Lax Activities in Vegas

Though we came to Vegas to play LAX, the Bingham coaches & parents put together other bonding activities throughout the weekend.  They went hot tubing, played games, had picnics, dinners, movie nights in the hotel conference room, drew temporary tattoos on each other with their #'s, ate lots of junk food, and took/posted lots of pictures of each other. 

And as parents, it was fun for us to be able to just hang out and bond with these 2 for the many hours of driving we did together. 

Their JV Head Coach arranged for those who wanted,  to go perform 'baptisms for the dead'  (www.mormon.org/faq/baptism-for-the-dead)   in the Las Vegas Temple following their last game.  These girls were tired, but many of them came.  It was a special opportunity for their coach Ray to baptize them one by one.  Seven of the 14 players on this team are also Young Women in our Stake, and I was grateful to be there in the temple with them and wrap them up with a dry towel when they completed this sacred ordinance for those who have passed on.  

Aubs & Kay - Love these girls!

We Will Miss Katie

Katie is my older sisters oldest daughter.  She and her brother Nathan have been up at BYU this year, but now Katie is leaving on a mission to Puerto Rico for the next 18 months. She came to visit one more time before she leaves.

We visited Temple Square and enjoyed the views from the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and the Church Office Building.

Can't believe how grown up she is.  I remember holding her after she was born.

We will miss her serenading us on the piano.

The two of us were able to spend a morning together in the Jordan River Temple.

Aubrey surprised her with flowers

Brenna is sad to see hoer go, but promises to be a great missionary writer.

My final pic with this special girl.  She will be an amazing missionary.  God be with you 'til we meet again!

Come unto Christ

Our theme for the youth of the church this year is found in Moroni chapter 10 verse 32.  It reads,  "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and is ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind, and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfected in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God".

Each week, for the first few months of the year, I get to teach about this theme to young women ages 12-18 that live in our area  It is something I look forward to all week.  There is nothing better than being with these girls, discussing how we can and do 'Come Unto Christ' and sharing testimony of ways we have recognized the hand of the Lord in our individual lives.  As I came into the church today, one of the young women had drawn this on the board.  It warmed my heart and I know that as we 'Come unto Christ'  by learning of Him and striving to be more like him, we will have His spirit to be with us and will be filled with His love and have true joy in this life.

True Wildcat Fan

Robert has been looking forward to the Utah vs. University of Arizona Basketball game for months.  He had gotten tickets with our lawyer, and U of A alum friend to attend, and Aubs was super bummed she couldn't go.  But on game day, one of Robert's employees came into his office with some super sweet tickets for that night. 

Aubrey was in luck.  Prayers are answered, even when you least expect it.  She and I had already committed to participate in a Young Women's New Beginnings that night (my Noelle Pikus-Pace night), but as soon as we were done, we headed straight for 'the hill'.  

Ends up we were in the 15th row, pretty good seats for Aubs to get a good view of her favorite U of A guy, Aaron Gordon, and I had a good view of Robert in our same section.

Aubrey takes after her Dad a lot when it comes to sports.  She is passionate, plays hard, and wants to win...always!  This was a close game with a few questionable calls by the refs, and I'll just say that neither Aubrey nor Robert were making friends with the Utah season tickets holders seated around them.  The game went into overtime and our Wildcat family was going crazy (okay so 2 of  them were).  U of A ended up winning the game in overtime and it was a long walk out of the stadium for those Ute fans as Aubrey continued to cheer let her team spirit show.  This girl was born while we were students at U of A, and she is a true Wildcat at heart.  Grrrrrr.

Off Track Fun

It's cold and rainy outside, so we were looking for some indoor fun today.

Found it at the Scheel's Ferris Wheel

You have to zoom in to see them - it's a super high Ferris Wheel.  I think the girls could ride this thing all day. 

Laser Tag Night

We took the fam and a friend we love to claim as ours, out laser tagging.

Can you see how into it Emily is?

She was serious.  Our green team didn't fair too well in the standings, but we felt good about holding our own and protecting our mother ship.

Annual Valentine's Party

Tonight was the annual Valentine's Party we attend with our friends.  My friend Mel always plans the cutest games, activities, party favors, and food.  How did I not get a picture of cute food before I ate it!

Here we are playing a candy hearts stacking game

It's hard to  believe we may only heave one more Valentine's Day Party with our Aubs with us.  Not quite ready to think about that yet.

This year included some cool invisible ink pens that allowed the kids to leave all sorts of funny messages on their sisters faces and arms.

This truly is our favorite Valentine's tradition and we LOVE being able to hang out with our friends and family!   Love you Mel!

Sweethearts Dance

                                                           Aubrey - Ready for the dance!

             She went with her friend Nick and they had a fun time together.  (I love the bow tie) Tonight I felt                       grateful for all of the Mom's out there raising these kind young men to date our daughters.