Callie is 12

I can't believe my Callie girl is 12. She is feisty, hard working, animal loving, kind, thoughtful, smart, athletic, organized, coordinated, adventurous, STILL a daddy's girl and a good friend to all. She loves music. Whenever I can't find her around the house I immediately look out the back door and usually find her swinging with her headphones on and singing to her music. She often listens to youth albums from the church website and I LOVE listening with her in the car because she knows every word. Callie is currently serving as second counselor in the YW 12-14 yr old class. I am so proud of her.

For her birthday party we planned a SPA night. They treated each other to pedicures, facials and we painted rocks. This was a little crazy but really fun. Callie has a really good group of friends and we had a to of fun.

Callie's Broken Toe

Oops she did it again! Poor girl, 3rd year in a row breaking a bone. Callie was playing in the back yard with her friend and bumped into some old trampoline poles that were propped up against the wall, and they fell on her toe. Thankfully she only needed to wear the boot for 4 weeks this time (same boot we kept from last years broken foot). I was so relieved about the 4 weeks time line because she got her boot off just in time for us to go on the cruise. She was such a good sport about it and did not let it slow her down. She went on a youth hike, rode her scooter outside, presented her country report at school (which she crushed by the way) and rarely complained about having that bulky thing on.  I really hope in 2024 she doesn't break any bones in 2024 and put an end to this this 3 year curse/tradition. No more broken bones please. 

Noah Ran Cross Country

So proud of this kid. I couldn't believe it when he told me he would be trying out Cross Country this season. Running is NOT his favorite. I really enjoyed going to his meets and watching him try something new. Poor kid had to miss the city meet because he was really sick. He still does not like running and has decided it is not really his thing. But I’m proud of him for participating in it.

April Riding her Bike!

This is a BIG deal! April started riding her bike with OUT training wheels and she is SOOOOOOO happy about it. She wants to ride constantly and loves every second. I'm so proud of her and sad that we won't be riding the "co-pilot" anymore. It's the end to a chapter of parenting that I'm not sure I'm ready to be out of. Ron fixed her tires (stupid hot summers are ROUGH on bikes) and we both went to the church over Christmas break to help her. All it took was literally one push and she took off, didn't even look back! As she was riding away she called out "how do I stop?"

I took April for a night bike ride about a week later, just me and her. Even thought we had bike lights it was still a little scary for her because she had never gone in the dark. During the bike ride she informed me "If I die. Will you tell Noah I love him?" LOL The things this girl says and comes up with.\

California Water Polo Tournament

Lindsey and I took our boys to California this weekend for another water polo tournament. I was so excited to go and get some beach time and of course do one of my favorite things which is to watch my boys play something they LOVE. The weather ruined my plans for some ocean time. I knew it was going to be colder and not exactly ocean swimming weather but I thought we could at least chill on the beach for an hour or two. The entire weekend it was overcast, raining and cold! I definitely learned some life lessons about surviving wet weather conditions. Haha. Lesson number 1: Defrosters are important in a car when you're traveling in weather like this. The defroster wasn't working in Lindsey's car so we fashioned a tube out of plastic cups, tape and a plastic glove. I'm very impressed with our ingenuity. Lesson number 2: I really do not have good wet weather gear. Lesson number 3: in theory it sounds like a good idea to bring blankets to snuggle in during a game but… blankets are also really good at absorbing LOTS and LOTS of water  🤣

The boys of course played really well. California is a really competitive state for water polo. Their teams were insane. I’m proud of how hard they played. Noah was asked to play up which means he got to play with Mason but also meant not as much play time. He was a really good sport about not getting to play 100% and still enjoyed the game. 

Mason also learned how to use chop sticks! Haha 

Family Temple Night

What a magical evening tonight. So happy Callie got to join us in the temple this evening. She is just adorable. I love my forever family and I love serving with them. Grandma Faler and Callie's bestie Sydney got to join us for this awesome evening.