Brenchley's Blog

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-24T11:17:00.001-07:00

We went down to Levan for Christmas Eve dinner at my parents house. We met around 4:30 p.m., so everyone could eat, visit, and then head back to their own homes for Christmas. We were going to stay in Levan for Christmas day.

Dinner was yummy! We had ham, yummy potatoes, and other side dishes. After dinner, we had the Brenchley girls open their gifts since they would be leaving to go to their mom's house for Christmas.

Here are a few pics from opening gifts:

Kaycee helping Emmalee open a gift.

Hollie opening a gift.

Kendrick, getting restless waiting for his turn!
EmmaleeKendrick

After they opened their presents, we tried to take a grand kids picture. It was an adventure! Here are a few of the best - and I use that term loosely! It's hard to get all those little kids to look at the same time!

We had a great Christmas Eve. It is always good to spend it with family.

Brenchley Family Christmas Party

2011-12-23T11:03:00.002-07:00

This year it was Scott's turn to host the Brenchley Family Christmas Party. We had the party on December 23 at our house. Scott made chili and we had everyone else bring bread, salads, or desserts.

We set up tables in our basement. It was a little bit tight, but it worked out great! Here we are at dinner:

After eating, we had a gift exchange. First the kids did one. Scott read a story where you pass the gift to the right and left depending on what is said in the story. After the kids did it, we had a white elephant gift exchange for the adults. Scott read the same story and we passed the gifts that way.

Kid Gift Exchange

After cleaning up a bit, we all loaded up and went to the Spanish Fork Festival of Lights. There was a line to get in, but it didn't take long. It was fun to drive through and look at the lights. Kendrick was asleep before we got through it!

The party was fun and I don't think there were any problems, except my glass "dinner bell" that Grandma J. gave me for Christmas a long time ago got broken! Oh well, I guess that is what I get for leaving it out on the table. It was on a table that Kendrick can't get to, but the other little kids could. Guess I will know better for next time!

Christmas Party at the Nielson's

2011-12-21T22:23:00.000-07:00

My sister Paula had a Christmas party for all of us Mangelson's at her house on Wednesday, December 21, 2011. We all helped contribute to the meal and we all brought a "white elephant" gift for the gift exchange game.

Paula also had cupcakes and frosting, etc. for the kids to decorate. Here are some pics of the cupcake decorating:

KendrickRyan and Jake

After dinner, we had the gift exchange. We took turns opening a gift and then you could trade what someone else had already opened or open a gift.

The Ropers opening their gift.Madeline, opening the gift for the Eyres.It was a zen garden and a large candy stick!Annie opened an elephant!My mom got the ultimate teacher's gift, complete with a 2011 calendar!

Then we played Just Dance on the Wii. It was so much fun--I had heard of it, but I hadn't ever played it! Kendrick had a great time too, showing off his "drill team" dancing skills complete with vocals. He kicks and says "Yeah!" as he kicks. It is funny. Paula said, "I think Kendrick has been to a few too many drill team practices!" HA HA I didn't get any pics, but you can look at my sister Annie's blog--she posted some pics!

We had a great time and ended the party by watching Casey's light show from our car just before we drove home.

Thanks Paula, Casey and family for a great party!

Drill Team Happenings

2011-12-20T22:01:00.001-07:00

Starting in November, the drill team really starts gearing up for competition. We work for all year, but it seems as soon as football season is over and it is November, then you really start to feel it. Here are some pics from various events that we have had during November and December.

To "kick off" the first week of competition, we had a "fireside" on Sunday, December 11th. The officers asked one of the teachers at school, Coach Darrell Wyatt, to come speak to the team. We had the fireside at Kaitlynn Blood's house and it was really nice. Coach Wyatt gave a very good message to the team and I felt it was just what we needed to hear as a team. Here are some pics from the fireside. He thought that is was cool because it was a fireside by an actual "fire"!

Drill Team Fireside with Coach Wyatt

On December 15, we had our annual Drill Team Christmas party. It was held at Shalee Hiskey's home in Covered Bridge.

We had soup in bread bowls, salad, and yummy brownie sundaes! Here is a pic of the team after we had opened our gifts:

Elleve Christmas Party

This pic is a little bit out of order, but I wanted to post a pic of our new dance costumes. This was just after our performance at the basketball game at UVU during Thanksgiving break. We have since added to this costume, because I was told it was a little "blah". So, we will see what everyone thinks after they see the new addition to it!

Elleves - first performance of dance!

This year, all drill teams get to compete with a character routine. It is similar to novelty, but you can't use a backdrop and if you use props, they have to be used and contribute to the routine. Our character routine is a "tribal/African" theme dance. Here are some pics just before the first time we performed it:

Our costumes have feathers - they caused a little bit of drama that night. They were all over the floor, and the ref got a little bit stressed, then this caused the Assistant Principal to be stressed, then this caused me to be stressed! Oh, well, they looked great!
Then, this year, the wrestling coach asked me if the drill team would perform at a wrestling match. I looked at the schedule and saw that there was a home match on December 20, so I said we would on that particular date so we could perform a Christmas dance. Which is basically one of our camp routines set to Christmas music!

Merry Christmas from the MMHS Elleves!

We've been having fun and the hard work has been paying off!

First Competition - Jordan Beet Classic

2011-12-17T21:48:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, December 17, 2011, was our first competition of the season - the Jordan Beet Classic Competition at Jordan High School. It was going to be a good competition as far as the schools that were going to be there in the 4A division. All of the schools in our region were going to be there as well as some top 4A contenders.

I wasn't sure how we would do--I felt prepared, but my team is very "young". We lost 10 seniors last year. Ten "good" seniors, the type you wish you could keep on your team forever. They were strong dancers and good leaders. They didn't ever give up and they were very hard workers! Anyway, I thought this first competition would probably just be a good eye-opener to my young team.

Well, we ended up doing very well! It was so exciting and very rewarding for the team! We ended up placing 1st in Hip Hop, 2nd in Dance, 2nd in Character, 3rd in Military and 4th in Lyrical. Here is the team with our awards:

We also had two girls place in the top 5 of the 4A/5A drill down. Kimber Creer placed 1st and Aubrey Finch placed 5th.

Kimber and Aubrey

Congrats to the Elleves! We are continuing the winning tradition that was started just two years ago when the school was established. Our next competition is in January, now we have to work even harder!

Ward Christmas Party

2011-12-16T21:33:00.002-07:00

On Friday, December 16, 2011, our ward had their Christmas party. I didn't have a MMHS basketball game to attend, so we decided to go. I did, however, have practice after school that went until 5 p.m., but I didn't get out of the school until 5:45. I had Kendrick with me, so we had to hurry home so I could change my clothes and then Scott was going to leave work and stop by and pick us up.

Well, since I was running late, Scott had to wait for me to change and then we headed over to the party. It was at the Stake center. They were having a ham and baked potato bar dinner and then Santa was making an appearance.

We met Annie, Jim, and their boys there and sat with them. It was a pretty good dinner--at least we didn't have to cook!

Santa soon made his appearance and everyone lined up to sit on his lap. We were kinda slow to get in line, so we were pretty much at the end of the line. Kendrick had been having a good time basically running around all night! He isn't shy to go up to people and so he was having a great time.

Kendrick had sat on Santa's lap once before at the Provo Towne Center Mall. He wasn't scared or anything, he just sat there and stared at Santa's face. Well, this time, he wasn't too thrilled to see Santa. I think he just wanted to get down and run around some more!

Scott took some pictures with his phone, so they are not the best pics, but here they are:

Kendrick, starting to throw his fit!Looking Santa in the eye - deciding if he wants to stay there or not.He sat there for a few seconds, got his candy cane, and then he wanted out of there!

We had a good time and I think that was the first ward Christmas party I have been able to attend in years! I usually have a basketball game or a drill team competition.

Jackson Family Christmas Party

2011-12-10T21:00:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, December 10, 2011, was the annual Jackson Family Christmas party. My cousin JaKoye and Aunt Barbara were in charge of the party. It was held at the Red Cliffs Elementary School. We had soups, salads, and desserts. It was good food and good times! Here are some pictures we took at the party:

There were crafts for the kids to make - here is my sister Amy helping Kendrick make his penguin ornament.Amy and Kendrick with Keaton and Lisa too.KendrickMe and KendrickThey played the game, "Minute to Win It" and had a lot of fun competitions. Here is my mom and Chris Ray trying to get a penny out of a pair of nylons!The Jackson Family - Barbara, Sandra, Granny J., Judy, Lisa, and Bart. Just missing my uncle Scott.Kendrick, me and my momMe, Kendrick, Granny J., and Grandma Sandra.

The party was a lot of fun and we had a great time seeing everyone that was able to be there. Thanks to Barbara and JaKoye for planning such a great party!

My Birthday - December 7th

2011-12-07T20:46:00.001-07:00

So, when I was younger, and "older" people woudn't know how old they were or they would have to think about how old they were, I couldn't believe that! I just thought they were lying or just didn't really want to remember how old they were or something.

Well, now, that is how it is for me! I seriously have to "do the math" and figure out how old I am going to be on each birthday! I think it is because I'm in denial or something? I still think I am in my twenties, but then I look in the mirror and I know I'm not still in my twenties! HA HA

My birthday this year was on a Wednesday. My day started off pretty basic and normal. I got up and went to drill and school. The drill team officers brought breakfast and they sang to me the "Elleve birthday song" and gave me some slippers, scarf, gloves, lotion, and a Fleur de Les necklace. Actually each girl on the team gets one of the necklaces for their birthday too!

Then later that day, during my computer technology class, a parent from the PTA, the Principal and Assistant Principal came in and had my class sing to me and they gave me a card and some M&Ms. The PTA gave me some balloons and a treat bag with my three favorite candy bars - 100 Grand, Symphony bar (blue label), and Reese's. The card from the Principal had two movie passes in it.

After school, we had drill practice, and one of the team's mom brought birthday cupcakes with a special German chocolate one with coconut pecan icing for me, so the team and I celebrated my birthday again!

It had been a fun-filled day at school. So, that night, after Scott got off work, we headed over to Red Robin for dinner. I know, nothing special, but it is what sounded good to me. I love their fries and fry sauce!

We usually have our server take a picture, but I forgot, so we took this picture ourselves just outside of Red Robin. They are dark and not the best pictures, but I wanted to post them to remember this day.

Kendrick, me and Scott

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-27T19:55:00.001-07:00

For Thanksgiving this year, we went down to my parent's house in Levan for dinner. Most of my mom's side of the family all come and contribute to the dinner. My mom does the turkey and potatoes and everyone else brings vegetables, side dishes, salads, and desserts.

We took the green bean casserole again and the 7-Layer dip and chips. There was a lot of yummy food--especially this new "salad" that my cousin Jakoye brought. It had blueberry pie filling and banana pudding and it was delicious! One of those salads that is more like a dessert.

When we first arrived, I wanted to get a picture of us. My brother's wife, Eli, volunteered to come take a few shots out on my parent's front porch. We had a hard time getting Kendrick to cooperate as you can see.

Hollie, Kendrick, Me, Scott, and Amanda

My cousin Jakoye also brought a craft for the kids to make. It was some cute pilgrims that used plastic spoons for the face/body. Here are some pics of the kids making their crafts:

Sophie, Max, and Grandma - (my mom)KeatonNick and JaKoyeSophie making her pilgrim.Amy and Jason - relaxing after dinner.Katie, Eli, and CharlieAbbey and Zayla

Thanksgiving is always a great time to visit with family and to also reflect on all of our blessings. I'm very grateful for my family and I have a lot of things to be thankful for this year!

Our House

2011-11-18T19:42:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple pictures of our house. We have really enjoyed it so far! It is great to have more space, a bigger yard, and a garage. It is also closer to school, so I don't have to get up as early now. It is also nice on game days to have time to go home and have time to relax before I have to go back for the game. We also are neighbors with my sister Annie, Jim, and their boys.

We are looking forward to making lots of memories in our new house!

