Backyard Project

We finally did it. We got rid of all the grass in our backyard. We also installed a new fence, so it was a whole backyard makeover. We love love love the final product!!

Before

After

We put in a stone patio on the right side of the deck.

Matt and Emilie took the kids swimming at their apartment and then up the canyon for dinner and s'mores one night. The kids had so much fun! While they were gone, Paul and I went shopping for flowers for the 7 pots we have on the patio. We found some that hummingbirds like and were able to get them all planted before the kids got home. It has worked!! We've seen hummingbirds back in our yard and it makes us so happy!

The stone goes all the way behind the deck and the hot tub.

And on the left side of the deck, we put in artificial turf.

We've all loved the changes. It's so nice to be rid of all the mud that used to be everywhere outside. The turf is very soft and easy to care for and we're just so happy to have it all done!

Cross Country

Rockwell has loved being on the cross country team this year! He has great friends on the team and has really learned to love running. It's been a great experience for him.

 His first meet was at View Point, and it was a challenging course. Most of it was on cement and a lot of it was uphill. He did awesome and finished with a 13:39. (They run a 2-mile course.)

He took 8th overall, and 5th for the eighth grade boys! He was excited to earn a medal. :)

It was fun to race against Vincent!!

Sadly, I had to miss the second meet, but Rockwell did awesome at that one too. He finished with a 13:17. Great improvement!

The third meet was at Vista Heights, and Rock really pushed himself. 

He was determined to beat 13 minutes.

 He finished 5th overall and 5th for the 8th grade boys since all top 5 finishers were eighth graders. :)

 He was so disappointed to see his time as 13:27. It turns out all the boys were super disappointed with their times and didn't know how they all got slower times when they felt like they had a much faster pace than the previous two meets. So one of the coaches ran the course and found out it was actually 2.15 miles. He gave all the boys a formula to figure out their best estimates for 2 miles, and Rockwell's time was actually right around 12:34. That sure made him happy!!

The next meet was at Frontier.

Rockwell finished with a time of 12:41 and came in 10th for 8th grade boys. He was happy with his time!

Rock qualified for the District Championship Meet at Art Dye Park the next week. He was really pumped to race with the best of the best from the whole district. Since there were so many athletes competing, they split these races up by grades. 

I was bummed I missed catching the picture I wanted here. When Paul and I walked up to the start line, the 8th grade boys all had their arms around each other in a circle and were saying a prayer together. What studs these boys are!

The 8th grade boys ran a great race. They took 2nd place as a team!

Rockwell finished with a time of 12:14!!! He placed 21 out of 91 runners. He had an amazing finish. He pushed so hard at the end and passed a lot of boys in that last stretch. Way to go with your first season of Cross Country Rockwell!!! You did awesome!

He had fun cheering on the rest of the kids from his school. 

On Drew's birthday, the team ran to his grave and put some balloons on it. I sure appreciate that they continue to do a lot of meaningful things to remember Drew.

I'm grateful for the good times Rockwell is able to have with this team and for his coaches who make it a positive experience for these kids.

Everyday Adventures

 Tessa was so excited to go to Classic for Alyssa's birthday party.

She loved rollerblading, which reminded Rockwell and me that we love rollerblading too. :) So I took the kids rollerblading on the Murdock Canal trail the next day. We had to go down a little hill to get from our car to the trail, and I thought it was so sweet that Rockwell offered Tessa his hand since she was nervous about going too fast.

We stopped for a little rest at the Lindon Temple site.

Rockwell enjoyed showing us some of the places he runs with the cross country team. It was a really fun afternoon.

Brian Moncur took our young women class rappelling in Rock Canyon. It was quite a hike and climb to get up to the Cougar Den, but the girls rocked it.

The views were gorgeous!

I went down first so I could hold the ropes as the girls came down, and then belay when they climbed back up. It made me nervous to not have anyone holding the ropes for me, but after the initial step off I felt fine after that. The girls absolutely loved this activity! It was fun to watch them having so much fun.

We stayed until it was raining and too dark to see anymore. :) The deacons had gone kayaking at Deer Creek that night and Brother Brittner sent us this cool picture he took at the reservoir.

Paul and I went to Jonah's football game at Provo High. He's the kicker this year, and he's doing awesome! It was fun to watch him.

Our kids loved getting to hang out with Hallee and Wyatt while we went to the game.

Damon has been wanting to get a job for a while now. He was hired for a couple little jobs over the summer like weeding and watering for the Martial's while they were out of town, but he really wants to keep working and making money. One day while we were eating breakfast he said, "Mom, can I take that class at church?" I asked what class he was talking about and he said, "You know, the one they talked about in Sacrament meeting. Where you can learn how to get a job." It clicked that he was talking about the Self Reliance classes that our church sponsors. I thought that was the cutest thing!! I love that he wants to work. It's hard to find jobs for an 8-year-old though. :) Roxanne texted a few days later asking if Rockwell would have interest in being hired to stain her swingset. Rockwell is very busy with school, cross country, mowing lawns, and church responsibilities and activities right now so he wasn't interested. I asked Roxanne how she would feel about hiring Damon if I did it with him and taught him how to stain it. She was great with that, and Damon was thrilled to get a job! :)

I was so impressed with Damon the whole 4 hours it took to stain all the wood. He didn't complain, and he stuck with it until everything was finished.

We put on some music and worked hard in the heat all afternoon.

It looked great when it was finished, and Damon loved getting his paycheck. :) Way to work hard Damon!! We're very proud of you!

Tessa went to Clear Creek this week. It's a day camp that the 5th graders get to go to. She was gone for over 12 hours, and absolutely loved it. They got to hike, dissect owl pellets, play games, do team-building activities, roast hot dogs and s'mores, and all sorts of things. Hillary went to help and sent me this cute picture of Tess, Opal, and Evie.