Bryson

Baseball is still Bryson's first love, but we also have started him in tennis lessons. He has natural athleticism and the best hand-eye coordination of all my boys, according to the coach who has worked with everyone but Austin, but Bryson is also my kid who isn't motivated to work hard. As of now, he wants to do baseball in high school. We can't help but gently push him towards tennis due to the competitiveness and environment of baseball at the high school. He made the junior high tennis team and has enjoyed the matches, putting his winner ribbons proudly on his backpack, though he would prefer to play singles to doubles.

He loves pitching and has grown to enjoy catching more.

Bryson has been very brave this year in trying out for choir solos and region choir. He sang a special solo part with 2 other boys during his Christmas choir concert for one of his songs. He was the 1st alternate for region choir, but it was still a good experience for him. Because I am not paying for his piano lessons, he has been taking voice lessons this year, which has helped with his confidence. He sang a duet in his choir Pop Show in front of a filled auditorium. He and his friend sang, "The Other Side" from The Greatest Showman. 

Region choir try-outs

Fall Birthdays and Halloween

We celebrated this 10-year-old by opening presents in the morning with Matt on the phone. The temple was closed for cleaning, so I didn't have to worry about moving my temple shift and could just meet this boy for lunch at school. I brought him Chick Fil A, and we played a game. He wanted Matt to make his birthday dinner on the weekend--steak and chicken kebabs. Austin also got a new tennis racket from Grandma and Grandpa.

Halloween 2025

The day before Bryson's birthday, we were able to have a family day at a campground that my dad volunteers at once a week. Rope swings, zip line, fishing, paddle boarding, lunch, and some archery. I forgot to take pictures!

Bryson was thrilled to turn 13, but not happy about fasting on his birthday. We had chicken and waffles for dinner with the missionaries and Grandma and Grandpa. There was no school the next two days, so he was able to invite some friends over to watch a PG-13 movie and have ice cream sundaes.

Grandma and Grandpa got him some new batting gloves.

At their well-check appointment, we learned that Bryson has 20/70 vision in his left eye. For the first time he mentioned that he has trouble reading things from the back of the classroom! Austin is in the 5th percentile for his height, and the doctor talked to us about considering growth hormones for him. (He is projected to be 5'6".)

Oral Surgery #2

Originally scheduled for December, Bryson went in for oral surgery #2 to pull out extra teeth matter that grew in and also to put chains on his permanent teeth to help them grow in faster. In December, we went in for the surgery, and it was a really cold day. Bryson was feeling pretty nervous and jittery. He needed to wear a short-sleeve shirt for the anesthesia, but he also chose to wear shorts, which I didn't notice in the rush to get out the door early in the morning. Bryson had a very slight sniffle--no cold, no fever, no coughing/sneezing--which I associate with the fact that it was just a cold morning and the way he dressed. However, when Bryson sniffs, it's always been an exaggerated snort noise. I've never thought twice about it...except in this instance on surgery day, it totally bit him in the butt. He did the snort sniffle in the waiting room, and we were unaware that the front desk warned the nurse. They took us back to a waiting room and took his temperature, completely normal, and the nurse said, "It's a little high." She continued to ask probing questions about whether he was sick or if anyone else in our family was sick that caught us off-guard. We both answered honestly. Then the anesthesiologist came in and continued to ask us the same questions. She looked down his throat and made him blow his nose in a tissue and show the snot to her (clear and hardly anything). Bryson and I were both getting frustrated at this point. She used a placating tone as she told us that sometimes a kid or even a parent lies about their child being sick in order to not have to schedule the surgery again. She warned of the dangers of him having a cold and not being able to breathe out of his nose. Everything checked out normal, and I didn't have concerns about Bryson and the surgery. Then RIGHT as she was taking Bryson back to do the surgery, he did his loud sniffle snort, and I knew it was over. The way she acted like, "Aha! I knew I was right! I just caught them red-handed in a lie!" really didn't go over well with me and Bryson. We had to sit there and listen to a lecture about taking him into the pediatrician and using Flonase, etc. We were both fuming, but what could I do at that point? I had to meet with the accountant again where she ripped up the check and the surgery was rescheduled for February. Bryson hated that he had told all his friends and teachers that he wouldn't be there the next 2 days of school, and then that all changed. But he was mostly furious that he felt like the anesthesiologist accused him of being a liar and expressed that with a lengthy tantrum when we got home, especially when I said that he would need to go to school that day. I let him calm down for an hour, and then took him to school.