Halloween Events

2011-11-13T20:15:00.012-07:00

I love celebrating holidays and Halloween is one of my favorites! I still love to dress up, so I'm glad I have an excuse to do so at my drill team's Halloween party! Anyway, this post has pics from most of the Halloween activities we did during the month of October, with the exception of the annual Pumpkin Party at Grandpa Mangelson's. We lost some pics or they were somehow deleted from the card in our camera? Anyway, I don't have pics from the party. I'm hoping to get some from one of my sisters, but I haven't done that yet.

So, here are the fun things we did during the month of October:

First, on October 15th, I went with my mom and sisters to "Witch's Night Out" at Gardner Village. We went out to eat to celebrate Paula and Emilee's birthdays too. We met and did a little shopping first and then ate at Pei Wei. Then we headed down to Gardner Village. It was packed as usual. A lot of people, with 90% of them dressed as witches! It is fun to walk around and see the displays and do a little shopping in the fun shops they have at Gardner Village.

After we had got our fill of Witch's Night Out, we decided we needed a little something sweet. So we drove up to The Cheesecake Factory for some of their delicious cheesecake. We had a fun time talking and laughing!

Here we are at Witch's Night Out - my sister Annie gave me this pic.

On October 22 was the annual Pumpkin Party at Grandpa Mangelson's house in Levan. But, I lost my pictures from this event. Stay tuned for pics soon--that is if I can get some from one of my sisters!

On October 27, we had our annual drill team Halloween party. This year we went to Fat Cats in Provo and went bowling and had dinner at Costa Vida, which is inside Fat Cats. We dressed up, of course!

Fat Cats was all ready for us and even had a sign and some balloons in our school colors. They did a great job putting it all together and the girls had a great time.

The team and I in our costumes.

The sign they had for us!

Different decades of drill team and cheer outfits!

Neisha, on the left, is wearing her mom's drill team warm up from Spanish Fork drill team in 1996, (I think she said). Shalee, in the middle, is wearing her mom's cheer outfit from 1984, and then I dressed up in my drill team outfit from 1986. Everything is the original stuff, except my pants--couldn't fit into them anymore! I even wore my school ring and my paisley Swatch watch!

Playing Ms. Pacman in the arcade - something I liked to do in the 80s too!

On Saturday, October 29, Scott and I planned on taking Kendrick down to trick or treat on Spanish Fork main street. The Chamber of Commerce does a trick or treat thing from 1 - 3 p.m. and you can trick or treat at certain stores. Well, we get Kendrick dressed up and headed down to main street. Kendrick fell asleep before we got down to main street. So, I didn't know if we would get him out or not.

Well, when we got to main street, we saw the crowd--it was very large and there is a long line going from store to store. We decided it wasn't worth it--especially since Kendrick is only one and didn't really need candy, we just wanted to do something festive with him.

We decided to drive out to the Red Barn in Santaquin. They have a pumpkin patch, hay ride, and a fun little store we could check out. We didn't go on the hay ride, we just walked around and then got some apple cider doughnuts from the bakery in the store. They were delicious!

Kendrick and Scott in front of the Red Barn.Kendrick dressed up in a dalmatian dog costume that I got from one of my drill team girl's mom.

Kendrick thought it was fun - well, at least I think he thought it was fun!

Kendrick, the dalmatian.Kendrick and Scott

On Halloween night, Scott had put a "dinner in a pumpkin" meal in the oven before he went to work. Scott had to work until 7 p.m., so Kendrick and I hung out at home. We carved a pumpkin and took some pictures - these are some that we lost too!

We then had some dinner in the pumpkin - it was really good. It was a different recipe than what we had used before. Then I put Kendrick in his costume. He was going to be a frog to trick or treat in this time. We waited for Scott to come home and then we went trick or treating to a few houses in our ward/neighborhood.

Kendrick the Frog Showing us "So Big".Cute little frog!Trick or treat bucket in hand, ready to go!We had several choices of costumes to put on Kendrick. He could have been a bumble bee or a giraffe too! I was going to dress up as Cruella Deville, but couldn't find a costume. So, we dressed him up as the dalmatian dog on Saturday and then the frog on Halloween night. I thought the frog costume was so cute! I'm so lucky to have sisters and friends that have great costumes to let me borrow!

Well, now on to the next holiday - Thanksgiving. I love this holiday too! I have so much to be grateful for this year. I also love the break and Thanksgiving dinner, of course!

Drill Football Performances

2011-11-13T19:45:00.008-07:00

One of the football player's dad on the MMHS football team takes pictures at all of the football games. He even takes pictures of the drill team at halftime. He then posts the pics on the MMHS football webpage. Here are some of the ones he took of the drill team at football games. He took some of the drill team at each game except the first home one.

This is the game with Timpview. We performed our hip hop routine, "Outta Your Mind".

Lined up, waiting to take the field.

The field was wet, because it had been raining that day! But we still performed.

Showing a little "hip hop" attitude!

The performance was awesome--even on a wet field. You could see water and wet grass flying in the air as they were dancing!Our next home game was the Homecoming game with Timpanogas. The team performed a hip hop routine they had learned at BDT Camp called "Barbwire". They wore their had down straight. This first pic looks cool with their hair:It had been raining again for this game! It was cold too!It was another amazing performance!The next home game, was the last home game of the regular season. It was with Orem. The Elleves performed a routine entitled, "Royal T". We learned it at BDT Camp.

The Seniors were recognized at this game - here the drill team listens as their names are called.

No rain this game!

Another amazing performance!

Maple Mountain Football was 2nd in the Region this year! They had a great season. So, the first playoff game was at MMHS. The drill team performed the "Edge" routine from BDT Camp.

Going down into the first position of the routine.

The music is "I'm Not Afraid", by Eminem

It was a great performance, which ending up being our last football performance of the year!

I'm always somewhat happy when football season ends. Mainly because we can now focus on competition routines and get ready for competition season! Also, because I like performing at the football games, but I don't like the unpredictable weather and also dancing on a football field can be difficult sometimes.

Now, on to competition season!

Kendrick's Surgery

2011-11-13T18:53:00.004-07:00

Kendrick has been going to the neo-natal follow up clinic for check ups/progress since he left the NICU. Once of the tests he has done is a hearing test. The nurses were not able to get an accurate hearing test and there was fluid behind his eardrum.

The first time this happened, they said it was an ear infection, and they prescribed antibiotics for Kendrick.

Three months later, we repeated the tests at the neo-natal follow up clinic again. They still were unable to get an accurate ear/hearing test. There was still some fluid behind his eardrum and they recommended we see Kendrick's pediatrician.

Kendrick's one-year appointment was in two more weeks or so, so we decided to wait until then to have the doctor check his ears then. Kendrick hadn't really been acting like his ears were hurting or anything. We were just concerned that if he wasn't able to hear correctly, it would affect his speech development.

So, we went to this one year old check up and talked to his doctor. He suggested we make an appointment with an ENT doctor. So, we did and the ENT doctor, Dr. Robins, said that one ear was 100% full of fluid and the other ear was 50% full of fluid. So, we set an appointment for surgery for tubes to be put in his ears.

I was sorta concerned about it, but then after listing it on facebook and reading everyone's comments about the procedure and how many of my friend's kids had had the surgery, I was a little bit relieved.

Kendrick's surgery was on Thursday, October 6. We had to be at the hospital in Provo at 5:30 a.m.! He also couldn't have anything to eat or drink after midnight the night before the surgery.

We woke him up at about 4:45, changed his diaper, wrapped him up in his jammies and headed to the hospital. We brought a warm blanket and a bottle to give him right after the surgery. Everyone told me that he would be a little "crazy" and cry a lot after coming out of the anesthesia, so to have some things to comfort him.

Here are some pics we took that morning. We only had our cell phone camera with us, so the pictures aren't the best!

Waiting for them to call us back.

Kendrick was walking around and also colored in a coloring book while waiting.

Kendrick in his hospital clothes - wondering what is going on!

Getting a little bit restless!

He was probably thinking, "not this place again!" - after being in the NICU!

Just waiting for the nurse to come get him.

After a while of waiting and having the nurses and the doctor come in and explain everything to us, they came and took Kendrick back to have the surgery. It was kinda weird to have them take him and we just stayed there and had to wait.

The surgery took about 5 minutes, but then they have to wait for him "wake up" from the anesthesia. When they brought him to us, he was crying. And he kept crying! So, we wrapped him in his blanket and gave him his bottle and he would calm down for a little bit, and then cry and then stop, and then cry. This went on for a while, then they let us go.

We stopped and got something for him to eat on the way home and after eating, he fell asleep. He slept for about 2 hours. When he woke up, he acted fine, like nothing had happened. Until we had to put the drops in his ears, and then he would fight us.

Everything is going great so far. We had a checkup with Dr. Robins and he said everything looked good.

Things are also looking good with his hearing and speech development.

We love Kendrick and are glad everything went well with his surgery!

11/11/11

2011-11-11T20:47:00.002-07:00

On November 11, 2011, was the annual "Sadie Hawkins" dance at MMHS. The Elleves sponsor this dance. We were excited when the date of the dance was "11/11/11". We chose the theme, "Make A Wish" and decorated everything in blue, silver, and black.

Here are the girls just after finishing decorating:This one, complete with the balloon arch they made!

Later that night for the dance, Kendrick, and I came back to supervise and "chaperone". Scott met us there after he got off work. Scott and Kendrick stayed for just a little while and then Scott took Kendrick home so he could go to bed. But, before they left, the photographers asked if we wanted to get our pictures taken, so we did! We are not dressed in matching shirts, like everyone wears to Sadie Hawkins, ha ha, and Scott had just got off work, but oh well!

So here is Kendrick's first "Sadie Hawkins" picture! :)

All State Dance/Drill Auditions

2011-11-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

On November 1, 2011, I took three of my drill team girls to the 4A/5A Dance Drill Auditions. Each 4A and 5A school sends three girls from their team to the auditions. This year Kaitlynn Blood, Makayla Wilson, and Aubrey Finch went to represent Maple Mountain.

Here they are with their numbers.

Close up shot of them.

When the final cut was announced, all three of them made it! It was very exciting and I'm so proud of them! They had to learn a combination and then show it in groups of four in front of judges. There were about 60 girls there in the 4A division and 20 girls made the final cut. They will be announced at the State Drill competition in February and will be awarded medals.

Payson Lakes/Jackson's Birthday

2011-10-30T20:40:00.005-07:00

On October 2, 2011, we had our annual Payson Lakes family gathering. We also celebrated Jackson's birthday, which is on October 4 - aka October Fortune. (That is how Jackson said his birth date when he was little, and we have just always called it that!)

Here is one of the pictures that we took there. I had more, but we recently lost a bunch of the pictures we had taken. Something happened with the card or somehow Scott deleted them? Anyway, we lost a lot of pictures! So, I need to back them up sooner or blog about our family events sooner!

Here is Jackson with his cake:

We had a great time at Payson Lakes. The kids played by the lake and some of them fished a little bit. Madeline was trying to cast her fishing pole, and she got Zach right on top of the head! Luckily, his dad was able to get it out and everything was okay!

Kendrick's 1st Birthday

2011-10-30T18:00:00.012-07:00

September 18, 2011 was Kendrick's 1st Birthday! We celebrated by having a family birthday party at our house. Luckily the weather great, because we planned on barbecuing hamburgers and hot dogs and eating outside.

We spent a lot of time on Saturday shopping and getting everything we needed for the party. I had to work BYU concessions with my drill team that evening/night and when I got home that night around midnight, I finished decorating Kendrick's cake. We made a "teddy bear" cake, since it was his "beary" first birthday!

The day of Kendrick's birthday/party, we went to church and then came home to prepare for the party. Kaycee & Jason, Hollie and Amanda were down to help us get all set up.

Scott was the cook - he started cooking before everyone arrived. Here are some pics from the event:

Scott, cooking the burgers and dogs.

