Byron's Summer Adventures

Byron spent a week at Hill Air force Base attending STARBASE a science and engineering camp. 

Bill Schuffaur, Olympic Silver medalist in Bobsled let him try on his medal.  

The same week was the Miss Utah pagent so we got to have cousins at our house.  We got to play with Wyler for a couple of evenings, 2 of which were snail wrangling parties at the park.

Saturday was the Kids Adventure Race.  Byron and his friend October entered as the team "Heroes of the Village" and Darin was a hero by volunteering at the event.

We got to ride a Gondola up to the race area.

Lots of time to play around before and after the event since Darin was given the very last obstacle to be in charge of.  We were there until the very last participants went through.

Soren was dying to try the Giant Slip N Slide so we had him put on Byron's gear and Darin let him go down...thats the kind of perks you get for volunteering (and a T-shirt).

Byron and October were all smiles at the finish line! They had a great time again this year and are fully on board for next year!

Byron received the most exciting gift a 12 year old can get from a friend/neighbor....SO MANY FIREWORKS!

He took Archery with friends again this year and loved it.

He also had tennis twice a week at 12:30 in the afternoon, until it became so hot we switched to once a week and picked the day that had the coolest temps. No photos because it was too damn hot. He kept up with piano, finished one and half Fred math books, practiced Chinese on week days, read many graphic novels, and we held a weekly Dungeons and Dragons game day at our house where he was the DM. 

He worked hard mowing the lawn, and doing other chores all summer to achieve his long time wish of  adopting a bird.

After many trips to Roni's, we finally found the perfect fit, and if all goes well we will be adopting Sunny a green cheeked pineapple conure. Byron is nervous, but has done his research, and is ready to take on this next challenge.

First Adventure Weekend

We all made "19 Things for Summer 19" lists this year.  Each of the kids had "play with cousins" or "swim at the Desert Wave Pool" in Price as one of their items.  So we made that happen. There was an accident in the canyon so after waiting in traffic for a while I decided we should turn back to spend the evening in Helper.

It just happened to be one of Helper's "First Fridays" where the art gallaries are open and you can meet the artists.  The city hosts silly events (like bed races), you can pay the Helper Police Department and Fire Department to arrest someone (as a joke of course).  Helper is the quirky gem I think everyone should visit.

Finally made it to the cabin and settled in for the next 2 days.

The first day Darin, Miriam and I rode our bikes into town and visited the Scofield cemetery.  

The next day we took a hike up on top of the mountain to see the abandoned school bus. 

I think it was driven up there on purpose as a deer hunt rest spot.

Such a fun hike, but we found ticks on our clothing so we had to strip down and check all over to make sure we weren't bitten.  I am super proud of the fact that I did the tick removing.

Darin and Miriam went on a daddy daughter bike ride from the cabin over Skyline drive to Starvation where the boys and I picked them up on Highway 6.
This girl is getting to be tough as nails!

Summer

We hit Summer running.  Soren had his Orange Belt Testing.  Having Taekwondo class at 3:30 in the afternoon on Summer days is not easy....but we are pressing forward.

Caring Cousins Summer of Service!

Our first get together was to do yard work for Now I Can.

Byron successfully graduated from Starbase a Science and Engineering camp from the Department of Defense. 

He said it was like school at first, but quickly warmed up to it when they started doing rockets and egg drops.

Hello Summer!

The last week of school started off with Memorial Day.  We met some of our Drewes cousins in Salt Lake to decorate graves and ran into Uncle Ray and some Gee cousins!

Uncle Ray shared some fun stories and we shared some photos we had brought.

The next few days were a blur of talent shows, field trips, yearbook signing, and of course Field Day!

Both of Byron's teachers were retiring this year. Husbands of those teachers put together a red carpet send off.  The kids arrived early and stood next to a red carpet waving flags as classic cars dropped off their teachers. 

Neighborhood bubble/pool party!!

I have no photos of our Jr. High graduate except for the poster I created for the 9th grade breakfast.

They had a teacher student soft ball game, Lagoon Day, and then the breakfast/dance/year book signing party.

LPA Spring Ballroom Comp

The last comp of the season was super angsty.  At this point Miriam felt like she had to uphold her reputation among her peers...it's silly really when you think about it, because competitions are so subjective but still, those doubts and worries creep in. Emotions were just running high! 

She calmed her nerves by dancing with little kids in the audience whenever there was free dance time. I think it was a fantastic coping strategy.

In the end all her hard work did pay off!  

She and Max took first in Samba

She had Logan took first in Jive (although the award says Swing)

She and Brayden took first in Foxtrot

No photo but she and Micha took first in V. Waltz

The most exciting award was when she was awarded Top Female Dancer! She really really wanted this one, and she worked and worked for it!

Logan was awarded Top Male Dancer.

Everything really, truly came to an end at the Ballroom Banquet.

Miriam gets to have a plaque up on the wall with some of her favorite people from past years. 

She was awarded Female Ballroom Dancer of the Year. 

Because I drove her to so many early morning practices, and so many lessons I know she earned this one.  She worked with other kids on their dances, she was there for every practice, every event, every competition.  I will miss this team and I KNOW she will miss them.