You're The Best! (ok, 3rd... but STILL!!!)

Today Logan participated in his first karate tournament. I had signed him up to compete in padded swords and flag sparring. He was out the first round in padded swords since he kept going for the kid's legs, lol. He has always loved flag sparring and did well. He placed third out of 20-25 kids. He was really motivated after seeing other kids getting trophies in the padded sword division and him getting just a medal. He kept telling me "Mommy, I want to win a trophy." "I really want a trophy." I told him that he could try to win one by taking all the other kids' flags and boy did he set himself to the task!! He did have a mini meltdown when he lost to the last kid, because he thought he didn't get a trophy. Crazy kid! He didn't care at all about getting taken out the first round of padded swords! (We had to address grace in defeat after the tournament, lol.) Ultimately, he was elated to have won a trophy and is very proud of the fact that he did it himself. This was Logan's first sport event/game that he has ever participated in and I am happy that he feels a measure of success.

As to the video... I have had this song running through my head all week as we were preparing for the tournament and I really couldn't help myself. It is a home movie, so it isn't really great quality. I saw parents out there with tripod set-ups! I kid you not!!! (When you see how packed these tournaments are and how there is no room to even walk, it seems ridiculous.) Making this was a hoot!! Here I pay homage to The Karate Kid with my own karate kid:

Thursday's Hero

Blake was honored on Thursday, March 18th for his military service (specifically, his deployment to Iraq). The history behind this was that a few weeks ago my brother Matt emailed Tom Holmoe. He is the Director of Athletics at BYU and told him about how Blake is a huge BYU fan and will be home for two weeks around the same time that spring football starts. Matt asked Tom if it was possible that Blake could watch a little of spring football since he had missed the 2009 season. It was just kind of a shot in the dark. Matt was surprised when Tom emailed him back that day saying they would definitely let Blake come. Matt called me very excited and so it began. We tried to keep it from Blake, but he was onto us about a week into coming home.

The day came and Blake's uncle Rusty was able to come with us. Patrick Hickman, a recruiter for BYU football, showed us around the football offices and we got to see Bronco Mendenhall's office and all the other staff (like Brandon Doman!). I was VERY impressed with their new facilities and their film rooms and team meeting rooms. They surround their staff and players with awesome resources. They showed us a highlight reel from their 2009 season. The good parts version... everything you want to remember, lol! We got to see the locker rooms, which are the nicest locker rooms I've ever seen. (Blake had me take a picture of Harvey Unga's locker. Hahaha...)

After the tour we were led outside to see the team practice. It was awesome to see the team running drills and playing a little scrimmage. Incredible really, to see all those players you usually only get to see from far up in the stands. We found out while talking to Patrick that he was from Stockton (small world!) and that he remembers well Atwater High and Beyer High's football teams.

After practice was over, the team huddled together and Blake was led over to them and he was introduced to them by BRONCO MENDENHALL!!! The following are Blake's memories of what happened afterward and then I will put in my memories.

Blake: Well, Vic So'oto and Matt Putnam (team captains I'm guessing) spoke for the team. They were incredibly nice and mature young men, and were both two of the biggest, tallest guys on the entire team. They both thanked me for my service and were all very appreciative of the military and what they do. Vic handed me a bag full of BYU gear, hats and shirts and other stuff. And Matt Putnam asked me to sign their team flag that they will have up for the 2010 season. They said that those they have sign the flag commit to live the honor code and conduct themselves as representatives of BYU. These players were very nice guys, knew about our family and that I was heading back to Iraq in a few days. I thanked them all for the experience, and was really humbled by the whole situation. It was all kind of a blur and quite a surprise. I had no idea I would be presented to the whole team and coaching staff, I had a great feeling of being undeserving of all of it. Oh yeah, I then got to lead the team in a 1,2,3 Go Cougars...and then all the players and coaches came by and shook my hand and said thank you. Chad Lewis (former Cougar great and Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro) was also there and came by and said hi.

The coaches were all there and came by and talked with us and were very nice. Bronco came by and said I needed a hat, so he gave me his (it was new and clean). I talked with Jake Heaps for a while (star Freshman recruit considered the #1 quarterback recruit in the country this year), who just wanted to stop by and thank me for my service. The entire team signed a BYU flag for me and everyone was nice enough to stop for some pictures.

It was a very humbling experience for me to be in that position, but as a fan it was so freakin' awesome!!! It was all very classy and generous of the team and everyone involved. Just have to give a huge thanks to Matt Bartholomew for his passionate and heartfelt email to Tom Holmoe or none of this would have happened.