Brock, Heidi, and Hunter.The Birthday Boy!

Makenzie, Hollie, and AmandaCousins and unclesTook this pic of the big "1" balloon.Opening presentsAll the kids gathered around to see what Kendrick got.Fun blocks to play with!A cool helicopter! - He actually got two of these, but we took one back and got another cool toy!The Teddy Bear Cake.Kendrick didn't really want to wear his birthday hat.Me, Kendrick, and his cake.Blowing out his candle!Eating his birthday cupcake!Natasha, Gavin, and Greg.Sophie - wearing two party hats!Jim and Ryan.Kendrick liked his cupcake!Still not sure about the party hat!Kendrick had a great birthday!

The party turned out really great and we had a fun time seeing everyone that came to Kendrick's first birthday! Thanks to all of our family who were able to come and for the gifts too!

Ward Swimming Party

2011-10-23T21:07:00.003-07:00

Our Ward had its annual Swimming Party on August 20th. We went so we could take Kendrick swimming. We really didn't take him swimming this summer! He is only 11 months--next year we will go more and probably take swim lessons too.

Amanda was down that weekend, so she came with us to the party. Annie, Jim, and their boys were there too. Here are a few pics:

Kendrick and dadJake and AnnieScott, Kendrick, Amanda, Jake, and Annie.Kendrick had a ball splashing!I think he liked being at the pool.

We will definitely have to take him swimming more next summer!

Family Birthday Parties

2011-10-23T20:29:00.010-07:00

So, getting my blog caught up was on my list of things to do during Fall Break. And, here it is, Sunday evening, Fall Break is almost over, and I'm just updating my blog. I'm going to do a couple of posts, and then my new goal is to get all caught up by the end of the month!

September starts a bunch of birthday parties in our family! We celebrated Madeline & Ethan's on September 4th and Cade's on September 11th. Then, it was Kendrick's first birthday on September 18th.

Well, back on September 4th, my sister Emilee had a combined birthday for her kids, Madeline and Ethan. It was at the Levan Park and we had a lot of fun! Here are some pictures that we took at the party.

Kendrick checking out the slide with Ethan and Dallin.

Madeline got a pink Utes jersey.Madeline opening the mini dolphin pillow pet we gave to her.She loved it!Ethan opening the Shrek movie.We also gave him some little cars from the movie Cars."E" opening the cars.Kendrick was having a good time walking around and playing at the playground.A "3" cake for Ethan and a "9" cake for Madeline.Ethan and Madeline with their cakes.Getting ready to blow out the candles.Madeline blowing out her candles.Dad and Kendrick hanging out on the swings.Kendrick loves to swing!Kendrick - with a bow around his head!

On September 11th, we headed out to Alpine to celebrate Cade's 11th birthday. Here are a couple of pics. We didn't bring our nice camera, I just had my phone, so that is why I didn't take a bunch of pictures. :(

Cade, getting ready to open his gifts.

Opening the Ute t-shirt that we gave him.

Family parties are always fun. The next one is Kendrick's first birthday! I can't believe it has been a year since he was born. Stay tuned for pictures from his party.

Drill Team Fun

2011-09-23T15:54:00.012-07:00

Well, another school year has started, so that means football season! The Elleves have been busy performing and attending MMHS football games.

It all started on August 12th at the annual Maroon/Gold football game. I can't believe another school year is here already! Here are some pictures from a few of the events the drill team has been involved in lately:

2011-12 MMHS Elleves at Maroon/Gold game.

The drill parents get t-shirts to wear to games and competitions. I decided to get Kendrick one this year. It was a little big on him, but he wore it to the 1st official home game for Maple Mountain. Here are some pictures I took of him in his MMHS Elleves shirt:

"So Big"

Pat-a-cake!

"Circle talk/prayer" before performing our halftime routine, "Until the World Ends".

On September 2nd, Maple Mountain played Payson at Payson. We had been "sister teams" with the PHS Paysetters at BDT Camp this past summer and we had learned some of the same routines. Payson invited us to perform the camp dance at the game. We faced our crowd and they faced their crowd. It was a fun experience, especially since Payson was where I taught before I went to Maple Mountain. And the Paysetter coaches, Chelsea Judd and Ashley Hendrickson, were former Paysetters themselves and I was their coach!

Paysetters and Elleves - Sister Teams!

Just before the performance!

On September 9th, Maple Mountain played Springville at Springville. The Springville drill team, the D'Velles, invited us to an ice cream party before the game started. It was fun to meet with them and get to know them a little bit.

The game was awesome because Maple Mountain won! Oh, I forgot to mention, MMHS won the Payson game too!

Elleves and D'Velles!

On September 16th, we had a home game and wouldn't you know it, there was a downpour that started about 3:30 p.m. and lasted until about 6 p.m. Lovely--rain makes performing on the grass football field very slick and muddy!

The rain stopped, and so we decided to chance it and dance anyway. We were performing our hip hop routine in our new costumes. It looked so good, even with the conditions. We did have one girl slip and "fall" into position! But, I felt like the team did pretty good considering the field conditions!

One bad thing--I didn't take any pictures!

Then, September 19 - 22, we had our annual Jr. Drill Clinic. It was a big success this year! We had so many girls! And we started a boys hip hop class that went well too! We had around 130 participants! The Elleves did a great job with the teaching and choreography for the clinic. I also thought the boys hip hop class was great too.

Here's a few pics from Jr. Drill:

Some of the kids learning the "jam".

We had a "team lunch"--everyone brought their lunch and sat together outside and ate together. It was a great day for a picnic!

We still have two more home football games and three away games. Then it will be full-force in preparing for competition!

Brenchley Picnic

2011-09-23T15:43:00.003-07:00

On Saturday, August 20, 2011, we met at Salem Pond park for a Brenchley Family picnic. Everyone just brings their own picnic and we meet, eat, talk, and play.

Here are a few pics that I took that day. I didn't get any pics of the extended family--just me, Scott and Kendrick. I need to be better about taking pics!

Here they are:

Kendrick and Scott - playing in the sand.

Looking at the water.

Swinging - sorry, the pics are dark!

We had a great time at the picnic. It was fun to meet and spend time with the Brenchley side of our family.

Happy Anniversary!

2011-09-05T18:18:00.002-07:00

On August 6, 2011, it was our 6th wedding anniversary! Sometimes I can't believe it has been six years, other times, it seems like I have always been married.

We didn't go on a trip this year. Mainly for two reasons--one, we moved and we were still getting things situated, (we still are!) and two, because I was helping with the "Wings of Love" 5K race that my sisters and mom put together for my cousin Jakoye's baby Cade that only lived for a few hours. Another reason is probably because we have Kendrick now! Oh well, we will travel again I'm sure.

Here is a picture of us on our wedding day:
Happy Anniversary Scott! I love you!

Kendrick is 11 months old!

2011-09-05T18:06:00.006-07:00

Kendrick turned 11 months old on August 18, 2011. Wow, one more month and we will be celebrating his first birthday!

Kendrick likes to be independent--especially when we feed him. We have to do fun little things to get him to open his mouth sometimes--like sing songs. My favorites that always work are "Old MacDonald" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". The Alphabet Song works too. I don't know why, but if you sing, he opens his mouth and eats.

He also eats if he can do it himself. Well, Scott was feeding him spaghetti one night and Kendrick wouldn't have any of it, unless he could feed himself. So this is what you get:

A happy boy, but a big mess!
Mr. Independent

On his forehead. . .

and the top of his head!

But, he is happy and he is eating!

Here are some pics I took on his 11 month birthday--yes he is in his pajamas! It had been a long day and I remembered to take a pic after we had got him ready for bed!

Kendrick Scott Brenchley - 11 months old!

He is full-on walking everywhere now! He walked at 10 1/2 months. He is very tall--he looks like he is two! He still won't say mama. But he does say dada. Oh well, someday he will say it!

Celebrating Amanda's Birthday & Kendrick's First Steps!

2011-09-05T17:38:00.005-07:00

Amanda came down and spent part of the 24th of July weekend with us. We took her out for lunch for her birthday--since we were a bit behind! She chose to go to Chili's. They brought out a chocolate shake to her since we were celebrating her birthday.

Amanda and her birthday shake!
Amanda and Scott

Kendrick thought he was pretty cool sitting up to the table.

Kendrick had been getting really brave when moving between furniture pieces. I also would see him standing alone for a few seconds by himself, but when he figured out that he wasn't holding on to something, he would plop down.

He also had a hard time when we were in Levan for the 24th and he couldn't keep up with all of his cousins. They were running around having a good time and Kendrick was trying to keep up by crawling, which isn't too much fun on cement!

Emilee got Kendrick a toy that he could push while standing and he liked it. But, he would get so mad when he ran into something, he couldn't figure out how to turn, so he would just run into things!

Well, this is just my theory, but I think seeing all of his cousins walking/running around inspired him to walk. Because that is just what he did a few days after.

Amanda helped Kendrick with his first steps too. Here she is helping Kendrick, along with an old stuffed polar bear, that is one of Kendrick's best friends!

Here are some videos of Kendrick's first steps:

Busy 24th of July Weekend

2011-09-04T21:51:00.005-07:00

We had a busy 24th of July weekend this year! First, on Friday, July 22, the MMHS Elleves performed at the annual "Movie Night", which is part of Spanish Fork's Fiesta Days activities. The MMHS Elleve parents also had a concession booth at the movie night and sold snacks to earn money.

It was a great success and the team performed well.

2011-12 MMHS Elleves waiting to perform at the Movie Night.

Then, since the 24th was on a Sunday this year, some towns were celebrating on Saturday and some on Monday. This year, the Mapleton parade was on Saturday and the Spanish Fork one was on Monday. We were used to having both parades on the same day. So, for the Mapleton parade, the team had to walk down the parade route in between performing because we could only use the big diesel flat bed trailer for the Monday parade.

At first, it didn't seem that hard, but as the parade went on, it was a little more difficult than first anticipated! But, they looked great and we did cause a little bit of a pause in the parade, but oh well. Our performance was worth the wait!

The team - just before we started the Mapleton Parade.

The team, plus my assistant Lexie, me, and all of our helpers that passed out flyers for us!

After the parade, me, Scott, and Kendrick headed down to Levan. Levan was celebrating Pioneer Day on Saturday as well. We got to my parents house a little late for lunch, but there was still food and we hung out and talked to everyone. Then we headed out to the Levan Park for dinner. It was yummy! Here are some pics from that night:

Grandma holding Kendrick

Jake and Grandpa

Jake

Ryan, Grandma, and Kendrick

Joseph, Ethan, Emilee, and Grandpa

After dinner, we went back over to my parents house and watched the fireworks put on by the town of Levan. They were pretty good!

Then on Monday, July 25th was the Spanish Fork parade. It was a little bit overcast for this parade, which was actually nice! This parade went a lot smoother--we didn't cause a large gap in the parade and we could keep moving and the team didn't have to walk down the parade route--we rode!

Only one mishap--the music all of a sudden stopped. I looked at the amp and it had no power. Water had got inside it--there had been some frozen water bottles sitting on top or else some water had leaked from the coolers? I'm not sure, all I know is for about two blocks, we didn't have music. Scott tipped the amp up next to the generator to see if it would "blow" out the water or help it evaporate. Either way, this helped and we had power again!

The team looked great and had another great parade! We received a lot of compliments on how energetic we looked and that we were having fun!

The team, before the Spanish Fork parade--I love the fleur de lis name signs that the moms made for the trailer. They looked so cute!

Kendrick is 10 Months Old!

2011-09-04T21:40:00.004-07:00

Kendrick turned 10 months old on July 18th. He is just about ready to walk! I can't believe it--he gets braver each day as he goes from one piece of furniture to the next!

He is such a happy boy most of the time. He loves to give "loves" and "kisses". Which usually get slobber all over your face! He is still sleeping through the night and has six teeth. We love him so much! Wow, two months and he will be one year old!

