April

I was smart this year and got my piano recital done early.  It was so hard last year to have it mid-May because I didn't feel like I could cancel a lesson when we were prepping for a recital but I also didn't want to miss any of the kids' games/tournaments/competitions.  So this was my solution this year...that way the rest of April and May could be more laid back and flexible and I didn't need to stress so much over making everything work.  The recital went well-memorization pieces, duets, and fun songs: check check check!  Phew!  I got Ivy to play three songs as well, even though she was having her own recital in May.  The duet was fun, playing duets has always been my favorite.

Kessley Coleman, Sam Stinebaugh, me, Haley Knowles, Lily Chappell, Tessa Baird, Bradley Baird, Alina Quinn, Reese Allen, Mallory Pearson, Raylie Anderson, Taylee Baird, Nora Owens, Layla Treu, Vincent Treu, Ivy, Emery Pearson (missing Ellie Graff and Alyx Coombs)

Here is a picture of two cute kids.  This was the night Micah got his mission call and I was pleased that Molly even sent me this photo.  These two have stayed in the friend box that they put themselves in last fall but they hang out often and text even more.  Molly is realizing that she is really going to miss him when he heads out in July.  (Going to Knoxvile, Tennessee)

This is a picture of Brynn's CCA class doing some food styling.  She's in the front, obviously.

Molly supported her friend, Carol, at the Wasatch dance showcase.  Carol is on dance company, I believe.  Molly has a few really great friends who are not leaving this summer so I'm sure she'll have a great senior year next year.

Molly, Carolyn Ritchie

Molly still works on the train as a host and for a while now she has been telling her bosses to do a Taylor train.  She was sure it would draw a big crowd.  The big boss finally said yes and Molly was absolutely right.  She helped with the lead-up and made a playlist and then hosted a train car and dee-jayed after.  They had so many people buy tickets they had to add more cars and then they sold out completely.  I think they are planning on doing another one in the summer.

plenty of friendship bracelets to trade!

Ivy got out her kinetic sand one day when she was bored...and then played with it non-stop for several days.  Brynn and Stockton even got in on the fun.  It's good to go back to the simple things sometimes.

Ivy falls asleep with a book most nights.  She is a read-aholic.

 

Spring Break-

Our Spring Break was the second week of April, the week after everybody else I knew (family) had their break.  We were all so ready for a break and to have no schedule.  We didn't make any plans. Since our break didn't line up with the rest of the region, Stockton had baseball and missing practice=missing games so that wasn't an option for him.  Justin was also on the last leg of his school project which was due April 15th.  So it was an at-home break for us.  I did know that I needed to have somewhat of a plan, mostly for Brynn and Ivy, to alleviate some boredom and cut down on arguments.  We decided to have a theme for each day and plan some activities around that theme.  I gave the girls several options and they each picked two and then agreed on one.  It seemed to work well and broke up the week a little for them.

Monday: Beach Day

On Monday I took the girls to the Wasatch aquatic center.  It was not crowded at all.  Brynn had her friend, Oakley, join us but they were under strict command to include Ivy and they did.  I had to drag them out after a couple of hours.  We had snow cones, grilled chicken and pineapple kebabs for dinner, and they watched "Teen Beach Movie".  Molly had a game in Sandy that night.  It was freezing, we were down one player and had no subs and we still won 2-1. 

I had made baptism appointments for Tuesday morning so we did that first.  Gene, April, and Brett heard that we were doing that and they wanted to join us so they drove down to Provo and met us there.  I stayed out with Ivy while they were inside.  We ran to the store, walked around the beautiful grounds, and read the Friend magazine while we waited.  She got bored but was a good sport about waiting.  Gene and Brett did the baptisms and confirmations.  They had a special time in the temple that morning and we got lunch and ice cream at Wendy's after.  Time well-spent, for sure.  It was a little hard dragging everyone out of bed and getting them going that morning but they all asked when we could go back as we were driving home.

Brett, Stockton, Molly, April, Gene, Brynn, Ivy

switch Gene out for me!

Tuesday: Baking Day

The girls each picked something they wanted to bake and we were able to do that when we got home that afternoon.  Ivy's wasn't a baking project but she had been wanting to make edible gummy bear slime so that's what she chose.  Brynn did cake mix cookies all on her own (with Ivy assisting) and I had some bananas that needed using so I picked banana muffins and Ivy helped me with those.  Ivy's friend Gracen came over and they watched "Just Add Magic", a show on Amazon and one that Ivy ended up loving.  She binged the entire show over the remainder of the week.

Wednesday: Garden Day

I had seen some mini greenhouse planter things at Walmart that I was wanting to try so I got the girls involved in doing this.  I took them to the Walmart and they each got to pick out 6 seed packets: 3 vegetables and 3 flowers.  Then they planted them and made signs for them.  The lid goes over the tray and works like a greenhouse and we could see the little sprouts within a week or so of planting.  The idea is to transplant them into the yard when the time is right, usually mid-late May.

