This may be the saddest blog post ever! I can't even believe that I let an entire year get away from me. I even thought about just ending the blog altogether since I couldn't seem to get myself on track enough to update it once in awhile. But then I would see one of the kids reading through one of the blog books that I'd had made from past year's posts and I'd feel bad that they wouldn't have those to look at and reminisce anymore. So I've decided to give it another try. But I know if I go back and try to post about all those past things from 2016, I'll never ever be able to catch up. So I'm just going to do a quick (or not so quick) year in review post for 2016 and then this year I'm going to do my very very best to keep on top of things a bit more. Maybe it'll be a bit easier with Taylor coming back from his mission this year to use the time on Sunday afternoons that I normally wrote emails to him, to blog instead. Maybe. I definitely want to do better.
So anyway, 2016 was actually a really good year. We had a lot of fun as a family and nothing too terribly traumatic occurred to wreck things for us, so that was good.
January:
One of the kids favorite memories of the year was right at the beginning of January when we took the kids bowling. So simple, I know. But we had never done that as a family before. We all had a ton of fun and even though I still haven't improved since my teenage years when I used to go bowling all the time, it really was a good time together.
As far as winters go, last year's wasn't so bad. Except for when it was. We did have a few pretty huge storms.
A big change for Lynnsey (in addition to turning 13!) that happened in January was when our school board made the decision to send our middle school kids over to Marshall Middle School. Things were getting really rough for our school district by that point. About a month into the school year, in order to save money, the school cut out all of the extras like art, stem, gym, and music (including band!). It was awful for everyone and our poor junior high kids were really suffering. Instead of having 6 or 7 class periods per day with 6 or 7 different teachers, our kids were basically having an elementary school experience with 2 teachers who would trade off teaching subjects. And then when one of those teachers became the principal/superintendent a couple of months after school started, things went even further downhill when the new teacher they hired did nothing to challenge the kids and they started to really fall behind. So the decision was made to start sending the 6th-8th grade kids to Marshall. It was pretty heartbreaking to go through another loss of that magnitude but after seeing how successful the high school transition had gone when we sent those kids over, I really felt like it was the best thing. And it was. It was a rougher start than the high school though--mostly because a lot of the parents in both communities made it that way and also because it happened so fast that there wasn't the time to prepare as well as they had for the high school. Still, it was the best decision. Lynnsey loved it from day one. She loved having several class periods and so many teachers. The mornings were pretty brutal getting up to catch a 6:20 bus every morning, but even with that, she loved it.
Taylor celebrated his one year mark in St. George and we were stunned at how fast that first year went.
February:
Kendall had the great opportunity to participate in an Albion College Honor Band experience. High school kids from all over spent a whole day from early in the morning till evening in an intense workshop at Albion College. The day culminated in a performance that evening. They did a few songs on their own and then they got to join wit the Albion College orchestra on some others as well.
And Taylor is still Taylor! We got a fun email from a family that Taylor had been teaching telling us how amazing Taylor is in the way he taught their children. He would teach in his Batman voice and this mom's Batman-loving kids were enthralled and sat through every discussion hanging on every word. They all called him Elder Batman, of course!
Lynnsey, Spencer and Kaya were able to take part in another Missoula Theatre Production. This time they did Rumplestiltskin. It was a rough week because so many of the kids involved had behavioral problems this time. I mean, it was bad some days--enough that one of the directors actually had to leave for awhile because she was so angry and overwhelmed. My kids were great, apparently but so many others were just awful. In fact, we are not sure that MCT will be coming back this year. That thought is pretty devastating and we are really hoping that they will, but so far we haven't heard a word about them coming and it's making us nervous that they really won't. But anyway, the kids did pull it all together finally and did a great production. Lynnsey played a main role of Clara, the miller's daughter. And she actually ended up with an even larger role when the girl who was supposed to play Young Clara quit halfway through the week. So Lynnsey had to quickly learn those lines as well. She did a phenomenal job. It's always amazing how our typically shy and quiet girl can transform onstage. You'd never guess that she is normally so quiet. Spencer got to play the role of King Whatsat and he nailed it. He got tons of laughs and he has that great big voice that is perfect for the stage. Kaya had another year as a "mini" (the under 8 year olds always get these roles) and played an adorable bumblebee. They all did great and we're crossing our fingers for another chance with MCT this year.
