January 1-5, 2004

Happy New Year!! Hooray for 2004, I have a feeling this is going to be a fabulous year! One of my New Years resolutions this year is to be a better journal writer and thinking of that made me realize that I have a lot of "Bidness" to fill you in on. I've been a total slacker.
Christmas this year was a blast! We stayed here in Stillwater and my sister and my mom came to visit. Actually, Kristi and I surprised my mom with her plane ticket on Christmas Eve and told her to hurry and pack. They arrived here on Christmas day and we went and picked them up in the city. We went to The Marriott Hotel to eat our Christmas dinner, they had a huge buffet set out with Turkey, Steak, Shrimp, etc. and it was delicious, plus we didn't have to do one thing to prepare for it or clean up after it. Dinner is always better when someone else makes it. Once we got back in Stillwater we picked up the missionaries from the 1st and 2nd wards and had them come celebrate Christmas with us. We played card games with them until their curfew that night and we had a totally chilled out, relaxing Christmas that rocked! Santa Clause brought Jaxton his very first basketball hoop and when he saw it for the first time his eyes lit up and he said, "Ball", we gave him the ball and he dunked it. His very first dunk at 17 1/2 months. he started clapping for himself after he made it and so the rest of us joined in with some claps of our own. We have it set to the 3 foot height and if he stands on his tippy toes and extends his little arms he can make it. He loves basketball but more than that he loves his daddy playing basketball. All we have to do is drive by Gallagher Iba Arena and Jaxton points to is and says "dad." He also points at any basketball game that is being played on tv and say "dad". The cutest thing ever though was at one of the first games of the year Jaxton was watching a game and Daniel got fouled, so he went to the foul line to shoot his free throws and Jaxton looked out on the court pointed to Daniel and said "da da" in the most excited voice I have ever heard. Then he looked at me and pointed as if to say, "look mom it's my dad out there do you see him?" I will never forget that. Anyway, back to Christmas, thanks to all of you who sent us such thoughtful gifts and cute Christmas cards. We appreciate your love and support more than you can even imagine. You all have been such great examples to us.
As most of you know basketball is going VERY well for Daniel this year. I am so proud of him because his hard work is finally paying off. The coaches love him so much and are so thankful for what he brings to the team which is a level of maturity I don't think they have ever experienced with any of the other players that they have coached. The coaches have a ton of confidence in Daniel and they are totally committed to him as a player and an individual. They respect him for his religious beliefs and they respect him for being so committed to Jaxton and me. He has started every game this year and is kicking some major butt. he averages about 29 minutes a game. he is shooting 62% from the field and 55% from the 3-point line which is the best on the team. He also averages about 11 points a game and he is the second highest on the team with assists. I know I am bragging right now but he rocks and he has become a new crowd favorite because he is a white man that can actually play basketball. He isn't the most athletic on the team but he is definitely the smartest and there are people in Stillwater that tease him and tell him if he ran for the mayor of Stillwater he would get it because the people love him and they know that he is such a hard worker. Last Saturday they played in the All College Classic Tournament that was shown on ESPN. I hope most of you got to watch it. anyway, he had 4 three pointers in the first half and ended up with 14 points for the game. He was voted the tournament MVP and also voted a member of the All College Classic team along with his teammate Tony Allen. In other words I need to rearrange my mantle for the trophy he brought home. he has one more non conference game tonight and then they start conference play on the road this Saturday against Texas Tech. Most of the games from now on are on ESPN+ so check your schedule that I sent or go to the website okstate.com to find out.
As for me I am trying to get back into the swing of things and get my scrapbook night back in order because we are all having some major withdrawls. Along with that I was just called to be the 2nd Counselor in the Primary Presidency in my ward. I am so excited!! I have never had a primary calling but I am totally looking forward to getting to know the primary children and loving them and learning from them. Last Sunday we went to Primary for the first time and I was busting a gut at some of the things the little kids were saying. I am going to have a really hard time staying reverent!
I have also been traveling a lot and following the team to wherever they go. Some people thing I'm crazy to pack up my little traveling buddy Jaxton and take a long drive just for a basketball game but I know that if I don't go and support my sweet husband I will regret it, so it's worth it to me. college only lasts so long and this is a fun time in our lives, there is no way I could stay home for the BIG 12 Conference game no matter how far away it is. Jaxton and I will be going to Lubbock Texas this Friday to watch the Cowboys take on Texas Tech. I am going to personally introduce myself to Bobby Knight just to see if he bites my head off! Then next week we are heading to Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas and the next week we will be going to Austin, Texas to watch them play UT. After that it's to College Station, Texas for the Texas A&M game and then down the Norman for OU. I will probably fly to Missouri for that game and then back down to Waco, TX for the Baylor game. After that the BIG 12 Tournament in Dallas and then wherever the NCAA Tournament takes us. What a fun adventure!! It's a good thing Jaxton is so good in the car. All I have to say is "Let's go watch your daddy play basketball", and he's there.
Jaxton is a hoot! Oh my heck I wish each of you could spend a day with him to see what an awesome personality he has. He is saying all sort of things no like, Melmo, shoes, juice, crackers, he said Jaxton for the first time on Christmas, basketball, bye, horse and much more. he will tell you what a dog says and what a lizard says and what a duck says. he loves to dance and he put on quite a show for Mary Ann and Don Alexander on their 50th wedding anniversary. He is not shy AT ALL, the other week at a basketball game a big black guy that we had never seen before sat in front of us. At halftime he went and bought some popcorn and brought it back down to his seat. As soon as Jaxton saw it he started tapping this guy on the shoulder and pointing at it. The guy was so cool and would just lift the popcorn over his shoulder so Jaxton could grab a handful or two. I leaned over to thank him and told him that Jaxton wasn't too shy if he couldn't tell. Jaxton loves Melvin so much it's not even funny. They are constantly wrestling each other, it's hilarious. Jaxton will wrap both his arms and legs around Melvin and just hang on to him as tight as he can. he just randomly jumps and tackles Melvin to start a wrestling match. I have to tell Jaxton to leave Melvin along just as much as I have to tell Melvin to leave Jaxton alone. Our favorite missionaries that just got transferred (frown) gave Melvin a middle name. His official name is Melvin Wedgie Bobik and don't you forget it. Speaking of Melvin I think he is going through his teenage years and is totally rebelling. You know how they age faster than humans. He has started to chew on things he wouldn't have even thought about chewing on a few weeks ago and he is starting to dig a hole through the wall in our garage. What is that all about? I swear some days I about lose it with my rebelling pug and my child that's a stinker.
Wait the UPS man is at my door. Oh man, my grandpa let Daniel order some basketball shoes for Christmas so we custom designed these shoes off of Nike.com and they just got here. They are tight!!1 They are bright orange patent leather with black leather strips and a white sole. Bobik is embroidered on the side by the heel and 20 is embroidered in the tongue. They are awesome! Be watching for them on the next game that's on T.V. you won't be able to miss them!
Anyway, that's if for the Bidness this month and I promise I will quite being a major slacker and get back into my monthly routine. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a happy New Year. We love you all.