Brynn had her friend, Shaylee, over that afternoon.  Molly went down to practice and was happy to have something to do (literally all her friends went out of town).  Justin and I went down to Stockton's baseball game in Salem.  They lost but it was a weird game-we had only two errors and the other team only had two hits but they still beat us 10-0.  Justin said that if you just looked at the box score (stats), you would never guess that was the score of the game.  Ivy made a block city.  We watched The Secret Garden that night.  It wasn't Ivy's favorite movie but Brynn enjoyed it okay I think.

Thursday: Shopping Day

The kids were all needing clothes for spring and summer so I told them this was their late Easter gift as this was the first chance we had to actually go.  Molly would have liked to join us but she had to work that afternoon and I wasn't sure we would make it back in time.  I had taken her in Las Vegas so her need was not as urgent.  We were lucky to get Stockton-he would prefer not to go shopping with his sisters but he was desperate enough.  Everyone found lots of good stuff so they should all be set for a bit.  That's the hope, anyway!  I couldn't think of a shopping movie to watch so we didn't bother.

 

Friday: Camping Day

This was the warmest day of the week (we actually had pretty good weather all week for April in Heber) so I knew I would want to be outside and I planned a hike.  Ivy was for sure on-board with that plan but Brynn waffled back and forth for a while before deciding that she would join us.  Stockton was a no from the get-go and Molly was working most of the day.  So it was me and the little girls.  We stayed close to home and just went to the Deer Creek trail.  This is a great trail but no shade so you can only do it spring or fall when it's not too hot.  It overlooks the train tracks, Deer Creek, and back into Heber and Midway.  It's a super long trail so we picked a point and decided we would go that far and then turn around and head back.  We did 3.5 miles total and it was a good couple of hours.  We had blue skies, blue water, and a blue snow-covered mountain as our scenery.

That night, we had a campfire and s'mores.  Ivy's friend, Hannah, came over and they played night games with the older kids and then came in to watch a movie.  Ivy was thinking The Parent Trap was a good camping movie but the girls decided on Disenchanted instead.

I think the gang came over three nights in a row-Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  We were happy to have them.  They stayed outside mostly.  When it got dark they would set up the projector, sit on the tramp, and watch a movie.

Stockton, Kelton Webb, Brynn, Ivy, Khloie Kelsey

Stockton had baseball games Saturday-a double header at home.  The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day-it was literally the first warm baseball game I had sat through so far this year.  Baseball can get a little slow at times, but this group of buddies sat through both games in support of Stockton.

Kelton, Grahm Kelsey, Brynn, Khloie, Ivy

I finished reading "Wish Upon a Stray" to Brynn and, wow, did it take us a long time to get through that book!

Brynn's last competition was Nationals in California.  The gym did a showcase/send-off the night before they left.  They had changed the routine a little to up their technical score so a lot of the stunting was different than what we had been seeing all season.

Brynn in the middle

Our group of girls left the very next afternoon.  This was the same group we traveled with last year to San Antonio...with just me missing.  I was sad to miss but had an event that weekend that I didn't want to miss (more in a minute).  The other moms were so gracious to take care of Brynn all weekend.  Brynn is responsible and kind so I felt comfortable sending her on her "own" but I sure hated missing out on all the fun!  They flew out of Provo that evening and landed in Cali that night.  They were staying at a beautiful resort near Newport Beach.

Claire Winsor, Abby Hansen, Brook Moore, Abby Boyer, Brynn

Brook and Brynn

Brynn, Claire, Abby, Abby, Brook

Brook, Claire, Brynn

Brook, Brynn, Claire, Abby, Abby

The first day was...Disneyland!  While I hated missing this day the very most (I love Disneyland) I was really excited for Brynn to go.  The last time she had been there was right before she turned three and she has no recollection of it.  The girls had decided beforehand to each choose a princess and plan their outfit to "match" that princess.  Brynn was Snow White.

Brynn, Claire, Brook, Abby, Abby

Claire, Brynn, Brook

I obviously wasn't there and can't give a play-by-play of the day but I got plenty of pictures from the other other moms.  Suffice it to say, Brynn loved the entire day and couldn't even choose a favorite when I asked her.  If forced to pick, she would maybe say Space Mountain and I'd have to agree with her, it's a good one!

Brynn, Abby, Abby, Brook

Abby, Brynn, Claire, Abby, Ella Wilson, Brook, Aviana Blanco, Evan Schuler, Marissa, Becky, Jill, Jenny Wilson, Cindy Blanco, Bekah Schuler

Abby, Abby, Brynn, Claire, Brook, Marissa

Jill Winsor, Brook, Abby, Becky Hansen, Brynn, Claire, Abby, Kary Moore, Marissa Boyer

Ella, Aviana, Claire, Abby, Evan, Brook, Brynn, Abby

Evan, Brook, Abby, Claire, Brynn, Aviana, Abby

Brook, Brynn

Brynn, Claire

Space Mountain

Evan, Brynn, Abby, Claire, Ella, Aviana

Ella, Abby, Abby, Aviana, Brook, Evan, Brynn, Claire

Abby, Brook, Brynn, Evan, Aviana, Claire, Ella, Abby

Friday was a beach and shopping day and also looks like a blast!

