The first of March Steve go to help on the Outdoor Leadership Skills lead group for training scout leaders. It is a fun weekend for him to get to hang out with his scout friends.
While he was gone the kids spent time with their friends. Naomi went to Ari's house with some of the other girls from church to hang out and have fun. Nick went to the bishop's house and had sushi with the other young men. I got to run down to Camp Belk and drop off some flags they were going to retire. It was a pretty drive. I got back in time to pick up both kids from their activities.
Nick and I also went back to the DMV to get his license done. We thought that it wouldn't be too busy since it was a day off for his school but not the public schools. We were WRONG! The line went around the building and we got there a half an hour before it was supposed to open. We went to find him a suit for prom instead. He found one he really like. Naomi and I are the same size in pants now as well. This is really weird to have the kids growing up so fast.
We tried the DMV again after Nick's dentist appointment on the 11th. I took him back to the Huntersville office to have his retest done. We got our number and had waited for an hour when the power suddenly went out. They sent us to a new office that had just opened. We walked in, waited for 10 minutes and were on our way out of there within an hour...AND Nick had his license. He passed the driving test this time with no issues. He said this person was MUCH nicer than the last lady. She said he did a really good job.
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| YAY! He can drive by himself now. He is beyond excited |
March 13th, I had my annual eye appointment. My eyes have not changed and I didn't need need new glasses so it was a quick and inexpensive visit. I like those kind.
March 14th I got to go to lunch with Sandra. We went to a little garden-to-table restaurant in Davidson called The Pickled Peach. It was really good and the ambiance was fun. The day was really warm so we sat out on the porch and ate our gourmet sandwiches. It was really nice to catch up with her.
Steve is now on the Eagle Scout Review committee. He is excited to see what all the projects will be and help more scouts reach the rank of Eagle.
March 15th, Nick came home from school really excited. Mr. McSwain invited him to be in the advanced choir next year. Last year, when Nick tried out for choir it was only because the teacher told him the choir was going to Disney. She quit over the summer and Nick was nervous about the new teacher. He didn't need to be nervous. Mr. McSwain is the best thing to happen for Nick and the choir. He has taken a group of random kids and turned them into a choir. Nick's favorite class is chorus.
March 16th, Nick did the Run The Creek 5k. He placed 1st in his age bracket and shaved 7 minutes off his time from last year. He was excited to see such an improvement.
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| At the start line. |
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| Coming down the home stretch. |
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| Across the finish line. |
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| He finally got his medal for first place. |
When we got back to the house, Nick wanted to go on his first solo drive around the neighborhood. I let him have the keys to the truck and the sweat bullets the whole 20 minutes he was gone. He came back with a smile on his face.
March 17th, Ravyn Muller gave a talk in church and talked about learning to let go of your perceived shortcomings and love yourself. She used the following analogy to make her point: Flour and baking soda in a cake are vital ingredients. Not many like flour or baking soda on their own but put them together with sugar, eggs and milk and you have a yummy dessert. You may not like everything about yourself, but every part of you makes the whole you better. You are amazing. Learn to love everything about yourself because the little parts make the whole person exactly the who you need to be.
March 19th I hit the "seminary wall" big time. My motivation went on vacation and I was just miserable trying to get through the week. Thank goodness it was temporary, but the end of the year is still a long way off from March 19th. I hope I make it. We were also taking care of Felix. Naomi took him on a lot of walks to make sure he was good and tired.
March 20th Nick applied for a summer job at LNC. He enjoyed helping out last year at the middle school (to get his service hours in). We will see what happens.
March 22nd, the results from the Lincolnton meet came in. Nick got a personal record in both of his events; the 1600 in 5:43 and the 800 in 2:36. Not bad!!!
March 22nd the Church announced a change to the seminary curriculum. We will now be studying the same set of scriptures as the Come Follow Me program. They are hoping this will help the students feel less overwhelmed with everything that is going on. With the current schedule we are studying the Doctrine and Covenants in seminary and the New Testament in Sunday School and as a family. Now the kids won't be so stretched trying to read two sets of scriptures simultaneously. Don't forget about the prophet asking us to be in the Book of Mormon daily as well. It is a welcome change.
March 23rd Nick ran in the Corvian 5K. He ran it in 20:17 which is a personal record for him. To make things sweeter, he placed 7th out of 486 runners and first in his age bracket. During the race, Steve found a massage therapist who helped him with his tight calves which were causing the pain in his heels. After the race they worked on Nick. I got talking to them and asked about the kineseo tape they were using. Long story short, I am now registered for a class they are teaching on how to use and apply kineseo tape. I am excited!
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| It took two of them to loosen Steve's calves. |
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| A strong finish |
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| Now for some pizza.... |
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| ...and a massage. |
Naomi finally convinced Steve that Spotify Premium would be a good thing for the family. She gave him a well thought out presentation on the benefits of Spotify Premium and why it was worth the money. Everyone is happy now that they can listen to the music they like. In fact, Steve is one of the most excited now that he is building his play lists.
March 25th the truck was in the shop and I had a rental for a couple of days. This always gives me perspective as to just how much I like my truck. I really miss it when I don't have it.
Naomi FINALLY got her hair cut. She has been asking for shorter hair for quite some time and we had to wait until our friend, Ashley, was available. I didn't trust anyone else to help Naomi make such a drastic change.
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| Before |
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| During |
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| After. |
She LOVES it and feels sassy and pretty. We donated 26 inches to Wigs for Kids. She considers this a win-win situation.
March 26th was a fun day for me. There is a commercial running on tv that shows a parent talking to their teen about protection now that they are going to parties and taking videos they want to post online. You cannot trust your protection to just anyone. The teen is embarrassed because they think this is THE TALK. Then the dad gets to the point - be sure you have a reliable and protected wifi connection before uploading your videos. I thought I would try this out on the kids. It worked brilliantly with Naomi. She really fell for it. Nick was classic as well. I started out, "Nick, you will be going to prom in a couple of weeks and we need to talk about protection..." He was mortified and it was glorious! When I got to the part about protected wifi he started laughing. Another fun moment in parenting!!
March 29th I got to chaperone the band trip to Carowinds. I was in charge of 6 seventh graders to start with and then two groups combined to 12, but it was okay because I had their chaperone to hang out with when they were all together and we divided and conquered when they wanted to go on different rides. It was a fun day. The whole reason for going to Carowinds was to compete in the "Festival of Music". The kids did really well and enjoyed the chance to perform for the judges before getting back to riding the rides. I even went on the Fury with the kids. It was so much fun and we were all exhausted at the end of the day.
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| Bella holding all the bags while the group went on a ride. |
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| Bella and Naomi on the Scrambler. |
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| The gang waiting in line |
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| All twelve of them in one spot - it is a miracle that needed to be documented. |
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| Performing. |
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| Waiting to get back on the bus and head home. |
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| The whole band. |
March 30th, Nick went to the temple with the youth and Naomi played in her first soccer game of the season. Afterwards we went looking for school-appropriate shorts. That was an adventure with an opinionated teen, but we found what we needed.
That night we went to Wild Wings for dinner and watched the Texas and Gonzaga game. It was a fun night.
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| The First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles in front of the Christus at the Rome, Italy, visitors center. It is a really cool picture because the twelve statues behind the Christ are the original twelve apostles. |
Jeremy's mission corner