Kendrick - 10 months old

Ute Stampede 2011

2011-09-04T21:11:00.006-07:00

We went down to Nephi on Friday, July 15th for the annual Ute Stampede. These pictures are out of order, but oh well. I'm trying to get caught up on my blogging and don't have time to rearrange!

We went down and I sat with my mom at the craft fair at our table to advertise and sign up runners for the "Wings of Love" 5K race that my sisters, mom, and I were putting on for my cousin Jakoye's baby Cade that died a year ago.

Then, about 3:30, we left so we could watch the mammoth parade. It was good--my dad was in it with his graduating class. Then, later that night we went down to the carnival. We decided not to go to the rodeo this year, maybe next year. I don't think Kendrick would have liked it!

Anyway, here are some pictures:

Me and Kendrick at the carnival.

Riding the merry go round-Kendrick had a tight grip on my shirt!

Kendrick and Sophie on the right.

I don't look too thrilled--I was worried I would get sick!

Kendrick took a little snooze while we watched the other cousins ride the rides.

Pictures of my dad with his graduation class in the parade.

It was a fun time! We went home that night because I had a drill team car wash on Saturday to attend!

Kendrick's First Fourth!

2011-09-04T20:50:00.002-07:00

We got up bright and early on July 4th to go watch the Freedom Festival parade in Provo. Scott's sister, Debbie had got up real early and saved places, so we had great seats! I wanted to go to the parade, because this would be our last Fourth of July living in Provo. We had got a house in Spanish Fork and would be moving soon. It was also Kendrick's first Fourth of July!

Kendrick and dad--waiting for the parade to start.

Me, holding Kendrick.

It was a great parade. It also wasn't too hot, plus we were sitting under an easy-up. We watched Debbie's son, Trevor. He is in the Westlake High School marching band. I also was able to see one of my former Elleves--Savannah Martin. She is a BYU Cougarette. It was fun to see them. I was able to yell to Savannah and get her attention. So excited to watch her perform with them this year.

Later that night we went out to Debbie's to watch the fireworks from Thanksgiving Point. Here we are in our matching Old Navy Fourth of July shirts:

Happy Fourth of July!

Jake's 2nd Birthday Party

2011-09-04T20:17:00.007-07:00

Jake's birthday was on July 2nd and he turned 2. Annie and Jim had a party to celebrate it on July 3rd at the Spanish Fork splash pad.

Here are some pictures from the party:

Kendrick heading toward the water. Eli and Katie in background.

Kendrick loved it!

Taking a break. Me and Kendrick, Grandpa, Jake, Ryan & Grandma, and Emilee.

Everyone watching the kids having fun in the water.

Madeline and Keaton

Kendrick, trying to catch the water.

Kendrick wanted to walk!

He also wanted a drink!

Cade, Dallin, and Keaton.

Trying to stop the water.

Kendrick still wants a drink!

Looks like he may have got a little in his mouth here!

Jake and Kendrick

I didn't get any pictures of Jake and his cake. But it was really cute. It was layers and each layer was a different color. It was yummy too!

Anyway, we had a fun time at the party and need to go back to the splash pad, especially now that Kendrick can walk!

Precision Dance Camp and BDT Camp

2011-07-31T20:49:00.010-07:00

The MMHS Elleves attended two camps this year. I usually take the team to Go For It camp, but this year it was cancelled. I was sad that this camp was cancelled because it is a different kind of camp because they bring in teachers from New York to teach some of the classes. It is also more of an "individual" dancer camp, but there are some team things too, but mostly I feel it helps individual dancers work on their technique. Plus we learn some cool routines to use throughout the year.

Well, since Go For It was cancelled, I looked for another camp for us to attend. There was a Precision Dance Camp on the exact same days as Go For It. So, they were very willing to accommodate our team! Everything was the same price and it also included meals! So, we attended our first Precision Dance Camp.

The first thing that happened when we arrived was team pictures. Here are the pics:

The 2011-12 MMHS Elleves

A silly pose.

The Officers.

We had a good time at the camp. It is similar to BDT Camp, but not as intense. Here are some pics from the camp:

Lunch time!

End pose of one of the routines they learned.

Beginning of the camp dance.

Cute poster with pictures of each girl that says she has the "heart of a champion". That was the theme of the camp.

Having fun at lunch time!

The team - these are the free shirts we got from the All Points Travel picture contest on FB.

Pool party at the hotel on the last night.

Teamwork!

Our team won the "Best Precision" trophy! Good job Elleves!

Other awards we won at PDC:

Best Technique: Kaitlynn Blood; Most spirit: Melissa Durtschi; Best Showmanship: Jamie Topham; Most Improved: Lindsey Bagley; Hardest Working: Makayla Wilson; Premier Dancer for Leaps - Shalee Hiskey.

The next week we were off to BDT Camp in Park City. We decided to go up the night before and stay over so we wouldn't have to get up as early, since we had to be up there ready to go at 7 a.m. We went to dinner at the Baja Cantina in Park City. Here are some pics:

One table of Elleves.

Another table of Elleves.

Kendrick, me, and Scott.

We went to the hotel after dinner and the girls had some time to relax and go down to the pool and hot tub. Then we had a team meeting/motivational talk and then went to bed so we would be ready to begin camp tomorrow morning.

Some of the team in the hot tub.

Teamwork activity.

The Elleves - posing for a team pic.

We performed our hip hop routine "Turbulence" for the performance night.

Our Elleve alumni came up to support the new team!

Hailey Bishop and Aubrey Finch won drill down medals!

Neisha Martinez, Jada Poulsen, and Kimber Creer were drill down finalists!

Taking a break - eating the Twix candy bars from our sister team - Payson!

Payson was our sister team--it was fun to be sisters with them. Here were are in a big massage circle! It was fun to chat with Chelsea and Ashley, (Payson coaches who are two of my old Paysetters!) We plan to do some things together throughout the year.

Practicing the "edge" routine.

Be all you can be - with our BDT leader.

Makayla was named to the Top 5 Top Corp Dancers!

The team with our awards - we won an award for the Edge Routine!

Shalee, Makayla, and Kaitlynn - were named to the Top Corp finalists.

Me and Makayla - so proud of her to be named to the Top Corp!

The team worked hard and did well at both camps! I'm excited to see how we do this year and I love all of our new members! They have a lot of new energy that is always fun to have on a team. It was also fun to have Scott and Kendrick there with me. Scott helped me with the transportation and tending Kendrick. I'm so grateful that he can help me and also that Kendrick could be there with me. That way I didn't have to leave him for three days!

Father's Day Weekend 2011

2011-07-31T20:13:00.004-07:00

The weekend of June 18 - 19 was Father's Day Weekend. It was also our first drill team car wash for the summer and Kendrick turned 9 months old!

Some of my drill girls getting creative with holding the sign to get people to our car wash!

The 2011-12 MMHS Elleves at their first car wash.

Kendrick turned 9 months old on June 18th! He is pulling himself up to things and walking around furniture. I think he will walk before he is one!

Here are some pictures we took on Sunday, June 19th - Father's Day.

Kendrick - thinking he is pretty cool standing up by the table!

Kendrick Scott Brenchley - 9 months old.

Kendrick - looks like he is saying, "What?"

Playing with his truck.

Kendrick and his Dad - on Father's Day.

Kaycee, Jason, Emmalee, Hollie, and Amanda came down that afternoon after church to hang out for a bit. I totally forgot to take some pictures. Then Hollie and Amanda came down with us to the family party at Aunt Lisa's house.

It was a fun-filled weekend!

Keaton's Birthday Party

2011-07-31T18:42:00.002-07:00

On Saturday, June 11th, we celebrated Keaton's 6th birthday! I can't believe he is 6 already! Amy and Jason had a family party at their house to celebrate Keaton's special day.

He is Keaton with his cake.

The cake was centered around the movie "Despicable Me".

Amy made these cute little "minions". So cute! They are from the movie too!

Keeters - testing out one of his new presents!

Here he is about to open the present from us.

One of the shirts we gave him--clothes, I know, boring!

Blowing out the candles.

It was another fun family party! The weather was nice and it was fun to hang out and chat with the family!

Hollie's Graduation

2011-07-31T17:57:00.007-07:00

On June 3, 2011 we went to Hollie's graduation. She graduated from Cottonwood High School. The graduation was held in their auditorium, which is really big for a high school. It has a nice balcony, etc., but each student was given a certain amount of tickets for family/friends to come to the graduation.

Well, we are on our way to the graduation, and luckily we had left a little bit early, because we get to about Lehi and realize that we had left the tickets at home in Provo! We call Hollie and see if maybe we can get in without the tickets, but she said probably not. So, we turned around and headed back to Provo to get the tickets.

We made it there just a little bit after the graduation had started. We had to park in the south parking lot of the school and the auditorium is on the north! Once we got inside they directed us to the balcony seats. Our eyes had not adjusted yet--you know how it is when you go inside a dark theater just after being outside in the sun! You cannot see for a few minutes! Well, it scared Kendrick and he was crying and wouldn't really stop. So, Scott had to get back up and take him out. Kendrick's bottle was sitting on top of the diaper bag, inside the flap, but the flap wasn't secure. So, as Scott turned to make his way out of the aisle, the bottle went flying along with a few toys. The bottle hit an elderly lady in the back of her neck, she was sitting two rows down from us! They passed the stuff back to us and I saw them putting a cold water bottle on the lady's neck! I was worried she was seriously hurt! A young kid that was sitting next to her got all mad and was saying, "Who did that?" The people just in front of me told him it was a baby bottle and that it was an accident. I kept saying sorry--but I still could not believe that it happened. The lady ended up being okay, probably just a little bit stunned at being hit suddenly in the back of the neck!

Other than that, the graduation was pretty typical. Kendrick settled down and Scott was able to come back in and take some pics.

Hollie, standing as her name is read.

Receiving her diploma.

Shaking hands with the Principal and posing for a picture.

Kendrick and Hollie

Hollie and Scott

Hollie with her grandma Randie and her mom Tanya.

This time her sisters Chessie and Amanda and Kendrick joined in the picture.

Hollie and her friend Dallas.

Hollie with her mom Tanya and step dad Ted.

Chessie and Hollie

Chessie, Hollie, and Amanda

Scott, Hollie, me and Kendrick

Scott, Hollie, me and Kendrick, and Amanda.

Zach's Birthday

2011-07-16T20:44:00.004-07:00

On Sunday, June 5, 2011, we celebrated Zach Nielson's birthday. His actual birthday is May 28, but they had a family party for him later.

We met for a barbecue and yummy salads and of course birthday cake! Here is Zach's cake. I think it was something to do with legos and Star Wars.

Zach, opening his presents.

The other cousins always crowd around the birthday person while they are opening their presents!

Zach and his cake with cute cupcakes too!

Blowing out the candles!

This was Zach's 9th birthday! He is a very energetic boy! I still remember when he was born and I went out to Paula's to stay with Cade. Seems like yesterday!

Neighborhood Party

2011-07-16T20:20:00.005-07:00

On June 4, 2011, our realtor, Jared Fields and our lender, Shawn Knudsen had a party for all of their clients and our neighborhood.

It was at the Bicentennial Park in Provo and they were barbecuing hamburgers and hot dogs, making snow cones, painting kids faces and making things out of balloons. There were big bounce houses too for the kids.

When we got there, they only had one grill, so Scott offered to go and get his. So, he ended up helping them cook!

This is Shawn Knudsen, our lender, cooking hamburgers and hot dogs.
Kendrick had a good time--it was great weather!
Scott--cooking some more. They had to run and get more buns!
They made a dog for Kendrick. Now that's a dog I will allow in the house!
He loved it!
He also had a good time playing with a soccer ball!

Later that evening, when it got dark, the party continued on the grassy area at Copenhagen Court (where our condo is). They had a big screen set up and they showed the movie "Tangled". They also had a fire to roast marshmallows to make smores and they were popping pop corn. It was great.

