9 Month Recap

I didn't intend to stop updating this blog, but here we are. Several months have gone by without a post. We had a wonderful (if brief) reunion with Michael before he headed off to BYU. Ty moved away from home for the first time and roomed with Michael in Provo at Centennial Apartments (my old stomping ground!). They had a wonderful year together studying and making new friends. They both purchased Icon ski passes and skied all winter long in Utah and Wyoming. They also fit in a few trips to Moab and Grand Junction to camp, rock climb, and mountain bike. Michael drove to Idaho tonight to take a job for the summer as a river raft guide on the Salmon river.

Ty did really well his first year of college. He was independent, but still came home frequently on the weekends, and we got to spend a lot of quality time together. He took Chinese classes at BYU and manifested a Chinese-speaking mission call into existence. He was called to serve in the Singapore mission, speaking Mandarin. He couldn't be more excited! We took him to the MTC on May 15.

Blake had a great junior year at Farmington High. He trained hard for football all year long, aced all of his AP classes, and managed to show up to most of his 6:30 am piano lessons. We hosted all of his friends for the Homecoming Dance dinner and he looked very handsome in his new suit. He dedicated himself to preparing for the ACT and knocked it out of the park! He also was able to fit in a few trips to St. George with his friends. Last, but not least, he took 2nd place in the junior year assassin game. He was THIS close to winning real money. Oh well.

Ethan had a great year as an 8th grader at Centennial Jr. High. One highlight of the year was playing a newsie and President Roosevelt in the the school play Newsies. He learned a lot of new music and had a great time performing and making new friends. He played on a volleyball team for the first time, and also returned to playing basketball---quite literally bringing his dad to tears. He worked hard for several months doing physical therapy and workouts with the trainers at TOSH. His knee is finally feeling good again, and he's working hard to level up his game on the basketball court. Although he won't admit to enjoying it, he is really excelling at piano performance. This year he had his first "Valentine," and he also has had a change in his taste in music. He has traded in Dad's oldies for Blake's playlist. Sigh. I miss Whitney Houston and the Beach Boys.

Jett, AKA Drip Lord had a great year as well. He got a blinged-out chain with the name DRIP on it for Christmas and has worn it every day since. And he hasn't given up on wearing his shirt backwards. He is busy playing soccer, football, basketball. baseball, and track. He got to be the "steward" in the school play "Frozen," and absolutely loved being a part of that performance. He loves to play football at recess, and comes home everyday to tell me how he "Mossed" his classmates. He spent time outside of the classroom learning how to code, and won the school competition, earning a fun package of gift cards! He is still reading Big Nate, but has also branched out to Michael Vey. He's a smart and sweet kid.

Tate had his third year of preschool. He went to Down on the Farm in the mornings, and Ms Lori's in the afternoons. He also got to go to Musikgarten with Miss Amy and really loved going there. He made a lot of new friends and grew in confidence. He learned his letters, lots of new songs, and got to swing on the playground almost every day! He is very excited to start Kindergarten in the fall. Tate got to play on soccer, basketball, and baseball teams. And this was the first year he got to do Race Cats! He is super fast and took 1st place in his 100 meter dash.

Reed and I had a busy year supporting the kids in their activities and trying to keep up on our other responsibilities. Reed was released as Elder's Quorum president and put in as the priest advisor. He has been busy with the Management Committee at work, and is currently managing multiple big deals. I feel like I've been hosting one big party or event after another all year long. We did manage to go get scuba certified this year, and that was a big accomplishment for both of us! Reed and I traveled to Hawaii for the first time this winter! We went with my parents and had a great time. we went snorkeling and scuba diving in the Ocean and saw the most amazing Manta Rays! An experience neither of us will ever forget.

As a family we took a fun trip over spring break to Phoenix to see the Final Four. Both my parents and Reed's parents joined us, and we had a great week at the fan fest, games, and exploring National Parks. Tate pulled an April Fool's joke on us by locking all the bathroom doors the night we arrived at our AirBnB. And the house had not been cleaned prior to our arrival. But we made the best of it and enjoyed ourselves anyway.

This brief summary doesn't do justice to all the great things we did and accomplished this year, but it will have to do for now. 

As Michael is now home (sort of) and Ty is now away, I'll be posting my letters to Ty here going forward.