Run. Play. Repeat.

The first few months of school are jam-packed.  Emma and Leah have cross country practice after school every day.  Band goes until 3:30 after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so then they get a ride to the rec center to start practice late.  Wednesdays they leave cross country early because they have band practice that night.  Fridays they have to be to the school at 5:45pm or so for the football game and they don't get home till at least 10 at night.  Then Saturday mornings are cross country meets, so they have to be to the school as early as 7am to get on the bus, travel for an hour and a half to the meet, run the race, and then ride back for another hour and a half.  Somewhere in there all the homework gets done.  Honestly, I don't know how they do it, but they love both of those activities so somehow they find a way to balance it all.  And then once the season ends in late October or early November, they crash...sometimes sleeping in until noon on Saturdays.  Can you blame them?

I love how they get to hang out with such great kids and be a part of a team.  It is so great for their confidence to contribute and develop their talents.

As the marching band season came to an end, it was time for symphonic band auditions.  Leah was very happy to earn first chair for the marimbas in symphonic band.  We are so proud of her and the leadership she has shown as section leader.  She had all the bells players over to the house for a sleep over and they designed their t-shirts together.  She is a great example and very talented mallet percussionist who now plays with four mallets!

Emma was a little more disappointed in the outcome of her audition.  She wanted very badly to make it into symphonic band, but unfortunately did not.  She was earned third chair in the concert band.  This is very frustrating to her, as the students do not seem to take things as seriously nor is the difficulty of the music they play as high in concert band.  Being the kind girl that she is, she does not want to challenge anyone to advance.  I explained to her that this result does not take away her talent, and that the results of a high school symphonic band audition is not the end-all-be-all and will not affect her future as a flautist.  It is very difficult to she your child struggle, to not get what they worked so hard for.  It is one of those difficult life lessons that we all must encounter at some point.  She of course is still a very talented flute player and I am very proud of how much she practiced and the effort she put into preparing for her audition.  I know she will continue to grow and improve and blow them all away next year!

Now let's all take a deep breath and relax now that both of these activities are over!

First day.

It should have been a piece of cake, because we'd all been here before.  Everyone was staying put in their school from the previous year.  Well, everyone except our two sophomores, who although they were in their second year of high school would be attending in a new building.  A HUGE new building.  There may have been just a little stress over how to find their way around, how to make it class on time, and how to carry all of their 20-lb. books around since the lockers had not yet been installed.  I had to remind them that everyone, including the seniors and teachers, were in the same boat.  It was like starting all over for all involved.  No one would know what they were doing or where they were going.  And of course, within a few weeks, they had it all figured out.

Emma and Leah are taking their first AP class this year and are doubling up on science classes, so the homework is astronomical.  Add in a fall packed with band and cross country and seminary at 6:00 am and they've both got a lot on their plates.  They have been handling things pretty well with great grades and only missing one morning of seminary due to sleeping through the alarm clock.

Brooke has ended up on the same team that her sisters were on in 8th grade.  She wasn't happy with this at first, but as the year has gotten underway, she is thriving with perfect grades.  The social studies teacher who gave Emma and Leah so much unwanted attention also showers it upon Brooke, but she eats it up.  She has no problem at all with him talking about how great and smart she is.

Andrew has pretty much skipped 6th grade math this year.  He is very skilled in math and is definitely up for the challenge.  The first couple of weeks were hard for him as he actually had to do some homework and think and figure things out, but he has gotten into the groove and is really enjoying things.  I want him to be ready to advance in math when he goes to Burneson next year and I think he will be prepared.  He has a lot of friends and is very social, sometimes to his detriment, but the school year has also gotten off to a great start for him as well.

Now that the first quarter is already over, we are all plugging right along and are looking forward to another successful school year!

Hospital schmospital.

Right at the very end of summer we found out that Porter would be in the hospital for a couple weeks.  We tried to help him make the best of the situation by visiting him as much as possible.  Even though he was in a little hospital room, Porter and Andrew were still able to play basketball, baseball, and rocketball.  This game was invented by Tyler during his visit to Porter and involves hitting an air rocket with a stuffed Woodstock.

We brought rubber bands so that the kids could make bracelets (the hottest fad of the summer).

We wandered around the halls of the hospital and even got to venture outside!

