Nice Shot!

Last night was Katelyn's last soccer game of the season. Even though the last game was SUPPOSED TO have been May 19th.
But, one game got snowed/sleeted out.
And then another game got rained out.
And then the make-up game got called after 7 minutes due to lightening in the area.
And then another make up game got cancelled due to......you got it - RAIN.  Rain, rain, rain; that's been the story of our May this year.  (To compensate for all the LACK OF SNOW in January/February?)

I had my camera out and ready the whole game for all the action.  I had some problems with the delay between the time I pushed the button to take the picture (at the exact moment that something photo-worthy was happening) and the time the camera actually captured the picture (after the moment was over).  We need a better camera - or a better photographer - one of the two, or both!  ;)
I also encountered the problem of a certain coach (my husband!) who kept walking in front of the photographer (me) as he paced up and down the sidelines, coaching.
But, even in the face of these problems, I ended up with some nice shots of the coach.....OH!....uh, and of Katelyn - that's why we were there, right?!?  ;)

Here's a good shot of Katelyn's fashion "awareness."

Katelyn opts to NOT wear the [boring] red soccer socks that are provided as part of her uniform, and instead dons one of her many other, more exciting, pair of long socks for the games!

{Nice shot Exhibit #1}

Here's a shot of Katelyn's kicks off.

It didn't happen on this particular kick, but Katelyn has been known to actually score a [unintentional] goal on her kickoff; a perfect rainbow shot up and over all the heads of the opposing team, including the goalie's head, and dropping right into the back of the net!  No one was more surprised than Katelyn, herself, when that happened for she had only meant to kickoff!

{Nice Shot Exhibit #2}

Here's a shot of Katelyn dribbling.

It appears that a couple of players on the opposing team (white jerseys) are undecided about which direction they are currently going, one thinks north, the other thinks south.  ;)

{Nice Shot Exhibit #3}

Here's a shot of Katelyn's shot on goal

And she kicks and she......doesn't score (this time), 

but sent it right to the goalie.  Don't ya hate it when that happens!?!  :)

So, what d'ya say?  Do you think I got enough NICE SHOTS to keep my job as photographer?  ;)

This Weekend:

YES!  I am actually going to write a post that is not about Elder Brenchley!  ;)

THIS WEEKEND:
*Matt & I were in charge of our ward Christmas party this year.

It was on Friday night, the 12th.

But, I worked on getting it ready all day Friday.

And Thursday.

And Wednesday.

And the whole month before.

We had an awesome committee, though, who contributed a TON!

{Thanks Christensen's, Derrick's, Evans', Floyd's, Becky & Gina}

Some of the HIGHLIGHTS:

  ~"Neighborhood Trivia" was projected up on a movie screen up front as people arrived.

First, the "clue" would come up on the screen for people to read, and then a while later, the answer (person's name) would go up on the screen.
(THINK: movie theater before the movie starts.)

It was a great "mixer" to get people talking to start the party!
The ones from our family were:

This woman had a leg hair growing contest with a guy – and WON!

This person drove 140 m.p.h. in a blue Mustang GT – and lived to tell about it.

This [non-native Japanese] married couple both know how to speak Japanese. 

This person played on an ALL-GIRL baseball team (with pink uniforms) in a BOYS’ league.

This person has a purple belt in Karate.

This person cracked his head open doing a flip off the couch. 

This 6 YR. OLD likes to eat tomatoes, green peppers, avocado, cauliflower, & green salad! 

This missionary has now picked up the “Southern” patterns of speech. 

(Can you guess them all?!?)
~A "Green Screen" Photo Op

(THINK: weatherman on the news)

People literally just posed in front of a green screen......THEN......

it turned into THIS:

~Dinner with food from Mo' Bettah Steaks

I broke tradition and did away with the chili & soup (not my favorite) they'd done in the past!  I'm such a rebel!  But, that's one of the perks of being in charge!  

PLUS, this menu had the "gluten free" crowd in mind.

~Entertainment/Musical Program

{The Primary sang, "Stars Were Gleaming"}

Katelyn is 3rd from the left (fuchsia pants, turquoise vest).  Brookelle is 5th from the right (pink camo pants, navy shirt).

We also have this TREMENDOUSLY talented Sister Missionary serving in our area - she plays the ukelele, she sings, she plays the piano, she does it all together!
(Too bad [for us] she is returning home this week.)

She performed, "A Hallelujah Christmas."  Have you seen/heard this song?!!?