We decided to try it out with Kendrick and see how he would be. He was good and fussed a little bit when he got tired, but then he went to sleep. We were able to watch the whole movie. I had seen the movie before, but I think I fell asleep, so I was glad to see it again and stay awake this time. It is a cute movie!

It was a great time and I was sorta sad since we would be moving soon and they usually do outdoor movies during the summer and we wouldn't be there any more to participate! Oh well--

NICU Reunion

2011-07-16T18:45:00.006-07:00

I am really, really behind on my blog! So, I'm going to attempt to get all caught up by the end of July! The main reason I am behind, is because we moved! That is another story for later in the blog. So, for now, I will start where I left off--back in the month of May!

On May 21, 2011, we attended the Newborn Intensive Care Unit Reunion. It was a circus/carnival themed party held at a park in Provo. All babies that were in the NICU are invited until they are three years old.

When we arrived, we received some tickets for different items. They had pizza, ice cream, games, and Cosmo the Cougar was there. We were asked to bring a recent picture of Kendrick to put on a poster to thank the NICU staff. We took a quick snapshot of Kendrick and printed a color copy of it. It was cute! We attached it to the very large poster (lots of babies that have been in the NICU) and wrote a small message thanking all of the staff for all that they had done for Kendrick.

A lot of the NICU nurses were there, so it was fun to see them and talk to them. It was a lot less stressful to see them now. Here are a few of the ones that we talked to and took pictures with:

Kristy Peck, Kendrick, and Karen Ekins

I knew Kristy Peck from before. Her husband, Stan Peck, works at Payson High and I am on the Payson Community Theater board with both of them. So, it was always a little big more reassuring to have Kristy as our nurse, just because I already knew her!

Kendrick and Launa

Kendrick and another one of the nurses, who wasn't really one of his nurse, but she always talked to us. She had worked with Scott's mom and she was also the nurse that had the rocking chair that had been donated in Verlee's name brought up to the NICU by Kendrick's bed.

Kendrick, getting a prize at one of the games.

Playing the ring toss game with dad.

Kendrick and dad at the fish pond.

Kendrick playing with one of his toys from the fish pond.

Kendrick looking for toys in the sawdust.

Still looking!

He found some!

Kendrick, with Charlene Pelton

Charlene was just coming to the NICU reunion as we were leaving because she had been at work. Charlene and her family had lived in Levan at one time. Her husband, Steve, was a Utah Highway Patrolman. She wasn't ever Kendrick's own nurse, but she was there and always made sure we felt like everything was going ok. She now teaches a lot of classes for the nurses at the NICU. She also worked with Scott's mom when she was alive and a nurse at the NICU.

We really enjoyed going to the NICU Reunion. I wasn't really sure about it when we got the invitation. But, we decided to go and see what it was all about. It was a lot of fun and we had a good time. We also saw a few of the parents and babies that were in the NICU at the same time as Kendrick. It was good to see the babies growing up and doing good. I also saw Ashley Dunn Hone, who was a former Paysetter. She had twins that were in the NICU. They lost the baby boy, but the baby girl was ok.

We plan on going to the NICU Reunion again next year--as long as it is on a Saturday that we don't have any other plans! :)

Dinner with the "No Fall" Club

2011-05-30T20:12:00.003-07:00

On Tuesday, May 17th, I took the "No Fall" Club out to dinner. It was a reward they had earned for not falling in their turning headstands.

Sometime during the competition season, we decided to have a reward for those girls who did not fall out of their turning headstand from that point forward. We could hit them pretty consistently in practice, but we had a fall in each competition so far! It was frustrating as a coach--because I knew they could do it. I had seen them do it in practice time after time after time. So, we thought if there was some sort of incentive, maybe that would help? So the team decided that we would go out to dinner.

It started out with quite a few of the team in "the club". But, as time went on, a few more were eliminated. We did, however, hit our headstands at State and again at Nationals. There were also some performances where we hit them, including our final performance at the Elleve Showcase. One thing I have to say though, about our headstand sequence--it was very difficult! We turned completely around on our heads! (PS, this was the girl's idea, not mine, so it was something they wanted to do as a team!) We didn't just go up fast into a headstand, hold it for 4 counts, then put one leg down, then change into another hold, which is hard, but not near as hard as the turning headstand and holding it for 4 counts at each stop. Some people couldn't believe it when we would win competitions when we had someone fall out of the headstand--but we had difficulty points on our side.

Anyway, we finally went out to dinner. They chose to go to Winger's for dinner. Here is a picture we had our server take just as we were leaving:

Me and Kendrick, Alli Monroe, Aubrey Finch, Edynn Shaw, Savannah Martin, and Makayla Wilson--the Elleve "No Fall" Club!

Who knows, we may have turning headstands again in our routine, or maybe something else. But, if need be, we will have another "no fall" club for next year too!

Kendrick is 8 Months Old!

2011-05-30T19:36:00.002-07:00

On May 18, 2011, Kendrick turned 8 months old! He is already crawling! It is so cute! He started first by rocking back and forth on all fours. Then, he would scoot backwards. Then he finally got it figured out and started moving forward! Now we are in trouble!

Here he is--crawling!

We took these last two pictures just before we left to go to the NICU Reunion.

Kendrick is such a happy boy most of the time! He loves to smile and be around other kids! He also loves it when we go outside. Kendrick can also "paddy cake" and do "so big". He is getting to be a lot of fun and show more of his little personality.

Hayden's Birthday

2011-05-30T19:26:00.004-07:00

On Sunday, May 15, 2011, we went up to see Hayden become ordained a deacon. He turned 12 on his birthday this year.

Afterwards, we went to Amy & Jason's house for a dinner/party for Hayden. Here is Hayden in front of a cute banner Amy made:

Amy and Hayden with his birthday cake.

Happy Birthday to Hayden!

Blowing out the candles!

It was another fun family party. Amy made yummy chicken cream cheese filled croissants. They are so yummy! It was great to see everyone again.

BDT Officer Retreat

2011-05-30T19:00:00.006-07:00

On May 13 - 14, 2011, me, Kendrick, and my new drill team officers for next year went to the first ever BDT Officer Retreat. It was held up at the Zermatt Resort in Midway, Utah. I usually do an officer retreat on my own, but we decided to attend BDT's officer retreat and see what it was all about.

We had a great time and got some great ideas for the upcoming year and also some things we are going to instill as new traditions for our drill team. Two of the officers were not able to come up, so here are the five girls that were able to go to the camp:

I had them pose for this picture right after they had a master class from this really awesome teacher. I think her first name was Caroline? But I'm not sure. She was from South Carolina. Shalee, the second girl from the left, had been in a head on car accident that day! She was luckily okay and still came up for a little bit of the officer retreat. She went home that night and then came back up the next morning.

The teacher of the master class with the girls.

Making cute covers for our officer binders. Kaitlynn made one for me!

Here we are the next morning in the classes!

They played a game, where each girl had a balloon tied to their foot and you had to pop other people's balloons and not get your own balloon popped.

Having fun while waiting for the game to begin.

The officers with Nikki--one of the BDT Staff.

We had a great time at the officer retreat. I'm really glad that we went. I can't wait to get going with the new team and try some of the fun ideas that we learned about.

I'm just learning how to use my new i-phone and so I videoed a little bit at the officer camp. I'm posting a couple of clips. One is of the game they played with the balloons and then a small clip from the improv they did at the end of the master class. The teacher came over and was interacting with Makayla. I only caught a little bit of it--it was so cool though!

Drill Team Year-End Banquet

2011-05-30T18:41:00.003-07:00

On May 12, 2011, we had our annual Elleve Banquet. It was held at the Magleby's in Springville. It was really nice--the food was excellent!

We recognize the seniors and give some awards for Most Dedicated Soph., Jr., and Sr. and then Most Improved and Outstanding Performer.

I also gave a picture collage to Marci with pictures from the past two years that she has been my assistant at Maple Mountain. The team also gave me and Marci a really nice blanket (a large "minkie" blanket) with MMHS Elleves embroidered on it and the year. All of the girls also received a cute charm bracelet with a star charm on it--stars were part of our theme for the year. Our theme was "If we believe, we will achieve."

Here are a couple of pictures. I kinda got in on the pictures late and to the side--so my pics aren't the greatest! Oh well. It was a great night!

The team - posing on the stairs by the waterfall.

The seniors--I will miss these girls!

Ellevé Showcase 2011

2011-05-29T20:58:00.015-07:00

We held our annual Elleve Showcase on Friday, April 29, 2011. It was our 2nd year to have our showcase. It was something that I started last year and wanted to keep it as a tradition. It is hard, because we have to keep our routines "in the back of our heads" for a while. But, I really like it because we perform in the auditorium, which I think gives a little more "formal" feel to our routines. Plus, we can use light effects, etc. I also like it because the girls who want to, can perform a solo, and we also perform some new routines. It is just a special night and a great way to celebrate all of our routines and the success we had this past year.

My sister Annie came and took some pictures for me. Here is one of each of the girls as they were escorted and introduced.

Makenzie Beardall

Krizia Brooks

Kourtney Finch

Mikel Jackson

Savannah Martin

Alli Monroe

Kalli Olsen

Alexus Poulsen

Edynn Shaw

Danielle Smith

Kylie Bingham

Hailey Bishop

Katilynn Blood

Kimber Creer

Aubrey Finch

Neisha Martinez

Sarah Melling

Katie Muirbrook

Jada Poulsen

Makayla Wilson

Melissa Durtschi

Shalee Hiskey

Annie took a few pictures of the routines. It was hard to get good pictures because of the lighting in the auditorium. I think you have to have a special lens. Anyway, here are some of the pics:

Splits in military.The turning headstands They hit them! At least the stage floor wasn't rough this time!I loved our military routine this year!One of the new routines we perform is a fun couples dance. Each member of the team asks a boy to come and be their partner. The boys have to come to a few early morning practices. It is always a crowd favorite routine to watch. The boys have a great time! I think they do anyway.My assistant drill mistresses, Kaitlynn and Makayla choreographed the routine. It was fun music and they did a great job teaching it!There was a section with just the drill team girls.And then a section with just the boys.Then they come together for the ending.Beginning of our kick routine - Betty Boop.The new 2011-12 Elleves - we have them perform the tryout dance routine.We then announce the officers for next year.Our last number was a new lyrical routine that Savannah, Kourtney, Kaitlynn, and Makayla choreographed for the team. Here are some of the team taking their final bow.Marci and I with Kourtney. She came and wanted a picture with us, so Annie took one too!Me and Marci--our last showcase together. Marci is not able to be my assistant for next year.

The showcase was a great success and I was so proud of the team and their performances. It was sad too, because I'm losing 10 awesome seniors! They have been so great to work with! It was like I had the same team for two years because last year I only lost one senior and one girl who didn't try out. This team has accomplished a lot and really made a name in the drill team world for Maple Mountain! I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have had to work with these girls.

Kendrick's First Easter

2011-05-29T20:12:00.011-07:00

Our Easter festivities began with frosting sugar cookies on Friday when I got home from school. We were going to take them to the Jackson Family Easter Egg hunt the next day. So, I put Kendrick in his "bumbo" chair so he could see what was going on while I frosted the cookies.

Well, as I was frosting, Kendrick started to get hungry, so I went over to the pantry to get him some food. I had just moved the cookies, and so they were in Kendrick's reach now, but I forgot that I had done that! Anyway, I turned back around to this:In that short amount of time, Kendrick had grabbed two cookies! He had mashed up one in his hands!

I grabbed my camera and took some pictures. He was having fun playing with the smashed cookie. He even licked his fingers a little and liked what he was tasting! Oh well, he only ruined two cookies--and I learned a valuable lesson, don't leave the cookies in Kendrick's reach!On Saturday, April 23rd, we woke up and got ready to go down to Nephi for the egg hunt. Here is Kendrick in his bunny ears!This is one of his Easter outfits too.

