What better way to celebrate the day after your birthday than to get a mouthful of metal? Today Gray got his braces on and his Mara which expands his jaw. He is going to be pretty sore for the next few days but it will all be worth it. It is crazy how much older he looks with braces. Such a cute boy!
Happy 12th birthday to our sarcastic, fun, loving, and kind Gray. I cannot believe how old he is. Time needs to slow down. Since he had already gotten his phone and his trip with Joey, I worried it would be a lackluster day but we tried to make it fun. We went to Pizza Pie Cafe for lunch as a family. When we got home we gave him a few presents to open. He got some new shirts, a hat, a charging station for the Occulus, and a new charger for his switch. I made One Pot Ziti for dinner at his request, and then we had some cake and ice cream. Hopefully Gray felt loved on his big day!
Today is Luke's High School graduation day! I cannot believe it. His school days have gone by way too fast. It seems like yesterday I was getting a call from the principal when he was in kindergarten and decided it would be a good idea to pull down his pants at the assembly! Thankfully I have not had any principal calls since. Luke has worked hard through 13 years of school and has earned his diploma. I am so proud of him but more importantly, I hope that he is proud of himself. Congratulations Luke! You did it! His graduation was held at the Marriot Center at BYU. Grandpa and Grandma, and Mimi came to support him. It was so emotional to listen to his name be called and for him to receive his diploma. I hope he feels so much joy and accomplishment. After his graduation, we celebrated at his favorite restaurant Good Wood Barbeque. Such a beautiful day!
*We made sure to get a picture of Luke and Riley together. They have been friends since kindergarten.
Today was the official last day of school. Har, Nash, and Luke skipped their last day but Tag and Gray chose to go. They only needed to go from 8-9:30am. When they walked up the hill, we were waiting at the corner with the annual popsicle party. Such a fun tradition. What a perfect way to celebrate the start of summer.
Today Harlee got to go to Lagoon for 9th grade day! She was so excited because not only was her school but other schools in the Alpine School District. Lots of hope for cute boys! Harlee hung out with Audrey and Nicci and then some other friends. The lines were super long so they only got on a few big rides but she had a great time. I am so happy that she gets to have these experiences. What amazing memories.
Tonight was Harlee's dance recital. She did such an amazing job! I just love watching her dance. She has worked so and it shows- so proud of her. She performed the three dances that she did at competition: 1920's mix (jazz), Ashes (lyrical), and Hoops (her hip hop/my favorite). She was also asked to be in the finale and did a beautiful dance. It was so nice to have her Grandpa, Grandma, Mimi, and GP come to cheer her on. What a great night!
Today was the start of what I feel will be a weepy week! I seriously cannot believe that Luke is graduating from high school. The time has gone way too fast. Tonight we went to Luke's seminary graduation. He committed four years to seminary. I love that he had a break from the world every other school day to feel the spirit and study the Gospel. I am so proud of Luke and so grateful for his amazing teachers that have inspired him over the last four years.
Tonight Joey and I got to go to our first concert of 2022- Penny and Sparrow. We were so excited. We love their music and could not wait to see them live. They were performing at the State Room where we had seen Donovan Woods and Ruston Kelly a couple of years ago. We went to dinner at Village Baker and then arrived at the State Room around 7:30pm. The doors opened at 8pm and we were lucky to get the front row of seating. Us old folk do not want to stand the whole time! The show started at 9pm with the opening act Lera Lynne. Joey had heard her music before but I had not. She was super good. She did about 30 minutes and then it was time for Penny and Sparrow. They were amazing! They sounded even better live. They were so funny and shared so many stories about their songs. It was a pretty much perfect night! I love that Joey and both share a love for the same kind of music. It is amazing to experience all of these concerts snuggling close to my best friend.
Today Luke told me that his friends wanted him to go to a fireside with his old seminary teacher. He said that he had a lot of homework to do so he was not going to go. Joey and I went on a walk and he drove by saying he was going to the fireside. I thought it was a little weird that he was going so early but did not ask any questions. When he was not home at 8pm I looked to see where he was. He was in Salt Lake and I was so confused. Turns out he went to the conference center to listen to a young adult fireside given by President Nelson and his wife. Tyson's grandma was able to get them tickets and they sat about 3 rows back. What an amazing experience! I am so grateful he got to have this experience and I love that Luke has such great friends.
This weekend Joey took Gray on his 12 year old trip. Gray at first wanted to go to Ohio but the flight was really long. Since they only go for a long weekend, he did not want to spend so much time on the plane. So he opted to go to San Francisco. He was super excited. He was supposed to fly out at 5:15pm but their flight got delayed to 7:15pm. So we went and picked up Joey at 5:00pm at work and I dropped them off at the airport. They got Shake Shack for dinner before boarding their plane. They arrived in San Francisco a little after 8pm. They got their rental car and made their way to their hotel. Thank goodness I had chosen a nice hotel for them- you never know when you reserve it online! They got a good night sleep, resting up for a full day on Friday! They woke up early, enjoyed their free breakfast, and made their way to Alcatraz. Gray really enjoyed the Alcatraz tour. I think Gray sent me over 90 pictures! So glad we gave him the phone early so he could keep me updated on every moment of their trip! After the tour of Alcatraz, they went and drove by the Golden Gate Bridge and Fisherman's Wharf. They then went to the beach at Half Moon Bay. It was pretty cold- all people on the beach had on sweatshirts or jackets. This did not stop Gray. He spent over an hour playing in the waves. He was in heaven. They went back to the hotel and rested up for a day at Six Flags Discovery on Saturday. They spent the morning and afternoon at Six Flags. They got their before the crowds and got to ride many of the rides. Unfortunately Gray got a stomach ache so they left in the early afternoon. They went back to the hotel to rest for a bit and thankfully Gray felt better after resting. They decided to go back to the beach where Gray spent a lot of time playing in the waves. They flew back to Utah on Sunday morning. I really missed them both but I am so grateful that they get to make these memories together.
Last Friday, Mindi took me to Cooks to buy all the vegetables and fruit for our garden this year. We purchased another garden box so we could do one vegetable box and one fruit box. We planted two Cherokee husky tomatoes, two yellow cherry tomatoes, red peppers, jalapenos, and tomatillos. In the fruit box I did 2 raspberries and 6 strawberries. The weather has been so crazy with several days below freezing so today I was finally able to plant them today. The kids are so excited to hopefully get some home grown fruit this year. I hope that they all grow. I cannot wait to enjoy my tomato toast with balsamic glaze this summer.
Nash has been thinking about getting his patriarchal blessing for a little while now. Harlee told him of how they did a devotional at HXP b...