March:
We got to do another theater production in March with Kendall in the MHS production of Beauty and the Beast. Oh my goodness, they were amazing! Kendall played a few different ensemble roles as a villager and bar patron and tea cup and even got to sing a few solo lines. He stole the show during the tavern scene where the people were doing a song and dance and he really got into his part and everyone tended to focus on him in that scene. It was a fantastic show. The theater department just keeps topping themselves and putting on very professional productions. We're looking forward to this year!
We finally, FINALLY got rid of our big old piano! It only took about 8 months! We had been given a smaller piano when a friend was moving away but since she was moving we had to take the piano so it had sat in our living room tucked up at the back of our couch and taking up all kinds of room while I tried and tried to get rid of the bigger piano that was beautiful but which never fit in the space that we had. We talked to people and called places and listed it on Craigslist. I had several people that we thought were interested but they'd either not show up for our appointments or they'd show up and say they wanted it but then back out. Kalen was ready to chop the whole thing up and put it in the fire pit but I just couldn't bear the thought even though I was desperate to have my living room back. Finally I was contacted by an interested girl who had just gotten married and wanted a piano for her new house. She drove all the way from Ohio to get it and we were able to load it into their truck (no easy feat because the thing weighed a ton) and it was finally on its way. And we were able to move our new piano into the old piano's place and it fits so much better! Now we just need to learn to play it!
Kendall had a great experience in March of being able to go to Disney World with the marching band. I think we'll be paying it off for awhile because it was so not cheap but he had an amazing trip and it was an experience that we never could have done as a whole family. The band got to march in the main street parade while they were there but most of the time they just had a ball playing at all the different Disney parks and Universal Studios. His favorite purchases of the trip were his wand from Ollivander's wand shop in Harry Potter world and his custom designed light saber from Disney.
Taylor continued having lots of success on his mission--even when he wasn't there! One of the families that Taylor was teaching before a transfer got baptized. Taylor wanted so badly to be there but wasn't able to get permission to go back for the baptism. So his old companion made sure that Taylor was a part of the day by bringing a picture of Taylor to be included in the baptism pictures!
April
It's always nice when spring arrives after a long winter! We did our traditional Easter egg hunt on Saturday followed by real Easter on Sunday.
Over spring break I had to babysit but we were able to to have fun anyway. The kids spent hours and hours on the trampoline that we were finally able to set up from Christmas.
And we took a day to get out of Albion and go the the Chelsea Treehouse.
Soccer started up again. Kendall got more experience as a referee. Lynnsey played U-14, Spencer U-10 (even though he should have been U-12 but that's another story) and Kaya U-8.
May
Our youth leaders at church have been so much fun. Our kids have loved them. The young men's president is obsessed with Star Wars and so he thought it would be awesome to do a May the Fourth activity. They kids all came up with costumes and Kendall baked and decorated a great cake and they went to Brother Zirkel's house and had a party that was out of this world.
The girls went with Kalen to a Daddy daughter dance that the recreation department puts on every year. They had never gone before but Kaya was dying to go and Lynnsey was at the cut off age so Kalen took them and they had a fun time dancing and visiting with other friends who had gone.
Kendall was inducted into the National Honor Society. We are so proud of him. This picture is significant because these three kids were in the same kindergarten class together and it is just really fun to see how they've grown up and continue to excel in so many things.
