Sixteen candles . . . make a lovely light

Our oldest child turned sixteen years old this week! What a beautiful girl she is and we're so pleased with the young woman she is turning out to be!  For fun, she went with Annette and Miranda on Saturday out to lunch and to their favorite haunt, the Antique Mall -- which suits the three of them just perfectly!  On Monday night, we had one of her favorite dinners and opened some presents.  One of which recalled her younger days (wasn't that just yesterday?) and brought lots of laughs . . .

You should hear the song it plays!  It is not a PowerPuff Girl song.
It is very funny!

 We also got her some clothes and a leather-bound journal and I made her this lunch bag with her favorite personal Chinese character on it.  She was amazed I could do such a thing -- which made it totally worth it.  It was a fun night.

Mariah and I had our last basketball game this week, and we would just like to personally thank you for all your prayers in our behalf, because . . . WE WON!!  Not only did we win, but it was 20 to 8.  We couldn't even press in the last four minutes!  We hardly knew what to do with ourselves.  After the game, the team all mobbed each other in a huge team hug and jumped up and down chanting "We won!  We won!  We won!"  I don't know.  It kind of made all those losses worth it.  It made the win all the more sweet!  Mariah played a great game as always and scored six points. 

As for me, it's been an interesting experiment to be a basketball coach in a league that keeps score.  I'm really glad I did it.  It's given me a new experience and a new skill to pursue in a life that is sometimes limited in those types of opportunities.  It was a challenge.  I loved it and wished I was better at it.  Isn't it funny how we really don't like to do things we're bad at, but the only way to have things we're good at (and thus have lots of options of things we like to do) is to do the things we're bad at over and over?  God is tricky that way.  Humility built in to the skill -- if we just remember the beginning days -- and if we ever do get any better!  Anyway, Go Team!  It's been a great ride!

I have so many pictures this week, it is blowing my mind!

We also had Valentine's Day this week.  Kevin gave me roses.  He is so sweet.  Calianne (my holiday girl) has had her Valentines written for a whole week beforehand.  It would have been even sooner, but I talked her out of it a couple of times.  Cali and Chey had a great time at their school parties and came home with loads of candy.  Mariah's class got to go see the musical, "The Secret Garden" (one of my favorites!) over at UVU.  They had a great time, too.  I'm thinking junior high and high school Valentine days are not nearly so much fun.

Although, I did braid Megan's hair into a heart for her!
That's kind of fun!

And I shaped our dinner hamburgers in the shape of a heart.
Sarah even took a picture, so it must have been fun, too!
We had cheesecake afterward.

On Friday, we packed up the van and took the whole family down to Las Vegas to see some shows and do some gambling!  Ha, ha!  As if!  We did something way better in Las Vegas because my family lives there!  On the way down, we got to stop at my sister's in Cedar City and she even made us a yummy dinner!  After we literally tore the cousins apart, we made it all the way to LV and to Grandma and Grandpa's house!  Yay!  More hugging and joy! 

Saturday morning, my dad filled a life-long dream for Sarah and took her shooting out in the desert with Kevin, Megan, and Mariah. 

 After lunch, we did go see a show in a casino near the strip -- it just happened to be free and starring my niece and nephew, Samantha and Jack Elton as they competed in their high school improv group. It was great fun. We also got to meet our new little niece while we were there, Hannah Pauline Rich. She is adorable.

After that, we all descended upon a park in Las Vegas. My brother Pete's family came and my sister Amy's family and my sister Diane's family and, of course, Grandma and Grandpa. It was great fun.
 

On Sunday, we went to church in Pete's ward and then we had a wonderful dinner back at Grandma and Grandpa's.

On Monday we had to head back home, but it was a great trip.  The kids all like their cousins so much and I am so grateful for those family friendships that they have for added strength in a dog eat dog world.  Thank you, my brothers and sisters, for having great kids -- and lots of them!  We love you guys.  :)