So here is our family up date, for two years. Find a comfy chair, grab a snack and a drink, this could take a while!
Thomas:
He has been working for Gestamp Solar for almost 3 years now. It has been a huge change of pace for him and brought many new adventures and challenges. He has learned many things and continues to learn more all the time. He is the Senior Construction Manager for North America and is also taking on Head of Operation and Maintenance. He would love to hand over construction stuff, but they aren't quite ready to let him give it up completely. He travels a lot, and fortunately, I have been able to tag along on a few trips. He's mainly been on the west coast. But he is starting to venture farther out with trips to Colorado, Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico and soon, Vermont. Oh and did I forget, SPAIN! Yes, he spent 2 weeks in Spain for some O&M training. That is where the main office is located. And yes, I hope to be able to join him next time he goes to Spain, or Puerto Rico.
He is currently serving as the Ward Mission leader at church and stays busy, keeping the missionaries busy and teaching classes. He is currently coaching Kallie and Kassie's rec league basketball team, with the help of 4 very talented older teenagers. This is the 6th year he has coached or assistant coached one the girls team. Even though he is out of town often, he really enjoys coaching and just can't say no.
Cheyanne (15) is a sophomore this year. Let's start back a ways. She graduated from 8th grade in 2011. She played 8th grade basketball, volleyball and track. She really started to gain her confidence and strength that year and hasn't looked back or slowed down since. She spent that summer at girls camp, backpacking, and attending EFY at BYU. She loved it! She also worked hard all summer before her freshman year with the high school volleyball team. And it paid off. She was one, of two freshman that made the JV team. She worked hard and proved her self and had lots of playing time in every game throughout the season. She started basketball, the day after VB ended and worked just as hard. Again, was one of two freshman on JV. She earned a starting position about 1/4 way through the season and finished stronger than we ever imagined. She lead the team in points, rebounds, free throw percentage and shooting percentage. This earned the teams most improved player award. The day after BB ended, track started. She focused on her passion, hurdles! She knew she loved 100 hurdles and was then introduced to 300 hurdles. And she loved that even more. It is a very hard race and very few girls even attempt it. In fact, she is the only one at our school in recent years to run it. She also continued with high jump and eventually picked up long jump. She did great in all events. She qualified for the district championship meet in all 4 events. Unfortunately the week before the district meet, she severely sprained her ankle in warm ups. Despite staying off it all week and doing everything she could to let it heal, she was far from her strongest at the district meet. She missed qualifying for state by 1 or 2 spots in all 4 events. It was heart breaking. But she knew she had done all she could and it just wasn't meant to be that year. She had earned enough points in league meets and placed high enough in the district meets to earn her varsity letter. We were so proud of her!
She thoroughly enjoyed her freshman year, making many new close friends. Mostly older kids, because that was who she was around the most. She was in advanced English, advanced Math and leadership. She was chosen the most athletic freshman girl for the year.
Summer between 9-10th grade was crazy for her. VB continued as soon as track ended. Along with HS VB, she spent as much time as she could at the VB club in Carson, skill training every chance she got. She also played in a few basketball tournaments for the high school varsity coach. She spent a week at Utah State University for EFY, and loved it. She spent a week at girls camp, 4 days at VB camp and 3 days on a Pioneer Trek. And as much time at the beach in Tahoe as possible. We almost always had friends of her tag along and most of them we consider family now. She has been blessed with great friends.
Start of sophomore year: Again, her hard work paid off and she, along with two other soph, made the Varsity VB team. About 1/4 into the season she earned a starting position. She played hard and had an amazing season. Their team went to playoffs and had a great season.
Basketball season is upon us now. And yes, she made Varsity. She earned a starting position from the beginning. So far she is doing awesome and has high score in 8 of their 10 games.
School has been a bit harder this year and she is having to learn how to prioritize her time. She is still in leadership and volunteers every afternoon she doesn't have practice. She has also started lifting weights on her "free" days.
As you can see, her life revolves around her love of sports, and she wouldn't have it any other way! We are so proud of all her hard work and dedication. She is a very sweet and energetic girl. She has a huge heart and loves helping others whenever there is a need.
Phew.... Ready for the next ones...
