May

Ivy's big Lagoon competition was the first Saturday of May. She had been waiting anxiously for this day! We were so excited for her! We drove up to Lagoon and watched her compete in hip hop and clogging.  They did really well! The clogging routine was very together and they got first place. She was on cloud nine and loved every minute of it.

Ivy is 4th in from the left

second in from right

Dancers and supporters could purchase discount ride passes for the park so Ivy and I did that with her friend, Ali, and Ali's mom, Brianna.  Justin didn't care to ride rides so he just bought the spectator pass to watch Ivy then he went and killed time around town while we did Lagoon. He wins the prize for best clogging dad! It was a crowded day at Lagoon but we were able to do all the best rides...Wild Mouse, Spider, Colossus, Wicked, white roller coaster, Cannibal, and Rocket.  We had Justin pick us up at 6 and headed home. Ivy was a happy girl after her special day. I'm so glad she has found something she loves and that gives her confidence.

Ali Robinson and Ivy

Brynn's team had one last chance to perform in front of an audience before Summit, this time just at the gym for parents. The hours they spent fine-tuning this routine were countless, and it showed. They had so much energy and the whole gym was pumped for them. We left for Florida two days later.

Brynn's the second flyer from the left

center flyer

Molly finished up her season with her Avalanche club team. I have alluded a little how she did not love this team. She liked the coach just fine but there were a handful of girls who made it less fun. They were exclusive and negative and it just brought the whole team down. She knew she needed to play to keep in shape for USU-E but she was very relieved when it was over. She had a lot of support for her last game.

Coach Brian Millward on the left and Molly is the third girl in after him

she talked Sophia Locke into joining the team this year and Soph saved her and made the season much more tolerable

Regan Heywood, Soph, Molly, Sarah Hottle

the girls she liked; Molly is third in from left

Molly and Bethany Danielson, who is also playing at USU-E

Brett, Grandpa Gene, Grandma April, Tiana, Molly, Justin, Corbin, Enzo

these two are so silly together; Molly was happy to have Justin take her to the last game

The baseball team had made it to the play-offs so all the boys bleached their hair. Stockton was no exception. Oh boy. I was in Florida with Brynn so Stockton asked Molly to do it. Soph also came and helped (after their game). It looks like it was a fun time! Stockton's hair was crazy for a couple of weeks. Haha. Everyone conveniently didn't tell me what was going on at home so I didn't know about it until the next week when I went to pick him up from baseball on the day I got home. I wouldn't have stopped him anyway and had a good laugh.

Ivy made a cake all on her own. I was gone but it looks like she did a pretty decent job!

I missed Mother's Day since Brynn and I were still gone. Justin made our traditional French Toast breakfast anyway and the rest of them enjoyed it without us. They also decorated posters, one for me and a congratulatory one for Brynn (more about Summit later), and had treats and flowers waiting for us when we got home.

 No Mother's Day picture with me and the kids this year but Justin did get one of each the three kids that were home that morning. I was so happy doing the cheer mom thing but sure missed seeing these kids that day as well!

Ivy had her clogging banquet one Saturday morning. We had a funeral in our ward that day and both Justin and I are heavily involved with funerals for our callings. Molly stepped up and took Ivy to the banquet. Ivy was awarded Hardest Worker and she was happy about that. 

Coach McKenna on the left and then Ivy is second in from the right

Later that night was her recital. She had so much fun and had great supporters...including Justin and I but we forgot to get a picture of the two of us with her. Love seeing her passion for clogging continue to grow!

Brett, Ivy, April

with Grandpa and Grandma Moyes

Scholarship night for Molly. Up here they have what's called Wasatch Education Foundation and everyone applies for the same scholarship. Then the Foundation decides who gets what. All we got was an email saying Molly would be a scholarship recipient but we didn't know anything beyond that. We were very confused when she received the Forestry scholarship. But super excited! (Someone explained the process to me later and then it made more sense haha). It was a fitting scholarship for her. We are very proud of all her accomplishments.

third one in from left

Ivy did an amazing job at her piano recital. She played three songs...Rockin' Robin, Juggling Joe, and her very own composition which she titled "Clogging." She also played From the New World as a quartet with the rest of her class. She has learned so much in this program!  She is finished with Presto and has since moved on to a private teacher, Miss Janna (coincidentally, Miss Kim's mom).

Teacher Miss Kim and Ivy

Justin was given tickets to the Salt Lake Bee's game. They have a new stadium (America First Field, which is how he got tickets) and he was super excited to see it. He had 6 tickets but only Molly and Stockton were available that night. They had a great time.

Ivy had three programs in a row and the last was the 4th grade Utah program. This has been, and will always be, my favorite school program ever. I just love it. This years program was was so good, the music and the parts, and the kids are all too cute. Ivy had a speaking part and she did great. Molly and Brynn skipped their last periods to come but I made Stockton stay at school since he had already missed so much for baseball.

Raina Cottle, Ivy, Olivia Christiansen, Kaliyah Pili

I helped with a YW's activity one night. They helped paint rocks for a sister in our ward who had just received a kidney transplant after several long months of dialysis. Some of the girls helped me decorate her front porch with the rocks when the painting party was done.

Alayna Munford, Alina Quinn, Brynn, Oaklyn Holm, Olivia Munford

I finished reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to Ivy. She likes the books and seeing what is in the books that is not in the movies. They do take a while to get through though so she has decided to take a break and do some smaller books for a little while (good for the summer since our schedule/bedtime routine is not as strict and we don't read as often).

