KYLE

 KYLE

Kyle is 6½ years old. He will turn 7 in May. He is currently in first grade and absolutely loves it. He is thriving right now as he is excelling in spelling, reading, and math. He truly enjoys learning and is having so much fun with his teacher. Kyle tried out wrestling in the beginning of the year, but he didn’t really like it. Maybe next year. During the summer, Kyle was able to play T-Ball. I don’t think he enjoyed it in the beginning, but by the end of the season, he was doing pretty well. He prefers to hit a ball that is thrown to him rather than hitting it off a T. I guess he will be ready for coach pitch this next year. We found out early this year that Kyle has vocal chord nodules. This is the reason for his husky, rough voice. While it is cute to listen to, we decided to see if we could get him some help to relieve those nodules. We went to a speech therapist and there found out that Kyle doesn’t use his diaphragm when he breathes or talks. Therefore he is unable to push air through his vocal chords with enough pressure to open them all the way. So for the last few months Kyle has been seeing a speech therapist to practice breathing and speaking using his diaphragm. We are hoping that over time this will relieve the irritation that is causing the nodules and that there will be no further damage. Aside from that, he is a healthy and happy little boy. He loves to play the Wii, watch TV, and do whatever his brothers are doing.

JACOB

JACOB

Jacob will turn 9 years old later this month. He is a very busy and active boy and is growing faster than I can keep up with. He is now as tall as Ryan and out weighs him by a little bit. I am sure it won’t be long until I am looking up to him. Jacob had a big event in his life this year. On January 2nd he was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This made him an official member of our church. Mom and Dad were so proud of his decision to be baptized and it was a very special day Jacob also wrestled in the beginning of the year, but didn’t enjoy it as much as Ryan did. He did however enjoy baseball in the summer. He has a great swing and plays awesome at first or third bases. During the season he was part of several great plays including a couple of double plays. He also had his tonsils out in the summer. After having a tonsil abscess in the spring, the swelling never went down, so we had them yanked out. He was a real trooper and made a pretty quick recovery. The hardest part for him was not being able to eat. Jake has a lot of energy and we are working really hard to help him control that energy and focus when he needs to. He is doing quite well in school and is a great friend. He likes playing with his brothers, playing the Wii, riding his bike and ripstick and rollerblading. He is learning to shoot a bow and even spent his own allowance this year to buy himself some arrows. He has been practicing his archery in the basement. He loves to be outside and hates doing homework.

RYAN

RYAN Ryan, age 10½, was wrestling at the beginning of the year. Though we didn’t participate in any tournaments (because all of them were on Sunday), he did learn a lot of skills that he is using again this season. He is looking forward to next year when he can compete with the school. Ryan was voted school Historian for the Student Council for the last term of last school year. It was his job to take pictures and document school events. He enjoyed the job and did a great job. In the summer Ryan played baseball. It was great to watch him play. He is a really good hitter and can play almost any position he is asked. In the Fall, Ryan joined up for his first season of football. He had the chance to try out several different positions on the team. He played defensive end, running back, and offensive line. He scored one AMAZING touchdown by tucking his head and pushing his way through his opponents, had several great tackles, and a couple of sacks and fumble recoveries. He had great coaches and learned so much. His coaches called him a freak on the field saying he would do whatever they asked him to do. He’s very strong for his size and proved to be a great football player. His team went undefeated outscoring their opponents an amazing 114-22. He LOVED football and is looking forward to next season. He is making excellent grades in school and makes mom and dad very proud. He enjoys riding his bike and rollerblading. This summer he went roller blading with mom a lot through the park. He is super quick on his blades.

Here is a video of his touchdown too.

TIFFANY

TIFFANY Tiffany, age 13, played on the middle school basketball team which went undefeated and became the 6th grade city champs. She followed the basketball season with Track & Field. She competed in the 100 meter, 4x100 relay, long jump and high jump. She too had a great season ending it on a high note with second place ribbons for both long jump and high jump. In May Tiffany was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society at her school. She sang in the school talent show and was later asked to perform in the end of year school pride assembly. She has an awesome voice and still LOVES to sing. She will also be singing again this month in the end of term pride assembly (by invitation) and sings in the school choir. Tiffany went to volleyball camp this summer. After 2 days in the camp for her age group she was asked to move up to the 9th grade group because her skills were more on that level. She is an excellent volleyball player. She earned a spot on the 7th grade varsity team and proved to be a very valuable and versatile player. She could play outside hitter and setter interchangeably as needed and even used a jump serve in one of her games during the season. She is an awesome net player and I hope to see her playing for many years to come. She is doing great in school and loves hanging out with her friends.

