RYAN'S GOT TALENT

Ryan has worked hard this swim season -- He place 3rd place in the Backstroke in the City Meet and 5th in the IM, and his Medley Relay team, 3rd in the city in which he swims the backstroke leg. He will be competing this week in the State Meet --- He will be swimming backstroke, in which he is seeded 10th.... And he is also going to be in the Medley Relay.

It is all about the shave.... and he has the haircut to prove it!

When he is not in the pool.... he has been busy "getting his groove on".... He and three other boys from church participated in the Stake Variety Show and had a great talent of dancing.... Napoleon Dynamite Style... They were the hit of the night to put it mildly, and seriously attracted some ladies at the end of the night!

A New Way of Life

These two pictures popped up on my phone from Mary this week..... At College, you experience new things, and these are two things that Mary has experienced for the first time in her life.

First, came frost. "Look it's all over the cars!" (I am thinking, I hope she knows that you scrape it off before driving.)



Second, It's FALL! Look! The leaves come off the trees and then fall to the ground!

Oh, the things that your eyes are opened to when your are in College in Idaho.... and you are an Arizona girl, through and through!

Just imagine, the first time it snows!

High School Swim..... begins again

It is High School Swim Season again..... Ryan is never home and can most usually be found at the pool. Morning and evening workouts (4 hours a day) add up to sore muscles, early bed times, and a very hungry boy. He eats like a horse and as you can see doesn't really have an ounce of fat on him.

It is a great year for the Red Mountain Boys Swim Team..... They are off to a fantastic start and we are having fun cheering for our favorite team! And especially our favorite swimmer!

Friends Forever....

These two young ladies have been best friends since kindergarten. Friends come and go in our lives, but these two, I believe will always be eternally best friends. Julie and Mary... Such good friends and so close -- that many times, people would ask them (and still do) if they are sisters. Julie moved away a couple of years ago -- and Mary had to finish High School without her. However, even though they lived on different continents, they still remained oh so close. They are now united again at college -- great friends, together again. So many times, you would not see Mary without Julie or Julie without Mary. Their birthdays are exactly 6 months apart. They have done so much together over the years..... Julie lived with us for 5 weeks this summer and we had so much fun reminiscing about all of the fun things they have done.

They have.....

Played together,
Been in classes together,
Taken sewing lessons together,
Been in singing groups together,
Played Sports together,
Went on many field trips,
Hiked the Grand Canyon,
Did homework together,
Youth Conferences,
Girls Camps (against Mary's wishes),
Science Camp,
Composed some beautiful music together,
Spent countless hours on the phone, (really, Ray can't imagine how two people could talk to each other for that long)
Laughed A LOT!
Went on double dates together,
and now.... attend college together.

Everyone needs a Julie or a Mary in their lives, I am sure they are friends for the eternities.

"Move In Day"

Well -- who would of thought that a few girls could generate so much trash.... This was the "trash room" the end of the day on Monday -- Reminded me of an episode "Hoarders"....

But miraculously.... by the next morning, the trash fairies had come and cleaned up the entire business.... Now, if I could just get them to come over to my house!!!

Life begins as a college Co-ed!

this green grass will soon be "white"

still a work in progress... hope she doesn't fall out!

unpacking -- now, what are we missing...

I am sure you won't see it this clean all semester

the 4 M's -- aManda, Mary, Megann, and McKenzie

We made the trek to Rexburg to drop Mary off for her new life as a BYU-Idaho student. She is going to have so much fun. Ray and I were saying on the way home that the only negative point to her being at school was that she was going to freeze. (Yes, we know we are in trouble when she texts on the first day that she is freezing.) Luckily we sent her with a giant tub of hot chocolate mix!

Here roommates are all wonderful -- all gals from the West Coast. Watching them interact after a few hours, it seemed as they had all been friends for years.

She is in the dorms on campus -- however, nothing like the dorms I lived in. She has a nice little kitchen, big bathroom to share, and a lot of closet space and storage in her room.

I miss her terribly, however I know she is taking the next step in her life. I keep reminding myself that this is what we have prepared her for. I love the spirit that exists on a BYU campus... nothing can compare. From the classroom, to the cafeteria, to the dorm, there is just something wonderful. It is all there -- just waiting for her to partake.

Good Luck on your new adventure Mary! We love you! You can do great things!

Optimal Word.... FREE!!!

3 hungry girls..... they hear (on facebook) that Panda is giving away free orange chicken!!! How lucky can that be? Out the door they head... hitting several Panda's in the neighborhood, and VOILA! Dinner! Now that is how hungry, poor, college students operate! Fun Times!