​While Grandpa Al was still in town, we decided to do Andrew’s Priesthood Ordination to the Melchizedek Priesthood in preparation for his mission to Frankfurt, Germany. We were fortunate enough to have Joe Hale come over as a member of our Stake High Council. Mike gave a spectacular blessing to Andrew. We are so excited for Andrew’s future and the amazing things he will be able to do now that he holds the higher priesthood. 

​It’s been a bumpy road watching Andrew as he went back and forth about serving a mission. It all started with a pretty great spiritual experience last fall that helped him realize that he did in fact want to serve a mission. He was pretty solid about it for a few months but then something happened the beginning of this year. He had lots and lots of questions about things he never questioned before. His testimony was definitely tried, and he spent a few months pondering, praying and asking for answers to his questions. It was during this time that he had many conversations with not only his parents but also with his Grandpa Al. He later told me that it was the conversations he had with his grandpa that helped him back on the path to serving a mission. With nervous hearts, Mike and I kept asking him if he was going to finally turn in all of his paperwork. It was right at this time that COVID19 was starting to shut down the world and Mike was preparing to go and pick him up. In a quick conversation Andrew told Mike that he had finally made his appointment with his Stake President for his final interview before turning in all of his paperwork. He had wanted to surprise us but with everything that was going on he felt like he needed to tell us. We were both so incredibly excited by his decision. Then it was the long wait. Days turned into weeks and finally a month passed, and we were starting to wonder what happened to his paperwork. With General Conference in the mix we weren’t panicking just yet. Then as Tuesday passed, which in the past was the day that the mission calls came, and he had no email about his mission call, we encouraged him to write his Stake President. Surprisingly, two days later his call came. Mike and I weren’t home at the time when he received it and so he read it to some of his closest friends via Facetime. When we got home, he read it to all of us plus both sets of grandparents that were chimed in on Facetime. It was nice to have it be intimate with just family. When he read that he would be going to Frankfurt, Germany on August 19th we all lost it. We were beyond excited for him. I couldn’t believe it because a year ago I had a dream that he would serve in Germany. It was one of the most powerful dreams I have ever had but I didn’t put a whole lot of stock into it because let’s be real…it was a dream. Apparently, Mike had been having impressions that Andrew was going to go to Frankfurt. Again, mind blown. To say that we are excited for him is an understatement. We are so happy that he chose for himself to serve a mission. We know that he will make a great missionary!

​When I thought about picking my son up from his freshman year of college, I wasn’t expecting it to be under such circumstances. It started out early in the morning in a trendy Uber from Colorado Springs to the Denver airport. It was cold and snowing. The airport was empty, even though it was the middle of a business day. I was the only person in line in security. There was hardly anyone in the airport. The flight from Denver to Salt Lake had about 20 people on it, so we spread out and had multiple rows to ourselves. Interestingly, the Salt Lake airport had quite a few people in it mulling about. I guess Utah got the memo about the Coronavirus a little after the rest of the West. Even so, it was still pretty vacant. The rental car guy was pretty excited when I showed up as I think I was one of the few people renting a car that day. It was a brand-new minivan, which turned out to be perfect. I left the airport and headed to Rexburg. The weather was warmer than in Colorado, so there was no snow on the roads. I got to Rexburg and Andrew was mostly ready to go. We finished packing a few things, and then loaded up the minivan with all his stuff. We cleaned his apartment and then headed out on the town. We went to Gaitor Jacks, which is a really good sandwich shop by his apartment and then he showed me around BYU-I. It was a lot bigger and nicer than I realized when we were there last time. It was fun to see where he would hang out, study, and chill. It was really sad to see it, though, knowing that he was getting shortchanged on his freshman year experience at college. I think that Andrew’s second semester was really good for him. He found his place, found some friends, and was heading in a good direction. It was sad to see it cut short. After that, we headed back down to Provo. We stopped in Ogden to get some food and made it pretty easily down to Orem. Once there, we unpacked some of his stuff into Sara’s parent’s condo, then went to sleep. It was a long day. On Saturday, we got up, washed clothes, bedding, and went to Costco and then Target to get some bins to pack everything neatly in the basement closet. Andrew got his hair cut (way short) and then we cleaned the condo and decided to head out early toward home, so we didn’t have to drive all day on Sunday. We drove to Grand Junction and got Buffalo Wild Wings, checked into the hotel, and watched movies. It was the prototypical guy road trip. Sunday, we got up early and headed toward home. When we got to Vail, it started snowing like crazy. There were people sliding off the highway and I was sure we were going to get stuck. The rental van had two-wheel drive only and it was struggling and overheating all the way up the pass. When we got to Frisco, there was about 1 foot of snow on the ground and it was snowing heavily. I didn’t think we would make it up the pass to the Eisenhower tunnel, so I refiled the radiator fluid, said a prayer, and we headed out. Turns out, when we got to Dillon, there was no snow and the rest of the drive home was easy. It was a whirlwind trip with Andrew, but a lot of fun. We had no idea that the Coronavirus storm was just starting.