One of the biggest and most time consuming aspects of the year was my short-lived foray into politics. As I mentioned before, our local school district was in massive trouble. I attended every school board meeting they had to try to find some hope that we could pull through the dire financial difficulties that we were facing but it became apparent that if something major didn't happen, we would not have a local school district to send our kids to in the fall. It was so crazy to think that when we moved here to Albion in 2002, we had a high school, a middle school, and four elementary schools. And in 2016 we had been reduced to one elementary school that was rapidly failing due to lack of funds caused by families fleeing the district in droves year after year. When we started losing families who we thought would stay forever, I knew it was pretty much over. After several forums to discuss the situation, Kalen was put onto an educational committee to vote on possible solutions. It was an unpleasant experience for him and was a preview of the divisiveness that this issue would cause in our community. During those meetings, we became convinced that the best solution to this case would be to annex our school district to Marshall Public Schools. In January Kalen and I were asked to be on an annexation committee that would meet to work on the campaign to have the Albion voters pass annexation during a May ballot measure. Little did we know that this issue would consume everything! Kalen was present at some meetings but because he was having a super busy semester, I wound up going to all of the annexation committee meetings as well as diversity meetings and city council meetings and the many, many school board meetings that were held and that would often last till 11 pm! So many people were passionate about their viewpoints from both sides and sadly, things got ugly often. But it was a good experience too as we talked with the kids about it all and with my involvement on the annexation committee, they actually were able to help out with details. They put stickers on hundreds of flyers that we took out canvassing around town (some of them even came with us to go canvassing too) and they put even more labels on thousands of postcards that we sent out in the mail. Thankfully all of the hard work paid off and the vote passed by over 70%! We began our new adventure with Marshall Public Schools in July and so far we feel like it was a good choice. Not only did they secure a grant that wiped away all of Albion Public Schools MILLIONS of dollars in debt and reduced our tax mils, but they reopened Harrington Elementary (the school across the street) which had been closed for the last three years! So now Kaya gets to attend the same school as all of her siblings did. It hasn't been perfect and sadly, a lot of the behavioral issues that existed in our old district, still exist in the new one. We've had several teachers who have left, including Kaya's 3rd grade teacher. But things are improving, including behaviors and new hires of teachers who are made of sturdier stuff. Kaya's new teacher is phenomenal and has completely turned around the behavior issues in her class.
May was lovely with perfect weather for Penny Walks as a family.
We got to Skype with Taylor for a few hours which made Mother's Day especially awesome.
We said goodbye to some of our best friends and "adopted" parents as they finally sold their beautiful house with their gorgeous yard and they set off for adventures in Utah.
We had a surprise visit to our branch one Sunday from Donny Osmond! It would have been even better if I hadn't been completely oblivious to the whole thing! I guess he came in after the meeting had started and sat in the back. We were in the front and I never once turned around during the entire meeting. Kendall saw him because he (Kendall not Donny) was up blessing the sacrament and he thought to himself "hey, that guy looks like Donny Osmond from the billboard that we passed on the way to church!" (He had done a concert at the casino in Battle Creek the night before so they had been advertising on the billboard for weeks.) But Kendall never thought to tell me his thoughts! Kalen ended up seeing him too and Lynnsey got to talk to him in the hallway briefly but didn't really know who she was talking to. Oh well. I did have one of the sisters from church send me a picture she took on her phone of him and a starstruck Elder Gibby so I'd have proof that Donny Osmond really did come to church here one day!
We enjoyed a couple more band concerts from Kendall and a middle school one from Lynnsey. (I couldn't get a good photo of that one because we were packed like sardines into the middle school auditorium and we wound up being up in the balcony mashed against a far wall so all we could see of her was the back of her head.)
We wrapped up the month of May with a return to the Air Zoo. Our zoo membership was doing another reciprocal program for the month so we were able to get in free again. It is really such an interesting place.
And we also went to the Marshall Memorial Day parade because Kendall was playing with the marching band. At least this parade is lots shorter than the Christmas one and the weather is worlds better!
June
The beginning of the month always means field trips for the kids. This year it worked out for Kalen to go on a field trip with Lynnsey. They went to the Department of Natural Resources in Detroit and to the Detroit Institute of Art. Sounds like it was a fun day.
The last day of school is always bittersweet--it means the kids are another year older and it's always a little sad saying goodbye to teachers that they've grown to love over the year. But this last day was especially emotional since it not only meant the last day of school but also the last day of school as a part of Albion Public Schools. The kids were a little sad but also excited for the summer ahead and the new adventures with a new school district in the fall.
