Cheer Competition in Cali!

  What is better than a cheer competition in Long Beach when it is snowing in Logan.... Not much!  We had the chance to head to Cali for 5 days for Abby's cheer nationals.  It was such a welcome short break to have a little sunshine and warm weather.  We got to Long Beach on Friday and it was beautiful, sunny and very warm.  Ahhhhh, finally.  We walked down to the pier, and went to the aquarium, it was a fun afternoon ~ then we ended with dinner at PF Chang's.

High Point Allstar Cheer Squad

 Saturday and Sunday they had to compete, but we were still able to get in some sunshine.  It was such a great opportunity to get to know all of the other cheer moms a little better.  Brad came with us....and he was the only dad that actually came with the team.  One other dad was in Cali and met up with the team for competitions and another came with the whole family, but you heard it right only 3 dads total.  What a great sport Brad is!  He put up with a whole bunch of women/girls for 5 days and never even complained.  We kept joking that he was our polygamist husband, haha. :)  The girls/team did great at their performances.  They hit the routine perfectly, all of their stunts and looked so clean!  I was very proud of them.

Unfortunately, the competition was huge and they were up against many large cheer squads.  They took 5th, but they would have gotten much higher at a regular competition here in Utah.  Great Job Girls!!

Monday we spent the whole day at Disney/California Adventure.  From dawn to midnight!  We walked, and walked, and walked....but it was such a great day.  We rode all of the rides that we wanted to in both parks and never really had to wait too long in lines ~ especially since we got fast passes to the most popular ones. 

 All in all it was just a great 5 days away from home, enjoying the sun, good friends and fun! 

Disney!

Feeding the Lorkeets nectar

Abby, Addison, and Hallie at the aquarium

Ali and Abby's dinner!

Ra-Ra-Ra!

 Here she is! Our little (or actually not so little anymore) Cheerleader...  This year Abby decided to compete in cheer rather than tumbling.  Brad and I had already decided that once she decided she wanted to do something else that would be okay, we would let her.  But it really isn't that easy - Abby is an amazing tumbler! But that has also helped her out with her cheer skills and her stunting.  Although she has been busy, she has continued to go to tumbling practice for most of the year also, that puts her in the gym for 2.5 to 3 hrs 4-5 nights a week. And if you ask me, that is dedication.  It has been very fun to watch her learn new skills and enjoy the cheerleading.  She has a competition coming up in a few days here in Logan and she will be performing a solo/individual routine in that competition.  Then on the 1st of April the whole High Point Cheer team will board a flight to Long Beach California for a National Competition out there.  Abby is super dedicated and she puts herself out there 100% when she decides that she wants to do something.  Great Job Abby and Good Luck in your upcoming competitions.

This that and the other...

Guess it is time that I update the blog. My intentions are always good, but my time is what seems to get away from me! Life around the Larson Home has been pretty fast paced as of late.  It seems that the days are going by very quickly, which in the sense of seasons is very good news.  :)  Brad was out of town for about a week to an Orthopaedic convention in San Diego.  I decided to stay home and hold down the fort since it was Tim's first Ortho meeting and they could room together and hang out together... if I had gone, I would have just felt like a third wheel anyway (really, who wants to be a third wheel?).  Well, Brad always has the BEST timing!  It snowed 10 inches TWO times while he was gone!  Thank goodness for great help.  The first time was on a Wednesday night and I had just gone down to pick Abby up from cheer practice. It was seriously like an ice rink and I could not get up my driveway. We ended up leaving the car on the road for 1 1/2 hrs while we cleared just enough room for the car to make it up to the garage ~ in a BLIZZARD blowing SIDEWAYS! (Thanks Ab for your help, You rock!) Then I called my nephew, Taylor, and basically told him that he would be my hero if he would clear the rest of the driveway and steps while I was at work the next day! Voila! He did. Thanks Taylor.  Then on Sunday ~ same thing.... 10 inches.  This time my son-in-law, Doug, came over and was ever so kind to dig us out! Thanks Doug! We owe you big time.  And...since Brad has been home it has snowed another 10 inches, I mean come on!!  So, as far as the time flying by, let it fly, until we get to Spring and Summer.

