Fall Sports

Austin played his first season of baseball this fall. All his older brothers were very good at baseball, but we tried not to have high expectations. Not every kid is good at sports after all. But Austin crushed it! It took him a few practices and games to gain confidence and some consistency, but then he did really well for the rest of the season. He had the highest batting average on his team, hitting several in the outfield and 2 balls all the way to the back fence. (He was also the smallest kid on his team!) His division is coach pitch, and he played the pitcher position frequently.

Bryson had a winning season again with his team victorious at the World Series again.

Carter enjoyed another season of football at the Junior high. He made the C team (SIX total teams for 8th grade!!), but he was in the starting line-up and played almost the whole time. Carter played defense, cornerback. They lost one game.

Caleb continues to work hard in tennis. He is playing line #2 on the varsity team this year, and he is very focused and dedicated on improving. His Universal Tennis Ranking continues to rise higher.

Patriarchal Blessing

Caleb received his patriarchal blessing on October 22nd by his grandpa. It was a very special experience and one that he has been preparing spiritually for for quite some time!

 

Homecoming 2023

 Caleb had his first official date with a tennis friend for the school homecoming game and dance.

Kari was a very patient teacher as I made my first-ever mum!

A bunch of tennis friends went to dinner and the dance together, followed by an after party.

His date had a community orchestra performance the same night as homecoming, so he ended up driving 30 minutes to sit with her family for that, then they changed in some bathrooms, Caleb drove her to dinner on their own, then they went to the dance for a little while, and ended the evening at the after party. It was a lot of driving and navigating for someone with a new license, and I was worried about him, but all turned out well.

Austin 8th Birthday and Baptism

Austin wanted a movie party for his birthday. We tried to find a movie in the theaters that he could invite a few friends to, but there was nothing good out in September. So he had several friends over for a Chick-Fil-A and movie party at his house with popcorn and box candy. 

Austin got some freeze dried strawberries, a remote control car, scriptures, and a scripture case.

It was pretty special to have Caleb baptize him, but it actually took some convincing because he really wanted his dad to do it.

Aunt Kari gave the talk on baptism and talked about sticky cotton candy and wipes for sin and repentance. Grandma and Grandpa each shared their testimonies on the Holy Ghost. Uncle Clayton played the piano and Aunt Ariane led the music. Caleb played a solo musical number, "I am a Child of God."
 

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...