The time finally came to get some family pictures taken. We did some two years ago. Ashton kept complaining that the pictures didn't have her wearing glasses yet. And Lydia was just a baby. The photographer we use is in a ward near us and is fun to work with (and inexpensive). So it was a fun afternoon.
We knew we'd be timing our Utah trip during the football game. We also lucked out that the men's basketball had a home game the same day. We took the kids down to Provo for Cougar Canyon event. This is new-er, at least to us. BYU hosts a really fun and interactive festival for the fans. There were lots of activities for the kids to do, with very short lines, some food trucks, BYU Sports Nation broadcast, etc. And then the team walks down the road so you can give high fives and say hi. Even the coaches come down the road to say hi. The kids had a blast.
Then we went in the stadium for the game. It was very packed, at least in our section. Surprisingly, Gemma and Lydia survived the entire game without having to leave. We had some of Joseph's family join us, which helped entertain the littles. Tanner was in his happy place the entire game (except when we were losing at the beginning).
After the game, Joseph took the big kids down to the field for autographs. One of the coaches saw Tanner and said, "I am going to make your day kid." He picked him up and lifted him over the fence. Typically, autographs are only given by a fence so it limits people from going on the field. But the coach was nice to Tanner and let them go on the field. They got to see a ton more players that way.
When this was all done, I took the girls back up to Lehi with family while Joseph, Tanner, and cousin Caleb stayed in Provo for the basketball game. Tanner got a ton of autographs there too.
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| Before it got packed full of people. |
Our first stop on our trip to Utah was BYU. We took the kids up to Bridal Veil Falls. I was hoping for a little bit more snow. It turned out we would have had to drive up the canyon quite a ways to find that much snow. The kids loved the little patches of snow. They really liked the ice near the falls and that they could slide around on it. After about 15 minutes, we were all too cold.
After that, we stopped for lunch at the creamery Then, we went all around campus. Joseph arranged for the BYU Campus Tours group to open up the indoor practice facility and South Field for the family. Tanner loved seeing those. Next, we wandered to the Smith Fieldhouse and saw the men's volleyball team practicing as well as some track and field athletes. After that was the student athlete building. Tanner could have stayed there all day. He ran into some well-known athletes such as Puka Nacua. The front desk people allowed Tanner and Joseph to go in the athlete's weight room, which was neat for them. We walked through the campus after that. Stopped at the library and ran into a friend from our old ward. She was in the young women's program when Joseph and I served as youth leaders. It was fun! Then, we spent a fortune at the BYU Store.
After BYU, we joined some of Joseph's family for dinner at Cafe Rio. Then, Ashton and I went back down to Provo for the Noteworthy concert. She had a great time there. Amazing talent. Ashton took an interest in the new music building on campus as well.
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| They have the best big cousin! He is so patient with them. |
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| Maybe one day, we can recreate this picture when they're students at BYU. |
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| Wool socks, long underwear, neck warmers, hats, gloves, and winter coats. We are definitely Texans now. |
Ashton and Tanner went back to school mid-August. Both are continuing the dual language program. We keep saying we can't get better teachers and yet, we do! We love the teachers this year. Tanner has the other 1st grade teacher that Ashton did not have so that is exciting. Thankfully, they both kept up with their Spanish reading over the summer break. I was pleasantly surprised about that.
What was really surprising was that both Ashton and Tanner were selected as leaders in their school. At an assembly last week, 15 students in the school (about 700 total students) were awarded leadership certificates. The kids didn't know about it prior to this. Both of them were picked! I was shocked!
I was able to attend their field day last week for part of the day. Otherwise, I continue to help on the PTA when I can. Joseph is in charge of the school's running club this year, which makes Tanner happy. Ashton joined the STEM club as well. The girls and I like to go up to the school for lunch with the big kids when we can fit it in.
She has loved it so much. I have been impressed with the programming and education so far. The high schoolers are much happier to do crafts with Gemma than I am. She likes dramatic play time and the library. I get lots of pictures from the school and Gemma is always happy. Several families from our stake and the neighboring stake also have children in the program so we carpool and help with rides if necessary. The kids know each other pretty well too.
Back in September, I went on our annual girls trip with some friends. We all used to live in Lake Jackson but now live all over the country. We chose to go out to a beach house in California for a long weekend. It was a fun time.
We all flew into Los Angeles very early Thursday morning. Then we hit up all the LA sights. One of my friends lived in LA for several years as a single adult and as a married couple so she was the navigator. We went down Rodeo Drive, saw the stars in the sidewalk, visited the LA temple grounds, and did a lot more sightseeing that day. I think by that night, I had walked 25,000 steps. We drove up the coast late that night to the beach house.
Friday, we went out to Channel Islands National Park. I did this two years ago with the big kids and it was fun to go back. We did a few hikes, hung out by the water, and soaked in some quiet on the beach.
Saturday, we were beach bums. I read a ton of books while I was away, which was nice. We stayed up much too late each night catching up. Sunday was church and then back to the airport to fly home.
I'm already looking forward to next year's trip! I'm terrible at taking pictures during trips. So here are the few I have.
Tanner finally lost his first tooth. And then lost another one the same day! Right before school started, he pulled out a tooth. His bottom two teeth were a little loose, but I thought he had a few more days to go. He was very excited as the tooth fairy brings a special $2 bill for the first tooth. He put it in a baggie and went off to school. He felt a little sad because he wanted a tooth necklace from the school. But you only get those if you lose the tooth while at school.
I picked him up after school and he comes out of the door with a tooth necklace. I immediately think he convinced his teacher to give him a necklace. Nope. He had pulled his other tooth out at school. Right away, he says: "Now I get $4 since I lost them the same day. If I had waited until tomorrow, I would have gotten less money." He was one happy boy the next day to get $4.
The adult teeth were already coming in behind the baby teeth. So he doesn't have a big gap or hole.
