Just in case you want to read Joey's letters.  The blog is up and running and I will be posting his mission letters.  You can read all about the past few weeks getting ready if you would like yo check it out-http://elderjoeymecham.blogspot.com/

Here I am

Well, I did it again.  I really thought I was going to get back at it and start posting again, but you can see that it has been months, close to a year, since I last posted.  I am not going to try to do a Christmas letter style catch up like last time, but will instead just say, here I am.  All is well.  The Mechams are still plugging along, older, wiser and happy as always.
Hopefully I will make time for some blogging this year, but I can't promise anything.  :) 

And so it goes

I am pretty certain I have been wishing for this day for years.  Yelling down the hall after two little boys skating in freshly washed sheets,  "Grow Up!".  The Numberless times I have said "Use your brian' or 'think a bout it for just one minute'...  Yup, he is actually doing that lately.  On his own.

Less than 2 weeks and he is off to the new home for him. Helaman Halls at BYU.  Two weeks and he will be there and I will be here.  Big changes for our family.  Big Time.  I have grown so accustumed to him being here afer shool.  So used to his Tuesday/ Friday games.  I am ready to watch our football show by 8:15 every week.  All the traditions will change. WE are getting everything ready, but I don't know how to feel ready for him being away.OH don't you ever grow up!

And he is accepted!

Joey is off to Provo.

We are very happy!

We will be seeing a lot more of this

 over the next year!

Is it possible for our family to watch more lacrosse?

This year I am the advisor to new lacrosse team at my middle school.  The boys (all but one)are all new to the sport.  Our team is bar far the youngest group in our division.  Of our 20 boys we have three  8th graders, three 7th graders and 14  little 6th graders.  Last night they had their first scrimmage ever.  It was a 'double header'.  We ended up winning both matches.  The little guys actually carried our goalie off the field on their shoulders.  Precious!

I love days off

It is going to get up to just about 75 degrees here in Vegas today.  I know, I know.  I love the cold weather.  I do.  Right up until January 1.  After January 1st, I am ready for days like these.  Not to mention it is MLK day and here in CCSD that means NO SCHOOL!  This morning found me at the gym bright and early, home to do some house cleaning and now just blogging about how lucky I am.
Finals this week for all my kiddos.  We are half way through another school year. Wow.

San Diego

Joey had his last all star tournament last weekend in San Diego.  Doug Millie and I went down to watch.  His team had high hopes of being the first Vegas team to ever win the Elite A division of this annual event.  Coaches and players alike thought this was our year.  Unfortunately a loss in the first round kept the team from the goal.  All in all it was a good weekend.  Another addition to my book of 'lasts'.  This is the last all star team event Joey will participate in during high school.  Doug hates my 'lasts' but I am fond of it.  It makes me recall all the moments that I otherwise might just let pass.  Here are a few photos.

On a completely different note, last Sunday night and Monday morning Vegas was blanketed in the white stuff!  Nope, I am not kidding.  Snow in Vegas!  A few more inches and we may have seen a snow day.  Which I might add would have been the perfect end to a wonderful winter break.  I love snow !

Happy New Year!

2011!  2011?  Where did the past year go?  Happy New year to all of you!
We rang in the new year at our house, yup, you read right.  We were not at our annual NYE party at the Moody's house.  This year we were driving for most of the night from Provo to Vegas.  Last week Joey went up to meet with Coach Schneck, the BYU lacrosse coach and to participate in a camp for players.  Bret went to and also participated in the camp.  Doug and I drove up with the boys on Wednesday morning through a great wintry storm.  I love the weather!  The boys had to hop out of the truck in St George and bag up all of our luggage as the southern part of the state was in a huge rainstorm.  The rain quickly froze making the highway slick and as we traveled north we were met with lots of the WHITE STUFF!!!!!  I was in heaven!  We go to Provo and Joey, Bret and Doug were like three little boys playing in the snow.  It was wonderful.  The next day the boys went to the camp and Doug and I went to the Mt Timpanogos temple.  It was a great day.  Joey had a great visit with coach Schneck and was a stand out at camp.    Bret too was a top player in his age group.  Thursday evening we went to get some Smash Burgers and Joey started to feel sick.  Doug and I went down to the jacuzzi and met some great folks.  One couple was a former BYU lax player and his wife and another couple completely unrelated to the young man who had a son who played at the Y.  It was such a coincidence to meet these two families and hear their take on lacrosse at BYU.  We felt blessed to be given some inside information.
Friday Joey was in full blown 'cold and flu'.  Bret, luckily didn't have a touch of the bug. The boys went to the camp and Doug and I went up to Salt Lake for some shopping and lunch.  Last summer we found a great little place called Squatters on 300 South and we frequent it every time we go to SLC.
At the end of the camp all of the kids were given Y tshirts and a lax head.  Bret won a shoot out in the younger group.  Joey was taken aside by Coach Schneck and given a BYU team shooting shirt.  It was accompanied with lots of hopeful words regarding Joey's academic and lacrosse future at the Y.  We will keep you posted on this one!
We set out to the make the long drive home and again found snowy streets.   Joey and Bret dozed off and Doug and I enjoyed the ride through the freezing cold state of Utah.  At one point our car thermometer registered minus 13.  (I love it).
We got home and I had to start cooking for the 1st (will be annual) youth breakfast for the New Year.  After midnight Millie, Bret, Jenna, and a bunch of their friends made their way over after the Stake Dance to eat some bacon,eggs, pancakes,sausage, biscuits and gravy before continuing their celebration. Millie and I scooted over to the Moody's for the jump in the pool.  We came back and the kids were still going strong. At 3:00 I told them it was time to pack it in.
This morning we all slept in and have had a lazy day so far.  Christmas decorations are packed away for the next 11 months and we are slowly , ever so slowly, thinking about school and work and all the other things that we have to do Monday.