Claire, Brynn, Brook

Brooke, Abby, Abby, Claire, Brynn

Brynn, Abby, Claire, Brook, Abby

Saturday was competition day.  I was grateful the other moms were there to help Brynn get competition ready.  This team had worked really hard.  They had been doing awesome at the last few competitions but they had made those changes to make it more difficult...the changes paid off!  They hit zero and won first place!  Yay!  They were awarded first place rings and a banner.  They were so happy but the report was that they were also so sad to be competing together for the last time.  They grew super close over the course of a year and a big chunk of these girls were trying out for high school cheer the very next week.  But a great day for them and well-deserved!

Brook, Abby, Abby, Brynn, Claire

Coach Ashley, Brynn, Coach McKinley

the best flyers: Brynn, Ari Apostal, Claire

Brynn is second in from left in the front

They finished the day at Downtown Disney and visited the beach the next day before flying home.

Brook, Brynn, Claire, Abby

Claire and Brynn

Abby, Claire, Brynn, Brook

Now for the reason I stayed home: Junior Prom.  Prom is really just another dance but when you are a junior at Wasatch High School, it's much more than just another dance.  It's Promenade as well as Prom.  You can only promenade when you are a junior and I didn't want to miss Molly's one and only time to participate in this Wasatch tradition.  

Molly was going to Prom with Bridger Shaw.  She didn't know him that well, and Justin and I not at all, but his grandparents are in our ward and are great people so we figured that, by extension, he was a good kid as well.  Bridger's on the baseball team so Stockton knew him best! For their day date, they did an escape room.  He picked her up later that afternoon with enough time that they could get their pictures taken and get to the high school for Promenade.  Molly was happy to have several girl-friends in her group.

Bridger and Molly are second couple in from right

Molly, Jackie, Addy Bondurant, Dora Powers

Jackie and Molly

Justin, Ivy, and I met up with them later that night at the high school for Promenade.  It is a big deal up here in Heber and, even though I had already bought tickets, the line to get in was super long!  But we got in and got a seat and settled in for the duration.  Promenade is a tradition where the couple walks out onto the floor, gets introduced with their parents names ("Molly Goodrich, daughter of Justin and Megan Goodrich") and then they do a choreographed dance for the audience.  Molly and Bridger, and all the other juniors, had been to mandatory promenade practices all week before school to learn the routine.  There were 10 groups of 32 and then there was a daddy-daughter dance and a mother-son dance.  Then everyone was free to go down on the floor, take pictures, and mingle.  Molly doesn't love any attention but she had fun and I loved the small-town tradition.  We are not so small-town anymore but I appreciate the effort to continue this tradition.  Such a fun way to bring together the community.

Amberly Howe, Regan Heywood, Molly, Jackie

We left the kids and they finished their date: dinner and the dance at The Zermatt in Midway.  They had planned to do something after the dance but ran out of time so they got Slurpee's and then came home instead.  Molly had a good time with Bridger, what fun memories!

 

*Jackie's date was their ride that night but he locked his keys in his car and didn't do anything about it until the dance was over.  So he called the police and the rest of them had to wait until an officer arrived to get him into his car.  And then the officer was Jeff Jones from our ward!

Dora, Jackie, Molly, Officer Jones, Addy

We had Brynn's cheer banquet the week after they got back from Nationals.  This is always a party with these girls who love each other so much.  Brynn has been awarded team MVP for the past two years so she didn't really want to get that again.  She was saved for last though-they didn't give an MVP award to anyone but gave Brynn Miss TCA (TCA=Tumble Central Academy, the name of their gym).  Her coaches talked about how she was "so special", "so kind-hearted" and how her "talent exceeds our expectations every year".  They said she is "always improving" and "doing everything she can to improve" in "one of the hardest positions".  Coach McKinley says she takes her position with "grace" and "humility".  Coach Ashley said she is able to coach Brynn "hard", that she takes every correction and "there is no amount of push that she backs down from", and that she "takes everything as a goal" to work for, and that she "admires her strength".  Lots of good things said about our Brynnie, we are so proud of the work and dedication that she puts into her sport each and every time she is at the gym.

The team this year was the best they have ever been as far as being unified and supportive of each other.  They were like one person, truly it was amazing and rewarding to see.  5 of these girls are cheering at the high school next year so the team will look different.  There were lots of tears shed during the end-of-year movie and after.  Such good memories!

Brynn's the little one in the middle!

Brooke, Abby, Claire, Abby, McKinley, Brynn

Ivy got her date with me in April.  She spent a lot of time writing down different restaurants and the idea was the draw one of the ideas and go there.  Then when it came time to actually go, she decided she really just wanted to go to Dairy Keen.  Burger, fries, shake...yum!  And the best company!