Caleb Mission Farewell

Caleb had such a wonderful experience at BYU. It was so reassuring to hear after my first adult religion education class fail how much joy and light he had found at BYU; he especially loved how religion was integrated into his classes, and he could feel the Spirit while learning. Caleb took an organ class, piano, Book of Mormon, missionary preparation, Writing, required freshman class (University 101), and American Heritage. He didn't want a heavy schedule. He started dating a girl named Annie who was in 2 of his classes and his home ward. Instead of getting a job, he worked a Friday night shift in the temple. He joined an Ultimate Frisbee team and participated in a pickleball club and played in several tournaments, winning most of them (prize money or nice pickleball paddles that he sold). All of his friends from home went straight on their missions, so Caleb roomed with someone he didn't know ahead of time named Evan. They got along fine, and really helped each other when it came time to study for their American Heritage final. Caleb participated in tunnel singing on Sunday nights, practiced the piano a lot, organized musical numbers at church for his calling, went to a few football games, and enjoyed the freedom of being on his own. He and Annie became really close to their Book of Mormon teacher, and she had a huge impact on them both. Living in Helaman Halls, he had a meal plan and thought the food was great. He ate a huge spinach salad most every day. It was tricky doing some mission prep while he was away at school such as getting his passport and visa done, especially since he didn't have a car. He became very familiar with the public transportation system. Leading into the American Heritage final, he had a B in the class, so he studied super hard for the final with his roommate, staying up late quizzing each other. His roommate only missed one question on the final and Caleb missed two out of 90-ish questions! His final average qualified him to be asked to be a TA for the next semester!

While Caleb was home for Christmas and before being set apart as a missionary, we played a lot of games, and he played a lot of tennis and pickleball!

Cousin temple trip

Carter's first time baptizing

A snowstorm actually came through the weekend he was supposed to give his farewell talk, and church and school the next day were canceled. Fortunately, the bishop allowed him to play his musical number and give his talk the next week on a Fast Sunday, followed by testimonies from the congregation. He got emotional a few times during his talk as he shared experiences of how he has gained a testimony of Jesus Christ.

Photoshoot Part 2

Caleb Senior Photoshoot

My sister-in-law took some awesome shots of Caleb for his senior pictures. Too many favorites! I love the pictures where Caleb is smiling, and Caleb loves the pictures with his model pose. 😆

My favorite

Caleb's favorite

 

End of High School

May was a whirlwind with finishing up school for Caleb. He had two AP tests to take, Simply Prom, a final high school tennis tournament, the tennis banquet, graduation practice, graduation, a tennis fundraiser tournament, a piano recital for his students, and then his own senior piano recital. 

Caleb asked a good friend in his Calculus class to Simply Prom. (Church prom where several stakes in this area combine to put it on.) He and Maddie competed all year to have the highest grade in the class. She usually pulled out on top. He had Calculus equations in some balloons that she had to pop and solve to uncover the words "Will you be my plus C value at prom?"

I was the booster representative in planning the banquet. I ended up being more involved than I wanted to be, but I was working with close church friends so it was fun. Planning the food was the most stressful part in terms of ordering the right amount. We over planned on food, but it was a successful night.

Caleb and Carter both won several awards. On the JV team, Carter won the team spirit award, leadership, and best tan line. Caleb won the groundstroke, sportsmanship and most dedicated awards for varsity. He also was awarded a scholarship.

Caleb and Elizabeth with their Grizzly GROWL award

Both Caleb and Carter played in the Grand Slam fundraising tournament in the men's doubles division. They played together in the tournament last year. This year, they each played with a good friend.

Caleb and his good friend, Ethan, who graduated a year ahead of him. Ethan was ranked #1 and Caleb #2 for Ethan's senior year. They won this tournament together! It was a fight to the end in a tie breaker against a college player and a tennis coach.

Carter and his friend Ravi who placed 3rd!

Graduation was extremely long and hot. On the plus side, I had a good 3 hours to catch up with my mom and dad. My dad even got a little cat nap. Caleb graduated Magna Cum Laude with a 4.0 unweighted GPA. He took a total of 6 AP classes in high school. 

Caleb was recognized as a senior athlete representative. (Only a handful were chosen.)

Caleb and his good friend, Tyler

Graduation party with some fellow seniors

I want to document Caleb's artwork that still hangs in the hallway of his elementary school!

May wrapped up with Caleb's senior recital. He played 50 minutes of memorized, challenging, polished classical pieces. His repertoire included: Sonata Pathétique, Nocturne in D flat major by Chopin, Khachaturian Toccata, Fantaisie Impromptu, Moonlight Sonata mvt 3, and Clair de Lune. The stamina it takes to play such challenging songs as well as the mental focus is quite impressive. He played with such feeling and grace, and this was a huge payday moment for him as an accumulation of a lot of hard work. He shared some thoughts about each song--a little background, what the song sounds like to him, what makes the song difficult, etc. There was a good crowd including his longest teacher, Marilyn, who drove over 3 hours to come hear him in person. We did record the event. Matt and I shared a few words at the end of how proud we were of him and how much we have loved his music filling our home.