Tag is Sienna's math tutor. One day they were playing school and Tag was the teacher and Sienna was doing her math homework. Tag helped her with every problem with the white board.
James got asked to Sadie's with his friend Abbie. He loved going with a friend and having friends in his group! The theme of Sadie's was "Dynamic Duos." He and Abbie went as Wesley and Princess Buttercup.
I found his shirt and belt at D.I. I found his head bandana at Walmart. Lynnlee made his eye mask with a strip of black fabric.
Marshall is Kade's Deacon's leader and he planned a mega temple trip for all of the young men. They did this last year with the temples south of us. This year it covered temples north of us. They left to Rexburg right after school on Friday. They had an appointment around 8:30pm to do baptisms. Then they drove to Idaho Falls and stayed the night at a family member's house.
James went to a college race with his teammate and friend, Miles. James got to see all of the famous BYU runners. He even got a picture with Kenneth Rooks and Clayton Young.
I had the opportunity to attend a training with Sister Runia, first counselor in the young women's general presidency and Brother Dixon, second counselor in the young men's general presidency. It was seriously the best training. They were so fun, kept our attention, told stories, used analogies, and seemed so down to earth. I have enjoyed my calling and serving with my presidency. They are amazing women! We have about one more year to go. We asked the stake presidency if we could stay in for one more stake YW camp. This calling has helped me grow as a person more than any other calling I've had. My confidence has increased, my faith has strengthened and I know that I can do all things through Christ. Things that seem daunting, scary, or beyond my capabilities, I've been able to accomplish. I'm excited for my last year in this calling.
James had the privilege of being a captain on the cross country team this year. He is a great leader and I was so happy he could have an opportunity to develop his leadership skills.
We had the banquet this past week. We took another picture of Austin, Miles, and James. I explained this in the post about state XC but these three have been running together since 7th grade when their team won Alpine Days. It is so fun to see their progress! Miles placed 2nd at state and James placed 12th. Austin ran state after battling cancer for a year so it is truly remarkable that he is running again.
There have been a lot of beautiful skies in the last month. I love these colors so much!
We got discount tickets to Pinners from Drawn In which is the guy's videos we watch for our Come Follow Me lessons. Lynnlee's friends came too as well and Sienna's friend Flora. I stayed with Sienna and her friend. Lynnlee and her friends split from us and went at their own pace. Pinners filled the whole expo center. It was HUGE! I told the girls it was like Swiss Days on steroids. So Many Booths! We got through about 3/4 of the booths in 3 hours!
Lehi hosted an XC race on the track called the Wagon Wheel. It is a 5k done on the track which is a lot of laps! James was planning on racing until his hamstring started hurting a few days before the race. He was still planning on running until Friday night or Saturday morning when his coach said he didn't want him to run it. The coach said if anything he could run the JV race at a slower pace. James and I talked about it and decided that it would be better just to rest his hamstring and not run at all. It was a bummer but for the best. NXR (Nike Cross Country Regionals) is the third weekend of November so he needs to be recovered for that.
They recognized all of the seniors at the Wagon Wheel Race. We got to walk James on the field while they read about him. Marshall wrote a really nice tribute. This is what it said,
"It seems like James has been running since the day he was born. It has been awesome to see him find the joy of cross country and distance running since 7th grade. From winning Alpine Days that year to a 12th place finish at state, this senior year James has seen a lot of success as a runner. However, the race results don't compare to the successes he's gained as an individual. Thanks to the disciplined principles of running and the relationships he's had with coaches and teammates and even the competitors on the course, James has truly found joy that will take him far into the future. We'll miss seeing his big smile in races but look forward to seeing that same big smile in the races of life when he serves a mission and attends college."
Unfortunately our anniversary falls on the weekend of the hunt. This is something we didn't quite think about when we planned the date. I didn't know Marshall was a hunter. We are learning how to adjust and now we celebrate another time after the hunt is over. We went out to dinner to Outback Steakhouse. This has been a good place for me because they have a gluten free menu. The salmon is very good and I don't feel sick after.
After dinner we went to Dream Walk. It is at University Place. It is a fun place where you walk through imaginary worlds and sometimes it feels like you are on another planet. Sometimes it felt like a fairy land, and sometimes it felt like a spaceship. We did a scavenger hunt type of challenge and we had to use a black light to look for ghosts. It took us about an hour and a half. The walk is over a mile long. You have up to 2 hours to go through.
We've learned a lot and grown a lot in 20 years! So crazy to be to this point. I'm glad we could find a time to celebrate. We love each other and we will keep learning and growing together through all of the ups and downs.