Ivy had her last parent-teacher conference with Mrs. Hall. I cannot say enough good things about this teacher. Stockton and Brynn had her so I already knew how fabulous she was, but this year solidified it. She is the best and Ivy flourished in her classroom. Her test scores in all subjects were sky high. She has always loved reading but she became passionate about it and read some big books and big series. She felt safe and loved in the classroom in what turned out to be a transition year for Ivy, as far as friends go. Ivy loves learning and just soaks up life and it was such a great year for her. We are so grateful for Mrs. Hall. She is a talented teacher!

 

And so begins the last days of school, hooray! Molly was first. Seniors got out the Friday before everyone else then that last week of school was full of fun end-of-year activities for them. Her last day of real school was a morning like any other morning and we both laughed about the normalcy of it (she's done this a million times before) and the strangeness of it (she won't ever go back to "regular" school again).  It was very anti-climactic. Molly's high school years were full of all the typical ups and downs...classes, grades, sports, friends, boys...but I really think in summary it was awesome. She was involved, had great friends, and really good experiences. I'm grateful for all she experienced and all she learned and I know she is amply prepared to face her future.

Molly and her friends drove up to the Syracuse Temple Open House that weekend. One of their friends, Sarah, is not a member of the church and she mentioned that she really wanted to see the inside of a temple. So they found the closest open house and took her. They had a really good time!

Regan, Sarah, Molly, Carolyn Ritchie

My mom held a little graduation party for Molly and Abby at the cabin over Memorial Day weekend. They got showered with attention for a little bit that night...decorations, presents, a fun game all about them, and cake. Molly got an air fryer/toaster oven from all her aunts and uncles and new luggage from Grandma and Grandpa.

Abby and Molly

Molly and Abby

Ours was a quick trip up and back since Justin had had a late meeting that Sunday and Stockton had a baseball party Monday night. But we did manage a quick hike Monday morning in Logan Canyon. Bryce said it was an easy walk and, while it wasn't hard, he failed to mention that it was six miles. My family had not come prepared for any sort of hike: Stockton, Ivy, and I all hiked in slides and Molly hiked barefoot. Ivy went back early with Lucy and Josie and Grandma and Grandpa and then Justin and I and Brynn and Grace left a little after that. Molly and Stockton made it to the top and the look out and when they got back to the cabin, we had lunches made for them and everything packed in the car so we could hurry and leave.

Josie and Jeff, Lucy and Ali, Ivy and Justin

Spencer, Erin, Ben, Abby, Molly, Seth, Ali, Jeff, Gavin, Grant, Stockton, Bryce

Stockton had back-to-back baseball functions.  On the night of Memorial Day, one baseball family hosted a whiffle ball tournament and dinner.  It was awesome. All the hours and hours of playing whiffle ball with the Broadbent boys paid off-Stockton hit an amazing amount of home runs and was officially dubbed whiffle ball MVP for the night.

The next night was the official baseball banquet, held by the coaching staff. These go much differently than girls soccer banquets or cheer banquets: meaning, the coaches get right down to the point (awards/certificates), we eat some food, and then we go. It's great. Stockton got his certificate, the coach had some nice things to say about his strength at second base, and they even had a big gift basket for being the whiffle ball MVP.

Stockton's last day was next, on the day before the "official" last day. To be honest, his whole last week was here and there but this is the day he told me would be his last so that's when I got the picture.  Sophomore year, check! Stockton was looking forward to summer, turning 16, and finally getting his license, wahoo! (Also, he got a haircut and I did not mind the bleached hair once it was shorter)

Justin was also given tickets to the premier of the new Mission: Impossible movie. His job has some perks. It was the last day of school for everyone but Molly, who had already had all her graduation celebrations, so she was the one who went with Justin. They were in charge of all the candy and sodas that they were giving away to the audience and ended up bringing a ton of treats home.

Brynn was also in and out that last week of school but she did make an appearance on the last day, May 30th. She got her yearbook and officially said good-bye to middle school. She came away from middle school unscathed-not a lot bothers her. Her time in middle school flew by for me and I seriously am having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that she is going to be in high school after the summer. So much to look forward to for her!

And last was Ivy, the only one who was truly sad for school to end. I already talked about how great her year was and how special her teacher was. Two other accomplishments for Ivy this year: 1. Mrs. Hall caught on right away the trouble Ivy had pronouncing "r" sounds and had her take some speech classes. Ivy worked hard to fix what she was doing wrong and by Christmas, she was no longer in need of the classes. 2. Mrs. Hall was prompted to go back and take a look at Ivy's test scores from the end of 2nd grade and realized they were high enough that she had tested into the gifted and talented program at the school (no one noticed or looked two years earlier). So Ivy got to do that for the last term, loved it, and will continue to be part of that program in 5th grade. We are very proud of her and her desire to always do her best!

Ivy and her friend, Gracen, planned an epic last day of school party.  I turned it all over to them and they were so cute. Ivy reached out and invited everyone and once the guest list was set, the two of them went to town on the planning. I picked Gracen up after school got out and took them to the dollar store and then Walmart. They wanted to go into the dollar store by themselves and do all the shopping independently.  So I sat in the car and they came and got me when it was time to pay.  I also took them to Walmart, but I went in that time and helped them a little but only because they had taken forever in the dollar store and I was hoping to get in and out a little quicker.

At the party they jumped on the tramp, did a craft, had a campfire and roasted marshmallows, and "watched" Annie. It was mostly fun, minus one little moment when one of the girls got her feelings hurt for some reason but once we sorted that out, it was great. Yay for summer!

Ivy, Harper Christiansen, Gracen Nalette, Olivia, London Mathis, Liyah, Ali