I have been working a lot because we had a nurse move and we haven't quite gotten her replaced yet.  It really takes up quite a bit of my time.  It is taking Abby some getting used to it also, about the time she gets used to it I will be back around more ~ it is a never winning battle of change around here. ;)  But she sure is  good to roll with it.

Abby has been very busy with her cheer and tumbling practices.  She had a cheer competition last month and was suppose to have one last Saturday, but it got cancelled because of the..... you guessed it SNOW! That was a bummer for her and the team, because they work so hard to practice and get ready.  Abby was actually going to do a Solo competition Cheer/Tumbling routine, but now she will do it at the competition in March.  It will be fun to watch her.  I am going to do a separate post of her cheer pics.

Tanton has now been in Spain for about 6 weeks.  He is absolutely loving it! He had his first official transfer (because he got there in the middle of a transfer) and now he is settled in with his companion a "native" that speaks minimal English on the coast ~ Vigo, Spain until their next transfer.  He always sounds so happy and optimistic in his letters and e-mails home.  That makes me very happy.  I am extremely proud of him.  You can always stay updated on how he is doing by checking into his blog where I post his weekly e-mail: elderjeppson.blogspot.com -- and yes, I do a much better job at keeping his blog up to date than I do at keeping my blog up to date ~ priorities, priorities.

I also had an amazing friend pass away unexpectedly about 10 days ago.  She was an incredible lady.  Our sons played hockey together, and she asked me early on, when Tanton was entering his freshman year, to be her co-trustee of the Sky View Hockey Team.  I said "yes", and the rest is history.  We became very good friends and worked extremely close over the next four years.  I learned so much from her.  I admired her.  About 18 months ago she found out she had leukemia.  She fought it.  She had chemo treatments, she was tough.  She won. Her cancer was in remission but her immune system was low and she got pneumonia.  I had no idea she was ill until I heard that she passed away in her sleep, from pneumonia after beating cancer!  I will miss her dearly, she will always hold a very special place in my heart and in my thoughts.  She was a true woman of grace.  I Love you Sheri!!

Relief....at last!

SPAIN ~ FINALLY!! A week ago Wednesday I received a very unexpected phone call, it lasted exactly 5 minutes.  It was Tanton! He was calling from the MTC to tell me that his visa had finally arrived and he would be traveling to Spain on Friday.  First of all, it was so awesome to hear his voice! He sounded so good, so happy and so ready to get to Spain.  After we hung up I could not stop smiling.  My insides were ready to burst.  I am so excited and so ready for Tanton to be in Spain and begin what he has been planning and preparing for.  There was also this huge relief, almost like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.  I didn't realize how much I was worrying about his visa and all of the uncertainties that went along with it not arriving.  If they were to re-assign him, where would he go? How long would he be there? Would his visa ever arrive?  It was also a huge relief to have him get to Spain and be so far away that it wasn't constantly on my mind that he was only 2 hrs away! 

On Friday he called from the airport and we were able to visit for a little while.  Once again, he sounded so good.  Just like my son, his funny little personality that I just love. :) He traveled with 5 other missionaries from the MTC to Madrid, Spain.  

Elder Jeppson with Brother and Sister Earl. President of the Madrid MTC

Once they arrived in Spain they spent 4 days in the Madrid MTC.  On Tuesday ~ the day before they were all sent out into the field ~ Eight of the new missionaries got on the Metro and went into Madrid city and were able to go sight seeing and checking it out.  It sounds like it was a great experience for them.  

Wednesday they were all assigned areas ~ the missionaries that were there to go to the Barcelona and Malaga missions left, and the others were put with companions to begin their journey. Tanton was assigned to be companions with an Elder Driggs, he is an AP (assistant to the President), so he is starting out with the "cream of the crop." 

It is so good to have him in Spain, safe and sound.  The relief and joy I feel at the same time has overwhelmed me.  I am so excited for this part of Tanton's journey to begin.  It will definitely be a very difficult mission (all those Catholics), but I feel confident that it will be the two best years of his life so far.  I am so grateful for such a wonderful son, and a loving Heavenly Father!  Life is good!