I was livid myself, and after talking to a few people to get some perspective, I decided to call the office and share my concerns about the experience. If rescheduling the surgery had to happen, there was a better way to handle the situation. Even though we held two different perspectives of the situation, shaming us and making us aware that they thought we were liars was not professional. The doctor called me back personally and apologized. I did not want to go back after that experience, and Bryson initially refused to go back. But starting over with a new oral surgeon was ultimately going to be more money and time with the initial appointments. It was easiest to just move forward. We asked for a different anesthesiologist, but there is only that one pediatric anesthesiologist at that office. I told Bryson he didn't need to talk to her or look at her.

Morning of the next scheduled surgery, we got there bright and early. When we went back to the waiting room, the anesthesiologist could read from my stone cold demeanor that something was wrong. She excused Bryson with a nurse to take his height and weight, and then innocently asked what was wrong. I shared exactly how Bryson and I both felt after the last experience--the shaming--and how neither Bryson or I had a desire to be back in that office because of her. She responded that she had no idea, the doctor had never talked to her about it (even though he said he would), and simply apologized and asked for my forgiveness. She said that no matter how we felt, she was going to do everything she could to take care of and watch over Bryson as if he were her own child. I thanked her for her apology and was impressed with her professionalism. 

He actually handled the pain over the next few days really well.

A sweet ministering sister dropped off some balloons and socks on the doorstep to greet him when he got home. That was so thoughtful and meant so much to Bryson.

The swelling lasted almost a week! Because there wasn't any swelling on day 1, we didn't use any ice packs. I feel like the swelling wouldn't have lasted so long if we would have been proactive on day 1.

*Update a month later, it was shocking that his teeth came down so fast! After his first orthodontist appointment post surgery, his teeth starting peeking through the gums a week later. He's been a one-tooth wonder for so long that he appreciates feeling normal with front teeth!

Bryson's 12th Birthday

Bryson celebrated his 12th birthday with a few friends at Activate--an active gaming experience. They had a lot of fun, and he had a great birthday.

Favorite dinner: kebabs

Favorite dessert: s'mores bars

Favorite snack: cheez-its

Favorite color: bright orange

Favorite activity: listening to books

Favorite book: False Prince or Alex Rider series

Favorite subject: math

Favorite sport: baseball

Happy 11th Birthday!

Bryson's birthday comes quick after Halloween!

Halloween 2023 with friends

Peanut butter bars for dessert after honey lime enchiladas for dinner
We also celebrated by going out to dinner as a family that weekend.

 

Bryson's 10th Birthday

Bryson does such a good job watching out for his younger brother to and from school each day and just in general. He sees Austin as a peer and friend and likes to include him in everything. Bryson is a hard worker at school and sports. He is very creative and likes making forts and coming up with other imaginary play for him and Austin. As much as I love their playing together, I have to constantly nag them to clean up after themselves. Something I work with Bryson on is his moodiness. He angers easily and thinks the world is conspiring against him when anything goes wrong. It's something we may have to get professional help with at some point. The most contention we have in the family is between Bryson and Carter, whose relationship is toxic. It makes me sad, and I hope one day they will be friends. For now, we constantly tell them not to talk to each other and stay out of each other's business. Bryson loves roller coasters and is up for any adventure. I love my school lunch dates with Bryson and playing games with him while talking about his day. 

Bryson and Austin end up sleeping in the same bed most nights even though they have a bunk bed. They really do have a special bond. 

