CHHS Grizzlies

Kent is having a great time with his basketball team this year...in fact, he told me they are his favorite team EVER!

They are a bunch of awesome kids from great families, with strong work ethic, amazing athletic ability, the will to win, and a hilarious sense of humor. They are all good friends with each other and they seem to really like and respect their coach.

Right now their record is 6-4, region play will begin January 15. Here is a link to their schedule. They've been getting a bit of recognition from local sports writers, Kent was recently interviewed for an article that appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune a couple of weeks ago. This article was printed last week, and in today's paper one of his players (Steven Cordova, #11) was named Utah High School Athlete of the Week.

So proud of Coach Smith!

Christmas, 2009

Here is a glimpse of Christmas morning at our house...

A few Christmas reflections...

* Kent and I were awake before our kids this morning. I knew they'd been up half the night, I had heard them whispering and running around. We decided to get up and head downstairs to where the presents were piled, and wait for them to find us. While we were waiting we spent some loving, peaceful moments alone together. It was the calm before the storm.

*This could be called our Christmas of the Wii. We all got new games, I got Wii Fit, Braden got Super Smash Brothers and All-Star Soccer, Rachel got Ultimate Arcade, Stefanie got Littlest Pet Shop, and Kent got Pro Golf. Guess what we did all day...

*Braden was excited about his new electric guitar and amplifier. He is really good, it was awesome to listen to him practice through the afternoon.

*Stefanie got a new game, "Apples to Apples". After breakfast she put it together and got us all in a circle on the floor to play. It is hilarious.

*Kent has become quite the chef. One of my gifts to him was a panini press--a gourmet sandwich grill. He made honey ham panini sandwiches for lunch and they were equally as good as anything you'd order at Zupas, Great Harvest or Kneaders. I'm going to love this!

*Last night we continued our unique Christmas Eve tradition of dining out and a movie. We went to Texas Roadhouse, then to the new Disney movie, "The Princess and the Frog." Both were packed. I guess our tradition is not so unique, but it was lots of fun. Afterwards we came home for a family devotional, reading the nativity story from the Bible, sharing testimony and singing hymns.

A Few Things I Love About Christmastime...

1) Seeing the lights on Temple Square. We went to the First Presidency Christmas devotional earlier this month and walked through the grounds afterwards. They are always breathtaking.

2) Lighting and decorating the outside of our house. (This is mainly Kent's job.)

3) Assembling and decorating the family Christmas tree. We gave up on "real" trees several years ago. We do not miss them.

4) My Christmas village. My mom gave me my first village house a few years back, I've been adding to the collection ever since. I love them! This year I placed them around the base of the Christmas tree.

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5) Pretty girls in Christmas dresses.

6) Christmas stockings hung with care, in hopes that Saint Nickolas soon will be there.

7) Two trees in our house...one for me, and the other for the rest of the family.

8) The reason for the season. I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ, and the opportunity this time of year to reflect on his birth. Merry Christmas everyone!

December Family Newsletter Article

Merry Christmas Kindred family! Here is the rundown of what my family is involved with this holiday season:

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Stefanie is in the 5th grade and doing great. You should ask her to tell you the capital of any state in the country, she knows them all. She especially enjoys her dance class, she is learning ballet and jazz, she started taking dance in September and loves it. Last week she was asked to portray Mary at the ward Christmas nativity party, she did a great job. She also is the best in the family at taking care of all our pets.

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Braden is in the middle the of his 9th grade basketball season. His position is point guard, he starts every game. He has a practice or game every day after school, currently his team is 3-2. For the first time in his life he chose basketball over soccer so Kent believes there may be hope for him yet. He is becoming quite the musician, he is often heard practicing his guitar, and has several songs in his piano reperitoire. He is also the Teachers Quorum president in our ward.

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Rachel loves being in the Madrigal choir at her high school, she has a Christmas concert later this week. She is currently conditioning for the upcoming spring lacrosse season. She is still dating George, and works a couple of days/nights each week at the movie theater at Thankgiving Point. She loves getting a real paycheck and thinks she is very rich. She is president of a service club called HOSA at her high school and stays very busy with that. It stands for Health Occupational Students of America, she was in charge of a school blood drive, a canned food drive, and other community service projects.

