First Cross Country Meet

After practicing for just two weeks, Gavin ran in his first cross country meet yesterday. It was held at Bonneville Jr. High. The race was 1.2 miles long. It went around the grounds of the school and a couple of times around the track. He was the only 7th grader from Kennedy to make the varsity team. There were 90-100 boys racing in the varsity race and Gavin came in 15th out of all those boys. I got a little choked up watching him. I could tell that it was hard for him, but that he was determined to do his best. His stomach hurt when it was over, but he felt good about how well he did. I hope that he will stick with it because he obviously has a natural talent for it. 

First Day of School

Wow! Gavin's first day of Junior High! Every year I take the kid's picture in front of our house. The door makes it easy to compare their growth from year to year. I think Gavin has grown about 6 inches from last year. He has about 3 inches on me now. Anyway...before he left for school I asked him what he was most nervous about. He said, "not being the tallest kid in school anymore." He has gotten used to that I guess, but being as tall as he is I don't think that he'll have any problems with kids bugging him. When we went to the orientation he actually tried to fit himself into his locker, but it just wasn't happening. One of his friends, who is about Ryker's size, was also trying to squeeze himself into his locker. (He got everything in but the lower half of one leg.) Apparently, that is a pretty big concern when you are a 7th grader. I told him not to worry, that he would probably fit in a garbage can if someone really wanted to get him.

For the most part he is really enjoying jr. high. At his school they have A & B days, so that he only goes to 4 classes per day. "A" day is mostly Quest classes, so he is with the same group of students all day. He is enjoying his French class, but P.E. is his favorite. He made the cross country team, so he is really excited about that. He loves to run. He is thinking that he will try out for the Boy's Volleyball team, Basketball and Track (maybe he'll learn how to do hurdles, though, I'll probably still try to tell him how to do it right).

Ryker is in Mrs. Baker's 4th grade class this year. We really like her so far. When I asked him what he was most excited about this year he said "wearing my new clothes and shoes". He loves the color pink, which I think is totally cool, because he doesn't care what other people think. I love it when boys wear pink (in a masculine, non-girly way) and Ryker can totally pull it off. Ryker is my fashion guy. He loves to look good. When Ryker was in 2nd grade he would come home and tell me all about his "girlfriends" (he had about 9 of them) and he is still trying to impress them. He loves it when his best friend, Jared, will ride bikes to school with him, that totally boosts his image of coolness. I think he is a total "Hottie".

Saige is in Mrs. Sutter's 2nd grade class. Ryker had her when he was in 2nd grade and we really liked her. Saige is into all things "Hannah Montana". This year we got her a Hannah messenger bag, water bottle, 2 shirts, pajamas, a wallet, a purse, 2 hats, notebooks, pens, pencils, folders, and just about anything else you can think of. What a spoiled child! When you're the only girl and the youngest, I guess that's what happens. As soon as Saige gets up in the morning Hannah can be heard rocking the house from her room. She is so much fun. I love it when I can hear her singing at the top of her lungs to the music. (The girl can sing.) Saige was most excited about having 3 recesses this year. Her 1st grade teacher only let them have 2, so she is totally excited for that extra 15 minutes of play time. Hopefully, she doesn't use it to break another arm!

My kid's are so cool. I am totally proud of them. They make me laugh. (They frequently make me crazy, but with them back in school I am enjoying them much more.)

I started my Physiology class this semester. It has been really interesting, so far. I have a really good and entertaining teacher, who makes class fun, so I'm excited. 

Lake Powell

We had a great time at Lake Powell this year. We had a couple of mishaps - the wheel flew off the boat trailer just outside of Price, crossed both lanes of the highway and climbed 8 feet up a tree at least half a mile down the road - one of the houseboat motors snapped in half - and we couldn't get the electrical power on the houseboat to work until the last night, but we didn't let that keep us from having a blast! The weather was beautiful (very hot, perfect for spending lots of time in the water). Here are some of the highlights:

Ryker playing in the water.

Gavin tried to ski, but his gigantic feet were too big for the kid size skis.

Trent did some skiing.

Saige and Ryker in the boat.

Tony taught me to drive the boat, which was cool.

(I only almost hit one big rock below the surface.)

Gavin and Ryker after a swim to "Ryker's Island".

Saige playing in the sand.

Saige in her glamourous sunglasses.

Climbing around on the cool rocks.

Saige and I went for a little walk.

Miracle

"The Lord would want you to be successful. He would. You are His sons and His daughters. He has the same kind of love and ambition for you that your earthly parents have. They want you to do well and you can do it." -Gordon B. Hinckley

Wow! I totally have proof of that today! I have been so incredibly stressed about my chemistry class and the final that I took on Monday. I went and took the test after saying about a million prayers that I could get a score good enough to earn a B in the class. That was really the most that I could hope for. I had figured out the score I would need to get an A and knew that it was out of my reach, so I was praying for a B, though I really wanted an A. I took the test and then, contrary to what I have done so far on chemistry tests, I looked back through it. On one particular question I suddenly realized that, though I had followed all the rules exactly, this question was an exception to the rule. I fixed the answer and went home, feeling relieved to have finished the class, but not feeling great about how I did in the class overall. Last night, very nervously, I checked on my grade. I was seriously terrified, thinking that I may have done so poorly that I would have to retake the class. When I saw the score I got on my final I just started sobbing. I got the exact score I needed to get an A. By 0.4% I got an A in a class I truly hated. How grateful I am to a Heavenly Father who wants me to succeed! I did not earn that score on my own, I only did it with His help (also some help from my Dad who helped me get a grasp on some concepts that I was struggling with). I don't have to retake Chemistry! Hallelujah!