One day my mom mentioned that there was going to be a craft fair and petting zoo at the Gardner House Museum. It sounded like it would be fun to check out so my mom and I took Lynnsey and Kaya over to see it. We tried to get Kalen and the boys to come but they thought it sounded lame and opted to stay home. Well, they were wishing they had come! (At least Kendall and Spencer were, Kalen was extra glad he stayed behind). As a part of the petting zoo, there was a guy who had several reptiles and who let the kids hold them. The girls thought that was so awesome. And they loved showing their brothers the pictures afterward to make them jealous!
That same day in the afternoon, we went to the home of some branch members for a farewell potluck for another family in the branch who were moving away. It was a fun afternoon spent visiting in their great backyard--the girls gave each other massages, there was horseshoes to play, and the highlight was getting to go fishing in the great big pond that they have.
It's great to be eight! Kaya was so excited for her birthday this year. She got to have a friend party and chose to do it at the nature center like Spencer did. But instead of doing the river themed party, she opted to do the pioneer life one. They got to play pioneer games and meet some of the animals that were here back in pioneer times, and they got to dip candles. It was really a fun time and it's always nice when we just have to bring the food and show up! Speaking of food, Kaya asked Kendall to make her a butterfly cake to go along with the nature theme. He did an amazing job and everyone was thoroughly impressed with his skills (and the fact that a teenage boy was willing to do something like that for his little sister).
Also in June, Lynnsey got to go to girls camp and had the time of her life making all sorts of new friends and having lots of adventures.
Kendall went on a crazy high adventure trip where the boys kayaked over 130 miles on the Manistee river! He came back all shades of color from white to brown to beet red and he had fun regaling us with all of his near death experiences!
July
We took a great but short trip to New Jersey so that we could finally see the Bramhall's awesome new house. It is beautiful and the kids loved their backyard pool and spent hours out there with their favorite cousins. They only lousy part of the trip was that Kalen's knee and back were killing him and so we had to leave him behind for all of our outings. The rest of us had a ball though.
We visited the Palmyra Nature Center. That was fun but it was about a hundred degrees that day so we wound up not staying very long.
We had a great day visiting the shore. We found a perfect spot where there was a big tide pool that was great for the younger kids but it was right next to the bigger ocean so the older kids could go out into the waves.
Isabel was performing in a play, Bye Bye Birdie so we got to go see that one night.She is so talented and it was a great production.
We also had tons of visiting time and game nights and even a birthday party for me! And then when we left, we also left Lynnsey behind to stay for a few weeks. Bramhall's were coming to Michigan for our family reunion in August so they invited Lynnsey to stay with them and then ride back with them. She was in heaven getting to spend so much time with her best friend Cecily. If they weren't inseparable before, they certainly were at the end of their three weeks together. Lynnsey loved being a part of the Bramhall family (and we will never, ever be able to measure up!) and got to do a ton of fun activities while she was there--including another girls camp!
While we were back in Michigan, we tried to do some fun stuff too including a trip to the zoo. We took our time and had tons of fun. The boys found this little area with a rope spider web and goofed around playing the spider and the fly! A lot of the animals were active too so we were able to see them actually doing something other than sleeping.
Also in July, Kendall got to go back to Nauvoo for youth conference. He had actually been on the planning committee so he was able to help plan for all of the things they did there. He had a great time, with the exception of a missed celebrity encounter. I had seen on Facebook a post from John Bytheway talking about how awesome Nauvoo with his family was. So I messaged Kendall and told him to keep a lookout for John Bytheway. Later he wrote back and he was so upset because he'd just gotten my message but earlier at the Nauvoo pageant he had seen someone that looked like John Bytheway. He and a friend debated whether to approach him but then they chickened out because they thought that the likelihood of it actually being him was slim. Oops! He should have gone with his gut. But other than that, it was a really great trip.
When Kendall had a group date lined up with some friends in Kalamazoo, he needed a ride there and so Kalen took advantage of the time that he'd have while he was waiting for Kendall to be done, to take Spencer on a one on one outing. They got lunch at Wendy's (one of the only places Spencer can actually find stuff to eat) and then they went to a the Airway Fun Center and had all sorts of fun playing mini golf and doing a bunch of other activities. They said it would definitely be fun to go back and take everyone, but that price would add up so that's probably something to save up for.
