2023 SHHS Lacrosse

And that's a wrap! Even though Danny only played 2 years, this was definitely his high school sport (and Dallin is admittedly a little envious because he wished SHHS would have had a lacrosse program when he was in high school). It has been so fun to watch Danny play (although this season was FREEZING!! I don't think I'll miss the spring sports next year). As parents, we could tell, just from his walk, what mood he was in...and who was going to get it! He played defensive midfield, and he was a force to be reckoned with. The game is fast paced and extremely engaging. Before his last home game, they recognized all 8 of the senior players on the team. It was a bittersweet moment. We have gone through a few "lasts" recently. They always come with mixed emotions, but the emotion that prevailed that night was excitement! They won their game 5-3 against our cross town rivals, Payson HS Lions. Overall, they've had a bit of a rough season, but they always fought hard. Here are just a few pictures from the season. Way to go Skyhawks!

Here are a few pictures taken from a student at SHHS on the field:

On Monday, May 22, the coaches hosted an end-of-season banquet for the team and their parents. Danny received a letter bar and was recognized for achieving honorable mention status for All Region. He poured his heart and soul into this season...and he went out on top.

All the senior boys

All those who lettered

All the boys receiving All Region recognition

2023 SHHS Prom

This is it. Danny's last high school dance! I can't believe it. In some ways, it felt like Danny's high school years would never end...and in some ways, it seems like just yesterday that he was that cute, toothless 2nd grader that I was blessed to call "son". It's crazy to think of all the "lasts" that we are now coming to. I shake my head in disbelief while my heart weeps a little at the ending of this chapter...but, as they say, Danny saved the best for last. I think this was funnest dance experience. Thanks, in part, to Amber and Jacob. They graciously volunteered to organize an Amazing Race-esque date for the entire group...and it wasn't a small group. There were 14 couples! They started at our house then raced through Provo and Orem as they completed tasks like earning $20, chugging a 2 liter bottle of soda, melting a block of ice, finding a statue at BYU campus, and sprinting to the finish line. (And also in true Danny fashion...his team won). 

The night of the dance, the group met up for pictures before heading to dinner at the Harvest. The dance was at a ballroom on UVU campus. They stayed long enough to get in a few dances before they made their way back to our house to watch a movie in the shop. (I don't think Danny's ever really stayed at a dance too long.) I think it was a successful last dance!

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Feliz Cinco de Mayo! Actually...I should just say, "Happy Random Friday!" because that was honestly what today was. It was a fun day that just happened to have a piñata in it. First off, today Jacob graduated with his Bachelors in Exercise Science from UVU. He has worked hard to achieve this. It has been fun to watch his love for physical therapy (which will eventually be his next step) grow. Jeff and I have even been the lucky (or unlucky) recipients of his personalized workout routines. We were unfortunately unable to attend the ceremony. Honestly, he wasn't even sure he was going to go so we made other commitments, but we're so glad he decided to celebrate the day. He earned it! Both Jacob and Amber have worked really hard to further their education and get a solid start to their careers.

Today Jonas also had a field trip that I volunteered to help chaperone (which meant that Jeff was home with Carter and Everly). He got to go to the Loveland Living Aquarium. When I arrived, I saw several other buses there and thought, "Here comes chaos!", but I'm happy to report my little group did well sticking together and having fun. It was fun to see their different interests and to see how excited they were to share their discoveries with each other. After an hour and a half in the aquarium, we headed to a park to have a picnic.

That evening, Danny had a lacrosse game (more on his season in a later post); however, we couldn't let the day pass without smacking a piñata. This year, it was just Jonas. I think that's how it's going to be more and more...just Jonas. Still, he didn't mind because that meant he didn't have to share any of the candy (although I wouldn't let him take it all...I know...mean mom) nor did he have to share in hitting the poor little donkey. We then ran to Cafe Rio for dinner before another chilly lacrosse game. It was a really random day, but a fun one!

Quick trip...or so we thought!

This past weekend (Saturday-Sunday, April 29-30), Jeff, Danny, Jonas and I made a quick trip to AZ (that got a little longer...I'll explain later). Kate was performing in a local production of Newsies. She had worked really hard on this production. She even helped paint some of the props and made her own dress for the show! I'm grateful that we have the means to make these quick trips to show our support. There is nothing more important than family. While it wouldn't have been the end of the world if we didn't go down, it was awesome that we could. The weekend was pretty toasty so we limited our activities to what we could do indoors. To be honest, most of the time, we just spent hanging out at Nichole's house. The only real times we ventured out were to get food (at some of our favorite places). We did go to a park one morning before it got too warm. Still, I was thankful for a chill weekend. I needed it! With all the busy-ness going on in our lives sometimes I forget to schedule time to breathe! Kate's production was amazing! I was so impressed with the talent of these youth. We all really enjoyed supporting her...and just being with family. This was probably the last visit Danny would have to see Michael, Jackie, and Ryan. We were supposed to fly home on Sunday. Our flight was originally scheduled to leave around 5:00 p.m. I checked the flight status before we went to the airport and noticed that they were reporting a 2 hour delay. Ugh! Not ideal but not totally inconvenient. Thankfully, we noticed before we left to the airport so we just hung out at Nichole's house a little longer. She finally dropped us off and we zoomed through security. Hardly anyone was there. We reached our gate and they were still reporting the 2 hour delay. Less than a half hour later, we checked the website again and noted that the flight was now not scheduled to leave until the next day, Monday, May 1st at 11:00 a.m.! What?! Ok...now we're bordering inconvenient. They did give us some flight vouchers, but I honestly would have rather just gone home. Jonas, however, were totally ecstatic! Jeff was ready to rent a car and drive all night. That was definitely NOT what I wanted to do. We finally just decided to stay one more night. It wasn't a huge inconvenience especially since we had people to come pick us up, a place to stay, and we'd be home in time for Danny to make his lacrosse game. My dad came to get us and we spent one more night with them. In the morning (Monday, May 1st), I decided to check the website once again to confirm the departure time...this is when things got crazy! Now the flight wasn't leaving until 5:15 p.m. that evening. There was no way Danny would make his game. Plus, there was so much we needed to be doing at home (which is why the original plan was just to fly down for a brief 36 hours). After some quick searches for rental cars or even at least a one-way flight for Danny, my parents graciously agreed to let us use their truck to drive home and in return, we would buy them a ticket to fly up for Danny's graduation. (They were planning to drive up anyway so now they only had to drive one way. Plus, we used Danny's flight voucher since he wouldn't need it for the next two years.) We grabbed some snacks, gave some quick hugs, and hit the road! Jeff drove and I prayed all the way home. haha! He was definitely on a mission to get us there as quickly as possible. And yes, we made it back in time for the game. What a crazy ending to a chill weekend (and to this month)! I still don't regret our not-so-quick weekend! 

Jonas still has an uncanny ability to fall asleep anywhere! Even on the hard church pews.

Jonas was the entertainment at the airport.