With my finals over, Trent & I finally got to celebrate our 14 year anniversary, which was July 30th. We haven't been able to celebrate until now, because of school. It was really nice to be able to go out and relax, with nothing else to worry about. We kept it simple and just went to a movie (The Dark Knight) and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.

Baseball

Gavin finally finished his baseball season. They played hard, but struggled. They ended up in a Super League tournament and that totally sucked for the team! Gavin had a pretty great last game, considering. The team lost 16 (or so) to 0, which wasn't cool, but Gavin caught 6 fly balls out in center field. They played a total of 4 innings, so Gavin made 1/2 of the outs! Totally awesome! He was also one of 2 boys to get on base, though neither of them made it home. Trent & I are so proud of him. He worked hard, did his best and had fun. What more could a parent ask for? He finished up just in time to go to his first scout camp, which is where he is now. 

Finals are looming in the near future for me. I can't wait to be finished with Chemistry. I'm sure that Trent is anxious for that time as much or more than I am. (I whine and complain about it a LOT.) My new semester starts on August 20th. Not much of a break, but I'm getting closer to my goal, so I guess we'll survive.

Life's Hurdles

Trent & I like to take the kids to the high school, so that we can run/walk the track and they can just hang out and get some fresh air. We went this morning before Trent took the kids to Castle Dale to hang out with his family. Gavin walked with me for a few minutes and we talked about jumping the hurdles. I told him how to jump them (with the front leg straight and the back leg bent) and tried to convince him to try it. So, when I was done, we went over by the hurdles that were set up on the hard, unforgiving asphalt. He ran and jumped over one, but jumped with both legs bent. I clearly had to show him how jumping hurdles is done. (Not sure why I thought I was such an expert. I don't think I could even do it when I was in my teens, let alone now.) Regardless, I gave it a shot. I actually cleared the hurdle, but my landing was really rough. I'm pretty sure that my feet didn't even touch the ground. I was suddenly laying on the ground, trying really hard not to cry in front of my kids. I pounded my right shoulder pretty hard. I have scrapes and/or bruises on my left knee, right elbow, right hip, right shoulder and both palms, not to mention my wounded pride. I don't remember the last time that I got hurt like this, but I'm pretty sure that I got to cry, whenever it was. They should really be called "Hurtles".

I got to come home and spend my WHOLE day studying chemistry. I really hate chemistry. I think it's really cool the way everything works together, I just don't particularly enjoy learning about it. Maybe it's because, like an idiot, I decided to take it online instead of in an actual classroom. I think I would understand it better if I were taking it in an actual classroom setting. Chemistry is the biggest hurdle in my life right now. After reading all of Chapter 8 today, I had to take the quiz. I was feeling really great about the quiz while taking it, but something must be screwed up in my brain because I totally sucked at this one. I got 2 out of 5 questions right. This professor likes to really mess with us and it sucks. A few weeks ago I took a 40 question quiz. Almost every question had choices from A-O (that's a total of 15 choices) and the answer for O was "the correct answer is not listed". I clicked O eight times. That's 20% of the time. I was certain that I was bombing the quiz because what kind of a teacher gives you 15 choices and doesn't even list the right answer? I ended up with a 39 out of 40 and I only missed one because I accidently clicked the wrong answer. It is messed up! Anyway, that is my rant about chemistry. Thankfully there are only 2 weeks left in this semester. Hopefully, I will pass this class and not have to retake it, because I think that I would seriously have to consider changing career goals and that would suck, but not as much as taking this class again! I am looking forward to clearing this hurdle, hoping that I manage to land on my feet. (BTW, my anatomy class is fascinating and I love it! Trent is getting annoyed by my constant references to all things anatomical, like the fact that my palms hurt the most and bled the least because the thick skin on your hands is highly innervated but doesn't have a lot of blood supply. Wow, that is annoying!)

All Stars

I have to brag about my totally AWESOME All-Star, Gavin. The team played a double header on Saturday. Gavin pitched the majority of the first game and pitched NO balls. Meaning that they were either perfect strikes or the batter swung at them. He had a great pitching game, not so great on the batting end. He struck out 3 times in a row and for each of those he didn't swing at the final strike. I don't think there is anything worse for a baseball player than to strike out because you didn't swing. (Okay, that wasn't bragging, I realize, but it makes the next part better.) They won that game by a landslide. I'm not going to get into the second game on Saturday because we lost by a landslide. But, we had a really great game last night. Gavin was the starting pitcher, he walked a few kids, but still did a great job. He had two great hits and scored 2 of our 4 runs. He played 2nd base for the second half of the game and made a really cool double play. He caught a line drive and immediately threw the ball to 3rd base for another out. I love it when he does cool stuff like that! I know that I am normally not a big (or even a little) sports fan, but watching your own kids play and succeed is totally different and I am kind of a crazy fan. 

On a side note, I dissected a cow's eyeball today. It was really squishy and cool! Last week we dissected a sheep's brain.