James' Birthday

James and Luke have had a tradition the past few years of attending the Father Son Basketball Camp at BYU.  This generally falls on James' birthday every year because the camp is over Memorial Day weekend. They have such a great time there together that it is a great way to spend a birthday.   However, we usually have to wait a few days to celebrate with James.

This year we met the guys at Thanksgiving Point.  James has been wanting to go down there and see the gardens.  We ended up not seeing much of the gardens because the kids weren't interested in that part of Thanksgiving Point.  Instead, we spent time at the Museum and walking around the square.  It was fun just hanging out as a family together for James' birthday.

Lindsey is 13

May 3, Lindsey officially became a teenager.  It is hard to believe she has reached that milestone.  I am so proud of her and all that she has accomplished.  She is a very self-driven young woman.  She sets a lot of goals and pushes herself to succeed.  I know she has many great years ahead.

Lindsey decided for her birthday she wanted to spend the day shopping with her sisters-- "a girl's day" as she put it.  This meant checking all the girls out of school early so we could have lunch and go shopping.  She was generous enough to encourage her sisters to all buy things for themselves too.  It became a gift giving day for everyone.  The girls all had a lot of fun trying on clothes and shoes but I think they had the most fun being together. It was probably one of the most enjoyable birthday parties I've had for any of my kids because there was no party preparation, no cleanup, and I didn't have to stress about picking the right gifts because Lindsey picked out her own things and for the first year, I know she liked everything she got.

Soccer Season 2012

We had a fun spring with three of the kids playing soccer.  We have had a break from soccer the past couple of years because no one was interested in playing.  I wasn't sad about missing a few seasons because it is usually cold and snowy or rainy during soccer season.  This year we were pleasantly blessed with great spring soccer weather.

Heather played in the older league and was one of only two girls on her team.  She realized her favorite position to play is defender.  She really enjoyed playing and says she wants to play again next year.

Savannah played for the first time and loved it.  I was surprised she was so in to it.  She would sprint up and down the field after the ball.  During breaks she would run over to the side, gulp some water, and head back out there.  I was impressed with her boldness in getting in the center of the action and kicking the ball.

Matthew also played for the first time.  He wasn't quite as aggressive as Heather and Savannah but he had a good time.  I noticed he liked to volunteer to sit out when they needed someone.  I think he realized sitting on the sidelines meant he could make up his own game with whomever was sitting out with him.  Oh well, at least he was giving others an opportunity to play.

Help You, I Can

Luke recently ran for studentbody office.  Being that his name is Luke and this family tends to be fans of the Star Wars genre, he decided to go with a Star Wars theme for his campaign.  The school sets a pretty tight budget for the campaign and receipts have to be kept to turn in if requested.  It was a very hectic couple of weeks putting together campaign posters and handouts.  From start to finish they campaigned for two weeks.  On the final day they had an assembly and each candidate got two minutes to present a speech and a skit or video.  Luke shared a Star Wars clip and some Yoda philosophy and how he would apply that philosophy in leading the school.  He did a great job and was pretty funny.  It was a good feeling when his speech was done and he had done his best, the campaigning was over and the outcome was now left to the students.  By the end of the day we knew that Luke had won one of the student body office positions.  Four people are elected to student body  office then those four are interviewed by faculty, advisors, and previous officers and assigned positions.  The next week Luke interviewed along with the other three and he was selected as student body president. We got to be excited all over again. 

He's already started having meetings and activities.  His first responsibility was choosing the appointed offices.  That was stressful for him because he had a lot of close friends running for offices and he couldn't vote for them all.  I know he was relieved that advisors also got to vote for appointed office which took some of the pressure off of the officers.  I know he is looking forward to next year.

Some of his campaign posters