Saturday, July 23, 2022

Happy 12th Birthday Christian!

 Christian's birthday fell on a Thursday this year.  He requested breakfast burritos for his birthday dinner.  After dinner, we went out for ice cream.  On Saturday, he had a party with many of his best friends.  He wanted to stay home and play outside and at the park.




front row: Zeke Scholes, Abe Wagstaff, Luke Williams
back row: Davis Farnsworth, Dominic A., Hayden, and Aiden Cornella

Christian is our sweet baby boy.  At 12, he is 4 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 91 pounds.  He remains sweet but continues to mix in a little salty.  He is such a sweet, talented, smart, studious and handsome boy.  He continues to read but not as much as last year.  He and his dad have read more from Rick Riordan.   He still loves to play with Legos and loves math.  He also loves video games, but playing with Cameron almost always ends in frustration.  He is still taking piano lessons, but still has to be constantly reminded to practice.  He doesn't love playing the piano but he does believe he will regret it if he quits.  He got rollerblades for his birthday and on several occasions he has gone out to rollerblade on his own.   He doesn't like to go out alone and it doesn't usually end well when he goes out with Cameron.  But if he has someone to play with, he loves to play outside (as long as it's not football).  Christian can be quite the talker.  He will talk and tell stories to anyone.  He can often be heard recapping what he read, what happened in a movie or what happened on the video game he was playing.  He has become quite found of sleeping in.  Some mornings he does not want to get out of bed.  One thing that hasn't changed and hopefully never will, is that Christian will always apologize to me when he acts like a jerk.  What a great trait!  He believes he loves me more than I love him.  But I guarantee that's not possible!

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Christmas 2021


We do like our traditions!  We got together again this year with the Hatches and Hamblins to decorate houses.  The older kids did not want to do it but we told them they have to until they graduate from high school.

Samantha and Elizabeth



Ryan and Natalie

Lizzy and Cameron

Carson (I didn't get a picture of Madelyn)

Christian's house

Hannah's house

Cameron's house

We went to Chris Stanley's house (our neighbor) for the neighborhood potluck on Christmas Eve, but it had rained all day (which made for some great running), so attendance was a little light.  But we still enjoyed the evening.


Santa tried not to buy too much for the kids this year, but again, they were spoiled and got everything they wanted.  Cameron did not ask for much but he did ask for a dart board.  Chuck bought a cabinet for it and hung it on the back porch (it is February 10th as I am typing this and he has been out to throw darts one time so far).  Hannah got a pair of Nike pro shoes and Christian got a computer.  Santa also brought a pickle ball net, rackets and balls.  We set it up at the end of the driveway and play half in the driveway and half in the street,  It works out pretty well.  And I have to say, we aren't half bad.  



After opening our gifts and having breakfast, Chuck and I went for our annual Christmas Day run.  Charity come to visit for a few days and we picked her up in the afternoon and had dinner with her, Camera and Emily that evening.





Lily, Billy and Sylvan came over after Christmas and spent most of the day with us.  We opened gifts, played pickle ball and went to the park.  
Hannah gave the hat to Chuck for Christmas.  It is February 10th as I type this and other than to shower, pray and ride his bike, he has not taken that hat off.  





Merry Christmas!

Thursday, February 10, 2022

Fall Events

 Sports aside, it was a busy Fall!

Cameron was inducted into the National Honor Society.


Pyper Hatch and Cameron


Hannah went to Homecoming (or HoCo as the kids like to say).  She went with a few friends because the dates did not end up working out.  She borrowed a dress because we could not find one that was acceptable to both of us.  Her word to describe homecoming was "lame".  Cameron invited his girlfriend, Lizzy, to Homecoming but they could not go because Lizzy does not go to Marcos.  (I do not think this is normal but Covid related).  So, they got dressed up as if they were going, went to dinner with Moss and Pyper (who did go) and then they changed and just hung out.


Anna, Grace,  Hannah, Marley





We toured the Mesa Temple just before it was rededicated after undergoing major renovations and being closed for several years.





For Halloween, Christian and Hannah went trick-or-treating with a friends in their neighborhoods.  I did not get a picture of Hannah but I do not think I would have approved of her costume.  She was a cave woman.