Written by Mike

We got up early and headed up to Grand Targhee Ski Resort to go skiing today. It only took 70 minutes to get there and there was no traffic whatsoever. The drive was also pretty spectacular, and we were in awe seeing the amazing Tetons. When we got there, I walked in and got my rental boots and demo skis and we headed to get our lift tickets. With the military discount they were only $45 a person. What a steal! We grabbed some snacks and water and shoved them into Andrew’s ski pack and headed up the Dreamcatcher lift so that we could head down the runs under the Blackfoot lift. One of the guys at the ski rental place mentioned that there were some great runs over that way. Well, that guy was so wrong. Maybe on a powder day those runs are great, but they were mostly icy when we went down them. We canned skiing on this side of the mountain and headed back over to Dreamcatcher and then skied down the other side of the resort until we made our way over to the Sacajawea lift. This side of the mountain was definitely where the adventure was to be had. There were a few runs that were powderier than others and overall, we had a great time skiing down the Snowdancer run and the Medicine Bowl run. With a little more powder, we would've skied down some of the black tree runs but there just wasn't enough snow for me to feel comfortable doing that, so we skied mostly blue runs. After eating lunch at the bottom, I swapped out my LINE demo skis for some VOLKL skis. I did not like the LINE skis at all. They were much too light for me. I had way more fun skiing after lunch on a better pair of skis. We skied pretty much until the lifts were almost closed. Then it was back in the car for a pretty easy drive back to Rexburg. I dropped Andrew off back at his apartment and then headed back to the hotel to shower and rest. We met up later at Da Pineapple Grill for some pretty tasty Hawaiian food. 

​Mike and I decided last minute that it would be a nice thing for me to fly out and visit Andrew at college for a few days. I flew into SLC and rented an SUV and drove the 3 ½ hours to Rexburg. I got in @ 6:00pm and checked into my hotel. Then I stopped by Andrew’s apartment and picked him up. I was pleasantly surprised to see that he had shaved but his hair was oh so long. It was probably the longest and most unruly hair I had ever seen on him. I guess he wouldn't be a college student if he weren't a little disheveled. I took him to Idaho Falls so that we could enjoy a nice meal at the Copper Rill. Our dinner was outstanding. We were so full that we didn’t even get dessert which is crazy because we both love dessert. 

After 4 months of planning and preparing, it was finally time to send Andrew off to college.  We spent the last month buying things for his apartment and checking things off our to-do-lists.  We left Wednesday evening after the girls cross country meet and drove 3 hrs to Laramie, WY where we stayed the night. It was a little sad for the kids to say goodbye to Andrew. Madeline was pretty delirious when we got to the hotel.  She had fun jumping up and down on the bed.  It was pretty cute.