 

Bryson's 9th Birthday

 

I met Bryson for lunch at school the day before his birthday since his birthday was on a preschool teaching day. Whenever I eat lunch with the boys at school, I bring a game to play, which they love.

I thought Carter would have the toughest adjustment back to school just because I was so paranoid about how well I covered all the material he was supposed to learn in homeschool last year. But actually Bryson's been the one I've had to spend the most time helping with homework and studying this year, but perhaps it would have been that way regardless? He's succeeding and doing well; it's just taking a little more effort.

Bryson is enjoying his fall season of baseball and has even been able to pitch in two games. I think I was more nervous than he was! He is such a sweet kid and has a very special relationship with Austin. He's doing a good job being the "big brother" on their way to and from school looking out for Austin. One reason he is glad to be back at school is because lots of girls have a crush on him. Apparently he spends recess running from girls who chase him. Out of all my boys, Bryson is the best at independent play and creativity. He can play with Mad Matter for over an hour. Usually his independent play/creativity results in a large mess that Matt or I end up having to help clean up, but we think it's worth it!

Bryson's Baptism

Bryson's 8th birthday was November 2nd, and his baptism was scheduled for November 14th. 

I put Matt in charge of taking some baptism pictures in the front yard.

Thus a "baptism" picture on his new jeep.

The picture we used for his invitations

Bryson's baptism program

A few family pictures

We were grateful to all our friends and family that came! 

My favorite part of the baptism was singing together. The Spirit was so strong as we sang "Gethsemane." It has just been so long that we have been able to sing in a church building! Drew and Ariane did a great job on their talks. Matt's family was not able to join last-minute due to an exposure to Covid-19. 

Bryson is our child who is often in "La La Land" during Come Follow Me discussions/scripture reading. We are constantly bringing him back to attention. Even though we thought we had covered all the information to prep him for his baptism, we realized not everything sunk in when Bryson couldn't answer what faith is during his bishop's interview. 😆

Bryson's 8th Birthday

First thing in the morning (bed head and all)

This Weapons and Warriors game was his main present. He also got a growing frog and a tub of bubble gum.

MeMaw and Papa gave him some quarters for his piggy bank

 He also got a badminton set from Grandma and Grandpa. I forgot to take a picture, but the boys have had a lot of fun with that in the backyard!

Bryson's 7th Birthday

To celebrate Bryson's birthday, I met him at school on Friday to eat a Chick Fil-A lunch. On Saturday, we celebrated with donuts for breakfast. Grandma and Grandpa met up with Bryson mid-day and gave him a few presents. Later in the afternoon, we picked up two of his best friends and went to an indoor trampoline park for a few hours. We came home for pizza and cupcakes. Papa also dropped off his trademark gift of $10 in quarters.

The next week during the school book fair, I met Bryson so he could pick out a few books for his birthday.

Bryson at 7 years old
Favorite color: blue
Favorite food: honey lime enchiladas
Favorite subject at school: P.E.
Favorite things to do: play games with his family
Best friends: Dax, Odette, Brenner

Bryson is excelling in 1st grade. He's turning into a great reader and hard worker at school. He and Austin can be the best of friends a lot of the time and disappear for over an hour playing nice together, but they also fight often. Bryson is still doing piano lessons and is about to finish the primer level. (He could be further if I sat down with him more consistently--that one is on me. I'm less and less motivated with each child it seems as it's another thing to stay on top of.) He really took to baseball and wants to continue. He is typically not a morning person, and we have to tiptoe around him on school mornings so that he doesn't blow up and yell, "Well, I'm not going to school today!" It happens less this year than last year. He loves riding his bike, and when he rides to school, I hear he is all business. He ignores any of my friends that pass him and say "hi," focused solely on getting to school, whereas Carter is all smiles and warm greetings for any of the adults he knows from church.

