1. Lia successfully juggled seminary, school, and homework with a XC and track season, on top of being in three plays (Bye Bye Birdie and the one-acts at her high school and Mean Girls at NWTL) while continuing with her 10-month commitment as a company member in Matilda. In addition, she officially started high school at a school that we waivered her into which meant she only knew a handful of friends from running and church which made the transition pretty difficult and lonely for most of the year. Since she was waivered into this school, there was no bus to take her to and from our house, so it required a lot of extra driving for Ron and me to get her to and from school on the other side of town each day until she started driving herself the beginning of March. In addition, Lia got her driver's license which was no small feet on top of everything else this year. Taking her Driver's Ed class, completing her drives with the school, passing two written exams and one driving exam, and logging in 50 hours of driving with Ron and me was a massive undertaking. But, Lia did it. She made it through this busy school year, passed her second year of seminary, and earned straight As both semesters. She is a rock star and I am amazed at how she managed it all.
2. Although Logan was not nearly as busy as Lia, he successfully navigated his first year in the Quest program as one of only three new students. He quickly grew to love his teacher and his classmates in a wonderful, positive, and respectful classroom environment. He managed to qualify for all four Page classes (Math, English, History, and Science) next year at his junior high which is quite an accomplishment considering the fact that he just joined the Quest program this year. Logan played soccer in the fall and basketball in the winter, and ran on two different track teams this spring in addition to taking his last two sessions of swim lessons before graduating from the Red Cross swim program in May. Logan also attended his weekly chess club activity and his weekly YM activities starting in January. He is still the biggest reader around and read a countless number of books this year. He won an award today in class for being the student with the most AR points (which are earned after taking a comprehension test after every single book he read).
3. With the exception of having seminary and homework in her life, Ella was just as busy as her older sister this year. She practiced and competed at Level 3 with her gymnastics team which required her to practice 12 hours each week. She also participated in two plays at NWTL (The Knight at Dawn in the fall and Annie in the winter) on top of her 10-month commitment as a company member in Matilda. From the beginning of September until the end of March, Ella had either gymnastics or play practice every day after school, Monday through Friday, and then both gymnastics and play practice on Saturdays. It only slowed down in April when we decided to take a break and not have her participate in a spring play. At the beginning of June, we learned that Ella had moved up to the Level 4 team at her gym which is a huge accomplishment. She is now practicing four times a week for a total of 16 hours. As a result, we decided to have her take a break from theater this coming year. I explained to Ella that she can always take a break from theater, but that she really cannot take a break from competitive gymnastics and return to this sport at a later date. Since Ella absolutely loved being a part of NWTL and performing in three plays this year, she will dearly miss it, but also understands that she can always come back to theater when she decides to quit competitive gymnastics for good.
4. Emmett attended Prek class three mornings a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays this school year. He also played on a fall and spring, indoor soccer team and absolutely loved it! From January to June, he also went to swim lessons and gymnastics class at the YMCA on Tuesday mornings and took swim lessons on Saturdays in the spring at Lia's high school with Logan. He absolutely loved going to preschool three times a week and dominated at soccer both seasons. After some reservations from last school year, he slowly came to enjoy swim lessons and loved being in his gymnastics class from day #1. I also started working on the Kindergarten reading program with Emmett back in March and tried to read with him five days a week while the older children were at school, and he has made great progress in three months. Emmett is a very social, athletic, intelligent boy who is very ready for Kindergarten and I think he will totally thrive in school when he begins in the fall.
5. Due to the all of the reasons mentioned above, it is obvious to see why this school year was so busy for me. In addition, I had some health problems that also made it more challenging. I have suffered from sleep issues for two school years now which left me very exhausted a few days a week all school year long. I also completely passed out for several minutes back in November after getting up in the early morning to go to the bathroom. After being unconscious for several minutes, Ron was able to wake me up. Although I was examined by a team of firemen and paramedics less than 30 minutes later in my bedroom (which was more than embarrassing), I saw my doctor and received an echocardiogram a few months later and nothing was found wrong with me. I honestly just think that I collapsed from pure exhaustion. In addition, I was hit by two cars this year--a hit and run in October and an accident at a Stop sign just minutes from my house in March (which the person then blamed on me 15 days after it occurred). Since I have had chronic back issues since my 20s, both accidents reinjured my back. Luckily, my back healed in less than 6 weeks after the hit and run in October which I was so grateful for. However, I was not so lucky after the second accident near my house this spring. My back is still really bad three months later, and I sadly had to start doing physical therapy every night before I go to bed. It has helped a little bit, but I still cannot bend over without experiencing pain. In addition to juggling all of my children's needs and dealing with health issues all year long, I babysat a friend's baby part-time every week to help pay for Ella's gymnastics bills. I will honestly say that it was the worst job I have had in my life as it was so challenging juggling a 1.5 and then 2-year old with everything else I had going on. I watched Ellie during the worst time of her childhood when she was old enough to be fully mobile, but had zero common sense, was into everything, and wasn't potty trained. Dealing with her tantrums, massive dirty diapers, and the overall challenges of lugging a baby-turned-toddler throughout my busy day was enough to almost kill me. It also meant that I rarely had any time to myself as I had to babysit her on many of the mornings when Emmett was in preschool. Needless to say, I am so relieved that this school year is over. Although I am so happy for all of the wonderful ways that my children grew and progressed and for all that they learned and accomplished, I am so grateful that next school year will be different with Lia driving, Emmett in school full-time, and never having to babysit someone else's child for pay ever again. Here's to hoping that the 2024 to 2025 school year will be a bit easier!
Lia on her last day of school as a 10th grader today.
Ella, Logan, and Emmett all lined up and ready to go to the school for the last time this year.
Logan on his last day of 6th grade and his final day as an elementary school student. Sniff.
Ella on her last day of 4th grade.
Ella and Logan armed with their teacher gifts and ready to walk across the field to their school for the last time this year.
Since it was Logan's last day of elementary school, I had to get a picture of him and Ella walking off the bus for the final time.
Logan and Ella walking towards me while Emmett jumps up on the sidewalk. I just love the action shot that I unintentionally got of him. It perfectly sums up his active and go-getter personality.
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