May was just really really crazy as every single sport coincided for about 3 weeks. I felt like I had a soccer game or track meet (middle school, JV or varsity) every day of the week. Working out carpools and getting to the majority of the stuff (especially with a 2 year old in tow) was nuts. But actually my favorite. I love this part of parenting. Not the part where Levi, EVERY SINGLE TIME, would squat in a little ball on the ground (because it was the most difficult for me to get a hold of) and refuse to move, especially when he knew we were in a hurry to get to the next event.
But I do love watching their sports. Jane has a great coach and a great group of girls with whom she plays. They win about half the time, but it's a positive environment and the coach is really understanding about other sports and no Sunday play. She also ran distance on the track team and did some long jump. She's fast and placed 5th in districts in the mile and improved her time by 30 seconds over the season, ending with a 6:11 PR.
Gabe was the star 2 miler again this year. He'd had a stress fracture in the off season (luckily) and was ready to train in time for the season. He is good at the mile but really shines in the 3200. He had some lofty goals (as always) and was able to attain most of them. He easily made it to the regional meet. He had to place 3rd to make it to state and since he'd placed 3rd at the district meet, I was nervous. It was an exciting, fast race and in the last lap he raced the top 3 guys and ended up in 3rd with a PR of 9:28. He ended up going to state and had a dissappointing race (finished 11th, with a pretty slow time) but everyone really reinforced that going to state as a sophomore is awesome. You get the nerves out of the way and have 2 more years to really figure out how to race at that level. We love his coaches and teammates and are so proud of him.
Emma pole vaulted again this year. She is on the JV squad and sometimes feels frustrated with her progress. She doesn't spend a ton of time training outside of the season, which is probably why there's not huge changes, but she worked hard during the season. She loves her coach and teammates and hopefully learned some stuff to help her next year.
My big kids had a busy end of school, with a few AP tests and some projects. They are pretty good students (not perfect or 4.0 by any means) but enough where I don't get too involved. I figure they know the kind of students they need to be to get into hard colleges (aka BYU) and they can choose to do the work if they want to.
Jane worked hard this year in her advanced classes and got better grades every semester. She especially worked hard in her challenging math class and just barely missed the 94% required for an A, but we were impressed with how she learned to be successful in that class.
Seth does well at school, has friends and a sweet teacher. He indicated that he wanted to go back to "Neuro" and when I asked him why, he said he thought maybe it could help him concentrate better again. I think it just means that ADD will make the focus and organization that school requires a little bit of a challenge. He finished elementary school this year and will head to the middle school, which is always a little scary, with each kid. Liberty Lake has been a great place for him.
Faith ended up loving her teacher, Mrs. Boni, though that wasn't how she felt at the beginning of the year. Mrs. Boni had high standards and I think it was a little bit stressful as Faith watched others have trouble reaching those standards. Faith is really good at school and was often assigned to help struggling kids. She had good friends and learned a lot.
There's always the cutest fundraiser at the end of the school year, where the kids run and count their laps. Faith was hardcore trying to have the most laps in her class (she succeeded of course) and someone with a older brother named Levi, brought this for Levi to wear while he cheered the kids on.
There's always the cutest fundraiser at the end of the school year, where the kids run and count their laps. Faith was hardcore trying to have the most laps in her class (she succeeded of course) and someone with a older brother named Levi, brought this for Levi to wear while he cheered the kids on.
I got rear ended by a 16 year old boy at the end of May. It was a pain in the neck to get all the instuance stuff figured out, but it was all covered. I got a sweet high end rental vehicle and was sad to give it up, but the Pilot looked so shiny and new after all the body work they did, that it was okay in the end.
We saw Newsies as a family...used Grandma's Christmas money for those tickets. It was fun to go as a family, but I don't think we were bowled over. I think good seats make a difference! And the story was hard for the younger ones to follow. The dancing was good and Emma was in love with the cute boys, so it was a worthwhile family activity in the end.
We've done a little Mom and Me playgroup with some friends. I like it because it kind of forces me to do organized activities with Levi. I was in charge of May's activities and decided to go visit the big cat zoo we have here in Liberty Lake. It's a rescue facility and kind of small and sad, but we had a good tour guide and it was a fun way to spend an hour.
The boys went on a father-son camp out, which was a struggle due to 400 activities on Friday and Saturday. Ryan missed Gabe's regional mile race in order to get out to the camp out with Seth and Levi before dinner. They had a good time with friends and dads but about 2am Ryan showed up at home. He said Levi was a ridiculous tent sleeper, and spent the whole night thinking the snoring Dads were actually bears: "Dad, I scarred. A bears out dere, Dad?" So Ryan packed up and headed home.
Our ward and stake got reorganized in the last two months. We lost about 1/4 of our ward and then a few stakes. Ryan and I kept our callings (Primary 1st Counselor and Scoutmaster/YM 1st Counselor) but the smaller YM/YW has been an adjustment for everyone. Our stake lost 2 wards and got a new presidency (Uncle Kevin is the first counselor) and we got to sit in for the setting apart. It was a really near, confirming experience for all of us.
We had a crazy hot spring. We were even swimming in early May! But, as is Spokane's tradition, the last day of school was rainy and freezing and kind of put a damper on festivities. Seth's end of school tunnel was indoor and the outdoor party was soggy, but I wanted to include some pictures.
and PROM: Emma went to Mormon Prom with a guy she didn't know super well, but said it was the most fun dance she's been to. She got to go with her friends Cassey and Alexis and their dates and of course she looked gorgeous.
Mothers Day: Always lovely because everyone works hard cooking and we get to do my favorite Sunday things, which includes walks around pretty gardens.
While Gabe was running regionals, Ryan and I had a little alone overnight getaway in Seattle (because we have kids old enough to stay home!!) We did a fun run, yummy breakfast and some fun Seattle sightseeing, before we headed to the stadium to watch our boy run.
This is already too long and super boring, and I'm sure I missed stuff, but it's better than nothing, right?
1 comment:
I did not find this boring at all. In fact, I feel pretty inspired by the fact that you are still blogging. I have been thinking about blogging all day after I read your post this morning and I really want to try to pick it up again because it would be good for my family in terms of record keeping. In some ways I feel like I want to blog so that I can trick my kids into thinking they had a wonderful childhood ;-)
Your kids are so great and I really am truly inspired by what each of you accomplish. I can just imagine having to take the, "Levi ball" from activity to activity...such is the life of the caboose, I guess. :-) I also got a chuckle out of the, "Dad, I scarred. A bears out dere, Dad?"
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