Family Update

Austin
Follow-up on Austin's tooth accident: we heard back from the oral surgeon that he was willing to pull out both the baby tooth with the cracked root and the extra permanent tooth. That was good news! I scheduled a consultation with the oral surgeon. When he looked at a 2D x-ray that the nurse took, he noticed that the broken piece of the root was hardly visible. He also examined Austin's mouth and observed his baby tooth with the broken root was more stable. With this new data, the oral surgeon decided that he needed a {very expensive} 3D x-ray to get a better look at the placement of the teeth and the damage done from the accident to see if the oral surgery was absolutely necessary. He said the longer we could wait on the surgery the better in terms of the anesthesia and his very small mouth. As long as there was no infection and his tooth was stable, he would want to postpone surgery. After the 3D x-ray, Austin and I left not knowing the results because the doctor needed time to analyze.

I got a call Friday afternoon that the oral surgeon felt safe postponing the surgery. The cracked piece of the root was all but dissolved due to the permanent tooth above it pushing down. As long as an abscess doesn't form, the tooth doesn't become more tender or change colors more than it has, then he said we could hold off on the surgery. This is such great news! We will continue to hope and pray that things stay stable and we can hold off on this surgery as long as possible!

Bryson
He is playing his first season of baseball. We signed him up with a different league than what we have done in the past. The league that Caleb and Carter have played for does machine pitch at Bryson's age (40+ mph speed). Bryson doesn't have the same natural athleticism and drive that Caleb and Carter have so we put him in a league that does coach pitch. So far we like the league and think it is a great fit for Bryson. He had his first game last Monday night. The very first play of the game, the batter hit a pop-up to Bryson in the pitcher position and he caught it! (In full disclosure, Bryson didn't even have to take a step. It was literally right to him. But he still had to stick his glove out and make the catch!) He had a strong first at-bat and hit a hard hit right over 2nd base. His 2nd at-bat he struck out. He played the pitcher position twice, catcher twice, and shortstop once. There are at least 4 kids better than him on the team that have played for 4 to 5 seasons, but Bryson definitely shows some potential. We didn't realize he would play catcher so Matt hadn't worked with him on that yet, therefore Bryson did not do well at stopping the ball. He did do well at throwing it back to the coach pitching, which not all kids can do. Bryson ended up getting the game ball for his first game! Great start to his season. Hopefully he continues to improve.

(sweaty baseball hair)

Carter

A lot of Carter's games have been rained out, so even though his league started much earlier than the other boys' leagues, he has only played 2 games. Matt is coaching his team again and says that Carter is his best defensive player. He never has to tell Carter what to do with the ball. Carter is "in" the game and knows where to throw the ball to make the play. The team is struggling with pitching this season. Carter isn't able to throw enough consistent strikes yet, but really wants to pitch so he's set a goal to practice regularly this season on his own in order to improve and earn a spot as a pitcher.

I also wanted to record one of the sweetest things that Carter has ever done. Caleb's birthday, August, 22nd, was a very stressful night with a back-to-school meeting at Caleb's school, plus I taught an hour of piano lessons after school. My parents had picked up Caleb after school to take him out to select a few books at Barnes and Noble for his birthday. After piano, I dished up the crockpot meal I had made for dinner, then ran out the door. Carter was in charge for a bit until my parents got back with Caleb, who was going to babysit. I thought the back-to-school night would be an hour. It was close to 2 hours! Matt had a late night at work so he wasn't home yet by the time I got home. When I got home, all the dishes were either in the dishwasher or washed up drying by the sink. I immediately texted my mom to thank her for doing my dishes--I assumed she had cleaned up when they brought Caleb back home. To my surprise, she said they were already done when she came back with Caleb. Carter had cleaned up all on his own! Not typical for a 9-year-old! It is one of Carter's gifts that he sees a need and steps in and helps. When Matt is out doing yard work, Carter is usually out there voluntarily helping him. A few weeks ago, Carter went out and mowed the backyard all by himself! (Well, he got about halfway done and then had to go to baseball practice.) Carter is also quite competent in the kitchen--cracking and scrambling himself an egg, putting things in and out of the oven, etc. I LOVE this side of Carter. He can be the sweetest kid....when he's not fighting with Bryson and when he and I are not on the piano together!

