Freshman Year

Leah had the most wonderful end to her junior high years last year! She circled up with an amazing group of friends and truly made the most of 8th grade. We cannot wrap our minds around the fact that high school is here, but we are totally certain that she's going to do great! Leah is incredibly organized and hard working. She is kind and compassionate. We hope that these traits will help her succeed socially and academically. We can't wait to watch how much she grows over the next four years and are hopeful that she will make the most out of these high school days!

What is your name? LCan you just please write that down....you already know it (eye roll)?

How old are you? 14

What do you want to be when you grow up? teacher

What is your favorite food? freeze dried apples

What is your favorite drink? Bubbl'r

What makes you happy? Chief

What makes you sad? not getting to hang out with friends

What is your favorite thing to do at home? do TikToks

Who is your best friend? Brooke

Where is your favorite place to go? the beach

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? shop

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? cook/make breakfast

What is the best part about Caleb (brother)? He helped me in high school.

What is the best part about Joel (brother)? He lets me do makeup on him.

What is your favorite book? The Summer of Broken Rules

What is your favorite movie? Midnight Sun

Where is your favorite place to eat? Starbies

What is your favorite thing to wear? Old Navy

Junior Year

Wow...we've hit the halfway point already for Caleb! He's done a LOT of growing (not just physically) since he started high school. Last year was a bit of a rough start again, but we finally got to the bottom of it when he was diagnosed mid-year with ADHD. It was definitely surprising, but also gave so much clarity. We are hoping that this year will be his smoothest one yet. We know that Caleb is capable of such amazing things and we enjoy watching those successes come his way. We are looking forward to a year full of more growth and maturity, but we are also holding our breath and hoping that it goes just a little bit slower these next two years.

What is your name? Caleb

How old are you? 16

What do you want to be when you grow up? environmental engineer

What is your favorite food? I don't know....I like food.

What is your favorite drink? Root Beer

What makes you happy? winning

What makes you sad? losing

What is your favorite thing to do at home? hang out with my friends

Who is your best friend? Micah

Where is your favorite place to go? the tracks with Micah

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? I don't know...I don't do anything with you.

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? lift

What is the best part about Leah (sister)? nothing

What is the best part about Joel (brother)? His outgoing personality.

What is your favorite book? And Then There Were None

What is your favorite movie? Deadpool Trilogy

Where is your favorite place to eat? Country Charm

What is your favorite thing to wear? my bucket hat

7th Grade

The elementary years are over for Joel and now it's time for him to rock junior high! We are so excited for this next chapter. Joel is lucky to have older siblings that paved the way, but he'd also do just fine exploring it on his own. He's such a mature and independent kid and we know that he will do great in 7th grade. We are hoping he fills these next two years with loads of special moments and memories. We pray he keeps the amazing friends he has and makes new friends along the way. We are excited about the various clubs and sports that he can get involved in and can't wait to watch him succeed with those. It's going to be an awesome adventure and he is 100% ready!

 What is your name? Joel

How old are you? 12....right?!?

What do you want to be when you grow up? electrical engineer or builder/designer

What is your favorite food? smoked ribs

What is your favorite drink? Starbucks Frappuccino

What makes you happy? Chief

What makes you sad? getting yelled at

What is your favorite thing to do at home? a lot of things...run, sew, watch tv, or play basketball

Who is your best friend? Quinton

Where is your favorite place to go? the lake

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? go shopping at Target (so I can get Starbucks)

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy? fish

What is the best part about Caleb (brother)? He's always trying to tell me to do better.

What is the best part about Leah (sister)? If she really wants to, she'll play with me.

What is your favorite book? Harry Potter

What is your favorite movie? Waterboy

Where is your favorite place to eat? Dairy Queen

What is your favorite thing to wear? UnderAmour shirts

Lake Life (One Last Time)

It's no secret that the lake is my happy place! There are moments throughout the year when I hit low points and just dream about the summer days at the lake. Everything about our trips there is my favorite....the scenery, the relaxation, the family time, the games, the long days at the dock, the dinners that drag out with long conversations, the sunsets and storms, and the years and years and years of memories! When we found out earlier in the year that Aunt Nancy and Uncle Dave were selling the lake house, we couldn't really wrap our minds around it. For the most part, we lived in denial of the fact that this would be our last summer.

Fast forward to the end of June/beginning of July and we headed down for our first trip of the summer. There were lots of tears at first on my part. The reality hit and it was heartbreaking. However, the week carried on and I was able to shift my focus and just soaked it all in. We had a blast with Leah bringing her friend, Brooke and then a visit towards the end from Nyla and her two friends, Karina and Silvia. We enjoyed celebrating July 4th together and had a great time enjoying all that the lake has to offer. 

Our final trip was at the beginning of August. There were less tears on the front end this time. We jumped right into enjoying the lake and knew that we needed to make the most of every single day. Grandpa, Grandma, and TiTi joined us for a few days and we also had the Evans family down for a couple days. The week flew by and so many precious memories were made. We ended the trip by packing up a ton of stuff and helping clear things out in preparation for the move. We did leave the big boat in storage and it gave us a tiny sense of hope that maybe we will be back next summer in a rental of some sort. It won't be the same, but it'll still be my happy place! Nothing could prepare me for the final goodbyes on the last morning though. It was ROUGH and a piece of my heart is definitely down there still. We've watched the kids grow up there and we just weren't ready for this chapter to end. As Dr. Seuss once said, "Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." Truer words have never been spoken!