Spencer turned 11 on July 30th! How? How is that even a thing? Kendall made his cake too--a soccer themed allergy free one that actually tasted pretty good!
August
Kendall finally got his braces off! And Lynnsey was so jealous. Hers would have actually come off first but her trip to NJ delayed that. His smile looks amazing and I'm so thankful to be done with that monthly payment!
Kendall went off to another camp the first week of August--this time to band camp. And
Lynnsey enjoyed a few more days with the Bramhall's doing fun stuff like visiting the aquarium.
And then everyone converged upon Michigan for the Potter reunion. This year we were missing Susannah (but her kids came), Andrew and his family (Andrew was deployed), the Chambers had planned to come but Cody got laid off from work and then their truck had to have a major repair so the money they would have spent to come to Michigan had to go to fix the truck so they had to back out; and David and Samuel were also just returning from being deployed so they weren't allowed to leave Utah for a few weeks. But even with so many gone, we still had quite a group. Once everyone was here, we all loaded up and headed to the U.P. Jonathan was in charge this year and he picked the upper peninsula having remembered how much fun he had a couple of years ago when we went up there. We were totally fine with that! Between tents and motor homes, we all had places to sleep while we camped. We built big campfires every night and the whole group of us had fun sitting around talking and singing. The kids all played together so well and our neighbors in the next site over from us told Kalen how watching all of us, but especially the kids was restoring their faith in the future. It reminded me of how when I was growing up my mom would always remind us that we needed to always behave because we never knew who was watching us! It seems we did make an impression this time.
We spend one day on Mackinac Island which was fun. We all loved the ferry to the island and this time we had all brought bikes because Jonathan wanted us all to bike the 8 plus miles around the island. I hadn't ridden a bike for any length of time in years. So I probably should have practiced beforehand! That was such an exhausting trip! But I made it around (and then spent the night back at camp in agony with my legs just burning and my body aching to my bones) so I felt pretty accomplished. We also visited shops and bought souvenirs and fudge and visited the Butterfly House. It was a beautiful day!
Then next day we went to the Oswald Bear Ranch. This time we got to pet a bear cub! The kids were in heaven.
And then we drove that long bumpy dirt road up to the Crisp Point Lighthouse. Sadly, they were painting the lighthouse so we weren't able to go inside this time but we still had a great time looking for cool rocks and braving the frigid water.
And the third day we went to Tahquamenon Falls. I don't care how many times I go, that place is just breathtaking! We rented canoes again so that we could hike around the falls.
We even found a fun place to play in the water a bit. Jonathan bet the kids (and some of the grownups) an ice cream and a dollar if they'd stand under the falls. All of the kids did it and one or two adults. And then Jonathan said, "well the jokes on you because I was buying everybody ice cream anyway!"
Our last morning was spent packing up and then we went on one last walk by the river before we headed loaded up into cars and motor homes and headed south.
We made a stop at Castle Rock just before heading back over the bridge. It was a much easier hike this time (last time I'd had surgery only a few weeks before so I think that made it harder) and my balance was better and the wind wasn't as crazy so I was able to be brave enough to walk out to the tip of the cliff. Last time I clung to the fence right at the entrance!
We capped off the reunion with Kaya's baptism day. It didn't go quite according to plan but thankfully things all worked out. We had decided to do it right after church instead of coming home and then driving back over because the Bramhall's needed to get on the road as quickly as possible because Mike had to work the next day. So the morning was hectic trying to gather up everything that we needed and in all the craziness, I royally messed up. I wound up putting milk on Spencer's cereal instead of rice milk. And in in all the craziness, he didn't realize until after he'd had a few bites (normally he can tell from the first bite). Once he realized, he'd already ingested enough to make him really sick. He threw up a couple of times and we gave him a big dose of Benadryl but he was still reacting and his tongue and lips were swelling and his throat was closing. So we realized we were going to have to use the EpiPen for the first time ever. It was pretty traumatic--he was screaming and terrified and I was so nervous about giving him a shot while Kalen held him down. But we got it in and then raced to the hospital. Kalen dropped me and Spencer off and took everyone else to church. Spencer got some IV Benadryl and a steroid as a precaution but the EpiPen had pretty much done its job and he was feeling lots better. But we had to stay for a few hours for observation. I explained about Kaya so they let us go just in time for us to get up to the church. Thankfully my mom and Alison had been able to help Kaya get changed and ready. I felt bad that I had missed being there for that and I was feeling awful that I had poisoned Spencer, but I'm so glad that we were able to make it in time.
