*7 Minute slideshow*
The years seem to fly by and we can hardly acknowledge the possibility that 2015 is over! Overall, 2015 was a really fantastic year for us. Here are some of the highlights:
-In January, we went to Bear Lake for the annual Potts Retreat. Grandma & Grandpa rented this ENORMOUS cabin that had slides from floor to floor, an indoor trampoline & basketball court, theater room, etc. They also got snowmobiles for us to enjoy. It really was a fantastic trip and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. The girls haven't stopped talking about it and are VERY much looking forward to a repeat of the fun next year.
-We made a trip to Texas in April to be with Jason's family for his Uncle Joe's funeral. It had been over 7 years since we'd been down there, so it even though the drive was very long, it was so worth it to be able to spend some time with his Texas family. We sure love them & miss them!
-Right after that trip, we sold our home & moved one street over. Same neighborhood, ward, and schools, but smaller, fully finished home on a less-busy street. The first Cedar home we lived in was too small (Greenslake Dr.), the next home we lived in (Ridge Rd) was too big, but this one is juuuuuust right :) We have really loved settling in here. Each of the girls has their own room & that has been really nice. The only downsides are the lack of grass and the garage is only big enough to fit our van, not the truck. But all-in-all, we love it!
-We also were able to purchase a rental home by SUU with my parents. There has been an SUU housing shortage this year, so we had LOTS of interest when the upstairs space went on the market, but we ended up finding a great renter and we are so thankful for this opportunity. We are learning lots about having a rental!
-At the beginning of August, Jason & Heidi took a belated, though much-anticipated trip, to Prince Edward Island - by Nova Scotia, Canada - to celebrate our 15 year anniversary. The girls went to stay with Grandma Potts as well as the Edwards & had a great time while mom and dad just had such a wonderful, cherished, perfect time in PEI. Heidi loved all the Anne of Green Gables things (we actually read it while we were there) and Jason loved the beaches & the food. We both just loved getting to be together & enjoy nature and spending time together.
-As a family, we enjoyed reading Heidi, Anne of Green Gables (& watching the movies), Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone, and The Mouse & the Motorcycle.
-Even without our trailer, we enjoyed some decent outdoor time, including "tenting-it" in Mapleton, the Benson cabin, & some fun hikes: Kanarraville Falls, Spring Creek, Hidden Haven, Ensign Peak , and hiking the "C" trail.
Jason: Jason continues to do well with his job and got a raise in March. He was called to the Elder's Quorum this year and has enjoyed teaching and helping people move and getting to know the elders. In his free time, he enjoys riding his dirt bike, watching football (live or on TV), and fishing when he has the chance. He has been good at taking care of things with our vehicles, our home, and the rental. Jason started working out with some guys from the ward & has enjoyed doing TRX, P90X & some other workouts. Jason's favorite memory from 2015 is spending time with Heidi on PEI. He looks forward to spending more time outdoors in 2016.
Heidi: Heidi enjoyed completing a sprint distance triathlon in April (just missed placing in her age group) at Sand Hollow and a 5k later on in the year in Salt Lake. She also gets together a few times a week with some girls from the ward to workout in the mornings. She has enjoyed her mornings with Noelle and has also been trying to get ahead in some things like family history, organizing, and service. She still enjoys reading & has read quite a few books this year. Her 3 callings keep her pretty busy: Relief Society meeting publicity coordinator, activity days leader & visiting teacher. Heidi's favorite memory from 2015 was PEI, hands-down. It was such a perfect vacation and she loved every minute. Heidi is looking forward to a lot in 2016, including hopefully getting another trailer! One goal for 2016 is making anniversary books & an ancestor ABC book.
McKinley: McKinley turned double-digits this year - the big 10! And with that birthday came the rite of passage in our family to get her ears pierced. We went to Walmart on her birthday and she chose blue butterflies (her birthstone). She is in 4th grade this year, but is in a 4th/5th class. This is the first year she's had a boy teacher and she really loves Mr. Sahagun! She often talks about the funny things he says in class. He's good about letting her excel in Math and reading and he loves having her in his class. Her favorite friends at school are Maddilyn also known as DG( dimple girl MrSahagun made that name up) and Tayzia and Isis and her crush (for the second year in a row) is Orlando. McKinley got to go to a Girls Go Digital Camp in the summer for a couple days. She REALLY loved it, learned a lot & had so much fun. She is already talking about going back next year. McKinley started piano & voice in June with a lady in our stake, Jan Pressgrove, that comes to our home, which is great. McKinley has progressed so much & her teacher says she is just such a natural that we're going to need to be constantly buying more challenging books for her. She also loves singing and got to sing a solo in the Primary Program. She also sang at Ireland's baptism as well as a girl in our ward. She decided to join the ward choir a couple months ago and she's the youngest member. Mom and dad aren't going, so she's pretty brave to go all by herself, but everyone talks about what a great singer she is & how she LOVES music. We love our McKinley & are so proud of her. Her favorite memory from 2015 is the Bear Lake Cabin and she's most looking forward to the Bear Lake Cabin in 2016 :). One goal for 2016: to master 5 Hymns from the Hymn book.
