Molly's first broken bone

Molly was playing in the hammock in our backyard with a friend and she fell out and landed on her back. I was outside when it happened and she cried pretty hard when she fell, but it didn't seem too bad so I figured she'd be ok. She shrugged it off after a few minutes and said she was fine. I assumed she was until I went to hug her that night before bed and she started crying when I squeezed her. The next day I took her in for an X-ray, and sure enough, she had broken her collar bone. I was pretty surprised, but relieved when I found out she just needed to wear a sling for a few weeks. I am amazed at how fast it healed! She was sad to miss soccer for a few weeks, but it didn't seem to slow her down much. She was able to play in the last couple of games and was all healed up by summer!

 

Jackson's first year on the Mountain Biking Team

Jackson's friend Kru sort of got him into mountain biking a few summers ago and they would go up to Sundance and ride a few times during the summer. He decided to join the junior high mountain biking team (Jr Devo) this year and it has been a great experience. The season really started at the beginning of summer with early morning practice twice a week. I was proud of him and his dedication in getting up early and without complaint. He seemed to really enjoy the practices. After time trials, he was placed in the intermediate group, which was pretty cool because only about 60 kids (7th and 8th grade combined) made it into intermediate, versus about 150 or so in beginner. At the end of the summer and in early fall, there are three mountain biking races in different locations. The first was Cedar City, the second was Richfield, and the last was in Moab. Jackson and I went to the first two races together, and Sean went with him to Moab. 

The races ended up being so fun and I loved having some rare one-on-one time with Jackson. He talked to me about the different types of mountain bikes almost the entire way down to Cedar City. 

Cedar City

The first race was so fun because everything was totally new to us. Jackson met up with his friend Cody (right) and they pre-rode the course the night before. He loved the course and did awesome in the race! It was cool seeing him get to have his first race experience and see his enthusiasm after crossing the finish line. 

Richfield

The Richfield race was fun because it was somewhere neither of us had been before. This course was crazy because the last mile or so of the course is actually a motocross track with huge hills and jumps. Super challenging, especially with it being at the end when the kids are tired. I saw a few kids puke as they were riding! Jackson did great and was happy with his performance so I was really glad for him. 

Moab

Sean took Jackson to the Moab race and I was sorry to miss it because the other two races had been so fun. I am glad Sean got to go and experience it also. The boys had to wake up really early to make it for line ups for each race and it was always still pretty dark outside. Sean said he did great in the race and peddled hard through the finish. 

They got done early enough that they decided to do some off roading and went and road "Hell's Revenge." Glad they could go have a fun weekend together.

First day of school

Summer felt so short this year. I couldn't believe it was time for school to start again! I was grateful for a regular school schedule this year. Jackson made the big leap from elementary school to junior high. He was so excited and felt ready. I don't know if I'd say I was ready, but I was excited for him. I think I was most nervous about junior high carpool because I had heard so many horror stories about it. Luckily for us, the new road that cuts the driving time in half to the school was completed a few weeks before school started! Jackson tested for A.L.L. (advanced learning) classes and made it into all of them, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but he's doing great and for the most part, enjoying them so far. 

I made the kids take the obligatory first day of school pictures. Jackson was the first up, since he had a seventh grade day the day before the rest of school started.

Next up came Bode and Davis! Bode is in 5th grade and Davis is in 2nd. 

Picture with all three boys on the first "official" day of school.

Finally a week later it was Molly's turn! She was SO excited to start kindergarten. I was both happy and sad! Hard because she is our last, but also happy because I know she was ready and I was looking forward to a few hours of kid-free time each morning. I had to let go of my sense of security I've had in the past that there were still younger kids to follow. It's hard to see them grow up sometimes. I am trying my best to embrace these subtle shifts as they come. She looked darling for her first day and I obviously had to take a few pictures! She's more willing than the boys to let me take more.

As I write this, we are nearing halfway through the school year and so far things have been great. I am glad our kids have good schools to attend and teachers they enjoy. Jr. High is definitely a new territory but has been fairly smooth running so far!

Jackson's first trip to the temple

With Jackson turning 12 this year, he was ordained to receive the priesthood and able to attend the temple to do baptisms and confirmations. Temples were closed for a long time due to Covid and when they did open up, you had to reserve a spot and they were/are very hard to come by. Jackson had been waiting since January for the opportunity. I happened to be looking for an opening online one afternoon in August and a spot opened up at the Provo temple for the following afternoon. Sean was able to meet us and it was such an awesome experience being in the temple together. I loved seeing Jackson and Sean together in the font. I also did baptisms and it had been a really long time and was a great experience. We celebrated after by going out to lunch to a pizza place called Mozz in Provo that we all love. It was just a really great afternoon. Fun to get some one-on-one time with Jackson. Proud of him and the young man he is.

Island Park with the Laytons

Another highlight of our summer was a trip to the cabin with Taryn and Grant and their cute boys. I met Taryn my freshman year at BYU in the dorms (good old DT!). Grant was a roommate of one of my friends from high school and I am so happy he and Taryn ended up together! Sean and I love them both and have lots of great memories with them. Honestly, I don't know how I would have made it through freshman year without Taryn. She's a forever friend. The last time we saw these guys was in San Diego several years ago, before they moved to Japan, the east coast, and then back to San Diego. We had an awesome trip together. We showed them some of our favorite spots in Yellowstone and did all of our favorite regular stuff: trips to the rock shop and walking around West Yellowstone, lots of four wheeling and dirt bikes, canoeing, etc. Their son Rowan was really into fishing so we made sure to hit a few spots in hopes he would catch something!

Yellowstone:

We went fishing in a few spots! At the river near the cabin that we like to four-wheel to, a fishing hole that gets stocked with fish during the summer (unfortunately there didn't seem to be any left when we were there), and where we launch the canoes when floating Big Springs. Thankfully, a few small fish were caught!

Fun at the cabin

Big Springs

Canoeing

Loved getting to spend a few days together and hope we can do a trip like this again!