I've been watching/listening to it on YouTube ever since the party!
 

 You won't be able to get it out of your mind, I tell ya!

*On Saturday, we spent the whole day in bed recovering from the ward party.

HA!

NOT!

I WISH!

But, we had the Fowers Christmas party at our home that night.

We barely got all the dishes & small appliances from the night before washed up & returned, then started cleaning up our house before the people started to come!

{Scenes from the evening}

One of the highlights from the evening was when my Aunt Louise shared experiences

from her mission to Australia back in the late 60's and her news reporting career at KSL television.

(She started at age 22 and was the 1st and ONLY woman reporter at that time in the Salt Lake area!  She was just the 2nd woman in the nation to do it, and the ONLY woman on the air at that particular time.)

Many of the youngest generation did not know any of this family history, so it was great to have her share it!

She brought a few clips of her news stories she reported on from the past, too.  They were fun to watch!

She is also a talented musician, and we always gather around the piano and sing a Christmas song that she wrote, "Waiting for the Child."

She's written other songs, too.  You can see one of her pieces on YouTube here:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsWIvnQHEa8

and here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cZm8Ny0CoI

(That's my cousin singing the song!)

*On Sunday, we finally rested & recuperated all day.

(HA! again.....In my dreams)

Our darling niece, Megan, recently returned from her mission to Madrid, Spain on 12/9....

 YES!  I cried at the sight of the reunion between missionary & parents - THIS one AND strangers I don't even know!

 {COUSINS!}

Megan had her "Homecoming" (reported on her mission at church) on Sunday - at 9:00 in the morning!!

We got to attend that and hear her testimony (in Spanish - don't know what she said!) and her contagious enthusiasm for the Gospel!

We went to my brother's house afterwards for food and visiting and stayed well into the afternoon.

*We had Tithing Settlement with the Bishop later Sunday evening.

GOOD THING we discovered those missing checks so everything really could be "settled." ;)

*I realized I have 9 days to get ALL the Christmas stuff done, now!

THE LIST for this week started rolling through my mind at extraordinary speeds!

The Day of Awakening

You gotta get through 18 3/4 years of the [back breaking, heart aching, mind going crazy, blue-in-the-face] daily grind FIRST, but it finally comes.....it's the day when your child realizes AND admits JUST HOW GOOD HE HAS IT!  (and always has had it.)

We got this letter from our missionary son, Ryan, this week:

The letter was partially spurred on by him receiving some family photos we had taken before he left on his mission this summer.  They finally came back from the photographer, so I sent them to him in a little album:

We were kind of surprised to have our letter addressed to us in such a way, "My Eternal Forever Family" - such an upgrade from the usual, "The Brenchley's."  ;)

Then the content of the letter provided even bigger "revelations" to us:
"I am so grateful for what a great family I have!  The pics are just too precious!  Maybe it's the great color scheme or all our great smiles, but The Pictures just glows every time I look at it.  I took the album to church with me Sunday to show to some families and it got passed around to a couple of the other sisters in the ward.  Everyone who saw it was all, "Oh, what a Beautiful family you have!"  The other missionaries around the house were all commenting how much younger my family was.  (They're just jealous because their family grew up and isn't as cute as my family!)  I love you all so much.  You are all one of the main reasons I'm serving a mission.  I KNOW the happiness I have knowing my family can be together forever and I want nothing more than to share this message with others, and have them have the same Happiness I have!  I Love You all so much!"

(I think I want him to stay with this current group of missionaries who refer to us as the "YOUNG" family amongst the group!  ;)  In fact, when Ryan was telling his companion that his parents went on a 20th anniversary cruise, his companion pointed out that he's older than Ryan's parent's marriage!  His companion was born a few months before we were married....and he's the 4th child in his family to give ya an idea of the age difference in their parents!)


So, basically, now Ryan thinks we really are great!
(That's why we send them away!)  ;)
One child down, four to go!

When Your Camera is Smarter than You Are

After Ryan's missionary setting apart blessing, we wanted to take a family picture, so we set the camera up on "Auto" while we all posed together.

Here is that photo:

Then Matt proceeded to return to where we had set up the camera to take a look at how it turned out.  And while he was walking there:

SURPRISE!!!  The camera flashed & took another picture.

So, Matt was like, "What the heck?" and started examining the camera (while still on it's original picture taking perch) and....

FLASH!  The camera goes off again!