Just like Taylor did for Spencer, Kendall got to baptize Kaya. I'm telling you that is a sacred thing to witness! I can't even describe how amazing it is to see your son perform that ordinance for his sibling.
And then Kalen did the confirmation and gave Kaya a beautiful blessing.
We're so thankful that it all worked out, so proud of Kaya for making such an important decision and so thankful for everyone who was able to come.
Taylor had a "small world" moment in a Walmart in St. George. He bumped into our friends, the Evans', grandson who is from Monticello. They hadn't seen each other in years--since they were probably 12 or 13 maybe but they somehow recognized each other and connected the dots. Tyler sent this picture to his grandma and she shared it with me. We thought it was pretty cool.
Kendall had a miserable time getting his wisdom teeth removed in August too. Not fun! But it was necessary because apparently his wisdom teeth were huge and were growing in sideways and were threatening to undo all of the orthodontia that we had just paid for. We did get a hilarious video out of it though so that was a highlight! So we added that unplanned for expense to our list of debts and crossed our fingers that we could have a break from the challenges for awhile.
Hahahaha! Just wait.
September
As summer was coming to an end, we made a few plans to have fun together the last few days before school. But you know how that often goes. We wound up having a bathroom problem of epic proportions. We noticed that there was a little leak around the base of the toilet. It had happened before when the ring underneath had unsealed and we had managed to get it replaced and thought we were good to go. We figured it would be a similar situation but this time, but then our tile started cracking in places and when we went to fix the ring before it ruined our floor even worse, we realized that not only was our tile ruined but the entire sub-floor around the toilet was destroyed. Apparently the leak had been happening for quite some time and had done massive damage. So Kalen and our home teacher and branch president had to spend days working on that problem and Kalen was unable to do any of the fun things we had planned.
But we weren't done yet! Kendall, who was finally just feeling better from his wisdom teeth removal the week before, mentioned at lunch time one day that he really didn't feel well. He said his stomach had started hurting a couple of hours before and it was starting to feel worse. So he went to lie down for awhile but then he started vomiting. And vomiting, And vomiting. He was miserable! We chalked it up to a nasty bug or something and I tried to mentally brace myself that we were all going to get the stomach flu. But later when I checked on him, I just had this awful, nagging feeling that something wasn't right. He could barely get a break from throwing up and had a low grade fever. So I asked him where it hurt and he said "all over" but then I asked if it hurt worse if I pushed on his right side. Sure enough, he said that felt awful. So I called Kalen and told him what was going on and that I thought maybe I should take him to the ER. Kalen thought maybe I was being a little premature, but that he trusted my judgement. So as soon as the babysitting kids left, I took Kendall over. The doctors there thought I had been premature too but they decided while we were there that they would do an ultrasound and some blood work and then they'd probably send us home so we could observe the situation over the next 12 hours. The ultrasound didn't really show up any issues but his blood work showed that his white blood count was extremely high. So high that they realized that something really must be going on and so they ordered a CT scan. Sure enough, that showed that his appendix was very inflamed. Within 45 minutes, Kendall was admitted and in surgery and my head was totally spinning at how fast the day had gotten out of control. The surgeon came out after the surgery and said it was good that I had listened to my instincts. The appendix was not only VERY close to bursting but the tip was actually gangrenous so if it had burst, there could have been some very bad consequences. She said she felt that he would never have made it through 12 hours of observation at home without it rupturing. It's just crazy to me how fast it came on and with zero warning before that. And I'm so thankful that I was prompted to take him in. We've been through so many stomach issues over the years that typically I would have just shrugged this off as a bad one and waited but I really feel like I was blessed to have that insight that this one was different and that Kendall needed help.