 

A little Joey lax video

Thought you might like the video for Joey. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdR-NuoHE8k

Back to the blog

Merry Christmas to everyone! It is time for me to start blogging again.  I have been on an 18 month hiatus, for reasons unknown to me.  I think facebook may have something to do with it, but I can point to about 50 thousand other things that get in the way of me and writing.  Anyway, I am now back to the blog.
 You can count on more regular posts from me. 
Let me try to do a quick catch up minus all the details that make the blogs so much fun:
Doug is still running his business Mecham and Shaul.  Tax season is right around the bend so I will have to kiss him goodbye in a few weeks and won't see his cute face again til April.  He is still in the Bishopric and is the best person I know.  Honestly he is Joey's best friend and Bret's too.  The boys never want to do anything with anyone but their dad.
Joey is the hardest for me to write about.  I feel like I have jipped you on his many adventures and I only have a few more months with him.  He will be off to school soon.  We will keep you posted on his school choice as soon as we know.  He is still laxing up a storm. He is the number 1 face off guy around as well as being a great midfielder. Picked for every all star event and team even after playing all last season with a torn hip labrum.  Not joking.  He is off to BYU this week to visit with Coach Schneck.  If you could have seen my face a few weeks ago when my phone rang and I heard the voice at the other end say, "this is Coach Schneck from the BYU lacrosse program calling for Joey".  I know! I was thrilled!  That same night Doug and I were having a Bishopric dinner at our house.  The whole group of us let out a cheer!  He got a job in September at the Izod store and works all the time.  He gives us 1/2 of what he earns.  (We are putting it away for school/mission..but shhhhh he doesn't know he is getting it back.)  The rest of his money goes to his truck and the 'system' he put in it last month.  You can here him coming about 5 minutes before he arrives.  Doug assures me stereos and cars are rights of passage for teenage boys.  All in all, he is a great kid. Great grades, jock, kind of a home body. He has been the 1st assistant in the priest's quorum and loves our Bishop. Loves hanging with  his dad and his brother and playing sports.  Oh by the way his team won the state title in lacrosse this year.  He played like a pro. 
Jenna has grown to be so pretty. It is funny because she is the spitting image of Doug.  How you ask, could she be so  pretty if she looks like a man.  I don't know how it is so, but it is so.  She is still Doug in a dress.  Just a beautiful feminine version. She is the first counselor in the mia maids.  She is also a great volley ball player and has been doing the club volleyball thing for years now.  She is the best player on her team at school and in the club.  Really.  I am not bragging, just stating the facts.  :)  She is also a singer!  When she was little and Doug and I were first married I put Jenna in piano lessons, dance lessons and voice lessons.  The piano has not been kept up with, dancing is done mostly in her room with Millie, but her voice has gotten more and more beautiful each year.   She is the ipod queen.  I am in Young Women with the girls (still or again depending on how you look at it) and I am forever plucking those buds out of her ears at activities.   She is thinking of doing the musical at school, but doesn't want it to mess up her volleyball schedule.  She is a wonderful girl and is a great person to be around.
Bret is a comedy show all day every day.  He is somewhat like Joey with the homebody thing and will often pick staying home with Doug and Joey to going out with friends.  But he has this wild side that cracks me up.  He is always fun and funny.  You know, there is a difference between people who are fun and those who are funny.  Bret is one of the rare few who has both qualities. He is almost always up for anything.  If kids come by and say, "hey Bret, we are getting bus passes to ride all over Vegas today"   not only will Bret go, he will pretend he only speaks Danish the entire time they are out.  He comes up with crazy fun ideas all the time.  He is so mischievous in a good wholesome, boy way. He and I have our own little language of sarcasm that we do with each other and I love it. He is also a laxer.  He will be in the same club as Joey this year on the JV team.  Joey is excited cause he will get to see Bret play more this year since they will be at the same field a lot.  Bret is also a great face off guy.  He was picked for the middle school all star team last year!  He is doing really well in school and is serious about it. He and Millie have a lot of classes together. 
Millie is doing well in school and has a goal to be the valedictorian when she graduates.  If you know Millie, you know it will likely be the case. She is so pretty and well liked by everyone.  She is very involved in leadership at school and loves that.  She is playing volleyball for the 9th grade team as the setter and was chosen to be the captain.  She played club volleyball too but decided to just do school volleyball so she has time in the spring for lacrosse.  Last year as an 8th grader she played on the HS varsity team!  She didn't play too much, but just being on the team was a thrill.  She will play more this year and of course more and more as time goes on.  Her team also won state. She is still  a great cook and is my girl.  Her best friend Regan moved to Utah this summer.  It has been a hard change for her.  The Ellsworths were such an integral part of her life.  She is adjusting, but it's slow.  Right now she is the mia maids secretary.
I have been busy with lots of changes too.  My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease shortly after she moved here.  We knew it was coming and honestly it is the reason they moved here so we could help them.  It has been a hard road for me and my brothers.  My mom is very ill now, but still has some good days where she seems like our mum for brief moments and even occasionally hours at a time.  Her illness saddened me profoundly.  I don't like change all that much and this was a change that I could do nothing about.  Last September I was called to serve in the Stake Relief Society presidency as 1st counselor.  I was in that calling for a short time when my mom fell and broke her hip in the spring.  I was needed to be with her more than ever.   We spent countless hours with her as she recuperated.  I  pulled away from everything for a while and drew closer to Doug and my family.   I have spent hours at the temple and found so much peace there.  I was called back to Young Women at the start of the school year.  I love being with my 'girls' .  So many of the laurels are girls that have grown up with Joey and the girls who are seniors with him were baptized the same year that I was.  I find that to be a huge connection between me and the girls I work with.  I also love being with Jenna and Millie.  I am working as a cooking teacher at the junior high that our kids attended.  Now that they are gone, I may need to get into something else.  I do love my job, but I have been teaching at the school that the kids attend since I went back to work.  I miss them and the happenings in their lives.  I am thinking of moving over to the High school.  The problem is I will have to convince them to make me a learning strategist for them as I don't have the right license for High school. I have loved being home for Christmas break and am grateful that we have had so much fun this week.  
What's coming up for us?  Well, Jenna's driving soon and will be old enough to date.  Joey will be off to school.  Millie and Bret will be navigating life with out their 'best friends' close at hand.  We will have our hands full.
I sure do love you all.  It's good to be back.

