13-years-old

I'm very late on this post, but we just barely got Caitlyn's pictures taken.  Caitlyn was fighting me on taking her pictures until she got her hair done on Thursday, then she loved the idea of taking her pictures.  She had her hair thinned, trimmed and cut some bangs.  Caitlyn's hair is a struggle.  It is a little bit curly, but not totally curly so it doesn't want to straighten and it doesn't want to curl.  I tried to do the curls in her hair today and it didn't work, why can you never imitate what they do at the salon!

Caitlyn is definitely a teenager.  She liked posing more than smiling.  This has been a bit of a rough year for Caitlyn.  Middle school was a tough adjustment for her.   She has done great academically and all of her teachers love her.  She has maintained A's and A-'s all year.  I'm so grateful that she has a desire to do well in school.  She had a hard time making friends at the beginning of the year.  Caitlyn is so kind and empathetic, but sometimes that makes it hard for her to make connections because she is always looking out for people that need help instead of people that share common interests with her.

The last couple of months Caitlyn has made some good friends.  She has been over to some of their houses and had them over here.  She is really enjoying being more social and making new friends.

Caitlyn has really developed her talents in music this year.  She has practiced her oboe a lot this year and she sounds great.  At their music festival one of the judges asked the oboe player (Caitlyn is the only one) to stand up and said she sounded great and she should keep it up and she might be able to get a scholarship with it.  She has also improved a lot on the piano this year.  She has learned some hymns and sounds great.

Caitlyn is a beautiful girl.  She is thrilled that she has grown taller lately (she is surrounded by tall friends).  Caitlyn has been loving playing outside lately.  She loves swinging and playing in the back yard.  She is so great to play games and have fun with Hallee and Wyatt.

Caitlyn's anxiety hit her hard again this year.  She had a few months where she was constantly having stomach aches and feeling sick and nervous all of the time. She didn't like to go anywhere and wanted to be home as much as possible.  I know from experience how miserable that can be.  There were times where Caitlyn felt sorry for herself, but she really does try hard to be positive.  After meeting with a doctor and getting her medicine adjusted she is doing much better. She has been putting in a lot of work too. We talked about all of the ways you need to take care of your mind and body and she is working hard to do those things.  I'm so relieved that she is doing better.  It is so hard to watch your kids suffer.

Caitlyn has a great sense of humor.  She loves to laugh and make other people laugh.  Caitlyn is a very loyal, good friend and family member.  She loves all of her extended family and puts time into those relationships to keep them strong. 

Caitlyn is great with kids.  She loves to babysit and she will always stop and play with kids when they want her to.  She is always so sweet to play games and make-believe with Hallee.

I could tell Caitlyn was doing a lot better anxiety wise when she said she was going to Young Women's sports night.  I love that she is always willing to try new things and enjoys all different kinds of things.  I think she realized that she likes sports in P.E. this year. 

Caitlyn is always up for an adventure.  She tries to have a good attitude about everything and makes the best out of situations.  She is always willing to do whatever someone else wants to do to make sure they have a good time.

Caitlyn is the beehive class president.  I submitted someone else's name and Caitlyn's as a back up and the bishop came back and said they thought it should be Caitlyn.  She has done a great job.  She really cares about the girls and will go out of her way to make sure every one is involved and included.  She has a strong testimony and shares it almost every fast Sunday.

Caitlyn is just an all around great girl.  She has her moody moments, like we all do, but she has always been wise beyond her years.  She is kind, loyal, beautiful, hard working, honest, patient, empathetic, forgiving, funny, smart and we are lucky to be her parents.

I'll punch him in the face

I remember my mom telling me that when I was a kid they never knew what was going to come out of my mouth, well Hallee is exactly like me.  The other day she told me that she isn't going to have kids when she grows up because she is going to be a doctor and she will be too busy taking care of people so she won't have time for kids.  I asked, "what if your husband wants kids?"  She immediately responded, "I will punch him in the face!" Oh Hallee, she is one in a million!  I love that spunky personality of hers.

Caitlyn just finished up her oboe lessons.  They had all of the students who were taking lessons participate in a concert.  Caitlyn worked with her teacher and wrote her own song.

I'm so proud of her, she has worked so hard on the oboe.  She loves it, but doesn't always love to practice.  Once she pulls it out and starts playing she doesn't want to stop though.  Her song was awesome and she sounded amazing.  I'm so proud of the hard work she put in and the improvement that she has made.

