End of Summer/Start of School

The lazy days of summer had to come to an end at some point.

Dog-sitting

Carter spending "quality time" with the chickens.

Bryson and his friend loved to see how many cars they could get to honk or show their muscles as they drove by. They are standing on the sign to our section of the neighborhood.

Summer also meant many games of Wingspan.

First day of school!
(Austin 1st and Bryson 4th grade)

Finishing Off the School Year

Bryson did very well in 3rd grade making the all A honor roll. Going back to school after homeschooling last year, the class he struggled in the most was Reading. I disagreed with how that teacher graded frequently throughout the year though. (Short assignments so that if you missed one question you got a B, not taking enough grades, etc.) Overall, he transitioned very well though.

Bryson got the Payday Award for always working hard each day.

Austin graduated from Kindergarten. For the most part, he thought school was only okay. He's a smarty pants so the work was too easy for him, and he was often bored. But he was able to help other students when needed and enjoyed getting to know new friends. Just like my other boys, he was very well-behaved at school and never stepped a toe out of line.

Austin got the Writing Wizard award because he enjoyed writing stories when he had free time. He's the first of my boys to really love writing. We will see if that continues. Austin is also very meticulous about his handwriting and tries to write his letters extra neat.

Caleb had his Suzuki Book 6 party mid May. He spent more time perfecting his songs this time, and his very difficult songs sounded absolutely gorgeous. I was so proud of him! We invited a bigger crowd this time, and many people heard his impressive talent. He continues to practice daily and work very hard at developing this skill. I quit when I got to 9th grade, so I'm glad he's not following in my footsteps.

In true Mom Fail fashion, I ran off to serve refreshments and neglected to get a picture of Caleb at the event. I did take some videos of his playing though.

Caleb finished up his school year with all As; his lowest final average on his report card was a 95. Next year he will try his hand at his first AP class. He improved a lot on his writing this year.

After the choir Pop Show with his tennis and choir buddy, Tyler.

Carter killed 6th grade. I don't know how much of it was his own intellect, easier teachers, or his fabulous homeschool teacher last year (wink, wink), but Carter made 6th grade look like a walk in the park. One boy and one girl are chosen for the Principal's award per hallway (3 classes) for demonstrating leadership and making good grades. Carter was picked as the boy in his hallway.

Look at this kid's report card! I don't know how he could have done any better with his final averages as a 99 or 100 in every class!!! He was also one of ten 6th grade students who passed the CBE test and will skip 8th grade math next year and move straight to Algebra. I'll help fill in any gaps as needed. He's excited to move on to junior high next year and play football.

I'm so proud of how hard all my boys worked this past school year! Matt and I feel so lucky and blessed to be their parents.

2nd Sprint Triathlon

I completed my 2nd sprint triathlon! My goal was to improve my time from last year, but the training process didn't look like it would yield the results I wanted. Last year I swam a 6:40, biked at 15.5mph, and ran a 7:53 pace for the 5K. I knew I could improve the swim easily, but my bike pace was around 15-15.3mph and my run average was stuck at an 8:15 mile pace during the months leading up to the race. I was super frustrated because I had been training all year, including hills and speed training on the bike, yet my times were not improving! (I even had new bike pedals with cages for my feet, which was supposed to help improve my time using different leg muscles.) There wasn't much more I could do about the biking, so I started focusing on the running. After I ran 3 or 4 miles outside, I started coming home and doing mile sprints on the treadmill while slowly increasing my pace. That helped a lot!

A week before the race, there was a 5K race in my neighborhood that I signed the whole family up for. There was a one-mile option as well, and the family bailed out on me and picked that over the 5K. My race was first, and I came in 6th place. Three high school track kids beat me, one guy, and a 6th grader, so I was the first woman to cross the finish line. :) My pace was a 7:35 average per mile, which I was super proud of. It gave me a lot of confidence going into my sprint triathlon the following week!

Caleb came in 1st place right behind the pacers at a 5:55 mile. (He asked his high school track buddies that beat me in the 5K to pace him in the mile run at a 5:30 pace.) Carter was a minute behind Caleb in 2nd place. Bryson finished around 9 minutes and Matt and Austin ran together at a 9:30 pace.

My sprint triathlon the following week began bright and early waking up at 4:15 and leaving the house at 5am. The race started at 7am....for some people. The swim is first, which took place in a high school natatorium as a snake swim. It takes time to cycle everyone through the swim. Last year I waited 30 minutes before I got in the water, which was frustrating, but I just chatted with a friend until it was time to start. This year I waited over an hour! It was so difficult to see people finishing the race before I even started! Plus the wind and the heat picked up the later it got in the morning and my adrenaline decreased. Everyone was supposed to "self seed" at the start of the race, which worked okay last year, but this year there were more participants and people started jumping in line because they got tired of waiting. So when I finally did get in the water, I had to pass 5 or 6 people during the swim, which is very difficult to do in a snake swim! It was not the best start to the race, and I was frustrated to know that an improvement in my swim time likely wouldn't happen after all since I had to stop swimming at one point stuck behind 4 people in front of me.