Mum

It's mothers' day! I have a mum who read to me, fed me, waited up for me, smiled at me, talked to me, prayed for me, laughed with me (at me sometimes), cried for me, loved me.

LUCKY ME!

So you may be wondering where I have been. It has been one heck of a busy year and I just thought I should say hola to all of my friends in bloggy world before I most certainly disappear again. The spring season of lacrosse and volley ball is upon me and here is the schedule from now til the end of May :

Monday- practice Millie/ Joey
Tuesday- practice Bret/ Jenna Games Joey/ Millie (same field*** AMEN)
Wednesday- YM/YW practice Joey/ Millie Game Bret
Thursday- practice Jenna/Joey/ Bret Game Millie
Friday- Practice Millie Game Joey (same field again ** smiles**)
Saturday- Practice Joey Game Bret

Jenna also has tournys all over the place and Joey has out of state travel. Did I mention that it is tax season for Doug? THANK GOODNESS Joey can drive!
I'm not complaining. Excited really. Love it all. Just wondering how on earth we will ever see each other over the next couple months, but we will.

Merry Christmas 2009!

Christmas photo 2009.

Mum and Dad

This is a photo of my mum and dad dancing the other night at their new home. All I can say is, ladies, may we all have someone who will look at us like the way my father looks at my mother after 65 years together.

Vegas Starz

9 games played...9 games won. And California thought Vegas couldn't compete. It's on to SLC this week for the Rocky Mountain Lax Showcase. Go Joey and the Starz!

Oh Fathers...

Father's day for the best dad around happened while we were , yup you guessed it, on the road. Joey had another tournament in LA so Doug and I decided to pack up the family for this event and spend a weekend away. I know, just the 6 of us. Not too romantic. Actually not one minute alone, but enjoyed by all. Doug is wonderful. You all know that. Our kids are lucky. He is 100% in a world where most dad's are 10% at best. I don't doubt for a minute both the boys admire him and desire to be 'just like dad' when they grow up. The girls, well, they will have a hard time finding a guy who measures up.

I don't say it enough, but I think it all the time. Doug, you are the best!

Since I can't find a money tree at any local shop...

Summer is here and with it I find myself a full time mum. Yup, I love it. Don't get me wrong, but parenting my own kids is far more rewarding than parenting other peoples kids. Anyhow, my extra time really does equal money. I am always a frugal shopper....(shout out to Zech and Em who are exceptional, and also the Queen, hmm Tiff...) but when summer comes along I really get my savings cap on. I have successfully, with Doug's help, shaved 50 bucks off of our phone bill and 120.00 off other household expenses. Shopping today found me purchasing over 400 dollars of food, GOOD FOOD...food my kids eat food, for drumroll.............

195.80!

Be proud of me Queen Tiff.

Also... Laundry - check

Mopped floors- check

Clean fridge- check

I love summer time!

Oh how I wish I had one of these....

Guess who made it!

Click on the link below....

http://www.adidasnationallacrosseclassic.com/socal_selections