Around Our House

We finally got some snow!!! It has been a super warm, super dry winter so getting a few inches of snow was very exciting! Damon and Tristan went sledding after school and had a blast. 

I was making dinner one night, and Rockwell was sitting at the counter getting his RC car fixed up and working again. The boys take these to play with at Simplot. He was doing laundry before his trip, and so he was wearing his turkey onesie. It felt so reminiscent of when Rockwell was little and would always be right by me when I cooked dinner. If I squinted hard enough, I could almost see 4-year-old Rockwell driving his remote-control car across the counter, wearing his onesie pajamas. It was a fun little moment for me.

Damon finished his 6v6 league with Salt City Boys. He played great! Paul and I enjoyed watching him.

The ward did an animal show for their youth activity one night. Tessa got to hold an owl and a big snake!

Marissa and Cleo came to town for a weekend trip. They stayed with us Sunday night and we loved visiting with Marissa and playing with baby Cleo.

Rockwell and Damon have made many trips to Maverick since Rockwell got his driver's license. They're so cute!

Damon was Student of the Month in February.

Miss Jarvis wrote, "Damon is recognized for his outstanding work ethic, willingness to help his classmates, and remarkable resilience when facing challenges." I love love love that Damon has become so resilient when facing challenges. That was a struggle for him for many years, especially at school. He has been working hard at becoming more resilient, and I love that he is now so much better at dealing with hard things when they come. Great job Damon Boy!!!

Pre-Season Track Meets: Peaks Ice Arena & Simplot

 Rockwell ran the 800m at the Peaks Ice Arena. This was his first meet since his EILO diagnosis and the first time he used his new breathing techniques. He stayed with the front half of the pack.

He was able to break away in the final stretch and pass a bunch of guys to finish 3rd in his heat. It was awesome to see him be able to kick at the end again!

And the most exciting part was that he could smile and talk with Jody after he crossed the finish line. He was breathing hard for sure, but could actually talk! In the past, he was doubled over or on the ground, unable to breathe or talk. I could see a big difference and I loved it!!!

He tied for 37th overall with a time of 2:04.48. Well done Rockwell!

Rockwell was so excited for Simplot Games at Idaho State University! He loves the travel meets. This track is wooden so you can't wear spikes, it's 200m instead of 400m, and it's elevated on the turns. It's not really a great PR meet or anything, but the team sure has fun at it!

He ran a mixed 4x400 relay with Luke, Elsa and Kimmie. They finished in 4:03.85 and love that they hold the school record. They choose not to mention that they're the first ones to ever do a mixed relay. Haha! :)

He also ran the 800m and finished in 2:06.07. He had a blast!

Pinnacles Peak Meet

Tessa was excited for another gymnastics meet. She said she needed to get the beam routine out of her head from the last meet. Level 5 and Level 2 competed in the same session and it was cute to see the little girls there too.

Arete started on floor again and Tessa looked good!

Vault was good too. 

Her bars routine looked good. She stuck the landing! Tessa's pretty sure the judge looked down when she dismounted because she didn't give her the 9.5 start value for her dismount. Whoops!

Tessa tried back walkovers in practice again after the last meet and she said she was even more terrified. The fear seems to just be crushing her, so she chose to learn a whole new skill instead. She's been working on learning a round-off and competed that instead.

She doesn't quite have it yet, but that's okay! She has been so much happier since working on this skill, and that has been great for her. 

She took 3rd on vault with a 9.15

2nd on bars with a 9.0

6th on beam with a 9.2

3rd on floor with a 9.4

(They were running behind and the guy announcing the medals didn't wait for everyone to receive theirs before saying, "Gymnasts salute." The girls felt so rushed. It did not make for the best pictures. Haha)

And 4th All-Around with 36.75

Way to go Tessa!!!

Rockwell's 16th Birthday

 Rockwell is 16!!!! He wanted to do his birthday dinner Sunday night. Vince came over for steak tacos.

Monday was his birthday and it was President's Day so he had the day off school. He was very happy to not have school, but so disappointed that the DMV was closed! He wanted his driver's license so bad and was frustrated to have to wait even a day to get it.

Paul made crepes for breakfast when Rockwell woke up.

Rockwell met up with his friends at Provo Beach Resort and spent the afternoon there.

He opened presents when he got home.

Tessa and Damon both got him Sweet Tart Ropes.

He was excited for an upgraded phone.

And he loved some new books.

Joe stopped by that evening with a fresh loaf of bread for Rockwell that he had baked himself. That meant so much to Rockwell! It was delicious!

That night he wanted to watch The Office and eat cherry chocolate chip ice cream.

I checked him out of school Tuesday morning to go to the DMV. He was so excited to finally, officially get his license!!

He dropped me off at home and then drove himself to school. Well, apparently to McDonald's first, and then to school. Haha! 

Rockwell is doing great in school, even though he despises homework and studying. He has great friends in his classes and on the cross country/track team. Hanging out with his friends is his favorite thing to do right now, and we love that they hang out at our house sometimes. 

Rockwell loves running still and is SO excited that we have figured out his breathing issues. He was diagnosed with Exercise-Induced Laryngeal Obstruction, which means Rockwell's vocal cords involuntarily close when he exercises. This restricts his airway and makes it so he can't get the breath/oxygen he needs. I took him to a pulmonologist who was so great and listened to everything that he's been experiencing, and then referred him to a Speech Pathologist to see if he had EILO. The test was miserable for Rockwell, poor kid. He ran hard on a treadmill until he started having the symptoms, and then Dr Houtz put a camera up his nose and down into his larynx so he could see what was happening. He confirmed that yes, Rockwell does have EILO. He said that was really good news though, because he knows how to train the larynx to do what it should. He has taught Rockwell breathing techniques that open up his larynx, and Rockwell has been practicing and using them while he runs. He has felt so much better and we are all so relieved to know what is happening. It's been really hard to watch Rockwell over the past (almost) year and know something is wrong, but not have any answers. His coach Koy told us that Rockwell has seemed like a different kid at track practice this season. He said he can complete workouts that he just couldn't do last year, and he can see that Rockwell is feeling much better. Rockwell has been so sweet and thanked me many times for taking him to all the dr appointments and sticking with this to figure it out. He said it's really important to him, and he wanted me to know how much he appreciates all we did to get him the help he needed.

Rockwell's favorite show right now is The Office. As soon as Tessa and Damon are in bed each night, we'll watch a couple episodes with him. He loves to have a bowl of ice cream while we watch, preferably cherry chocolate chip. :)

Happy 16th birthday Rockwell!! We sure love love love you!!!