So instead of our trip to the water park like we had planned, we spent that night and the next in the hospital and finally got to go home on Saturday morning...to a house with no downstairs bathroom! Poor Kendall, in all that pain, had to hike up the stairs every time he needed the bathroom. Talk about lousy timing!
Thankfully, his recovery was pretty rapid (being young sure helps things along). He was sad about not being able to go to the water park though. We had also planned a zoo trip for Labor Day but Kendall wasn't up for that either. He was nice though and told us to go ahead and do something without him. So I left it up to the other kids and they decided on the water park. Kalen stayed home to work on the bathroom and Kendall took the time to get some more rest.
The kids had a great time! They were doing a free day after 3 pm which we didn't know about or we might have been tempted to come then, but I also had two free passes so I only had to buy 2 tickets and it wasn't bad. I'm so glad we went when we did because there was hardly anyone there for the first few hours. But then when it hit 3:00 we looked outside the fence and saw masses of people lined up around the block! There were so many that they couldn't let everyone in. We stayed for about 45 minutes longer but with so many people, it wasn't as much fun anymore and we knew that when we left, 4 more people could get in. So we packed it in and called it a day.
And then it was the first day of another school year! Kendall probably shouldn't have gone yet since he'd had surgery only a few days before but they told him he could go if he took it easy and he didn't want to start off the year behind so he went. It was an exhausting first day and first week for him but he made it through. I can't believe he's a Junior already. And taking a full load of challenging classes including Pre-calculus and AP Biology.
Lynnsey is in her last year of middle school--in 8th grade. And she's still loving the school and her teachers and new and old friends. She is doing really well and so far keeping up straight A's.
Spencer is a 6th grader in middle school this year! He just really doesn't look like a 6th grader. But he loves it and he also has made new friends this year. They took all the 6th graders for a week-long camp. I worried like crazy about that experience because for the first time ever, I wouldn't be there to help with his food issues and I was terrified that even if they tried to accommodate his allergies, they might inadvertently contaminate something. I needn't have worried. Not only did they accommodate his allergies, they fed him like a king. All of his meals were prepared separately and brought out to him to avoid contamination from the buffet style meals that the other kids got. All the other kids were really careful too and Spencer was able to educate a lot of them about food allergies. He had the best week of his life and just loved everything about the experience and he came away with some great new buddies that he's had fun getting to know.
And Kaya is in 3rd grade this year--right across the street at Harrington Elementary which Marshall Public Schools renovated and reopened. It has been so exciting to have it opened again and see that full parking lot every day. Kaya loves it but it has been a bit of a rocky start. Her first teacher quit a few weeks into October (thank goodness! Kaya loved her but she was really not cut out for this kind of challenge) and then while they searched for a new teacher, the art teacher filled in as a sub. And she was great. Behavior started to improve and Kaya really enjoyed her. And then they finally got a permanent teacher who has turned that classroom around! Kaya said everyone loves the teacher so much that they all just behave because they want her to be happy. It's so great that there is actual learning going on now! Sadly, some of the other teachers and classes are still struggling and many have quit midway. It's hard to have so much upheaval but I think the administration is realizing that they really can't just hire any teacher--they need teachers that can handle it so their new hires are working out much better and I'm hopeful that things can improve drastically over the next few years as everyone adjusts to things.
We had a rainy Festival of the Forks this year--at least in the morning but it was so much fun. Kendall marched with the MHS marching band in the morning parade.
Kalen and the kids marched with the FC Albion soccer club and actually played a mock soccer game all down the street.
There were lots of activities for the kids to do including this fun inflatable full of bubbles to play in.
And the food! Yum!
There was a fun circus group that came and performed for the kids and then let the kids try their hand at their fun equipment.
And then everyone that wanted to got to dress up and march in the evening parade.
Taylor continued having awesome experiences on his mission. I love when we get emails or texts with pictures from families that he has taught or spent time with.
And he also got a quick visit from the Young's one day who live up north but were down for a wedding and stopped to bring him some treats.
