Quinceanera

Paul and Rockwell minister to the Arnold family in our ward. They were visiting at their house one day and Sister Arnold asked Rockwell if he would dance in Jade's Quinceanera. To our surprise, Rockwell said he would be happy to. They have 14 couples dance to represent the 14 years of Jade's life before her 15th birthday. They met every Friday night for months to learn and practice a Salsa and a Waltz. All the kids except Matthew (also from our ward) go to Maeser Prep Academy, but Rockwell fit right in with them on the first night. They're all really nice, fun kids.

The big day finally came, and all the kids looked so nice!! They met at our church at 3:00 where the limos picked them up. They went to Nielson's Grove to take pictures, and then the limos took them to the event center for their big entrance. They had so much fun in the limos!!

Paul and I got "dressed to impress" like the invitation said, and headed over at 5:00.

The Court of Honor arrived around 5:30 and the party began! Jade was presented by her parents, and then given her last toy by her mom. Then her dad changed out her flat shoes to her first pair of high heels. It's symbolic of Jade officially changing from a child to a young woman. 

Jade had her first dance in her high heels with each member of her family, and then the 14 couples, plus Jade and her partner danced their waltz. People had prepared toasts, and her dad sang a song that he wrote for her. It was very sweet.

After that, dinner was served. We all ate and visited for a while before the next part of the presentation started. Jade's little brother Joshua loves Rockwell!! He followed him around all night. :)

The kids performed their salsa dance after dinner, and they all did such a great job! It was really fun to see Rockwell dance!

There was a surprise show by some Bolivian dancers, and then the rest of the night was a dance party. 

I'd say the dance party started a little after 8:00, and Paul and I lasted until about 9:00. It was really fun to watch everyone party. Rockwell was having so much fun dancing with all these new friends he's made, but Paul and I were very tired so we told him to call us when he was ready to come home. He stayed dancing and partying until 11:30. That was a long day for him!! He said that was the best party he's ever been to in his life though. It was a sacrifice for him to go to practice every Friday night for months (the Arnold's were so grateful for the sacrifice all these kids made for Jade, and expressed that beautifully throughout their toasts), but he's very happy that he was asked to participate and that he chose to say yes. He said he enjoyed getting to know Jade better, he loves the new friends he made, and he doesn't know if any party will ever live up to this quinceanera. :) They sure do know how to throw a party!!

Cross Country

The team was running up Provo Canyon for practice one day, and Rockwell asked his friends if they wanted to see a cool waterfall he knew about. They ran up to Upper Falls and his friends thought it was awesome. They ran back down to get Luke's phone so they could take pictures of it, and ran back up again. They definitely got their hills in for the day!! That trail is so steep!

After they took plenty of flexing pictures (haha!), they ran back down and met up with the rest of the team who were jumping into the river (in a safe place that they know of). No wonder Rockwell loves cross country so much!! They sure know how to make hard work fun!

They had the Park City meet. I've heard about the dreaded Park City meet, and I can see what people are talking about now. It was mostly on a dirt trail, so they can't wear their spikes. They run through the mountains, so spectators can't really see where they go. A girl named Ella from the team told me "the first mile is big hills, the second is rolling hills, and the last is some of both. So basically you're on some kind of hill the whole time." 

Rockwell ran the JV race.

Here he is coming in from the mountains.

They do a lap around the park to get to the finish line. I love seeing Coach Palmer (Rock's coach from Oak Canyon track last year) cheering him on. :)

He was very pleased to still PR by 1 second at the Park City meet! He took 7th place out of 110 boys, with a time of 18:41.5

They medaled out 10 places for each race. Timpanogos boys took 5 of the top 10 spots in the JV race! That was really exciting!

He sure loves his cross country friends!

Great job at a tough meet Rockwell!!

The next meet was Border Wars. This was another huge one with schools from 3 different states. They ran a Freshman race this time.

The course was nice and grassy and flat, but it was also not a true 5K. I think the total distance was 2.8 miles instead of 3.1 miles. That makes it hard to count your time as a PR. But it was fun for the kids to see super low times too. :)

Rockwell's finish was amazing!! There was a kid a good distance in front of him as he came into view in the final stretch. You could see both of them giving it their absolute all. Rockwell passed him right with his last step across the finish line! It was amazing!! 

A lady was there handing out medals to the top 10 finishers, and Rockwell got the 10th medal. It was a really exciting finish!

This picture makes me laugh. Grant's mom wanted a picture of the Freshman boys, and I happened to capture one, but I don't think this is what she was meaning. :) We have Rockwell, Grant, and Luke......and Caleb throwing up in the trash can. Haha! Poor kid, he's one that throws up after every race.

There, that's a better picture of the Freshman boys!!

Rockwell finished in 16:10.84 and took 10th place out of 192 boys.

We had to rush home as soon as Rockwell caught his breath so he could be ready in time for Jade's Quinceanera.

Rockwell told us that Jody talked to the whole team about Rockwell at practice on Monday. He said that everyone should be finishing their races the way Rockwell finished his on Saturday. He said Rockwell passed 5 boys in front of him in the final hundred yards or so, to earn that 10th place medal. He didn't just choose to be happy with his own PR and finish the race at the same pace. He said he competed to win, and that's the way he wants everyone to finish their races. That made Rockwell feel so good!! He loved getting that praise from his coach.

Labor Day Campout

We all met at Grandma & Gramps' house and set up our tents for the annual campout!

The kids were so excited to find new swings hung up in the trees.

Coolest Grandma ever!

We could hear Hayden and Rockwell laughing from all over the yard all night. I loved hearing that!

We roasted hot dogs for dinner and the adults visited around the fire while the kids played all around the yard all night long. :)

Breakfast was delicious in the morning, and the kids got right back to playing with their cousins. 

We played Skull King and then headed over to the Call Farm to see their new kittens.

They have two different litters of kittens and the kids were in heaven getting to hold them.

We never get much sleep at the campout, so the kids got some good naps on the way home. :)