​The next morning we got up early and left for our remaining 8 hr drive to Rexburg.  The views before and after Jackson Hole were probably some of the prettiest of the entire trip.  We stopped in Jackson Hole for some much needed lunch.  We ate some pretty amazing burgers at Liberty Burger and then drove the last 1.5 hrs to Rexburg.  We have never done this drive before and I think we were all a little surprised and impressed at how amazing the views of the Grand Tetons were from the drive.  This made Andrew super excited for the upcoming ski season.  ​

We made it to Rexburg by early afternoon and headed straight to the BYU-I campus.  We explored the Manwaring student center first.  This is where the food court, BYU bookstore, ID card center, mail center, small market, and the entrance to the library are.  It definitely had a newer feel than the Wilkonson Center at BYU Provo.  We headed straight to the bookstore and found some fun new shirts to buy.  Madeline found a cute new puppy dog with a BYU-I scarf around its neck. Next we just walked around the campus to see the different buildings and then made our way to Andrew's apartments at Northpoint.  We wanted to make the walk from campus to his apartment so he would be familiar with it.

After that we headed back to the car and saw a different side of campus on the way back.  We also drove past the Rexburg LDS temple.  Wow...what a sight to behold.  It was way bigger than I thought it would be.  These students sure are lucky to have a beautiful temple so close.  We made our way down to Idaho Falls where we would be staying for the night.  We checked into the Hilton Garden Inn and were stunned by the amazing room Mike had requested.  Our balcony looked straight out to the Idaho Falls LDS temple.  It was pretty spectacular.  We dropped off our stuff and went out the back of the hotel through the  patio area and made our way to the Idaho Falls River walk.  It was such a fun trail that followed the river by the temple.  We walked along until we came to a really neat Japanese Garden area.  We played there for awhile and then walked back the same way we came to eat at a really yummy restaurant called the Copper Rill. We started outside on the patio but eventually moved inside because it got a little cold when the sun went down.  It was a long last dinner with Andrew.  We walked back to our hotel and headed to bed.  
​

(found this cool aerial view of the campus online)
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(a beautiful photo I found of the Rexburg temple at sunset)
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The next morning we got up pretty early so we could be there shortly after the apartment check in started at 8am.  As I was getting ready I looked outside and saw the most amazing sunrise right behind the temple.  I quickly grabbed my camera and ran outside with my wet hair so I wouldn't miss the beautiful colors in the sky behind the temple.  What a great way to start the day!

With a little bit of construction on the road back up to Rexburg, it still only took us 25 min to get there. There had been notices from BYU-I about the traffic but since we used to crazy traffic up to Denver it was kind of a joke to us that people were making such a big deal about it.  By the time we got there the lines were pretty short for check-in.  Because I had paid for everything before Sept 1 we were able to go into the express check-in lane.  It was definitely a team effort.  Mike dropped Andrew and I off and we got him checked into their Get Connected program where they are put into groups to tour the campus and be with others who are in their major.  Then by the time we made it to his apartment building Mike had already gotten his check-in packet.  Mike drove the car to the 5th floor of the building and we unloaded all of his stuff.  It was pretty great that his apartment building is the one that is connect to the parking garage.  It was kind of a shock when we looked around the apartment to see that the boys who stayed there last semester were kind of slobs.  The rooms were completely empty but there was SO MUCH stuff left in the refrigerators, cupboards, and a few misc items in the living room.  There was food and milk that had expired in July...yuck.  So Mike quickly grabbed some cleaning supplies from the closest grocery store and we went to work cleaning up the place.  Andrew and Mike worked on the kitchen and I worked on wiping down Andrew and Caden's bedroom. Mike and Andrew literally threw everything away...even utensils that had been left.  It all went into the trash.  It definitely took us a bit longer to get Andrew unpacked with the unanticipated cleaning but at least we knew that he would start out in a clean apartment.  As I helped Andrew put his room together Mike continued to clean the first bathroom that Andrew would be using.  A few hrs after we were there Caden and the McDowells showed up as well as one of the other roommates.  

