She has a swim meet almost once a month which we all enjoy attending.  Here she is, swimming the 100-meter 'freestyle'. 

While waiting for her next race, she hangs out with her teammates on the side of the pool.  Ashlie is the second to the left in this photo.

This year Ashlie has made tremendous progress on her dive into the pool. 

This meet was so hot and humid that we took Avery's shirt off so he would be a bit cooler.  You can see how pink his cheeks were from the heat.  Grandma and Grandpa Jackson rarely miss one of the kids' sporting events.  They are dedicated fans!

Alex began baseball again this month.  This is his third year playing baseball, but his first year in "machine pitch".  He did a great job in his first game and hit the second ball that came at him.  He's fun to watch because he really does know what he's doing. 

Here are Rob's parents, Joanne and Harv, with Olivia at Alex's first game:

Avery sat on Rob's lap through the entire first game.  Very uncharacteristic behavior for a 19-month old!

More Miscellaneous Pictures

The girls on the Jackson side of the family went to lunch at the Lion House.  We snapped a picture at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  We had a great time and ate super good food!  Left to right: Joanne (my mother-in-law), Olivia, Ashlie, me, Megan (my niece) and Christine (my sister-in-law).

My favorite thing to find my kids doing (except for cleaning their rooms!).  

Olivia is pictured above and Alex, below.

Children and their electronics!  My brother, Jon, on his lap top, Alex with his DS and Olivia with her Gameboy.  I guess every now and then they should have some time to zone out!

My dad took Ashlie, Olivia and Alex on a walk to Arctic Circle during spring break.  They had a great time and stopped at the elementary school, where he taught them to 'spiral' the football.  They all bonded and I enjoyed having a break from spring break.

Avery, enjoying the original Little People.  They're so much cooler than the new ones!

Olivia enjoyed her hair after she took out the "Princess Leah" buns atop her head.  This girl loves to be silly and having crazy hair helped unleash the silliness in her!

A Day at the Park

A Good Reminder...

“No pain that we suffer,

no trial that we experience is wasted.

It ministers to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility.

All that we suffer and all that we endure,

especially when we endure it patiently,

builds up our characters,

purifies our hearts,

expands our souls,

and makes us more tender and charitable,

more worthy to be called the children of God…

and it is through sorrow and suffering,

toil and tribulation,

that we gain the education that we came here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven.” 

- Orson Whitney

A MUST Read

 I recently finished reading Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls, by Mary Pipher, Ph.D.  It is a must-read for anyone with daughters.  I truly believe it should be passed out when they're born so you can read it 15 or so times before they become teenagers.  I STRONGLY encourage anyone in contact with girls - and more particularly my daughters - to read this book!  I wish all my girls' school teachers, Primary and Young Women leaders, aunts and uncles, grandparents and their friends' parents would read this book! 

I bought 2 extra copies so I could loan a couple out.  I could put you on my waiting list or you can find it at the library or on Amazon for about $4.00.