The doctors and nurses even allowed Andrew and me to stay over one night with Porter!  The boys watched "Thunderstruck" (their favorite movie with their favorite basketball player, Kevin Durrant).  We also got to go in the play room with a pool table, games, and a Wii.  The boys went "Pie Style" (another summer favorite from Food Network Star) and shared a little pie.  They had fun raiding the fridge down the hall and stocking up of frosted mini-wheats and chocolate milk. 

Even though Andrew ended up having to sleep on the floor on the pull-out couch cushions, he loved getting to spend so much time with his cousin.  These two are best buds and aren't going to let a little hospital stay keep them apart for long.  We are glad Porter is home and healthy!

Summer Wrap-Up

We had an extra long summer this year, and we packed every moment of it.

Stephen came out for a visit!  While he was here we planned a surprise party for Jill's 30th birthday.  We had it down at Huntington Beach with a bunch of friends.  Of course, you can never pull of a surprise party without a little bit of suspicion, but I think we did a pretty good job of truly surprising her.  We made her a little book where each family member wrote a list of 30 things they love about Jill--it was pretty awesome.  We had a great time celebrating how much we love her!

Grandma and Grandpa Brooks and Uncle Stephen took Andrew on a little overnight trip to see the caves in Ohio.  They went fishing, but it was boiling hot so that didn't last long.  Good things it was nice and cool (cold even!) in the caves.  Andrew loved it and had a great time.

It was so nice to have all of us together. We love it when Stephen can come out to visit us!

After Stephen left, we went blueberry picking for the first time.  Some of us could not stop picking the berries, even those who don't personally eat them.  We ended up with an obscene amount, but they freeze well!  We made some freezer jam and Leah made her first pie!

 Our ward organized a community service project.  We split up and went to homes of senior citizens in the area to do whatever service they needed done.  My mom and I were with the young women and we ended up at the home a a sweet lady, Mrs. Norris.  We helped her clean out a storage room and then cleared some branches and vines from the back of her house.  We had a great time.  The girls did a great job making work into something fun, and Mrs. Norris was so appreciative of our help.  It turned out to be quite a memorable experience for all of us.

We were so excited to have the Flemings come out to visit us!  The kids love being together.  They played endless games of Bang.  We also took the kids to the beach where they made a huge city out of sand.  We have been taking the cousins to the beach since before many of them were even born and they once again had a great time together.  We also ate a ton delicious food because we wanted them to experience our Cleveland favorites--Brown Bag Burger, Slyman's, and Mitchell's.  And of course we had to make pizza and wings!  It was so nice to have the cousins together again--for probably the last time for a while as Tyler and Zack will be heading off to college and missions next year.

Once the Flemings left, it was time to get serious about the end of summer.  We made a bucket list and were able to cross of pretty much all of it!

The girls and me on our 3-mile hike!

One last important event of the summer was Emma's purchase of a new flute.  It was a pretty pricey investment, and Emma is required to pay for half.  She was so happy the day it came in.  She called it her baby...and since the new Royal Prince had just been born, he became the flute's namesake.  We christened it George Alexander Louis, and Emma loves it.  She takes her flute playing seriously and is very talented.  We are hoping this new instrument will take her through college and beyond.

It really was a nice, long summer.  We enjoyed the extra time off school...and we were ready for the first day when it finally came!

Story of her life.

If it's summer, it means Brooke is in the Fairview Park Fine Arts and Theater Association's summer musical. This year she recruited Macey to try out with her. They both landed roles in "Shrek the Musical"...Brooke as the Mad Hatter and Macey as the White Rabbit.

The girls had a great time.  There is such a great group of kids and they all just form such strong friendships so fast.  I guess that's not surprising, considering there are 4-5 hour long rehearsals every night!

The production was fabulous.  Everyone gave it their all, worked through difficult situations, and came back stronger than ever for the final night.

Brooke was part of the number "Let Your Freak Flag Fly" which was just so appropriate for her.  It was great to see her let loose (like we never get to see that at home...) and have a ball dancing and singing on stage.

We were so grateful for all the family who can to support our stars!

This girls were attached at the hip all summer. 

Another great experience on the stage for our budding actress!

Top 10 reasons why the Historic Kirtland 5K might in fact be the happiest 5K on the planet.

1. It was free.

2. Macey ran with us!

3. Cast members from "This is Kirtland" were there to sing the National Anthem and cheer us on.

4. And then they actually said an opening prayer before the race started.

5. Stephen was in town and was willing to tag along to be our personal photographer.

6. This hill, although it looks harmless here, was a real killer.  But at the top we got to run around the Kirtland Temple.  And then we got to fly back down the hill.