Grandma came down for the evening to go to soccer games with me. We both listened to Caitlyn play before Keith took her to the concert. We loved having grandma all to ourselves.

Jonah loved having grandma watch his soccer game.

These two boys loved having grandma watch them too.  Grandma was a trooper because it was a cold day!

  The kids love to play at the park after soccer practice. I love this picture of Tiff and Rockwell.  Tiff is such a fun mom, a great sister and a very good driver (inside joke from our trip to Antioch).

1st grade program

Wyatt has been working hard to get ready for his 1st grade program.  It was called First grade Disney style.

It was really cute.  They sang really cute songs and did a great job with the program.  They sang a lot of Disney songs and changed the words to some of them.

I have a crush on this cute kid.  I love his adorable, little face!

Wyatt knew every word and action to every song.

The kids sang "Try Anything" from Zootopia.  I love that song and I love that they focused on doing hard things, trying new things and not giving up. 

The principal and vice principal are retiring this year.  The kids sang "Remember Me" from Coco while they played a slideshow of pictures of them.  I hope the new principal focuses on character as much as their Mr. Daniels.   

Wyatt memorized his speaking part and did a great job. 

I loved the program, they did a great job.  It was fun to watch Wyatt, he did awesome.  

I went and saw it twice.  Keith and I went in the morning when they did it for the school and then I went back in the afternoon with my mom.  It was fun having mom with me.  We took Tessa with us, Hallee and Tessa really liked it.  

I can't believe that 1st grade is almost over!  We are sure proud of the great student that Wyatt is.  His teacher loves to tell me how wonderful he is and that every teacher dreams of having students like Wyatt.  Way to be Wyatt!

Spring Soccer

 

I love soccer season.  I was sad that neither of the boys played soccer in the fall, so I have waited a whole year to watch them play. 

I love my goofy boys.

This handsome boy looks older every day!  He is such a good looking guy.

Jonah is a great soccer player.  I would say soccer is the sport where most of his talent is.  He is so fun to watch.

Jonah loves to play offense.  He is really good at setting up plays with his teammates.  They had some amazing passes and goals last game.  Kyle set Jonah up perfectly and Jonah converted two of them to goals and kicked it over the goal the other time. 

If you look carefully you can see Jonah about to kick the ball in this picture.  He made an awesome goal here.  He usually has a least a couple of goals each game.

Jonah is on a team with Kyle, Ky and Christian. They have three roommates from BYU that are coaching them.  They grew up playing soccer together and thought it would be fun to coach.  It is so great for Jonah and his team.  They love their coaches and they have learned a lot!

It has been a blast watching him play.

Rockwell is playing with Wyatt in Provo.  Kellen is also on their team.  It has been so great because these boys have been able to spend a lot of time together.  Tiff takes the girls to dance on Wednesday and I bring Rockwell here and then take them over to soccer practice.  Wyatt loves having so much time with Rockwell.

Wyatt was a little hesitant at the beginning of the season.  The last time he played he was so aggressive, but he seemed to be hanging back a little.  He has played more aggressively as the season has gone on.

I love to see him play tough and really go after the ball.

Wyatt really enjoys sports and is becoming a great athlete. 

The first time Wyatt played goalie he didn't like it that much, but he played again and liked it a lot better.  He blocked a few goals and felt really proud about that. 

I think offense is Wyatt's favorite position.  He has had a few goals this season and does a great job passing.   I love watching my boys play soccer!

Betty you can call me Al

When Keith and I met he listened to a Paul Simon cd a lot.  One of the songs on it was "You can call me Al."  The chorus said, "and Betty when you call me, you can call me Al."  I thought it was funny and told my grandma and she got a kick out of it too. 