Caleb

Things are looking up for Caleb in terms of football in the sense that he is liking it more. He enjoys playing in the games and doesn't complain about practices anymore. (It also helps that practices are only Wednesday through Friday now.) His team has won 2 games and lost 1. He plays wideout on the kickoff line and also plays in the defensive line. We assumed he would be offensive because he's a fast runner and doesn't have experience tackling. He doesn't play a ton, there are about 35 kids on his team, but he does play a fair amount. I've seen him get a tackle and attempt another tackle on a kid two heads taller than him. :) I've been to one game and Matt went to another. 

While football may not be where he shines, he is an all-star on his soccer team. Matt is assistant coaching, and I have actually not been to any of his games yet this season. Matt says that Caleb has great ball control, speed, and touch and that he never gives up on a play. Caleb admitted that he thinks his conditioning in football has really helped him soccer. It is looking like it will be a losing season though in terms of his team. The age range for his level this year is '07 - '05 so he is playing against some very mature 9th graders. He also has some newbies on his team this year, whereas at least one of the other teams have been playing together for several seasons. Hopefully they will show improvement over the course of the season and win a game or two. 

Caleb has had some tough lessons in responsibility this year with school. He is used to relying on me to hold his hand in schoolwork--a liability I didn't mean to create. With him being the oldest and stemming from the decision to push him on to school as an August birthday instead of holding him back, I've been very involved in his schoolwork to make sure he succeeds. In my defense, I try to be involved with all my boy's schoolwork to make sure they are understanding what is being taught and supplementing at home when I need to. Caleb has been depending on me too much though so I've pulled back over the last month and told him he needs to be more independent in figuring out some things on his own. However, without me hovering, he has chosen to procrastinate his assignments, which has led to some late nights with him getting 6 or 7 hours of sleep due to waking up early for football practice. We have had many discussions about starting early on assignments or working a little each day, but it's not sinking in for some reason. He finally was grounded from his phone this past weekend because he made the choice to come home and play games on his phone for 45 minutes on Thursday, then ended up staying up till 11:30pm getting an assignment done that he had known about for almost a week! He also had a busy night with a soccer practice that night, which I wouldn't have had him attend if I had realized the extent of the assignment. Hopefully he will utilize his time better and adjust to being more responsible for his learning. 

On another note, I had plans to go do baptisms at the temple on a Friday that happened to be a day that school was cancelled due to Imelda. My friend I had previously made arrangements with took Austin + 2 more boys, and Caleb and I did baptisms together. It was a great way to start an unexpected day off of school!

Matt

Coaching baseball + assistant-coaching soccer + intense work days with helping the new-ish business be successful + seminary = a sick husband for at least the past 4 weeks with congestion and cough from not getting enough sleep and a husband that is just not himself in terms of energy, helping around the house, and yard work. I'm not going to lie. It's been tough. Year 2 of Matt teaching seminary and I now strongly think that men with long work days should NOT be called as seminary teachers or he should have a partner so he's only preparing 2 lessons a week instead of 4. The time seminary takes is hard on our marriage and hard on our family. Matt has too much on his plate. He enjoys teaching! He really does and has had some wonderful experiences with teaching/relating to the kids (freshmen again this year), but it is too much on top of his work day and the coaching that he wants to do. He loves coaching and being involved with our boys' sports and doesn't want to give that up--especially when no one else volunteers to coach. Despite his busy life, Matt has been a rock star about trying to keep up with helping with the kids at night, doing dishes, and tidying any messes. Where he has sacrificed is his sleep; he doesn't get much every night. Understandably, he falls short in getting to the bigger yard projects (mulching, re-sodding due to getting hit by cinch bug this year no matter what bug spray we used to fight it, power-washing the driveway that we've received two letters from the HOA about...all of which I'm willing to do but is dependent on using the jeep/trailer etc.). Our yard is in a sad state right now, which is something we both very much care about. 