Cute little bunny on the bum!Kendrick is ready for his first egg hunt!Here we are at Aunt Judy's house. We had to meet in the garage! It was raining, of course! This has been a really wet spring. So, Judy set up some tables in the garage to accommodate everyone. We decided to go out and find all of the eggs first. Each child has an assigned number and the same amount of eggs to find.Cade Nielson and some of the other kids out finding eggs!Kendrick and I starting the egg hunt.

Cold and rainy--but still out finding our eggs!Going through our eggs and seeing what we got!

We headed back home after the egg hunt and got all set up to color eggs! Here we are:

Kendrick was in his jammies while we colored and decorated some eggs.Kendrick watching as the eggs are in the dye.Kendrick, getting a little bit tired!Kendrick liked the one we made with his name on it.Kendrick's first colored Easter egg!Here's Kendrick with his Easter basket on Easter morning.Scott and Kendrick, after finding all of the eggs that the Easter Bunny hid!Kendrick, acting like he is ready to crawl!

After finding all of the eggs, we had breakfast and got ready for church.

Family Birthday Parties

2011-05-29T19:33:00.011-07:00

I'm playing catch-up on my blog and just getting things posted finally! In April, we had a couple of family parties for birthdays. On April 3rd, we celebrated the Nielson Twins, Nick & Sophie's birthdays and then on April 17th we celebrated Dallin Eyre's birthday.

Here are a few pics from both events. Luckily my sister Annie takes her camera to all events and she gave me some pictures from Nick and Sophies's party, because we didn't take ours. For Dallin's party, I was trying out the new I-phone and we took pictures with it.

My mom and Granny J at Nick & Sophie's party.

Sophie and Nick opening presents - Sophie wasn't feeling too good.

Me and Kendrick - watching them open presents.

Nick and his cake.

Sophie and her cake.

Scott, helping light the candles.Their cute cakes with the candles all lit!

Scott and Kendrick.

Kendrick Scott Brenchley

Pictures from Dallin's party:

Dallin opening some presents.

More presents!

This was Dallin's cute cake!

That is one thing I love about my family--our family parties. It is always a fun get together with good food and good times!

Kendrick is 7 Months Old!

2011-05-22T21:57:00.003-07:00

Kendrick turned 7 months on April 18th! He is growing so fast--I sometimes can't believe it. He can almost sit up by himself and he can get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth. He watches his cousins running around at family events, and you can tell he wants to be able to run with them! It won't be long and he will be running with them.Happy 7 Month Birthday Kendrick! We love you so much!

Katie's Blessing Day

2011-05-22T21:32:00.003-07:00

On Sunday, April 10th, we went to Sandy to my brother Charlie's ward so we could see Katie's blessing. Their sacrament meeting started at 9 a.m., so we had to leave early. I was tired, because my drill team had helped with a big dance competition the night before and I had got home kinda late. So, we left that morning in a hurry. I put my make up on during the drive up.

We rushed into the church and I had my purse with me, so I just set it on the floor and pushed it back as far as I could. I didn't think about it--I think because I don't usually take me purse with me to church, but since we were in Sandy, I brought my purse with me.

After sacrament meeting, my sister Annie took a few pictures. Here is one of Charlie, Eli, Baby Katie, and Max.

Well, we all walked out to our cars and this is what I saw when I walked up to my car:
At first, I was confused, I didn't know what was on the ground. I thought it was ice--then I looked up and noticed that my car didn't have a passenger window! It was my car window on the ground! And then I knew, my purse was probably stolen--which it was!

I was in a state of shock, and I wasn't sure what to do. We called the police and then I got Scott's credit card from his wallet and started calling to cancel my card. When I called, they told me that a purchase had been made at a Tesoro gas station in Murray at about 10:02 a.m. That was not me--so whoever had stolen my purse had already used my card! They cancelled the card and all of my accounts were frozen. I had to start remembering what was in my purse and try to cancel what I could. What a big pain!

I had no make up, because that was in my purse since I was putting it on on the way up. My digital camera was in it, my I-Touch, because it had the address to the church on it, my cell phone, and my wallet. There were also lots of coupons, some gift cards that I hadn't used yet. And then just the meaningless stuff that you have in your purse, but it means something to you. Plus my purse I had just got for Christmas! I was so mad! I wanted to find out who took it!

We looked around the church and soon the police came and got some info. We told them about the Tesoro gas station that they had used the card at and they said they would check into that. But, really in cases like this, I probably wouldn't be seeing my things again!

Well, we went to the blessing dinner and I spent most of the time on the phone trying to cancel more of my credit cards and wondering what I was going to do. It was Spring Break, what a way to start!

We taped a piece of cardboard to the window and drove home. The next day, they came and put a new window in the car and I went and started to get new ID, etc. A few days later, I got a message on Facebook from a girl that I didn't know. She told me that her brother had found my wallet in the gutter. It was about 2 blocks up from the Tesoro where the person who stole my purse had used my Visa card. There were a few things still in the wallet--mainly my ID, which is how she knew my name. She tried to look me up on the Internet, but we don't have a home phone, so she didn't have any luck. So, she search my name on Facebook and I came right up. We met at her work and she gave me the wallet. There wasn't much in it, but oh well!

I'm still suffering the effects of having my purse stolen. There is always some things that I think I have and then I remember that it was in my purse that was stolen! It is so frustrating! I wish I knew who did it. Or maybe it is better that I don't know!

Celebrating Mom & Dad's Birthdays

2011-05-22T21:10:00.008-07:00

On April 2, 2011, we met at La Jolla Groves in Provo to go out for dinner to celebrate my mom and dad's birthdays which were in March. My sister Annie took some pictures of the event.

Here is my mom and dad:

Casey and Paula
Jim and Annie

Dinner was delicious! This was one of the desserts we ordered. It is a lemon roll--so good!

This dessert was good too!

Here's the group. We were missing Amy and Jason.

Joseph and Emilee

Eli, Charlie and Baby Katie

Me and Scott

We all had a great time. The food at La Jolla Groves is really good. It is a nice place to go out to eat. We had eaten there once before when we were celebrating birthdays.

Photo Contest Winners!

2011-04-14T22:32:00.002-07:00

All Points Travel was our agent for my drill team's trip to California this year. They do an awesome job in arranging trips! This year they had a Facebook challenge. Each team was to submit a photo of their team using the gift item that they had received from All Points Travel and Shirts and Things. I kept asking the girls if they had taken a picture all through our trip. So, we decided we would take one with our trophies at the competition and hold our bags too. Well, in all the excitement, we forgot! So, on the last day, as the team left for Disneyland, I texted my president and reminded her to take a picture with the team and the bags. So, this is the picture: One of the moms took the picture and I thought it was a fun place to have the picture taken. We almost have all the team in the picture. Just a few girls were not there. So, one of the moms sent the picture to All Points Travel. Then, the pictures were up for a week on Facebook and we told all of our friends and family to go and "like" our picture. The team with the most "likes" would win. Well, guess who won? Maple Mountain did! Thanks to all my friends and family that "liked" my team's picture! You are all awesome! What did we win? Well, now we get to design a custom t-shirt to kick off the year for next year. Oh, and of course, bragging rights!

2011-12 MMHS Ellevés Drill Team

2011-04-14T20:51:00.002-07:00

We had try outs for the 2011-12 drill team on March 31st. There were 27 girls total that ended up trying out. I believe we started with 30, but we lost a few by the time we got to the final day. The judges made their final selections and we kept 20 girls for next year. Nine of the twenty are returning members. Eleven are new, with ten of the eleven being sophomores. I love sophomores though! They have so much energy and are always so excited about everything because it is new to them.

The new 2011-12 MMHS Elleves

Getting a new team is always exciting! So much to look forward to and so much to live up to! But, it is another challenge that I am ready to take. I'm losing ten seniors, ten amazing seniors that I'm so sad to see go. But, I know that they will be great in whatever their future holds for them. I just hope they come visit and support MMHS Drill! Once an Elleve - always an Elleve! Live "ellevated"!

Celebrating My Dad's Birthday

2011-04-14T20:33:00.002-07:00

My dad's birthday is on March 19th. My mom was away to New York City with my aunt Lisa and her drill team. So, on Sunday, March 20th, we all decided to go down and make dinner for my dad and celebrate his birthday with him. My sister Emilee made roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, and Yorkshire pudding. (I think Paula helped her) It was yummy. Then the rest of me and my siblings brought stuff to go with the dinner. Scott and I (well, mainly Scott) made the cake. My dad's favorite is a homemade German Chocolate Cake with the coconut frosting. Scott made the cake and for some reason it didn't rise? Maybe it had to do with the weather? We are not sure. He swears that he followed the recipe. So, I was worried that no one would eat it. So, we made another of my dad's favorite desserts. It is a Banana Pudding dessert with vanilla wafer cookies, pudding, cool whip, and bananas. It was good. The cake was good too. Just looks a little bit flat!

My dad with his cake.

I wish I had the picture that my mom has, or at least it is a picture that I'm remembering from my dad's birthday. We are seated around the dinner table and my dad has a German Chocolate Cake in front of him with several candles on it. I know me and Amy are in the picture--maybe Paula too. I need to get it and scan it in and post it. I just remember always having a German Chocolate Cake on my dad's birthday.

My dad and all of the grand kids that were there. Ryan kept blowing out the candles! :) Annie, Paula, Me, Amy, Dad, Emilee, and Charlie - aka, the drones!

Another shot--we took several, trying to get the best angle! HA HA

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2011-04-14T20:23:00.002-07:00

This is Kendrick in his St. Patrick's Day outfit. He is my little good luck charm! Of course I celebrate St. Patrick's Day. One, because it is a holiday and a reason to decorate and dress a certain way. Two, because I'm part Irish. Really, I am! My great grandma was an O'Leary.

I had a picture of Kendrick and Scott and one with me and Kendrick all dressed in our green attire--but those pictures are on the camera that was stolen with my purse! Sad days. I guess that is why you should download your pictures as soon as you can after taking them!

I'm looking forward to the next holiday--Easter!

Kendrick is 6th Months Old

2011-04-14T20:10:00.004-07:00

So, I'm a little behind in blogging! These pictures were taken when Kendrick was 6 months old on March 18th.

Kendrick Scott Brenchley - 6 months

Kendrick loves to play in the "mega saucer" that we got from Annie. I'm not sure who is the original owner of the saucer--it gets passed on to whoever needs it!

Kendrick in the "mega saucer"!

Kendrick loves to "bounce" in the saucer. He bounces up and down like a mad man! He loves it! I need to post a video of him bouncing! It is seriously funny. He had his sister Hollie practically in tears from laughing so hard at his bouncing!

I never thought I would say this, but time is going by so fast! Kendrick is growing up and in a really fun stage right now. Half way through his first year--wow!

California Nationals Trip with the Drill Team

2011-03-27T19:33:00.022-07:00

This year for our drill team tour/trip we went to California. Originally we had hoped to go to New York, but the parent vote was split 50/50 between New York and California. So, I wasn't sure what to do. But, after Kendrick was born and I was planning on nursing him, I knew I would have to take him with where ever the drill team traveled to. I kinda felt like New York would be too cold of a climate during March and also, I just couldn't really see me taking a 6 month old baby to New York City. So, the decision to go to California was made. This year was a "competition year", meaning that the team would compete in a national competition rather than just performing at Disneyland, etc. The Champion National Dance/Drill Competition worked out the best as far as the date and the fact that it is only on one day. Some of the other drill competitions go over two or three days. So, I decided to compete at the Champion one. So, most of my decision was because of Kendrick and the date/format of the competition--not because any certain other drill team would be there! Seriously, my decisions are based on what is best for me, my team, and now my family! Anyway, if you read my blog and want to know more of what I am referring to, let me know and I will fill you in! Anyway, we left on March 9, 2011. We had an early morning flight so we could get the most out of our day in California. Kendrick did really well--I was worried he would be that annoying baby that cries the whole flight! But, he didn't--he was great!

Kendrick--on his first flight. Almost looks like he is scared and biting his fingernails! One of the flight attendants gave Kendrick this certificate:

Me, Scott, and Kendrick.

