The Orchard Team Huddle

We have always been so busy with baseball that our family has not spent much time hiking.  It's something Russell has wanted to do and I was agreeable to but when?  A few years ago we hiked to Donut Falls but that is the only hike I can remember our family going on.  We talked about going to Ensign Peak since it was Pioneer Day.  We worried about the downtown crowd so Russell found a way to access the trail through North Salt Lake.  As we researched the hike the night before it seemed like it could potentially be 6 miles round trip.  We weren't sure how Mason would fare so we chose something a little shorter. We picked Cecret Lake (yep, correctly spelled!).  It was a close drive and the .9 mile hike seemed perfect. Being a holiday and all it was pretty crowded once we got to Alta.  They were shuttling people to the Albion campground where the hike begins.  The line for the shuttle was really long so we opted for the 1.6 mile hike to th...

This year the kids had 2 full weeks off of school.  Russell took the time off as well.  It was some great family time! Tubing:   The Young Single Adults had Soldier Hollow reserved for night time sledding so we decided to accompany them.  We have never been to an "official" sledding hill and it was great fun. The tubes have a loop that you put over a pole and a rope tows you to the top of the hill while you sit on your tube.  Our rope stopped for a minute and Mason noticed his loop slipped off of the pole.  He told us it wasn't going to pull him and we told him he would be fine (not knowing his loop had slipped off).  When the rope started again, sure enough, he got left behind.  Stockton decided to be the best big brother and jumped off of his tube to save Mason.  He grabbed Mason's loop and held onto his tube but couldn't get back in. He was laying facedown in the snow being drug by his moving tube while he held that with one han...

We've had a tradition of gathering with the Orchard family on Christmas morning for breakfast.  It was a fun tradition but as the family grew and Russell's siblings became grandparents it made it hard to gather everyone on such a crazy morning.  This year we had the Orchard breakfast the Saturday before Christmas and that seemed to work out really well.  Saturday will be our new tradition.  I was so excited to get to stay home and be lazy on Christmas day.  When I asked the boys what they wanted for breakfast they picked Christmas Casserole and homemade cinnamon rolls, the very thing we have at the Orchard party!  It was fun to get to eat them twice in the same week!  Stockton spent the last 2 months with early morning basketball practice so Mason was in the habit of waking early!  Fortunately for us he managed to sleep until 7:00 on Christmas morning! Sit on the stairs so mom can take your picture before you walk in and see your presents. Th...

Christmas Eve bowling with the Sproul family is such a fun tradition.  We play a few games in the arcades, eat a lot of mini corn dogs and fries, and have tons of fun together! Payson and Riza Salena and Douglas Elyse, Cameron and Aurora Jordan, Parker, Stockton, Wilson, Charity and a blurry Bridger Charity, Aurora, Sarah and Payson So glad it is FINALLY Christmas Eve so he can bowl!  

I know this is not a milestone anniversary but I have been thinking a lot about marriage the past few months and wanted to share a few thoughts. We spent the morning at the Orchard Christmas breakfast where this picture was taken. December 21st, 2013 The afternoon was spent doing a little bit of last minute Christmas shopping.  For some reason I just was not prepared this year.  That is one of the things we certainly did not think about when we decided to get married on the 21st of December.  It is tough to get away this time of year.  The kids are busy with school programs.  Life is busy with holiday parties.  It is such a big travel time that airfare is expensive making it hard to get away.  Anyway, back to the shopping. Typically we don't buy gifts but we were at Best Buy and impulsively walked away with a Ninja Blender! It wasn't one of those husband-unromantically-buys-an-appliance sort of thing.  I really wanted one and we were o...

This has become one of our holiday favorites!  We started the evening at Temple Square, just before dinner time.  The lights were glowing but it was not crowded yet.  Next, we walked to the City Creek shopping center and had some dinner at Chick-Fil-A.  Finally, we tromped to the Gallivan Center for ice skating. Coldwell Banker sponsors a family skate night instead of having office holiday parties and our family LOVES the idea.  Free skating, donuts and hot chocolate...the perfect recipe for family fun!  It was a bitter cold night, about 15 degrees, but we were bundled up and still managed to enjoy ourselves.  Mason held hands and even got to where he could skate by himself.  Russell showed us all up by skating backwards, something he learned from working at the Cyprus ice rink when he was a teenager! Mason got a chance to make sure Santa knew exactly what he wanted for Christmas.  A REAL  magic hat and wand so he coul...

It is hard to believe that we just celebrated Douglas' 18th birthday.  He's such a great kid (adult) and I am so blessed to be his "momma" as he likes to call me. Douglas braved the crowds Thanksgiving night to get a deal on his gift, an Ipad Mini.  The going rate on this device is $299 but Walmart had a $100 gift card that came with it which brought this guy right into our birthday price range.  Unfortunately, they ran out of stock and gave out rain checks to be shipped by Christmas.  So, while this is his actual gift, he did not have it for his birthday! We had fun going out to dinner as a family.  Douglas picked Famous Dave's but it was not an easy decision to come by.  The only thing he really knew was he wanted meat.  We take turns picking lunch on Saturdays and Douglas RARELY knows where he wants to go. For some reason it is hard for him to make up his mind. The birthday treat, however, was a no brainer!  This guy would eat Pean...