The bike portion was on the feeder of a 4-lane road. I passed 10 roadkill and had to watch for sharp rocks and glass the whole time, so it was a little nerve-racking.

It is SO hard to run after biking. Your legs feel like jello for the first quarter mile, and it improves only slightly from there. 

About to cross the finish line. I was grateful to be done!

Though it was a rough start to my race, I actually improved in every single area! My swim time was a 6:15, biking averaged 15.9mph, and my running pace was a 7:44 per mile. I was thrilled and exhilarated! I'm glad that I did it again to prove to myself that I could beat my time, but I don't plan on continuing. I can't do much more about improving my swim and my run. The only area that I could take off significant time is my biking...and the only way to do that is to drop thousands (ballpark 10 grand) into a new road bike. I can think of many other options for that money! So I am hanging up my swim cap and goggles. I loved achieving something that was scary and different than anything I've done. It was fun to pursue a goal and succeed this year. I'm going to keep the cycling going as part of my workouts since it's actually something I enjoy!

Spring Baseball Season

Bryson has played with the same teammates for 3 or 4 seasons of baseball. Unfortunately for spring season, the majority of the team chose to pay select ball. (Quite pricey and games on Sunday) He had two of the same teammates, but otherwise played on a new team with a new coach this season. There were several things about the coaching that were frustrating, but we appreciate him stepping up to lead the team. Unlike previous seasons where Bryson was middle-of-the-pack, on this new team, he was one of the strongest players. While this meant the team struggled a bit more, Bryson got some new opportunities such as pitching regularly. He improved a lot and had his hardest hits this season. Bryson had three in-the-park homeruns due to hits that went all the way to the fence. (The hits should have been triples but there were throwing errors on the other team.) Matt thinks Bryson has the best potential of all our boys in baseball.

Bryson on the mound pitching

Because Matt coaches Carter's baseball team, I'm Bryson's buddy at all his games.

Carter had a fantastic season. Matt says Carter has a runner's instinct that you can't teach easily. He knows how to run the bases and what to do without a coach telling him. He played shortstop and also pitched 3 or 4 times. He batted first in the lineup because he almost always got on base.

A rare moment of Carter not doing what he's supposed to while waiting to bat. :)

Matt coached his team to another championship win this season.

We had fun watching the championship game because it was a nail biter!

Baseball is a huge commitment, but it's something that our boys love and Matt loves coaching. It has been fun to watch them pursue something they enjoy and also improve.

Other April Activities

Carter's band got first place in a competition.

A mega egg from one of our chickens. We we were hoping it would be a double-yolker (only has happened once), but it was just super large.

Trying crawfish for Austin and Bryson's first time. Matt spent 4 hours in the hot sun flipping hamburgers for this stake activity. The rest of us went to Capri's baptism.

Ward father/son campout (which means I got the night to myself!)
Austin with his good buddy, Grant, at the campout.

Matt's jeep has a tent attached to the back. Matt camped outside with Austin and Bryson one night in April at their request. Maybe it's an eyesore, but the boys love doing this on occasion!

Easter Festivities

Neighborhood Easter egg hunt

We did a family service activity for the refugees in the downtown area. Their religious beliefs are different than ours, but we provided an opportunity to get out of their apartment and participate in some fun outdoor activities.

Ariane hosted Easter dinner/egg hunt this year. One of the activities we did for the kids is each kid used peeps to create a story from the scriptures. Bryson did Gethsemane, Caleb did Nephi tied up on the ship, and Carter helped Luman do a scene of King Benjamin preaching on the tower.

Egg hunt afterwards

Carter Turns 12

Birthday buddies

As we did with Caleb, Carter was able to have a big party for his 12th birthday at Altitude Trampoline Park (in lieu of birthday presents). He invited school and baseball friends and had a great time running around with his friends. I woke up in the middle of the night that night with a start realizing I didn't take ANY pictures at his party earlier that day. HUGE Mom fail. :(

I met Carter for lunch on his birthday at school and brought him some Chicken Salad Chick, which is a perfect choice because it's what I would have chosen for my birthday lunch. Later that afternoon, my friends and I got together for dessert and games to celebrate my birthday. It's tricky to share a birthday, but Carter is very mature about it--not expecting all the attention and making sure I feel special too.

Papa came to give Carter his birthday quarters. My parents gave Carter a new book and some freeze-dried strawberries (per Carter's strange request!).