Getting our bags at LAX.

Some of the girls and their moms.

Savannah, she is real happy that Scott is taking her picture!

So is Kimber!

Kaitlynn is excited to be in California!

Kendrick--getting all of the attention from some of the girls!

More waiting for everyone to get their bags.

Our first destination was Knotts Berry Farm. It was so warm and the sun felt great! It had been about 4 years since Scott and I had been at Knotts Berry Farm. We came with Payson Drill and Cheer four years ago and Scott was sick the day we were there. We just walked around and didn't ride one ride!

Well, it was somewhat like that again. Scott wasn't sick, but we mainly just walked around since Kendrick couldn't go on any of the rides. Scott did go on a roller coaster ride with a bunch of the girls.

Here is the team, just outside of Knotts Berry Farm.

Posing as "hot dogs" outside of a diner that is by Knotts Berry Farm.

Scott, me, and Kendrick--in his cool shades!

The Bloods - Kim, Kaitlynn, & Taylor and the Martinez's - Neisha & Shantelle.

Some of the team and moms just outside of Knotts.

Some of the girls were on this ride.

Scott found a friend! HA HA

We traveled to our hotel and got settled into our rooms. Our hotel was great. They had a evening snack buffet. It was pretty good--we didn't even have to go out for dinner!

Most of the team went to the pool and hot tub and some went over to Target to get some snacks. Our rooms were suites and had a kitchenette which made things really nice for keeping Kendrick's supplies!

The next day, Thursday, March 10th, we met at 10 a.m. and traveled up to the Hollywood area and went shopping. Then we got lunch and headed to see "Beauty and the Beast" at the Pantages Theater. Scott and Kendrick stayed back at the hotel, since babies aren't allowed at the theater. I didn't think Kendrick would be good anyway. They just had a fun day hanging out and they went over to Target and did a little shopping.

"Beauty and the Beast" was great! We had great seats and it was fun--especially during the "Be Our Guest" number. It brought back found memories of our kick routine from last year which was to "Be Our Guest"!

Our bus driver was a little unsure of how to get to Pantages Theater and we seriously barely got into the theater before they were going to shut the doors! I was stressing!! But, luckily it worked out and we got into our seats just in the nick of time.

The team and I - just after seeing Beauty & the Beast.

After the show, we walked around the Chinese Theater where all the hand prints/footprints are of various movie stars and we walked around and looked at some of the stars on the "Walk of Stars" in Hollywood. There are always some interesting people in that area! I didn't take any pictures.

We headed back to Anaheim. There was a Red Robin near our hotel where we were going to eat all together. Scott had went and made a reservation. It worked out nice because we could be seated right when we arrived.

The team and moms at dinner.

More of the team and moms.

Another table of the team and moms.

The other end of the table.

The next day, Friday, March 11th, was our Disney day. All day to spend at Disneyland and California Adventure. The girls all went over at various times with the chaperones. Scott, Kendrick and I went over around 10, I think.

Here is Kendrick, chillin' in his stroller with his shades on!

Scott and I took turns going on the rides that we wanted to go on. They give you a parent pass so it doesn't take as long for both of you to go on the ride/wait. The first ride we went on was "Soarin' Over California" in California Adventure. It is a great ride. Last year, in Florida, I couldn't go on many rides because I was pregnant. So, it was fun to be able to go on some rides this year!

Kendrick and I--just waiting for Scott to ride "Soarin' Over California".

We saw Pluto while Scott was riding The Tower of Terror. Luckily the Disney staff took a picture with my camera for us. Maybe I should have taken the picture--I don't like the pic of me! Hello lunch lady arms! Seriously, someone needs to start working out again!

Scott and Kendrick - too bad the reflection makes it so you can't see them very well. It was so cute--looks like they are "action figures".

After going on a few more rides, like the California Screamin' roller coaster and once we got our passes for the new show they have at night in California Adventure, we headed over to Disneyland. The first ride we went on was the Indiana Jones ride. We took turns again.

Kendrick, taking a nap while Scott was on the Indiana Jones ride.

Picture in the tea cup--it was a little cooler that day, but still nice!

Kendrick in mouse ears.

With Mickey Mouse in his house!

In front of the castle.

We had a great day at Disneyland and California Adventure. We stayed long enough to watch the new show at California Adventure, I think it is called "World of Color". It was really neat. Kendrick fell asleep, so we headed for the hotel. It was a fun day, but tomorrow we had to wake up early for the competition!

We left for the competition at 6 a.m.! I think everyone was a little bit tired, but oh well, what could we do. If I had it to do over again, I would leave so that we competed on the first day and then have all of our fun afterwards. But, I couldn't do that because it would have been the last week of the term. Anyway, we made it work and we did our best at the competition.

National competition are always interesting! I remember the first time I went to a national competition with a drill team, I think I was expecting a big production. Or I don't know, just something really big time and fancy stuff. Well, this one was just like the first one I ever went to. It was held at a high school in Anaheim and there were schools there from California, Texas, and Utah! But, it still is a national competition and I wanted my team to do their best. It was our first time competing at something like this.

Well, the other two teams from Utah were 5A teams that were in the top 5. We did awesome! We placed 1st in Military, 1st in Kick, 1st in X-Large Ensemble (our "Waka Waka" routine) and 2nd in Hip Hop and Jazz Dance. We also won the category trophy for military--making us the National Champions in Military--at least at this national competition!

Overall, I felt good about how we did. I would have liked to be the Grand Champions or the Reserve Grand Champions. But, we still did great, especially since it was our first time competing at a national competition!

Waiting for the awards. My team is sitting on the right.

Doing their "baby" dance to the Justin Bieber song.

Our trophies!

After the competition, we headed back to the hotel. Kendrick was tired, so we got him ready for bed and I basically crashed! Scott did too. We were tired!

The next day, we were flying home, but not until the evening. So, we had our second day at Disney. We packed up all of our stuff and stored it at the hotel. We headed over to Disneyland around 11 a.m.

Kendrick and I waiting for the hotel shuttle to Disneyland.

Scott, Kendrick and I.

We got this "1st visit" button for Kendrick.

Waiting in line for Pirates of the Carribean--Kenrick's first ride ever. He fell asleep!

More pics while waiting to ride Pirates.

We left Disneyland around 2 p.m. so we could meet our bus that would take us to the airport. We were headed for home! Kendrick slept through the entire flight!

The trip was a lot of fun! I was so glad that everything went smooth, especially as far as Kendrick was concerned. He was great. So, I think he will be easy to travel with, at least for now! Can't wait for Spring Break--we just might go somewhere!

Kendrick's Blessing Day

2011-03-06T21:43:00.001-07:00

On Sunday, March 6, 2011, we blessed Kendrick Scott Brenchley. We finally decided that it would be okay to take him to church to have his blessing! Since having pneumonia and being in the NICU for three weeks, we had to keep him away from public places and be very careful this past Winter because of RSV.

Well, Kendrick was 5 1/2 months old and I was getting concerned that he would be so big and not be still for his blessing! So, we decided to just do it on fast Sunday in our ward in Provo and then have a luncheon down in Levan at my mom and dad's house.

That Sunday morning was a little cold, but not too bad. The skies were gray, but at least it wasn't snowing or raining!

We had got Kendrick a blessing outfit at Little Things Mean A Lot in American Fork. We had to buy a 12 month size just so it would be long enough! He is a tall boy. We will probably have to deal with this his whole life--oh well.

We woke up early that morning and I made the 7-layer dip so it would be ready to take down with us to Levan. I had been down to Levan Saturday afternoon to help get things ready down there. I made the Yummy Potatoes and took the ham down so my mom could put it all in the oven so it would be ready when we arrived for the luncheon after the blessing. I also took all of the paper products, etc.

We took our camera, but you know how it goes, you just get doing your thing and don't take pictures! Luckily, Annie took some pictures, so all of these pictures are from her. (Thanks Annie!)

Kendrick with me and Scott--just outside of the chapel at our church.
Kendrick and his sisters - Amanda, Hollie, and Kaycee.

All of us--now with Kaycee's husband, Jason and their daughter, Emmalee.

Granny J with me, Kendrick, and Scott

Scott gave a really nice blessing to Kendrick. Kendrick was pretty good during the blessing. He was just a kicking though! He was also waving his arms. My dad said that he thought Kendrick was going to "take off" at any minute because he was flapping his arms and legs so much!

We had most of our immediate family there. Some of Scott's family couldn't be there--plus two of his siblings live out of state.

Scott, Kendrick, and I just after church.

Eunice & Clark (Scott's dad), Scott, Kendrick, me, my mom & dad

Us with Scott's sister Debbie, Trevor, and Korrine.

Us, with Scott's sister Robyn, her husband Joe, their kids, Josh, Cameron & his wife Caitlynn, and Brittany.

Joe was tickling Kendrick's feet and it made Kendrick laugh! Kendrick is quite ticklish--Scott gives him a good tickle every day, I'm sure!

My friends Cheri and Donna also came to the blessing and dinner.

Paula holding Kendrick while Scott and I get things ready for the luncheon.

Scott and I getting things organized.

Amanda holding Emmalee while waiting in line to get some food.

Kendrick and Granny J. having a conversation. I think this is a cute picture--thanks Annie!

Kendrick on his special day!

Just chillin' on Grandma's lap. Notice that Kendrick left his trademark on her shoulder! I come home everyday to see this on Scott's shoulder and then I usually end up with the same mark on my shoulder by the end of the day!

Everyone just chatting after dinner.

Casey & Paula

Kendrick and Jake--not really sure what is happening, but Kendrick looks like he is saying something to Jake! HA HA

Jason, Emmalee, and Kaycee - just before they had to leave for home.

It turned out to be a very nice day and the luncheon was great. I'm so grateful for all of my family that could be there and brought food to help out with the luncheon. I'm so lucky to have such a great family!

Ryan's 3rd Birthday

2011-03-05T21:21:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, March 5 we celebrated Ryan Nielson's third birthday! His actual birthday is March 2. Annie and Jim put on a birthday party for him at the armory. Everything was a "monster" theme. Annie did a really good job. It was all so cute!

The monster cake--so cute and it was yummy too! My mom helped Annie come up with it!
The kids played "pin the eye on the monster".

Kendrick was too little to play, so we just watched.

Madeline taking her turn with the help of Grandma.

Ryan opening the present from us.

We gave him a color magna doodle--he loved it and wanted to open it all the way right then!

Opening more presents!

Then the kids each took a turn trying to break open the pinata!

Max takes a swing.

Here's Keaton trying to get it.

Ethan taking a turn.

Dallin gets a hit.

Jake gets a turn.

Jake & Ryan--love their cute monster shirts that my mom made for them!

Ryan's cousin, Muren, (I think) takes a turn.

Ryan eating a cupcake.

The Birthday Boy!

It was a fun party. Annie and Jim did a great job putting it all together. We had great food and good times!

Kendrick is 5 Months Old!

2011-02-27T19:01:00.002-07:00

On February 18th, Kendrick turned 5 months old! He is growing up so fast. He had a doctor's appointment on February 22 and he weighed 17 1/2 pounds and was 28 inches long! He is doing really well and is just right for his weight and head circumference, but 98th percentile for height.

This is a picture I took of him on his 5 month birthday:

Kendrick Scott Brenchley - 5 months old

Kendrick also rolled over from his back to his stomach for the first time by himself on Thursday, February 24th. Scott emailed me to let me know because I was at school.

But, he did it again on Friday, February 25th. He was lying on a blanket by me as I was reading the newspaper and he rolled to his stomach and then rolled back to his back.

He is smiling a lot and does so much better now at night. No more colic! We are blessing him next Sunday, March 6th, so I will post pictures of that event next week.

Celebrating Valentine's Day

2011-02-18T17:54:00.007-07:00

For Valentine's Day this year, we started our celebration on Saturday, February 12th. We decided to go out for lunch and beat the crowds. I told Scott that there were several high schools including Maple Mountain that were having their Sweetheart's dance that night and so we better avoid going out at night.

