Silver Bracket First place winners!!!

Kiley had volleyball regionals last Saturday. They played a total of 8 matches (3 sets in a match!)
The girls really played as a team and made good passes and good serves and most of all I think they had a really good time. We left the house about 6:45 am and got home at 5:30 pm so it was a looong day. Malerie and I were more tired then Kiley when it was all over, I think maybe the adrenaline and stress from watching!! It was a great season, but were glad it's over. One less
thing to shuffle off to!

A little celebratory ice cream!!

Ball, Ball and more Ball

Braydon made the school softball team again this year! Our school has an amazing coach that the boys just love and he has made it a positive experience. The team is a really good, fun group of boys and they all get along great and play well as a team. I love it because practices are right after school, he just jumps the fence when he's done. There is only one game a week and it's early. I love the school support and spirit, it's been a really good experience for him. Not to mention he just looks so good looking in a uniform!

He also wanted to try out and play Majors this year with the league. He made the Cardinals team and again lucked out in the coach department. The last 3 weeks of softball he has had double practices, a few double games and ball everyday of the week! I am exhausted driving and being gone all the time, I can only imagine how tired he is, but he doesn't seem to mind!

The Oakwood Softball team took first place on Wednesday (I think in the District?) and so that's one less thing for us to shuffle! Way to go boys!!

Semi annual Conference camping trip

We look forward to this trip every Fall/Spring. Its an opportunity for us to take a break from the daily grind, be together as a family with our closest friends in nature and listen to our beloved Prophet and other church leaders feed us and uplift us spiritually. Every trip is a new adventure as far as weather, new friends joining us, locations but the one constant is we always have an awesome time!!

This year we went back to our favorite Stoneman Lake spot. We got there Friday afternoon and it was WINDY and FREEZING!!! After we set up and started getting dinner ready it started snowing, and it was so windy we couldn't have a big fire. So early to bed for everyone, praying for better weather for Saturday.

I love watching all of our kids pal around, being silly and having a great time together. I look forward to them being friends for a long time and sharing MANY fun memories together. Saturday the boys had a great game of stick ("log") ball going it was pretty entertaining. That afternoon after conference we did some serious skeet shooting, I would have given anything for a video camera to record the most talented and graceful throwing talents of Eric!! Sunday Eric took the kids to the big meadow across the road and had almost all of the kids playing a killer game of stick ball. As always the weekend flies by way to fast and its time to clean up and go home, UUGHH! Which means LOADS of laundry, putting everything away and cleaning the trailer but it's still worth it!

We did our usual card games, ate lots of good food including our big group dinner and dessert Saturday night.

I love you long time!!

A month ago today (March 23rd) we celebrated our 13th anniversary! Lucky thirteen! So I just want to give a shout out to the man I get to spend the rest of my life with. I LOVE YOU long time!! There is no doubt, I definitely got the better end of the deal. A hard worker, EXCEPTIONAL father that has the patience of a saint thank goodness, motivated (not bad looking either) icoud go on and on but I will spare you the public humiliation! I'm looking forward to the years ahead, with you and our family.

Sucker!!

WAAAY back in March, Malerie had been playing at her friends house who had happened to have just gotten two baby ducklings. Of course these little girls were completely smitten with these cute little babies! After I picked Mal up it's all I heard about along with her begging and pleading for her own ducklings. I yold her absolutely NOT! They are not "pets" they are messy, and so on. She was relentless! Knowing that there was no way on earth Eric would ever say yes to such a ludicrous idea I deferred her to her dad to put an end to it! Later that night MAlerie said in her cutest most innocent voice ever I need to ask you something, she dragged him down to his office made him shut the door so her nosey older siblings couldn't hear and then she typed the question on his phone!! A few minutes later she comes blazing up the stairs, "dad said YES!!!!" He WHAT?? He said yes. Eric comes up the stairs next with a sheepish grin on his face, "why say no, when you can say yes"! Why on earth would you agree to ducks?

It being Spring Break and all the next day I packed 5 kids to the feed store (Kiley, Malerie, Keaton, Sophia and Cambell). It's always an adventure at Pratts. We checked out all the animals and the kids took their time watching all the ducks and picking out which 2 they wanted. Next to the pen of ducks and chicks was bunnies. "Why say no when you can say yes" so we picked us up one of those also!! The kids could not wait to get them home and play with them, and I have to admit they are pretty cute. The best was watching Malerie mother these baby ducks. They followed the kids every where they went as fast as their little webbed feet would take them!

PLEASE vote!!