We ran the Turkey Trot for the 21st consecutive year.  Despite having pre-registered, when we got there, all the timing chips were gone, so we did not get timed.  The Palmers were in town for Thanksgiving so Sarah and Ellie joined us for the run.  All the kids ran the 5K while Chuck and I ran the 10K.  It was actually not perfect weather like usual.  It was a little windy making the gradual climb a bit more challenging.  



In addition to the Palmers, Camera and Emily and their families joined us for dinner. 

Friday, January 7, 2022

Fall Sports

Sports kept us busy this Fall.  There was football for Cameron (of course), swimming for Hannah, and baseball and cross country for Christian.

Cameron played on the Varsity team and was the first string (maybe the only string) long snapper.  He also got a little playing time as a tight end.  The season had its ups and downs but mostly downs.  It started with the 7 on 7 games during the summer.  Cameron attended every practice and worked his butt off only to stand on the sidelines of those games.  As the school year began, Cameron continued to attend every practice, work his butt off while keeping his grades up (most players did not) and he continued to spend most of his time on the sideline.  There were times when he would come home quite discouraged.  The coaches would tell the kids they could not play if they were not passing, but they still did.  The coaches also said that the reward for working hard was playing time, but that did not prove to be true in Cameron's case.  But despite all this, Cameron did not want to quit and remained loyal to the team.

I made the mistake of watching a bit of practice on a couple occasions, and I was appalled at how the coaches talked to the players and the language they used.  So, it was not surprising when at the game against our neighboring school, a fight broke out that included not only players, but coaches and parents as well.  One of the Marcos's players hit one of his own coaches!  The fans were told to leave, and we figured they would call the game and the players would be right behind us. But it was a long time before Cameron got home.  When he got home, he told us they finished the game and they won.  They received a police escort to the bus and back to the school.  Yep, this is the school we are sending our kids to.  Not only were we not informed that the game would continue, but we never heard a word from the coach and nothing much was said to the players.  We did hear from the principal though.  She received an email from Chuck that warranted a phone call, not just a reply to the email.  Fortunately, we never again saw the player or his mom that were the most involved.  Unfortunately, the coaching staff remained and nothing seemed to change.  

I do admire Cameron's dedication and drive when it comes to football.  And I love that he has a passion. The biggest high of the season came when he was nominated for the All-Region 1st Team!  The players are selected by the other coaches in the region.  So, he might not get recognized by his coaches but other coaches are noticing him. 






Hannah started out the Fall season wanting to play volleyball.  She went to 2 days of try outs and had a horrible experience.  I will never really know what happened, but in addition to not being very good, she said the coach was mean and things seemed really disorganized.  I convinced her to join the swim team (there were no tryouts because the team is so small) and she ended up loving it!  I loved it too.  She did not have to sit thru study hall, the bus was always back at school when it was scheduled to be, and she was always home for dinner.  In addition, the coaches were respectful to the kids and the kids got along with the swimmers from other teams, they encouraged each other and re-connected with friends they went to grade and elementary school with.  Basically, it was the complete opposite of football.  

Hannah was awarded the most improved swimmer award.  She also lettered, which is unusual for a first-year swimmer.  She showed so much dedication and drive.  At the awards banquet, her coach said that Hannah would work to the point of pain and that most kids did not really get there until their junior year (if ever). We are so proud of her!  



Christian decided to run cross country for his school.  Everyone made the team which might the sport more appealing to him.  It was a short, intense season.  They raced every Tuesday and Thursday for about 3 weeks and practiced the other days.  All that running was hard on Christian and he complained a lot about heel pain.  I hope it was a combination of too much running and being in pivotal growth years and that he won't continue to have pain.  His fastest time was 12:45.8 with the courses being 1.5miles. But most importantly, he never let Sam beat him and that was always the goal.   He was so dedicated and worked so hard, even running thru pain.  We are so proud of him!



Christian also played Fall Ball.  He was placed on a team with a coach we had some reservations about.  But he turned out to be a great guy and a great coach.  (It might not have hurt that Chuck and I volunteered as umpire coordinators and that Christian has become friends with the coach's son).  Christian had an amazing season and after last Spring, he really needed to have some good things happen.  Christian mostly played catcher and was very successful behind the plate.  He was also successful when he was asked to pitch.  He hit almost every time he was at the plate and if not, he did not go down without swinging.  Cameron did a little umpiring, but football kept him a little too busy to do much.