"OUTLAW BASEBALL"

As some of you know Brayden is playing baseball on an super league team. They play games on weekends and travel to tournament where they play teams from all over the state as well as from other states. Brandon is also helping coach this team so they are constantly on the go. Last weekend the Outlaws had their first tournament in St.George. It was great weather and the boys played awesome for being a new team and playing in a tournament for the first time. The boys had a great time. The Outlaws went 2-2 in the tournament and lost one of their games 2-1 to a team from St.George that ended up in the championship round on saturday. Brayden played great!!!! He had a .500 batting average, pitched in 2 games, played first base and threw a runner out at 3rd base from center field.

Brayden ready to hit in there first game, he got an RBI with his first at bat!!!

Playing center field, he had a couple of catches and threw a runner out at 3rd base.

Brayden was put in to pitch with bases loaded both times, he threw strikes and got the outs.

Gymnastics

As many of you may know Maddie is in gymnastic out here in Grantsville and she loves it. A common siting or noise around the house is Maddie doing cartwheels or round offs throughout the house. If it is not one of those two options she is walking around the house on her hands rather than her feet. Hand stand and head stands are not uncommon. She just has to pass off one more move and she can move to a more advanced class.

Maddie doing gymnastics in the house is very common!!!

Basketball in Grantsville

This year basketball was much better that last. Brayden had a coach that held practices every week, taught the kids the fundamentals of basketball and even had set offensive plays for the kids to run. The plays involved all the kids having a responsibility to make the plays work effectively. This was much better than the mass chaos of every kid running around or 10 kids huddled around the ball. They do not have referees or really keep score, but the kids keep pretty good track of who is winning and losing. I think that they probably only lost one game this year. It was a fun year to watch!!!

Fast break points!!!

Brayden running one of the set plays.

What More Could You Ask For

This has become one of Maddie's favorite things to pass the time. Laurie got the movie "Mama Mia" for Christmas, and watched it with the kids. It has become Maddie's favorite movie, watching it almost daily. I have down loaded all of the songs from the movie and put them on a CD, so if the movie is not on the music is playing. Then she started combining the music with playing Wii baseball. So now she dances around the house singing ABBA songs from the movie and will stop to play the game, then start singing again. I think sometimes it all is a little overwhelming for her because she will let out a scream of frustration when she is not hitting the ball like she wants to in the game. It is quite intertaining to watch.......

Christmas/Winter Break Comes to a Close

Oh what a sweet weekend to end on. We spent it in Sanpete County (this is sounding vaguely familiar to last year at this time) Brayden went hunting with Brandon on Friday and shot a goose all by himself with a 12 gauge shotgun with 3 1/2 inch shotgun shells(the normal is 2 3/4).WTH? I shot that thing like 12-15 times and was complaining of a sore shoulder. My 10 year old is shooting the same gun. Maybe the shells were loaded a little lighter for him. I'll just keep thinking that... otherwise I will have to think about the alternative, which is how wimpy I have become in my old age. Brandon and Brayden went hunting with Redneck and his son. Redneck is one of Brandon's co-workers that has chosen to end his employment at Salt Lake County to take up post at Utah County.... What's up with that? You get paid more, and you have more days off with Utah County, but still... come on.. working with Brandon and playing pranks all day.... you can't beat it. I hear more about how those two (Brandon and Redneck) put silly pictures on their captains' screen saver and locked him out of his own office then I do about how they took down a lethal felon or at least talked a psycho inmate out of shooting up the place because booking gave him back the wrong bag of personal items. Good times are over for Petey. He will have to find a new co-worker to help him in his practical joke scheming.

All Hail the Wii

Yes, indeed. Our house now has a Wii system. And the surprising thing is...I like it. I haven't really liked gaming systems since my pre-teen days. I get to restless sitting for hours trying to kill or runaway from things with only my thumbs. The interactive play is really fun and I've heard great reviews of the Will Fit too. I think that might be my next purchase. Maybe I will actually exercise during the cold winter months.
As for Brandon and Brayden and the Wii... well, let's just say there's no such thing as a friendly game of Wii baseball in this house.
# of times the Wii remote has been thrown into the wall accidentally: 1
# of times the Wii remote has been thrown onto the floor on purpose: 10
What was your big Christmas gift this year?

A CHRISTMAS LETTER TO ALL

Well, because I didn't get my Christmas cards out again this year, here is an update that I would have sent in them.
Merry Christmas One and All. Here is our year in a nutshell:
Big B - Went on an awesome geese hunt to Canada this year. I think he enjoyed himself and brought home some beautiful birds to mount.
Laurie - Started working again, full-time in Salt Lake, then part-time and then part-time from home. It's been nice helping with the income and having my own paycheck.
Brayden- Was baptized in the fall. Played Little League baseball for the first time and made the all-star team. Earned a league championship in football.
Maddie- Hated every minute of T-ball. Now does gymnastics and loves it. She keeps us entertained with her little comments and drama.
WE hope you have a wonderful New Year.