By lunch time all the roommates and their parents had made an appearance at the apartment.  It was great to meet the other parents.  They all seemed really nice and you could tell that their boys were pretty great too.  By 1:30pm Andrew and Caden left to go up on campus to the Get Connected program while we walked to the Manwaring center with the McDowells to eat lunch at the food court.  After that Mike and I headed to Walmart to pick up a few things we forgot, including pillows for Andrew's bed. I can't believe we forgot that.  Then we headed back to the local grocery store to avoid the Walmart craziness to pick up some groceries for Andrew.  Andrew met us back at the apartment at 3:30pm and by 4:00pm we had to say goodbye.  I was pretty sad that I had to leave so soon.  I could have used one more day with him but we needed to get back since Mike had an early flight out of Denver the next morning.  We drove all the way to Loveland and didn't get to our hotel until 2 am.  It was definitely a quick trip to drop Andrew off to college but I am glad that both Mike and I were able to go and be with him.  ​

(these temple photos I actually did take myself...right place at the right time)
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Today was a fun day filled with nostalgia, cultural and play. We started out by heading to the New Sanno hotel in Hiroo where we enjoyed a fabulous breakfast buffet. This amazing hotel is for military, retired military and government employees and we spent a lot of time there when we lived in Yokosuka. It was our home away from home. The kids LOVED the breakfast buffet, especially the French toast and the omelettes. We would occasionally order breakfast to our room and we would always ask for the special strawberry jam. Today’s breakfast did not disappoint. I think Andrew ate 5 French toast slices in under a minute. Then he went back for more. I got my special strawberry jam so that made me happy. 
After a quick stop in the souvenir shop after breakfast we headed up to see the construction that was happening on the Tokyo LDS Temple. It was pretty crazy to see that the entire temple was under construction and the church building next door was totally gone. It will be exciting to see the finished product. Since the LDS wards are now meeting in Senzokuike and Kichijoji (which are both too far for us to want to travel in church clothes) we opted for a nice walk in Arisugawa park across from the temple. It was nice to have some quiet reflection there. 

The morning started out with a run around the Imperial Palace twice with Bob Poulson...a good friend and one of my running coaches back in high school. He still coaches the high school runners for ASIJ. I ended up running almost 8 miles in the heat. I’m definitely not used to running in the heat yet. I’m glad it was a social run. Andrew and I met up with Bob later to eat udon for lunch. It was fun to catch up with Bob. After lunch we said goodbye and headed back to the hotel to rest. I think at this point we are slowing down. Disney kind of did us in I think. 

After some time resting, we got ourselves up and headed to Nihombashi to the Pokeman Cafe. When we got there we discovered that you had to have a reservation for the cafe. Oops. I quickly got online to make a reservation for Monday morning only to find out that the entire next month was pretty much full. Oh well. We walked through the Pokeman store and bought a few things before getting back on the train. 
We decided to head to Harajuku and Shibuya. We walked from Omote-Sando to Harajuku via the main road passing the Oriental Bazaar and Kiddyland...two places I remember going to as a kid. Then I took Andrew down the crazy side shopping street in Harajuku called Takeshita street. There were lots of unique stores and a lot of crepe vendors. It was so crowded but lots of fun. We hopped on the train in Harajuku and decided to head to Shibuya. We saw Hachiko first and then went to eat ramen at Ichiran. It is a popular ramen restaurant set up so efficiently. You pay for your meal through the vending machine, wait for an open stand, sit down and hand your ticket through your personal stall, and wait for your meal. In your seating area is your own waterspout for refilling water. It was so clever. We enjoyed our ramen and then spent the rest of the evening shopping in the crowded streets of Shibuya. We bought crepes and even found a Krispy Kreme. And, of course, we walked the big intersection a few times before jumping on the train to head back to our hotel.