KAYLEE

So I am posting this to recap our year since I have been such a terrible blogger this year. It will be in parts. One post for each of the kids. (it is from our Christmas Letter)

Kaylee

Kaylee, age 15 had a busy year this year. In February she had a second surgery on her little finger that was broken in Sept. 2009. This was to remove her screws and scrape away scar tissue in hopes of increasing mobility. After months of physical therapy, she still has very little movement in that finger, but she has not let it hold her back. In March Kaylee earned a spot on the Varsity Track & Field team. She competed in the 100 meter, the 200 meter, the 4x200 meter relay, and long jump. She had a great season by continually beating her own personal records and her 4x200 team took second at the city meet beating a school record in the process. She finished her middle school career by receiving a Presidential Silver award for Academics. She spent the summer playing volleyball at various camps and playing in a freshman league where her team went undefeated. In July she had the chance to go to EFY in Provo Utah. She had a great time and met lots of wonderful friends from all over. She also had the chance to go on the Stake Pioneer Trek and while she faced some challenges with her assigned family, she came out saying she would go again if she could. In August she started High School and made the Freshman Volleyball team. She had a great season with her team taking third place out of 12 in their division. She learned how to jump this year and proved to be wicked as an outside hitter. She improved her skills and became a real asset to her team. She has had a great year and is adjusting pretty well to high school. The big event for her this year was turning 15 and getting her driver’s permit. Now she drives pretty much anywhere we go together. She is doing great behind the wheel and is an excellent driver.

The last 2 weeks

We have spent a lot of time the last couple of weeks at the pool.  The boys are truly enjoying swimming, and I am loving the sunshine.  Kyle has even been jumping off the diving board. 

This past week, the girls have been doing a volleyball camp.  It will continue through next week.  I had the chance to talk with the coach on Tuesday.  He wanted to move Tiffany from the 7th and 8th grade camp into the 9th grade camp that Kaylee is also in.  He said her skills are much more advanced than the rest of the girls that were in the camp with her. (he moved 2 girls up, Tiffany is 7th grade) That made me very happy.  She is doing well and so is Kaylee.  He also told me that both of the girls have great skills and he would love to have them play with him in the volleyball club.  The problem for us is that all the club games are on Sundays so we have chosen not to play in the club.  He was very disappointed, but he said he understands.  He went on to tell me that NOT playing club puts the girls at a huge disadvantage when it comes to making the teams in High School.  He said that the girls that do not play club simply do not have the "connections" to make the teams in High School.  That made me so angry.  I think that when it comes to tryouts for the HS team, all girls she be looked at equally regardless of whether or not they play club.  Skills should be evaluated and girls should make the team if their skills are good enough period.  Well, I told my girls that they just have to work hard and if they want to play in HS, they will just have to prove that you don't have to play club ball to be good enough to play on the HS team.

The two older boys started baseball this week.  It is so fun to watch them practice.  Kyle will start T-Ball practice next week.

This week, I have been working hard to get ready for Relay for Life which is this weekend.  I am really excited for the chance to walk.  I have so far raised over $300 for the American Cancer Society.  It feel so good just to know that in a small way I am doing something to help in the fight against cancer.

Today my kids and I have been busy making cotton candy and popcorn that will be sold at our booth at Relay.  We made 135 bags of cotton candy and 75 bags of popcorn.  LAst night we also made about 40 Fruity Pebbles Krispie Treats and 40 Cocoa Krispie Treats.  This week I have also made some T-shirts that we will also sell there.  Here are a couple of pictures of us working hard.  I didn't get any pics while Kyle and JAke were working and of course since I was taking the pics there are non of me, but that's okay.

So much Time has Passed...(Again)

It's amazing how quickly the time flies.  So here is a quick recap of March, April, and May.