Kallie and Kassie (13), I'll do them together, because they do just about everything together. They have grown into amazing young women the last few years. And when I say grown, I mean it. They are currently, almost 6 foot tall. And no, they are not done growing. It was a very happy day almost 18 months ago, when they passed up their big sister, and they haven't slowed down since. The last (2011) Christmas letter would of had them finishing up their 6th grade year, participating in track. They weren't the fastest or the strongest but they always tried their hardest and improved at every meet. They played rec league basketball that winter also and really started to catch onto the game. Kassie was inducted into National Junior Honor Society that spring. Kallie would have been also, if she had turned her papers in on time. Oops, lesson learned. That summer before 7th grade they went to their first year of girls camp and had a fabulous time. It was a fairly low key summer for them and much time was spent in the pool, on bikes and at the lake. They also, happily looked after their little brothers, often, while mom was busy running with the oldest child. During their 7th grade year they played on the 7th grade basketball team, volleyball team, rec league basketball and continued with track. They were both in the leadership class at school and loved planning and organizing assemblies, spirit weeks, dances and various fund raisers for charity. Their other loves are books, books and more books. We can't keep enough books around. They read most anything they can get their hands on. Their favorite is fantasy, but will read pretty much everything. They also really started enjoying art this year. They had a great art teacher and they both really excelled artistically. At the end of their 7th grade year, they left school a few days early and flew to Atlanta GA to help out their aunt with her new baby girl, Ansley. They spent 3 weeks there being mommy helpers and learning mommy skills. They loved it. That summer was full of girls camp and working out with the high school VB team. 8th grade year started with basketball. And to much of every ones surprise, they had grown about 3 inches over the summer and now towered over their whole team. They were still figuring out how to keep everything coordinated and working together but they had a fun season. That brings us to now. They are just getting started on their last year of rec ball, with their dad and Chey and 3 of her friends as coaches. They are the tallest in the league and not really looking forward to playing against much shorter boys. We keep reassuring them, things will change in high school and there will be people taller than them. Just be patient. They've enjoyed their classes this year. Both are in honors English and honors math. They are taking the high school Algebra final to get high school credit for their class this year. Both have straight A's and are again loving their leadership class. Kallie did get her Junior Honor Society papers turned in last spring, so she is now participating in that group with her sister also.
Their new found love this last year is baking. They became quite well known around the high school for their cookies. Many many requests were made for cookies. You know, because it helped them play better on game days! :) They bake very often and love to try new things. They made their first apple pie, with crust from scratch (granma's recipe) this fall. It was yummy. They have also really developed a love for volleyball. After attending many club sessions over the summer, we decided to let them tryout for a club team. They both were placed in the top 14 team (14 black) and have loved building their skills there. Due to our crazy schedule with them and other kids, we decided against having them travel with the team. It was a hard decision to make, but they are still on the team, practicing 3 times and week and ready to travel if the team happens to be short for a tournament. They will also start 8th grade VB as soon as we get back from Christmas break.
Ok, 3 down, 2 to go!
Broc, Broc, Broc. (10) He has really grown up the last few years. He's no longer my little boy, but growing into a sweet confident young man. He was placed in a 3/4th split class last year. It was a great place for him as he learned more as one of the 3rd graders and they were pretty much caught up to the 4th grade curriculum by the end of the year. Because of that, he was placed with the same teacher this year for 4th grade and she has been able to keep him engaged and learning. He has straight A's and really enjoys school. He, like the girls, lives for sports. The beginning of the year starts off with rec basketball. Last year he was bored silly playing in his 3/4th grade age group. He enjoyed it but was easily frustrated with other kids and the smaller court and lower baskets. This year he was asked to move up into the 5/6th grade league, even though he is only in 4th grade. It should be a much more enjoyable season for him. After basketball, baseball starts. He has gotten much stronger and accurate the last few years. His knowledge of the game comes easy now. He no longer needs to think about where the ball should be thrown or if he should steal or hold. Its all second nature. His pitching improved a lot this last year and he had a great pitching season. He has a pretty easy summer. Swimming, biking, building forts, entertaining his brother and his favorite summer activity, cliff jumping. Okay, not quite cliffs, just tall rocks at Lake Tahoe. We're thankful he is a strong swimmer. He is usually off with the teenagers, showing them the best and highest places to jump. He loves hanging out with the teenagers and they love him. He has become pretty comfortable around the high school kids and they love him too. We are blessed with great teenage friends that are a great influence on him.
He started football this fall and found his new passion. He loved it from the start. He was a natural and his coaches loved him. The high school boys argued over who got to coach him at camps and who could teach him the most. It was a really fun fall. We loved watching his games and seeing the joy in his face when we made a big tackle. It's safe to say, he is a player for life!
He also continues his cub scouts rankings. He has earned all he can so far and several "optional" merit badges. Because of sports, he has to spend a lot of his free time working on scouts because he rarely makes it to pack meetings. But he manages to do everything that is required and then some. We are so proud at the great boy he is becoming. He is a hard worker and is learning quickly how that hard work pays off.
Last one... well kind of...
