Easter Weekend

We did a weekend getaway for Easter to Port Aransas. It was a quick trip, but fun to relax on the beach and play pickleball and games. It started with a scare at the beach, though. I instructed my boys that I didn't want any of them going out too deep in the water and definitely not alone due to the trauma of Carter getting caught in a riptide when he was 11 and almost drowning. It felt like deja vu when Alex was far out in the water by herself, and she would disappear below water for periods of time. She couldn't hear any of us yelling at her, even as Kari went in the water after her. When the water got too deep for Kari, she yelled back at the beach to call 911. Thankfully, Alex felt safe the whole time; she had reached a sand dune and was diving below water with her goggles, exploring under water. Carter reached her first to tell her we were all worried about her. It was a big commotion with the rescue team arriving; we were all so glad that she was safe!

Listening to General Conference

 

Birthday Twins

I was able to start my birthday with some pickleball--the best way to start the day!

Then I picked up Carter from school, and we spent the next few hours at the DPS office. The paperwork portion went fairly quickly, but there was a long line for the actual driving test. I was able to talk to Caleb on his p-day while I waited. He was thrilled to have the freedom of driving to school and activities on his own. (Me too!)

Making homemade noodles

Carter has been doing a lot of research on healthy eating and taking care of his body, and he has completely revamped his eating to a very clean diet. Most of the meals I make don't fit into his diet, so he has started cooking for himself. The main things he eats are eggs, ground beef, avocadoes, sweet potatoes, and blueberries. When Carter puts his mind to something, he is very successful. He loves the way he feels with his new diet.

The topic that Carter and I argue about the most are his grades. His approach and my approach to school are very different from each other. He likes to do the work necessary to squeak by with an A. After getting two 89s at the semester mark, hopefully he's learned that cutting it so close can have consequences!

Carter has done a lot of maturing this last year in all areas of his life. He approaches life with a positive attitude and is fun to be around. He is very social and loves hanging out with his friends. He is respectful of the rules in the house and pitches in without complaining. Now that Caleb is gone, he has stepped into the role of the oldest by being a good example to his brothers.

 

Arrived Safely

 He made it safely to the Dominican Republic!

Neighborhood Race

We participated in a race organized by our neighborhood today. Carter and I raced in the 5K, though he was exhausted from an all-day tennis tournament the day before. He finished about 20 seconds ahead of me. I ran a 7:38 pace, 1st female finisher. Austin and Bryson ran the 1 mile race.

 

Set Apart as a Missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

When Caleb was set apart as a missionary, he was told that ancestor angels would be with him as he served. We couldn't help but think of his Uncle Sid being one of those angels.

Home MTC was a long week of sitting, staring at a computer screen for different classes, and little free time. He would have 10 minute breaks now and again and then an hour break for lunch and dinner. We got him all packed up and took him to the airport yesterday morning.

Caleb was district leader for his home and Mexico MTC.

He's going to miss this piano so much!

We were cruel and made Carter go to school. He was already missing every Friday for school tennis tournaments and struggling to keep up with his classes.

Off to Mexico!

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.

Christmas 2025

This kid got glasses! It was a shocking development where he off-handedly mentioned to the pediatrician at his well-visit that he was having trouble seeing the whiteboard from the back of the room. I had never heard him mention that! He has 20/70 vision and uses his glasses mostly just for school and only to pull out at certain times. I rarely see him put them on at home.

Kari and Jared planned some new Christmas Eve games for us to try this year!

One of our Christmas presents was a family trip to Six Flags! We had a great time.

Our Christmas plan originally was a trip to Universal Studios as our entire Christmas. We planned to use Matt's Christmas bonus to off-set the cost and enjoy one last trip as a family before Caleb started his mission. The trip was booked and paid for with the itinerary of leaving the 23rd and spending the next 3 days at Universal in Florida. However, things started going badly at work for Matt where he was juggling so many balls all on his own and not able to keep it all afloat. His boss called him into the office and told Matt he wasn't working hard enough, being lazy, and thus would not receive his Christmas or year-end bonus. Matt was crushed. He had been overloaded for some time, begging them to hire more help to alleviate his load. They didn't want to spend the money. Matt was drowning putting in so much over-time to try to keep his head above water, and it was taking a toll on him emotionally, mentally, and physically. To be told he wasn't working hard enough and would lose out on his bonuses broke him. He turned in his two week's notice, which would put his ownership of the company at risk, and we canceled our trip fortunately only losing out on $200. He started lining up options for other jobs with the future unknown. His boss refused to accept the two week's notice, however, and this triggered them moving two people over from engineering to help Matt with his responsibilities. After a week, the two engineering men said it was too much work, and they couldn't keep up with their engineering responsibilities and the tasks assigned to alleviate Matt. In the end, they finally hired two new people under Matt that he could delegate responsibilities to. Matt is still not happy at work, but he keeps his head down, avoids his boss when possible and is trying to ride it out to the end and the company sells. 

When we canceled our trip, we then had to scramble to come up with Christmas presents! Caleb was easy as we were already purchasing things for his mission. It became a year of mostly gift cards as presents for everyone else, which felt lame! We also did some new family games; Six Flags was our Universal replacement. 🤣