On top of his busy schedule, Matt has also spent the last two weekends helping out for a 10-12 hour day with flood victims due to Imelda--mucking out homes and assisting people as needed. I really appreciated that the Elders Quorum president called Matt and said he could not sign up for the 2nd weekend. Instead he needed to stay home, spend time with his family, and take care of himself so he could get better. Then someone from the stake presidency called and asked Matt to be a team lead again that next weekend. So off Matt went again, making a huge difference in the lives of those who were affected by the storm.

Driving through high water in Vidor to go help--1st weekend

Orange County--2nd weekend

Me

Preschool is getting better day by day in terms of the behavior of one little sweet, but stubborn girl. I'm also teaching piano to 8 students this year including Carter and Bryson. 

Last Sunday was our primary program, which I had a huge part in as the primary music leader. My personal goal was for the kids to know the songs well enough that I didn't have to hold words up. The children sang 9 songs in the program: Come, Follow Me vs. 1, Baptism all 3 verses, Master the Tempest is Raging vs. 1, Did You Think to Pray? vs. 1, Gethsemane with hand signs, Did Jesus Really Live Again? all 3 verses, Stand for the Right/I Will Be Valiant Medley, The Church of Jesus Christ Medley, and finishing off with I Will Be What I Believe. The overall theme for the program was how different people in the New Testament were valiant and how the children can be valiant disciples of Christ too. I teared up while leading the last song as it's just so powerful and the youth stood up from the congregation and joined in on the Army of Helaman part. Unfortunately several youth (and adults) were missing the day of the program because they were helping with flood victims. I was really sad to have so many of the youth gone because it wasn't as strong without them, but overall the program went great! It's nice to have the 1st year in this calling under my belt. 

With Matt gone helping flood victims, these last two Sundays have been extra stressful. Here's how Sept. 22nd looked: entertaining the kids Sunday morning, getting to church early so I could play the organ, primary program during church, teaching primary music 2nd hour, running kids home, going back for special musical number practice for our upcoming Stake Conference, going back home, throwing a frozen pizza in the oven, eating dinner as a family, dropping my kids off at a sweet friend's house who lovingly volunteered to play games with my children until Matt got home from Imelda clean-up while I went to the first Noel Christmas stake choir practice, which I would have opted out of except I said yes to helping out on the piano during sectionals so they were depending on me. The next Sunday was similar (minus primary program) except Jared and Kari were so nice to feed my family dinner! We will see if there is a need this weekend for helping flood victims...

Other than teaching preschool and piano and my busy calling, I spend my time hanging out with Austin during the day and running kids around at night! 

This is definitely a busy time of life right now!

The Start of School

1st day picture: Bryson starting 1st grade and Carter starting 4th

Caleb starting 7th grade at a junior high school

Austin starting preschool

The start of school has been a breeze for Bryson and Carter. Bryson has his best friend, Dax, in his class, plus a handful of friends from his class last year, including Camdyn who is enamored with him and vice versa. I can't tell you how many entries in his writing journal were about Camdyn at the end of last year. "Who is your favorite person and why? Camdyn because she gives me hugs." Bryson is doing well in school so far. He also has matured since last year and hasn't had the meltdowns right before school about refusing to go when something sets him off in the morning like last year. (i.e. Me telling him to hurry too many times, Carter saying something that upsets him, Austin looking at him the wrong way...)

Carter has the same homeroom teacher as Caleb did when he was in 4th grade. They have simplified some things since Caleb was in 4th grade including less homework. I'm so grateful for that! One less thing to keep on top of.

Caleb has had a tougher adjustment this year. There is a stupid rule that in order to be in Athletics instead of P.E., you have to play football. We have heard that if you are in Athletics, the coaches know you better and your chances increase of making the other sports teams. Caleb plans to try out for soccer, basketball, and tennis and wanted to increase the odds of making the teams so he is doing football for the first time this year. Caleb is athletic and fast so we knew Caleb would be able to hold his own, but the experience so far has been more than Caleb bargained for. He wakes up every morning at 6:15, eats a light breakfast, and leaves for school at 6:45. I run him to school because he has a few busier intersections to go through. He changes into his football gear and has to be on the field at 7:20. They practice football for almost 2 hours and then they have 20 minutes for 150 boys to shower and change for the rest of the school day. Caleb also uses a portion of those 20 minutes to eat more breakfast that I pack him.