March...
Kaylee and a group of her friends performed a fun little dance for the Grammy Awards at Erwin.  The song was called BOUNCE!!!  They choreographed and practiced the dance for weeks in preparation.  Then I helped them to make the costumes.  It was so fun to watch them perform.  Tiffany got to be a last minute fill in for one of the girls who ended up going out of town too.  Bonus for Tiff!!!

We took a trip to Las Vegas for Spring Break.  My brother Jeff got married to Erika.  It was a beautiful sealing ceremony in the temple followed by lots of pictures and a totally fun reception.  The dancing could have gone on all night I think.  It was really great to see Jeff married and to know that he finally has someone to share his life with.  And we are so happy to have Erika as a part of our family.  It was also great to have all of my family together again.  All of my siblings were there along with dad and Kay.  In addition, Grandpa Pierce was here from Hawaii, Grandma & Grandpa Thornock came down from Ogden with Tami, Monica, Shandi, and Tonya.  We also saw Heather and Kevin, and Yvette and her family too.  It was great to see so many.

While in Vegas we took the opportunity to do a few fun things with my family.  We did a hike out at Red Rock Canyon one of the days.  We had a very large group.  It was my whole family, Steve & Zack, Kevin's whole family and Jeff.  It was a great time.  We loved hiking around in the canyon, climbing on the rocks and just spending time together.  We had a great time until Kyle took a dive into an agave plant and got plant spikes embedded in his leg.  He had more than 12 puncture wounds in his leg and ended up in the urgent care to have one of them removed that had broken off under the skin surface.  Ouch, it hurt.  He was a real trooper though and with a little Novocaine, the spike was removed and he now has it in a test tube to shoe everyone. 

We also had our traditional "Pierce Family Pizza Night".  It was so much fun.  We made lots of pizzas both deep dish and thin crust and had a real party.  The pizza was so awesome, and the company was even better.

Mike and I took the kids up to the top of the Stratosphere.  It was fun to look out at the whole city.  Kaylee and Mike rode the big shot ride up on top.  They loved it.  The rest of us just watched from below.  The rides up there look pretty scary.

Also in March, Jake got a tonsil infection.  It apparently started as strep throat but his tonsils got infected and were HUGE!!!  They are still huge today in fact, but the infection has long since been gone.

Tiffany played in the 6th grade basketball championships.  Her team ended up winning the championship and went completely undefeated for the season.  It was awesome.  It was really great to watch her as her skills improved over the season.

Mike and I received a new calling from the Stake in March.  We have been called to be Ma and Pa over a family of youth on the Pioneer TREK this summer.  We are excited and nervous for this big event.  We will be walking (pushing/pulling a handcart) with 6-8 youth ages 14-18 as we re-enact a portion of the handcart pioneer's trek across the country.  We will be covering a 36 mile portion of the trail over 3 days and will be visiting landmarks like Martin's Cove and Rocky Ridge.  It will be physically exhausting I am sure, but I am also sure that the spiritual benefits from this trip will far out-weight them.  We are looking forward to it and preparing ourselves as well as we can.

April...
April brought with it Track season.  Both girls were participating so the boys and I spent many afternoons in the stands at the track.  The girls worked really hard and improved their own personal records with each meet. 

Tiffany competed in the Long Jump, the High Jump, the 100 meter dash, and the 4x100 meter relay.

Kaylee competed in the 100 meter dash, the 200 meter dash, the 4x200 meter relay, and the long jump.

At the boys elementary school, I worked on the school carnival committee.  There was a ton of hours involved in the planning, but the event was a HUGE success.  Our silent auction produced a profit of $2500 and out overall profit for the carnival including the auction was $4600.  That is the best we have ever done with one of our carnivals.  The best part was that everyone had so much fun, it made all the work completely worth it.

May...
May brought all the final school events for the year.  (much too quickly might I add)  We had field day at centennial and I watched the boys play in many different events and games.

At Erwin, Tiffany participated in the school talent show.  She sang Take a Bow by Rhianna.  She did such a great job that she was asked to perform again at the Pride Assembly on the last day of school.  For that she sang the Carrie Underwood version of "I'll Stand By You."  Both of her performances were great!!!

