Starting with the oldest--Boyce is still working at Google, taking pictures when he has time, rock climbing (mostly indoor), riding his bike here and there and everywhere, and spending plenty of time being a DAD. He loves to wrestle with the kids and they all love Daddy time. He's also the Elder's Quorum President in our ward.
Stephanie continues to homeschool the kids and has become a bit more involved in the local homeschool group. She has had more time to practice and play piano and is teaching piano lessons as well. She bravely took the kids to visit her family this spring (17 hours each way), and they had a blast! She also coached soccer this Fall, and loved that. At church, she lucked out and is still doing her dream calling--teaching Primary kids music (and playing organ for the main meetings). She also is proud to say she survived last winter's snowpocalypse (with a broken toe and no transportation of her own for awhile). Barely survived. hahaha.
Laura has grown up so much this year! She turned 9 and is excelling in gymnastics. She has chosen not to be on the team, though they continue to ask for her. She does it for fun. This year at the end of 3rd grade, she rocked her state testing (local laws require homeschoolers to be tested in 3rd grade)! She's also involved in music, having accompanied our Primary on the piano for our Sacrament Meeting presentation, and she sang a solo in our community Messiah concert. She enjoyed going to Knott's Berry Farm this year and has become a little roller coaster rider!! She's a great helper to her mom, an avid reader, and she and her sister are best buddies.
Adele has grown a lot this year, too. She started learning to play the violin, but has gone back to piano. She plays very well by ear and is able to pick out songs on her own. She has also been working hard in gymnastics this year, but took a break this fall to do soccer. She is definitely an all-around athlete. She loves cooking, reading, being silly and she loves hanging out with her sister. She also loves roller coasters and thrill rides.
Edmund turned 5 this year and has started learning to read. He's still not super confident but does a great job when he has to. He is a whiz at adding and subtracting and counts to 1,000 for fun. He also played soccer this year and was a star!! He is very coordinated and a natural athlete, and scored MANY goals during his games. It probably helps that he's very tall for his age, too. He also got to ride his first roller coaster this year (though he wasn't so sure it was a good choice once he was on the ride). He enjoys riding his bike all over town, playing with his cars and trains, and he LOVES his little brother. He's a sweet little guy, but growing up fast.
Little Westley is getting so big! This year he turned 3. He started writing his letters, talking and telling us all about EVERYTHING, and he started picking out songs on the piano all on his own. He's a little musician, and it is super fun to watch. He loves being read to, going on the log ride at Knott's Berry Farm (he talked about it afterward for months until we went again), snuggling with mom, teasing his siblings, riding his little balance bike and NOT going home.
We had a great year--2 trips to California (one with Boyce), a trip to Fort Stevens to go camping, swim lessons (for all 4 kiddos), watching the solar eclipse, visiting Bellingham (where we used to live), and having a great time seeing things around here, too. :) It has been a good year.