October
Kendall got to have a fun Homecoming experience this year. He asked his best friend Grace who had just turned 16. They went with a big group of other great kids and had a great evening.
Kalen had a foreign language conference in Salt Lake and then planned to stay a couple of extra days to visit family. He had a great trip and even got to go up Logan Canyon with Todd one day.
Soccer for all the kids was in full swing. Kaya moved up to U-10 and Kalen moved up as her coach. Spencer moved up to U-12 and also was asked several times to fill in on the U-14 team since they were often short of players. It was always funny to hear peoples reactions when they'd see tiny Spencer out on the field and then when they realized how good he was! I don't know how he had the energy to play 2 back to back games nearly every week! But he loved it. And Lynnsey played U-14 and also did a ref training so that she could referee some games. And of course, Kendall continued to ref and was in pretty high demand this time so he made quite a bit of money.
They didn't bring back the Trunk or Treat this year like we had hoped but they did the harvest festival again only in October this time so the weather was a bit nicer. We all had a great time once again.
And Halloween this year we all went with a Candy Crush theme which was a pretty big hit.
November
The kids all stayed busy with school and enjoyed having their evenings back with no more soccer practices. It was a good month that culminated with Thanksgiving. This year we had my mom, Jonathan, and the Bramhall's. It was so much fun to visit. We ate amazing food (including Kendall's pumpkin roll) and played games, went to Kids n' Stuff (the dads and kids) and Black Friday shopping (my mom, Alison and I), and just enjoyed each other (including Uncle Mike taking the kids to Walmart for treats and to by facial masks for the teenage girls).
We had to brave that horrible Christmas parade in Marshall again where both Kendall and Lynnsey marched in their bands. This time the weather wasn't frigid, but it was SO wet! We got completely drenched and it was just miserable.
December
December was busy as usual. But also one of my favorite months at least as far as winter goes.
 |
| I found this awesome ornament online that I bought for Taylor for Christmas. I was able to customize it with his mission (and St. George temple, the years he served and his name. |
The middle school had their holiday band concert. Spencer and Lynnsey both did a great job!
Kendall turned 17! We spent his birthday evening at a youth/branch activity where we went caroling at a nursing home. Because we have so few youth, they invited anyone else to go as well so we had a few activity day kids and adults too. Our whole family participated and it was great fun.
One of the highlights of the month was a visit from Kalen's best friend Harvey. Over Thanksgiving I got a call from Harvey's wife asking me if we could plan a surprise for Kalen. Harvey had some time off and wanted to come to visit for a few days. We checked the dates on the calendar and it was great timing because Kalen was finishing up the semester. I swore the kids to secrecy and then worked like mad to try to get the house presentable over the next couple of weeks. Kalen never had a clue and so it was the best surprise ever. They spent the next few days talking and reminiscing and reconnecting and it was just really awesome to see Kalen so happy. On Harvey's last day they took a trip to Detroit and went to the Henry Ford Museum and a factory where they got to see an F150 being built and then they went to lunch at a Lebanese restaurant. I'm just so glad it all worked out. I think this visit was much needed. And I loved it because the kids were seriously the best behaved that I can remember them being in ages! Our house felt so peaceful and happy. Shortly after Harvey left, Spencer and Kaya were acting up and I found myself saying "What would you do if Harvey were here?" instead of the usual "What would you do if Jesus were here?" ☺
Kendall has his band concert too which was phenomenal.
And we all thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas season with lots of music and baking and all the fun and secrecy of gift giving.
This year I tried something new. In addition to our regular Santa gifts and the Christmas Eve pj's, we did "Something you want. Something you need. Something to wear. And something to read." I'm not sure how much money it saved (if any) but at least many of the gifts they got were useful and everyone seemed to like it. So we may try that again next year.
 |
| New pajamas! |
 |
| Timothy gave us some fun new games to try. |
Of course the highlight of the day was getting to Skype with Taylor again! One last time before he gets home on January 25th!
And we wrapped up the year with our usual New Year's Eve celebration at home with games and snacks in abundance. It was not the easiest year ever but it sure was a good one!
No comments:
Post a Comment