Ireland: Ireland turned 8 years old this year and had her big birthday bash and baptism. Many family members showed up and we loved watching her get baptized and celebrating at a small park near our home with an 18 foot water slide! We invited all our friends in the neighborhood & there was quite a turnout. Her rite of passage at 8 was to get baptized and also get a tablet, which she has enjoyed :) Ireland is in 3rd grade this year, in Mrs. Strother's class. She really likes Mrs. Strother & Mrs. Srother gave so much praise to Ireland in her SEPs. Ireland is such a top reader & has done so well at math, too. We are so proud of her! Her favorite friends are Mahina, Anna, and Lindsey. Ireland started Activity Days this year and she loves getting to see her friends, her mom, and do some fun activities, crafts, and service projects. Ireland did gymnastics in the summer time again with Julie and almost had her back-walkover and she could walk on her hands 8 times! She also did soccer in the fall - she learned a lot, had fun, and made new friends! We are proud of how far she came and how she never gave up. Ireland's favorite memory from 2015 is her big birthday party and she's most looking forward to having another fun birthday in 2016. One goal for 2016: finishing the Book of Mormon.
Kezia: Kezia started Kindergarten in September and turned 6 years old in October. Kezia had like 6 neighborhood friends going to Kindergarten at South Elementary this year, so we figured at least one or two would be in her class, but amazingly they were ALL in the other class! It's okay, though, because we love Mrs. Ekker and Kezia has got to make new friends (Macy and Ruby), while still getting to see her other friends (Paige, Laura, Courtney, Spencer, Emi, and Rachel) at recess and on the bus. The struggle with Kezia in Kindergarten is giving her a challenge. She has read almost 10 Magic Treehouse books and is much more advanced than many kids. They have an SUU student that reads more challenging books with her and they give her computer time that will challenge her, but we are considering sending her to East Elementary next year for first grade, so she can do the dual immersion program and really get some extra challenge. Kezia did swimming lessons again in the summer and really progressed! She was in a more advanced class & the teacher wasn't sure at first if she should be in there, but by the end, she had really proved herself. She did soccer in the fall with Laura and Macy and Maylee and had such a blast. Their team was called the Purple Butterfly Princesses and they were an awesome team! They won every game and more importantly, had fun together. Kezia would just constantly be laughing and giggling as she ran down the field. But she was great, too, and made quite a few goals. We are so proud of her - way to go Kezia! Kezia continues to be our creative girl, making creations, writing "stories," drawing pictures, and giving lots of gifts.
Kezia's favorite memory from 2015 is 7 Peaks Water Park and she's most looking forward to Bear Lake in 2016. One goal for 2016: read 13 more Magic Treehouse books.
Link: Link would have turned three on November 7th this year. It was a tough birthday for me. We sure miss him and would have loved to see him running around, opening gifts, blowing out candles, smiling and laughing. He is still such a part of our family and we still talk about him constantly. We love to do things to remember him, including doing family history, going to the temple, doing the May walk of remembrance, the wave of light, and doing service on his birthday. Link sends us many love notes to brighten our days and give us hope, like heart-shaped rocks and other items, shooting stars, dreams, songs that come on the radio, beautiful sunsets and sunrises, and of course rainbows. He welcomed Jason & I to PEI with a beautiful rainbow. And we love how others send us pictures when they see rainbows and remember our Link. We love to wear our Link shirts & tell others his story. We love to visit his bench regularly. We are so thankful for him in our family and deeply anticipate the day that we will be reunited with him.
Noelle: At 20 months, Noelle is looking and acting more like a little girl than the baby that we keep calling her. Her hair is down past her shoulders and she is talking in 3 and 4 word sentences. She can do some counting and can sing a lot of the ABC song and can point to many of the letters. She knows probably 15 body parts and likes to sing Twinkle Twinkle. Her favorite show is still Signing Time, but she also likes CHU CHU TV and is watching Dora more and more. She's really starting to want to play My Little Pony & Barbie with her older sisters and be with them and she especially loves it when her sisters friends come over. She started nursery a couple months ago & she's still not sure about it. She loves to play with the toys, but she doesn't love it when mom leaves. One of the other kids' dads comes in, though, and she just loves him and is fine when he's there. Overall, she's quite a mommy's girl and wants to be constantly by her. She loves her daddy, though, and gets so excited when he comes home. She loves to come into her sisters' rooms in the morning to sing them their good morning songs and give them hugs and kisses. She also still loves Sydney the dog (still a little to much) and our bunny Rainbow Truck. She loves to go "buh-bye" and always wants to be going somewhere & doing something. Now, all this adoreableness has to come with some downsides. She LOVES to put things in the toilet, throw food on the floor, make paint messes, take out everything in the kitchen drawers, and mess up Kezia's bookshelf every day, but it's all a small price to pay for all the joy she gives us :) We love our Noelle-my-Belle. Noelle's goal for 2016: Take on potty training :)
