Competition

Syd performed with the Hunter High Silhouettes at her first drill competition yesterday. It was the Jordan High Invitational and there were schools there from all over the state from 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, and 5A divisions. I had been "warned" by other drill parents about what a different world it is, but didn't really understand until spending the day there. It's certainly different than when I was on drill team in high school.

These girls are so talented and it was so fun to watch them perform. Sydni did an incredible job (I'm not biased or anything) and I was so proud. The Silhouettes performed three numbers and took 4th in military, 7th in dance (got a big penalty for an illegal lift -darn), and 2nd in kick. Way to go girls! Now on to Clearfield competition, Region, and State!!!

They all wear matching makeup and it's pretty intense, but Syd is still beautiful!

This is at the beginning pose at the start of their kick routine.

All of the teams sit in circles on the floor waiting for awards. You can see in the background that Santa was there to give out awards.

Here are the awesome Silhouettes with their awards. Syd is on the bottom right end of the group. What a group of amazing beautiful girls!

Cookies With Grandma

Every year at Christmas time my mom invites the grandkids to her house to make sugar cookies. My kids look forward to it - even the teenagers. We had a great time and brought lots of cookies home; except for Britton who ate all of his before we even left her house.

25 Days of Service

Well, it's gonna be more like 20 days, because I've been a little slow, but I'm still excited. My good friend, Emily, got me a snowman advent calendar for Christmas this year, and gave it to me early so I could use it. I've been trying to decide what to put in each pocket to pick out each day. I didn't really want to put in candy; how do you decide which kid gets the piece and there are plenty of other treats this time of year. I finally decided to put a small act of service in each pocket. Each night, we will pull out the paper, read the act of service, and have the following day to complete that act. It is something each member of the family should be able to accomplish. For example, tomorrow's service is "Say hi to someone new." I am excited to hear from the girls each day on how they did and hope it will help them think less of themselves this holiday season.

Halloween

C'mon...is Britton not the cutest Tigger you've ever seen?

Emma's version of Paris Hilton.
You just thought Maddy was cute and innocent...

The Dirty Dash

To follow up our half-marathon, Stacie, Kristol, and I signed up to do "The Dirty Dash." It was advertised as a 10K mud-run, full of obstacles and fun - and it did not disappoint. It was held at the beautiful Soldier Hollow in Midway. We started by running up a small hill that had a giant sprinkler running on it so that there was lots of mud. After that we ran up a canyon right into a snow-making machine. Since it was warm, there wasno snow, but it was like running into a Hurricane. When we started coming back down the canyon there were humongous hay bales to jump over and big plastic tubes to crawl through. Next up were the walls with mud pits before and after.

The course then went out to the banks of DeerCreek reservoir where we ran through the black, swampy mud. Then we headed back to Soldier Hollow and up the hill to the top of a gigantic slip-n-slide, with lots of mud at the bottom.

Then it was on to the finish line. But to get to the finish line you had to crawl through a "pool" of muddy water.

It was one of the hardest races ever, and I definately didn't set any PR's, but it was the most fun I've had in a long time. I've got several large, lovely bruises on my legs, but it was worth every bump and scrape. Thanks, Kristol and Stacie - can't wait for next year!

13.1 Miles

A couple of months ago I decided to find a race so that I would have something to help motivate me to run more regularly. I was thinking of a 5K. A couple of days later my sis-in-law announces that she has signed up for a half-marathon and invites me to join her, along with one of my best friends. My initial reaction was "no way" but then I thought about it and decided to go for it. It was a lot farther than I had planned on runing, but I found a great training schedule and we got started. It was alotof hard work, but each week as our distance increased I felt better and better. My running partners were so wonderful and I couldn't have done it without them.

Two weeks ago was the day of the race and it was one of the most difficult things I've done, but also one of the most rewarding. My goal was to finish the race, running every step of the way. I wasn't very fast, but I did it! It's a great feeling to set a goal and accomplish it. And it was incredible to get near the end and seemy family there cheering me on!

Dawn, Stacie, me, and Kristol

All Together Again

Every time I've come to my blog to update, I get overwhelmed and just close it back up, so I'm just gonna move forward from here, and try to do better at keeping it updated. I don't even know if anybody is even reading this anymore...

To summarize the last few months, Sydni made the high school drill team, Kenzie made the junior high cheer squad, Emma graduated from elementary school and entered the Young Women program in our church, and Maddy and Britton keep gettingolder and cuter.

A couple of weeks ago my little brother returned from an LDS mission to Hawaii. To welcome him home, all of the Kidd siblings and their spouses andchildren were in town. It was wonderful to be all together again for a few days! I am blessed to be part of the greatest family ever!

My mom took advantage of the togetherness to get a new family picture taken - nothing fancy or formal, but we're all there. Aren't we a good-lookin' group? And since Britton was four months old the last time my little family had a picture done, we jumped in front of the camera for a little update. That's our new header, but we had to get some of just the kids since they're the cutest ones in the family.

