Happy Birthday Hillary!

Hillary decided it was time to grow up on us. She turned 13 this year and hopefully won't develop the teenager attitude. She's a good kid and so fun to be with! She picked Sizzler for dinner the night before her birthday since she had young women's the night of. Then it was just pasta salad and chicken. She's easy that way.

 She was all about the clothes this year. Sparkly shoes, colored skinny jeans, and sweaters. She was loving it! She also got a heated mattress pad for her freezing cold basement bedroom. 

Happy Birthday to the most awesome, sweet, fun, helpful, and wonderful teenager I could ever ask for!

 

Christmas 2012

We finally made it to Temple Square this year. It's been a long time and it was so pretty and fun to go back again. We talked the Kershaw's into coming with us. I think the kids had a much better time with their friends than just hanging out with us parents. It was great way to start off the season. And it was even fairly warm that night. 

On the Sunday before Christmas we had the Swensen Christmas party. The kids had a good time watching old home videos of Brian and his siblings. It was the highlight of the night to see them singing and we laughed pretty hard at their clothes from the 90's. The kids got to open some fun presents. Kemery got a bathtub for her baby doll. That doll bathes about 4 times a day! Then Whitney got a salon chair so the dolls all get pretty after their baths. Hillary and Carter got some new clothes and Brian and I got a surround sound system for the basement. It was a fun night to get to hang out with our family.

It was tradition in my family to have a big candlelit dinner for Christmas eve. Usually it was a turkey, but we went for a ham this time. The kids thought it was so neat to get eat off the fine china and use candles.

The kids each get new pajamas on Christmas eve and usually they all match. This may be the last time though since Hillary is getting so tall.

Christmas morning brought some fun surprises. Carter and Whitney got iPod touches, Hillary got a cell phone and Kemery got a doll house for her barbies. The family also got Ripsticks, but no one can seem to get the hang of riding them. Then it got way too cold to even try again.

Pinewood Derby 2013

Today Carter participated in his final Pinewood derby. We have not had good luck with these in the past so I don't really look forward to it. Usually we build our own car with our own tools, end up buying 2 more because we messed them up, then they lose a wheel or we messed up the weights and have to run it backwards. The cubmasters set up a clinic where we could go for help. Usually Brian has a little too much pride and chooses to do it himself. This year he has been so busy with work I decided I would be humble and take Carter to the clinic. It was fabulous!! The guy in charge walked us through every step (Carter did most of the work, I just supervised) and in 2 1/2 hours the car was DONE! It looked good, it weighed the right amount, and it didn't fall apart at all!
We got it on the track and Carter broke the track record and placed 1st in every heat he was in. It was a smokin' car! He broke the track record AGAIN and ended up in the grand finale. Sadly, something went weird and he took 3rd overall. But he still had the fastest car of the night. He keeps saying, "I bet I could beat bro. Jones cello car now!" I bet he could!

Hillary's Basketball Season

Hillary was so excited to play Jr. Jazz basketball this year. She loves the sport and has really enjoyed playing everywhere we have lived. She was happy to be on this team where she knew one girl, Karlee, from our ward. The rest of the team were 8th and 9th graders with her and Karlee being the only 7th graders. She started out quite shy and timid. Her coach had to stick duct tape on her leg to remind her which leg to take off of when shooting. She had never fouled anyone in her life and I didn't think she ever would with the way she hung around the outside. But with a fabulous coach and some really great girls, she stepped up and by the end of the season she had fouled 3 people!

They went undefeated all season against some tough teams that played very aggressive! In the tournament, Grandma Swensen had promised that she would pay Hillary if she would foul someone, just to get her more aggressive. She got one foul in the first tournament game and got $5! That must have light a fire under her because in the last game, she fouled in the first 7 seconds of the game! She got one more, but she played the best she has played all season. It was a nail biter game but her team came out on top 22-15! Way to go girls!

Whitney's Basketball Season

Basketball was a crazy busy sport with Hillary and Whitney both playing in two different locations on the same days. But we made it work.

Whitney was on a team with mostly boys and two other girls. The other two girls usually didn't show up though so Whitney was the only one. She tries to be a great ball player, but playing against all those boys is a little tough. She was great at making shots during practice, but games were a little harder for her. We'll keep at it!

Cartwright Christmas Party

Brian's cousin Brittany decided to plan the Christmas party this year. Back in June she sent out a message on Facebook that this was the date and time for the party. She would be in town from Washington and wanted to make sure we had a party while she was here. So and Jodi (Blake's wife) took it all on themselves. We did potluck food, then so many other things! They rented a bouncy house to keep the little ones entertained most of the day. There was a true Mexican pinata that was nearly impossible to break, a fun visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus, and some hilarious holiday Minute to Win it games. Grandma and Grandpa Cartwright did their usual gift for everyone which is always so nice of them! It was really fun to spend the day with cousins and aunts an uncles. The kids had a great time!

 Waiting for the pinata

 Even Tristan's mighty swing couldn't take down the pinata!

 The Oreo Challenge, get the oreo down your face and into your mouth just using your facial muscles.

 Darren wins it!

 Put the boxes in order from the highest number of bells to the lowest using only the sound

 Hillary thinks she's too old for this kind of stuff, but I told her if she didn't sit with Santa she didn't get her present.

 Whitney and Kemery got these super cute aprons from Santa.

 Even Grandma Cartwright got in a little visit with Santa

The boys to had balance ornaments on a yard stick that was balanced on a wrapping paper roll. They didn't make it. It was a tough challenge!