West Desert (Delta) Meet

The West Desert Meet was last Thursday. Tessa woke up early with a sick stomach (the trots) that day and she was so bummed since it was meet day. She has been working so hard at practice the last two weeks to improve her kip on bars, and get past her fear on beam. She fell back to sleep late morning, and felt much better when she woke back up. She was able to eat, and said she had energy and wanted to go to the meet still. We drove out to Delta, and Paul met us there since he was heading straight to Hurricane for a golf trip with his friends. Delta decided to do tiny sessions, and so it was just Anna, Lexi, and Tessa in the afternoon.

Arete started on floor. I could tell in warm-ups that Tessa was feeling worse. She made it through her floor routine, but didn't have the same pep and energy she usually does. She ran right out to the bathroom as soon as she was finished.

She decided to do two half on's on the vault because they're easier. And then she ran right back out to the bathroom again. I didn't even think to record her bars routine because I was just so worried about her. She would be in the bathroom right up until it was her turn to compete on each event. She did a chin-up pullover instead of a kip on bars because it takes much less energy. I definitely regretted taking her, and she regretted choosing to go. We should have just stayed home, but it was so hard to know since she was feeling good before we left. 

She also simplified her beam routine and did a cartwheel instead of a back walkover.

Tessa took 1st on vault with a 9.3

1st on bars with a 9.4

1st on beam with a 9.6

1st on floor with a 9.2

And 1st All-Around with a 37.5

She took a clean sweep of gold medals even with feeling so so sick!! It's pretty impressive if you can get a qualifying score for Nationals while you're running out of the gym over and over again with the diarrheas. :) Even though she still regretted going, I think bringing home 5 gold medals made for a little less regret. Haha.

Uintah Meet & Early Bird Invitational

 Rock had a track meet in Vernal last week. This started the official season, and he ran the 800m in 2:17.41.

And the 400m in 54.14!! Two more great PRs! Way to go Rockwell! He also ran the 4x400 relay. It had started raining so hard that the kids had all run into their tents and got dressed and thought they were canceling the relays. But the coaches called them out and said they were still going to run it. They ran fully-clothed and Rockwell said it wasn't great for any of them. Haha.

Rockwell got to run in the varsity Early Bird Invitational this weekend at UVU. Jody had signed him up to run the 400m and the 4x400 relay. A few days later we noticed he had been switched from the 400m to the 800m. Rockwell was not happy about that. He loves the 400 and doesn't love the 800. :) Jody said he had signed him up before talking to Rock's mid-distance coaches. Rockwell asked Coach Tiff about the switch and she told him that she knows he can be a great 800m runner, but he doesn't see that in himself yet. She said she was going to make him run it so he can implement the things he's learning at practice, and convince himself that he can be great. He was still bummed to not be running the 400, but I think he appreciated his coach's belief in him.

It was a very cold and very wet day at the track! I always feel so bad for these kids running in snowstorms during Spring sports in Utah.

Miraculously, the clouds parted and blue skies came right before both of Rockwell's races. It snowed basically the rest of the 6 hours we were there. He lined up for the 800m, and ran a really great race!!

He finished in 2:04:85!!! That's a 13 second PR, incredible! 

He was so happy with his race!

Rockwell was the anchor for the 4x400m relay with Deiderik, Wyatt, and Brigham. 

They were in 3rd place when Rockwell received the baton, and he took off!

He was able to pass a team, and came in 2nd in their heat. 

We don't get official lap times, but according to his coach's timer, Rockwell ran his 400m in 52 seconds flat. That's a huge PR for him as well! Their team finished in 3:35.46. It was a great run for them and they were excited about it!! They finished 3rd overall for the 4x400 relay.

Payson Country Classic Meet

Tessa had the Country Classic meet last Saturday. Arete started on floor. 

She was looking so good, and then suddenly she forgot her routine. She said her mind just went completely blank. It broke my heart to see her freeze like that. :( She pulled out of it after a few seconds though and finished it off. I was impressed she could get back into her routine after freezing like that. She still scored a 9.3, which was higher than we assumed it would be. Christi was sitting by us and explained that Tessa still completed all her required skills, and so it was just smaller deductions instead of huge ones.

Next they went to vault and she did awesome there. Both of her passes looked really good!

Bars was next, and she did so so good on that! Her kip looked the best it has all season. She scored a 9.75. Wow!! She's made a lot of improvement on bars these past few weeks!

She absolutely nailed the landing!

Beam was last and she did well on that too.

She did have some real hesitation on her back walkover. She fell in practice a few weeks ago while doing this skill and has felt some fear since then. Exys (I have no idea how to spell his name, haha) was great and wouldn't put his hand on her back to spot her. He knows she can do it on her own, and I was grateful he insisted on not spotting her. After a few seconds, she did her back walkover and it was beautiful like always. She finished the rest beautifully too, and stuck her landing again. Yay!

Tessa finished 1st on vault with a 9.5

1st on bars with a 9.75

Tied for 1st on beam with a 9.7. Tessa and Lexi thought it was so fun to share 1st place!

2nd on floor with a 9.3

And she took 1st all-around with a 38.25

Arete took 2nd place as a team.

I know this was a frustrating meet for Tessa, but she still scored awesome, and I know she'll come back stronger next time.

The host gym gave all the girls super cute sweatshirts. Tessa loves it!

This & That

 Rockwell wanted me to teach him how to do his hair now that it's permed. I have to stand on a stool to reach his hair. #shortmomproblems. He smiles real big every time I do it. :)

Tessa and Morgan made delicious vanilla cupcakes from scratch. They were seriously so yummy!

Al, Mel, and I spent the afternoon/evening with my dad for his birthday. We visited my mom, and then went to his house for pizza and a movie. Matt and Gary facetimed in for a while which was really fun. We watched Overcomer and had a nice time together.

Rockwell received his patriarchal blessing. It was one of the coolest experiences being there with him while he was given a beautiful and incredibly personal blessing. Rockwell thought it was amazing. We're very proud of you Rockwell and love you very much!

Rockwell passed his driver's permit test on the first try. Yay!! I realized I haven't put a picture on here of our new (to us) blue Camry, so I told him to pose in front of the car he'll be driving. Our previous Camry was hit in the parking lot at the high school, and the guy's insurance totaled it. We were really bummed and wish they would have fixed it. We've had that Camry basically our entire marriage and it was going to be the perfect car for the kids to drive. It was frustrating to have to buy a new car, especially so soon after buying the Rav4. This Camry seems like a good one though.

Rockwell's shoes were delivered from his birthday shopping trip with Grandma Clark. Paul and I were very surprised to see that he had ordered Lightning McQueen crocks. Haha! Apparently it's a thing on the track team and a number of them have some. He pulled out some Spiderman sunglasses that a few of them bought in Idaho too. :) Looking good Rock!

Damon competed in Battle of the Books last week. He was on a team with Jacob, Rome, and Tre. I was so glad his team came to my room this year for one of the rounds so I could see him compete! They did great, and he had fun participating with his friends.

Grant moved back to Idaho last weekend and Rockwell is so sad about it. The Freshmen Boys had one last "epic hangout" before he left. They rode their bikes to Harmon's and ate sushi, had a sweet tart rope eating contest, hung out at Grant's, and then went to Provo Beach Resort. I brought them home from Provo Beach, and it was so fun to hear them talk and laugh on the way home. They're hilarious, and I know they're all going to miss Grant so much.