1. Took 5th place at the State Forensics competition held at Wayne State, in the "Multiple" category. Forensics, believe it or not, means "an in depth study of" and not "crime scene investigation." In this case, she performed an in depth study of drama, in a sketch from Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
2. Loved running in Yellowstone with her dad, early enough in the morning to hear a pack of wolves howling in the distance.
3. Turned 13 (a teenager at last!) and got a cell phone and now spends a good chunk of her earnings on buying more minutes to text her friends.
4. Grew taller than Mom.
5. Got the part of Ado Annie in the middle school's play Oklahoma. She had lots of fun practicing and performing with her friends and her cousin.
1. Saved his mowing and trimming money to buy a Lego Mindstorm.
2. Has loved being on the 5th grade Lego League team. Competition is on December 7th.
3. Screwed his courage to the sticking place and rode the new roller coaster, the Gate Keeper, at Cedar Point. For someone who doesn't like heights, this was his favorite roller coaster ever.
4. Turns 11 on December 14th and FINALLY graduates to boy scouts. He'll be able to go on overnighters-including the Polar Bear this year.
5. Bought a sling shot in Yellowstone and keeps it in his toolbox.
1. Was tall enough to ride the big coasters at Cedar Point his year and rode the Millennium Force with Dad.
2. Jumped on the trampoline.
3. Braved 9 degree wind-chill to watch the BYU vs. Notre Dame football game. Coldest Notre Dame home game in 22 years.
4. Went with the family to adopt our kitten, Luna, at the pet shelter.
5. Participated in his first triathlon: the Tri-Kids-Try. It consists of one lap of the pool, a 2 mile bike ride, and a half mile run. He just barely graduated to a big boy bike right before the race and didn't even crash.
1. Rode Splash Mountain at Disney Land at the age of 3--not once but twice. He politely requested not to ride it anymore after that.
2. Started preschool at Peace Lutheran.
3. Learned to write his name all by himself.
4. Loved going to Gramma Paula's and Grandpa's house in Utah.
5. Played with his cousin, Asher.
Emily
1. Fulfilled a dream of going to Disney Land on Mother's Day with no diaper bag and no stroller. My reward for potty training the children. No more diapers!
2. In Yellowstone, after a long hot day of hiking around the Old Faithful geyser basin, we happened to go by Castle Geyser when it was going off. We were all hot, sweaty, and thirsty and the wind blew a wonderful mist over the boardwalk. I just stood there with my arms out, getting drenched, and loving every second of it.
3. I get three hours to myself every day now that Jarom is in preschool and everyone else is at school.
4. Got hooked on BYU Men's Volleyball. Can't wait for the new season to start.
5. Going to lunch with Matt whenever he's not working. Most of our dates consist of a meal and wandering around Lowe's afterwards.
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Matt
1. Ran his first marathon and beat his goal time.
2. Won the Midwest Medwars with his boss and brother, Jon.
3. Went up north to Pictured Rocks with the boy scouts.
4. Loved taking Elyse and Paul skiing around Michigan.
5. Turned 40.