I have been thinking about all of my memories with my grandma and today I went through old pictures that helped jog some more memories.  I sure love my grandparents.  I was always so excited when they would come to visit and not just because they would buy yummy treats and take us out to dinner.  They made me feel special, they would talk to me and ask me about my interests and listen to me as I rambled on and on.  I always knew they loved me.  I remember following my grandpa around as a little kid and wanting any time I could get with him.  I remember him walking to 7-11 (I was good at dropping hints and thought I was pretty sneaky, but I'm pretty sure he was on to me) with us and buying us treats.  I remember grandma telling me and Chris we ate too many treats!  I remember getting so excited to go to Antioch every summer.  I liked to have sleepovers with Chris, but honestly I liked being at grandma's and grandpa's house the best because I always felt safe and happy there.  I remember grandpa saying he was going to take me out to the woodshed.  I remember playing in his den all of the time and I'm sure it drove him crazy, but he never said a word.  I remember going straight to the freezer when we got to grandma's house to look for cookies and ice cream.  I remember getting excited to drink real milk and have the good cereal while we were there.  I remember grandma setting out place mats around the bar for breakfast.  I remember grandpa laying on the floor a lot because his back always hurt.  I remember grandpa reading the newspaper and falling asleep all of the time.  I remember grandma always telling us about her ancestors and family in Hyrum UT.  I remember grandma asking me and Holly if we saw any cute boys at the family reunion.

I remember how kind grandma and grandpa were to each other.  Grandpa always complimented grandma and talked about how beautiful she was.  I remember grandma telling me on my wedding day to believe Keith when he said I was beautiful because she wished she would have believed grandpa when he told her (he died the year before I got married.) I remember going to Antioch for Christmas a few times and how exciting that was.  I remember the big Christmas Eve parties and dinner at grandma's on Christmas day.  I remember running through the house when I was young while all of the grown ups told us to stop running through the house and go outside. 

I remember all of the grown ups sitting in the kitchen and talking.  I remember trying to ease drop as I got older and getting sent away (just like I do to my kids now.)   I remember going to grandma's and grandpa's for Thanksgiving during the crazy 2000 election and watching the news with them and waiting to see who was going to be our President.  I remember watching Everybody Loves Raymond with them and hearing grandma laugh really hard during it.

I remember Chris and I teasing that I was grandpa's favorite and he was grandma's.  It might have been true because when we graduated from High School on the same day, grandma went to his and grandpa came to mine.  I remember when grandma and grandpa met us in Oregon for Thanksgiving.   I remember grandpa driving in the wrong lane on the way to Gary's graduation and I finally had to tell him.  I remember grandpa driving me and Chris to Jen's wedding dinner and he parked in a spot where grandma and I couldn't open our doors and he said it was fine and we could just squeeze out.  I remember when Tiff and I were riding with grandma and grandpa in Utah and their car broke down on 3200 South and we had to walk back home in the cold, snowy weather.  They had their car fixed before that and grandpa was not happy and went back and told the mechanic that his wife and granddaughters had to walk in the cold and the mechanic admitted to not fixing it correctly and offered to buy his family dinner.  I remember that grandpa forgave him after the rest of us told him to say great, all 30 of us will be there (the whole family was in town.) 

I remember their back yard.  It was beautiful and always trimmed and perfect.  I remember grandma working in the back yard.  I remember running around and around the house through both gates.  I remember getting so excited to see the house when we would arrive from our long drive every summer.  I remember being so excited to go inside and dad reminding us to tidy our area before we went in.  I remember jumping along the stepping stones in the back yard and swinging in the tree swing.

I remember being so sad and shocked when grandpa died.  I loved hearing all of the wonderful things about him and everything he had done in Antioch as a principal and as a bishop.  I loved that everywhere we went someone knew him and I hated coming home to Utah where no one knew him and what a loss it was to lose such an amazing man at such a young age.  I remember being so worried about grandma and how she would do on her own.  I hated that I would be so far away and wouldn't be able to visit her and help her.  I remember staying for an extra week after grandpa died because I didn't want her to go from a house full of family to an empty house over night.  I wanted to give everyone in Antioch time to get caught up on their lives, after being with grandpa in the hospital and then having his funeral, so that when I left they would have time to be with grandma.  I remember helping grandma with her cell phone, using an ATM and pumping gas.  Those were all things that grandpa took care of for her.  I remember when I got home grandma called to talk to me and I was still asleep and she told dad, "you let her sleep, she stayed with grandpa in the hospital and then she stayed and took care of me and she needs some rest."  My dad said she got emotional and that meant so much to me because I felt like I had made a difference and helped grandma see how much I loved her.

I remember being so excited to call grandma when I had my babies.  I remember that she always sent them an adorable outfit.  I used to write letters to grandma and grandpa and then I started e-mailing them.  I loved telling them what I was doing because they would always comment on it when I saw them and knew what I had been up to. 