At this point, Kyle thinks Matt needs some younger generation "help" (read: mocking) and starts heading over to him, when....

It happens AGAIN!

Everyone is now confused AND amused - and half of them take off to investigate (rather than stay in the right position to get our picture taken - like ME!) and then we discover....

The camera IS NOT DONE, yet!

(Notice Haylee's jeans showing under her skirt?  I told her to dress up [her least favorite thing] for the setting apart, and I didn't notice until AFTERWARDS that she'd pulled THAT stunt!)

So, now everyone (except me, who just wanted our family to pose for a picture in front of the fireplace - dang it!) wants to run to the camera's rescue - since Matt still hasn't been able to stop the possessed thing - but Kyle can't allow his sisters to beat him there, so he.....

....gets caught on CAMERA being a bully!

By, this time everyone is going, "What the.....?" and I'm hoping they can all just get back into position for a family picture!!

 When the camera goes off for the 7th time!

 Then the 8th time!

(I'm still in position)

 And the 9th time!

(I'm still in the right place.)

And, finally, the 10th (& last) time.

APPARENTLY, our camera has a function where it will "AUTO" TAKE 10 PHOTOS IN A ROW (if you push the button for THAT option, which Matt [unknowingly] did), so you don't have to keep walking back to it!  WHO KNEW?!!?  OBVIOUSLY, NOT US!

After the camera was done with it's theatrics, I managed to get The Brood lined up again and got a "planned" family picture - to appease Mom.  ;)

(Don't ask me what Miss B is doing....?)

What Goes on Behind Playroom Doors.....Shows Up on the Blog!

No Wonder Brookelle wanted a "boy barbie" for her birthday.....

 

Apparently, there's SO MANY girls.....

....who are available to date him.....

......and welcome his affection!

The odds are definitely in Ken's favor - it's about 8:1!

{All photos [& posing] courtesy of Miss B herself}

We never know what "surprises" will show up on our camera!  ;)

At least the barbies are dressed these days.

Picture This: True Joy

It's no secret that sometimes we look TERRIBLE in pictures!  Just outright terrible.
(It's just that most the time, I choose to never let them make it on this blog, social media, or into my scrapbook!)

There are times when our smile just does not look good.  It's forced.  It's dumb.  It's half-hearted.  There's no reason to smile.

It might have been because we were NOT in the mood to get our photo taken.
We were tired.
We were mad at someone.
We were not excited.
We were frustrated with the photographer and had just uttered, through clenched teeth, "Just hurry and take the *&%$# picture!" - and at that very moment, they DID!

We were trying too hard.


We just weren't feelin' it!

CASE IN POINT:

Here's a few of MY less-than-stellar moments caught on "film" - or how do I say that now?  Caught in the digital world?

And Matt's had a few doozies, too:

Just trying to 'Keep it Real.'

It happens even when we're together in a photo:

(They're just NOT that cute of us AT ALL!)

AND.....we see it in our teenagers, too!

It was practically like pulling eye teeth to get Ryan to show some love to the camera when he was getting his Senior pictures taken a couple weeks ago.

His "enthusiasm" about this experience is evidenced by his scrunched up forehead,

 the look in his eyes that communicates, "My mom has such stupid ideas!",

 his refusal to smile, but instead opted to stare down the photographer,

and his "forced smile.....that borders on gnashing his teeth.

(My sweet friend/photographer was VERY patient with him!)

BUT.....then in stark contrast......check out these pictures from the evening Ryan opened his mission call.  

This event was a much anticipated, much welcomed, very blessed & joyful time in our lives.

 (with his cousin, Tayler)

 (with the "old neighborhood kids" - they first met when they were 4 & 5 years old!)

 (no cringing, no lopsided, wacky stuff, no perturbed looks - EXCEPT for Bob Marley on the T-shirt, that is!)

I specifically remember when the picture was being taken, thinking, "I don't even have to TRY to smile for this, I just can't hold it back!

 (Is that a GLISTEN in my eye?  Do we have the Orbit gum commercial sparkle-on-the-teethy-smile going on?)   

As exciting as it was to find out where & when he will be going, the fact that he is willing, and able, and worthy to go.....THAT is what is causing our bona fide smiles!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE it makes in your pictures (see photos at the beginning of this post for comparisons!) when you're genuinely feeling true joy - THE PROOF IS [definitely] IN THE PHOTOS!

This Weekend:

* Our elementary school aged children invited us to go with them to the annual V. I. P. breakfast at their school.

