End of School Year 2023

 The rest of the school year was busy and great! For spring break this year we spent three days in Sun Valley, Idaho skiing. Our season passes to Snowbasin work at Sun Valley, too. We had never been there before and we all enjoyed it. Beautiful place and the ski mountain was HUGE! The kids and Mitch all outskied me as usual. They are all such good skiiers! 3

Layla turned 13 in April, officially a teenager.  She has a large group of friends that she spends most Friday and Saturday nights with and while Mitch and I are exhausted from her social life, haha, we are happy that she has such a great group of friends who are good kids and good influences on each other. For Layla's birthday, she took a handful of friends to Saver's where I gave them each $10 to buy what they coudl and put on a fashion show after. They had a great time and bought some fun stuff.

We gave Layla her first smartphone for her 13th birthday, which was a big decision for Mitch and I. Ultimately, I feel fine about it--she's responsible and smart about it -- but it's also hard because once they have a smart phone they'll never go back. But overall it's been great and actually helpful in many ways.

The month of May went by in a blur. So many school activities and programs, Marcus ran track, Mitch and I celebrated 16 years of marriage, and Marcus had a birthday. It was a busy month, some people call it Maycember because it's as busy as December, haha. 

Marcus had a great 10th birthday. He chose to have friends go to Get Air and it did not disappoint. We had 12 boys jumping and they were sweaty and stinky by the time the party ended! Marcus is also blessed to have many good friends in his life. For his birthday all of our families went in together and got him a robotics kit so he can build and program his own robot. He just built one with a catapult. 

Marcus ran track this spring and loved it! He still hasn't decided if he likes the longer or shorter distances more, but he truly did great at both! He competed in several track meets and earned a few ribbons for shot put and javelin. He also placed in the top 5-7 places for the mile run, the half mile, and 100 meter races. He started the season on a team with a few friends, and Marcus was the only one who chose to do the extended season. He is excited to do track in junior high and high school and wants to continue to do what he can in the meantime. We are lucky to have so many track meets for kids close to us at Davis High.

Now it's summer and one of the best decisions I've ever made is putting the kids in charge of weeding the yard! They go out every morning for 5 minutes each and it's enough to take care of the weeds for the most part. I kept up on it until school got out and now I've barely pulled a weed in almost a month. We have Lagoon passes this year and love going at 8 pm on a weeknight when it's not hot, lots of people are leaving, and the lines are pretty short. It also helps that we live only 10 minutes away. We're trying to convince Layla that she likes roller coasters, haha, but no luck so far. 

We have been boating a few times this summer. It has been a cold, rainy start to the summer so boating has not had the same feel yet. We ordered a new wake surfboard that I'm dying to try out. Our Powell trip is coming up fast so if nothing else Ill try it there.

I have officially been working as a CMHC therapist for a full month now. I was SO nervous for about two weeks when I started. Like, stomach aches every day nervous. But now my nerves are gone and I love how much I'm learning from the process and the other clinicians I work with. So many wise people that I feel blessed to be surrounded by! I have met many interesting people and love learning to love all types of people. It has stretched my heart, patience, empathy, and understanding of others and myself.

Along the same lines of self-growth, my cousing Lindsay passed away recently. This has had such an impact on me. To be honest, I did not know her well as she lived in Washington state and I didn't see her often. But her death has prompted me to want to live life more, to see the people I don't see often enough, to have more fun, and to worry less. It's been a great time of reflection for me and of prayer for her family. I think also in the mix is the fact that I'm turning 40 this year. That's a big milestone and one I'm looking forward to. There's something about turning another decade older that brings another level of appreciation. 

Anyways, I didn't mean to get all philosophical, but I have had those things on my mind a lot lately.

Mitch is well and busy as ever at work. I think he balances his stress from work with skiing and boating on the weekends. Good thing we live in a place where he can do both. It's funny to see his excitement for boating and Lake Powell grow each year. For most of our marriage I was the one wanting to save and plan for a boat and Powell trips. Now I think he'd agree that he loves it as much as, if not more than I do! He has become quite the wakeboarder, which was something I could do that he couldn't originally, and now I'm asking him for tips! He wants so badly to buy a newer boat that we can surf easily behind (our current boat is a wakeboarding boat), so that's the plan for next year. One thing at a time. 

I can't remember if I recorded it in my last post or not, but we just bought a 2022 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon. It's awesome. Whomever owned it before put a lift on it and big tires and it's so much fun to drive! It pulls the boat, so that's great.

Welp, gotta go get some other things done today. And make sure I fit in time for self-care and quality time with the family. Trying to prioritize those things a little more so I don't waste my life away cleaning the house!