I remember calling grandma a lot after grandpa died.  It got harder as I had little kids because we would end up talking for a couple of hours.  I would buy calling cards because it was cheaper than using the long distance on our phone.  It was so much easier when we had cell phones where long distance didn't matter.   

I remember grandma always playing "so big" with the babies!  Every time we talked on the phone she would talk about the weather and then update me on all of the family there and ask about my family and siblings.  We would usually talk about our callings in the church and how crazy the world was getting. Caitlyn and Jonah used to talk to her on the phone too.  

I remember being so excited to take my kids to grandma's house.  It was so fun to see them running around the house like I used to when I was a kid.  

I loved that my kids knew my grandma and that she knew them. 

I especially loved seeing them play in the back yard with Haley and Reighn.

I remember when Jen died and grandma flew out for the funeral even though I know it was very hard for her because traveling was getting harder and last minute and unscheduled things were really hard for her.  We often talked about Jen on the phone and grandma sure missed her.

We had a family reunion in Utah that summer after Jen died.  I think that was the last time grandma came to Utah.  She loved family reunions and she loved having everyone together.  She would ask us all if we knew our cousins, we all got a kick out of that.  I loved how Ron said that no matter who came to the reunion she would say, well I wish everyone could have been here. 

This reunion was special because grandma got up and talked for a while.  She talked about growing up in Hyrum and I heard a lot of things that I hadn't heard before. 

I loved any chance I could get to have a picture with my kids and grandma Betty.

I remember when grandma broke her arm shortly after grandpa died. When we heard about it Mel and I decided to go visit her and help out.  We drove up there with EJ and Elijah.  I remember curling her hair and worrying because I know I didn't make it look as good and she would have.  I remember worrying about grandma when she couldn't sleep at night and was hearing her doorbell ring in the middle of the night.  I went out to visit her in hopes of helping and catching the person doing it (we aren't sure if that really happened.)  Keith was such a great husband to always encourage me to visit my grandma because he knew it was important to me.  I loved the time we spent alone together.  We would go out to lunch, go shopping and go to movies.  I loved shopping with her because she was very stylish and I would ask her opinion on things and she would give them to me, she usually didn't sugar coat things and I loved that, well most of the time.  

I remember sitting at the bar and talking while we worked on puzzles together.  It was so fun to have that one-on-one time with grandma.  This was when I went for her 86th birthday.  I had the feeling that I needed to go visit her and Keith encouraged me to do it.  

After I booked the ticket for her birthday I talked to my siblings and we decided to surprise my mom with a trip to Antioch for Mother's day and the best part is we would all be there and be together for a few days.  I'm so grateful we did this!  Almost every time I talked to grandma after this trip she would say, "remember when you guys all came and stayed at my house, I'm not sure why you did that, but I'm sure glad you did." 

It was so fun to have this time with grandma.  We went out to eat and to a movie with her. 

I loved sitting around and visiting, this time we were the adults instead of the kids running around.  

It was very hard for grandma to be alone for so many years.  She had such a hard time sleeping, I think because she hated being alone.  When she was really struggling sleeping and hearing the door bell in the middle of the night she said that one night she was crying and scared and she saw grandpa and he picked her up and held her and told her it would be okay.  I bet it was very hard for grandpa to watch her struggle.  I'm so grateful that they are together again and these mortal trials are over for grandma.

I sure lucked out with amazing women as my mom and grandma. 

I remember it getting harder and harder to talk to grandma on the phone.  She had a hard time remembering words and it was really hard to understand what she was saying.  It became a big guessing game.  Usually I had heard the stories from my mom, so I could help her finish her stories.   

I hate admitting that I haven't seen grandma in almost four years.  I think part of me feels some guilt about that.  I don't know why but I feel like this trip with my siblings was my goodbye trip and I didn't feel an urgency to visit her after that.  I felt strongly about those trips to see her that year.  I wish I could have lived by her and visited her all of the time, but since I didn't I wanted to remember her healthy and in her own home.  I hope she knows I love her and I never stopped thinking about her and praying for her. I'm so grateful for the wonderful relationship I had with both of my grandparents and all of the wonderful memories that I have with them. I'm grateful that they loved me and put in the time and effort to have that special relationship with me.  I can't wait to see them again and give them a huge hug!