One of Andrew’s only requests on this trip was to go to Tokyo Disney Sea...the only park of its kind in the world. We have fond memories of this park and scary ones too as this was the place where we were when the big earthquake of 2011 happened. It was a crazy time. We weren’t worried about a big earthquake this time but instead focused on how to get in as many rides and fast passes as we could throughout the day. We started at Journey to the Center of the Earth and rode that and then got a fast pass for it. We rode the Indiana Jones ride twice and Raging Spirits. Those were our favorite rides. 
Part of the excitement of Disney is stuffing our faces with yummy treats while waiting in line. We ate cinnamon churros, caramel popcorn and Mickey popsicles. We walked all the way around the park looking for real ice cream and finally found a gelato stand. We saw parts of the Easter themed mid-day show on the water (we know...Easter is over but clearly the Japanese didn’t care) and didn’t spend more than 45 min in any line waiting for rides. That’s not to say there weren’t lines that extended all the way to 100-120 min...we just weren’t crazy enough to stand in them. The longest line we waited in said 35 min for the Nemo Searider. It ended up being 45-50 min. By the time we got to the ride...it stopped after 1 min. Technical difficulties. We hurried off the ride to catch our fast passes for Raging Spirits. They gave us a fast pass for the Nemo ride to use later but we never used them. Guess we will never know if that ride was good or not. 
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It got pretty hot in the middle of the day so we headed down in Ariel’s underground grotto and rode the jelly fish ride. Then we headed over to the carousel in the Arabian coast section. We even went back to the elevator at the Leonardo Challenge area where Andrew was said to have pushed the button right when the earthquake started. We had to go back and snap a photo. 
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We saw a variety of characters throughout the day. All Andrew wanted was a picture with goofy. As we were leaving the park we finally saw goofy. I told Andrew to quickly just run up next to him. The timid kid came out and he didn’t do it. I caught a photo of Andrew where the caption should read...I missed my chance😢 Poor kid. Oh well. At least we made it until 5pm...not 10pm like we had originally anticipated. I guess that’s what happens when you are not used to so much walking in the heat. Still...it was a super fun day. You really can’t go wrong when you are at Disney!!!

We left Kyoto today and headed on the Shinkansen bound for Tokyo. After a quick 2 hr ride at speeds that would blow your socks off, we arrived at Shin-Yokohama where we got on a local train towards Yokohama. After maneuvering our way through this enormous station towards the Keikyu line, we found some gigantic lockers to store our suitcases in while we ventured down to Oppama station where we used to live. We met Kei and Koto Murata who took us to an amazing ton katsu restaurant near the station. Kei, Takeshi, Rin and Koto Murata were our neighbors for the 3 years we lived in Japan and they were some of the best neighbors we have ever had. The girls used to love playing at the park together and Kei used to teach me how to cook Japanese food at her house. I called it cooking with Kei. We have stayed in touch these last 6 years. It warmed my heart to see Kei and to catch up on life in person. Her English was definitely better than my Japanese. I think this visit meant as much to her as it did to me. As we walked to the station after lunch we just kept looking at each other saying how much we had missed each other. After a sad goodbye, Andrew and I headed up to the old house in Shonan Takatori. We managed to remember how to get there and even didn’t miss the tiny street that took us to the shortcut with the steep stairs. And yes...we didn’t stop on those stairs even though it was so hot and a million stairs to climb. After a few photos by the house we headed to the Seiyu (grocery store) to buy some treats for old times sake. We were definitely like little children in a candy store as we cleared out ALL of the Bontan Ame candies. That’s right...we took every single box. We had anticipated hiking the Takatori trail but it was way too hot and we were already getting tired so we decided to head back to Oppama station. We reminisced on the way back down about life in Japan while we enjoyed our ice cream. It was fun to remember the great life we had while living here.

Today we rented bikes to tour around Kyoto....but they weren’t just any bikes...they were electric assist bikes. Oh yes. Biking really is the coolest way to see the Shrines and Temples around Kyoto. We headed first to the outskirts of Kyoto to Tenryuji Temple and the Bamboo Forest in Arashiyama. It took about an hour to get there and probably a little longer since we got a little lost at the beginning trying to get headed in the correct direction. I’ve been told by my son that I have a terrible sense of direction. I would disagree in most cases but he was right in this case. I got us going in the wrong direction at first. Andrew was the most excited to see the bamboo forest and it did not disappoint. There were crowds of people walking through the short stretch of the bamboo forest. It makes me wonder how I ever got that shot with no one in it several years ago. I think it was mostly luck with a little help from Mike who waited patiently with me for a small window of no people. It was still amazing to see all the bamboo and be in such a beautiful place. 

