September has been a busy month full of trips almost every weekend and something going on literally everyday. We made a couple of trips to St. George, mountain bike races, cross country races, celebrated birthdays and baptisms, and much more.
We started the month in St. George over Labor Day. This was a special trip because I was able to go to the temple with Jess and Danny and see them receive their endowments and be sealed as a family with their two boys, Cole and Cash.
This was probably one of the best experiences I have had in the temple so far. I was so happy for Jess and Danny. I have never been to a family sealing before, well except my own when I was three but I don't remember much about that. I didn't really know how it would all work but I can tell you it was one of the sweetest most spiritual things I have ever witnessed. It was amazing to see Jess and Danny be sealed but when they brought in their two handsome boys, the tears started flowing. Witnessing this family sealing was something I will never forget. I know this is the true church and gospel because there is no other place that could be so right than the temple. The blessings and promises we are given there just make life worth living. I am so happy the Blake's decided to take this step in their lives. I know they will be blessed for it. I know I have been blessed for just witnessing it. I am so glad I was able to attend.
While in St. George, we did have some days of outdoor fun too.
I promised the kids we could go to a splash pad or something so we went to a small secluded park near my parents' house. We picked up Fynlee on our way so she and Brooklyn could play. This was a great park because we were the only ones there! The kids had a blast just splashing and running around even though it was hot.
Back home, we traveled some more. This time we went northwest to Bear River High School for Emily's cross country meet.
This race had all of the girls running together. Once again it was pretty hot and the air was smoky but Emily did great. This course was a few laps around a park and some loops crisscrossing around a dirt field. It was nice for the spectators because we could cheer for everyone in one central spot but a little confusing for the runners. Our top runner, Lily, took a wrong turn and had to push it to catch back up to the top position after everyone yelled at her to turn around. She still ended up finishing first but it was too bad she lost some ground. Russell, Brooklyn and I cheered for Emily and her friends from the dirt field as they passed us multiple times. Then we ran to the finish line to watch Emily finish strong. Emily was able to improve her time on this race and maintain her spot on the team as the top 8 or 9. Nice!
On September 7, we celebrated Charlotte's 8th birthday as well as her baptism!
Charlotte was excited to be baptized and had been looking forward to it for a while. We were also happy to have so many family members come up to celebrate with us. Happy Birthday Charlotte!
Our garden has been good this year. producing a ton of beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, spaghetti squash, and potatoes.
When I was not chasing the kids around with their sports, I was canning and processing all of the vegetables and fruit. Our peach tree also produced a lot of peaches this year which was great. The peaches were nice and big and really juicy. They were probably some of the best I have tasted. Another miracle happened and our little apple tree also produced about 25 big apples. We were really concerned about this tree for the first few years because it was not producing at all but this year has been the best crop yet! We didn't can or dry these apples, we just enjoyed eating them. They were so good!
Back to cross country racing! There was about one race a week so there was always something going on.
This time the race was at Gibbon's Park in Logan. This race was not a good one for Emily. She really struggled to keep going. For the past week or so she had been sick with a cold and was just not feeling 100%. She debated on not running but decided to just go for it anyway. The course was a terrible course full of steep hill climbs and descents. All of it was on grass too. When I say steep inclines, I mean in the winter we use this park for epic sledding. So there were two negatives against her, a cold and a terrible course. I could tell she was tired when she passed me the first time so instead of telling her to "Go! Go! Go!" I just tried to encourage her to keep going and make it to the end. At the finish line, I could tell she was upset with her race but I told her she did amazing with the terrible course and being sick. I said it was just one race and to write it off as a bad race and move on. We all have bad days. I was still so proud of her for giving her all, finishing and doing her best!
The third Mountain Bike race of the season was on September 14. This race was held in Mantua so we didn't have to travel too far.
This was Colby's final race of the season so he was determined to do well and get a good placing.
It was cold when Colby's race started first thing in the morning. As soon as his race got going, though, we all warmed up as we climbed up and down the mountain cheering for him in all of the viewing spots. Colby did great and zoomed around the turns and though the finish line. He placed 55 in the 8th grade boys and finished his lap in 27:55. I think this was his fastest race of the season so he was happy with that.
For the rest of the day we hung out in the Pit Zone waiting for Emily's race time around 2:00 pm. This waiting always makes Emily really nervous and anxious for her race. One thing her friends have started to do, though, is say a group prayer together before their race. This seems to help her so that is good.
Since this course is so close to us, Emily has ridden and practiced on this course a lot. She did so well. It was really hot and dusty by the time she raced but she pushed through and finished strong. Emily was able to keep her placement as number 47 and finished her two laps in 59:19. I think those times are amazing! I definitely could not do what she does.
This season has been fun to watch the kids progress and get better at riding. These girls have also been fun to get to know. It has been hard because they all race in a different category than Emily but they still have fun hanging out and cheering for each other.