So, we opted to go to lunch at Outback. It was delicious! Scott had his usual--a rib eye steak and I had my usual--Alice Springs chicken. Here is a picture we had our server take of us:

Kendrick's first Valentine's Day--lunch with Mom & Dad at Outback!
Another picture of Kendrick in another "Valentines" shirt.

Kendrick on Valentine's Day with his Valentine presents.

On Valentine's Day, I came home from school and Scott went to the school for work. Kendrick and I decided to make a Valentine dinner for Scott. I decided to make my usual--meaning, my usual Valentine's dinner that I used to make for my single friends when I hosted the "Lonely Hearts Club" dinner on Valentine's Day. Homemade lasagna, garlic bread, and salad. It was a new experience this time though, trying to cook and tend a baby all at the same time! Not as easy as it was when I was single!

Scott

The next day, Maple Mountain had their last home basketball game. I took Kendrick with me and he wore his Valentine present--a new festive outfit.

Kendrick in his Valentine outfit. He wasn't too happy--he was tired and ready to go to bed!

MMHS Ellevés take 3rd at State!

2011-02-07T18:49:00.002-07:00

February 4, 2011 was State Drill at UVU. It was a great day, a stressful one, but great in the end! We were going in with a 1st place military, 1st place dance, and a 2nd place kick. So, we had really good placement. All of the first place routines perform last, rotating between the regions. For military, we were the very last 4A military to perform. So, there was a lot of pressure to look our very best!

We had not hit all of our headstands at a competition yet! We had one person fall at Region, and one person fall at the last invitational. But, we had hit them at our Region Preview night and at a couple of basketball game performances, not to mention several times in our practices! So, we knew we could do it, it was just now, we needed to hit them at state!

Well, WE HIT THEM AT STATE! Yay! It was so exciting and felt so good! They were very excited as they came off the floor. I even had to do a "two touch" jump! As terrible as it looked, it was what one of the girls said I would do if they all hit their headstands at State!

We ended up placing 2nd in Military, 3rd in Dance, and 3rd in Kick. So, we were 3rd overall! We totally improved from last year and we beat everyone in our Region--again!

Once I got the score sheets, we saw that we had actually tied in dance with Bonneville. But, to break the tie, they look at all 5 judges rankings and see which team was placed higher by the most judges. So, Bonneville had 3 judges placing them highest and we only had two! If only we had placed 2nd in dance, we would have been 2nd overall! That just shows how close it was. I'm still so proud of my team and what we have accomplished this year! They are amazing and I have enjoyed working with them this year!

MMHS Elleves--3rd Place Overall at State!
My amazing senior Elleves!

Three of my seniors, Makenzie, Mikel, and Alli were named to the 4A Academic All-State for their high GPA's. Three more of my seniors, Krizia, Kourtney, and Savannah were named to the 4A All-State Dance Team--something that only two school's accomplished--all three of their girls making the team! One more of my seniors, Edynn, won the 4A Drill Team Scholarship. Then another senior and one junior placed in the drill down--Alexus was 3rd and Kimber was 2nd!

It was a great day! So proud of all of our accomplishments--and we are only a second-year team!

Pre-State Dinner Party

2011-02-07T18:27:00.003-07:00

On February 3, 2011, we had our annual "Pre-State Dinner Party". It is always a fun night where the team gets together for food, fun, and motivation the night before State Drill.

This year, we had the party at the Hiskey residence. Shalee Hiskey is one of the sophomores on my team this year. Her parents live in Covered Bridge, which is up Spanish Fork Canyon. We had had the drill Christmas party there and they offered to have the state dinner party there also.

Fun cake that was donated by Macey's. They put our logo on it and then one of the moms added the cute stars to it. It was yummy too!
One of the tables of Elleves and Marci.

Another table--showing funny faces!

Another table with some more funny faces!

The amazing parents who helped put the dinner on for us--Mitzi and Bradley Creer, Lana Hiskey, Tana Martin, Bruce Hiskey, Keith Martin, and then Chloe Martin--she ended up being Kendrick's babysitter! She was great and so willing to help! Thanks so much!

Motivational thoughts from the officers --this is Kalli giving her thoughts.

More motivational thoughts!

Mikel, reading a letter to the team.

Overall, the night was so fun and very special to the team. They received their Region Champion shirts to wear to state the next day and they also got some cute boxer shorts with a star and Elleves embroidered on them.

I am so thankful for great parents that help out so much with our team! It means a lot to me and even more to the girls. I'm going to miss the seniors--I'm losing 10 this year! But, we still have a lot of fun things to do in between now and May. So, I'm not going to get sad--yet!

More Photos from Region Drill

2011-02-07T18:07:00.008-07:00

These are some photos that are on the MMHS web site. I am posting them on my blog because I love to look at them. They remind me of what a great night it was!

"Parade of Champions"

Military

Headstands!

Intensity!

All perfect 20 scores in showmanship on all of our routines!

I love our costumes!

All Region girls - Savannah Martin, Kourtney Finch, & Mikel Jackson.

Concentrating during the drill down.

Showing the crowd our love!

So excited!

We love our team mates!

Posing with the Region Trophy!

2010-11 REGION 8 DRILL TEAM CHAMPIONS!

Region Drill - 2011

2011-01-30T17:05:00.006-07:00

Well, it has finally come and gone--Region Drill Competition 2011. And, once again, the MMHS Elleves are the Region 8 DRILL TEAM CHAMPIONS! It was an amazing night.

First, I have a couple of pictures of the team from Wednesday morning, after practice. I do a countdown to Region and State. This year, we are spelling out "Believe" and "Achieve". On Wednesday, the letter was the last "E" in believe. So, the word for e was esprit de corp, which means to be one. So, I made sugar cookies and cut them out in letters and the team had to work together and figure out what they letters spelled.

They finally figured it out--"If we believe, we will achieve! Elleves Take Region!"

Here they are with the cookies.
A closer shot of the cookies.

The team at our Region Team Dinner. The moms did an amazing job. The table was decorated so cute with gold stars and black table covering. The team received cute cheetah print makeup bags! You would have thought it was Christmas. Marci also made them some cute hair bands with flowers made out of fabric. They were so cute too. We wore them for the "Parade of Champions at the beginning of Region and also for the drill down and awards.

Here they are--showing their makeup bags, headband, oh, and the "whoopie pie" that Marci made for them too!

After dinner, we went back to our dressing room and Coach Amber Hall, the volleyball coach and PE teacher at MMHS, came and gave the team a "pep talk". It was awesome, so I hear, I missed it because we had to go to a coach's meeting.

When I came back from the coach's meeting, they were all laying down on the floor and meditating. They stood up and said they were ready and felt relaxed and confident!

Here we are--the 2010-11 Region 8 DRILL TEAM CHAMPIONS!

We ended up getting 1st in Military, 1st in Dance, and 2nd in Kick. It was a surprise to all to get 2nd in kick, and I'm not just saying that! Really, no one saw that one coming. But, oh well, we will get 'em at State. Also, one of my girls, Alexus Poulsen, won 2nd place in the drill down. She has placed at every drill down so far this year!

On our way home back to MMHS, we had the bus "take a main" in Spanish Fork. The bus driver honked the horn and we put the windows down and yelled, "Region Champions!" It was fun!

Now we compete at the State 4A Drill Team Competition next Friday, February 4th at UVU. I'm so excited to see how it all turns out. Good Luck Elleves!

Ellevé Region Preview 2011

2011-01-20T16:36:00.001-07:00

On Thursday, January 20, 2011, we held our annual "Elleve Region Preview". This is where my team performs all of their competition routines and we invite other local dance studios to come perform, groups from MMHS, and this year Juab High Drill Team was able to come perform. It was a great success and the Elleves performed very well!

My mom, Annie, Emilee, my aunt Barbara, my cousin Jamie, and my friends Cheri and Donna all were able to come. Annie took some great pictures again this year. I "stole" these pictures from her blog. (Thanks Annie!) :)

This is the end pose of the BDT Camp Dance - "More". We perform this at the beginning of the night and then introduce each Elleve afterwards and give them a rose.
Our Hip Hop - "Transform Ya".

End position of Hip Hop.

Beautiful splits - in our Military routine.

Kicks in our Military routine. They are super fast! The music is called "Angels & Demons". Not sure if it is really from the movie soundtrack of "Angels & Demons". It is very intense music!

Our routine is quite difficult. One of the difficult moves is our headstands! The girls rotate all the way around--stopping for 4 fast counts at each "wall".

They all hit it tonight! It was awesome--the crowd cheered!

It was their idea to put this in our Military routine this year. I wasn't sure if we would be able to pull it off--but they do in practice all the time. We have had some "bobbles" at competitions, but, because our routine scores high and we have a lot of difficulty, a little headstand bobble hasn't hurt us. I'm still waiting for the competition though, when they all HIT IT!

Just finished the full rotation!
Going down into the straddle from the headstand and then they drop into the splits.

Another awesome part--they lift one girl up as she holds her leg to her face! All done when there is a climatic moment in the music!

The ending--they yell, "Maple Mountain, YEAH!". It somewhat sounds like that is what the chorus people are chanting in the music! HA HA

The beginning of our very cute kick routine, "Betty Boop".

They wear Betty Boop wigs and our costumes are so cute! They look just like a dress that Betty Boop would wear! Their kicks are amazing!

This is the end pose--so cute!

Me and my assistant, Marci Hite. Annie took this picture of us at the end of our successful night!

I'm so proud of my drill team this year. We have had another very successful competition year so far. I'm so excited to see what happens at Region and State! Good Luck Elleves!

Kendrick is 4 months old!

2011-01-18T15:24:00.004-07:00

On January 18th, Kendrick turned 4th months old. Wow, he is just growing right up. He smiles at us now and responds a little bit. He is so cute!

He holds his head up really good and will probably roll over soon. He doesn't really like tummy time though!

He is a lot better at night now. Only gets really fussy once in a while. But, he is sleeping through the night and sometimes doesn't wake up until 7:30 or 8 a.m.!

Kendrick Scott Brenchley
I love this picture of him! Scott took them all.

I call this shirt his Maple Mountain shirt because it is maroon, which is one of Maple Mountain's colors. Kendrick got it for Christmas from us. Only problem, I bought a 3 month size--guess I gotta start buying up a size or two. Kendrick is growing so fast!

Murray Classic Drill Team Competition

2011-01-15T15:14:00.002-07:00

On Saturday, January 15th, the MMHS Elleves competed in their third and final invitational competition of the season. The competition was at Murray High School and it was a big competition for us. This time there was fifteen 4A schools there. Our entire region was there except for one school, Uintah.

We ended up having a fantastic day! We were so excited! We took 2nd in Hip Hop, 1st in Military, 1st in Dance, and 1st in Kick! We also won a special trophy from the judges for being selected as the team with "Exceptional Technique"! We also won the 4A Overall Trophy! Wow--it was so awesome! These girls have worked so hard and I am so proud of them.

We also had girls place in the drill down--Aubrey Finch won 3rd place and Alexus Poulsen won 1st place!

The team with our trophies.

Now we have Region and then State. I can't wait to see what those two competitions bring!

Utah Valley Classic Drill Team Competition

2011-01-08T15:01:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, January 8th, my drill team competed in their second invitational competition of the season. It was somewhat small for 4a, being that there were only seven 4A teams there. But, there was some tough 4A schools there--including Bountiful, who was the state champ last year and Dixie, who placed above us (3rd) overall at state. And our rival, Spanish Fork, was there.

Marci, putting glitter on the girls.
Team lunch!

Waiting for the announcement of team awards.

Well, we ended up having a great day. We took 1st in Hip Hop, 2nd in Military, 2nd in Dance, and 2nd in Kick! We were excited!

Here we are with our trophies!

We also took the top three spots in the drill down! Aubrey Finch was 3rd, Hailey Bishop was 2nd, and Alexus Poulsen was 1st! Congratulations Elleves!