Nait! (4), almost 5! I love this kid. He has the biggest, funniest personality of all our kids. He is such a tease and a lover. He is old for his years and smarter than he will ever let on. He has become accustomed to always having teenagers around and that is who he is most comfortable with. He loves his teenagers and knows exactly how to make them love him back. He is a complete mommy's boy and takes full advantage. He started his sports career this last spring with T-ball. We thought he was going to love it and he was excited to start. But something was just off. He didn't play like we knew he could, he didn't talk much and was really reserved. We soon found out that he was annoyed by kids his own age. He told me they bugged him and they acted silly. So t-ball was quite annoying for him, but thankfully he had great coaches and they helped him through the silliness. He still loves the game, just needs to get used to the kids. He also thoroughly enjoyed Broc's FB season and is anxiously waiting to get old enough to play himself. He plays basketball with the big kids and really working on his dribbling skills. The girls have also been teaching him the finer points of volleyball, just in case there are boys teams here by the time he gets older!
He spent last school year attending a preschool one afternoon a week. That was enough for mom. He also did a few sessions of swim lessons. But mostly he was mom's car companion. We drove to and from schools, practices, games and activities. He is the best little fan in the stands. He quickly learned the basics for each sport and was able to follow along and cheer on his siblings at the appropriate times. Eventually he would crash and took many naps in the bleachers.
He loved the beach time this summer and finally got all the way in when the lake water warmed up. Not the fish that his siblings are, he did get better the warmer the water got.
So this school year. his last year before real school, we decided we better get him used to kids his own age. So his is attending preschool 4 afternoons a week and has been in back to back swim lessons since September. We also volunteered to watch a little boy his age 3 days a week. They have become great friends and enjoy all their school and swimming together. We are hoping he will be a little more tolerant of the other 5 year olds behavior this spring!
He is crazy about Transformers, Star Wars, Avengers and anything super hero-ish. He can play pretend games with pretend characters for hours, all by himself. His imagination keeps us all entertained. We very often have Optimus Prime at the dinner table, or Bumblebee camping with us. Occasionally Megatron would be in the lake and we'd have to hide under towels. His imagination never slows down. It is fun to see how his mind works because he is so good at storytelling. He is the spoiled baby brother, I never thought I would have! And I love every minute of it!
Well, that is it for our kids, but we have an addition for the year.
Maria (15) came to live with us this October. She is a foreign exchange student from Mexico City, Mexico. She is sweet and funny and kind and patient and loving and generous and silly. She has blended into our family seamlessly. We love her like one of our own. She is super supportive with all the kids activities. She enjoys sitting back and watching the occasional chaos unravel.
She has one older brother at home, but many close cousins, aunts and uncles. So our loud large family wasn't too over whelming for her. She decided to join the family sport craze and tried out for basketball. She is a starter on the freshman team and is learning alot. She picked up on it quickly and is enjoying her team. She loves the differences in our public school from her private school in Mexico. She took a huge jump out of her comfort zone and asked me to dye her hair. With her mothers permission, we added a dark red tint to her beautiful black hair. This is something completely unacceptable in her school back home. We assured her it will wash out before then, and she is loving her rebel look. We have enjoyed showing her new things and new places. We are excited for the rest of the school year and hope we can show her many more things. We are so so grateful she came to live with us. She as found a special place in each of our hearts and will forever be a part of our family!
I guess that only leaves me. Well, I drive. A lot! And do a lot of laundry. But I love every minute of it, well maybe not the laundry, but the driving, I love. I love the freedom I have to be able to make to every single game possible. I love sitting through practices and watching new skills emerge and develop. I love seeing my children form bonds with their teammates and learn respect for their coaches. I love when they see their hard work and dedication pay off. I love spending my time in freezing cold wind, rain and snow watching baseball, football or a track meet. I love sitting through 7 hours of games, so we can support all their friends team too. I love traveling to over night tournaments and being there for a team who looks for me. I love taking pictures! Lots and lots and lots of pictures. Of all my kids and all my claimed and unclaimed kids that call me mom. I feel like the luckiest mom in the world. I love these years with them and know they will pass way to quickly. So in the time I have I will drive and sit and take pictures, as much as I possibly can.
I do other things too. I teach the adult Sunday School class as church. It's been a challenge to prepare a lesson for people who, most have much more scriptural knowledge than I do. But I have learned a lot and actually enjoy teaching, something I never thought I would say about this calling. I help out the booster club at Broc's school as much as possible. I'm a popcorn maker, every Friday. It is a fun time to spend with younger kids. I've started lifting weights and getting my mommy body back in shape. So far I am happy with my progress. Almost back to my pre-Chey size. Not sure that I will ever get completely back to what I was before, but I am happy with the progress I've made.
Life is good. It is crazy, chaotic, insane, busy, fun and emotional sometimes, but is it good. I feel so blessed to have the wonderful life we have and have the opportunities our children have to choose their passions in life and go after them! The quiet Sunday afternoons at our house are our treasure. It's the time we've set aside for rest. For family. For recuperation.
I am thankful for the knowledge and our testimonies of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know we are blessed as we follow his example and live our lives striving to be like him.
I am thankful for family. They make me happy.
Welcome to our madness. We love it and are excited for another year of it!
No comments:
Post a Comment