And we are back to cross country! This race almost didn't happen. This was Mountain Crest's home meet, Cache Box, held at the American West Heritage Center. The Cache Box is a big invitational for multiple schools and is also the same course that is used for the region qualifying meet. On the morning of the meet, we woke up to gray skies and storm clouds. By 1:00, when the meet was supposed to start, it was down pouring. So much that it was literally buckets and the meet was postponed. Because all of the schools were already at the Heritage Center, everyone was seeking cover in the Welcome Center, the shop, and the storage buildings. Mountain Crest and another school was put in the Man and His Spread storage building where we keep all of the golf carts and decorations. While they were stuck in there, the kids made the most of it by having a dance party. I was in the back office room of the Welcome Center and we got to watch them dance on the surveillance cameras. It was pretty funny.
Finally about an hour later, the storm broke and the directors decided the race could go on but instead of splitting the races with Varsity and JV they would run all of the girls in one race and the boys would all run shortly afterward. This is why there are boys running with the girls in some of the pictures.
This race ended up being one of Emily's favorite courses and races. She did so well! She was able to push hard coming in the top runners on her team. She also got a new personal best of 23.44. This made Emily feel much better about herself. After the last race she was really down but this awesome performance really boosted her spirits and she liked running again.
As Activity Day Leaders, we try to do fun activities the boys would like. After taking a break in the summer we decided to have a big activity to involve the boys and their families so we brought back the Cardboard Boat Regatta!
Each of the boys were given a cardboard box to build into a boat. There were really no rules other than they had to be able to fit inside of it and float down the river. It is always interesting to see what they come up with and how they use their imagination to build their boat. This year we had a dragon, a tank, a shark mouth, a canoe, a laminated boat, and more. We raced the boats at the Hyrdopark up Blacksmith Fork.
Logan wanted his boat to look like a dragon. He drew up the design and with some help made it come to life.
His boat was just wide enough on the bottom to balance out his weight and keep him a float down the river. He said he didn't even get wet on his first run. He did have to stay right in the middle so that it wouldn't tip over. After a few trips down the river though it did start to collapse under his weight.
Even though Colby is not in Activity Days anymore, he wanted to build a boat and float it in the Regatta as well.
His boat did not hold up as well as he had hoped but he was still happy to be on the water. He blamed his lack of structure on Logan using all of the duct tape.
All of the boys' boats did really well on the water. The only one that had a hard time was Jayden's shark head boat. Though it looked really cool, it would not float or stay upright with him inside. It was just too narrow and small for him to balance.
Blake's laminated boat was the longest lasting boat. His dad is an engineer of some sort so they really went all out in building the perfect boat. They kept calling and asking about the different materials and things they could use and if they could hot glue the whole boat essentially creating a plastic seal around the cardboard making it waterproof. We just laughed and told them if they wanted to spend that much time and money on their boat they could go for it. His boat did last the longest on the water and even held three boys at once before it started to deteriorate.
In the end, I think Blake and Logan's boats held the most people so all of the boys jumped in together for a whole group race.
All of the boys had a good time and their families enjoyed it too. Our judges decided that Jayden won the Titanic Award for most epic sink, Xavier won the Best Design award for his detailed army tank, and Maverick won the Speed Boat award for being the fastest and most streamlined boat in the race. The other boys also won some other fun awards too. Everyone had a good time!
The last week of September was Mountain Crest Homecoming week. All of us were in the MC Homecoming Parade. Russell, Emily, and Colby were part of the Mountain Bike team. They rode their bikes down the parade route doing trick. Emily was not sure which float to be on between Mountain Biking and Cross Country. Then we found out that the Mountain Bike team was one of the first floats and the cross country team was one of the last floats. She decided to ride her bike with the mountain bike team and then hurry and ride back to the start and jump on with the cross country team. So she was able to do both!
I am the Secretary of the MC Parent Organization so I was in the parade with them. We needed a vehicle to ride in so we used our truck. We taped banners and balloons to the truck and I drove it through the parade. Logan, Charlotte, and Brooklyn came with me and the rest of the Parent Organization Board and threw candy during the parade. The kids thought that was the best thing ever.
At the end of September, Tami and Roy entered the MTC as Senior Missionaries. We went down to St. George at the end of August to go to their mission farewell. It was amazing to hear their experience with trying to decide to go on a mission and how the received their call and how they knew that was the place they needed to be. I know they will be great missionaries.
Tami and Roy were called to serve in the Zimbabwe Harare Africa mission! They will be going to Africa!! To tell you the truth, I was really nervous about this call for them. I mean Africa is on the other side of the world and its Africa! After hearing their testimonies and finding out the story and process behind getting their call, I felt much better about it. It is still a little scary, but I know it is where they need to be. They are in the Provo MTC right now waiting for their Visas to get approved so they can head to Zimbabwe.
We cannot forget about Emily's 16th birthday!!
Emily turned 16 on September 28 and we had a really fun surprise party for her with all of her friends. The party turned out great and Emily was so happy. I can't believe we have a 16 year old and another driver in the house because she also passed her driver's test and got her driver's license! We love you Emily! Happy Birthday!
Finally I had to include this cute picture of Brooklyn that Charlotte took.
She is a Miss Sassy Pants!
Whew, we made it through September!
No comments:
Post a Comment