Our Easter celebration was pretty simple. The cousins decorated some eggs and there was a small basket waiting for Dallin and Cami in the morning. Cami got a new iphone case and Dallin got an IU shirt. Ed had a basket of treats for Taylor and they went to Beth's house for dinner, so I knew they were well taken care of. My mom spoke in church and did a fantastic job. I was grateful to be able to spend time with my sister and her family on this special day as well.
We needed a trip to Indiana. Sometimes when things are just getting to be too much, there is only one answer - Grammy. Our kids were out of school the Friday before Easter, so we got in the car and drove to Indiana. Unfortunately, Taylor and Ed had to stay behind due to work and LAX. I was so grateful for Taylor's attitude when I approached her about our family being apart for Easter. She got a little teary at the news of being left behind for a trip to Grammy's, but then said, "You should go. Dallin really needs to get away and Dad and I will be fine." What a great sister.
We didn't really do much. We ate good food, slept a lot, spent time with cousins, and visited some places from my childhood. Just what the doctor ordered. I think we are ready to face the rest of the school year now.
Cami just got her uniform for LAX this season. She is #23 which is the number of one of her favorite girls on the High School team. She was happy!
Ed's childhood friend and college roommate was in town for a few days and stayed with us. We haven't seen them in several years and it was nice to get to know his wife and kids better. It was funny to hear our kids make comments about how they could totally see why Dad and Dale were friends. They both have a great sense of humor and listening to them joke around you would never know it had been years since they had been around each other. They are always trying to embarrass each other and Ed even introduced Dale in Elder's Quorum at church as his long-time friend who was "strong in body, but weak in spirit" and that he was "happy to have him here trying to become active again." People who know Ed didn't believe a word he said, but others kept coming up to Dale offering encouragement. He of course played right along.
Their oldest daughter is Cami's age and all the girls had a great time in the basement. Their son was just the right age to play with all the Star Wars toys Dale and Ed played with as young boys in Cincinnati. I'm so glad they stayed with us and hope we see them again soon.
I only got a few pictures of the kids, but trust me... we had a great time!
Ian is off on his mission to Curitiba, Brazil. We miss him dearly, but look forward to his weekly updates and pictures. It is always so difficult leading up to anyone leaving - almost harder than when they are gone :) I found myself thinking all those "last time" thoughts. One Sunday in church I looked down the row and saw these three sitting together and got a little choked up. Ian has sat with our family at church for years and by the time he gets home Dallin will be gone on his mission. After that they will be bringing others home with them to sit by and things just won't be like this again. Not that those are bad things, but I just wanted to remember all the years of these guys sitting next to each other drawing, folding origami out of gum wrappers, poking each other when they fell asleep, reading seminary scripture assignments, and laughing when they weren't supposed to. I thought I was being stealthy with my phone snapping a picture, but I got caught and they all gave me a weird look. They don't understand how much I love looking at them sitting in a row. We miss you Ian, but we are so grateful you are giving this time of your life to serve others.
We celebrated Taylor's birthday again on Sunday with friends. She requested ice cream cookie sandwiches and they were delicious. Once again I will express my gratitude to wonderful friends who love my children and are always there to celebrate with us!
Taylor's 16th birthday fell during the week so we celebrated with our family and then with our friends on the weekend. She was a little discouraged by her injury and particularly that the boot was ruining her super cute outfit, but I assured her that she was so cute no one would even notice the boot ;)
She had to go to practice in the evening, but we managed to have dinner, presents, and dessert. We are so grateful for our Super Tay Tay! She brings an energy and joy to our home that can't be duplicated. She has so many talents and works hard to develop them. She is a loyal friend and is great to have on your "team", whatever it may be. It is going to be hard for her dad to let her start dating, because no one is really good enough for her in his eyes. He decided that it was time for her to have her first piece of real jewelry and picked out a ring and necklace with her birthstone. I think it's great for her first ring to be from the #1 man in her life... for now. We love you so much and are grateful for the beautiful addition you are to our family. Happy Sweet 16!
