Caleb turns 16!

Caleb was anxious to turn 16 so he could officially drive. (I was right there with him!) We were all counting down the days. Being the youngest in his grade, we knew the most painful part about that would be that he would be the last to drive and last to date amongst his peers.

His presents were small in number but expensive in price. He got two new tennis rackets (it's wise to have a spare of the exact same racket in case a string breaks in a match). He also got the privilege of driving a new-to-him car. We purchased a 2007 Toyota Camry over the summer when we found a good deal. (The tricky part was picking it up from Utah.)

He took the driving test 2 days after his birthday. I originally had it scheduled on his birthday until we found out there was a tennis tournament that day. He got marks off on his parallel parking, but everything else went smoothly.

Day Camp 2023

At a stake level, we coordinated "A Walk with Jesus in Jerusalem." Each of the ward primaries helped decorate a station and share an activity that also represented an aspect of the Savior's life. We had 10 different stations the kids rotated through.

Birth of Jesus- singing a few songs

Fishers of men- fishing for missionary puzzle pieces

Parable of the lost coin

"Ye are the light of the world."

Woman at the well and snack time

singing "Gethsemane"

It was a lot of work, but hopefully one that was memorable. We had activities that were physical, spiritual, intellectual, and social. I was happy to hear from my boys that attended that the spiritual ones (Last Supper, Gethsemane, The Empty Tomb) were their favorite stations!

New Chapter

I hope I didn't bite off more than I can chew, but I'm starting a new chapter of activities now that I'm not teaching preschool anymore.

Community Service: I volunteered to head up a neighborhood bingo event on a regular basis. It's looking like it will be every other month. I also joined an improvement committee where we are researching adding a splash pad to our neighborhood; the issue is that the committee is only 3 members so it puts more work on each of us.

Church Service: I'm going to start a temple shift once a week.

School Service: In addition to my elementary library volunteering once a week, I was just elected as the treasurer for the high school tennis booster club. It feels extra busy at the start of the school year, especially as I'm trying to learn my responsibilities.

Fun: I joined another tennis league, so I'll be playing twice a week now.

Work: I added a few new piano students bringing my total to 13 + Austin/Bryson. I also will be tutoring 2 homeschool students in math twice a week.

My calling remains very busy still, but it's mostly Sunday busy (training new Primary Music Leaders and visiting my assigned wards monthly). Right now we are preparing for Stake Day Camp, so I'm putting in lots of extra hours with that on the horizon.

I'm looking forward to attending Institute again. I missed the last semester because they moved it to a preschool day.

I might have filled the preschool void with too many new things! Being busy is a good thing right? Let's see how it goes...

Leadership Academy

Our school district does a Leadership Academy for Junior High students. This was the first year I had ever heard of it! Fifty students from Carter's school were nominated, but only 8 from each Junior High in the district were selected to participate. It was 4 days long from 8am to 4pm, no cost, and they got to do a few field trips each day. Some of the field trips included touring the hospital, a courthouse, a dam, an administration building, a high school, a community college, and on the last day they got to play at a party venue with bowling, laser tag, and arcade games. There were some activities he enjoyed more than others, but overall it was a great experience for him!

Refugees

A woman in our area took it upon herself to get involved with the refugee needs in our city. She has a network of sisters in our stake that she reaches out to for donations and deliveries. We had the opportunity to help with an Ukrainian family who spoke little English. Through Google translate, we learned that he fought in the Ukraine/Russia war, got injured and was released. He knew he wanted to get his family out immediately and fled to America. They picked the south because his wife loves horses. They were so humbled and grateful for all the furniture and household supplies we delivered. All the items were donated from people that live in our area. Kari's and my car were packed to the brim!

Nauvoo

Caleb had the opportunity to travel to Nauvoo with the youth in the Stake. He had a wonderful experience and lucked out to have his aunt and uncle as his Ma and Pa! He said his favorite part was the Nauvoo temple and Carthage Jail.

July 4th

 We went jet-skiing for the 4th of July and also participated in our neighborhood parade.