Back to Diane: Vic So'oto first awarded Blake some BYU gear. His words were very kind. He said something to the effect that they were honoring the work Blake was doing in Iraq and know that whatever they are doing and how hard they are working, they know that the work the Army does in Iraq is much harder. He mentioned a few specifics that I was surprised that he knew (like his going back on Monday, and where he is serving in Iraq). Matt Putnam then had Blake sign the team flag and then gave him a team flag of his own that the whole team was going to sign. I was very impressed with the team and staff. Bronco stayed and talked with me for a while while Blake was shaking hands with the team. He even asked me where my twins were. Many of the staff, like Brandon Doman (we talked about 5-year-old boys, he has two, and holes in the walls, lol), and the players talked to Logan and I. So'oto gave his wrist bands to Logan and he put them on right away and was so proud. Many players stopped and chatted with us for a bit. It was obvious that the team takes an effort to know who their visitors are and make them feel important. It worked! Blake (and the rest of us) walked away from the whole experience a little choked up and very humbled. Besides a HUGE thanks to my brother, Matt, big thanks to Tom Holmoe, Pat Hickman and Duane Busby for setting everything up and taking such pains for us and thanks to Rusty for taking some great pictures!!! It was an amazing day and not one soon forgotton!!

Christmas Letter 2009

I am saving some paper this year and just posting my Christmas letter! Of course, I did send out cards so I guess that negates it, doesn't it? (By the way, I am aware that I made a grammatical error on my Christmas cards, for those that noticed... ha!)

This year has been an eventful one for our family. We started out the year in Sierra Vista, Arizona and moved back into our old house in Clearfield, Utah in April since Blake was deploying. Blake had training in Kansas for three months and then shipped out to Iraq for a year on August 1st. We all miss him like crazy. The whole dynamic of the family is so different with him gone. We are counting down the days until he will be home... as of today, it is 225 days left. (Yes, we are LITERALLY counting down the days!)


Logan is still as energetic as ever! I don't know where he gets all his energy from; it certainly isn't me! He is always getting into mischief, but when he gets caught is very repentant and says "Ok, Mom. I will not ever do that again." He is really at his best when I let him be a helper. He wants to get everything just right and tries to act very adult about it. He has been participating in tumbling and karate for most of the year. Karate was a tough change for him at first and for the first six weeks, I was wondering if it was wise to put him in there, but he has risen to the challenge well. He is currently an orange belt and will be testing for his blue belt at the beginning of the year. He just started preschool this month and is loving it!





Reagan, like Logan, can't stop moving. I am pretty sure she has restless-limb syndrome. It is funny to see her in church, sitting so quietly, except for her legs which are going every which way. (I swear, it is like her legs are independent from the rest of her body!) It is interesting to see how much faster girls develop than boys. She is already going to Logan's preschool, even though she missed the age cut-off by a month, and she is loving it. She is also in dance and karate and likes both though dance is where she really seems in her element. She shows up eager and excited and leaves happy and with a smile. She talks so well and gets concepts so fast that it startles me sometimes and she often asks questions about things that make me stop and wonder "How old ARE you?!" She is developing WAY too fast for me! She is even starting to adopt her little attitude now too and I am learning to deal with that one... it is like having a miniature teenager in the house!




Chase is my little momma's boy. He has always been my best hugger from the time he was a little baby and still gives big hugs to any who ask him for it. He loves trains and carries one with him almost constantly. He is not ready for the same activities his siblings are in (again, so interesting to see the developmental difference between girls and boys when you have girl/boy twins!) and so just the two of us hang-out quite a bit. I am starting to actually be able to understand 70% of what he says now and he is becoming quite a chatter-box. Chase is constantly trying to sit on my lap and demand my full attention so he can tell me about a truck, or train, or a social injustice that he feels isn't being addressed (usually involving his siblings). When he is really angry, he yells "I am going TIMEOUT!" I try really hard not to crack up at that. He is loving this Christmas season since he has an obsession with bells and tries to take them off of every decoration he can get his hands on. You will usually find him dawdling behind our little group staring at some object he finds fascinating and not paying attention to anything else.



Blake is stuck in a little camp in the middle of the desert on the Iraq/Iran border called Camp Minden. Right now is the rainy season and it is making all the sand and tents and muddy, dirty mess. He says that his OCD is taking quite a beating there and I can imagine that is true! I am sure he will have many stories when he returns. He says that he is really appreciative of all the support of his friends and family and we both have been really touched at the outpouring of support we have seen for him! Thank you!


I have been trying learn how to balance everything at home and not go crazy. I have a profound respect for single parents now... and I don't have to worry about the financial aspect. I have come to really understand the concepts of "not enough hours in a day" and "bone-tired." I have been able to do a few things on my own agenda though, which has been nice. I have been wanting to take up piano for some time now and, starting in September, I have been able to do that. We have a Christmas recital tomorrow that I am anxious about. AAAHHHHHH!!!! I have also began applying for Masters' programs to start school next year! It seems forever since I have been a student and I wonder if my brain still functions.