The girls finished out their track seasons strong.  Tiffany took 4th place in the 6th grade city meet in Long Jump, and her relay team took 5th place in the city meet as well.  She did a great job and can be very proud of her efforts this season.  Kaylee and her 4x200 meter relay team broke the school record by 3 seconds and ended up taking 2nd place at the city championship meet.  She too had a great season and I hope she will continue her efforts in high school next year.

Speaking of High School, it is almost painful to admit that I will have a child in high school next year.  Kaylee is now taller than me and she is such a beautiful girl.  She has some really great friends and is doing so well in school.  She received a Gold Presidential Academic Award for her grades this year. She almost had straight A's despite missing over 20 days of school.  She stayed very organized and managed to stay on top of her school work despite 2 surgeries, swine flu, and another flu-like virus. She didn't get stressed out by the work load, but got her work done and managed to pull almost all A's for the year. She has worked really hard and I know she will do great in High School.  I am so proud of all her hard work and her motivation to do well in school.  She is looking forward to a very busy summer with volleyball camp, EFY in Provo, Pioneer TREK in July, and Girls camp in August in addition to volleyball open gym at the high school whenever she can.

From there I go to the opposite end of the family.  In May, my baby, Kyle, turned 6 years old.  The years have gone so fast and he is growing too quickly.  It makes me sad to realize that he is so big now.  Next school year he will be in 1st grade.  He is a very smart little boy and I am so proud of him for all that he does.  His teacher absolutely loved him this past year as she said he reminded her of her own son.  He is looking forward to swimming at the pool this summer and playing t-ball.

Tiffany is a natural at almost anything she tries it seems.  I was so proud of her over the school year.  She worked very hard to improve her grades and she maintained about an A- average over the year.  She also tried many new things and did well at them all.  She played Volleyball for the first time and was a true asset to her team as a setter.  She played basketball for the first time and improved her skills over the season to where she played very well.  She did track and found that she was good at that too.  She also continues in singing and is very talented there as well.  I am proud of her for trying new things and not being afraid.

Jacob had a great year.  He pulled really awesome grades for the year, had fun wrestling during the winter and is looking forward to playing baseball this summer.  He loves to swim at the pool and ride his bike.  He is still working on controlling his actions an behavior.  He is a very busy boy and is constantly moving.  He is also very loving and kind and makes me smile often.

Ryan finished out his fourth grade year in high fashion.  He pulled an A+ on his biggest project of the year a replica of a Mesa Verde residence.  He and I worked very hard on the project and he did a great job on it.  He has been enjoying reading this year and has read almost the entire Fablehaven series.  He has thoroughly enjoyed the series and will be looking for another book series to get into next.  He pulled straight A's for the year and in addition he participated in the GT program at school which included extra work.  In GT they studied the Presidents of the US this year and he learned a whole lot about many of them.  He is looking forward to playing baseball again this summer followed by football in the fall.

My children continue to amaze me on a daily basis.  Although we have good days and bad, days where they listen and are helpful and obedient, and days when they are stubborn and difficult.  I am very proud of them overall.  They are good kids.  They are kind to others, and they generally make good choices.  They are so smart and seem to be like sponges as they absorb sooooo mouch from the world around them.  I am so grateful for each of them and the individual blessings they are in my life.

Mike continues to work in Lawton, Oklahoma from Monday through Friday each week.  He is working hard and hopeful that it won't be too much longer before he will be able to spend more time at home again.  We so love the weekends when he is home with us.  He was recently released from his calling in church as the Gospel Principles teacher and was called to be a teacher for Ryan's class in Primary.  I think he is enjoying the change, at  least for now.

I continue to design T-shirts for my shop, dabble a bit in digital scrapbook design, I taught a 6 week digital scrapbooking 101 course in my home in March and will teach another session starting in the Fall, I am working on some new and exciting things for my Once a Month Cooking Project, and in my spare time I try to exercise a bit by roller blading around the park.  Otherwise, the kids keep me really busy and I am absolutely loving hanging out at the pool so far this summer.  I am looking forward to participating once again in Relay For Life in a couple of weeks as a tribute to my mom.  Life

Well, this was super long, but for the sake of family history, I am now caught up again as best as I can be.  I hope that I can do better in the near future to stay up to date!!!