The first 3 days of practice were extra hard. I can only assume that the coaches were trying to weed out the weak, and Caleb was ready to throw in the towel. It's very hot and humid still, and when the sun comes out, it is not fun to be outside exercising. (I feel bad for the 8th graders who practice after school!) The workouts were so intense that kids were throwing up their breakfast each morning. Caleb absolutely hates the mouth guard, which is too large for his mouth (and most of the boys' mouths). You can choose to have it pushed all the way in and having the ends irritate the back of your mouth or leave a portion hanging out the front of your mouth. Caleb is a germaphobe--he took all lessons about germs from school to heart. So it drives him crazy to have sweat and snot dripping into his mouth guard while he works out, not to mention the grass and dirt that get on it from the up downs. Because the morning workouts are so intense, he said he would have a headache the rest of the day and sometimes have difficulty concentrating in class. (Water is provided only by the football coaches in big huge jugs, but I'm sure a reason for the headaches is not being hydrated enough. He says the water tastes nasty so I bet he doesn't drink enough water like he should.) He definitely has not been on his game this year in terms of schoolwork. He's in all pre-AP classes this year for the core classes, and I've really had to stay on top of making sure he is keeping up with his classes. So after the first week, he didn't verbally say it, but I knew he wanted to quit. We had to talk about how 1) being labeled a quitter would do nothing to help him make the other sports teams, 2) the difficult conditioning he was doing each morning would help him be a better athlete and get in better shape, and 3) how this was an opportunity to rely on Heavenly Father to help him. 

Now that the boys are divided into 4 teams, Caleb says the practices aren't as hard as the beginning of the year. This year was a learning experience. I didn't want Caleb playing football but also wasn't strongly opposed to it if he wanted to try it out. I don't see him choosing to play again next year! He made the C team--we were warned that anyone who is a smaller 7th grade would likely make the C or D team, which I'm fine with. I don't want him going up against or getting tackled by bigger boys!

Starting preschool with Austin was a lot more difficult than I wanted to be. Austin is an angel and very smart for his age, but there are some challenges with some other students in the class. 8 days in and things are improving. Day 5 of teaching though was the hardest day of any of the 6 years I've taught preschool! A combination of one child absolutely refusing to participate in activities, having a meltdown 1st thing in the morning when she didn't get her way about something and another major meltdown for the last 20 minutes of preschool with hysterical crying, and another child throwing up all over my carpet right at the end of preschool. It was a doozy, but then it can only get better from there...I hope. 

Kindergarten Graduation

Bryson had a very nice Kindergarten Program. (I roll my eyes at the graduation part, but it is cute to see all of them in their caps and tassels.)

Walking up to the stage

According to Bryson, Sophia is in love with him. She kept trying to hold his hand! The feelings are not reciprocated though. (He's going to marry a girl named Odette.)

5 of the 10 Kindergarten classes--thankfully they broke it up over 2 days. Bryson is on the front row because he had a speaking part.

Bryson stood perfectly still during all the songs, refusing to do the actions when all his fellow classmates were doing actions to each song. In one song, there was a free dance part at the beginning. Bryson took off flossing like his life depended on it, and he very much stood out being on the front row. I couldn't stop laughing out loud!!! Then he proceeded to stand still for the rest of the song while everyone else did actions.

He also had a part in the program where he said a line from a poem about leaving their moms on the first day of school and how they've grown throughout the year.

Bryson and his Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Schwartz. He had a great year with her!

His certificate from his teacher. Can I just say this made my momma heart so happy? We have talked about saving money for a mission in the past, but I haven't mentioned it in a long while.

 Fluff year of school is over. Hopefully he's ready for 1st grade!