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As for me (Janeal) I'm in my fourth year of teaching elementary music at Saratoga Shores Elementary, and also directing the school chime choir, we've had several performances during the month of December. It is really fun, especially because Stefanie is a chime choir member. I play the organ every Sunday in church, and also work with the 11-year-old activity days girls.

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Kent is once again in the middle of the basketball season. He hopes to be more successful than the past few years. They are off to a decent start with a current record ot 3-2. Here is a link to his schedule. He really likes the boys on his team this year, he says they are his favorite team ever. They are constantly texting him funny messages. He was recently interviewed for an article that appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune a couple of weeks ago. I think many of you have already read it, but I'll include the link here.

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So that is what is what my family is up to. We hope that our paths cross this holiday season. We wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a fantastic new year. Love, the Smiths

Sarah's Wedding

Congratulations to my beautiful neice Sarah and her new husband, Derek. They were married yesterday in the Mount Timpanogos temple, it was lovely.

Sarah's dad Curtis is Kent's oldest brother, they are from South Dakota, but since Sarah has been at BYU for the past three years they decided to have the wedding and reception here in Utah. Curtis and his wife Marla and kids stayed at our house, it was great to have them here and spend time with them. The wedding and reception were delightful, here are a few pictures of some of the festivities...

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Kent's Mom and youngest sister flew out from Chicago to attend the wedding, they stayed at our house as well. In spite of a very busy and crazy week, it was wonderful to have them here. They followed us around a bit and attended a couple of our activities with us. It was the first time they had ever seen Kent coach a high school varsity basketball game, they also came to my school to see me and Stefanie perform at our chime concert. (I'll post more about that soon...) All the relatives headed home this morning, today our house has seemed very empty and quiet.

We are so proud of Sarah for the outstanding young woman she is, the example she is setting for our kids (her cousins) and the good choices she is making in her life. We wish her and Derek much love and happiness in their new life together.

Nativity

Friday night was our ward Christmas party. A few days before that we got a call from the ward activity chairman, asking if Stefanie could play the role of Mary in the nativity. She said the committee had thought very hard about who to ask to fill that important role, and they all agreed that Stefanie would be perfect. And she was! She did such a good job.

Girls Night Out

Last weekend was our 8th annual GNO with my mom and sisters. Every year in December we get together for a fun weekend of eating, gabbing, and shopping. This year it was held in Logan where we stayed at the Springhill Marriot. We dined at a fancy new restaurant called "Elements" where I ordered a Greek kabob salad, yumm!

After dinner we went back to our hotel where we ate cheesecake, had a gift exchange, looked at old family slides, and talked until two in the morning. The next day we went out for breakfast and lunch and shopped 'til we dropped. So much fun, I love Girls Night Out!

Thanksgiving

We were so glad we got to go to Preston this year to celebrate Thanksgiving with family. The last two years we spent Thanksgiving weekend in St. George cheering on Braden's soccer team. That was fun for a change, but this was better. Five of my seven siblings were home this year, along with their families. That made for a very full and lively house! Our only disappointment was that Rachel wasn't able to join us, she had to work at the movie theater. Apparently, Thanksgiving Day is a big day at the box office. Rachel said every movie in every theater for every showing was sold out. I never would have guessed. Anyway, it was a quick trip to Idaho and back for us, we left that morning and returned home late that evening. However, Stefanie didn't want to cut her vacation short, she asked Grandma if she could stay a couple of extra days. Of course, Grandma said yes, and Stefanie had a great time playing with cousins and decorating her own gingerbread house.

Some of the highlights of the weekend...Kent and Grandpa slicing the turkey. Grandma directing traffic.

Check out this spread of food!

Here we are getting our fill.

And it was the perfect ending to our weekend as BYU beat Utah in overtime. I took this picture as fans rushed the field after the exciting win. It was awesome! Happy Thanksgiving, 2009.