Taylor worked so hard in anticipation of Lacrosse season this year. Since December she has been running after school 2-3 times a week with other teammates, doing circuit training twice a week at a local gym with a trainer (also with her teammates), and playing in an indoor winter league on Saturdays. She was more than ready for the season to begin... until she had a severe ankle injury in her last indoor game two days before official tryouts began.
I felt so bad for her. I can't even describe how sad she was. The whole lacrosse situation has been stressful for a lot of reasons and I am so proud of the way the girls (and many parents) have stepped up to keep the program going. If you read any of my posts about last season, you know I was not a fan of the coach. She was terrible and really did a lot of emotional damage to the girls. Enough said. She quit before all the winter conditioning began and the older girls and their parents stepped in to organize all the activities and the girls played the indoor games with no official coach.
A few weeks before the season began the announcement came that Dipi Bhaya would take over as their coach. This didn't really make sense to us at first because she has coached several national championship teams and almost always on the college level. Why would she want to coach a team that was 0-12 in conference last year? The answer came that her parents are not well and she wanted to be closer to home and that she saw potential in our girls and the need for actual coaching.
I'll write more about the season later, but it is amazing the difference a good coach can make. She has taken a defeated group of girls who didn't believe they could succeed and turned them into a winning team. After losing the first couple of games, they realized they could trust their coach and that they would actually win if they just listened to her. They won 6 in a row and actually got a state ranking for the first time ever (#16).
The sad thing is that Taylor has been standing on the sidelines the whole time with a grade 3 ligament strain in her L ankle. It would have been better to break a bone as far as healing time. She was in a boot for weeks and now a smaller brace. She has been going to all her LAX practices (she is still part of the team) and then physical therapy 2-3 times a week. After 6 weeks she was just cleared to begin running on flat surfaces and hopes to be cleared to practice soon. This clearance will come too late for her to get any varsity playing time this year, but at least she'll get back on the field (maybe).
Character really shows through when tough things happen. This has been a trying time for Taylor and I am so proud of how she has handled herself. She supports her friends wholeheartedly and has impressed the coach with her dedication. Other parents have asked me why she is still coming. I respond that she loves her teammates and wants to support them no matter what. She also can't wait to play next year and hopefully coach Bhaya will be there to continue the amazing transformation of this team.
We love you Taylor and are so proud of how you have handled this trial in your life. In the grand scheme of things it is very small, but right now it has been really hard for you to watch your friends play without you. I have a picture of Taylor right before the game where the injury happened (we left for the game right after Dallin got his quilt in the earlier post) and then on her birthday with the beautiful grey boot.
When Dallin was a little boy of about 3 or 4 he would wear basically the same thing every day - a green shirt tucked into pants/shorts with a belt. He also insisted on sliding a sword into that belt and fastening on his blue cape (thank you Aunt Shawna). Don't forget that the hair had to be combed and gelled just right to complete the look.
His look was a combination of all the "good" characters in his life. Link from his favorite video game wore a green tunic. Luke Skywalker's light saber was green. Hercules wore a blue cape. Every knight or brave warrior from mythology or the scriptures seemed to carry a sword. Batman, The Lion King, and other favorites all played a part in the various t-shirts, and let's face it,... good guys are always handsome.
Everywhere we went he proudly wore his cape and sword and I got so many adoring looks from other moms and especially grandmothers. He was also hilarious because he started talking so young. A little old lady would ask him a simple question and he would launch into a story about Greek mythology or something.
I just couldn't part with any of the green shirts from this phase and put them safely in a bag for a future quilt. A few years ago I attempted to make one, but got frustrated when things weren't going as I had planned. The quilt top was put away again until just last year. Kathy found out about it and decided to finish the job. She and Ed Sr. came to visit while Dallin was recovering from surgery and she presented him with an instant treasure. There are some pictures on the T-Shirts of him during this phase and I just love it. She had to take a lot of what I had done apart and re-do it and I'm sure it was a ton of work. I told Dallin that it was not to leave this house until he is married and I can entrust his wife with it. Thank you Kathy for such a meaningful gift. Long live the green t-shirt!
Taylor went to another Sweet 16 Party and I found her THE. CUTEST. DRESS. I think this is one of my new favorite pictures of her.