We "dined" on muffins, bagels, cold cereal, & fruit.

* Matt met me at the Bountiful Temple Friday late afternoon to attend

a session together.

It was nice to be there with him again - due to our schedules,

I have just been going single a lot lately.

* When we came out of the temple, it was pouring rain!

Uh Oh.  Ryan was umpiring at the ball park, and 

the plan was for us to drop him off a car to have

when he got done with his games later in the evening.

The rain forced them to call the games early, and

he was stuck in the rain without a car.

* Matt & I finished our date night by going out to dinner at our "standby", Costa Vida, afterwards.
{It's so convenient now that we have one RIGHT IN Farmington!}

* Saturday morning, my friend/photographer came out to take

Ryan's Sr. pictures.....BUT, it was raining still!

And it was MORNING! = he was NOT a happy camper!

After an hour or so, we called it good and rescheduled

for when it's suppose to be a lot better weather.

(But, then he got to go to work - refereeing soccer IN THE RAIN for 3 hrs!)

* I went to a bridal shower brunch for our Bishop's daughter.

It was really fun visiting with the ladies in attendance and the bride & groom-to-be.

This girl really "has it together" and it was sweet to hear her fiance talk about how amazing she is.

In fact, he told the story about how he's had this certain conversation with her a few times now, asking her: 

Tell me what I even have to bring to the table?  I know I'm good looking, ;) but YOU....

you've already got all these accomplishments, talent, brains, skills, & a whole list of attributes. 

(That's GOOD he's starting out with the proper adulation for the most important woman in his life!) 

Anyway, after his comment, one of the more "mature" ladies there gave a sermon reminded

them that it is Heavenly Father's PLAN for men & women to marry and have their own family!

{THAT'S WHY he's needed}

* In the afternoon, I actually started hanging up pictures and decorations
on the walls of my "new" [20 month old] home!
I finally committed and put holes in my walls - some in the wrong place and had to do over!  {sigh}

* Went to the store and then picked up Little Caesars pizzas on the
way back for dinner.
It's Saturday night, and we are trying to follow Matt's tradition
of his youth: always having pizza on Saturday night.
(Gluten-Free Haylee eats an alternative meal}

* It was our Stake Conference weekend, so we went to the Saturday
evening session, and took Ryan & Kyle since the youth were
invited this time to what is the usual "adult" session.
We had some great speakers including one who told the story of how he
 invited a gang member, in a colorful Sacramento area, to church,
then invited him to hear the missionary discussions, then invited him to be baptized!!
He accepted it all, and actually had to get the FBI involved; be relocated and get a new identity.  WOW!
Afterwards, the parents of Ryan's future prom date approached us and we met & visited with them.

* We went to Roxberry afterwards for smoothies with Kyle (Ryan left the conference early to go "crash" another High School's prom.  It's dumb, I think).
{and then I was CHILLED and couldn't wait to get home in my warm jammies & bed!}

* We got up pretty early on Sunday morning so we could leave
our home at 8:30 a.m. (all church-dress-ready) to drive out to the Conference Center
 in Salt Lake City for our Stake/Regional Conference.

It ended up we got there PLENTY early (in our seats 47 min. before it started),
but it was good, because I like to have a good seat, close & center, so I can SEE!
We didn't know beforehand who would be speaking, but we got to hear gospel messages from
several general authorities & officers of the church, including Elder Neil L. Andersen and his wife - which was really special.
Especially because usually children under the age of 8 are not allowed into events at the Conference Center,
(frequently these live events are being filmed/recorded, so they can't have too much noise)
so it was a real treat for Brookelle & Katelyn to be able to go this time - they'd never been, yet!

* We had my cousin and her family of 6 over for Sunday dinner.
She has three daughters who match up in age with my three girls,
so they got to officially meet and hang out for the first time.
They actually live quite close, but we'd never gotten together.
They are a delightful family.  And we got to pull out our high chair again for their baby!  :)
When it was time for them to go, the girls were hugging and begging
to have them stay, asking when they could be with them again!
And, of course, they tried to pull the "stowaway" trick in their minivan.
We hope to see them some more.

* We wanted to go on a walk in the evening to assist the digestion
of our turkey dinner & brownie sundaes, BUT it started to rain again!
Aaugh!
So, we just stayed inside and put our computers, TVs, & electronics to use.
(That wasn't a wise trade off! hahaha.)