Our dogs, for those you who care, are nine and eight-years-old now! Time sure flies! We found out this year that Marley is going blind in one eye and last year she had cancer! I hope that this doesn't become a pattern for her, poor baby! She is coping quite well with the problem though and is just a little more clingy than she usually was. Maddie is doing well and still wants to act like a puppy and chase balls all day even though her knees won't support it. They spend most of their days sleeping like yen and yang on the dog bed. It has been nice having them while Blake is gone because, even though they are small, I know that they'd bark if the strange noises in the house were anything to worry about, lol.


It has been a challenging year for our family, but we have also grown so much (especially the kids). I am always astonished at how much they grow and how rapidly they develop everyday. The next year will provide new changes as well. Blake will be here to visit for two weeks in March and then will be home in August. Of course, home will be moving then and we will be around Kansas and Arizona until the beginning of the following year. Then in March 2011 we will be off to Germany! Life is an adventure! Hope all of you are having a Merry Christmas! We think of all of you often and keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

Love,

The Botill Family

Blake, Diane, Logan, Chase and Reagan

AND Maddie and Marley

Reagan and Logan's Christmas Program

Reagan and Logan both go to Syracuse Dance Academy. Logan for tumbling and Reagan for dance... just so you know that I am not forcing Logan to take dance! They had their Christmas "demonstration." They are just showing what they can do so far this year. Reagan's was really cute. I got such a kick out of it. You can tell that Logan is just so excited to be able to run and jump around without getting in trouble for it. Hahahaha!

My BIG Girl...

My little three-year-old girl, Reagan, has just been growing by leaps and bounds lately. Is it incredible, by the way, how much more mature girls are than boys! She has been doing really well in her dance class and has been wanting to go into karate for sometime now. I have been reluctant, because (besides the cost!) karate demands a lot and I didn't know if Reagan could handle it. Well, a good and bad thing happened: Logan got a new karate teacher. His old teacher was perfect for Logan... didn't let him get away with anything and pushed him to get better. Logan needs that. This new teacher is quite young and is just learning (which we all have to do at some point, right?) and lets him get away with a lot more. His style is perfect for Reagan, though, since she needs more gentle guidance. So I finally signed her up and she was so stinkin' cute!!! She followed instruction so well and loved it!

She was also accepted into preschool even though her birthday is the 23rd of September and the cut-off is the 1st. I, FINALLY, found an awesome preschool for her and Logan. Her teacher says she is doing wonderfully, despite her being so young. I have been paranoid that I might be stressing her out and been watching her like a hawk, but she does it all with such excitement. I am so proud of her!

Side note: Ok, I know some of you are going to laugh at me for saying this, but I have to.... I hate Reagan's hair in these pictures... I went last week to get her hair cut and asked for an a-line bob that was stacked in the back. (I like having a good quality style cut for her, since she is rarely able to keep anything in her hair for very long.) Instead, the lady did this choppy, knarly looking haircut. It was like she didn't even bother making the stacked back either... it is just some choppy layers. Ggggrrrr! (You laugh, but even some of my friends admitted that this was a badly done haircut.) I'm going to get it fixed tomorrow!

Logan Turns Five!

I can't believe my little man turned five! No stopping the clock apparently; no matter how hard I try! This lucky kid had three birthday parties though. Yep, three! He had the first one with two of his cousins on Blake's side of the family during our usual Sunday dinner and had the next one with my side the day before Thanksgiving since my brother's family was with us at my parent's house. We made homemade mini pizzas and had a bonfire afterward. (My mom is a closet pyro and will take any opportunity she can of lighting something on fire... legally, of course.) The last one he had with his friends at Classic Skate, which has video games, bowling, skating, 3 blow-up castles, 3 blow-up slides and this huge pirate's cove climbing/slide/ropes/obstacle course... in short, a lot of things to get kids exhausted!

We're Famous!

Ok, not really, but my friend from up in Honeyville has been starting her photography business and she is really talented! Anyway, I gave her the daunting task of taking pictures of my three crazy kids who don't stand still for ANYTHING, let alone a professional picture. Chase is the worst; as soon as you sit him down for the picture, he is up and running. That is ok, since I didn't want them super posed anyway. Some of the pictures she took are up on her website now. Chase is the first one on her main page and there are some more under her portfolio. Thank you Brandy!
(By the way, check out her prices! She charges $100 for a family and $75 for just the kids and just gives you a CD of the prints!)

http://www.sweethoneyphoto.com/

http://www.sweethoneyphoto.com/blog/