Claire's 9th Birthday

July 9th

Claire turned 9 years old on July 9th. Our Virginia baby isn't much of a baby anymore. Claire is a kid's kid. She enjoys playing with friends, cuddling with her stuffed animals, twisting her hair when she's tired, a good game of tether ball, games on her tablet, EATING, board games, and wearing dresses. She is also very intelligent and fun to be around.  She keeps us on our toes and keeps me busy. This year she really didn't want a party. She just wanted to hang out with her Aunt Jill, pick out a cake, and go to a movie. We had a great time celebrating her.

Birthday lunch with Grandpa!

4th of July 2017

We had a great 4th of July this year. The Davis family was in town. We decided to go down to Mission Bay for the 4th and hang out all day until the fireworks show that night. We spent 12hrs. at the beach! Most of us had a sunburn to show for it, especially Jill. We had a lot of fun. We rented a 6 seater bike, barbecued, attempted to fly kites, played in the water, and braved the porta potties. :) It's definitely one we'll remember.

Summer Vacation

As soon as Bruce's 8th grade promotion ended we hit the road! 

Our first stop was Tuscon, AZ where we were able to attend the Tuscon, AZ Temple open house. 

This is the 3rd temple open house that we've been able to attend.

The kids enjoyed a warm night of swimming with bats flying overhead.

The next day we entered New Mexico! I hadn't been back to NM since Bruce was a baby. 

Our first stop was Carlsbad Caverns. We hiked in at it was so awesome. 

We headed to Albuquerque after that for the next few days.

The first day we drove around and took pictures of all of the houses I lived in growing up. 

(minus the house in Santa Fe and Corralles)

Day 2 was spent in Old Town Albuquerque and then a ride up a tram with a nature hike on top.

Day 3 we swam at the hotel, saw the Albuquerque Temple and had a visit with my cousin, Natalie.

We went to the zoo on our last day.

And I can't forget to mention all of the great food we had.

It was so nice to get away and for the kids to finally be able to see where their mom grew up. 

We were all ready to come home at the end. 

7th Grade - Check! 3rd Grade - Check!

Linda worked so hard in 7th grade. She set high goals and achieved them. At her awards she received an award for 4.0 GPA, Outstanding work in Humanities, and for reading over a million words! 

We're very proud of her!

Claire had a good 3rd grade year. She learned so much and really enjoyed her teacher and friends. Claire's teacher said she was funny, sweet, and a  joy to be around. We agree.

So Long Middle School!

The other night Bruce had his 8th grade awards. Bruce got awards for having straight A's through all three years of middle school. He also received the award for reading the most words out of the entire school, for the second year in a row. His Computer Programming teacher gave him a special award and preceded it by saying how impressed he was with Bruce's programming abilities. He said Bruce could go down to Apple or QualComm right now and get a job.He also got an award in Humanities.

The next day was his actual graduation ceremony. He did it! He survived his middle school years. Unreal! He is ready. He struggled the first few weeks of 6th grade then after that he soared. He is happy to have made a lot of good friends, a lot of which will go to the same high school as him. Bruce is a great student but even a better young man. We couldn't be any prouder. On to new adventures in high school!
                                              Bruce with his grandma, cousin, and friends.

You're looking at a Freshman!

First & Last Day of Middle - Bruce

Bruce attended Lincoln Middle School for all three years.

He started out at 5' 0" and finished up at 5' 11"!