7.  Emma and Leah won first and second place in their age division!

 

8. We did not, in fact, die from the extreme heat.

 

9. It inspired me to take the girls back out to Kirtland later to see the play.

10. We passed a McDonald's on the way there and a Burger King on the way home, which of course both had 50¢ cones, and of course we had to taste-test both.  

All because of the Historic Kirtland 5K.  Now THAT is happiness.

Bad, Bad News Bears

Once again, Andrew got the short end of the stick in the baseball team department.  It was like nothing I've ever seen.  The throwing, the fielding, the batting--or lack thereof--was mind-blowing.  And poor Andrew.  It was so frustrating for him.  He ended up playing catcher for most of the season.  He did a good job there, but wasn't his favorite.  Mostly it was a matter of endurance.  Enduring each play, each game, and the whole season.

We were grateful to have family and friends supporting Andrew.  His Primary teacher and her cute family came to see Andrew play and it ended up raining super hard.  Elyse loved cheering Andrew on!

Shockingly, there was no post-season for this team this year, but the boys still celebrated (that it was finally over?) at Mitchell's.

One of these days, I just know Andrew will get to play on a team that matches his skills.  Hopefully sooner than later...

I love to see the temple.

Glenn and I got to go down to the Columbus Temple with the youth in our ward.  This time was special because it was my first time going down with Brooke, my parents were there, and we had some family names.

When we were ready to leave, we discovered it was pouring down rain.  Inside the temple we had no idea the storm was raging outside.  I loved the symbolism--the temple can protect us from the storms of life as well.  We find peace and safety in temple attendance.

On the way home, we of course had to stop at HomeTown Buffet.  The kids all die over the orange chicken.  I keep telling myself this is NOT the real reason they like to go on temple trips...

Once again, it was such a privilege to be in the presence of these youth.  They never cease to amaze me.  Can't wait until Andrew gets to join us next time...

Fabulous 4th.

After an amazing barbeque with the family, we weren't sure if the weather was going to hold.  No one felt like sitting in the rain.  But since the Public Square concert earlier in the week was rained out, we all really wanted to see some fireworks.  So we decided to risk it.  The weather ended up being perfect, so different from the sweltering heat from last year.  The kids played football and frisbee, Callie kept us entertained with her dancing and then nearly got plowed over by some oblivious boys, and once the sun went down we broke out the glow sticks/necklaces/bracelets.  The city of Westlake always puts on a great fireworks show, and this year did not disappoint.  Another fun day celebrating our wonderful country!

Girls, girls, girls, that's all we see...

This year's girls camp was by far my favorite.  And it wasn't because we had perfect, cool, beautiful weather.  Because we didn't.  We had hot, humid, stormy weather.  It wasn't because the bugs completely left us alone.  Because they didn't.  They were everywhere, biting, stinging, nagging.

But there were so many reasons to love it.

I loved it because I saw someone with enormous obstacles in her life finally find a voice. 

I loved it because the girls all look so cute with their hair in braids.

 I loved it because I saw older girls setting examples for the younger ones. 

 I loved it because I saw new friendships form.  Fast.

I loved it because the girls got to make memories together.

 

I loved it because there were wonderful women there who helped nurture and teach my daughters.

I loved it because I gained a stronger testimony of the priesthood.

I loved it because I knew that, despite the huge storms and the texts from worried parents back home, we were safe.

 I loved it because the girls learned how to share their beliefs with others.

I loved it because the girls gained confidence in learning new skills.

I loved it because I got to be in a room where Joseph Smith received revelation from Jesus Christ, in a home he was dragged out of in the middle of the night, tarred and feathered, and then stood on the front step the next morning to preach a sermon. 

 

I loved it because Emma, Leah, and Becca were finally initiated as YCL's (youth camp leaders).

I loved it because I never tire of the beauty we see on the hike.

I loved it because all of my daughters were there with me.  And my sister.  And my sister-in-law.  And two of my nieces.  And my mom and other sister came up to visit.  We've never all been at girl's camp together.

I loved it because I saw beautiful, strong, virtuous young women learning, growing, working, laughing, and crying together.  There is such power in being with so many others who GET you, and I am so glad my daughters had that experience.  I know that we are daughters of God.  And at girl's camp, in spite (or maybe because) of the difficulties and trials, that's where you feel it most of all.