Officer Bill Weigt is a good friend of mine from high school. Back in 2005 he was shot when responding to a robbery call and is now paralyzed from the waist down. Bill now works as a detective for Peoria in the robbery department I believe? He was nominated for the Americas Most Wanted All Star award!! Please go to www.AMW.com and vote for him! You can vote every day until May 4th and it is really easy (you don't have to register or anything!). It would be so cool to see him win. Im sure all the officers that have been nominated are equally as deserving but we have to support our home town heroes!!

Let it Rain, Let it Pour!

I thoroughly enjoy watching my kids play sports. Today was going to be a busy game filled day, but thanks to the pouring rain we get to enjoy a chill, kick back day at home together which is alright with me!! Comfy clothes, comfort food, coloring some Easter eggs and watching movies! It doesn't get better than that and bonus we get some MUCH needed rain!!

Happy Easter

The Life of a Volleyball Player

Kiley has had the opportunity to play Club Volleyball this year and it has been quite an experience. All good of course! MY favorite part has been seeing her tiny little heiney in her loose xxs spandex. She is a little vertically challenged but she makes up for it in spirit. Kiley has had a great time learning the game, making new friends,being a part of a team (the kids got spirit). It has been great as a parent to watch her cheer her team mates on and offer words of encouragement and just have over all good sportmanship! They don't forwarn you of the daunting task of being a volleyball mom. Double practices a week, ALL DAY tournaments all over creation leaving before the crack of dawn, food patrol for the tournaments and thelist goes on, BUT surprisingly I have enjoyed it as mmuch as she has!I am one of those parents who is a big believer in the idea that at this age and this level sports should be fun, and a learning experience (It is NOT the Olympics for Pete's Sake) but I would be lying if I denied getting a little intense watching their matches. I'm sure my blood pressure totally goes up a few points!! A little competition is healthy right, and I have yet to be thrown out for being disorderly! jk
I am thankful she has had this experience and has enjoyed it so much and look forward to many more years of watching my kiddos play sports!

Vegas Baby!!

February 4th 2009

Eric and I have not been to Vegas since I was VERY pregnant with Kiley, so when we were invited to go with our good friends I got pretty excited! A weekend away with my man and NO kids, sign me up!! The Pottles booked us a couple of rooms at The Venetian (very nice),
after checking in we met up with them and headed to a Brazilian restaurant down the strip. It was fantastic and we ate way to much but it's all good cause Im pretty sure we walked it off! Personally not a huge fan of the strip itself, something about drunk, crazy people everywhere just doesn't do anything for me! The next morning the guys headed out early for the WORLD OF CONCRETE. Charlotte and I were sooo disappointed to miss it but unfortunately we had appointments at the Spa that we could not get out of. I can honestly say that I have been ruined for life, there is no going back after being pampered like that. (THANKS a lot Charlotte!!) We had hot rock massages and I was thinking for a while somehow I died and went to heaven at some point laying on that massage table. It was 80 minutes of pure bliss.

Then we had a little bite to eat and it. Charlotte had another service scheduled so I headed in to enjoy the steam room, spa etc and just RELAX! Then we met up again for pedicures. It was tough leaving but we were really getting hungry so in our sexy little foam flip flops, and no make up we walked around the shops at the Venetian found some really yummy food and just enjoyed talking in a state of total relaxation and BLISS. Later on that evening after cleaning up the four of us went to Maggianos and stuffed our faces. The food was so stinking good we didn't even care how many obscene calories we consumed. Then it was off to see Cirque Du Solei's KA. Front row seats, talk about royal treatment. The show was amazing, I don't know what else to even say about it. The acrobatics, the special effects, the costumes and makeup, the music was unlike anything we (Eric and I) had seen. It was an AWESOME day.

Friday after a nice breakfast together, the guys headed back to the World of Concrete for a few hours while Charlotte and I hit the shops. It was so nice to be able to just hang out and talk with no distractions, quality girl talk! That evening we grabbed some dinner and headed over to the Bellagio for another show. After the first Cirque du Solei show, we were even more excited to see O and we were NOT disappointed.
It is definitely my favorite and I cannot wait to bring the kids back to see it, they will flip!! The water effects were phenomenol!The four of us got some Gellato and had a good time chatting and laughing before we headed back to crash. It was such a fun filled weekend and we were so thankful for the opportunity to go with good friends.

Survival Mode

To say it's been a while since I blogged may be a wee bit of an understatement! I have truly been in survival mode for months now, tired, unmotivated and unexcited about life. Thankfully I have FINALLY decided enough is enough. I am to feisty and stubborn to be held down for long, so I am back and it feels pretty darn good!! The crappy part is I have a lot of catching up to do on the blog, it's been a BUSY couple of months and promises only to get more busy in the next couple.

WARNING: An obscene amount of make up blogging to follow!!!