Britton is 3 now, Maddy is 10, Emma is 12, Kenzie is 13, and Sydni is 15.

Walk Now For Autism Speaks

For years I have participated in the MS Walk, because a woman with MS inspired me as a teen to be a better, more positive person. Although I still believe it is a very worthy cause, a new cause has captured my heart and this year I will participate in the Autism Speaks walk on Saturday, May 1st. A year and a half ago my nephew was diagnosed with autism. Although it was difficult for my sister-in-law to hear, she didn't feel sorry for herself or her son. She jumped right in and began researching interventions and information to help Kampbell. Her dedication and advocacy for Kamp has inspired me to be a better mom and I walk to give back to her. So many families are affected by autism, but there are still so many who don't understand. I walk to raise awareness. And I walk to raise funds for research and programs for these many families. If you feel that you could support me, even a little, please visit here. If you don't want to pledge online, email me at bondngirls@comcast.net and I'll send you my address. If you live close enough, I'll come pick it up. I appreciate any help you can give!

Paying The Price

Ever since I became a mother, I have been recalling words of wisdom from my parents and realizing just how right they were. I am now remembering my dad urging me to put on sunscreen; to avoid so much time in the sun; to think about the possibility of skin cancer in the future. But at 14, 15, 16 do we ever realize the wisdom of our parents? I was invincible - I would never get skin cancer. Or if I did, it would be a quick snip to remove it and I would move on. The important thing was to have that gorgeous tan. So I would head outside on those sunny days, slather myself with baby oil, and end up with a sunburn (which would turn into a nice tan after a few days).

Several months ago, a new mole appeared just above my collarbone. It looked a little funny, and I considered having it checked out, but kept putting it off. Sydni kept requesting a visit to the dermatologist to get a couple of moles removed from her forehead, so I finally made an appointment for her and me. Once hers were removed, the doctor took a look at mine and informed me this wasn't any old mole; it was most likely basal cell carcinoma. He removed it and sent it in for a biopsy to be certain. Last Thursday I received the call that his suspicions had been confirmed. I had skin cancer.

Now, the form of skin cancer I have is not life-threatening and doesn't spread quickly, but it was still a little scary to hear those words from your doctor. We scheduled a procedure for this morning to have the skin and tissue around the area removed in case it had spread at all. All went well, but I am really hurting right now. I know that my little pain pales in comparison to what some I know are going through right now, but it is still my pain. I will have lots of help from my kiddos and hubby, but I'm going to have to take it easy for a few days. Those of you who know me well realize how difficult that in itself will be on me.

So, my plea to you is to wear sunscreen and make your kids wear it. Be aware of any new moles or changing ones. Take care of yourselves and your families. And kids - listen to your parents! They know what they're talking about!

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

I saw the best play last night - "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." If you live in the Salt Lake area, I highly recommend checking out this play. Don and I went with friends last night to see it and we all loved it. The script is great and the cast is wonderful. I laughed... I cried... but mostly I laughed a lot. It is put on by Pinnacle Acting Company. You can get more info about it here. Seriously - so great!

Cookies With Grandma

My mom does cookies with the grandkids each year for Christmas. This year we did it after Christmas so that my sister and neices could be here for it. The kids had so much fun and brought home alot of cookies. Even some of the adults got creative and made some fun cookies.

Christmas Day

Two weeks later...

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. I got up earlier than I wanted, but since it was to talk to my little brother from Hawaii, it was worth it. When I got home, the girls were awake and looking through their stockings. The rule is they can do that as soon as they wake up, but we do presents all together.

Don got up right after that and we headed to the tree to open presents. A few years ago we started doing "Something to play with, something you need, something to wear, something to read" for everyone. It has kept things simple and we love it. Britton really got into it and was fun to watch.

After presents, we do a big breakfast with special pancakes, strawberries and whipped cream, bacon, and sausage. Then I'm finished cooking for the day! We spent a very lazy day hanging out, playing games, snacking, and watching a movie. I even got a nap in. It's one of my favorite days of the year.

Christmas Eve

Yes, I realize that I'm behind, but I figured better late than never...

We have a wonderful family tradition of having a big dinner on Christmas Eve with my family followed by a program where we sing Christmas songs and read Christmas stories, including the original one in the New Testament.

Afterwards, we went home to participate in another Christmas Eve tradition; opening one present. Of course, it's always p.j.'s. Britton got so excited for his.

Gingerbread Houses

Okay, so they're not really gingerbread, but graham crackers count, right? This year I got ambitious and made royal icing, though, and it worked so much better. We had a great time being creative and laughing and sneaking candy. Britton was the best at that.

Here is our Christmas Village - Don's, Maddy's, Emma's, mine, Kenzie's, and Syd's. (Her decorating "bag" exploded all over her hands so she made a winter wonderland)