Next we headed back to the center of Kyoto to see Shimogamo-Jinja Shrine but when we got there we couldn’t find a place to park our bikes legally so we moved onto the next shrine. They have very strict rules where you can and cannot park your bikes. Good thing is we weren’t too far out of the way for the next shrine and we got to bike along the Kamogawa river. The next stop was Ginkaku-ji Temple, also known as the silver temple. At this point we could tell we were starting to burn. Oh no...I had put sunscreen on but missed a few spots. Andrew...well he completely forgot to get his arms and they were already red. Or was it just that he didn’t listen to me when I told him to put it on 🤔We spent some time walking around the grounds and enjoyed some Katsu don and ice cream before heading to Heian-Jingu Shrine. This shrine is pretty spectacular looking. The grounds are enormous and the garden extending all the way in the back of the shrine was outstanding. We had fun walking through the gardens. ​

​We had a small graduation open house for Andrew the day after graduation. I had given Andrew several graduation announcements with the open house printed on there for him to give to his friends. It turns out that he didn’t hand out very many of them. It ended up being a small open house but I think that is just the way he wanted it; just intimate with his closest friends. The kids enjoyed looking at his senior album and munching on the delicious Pine Creek inspired cake pops, cookies, and cupcakes. 

We all got to be a part of Andrew’s HS graduation today at the Air Force Academy Clune Arena. It was such a fantastic day. It’s a little surreal to think that I am old enough to have a high school graduate. I am so grateful that my parents were able to be here to celebrate with Andrew and that each of our kids got to be there to watch him graduate. The ceremony definitely felt a little long to some of our kids, but I’m so proud of them for showing up to support Andrew. After the ceremony Andrew met his best friends outside to take photos and congratulate each other. Then we headed home to give Andrew his graduation gifts before celebrating at the Steakhouse at Flying Horse. I gave Andrew his t-shirt quilt I had made for him with all his t-shirts spanning from elementary school through high school. He loved it. My parents gave him money and a new tie. Then we headed to go eat a fabulous steak dinner to celebrate this momentous day with Andrew. 
 
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Andrew finally had a season where he got to swim all of his favorite and best events all season long. With 7 different events that he swam in, all of them revolved around the breaststroke or freestyle strokes. Both strokes were his favorite to swim. Andrew’s goal this season was to make it to State in the 100 breastroke. Although he wasn’t seriously injured, he did face some trouble with cramping in his back again this season. He found himself either not being able to finish some of the workouts or having to skip them altogether. Despite this small hurdle, Andrew still worked extremely hard and had a really successful season, coming so close to his goal of a state time in the breaststroke. He missed it in his very last race by .87 seconds. His final and best time in the 100 breaststroke was 1:09.87. During his season he cut 8 seconds off his breastroke time, maintained a sub 1 min time in the 100 freestyle, swam the 50 freestyle in the low 25’s, and showed that despite an imperfect body to work with, he could still do amazing things. Andrew was a great leader this season as he had the role as one of the team captains. He helped to lead their team to another League Championship title, the second one he was a part of during his high school swim career.  

​50 Freestyle
26.45 5th out of 10 vs Palmer
25.97 2nd out of 7 at Widefield
25.66 37th out of 143 at Indian Invite (CMHS)
25.91 7th out of 15 vs Rampart
25.99 97th out of 240 at Mustang Invite
26.27 6th out of 10 at Coronado
25.35 14th out of 26 at CSML Prelims
25.20 14th out of 16 at CSML Finals
 
100 Freestyle
58.95 6th out of 14 vs Air Academy
58.94 4th out of 9 at Liberty
 
100 Breastroke
1:17.16 3rd out of 5 vs Palmer
1:15.58 2nd out of 6 at Widefield
1:14.58 24th out of 56 at Indian Invite (CMHS)
1:18.91 7th out of 8 vs Rampart
1:12.68 51st out of 117 at Mustang Invite
1:28.15 5th out of 6 at Liberty
1:16.55 6th out of 7 at Coronado
1:11.09 12th out of 20 at CSML Prelims
1:09.87 9th out of 15 at CSML Finals
 
200 Freestyle
2:15.90 6th out of 6 vs Air Academy

500 Freestyle
6:35.00 3rd out of 8 vs FFC
 
200 Freestyle Relay
26.31 split time vs Palmer
Total time 1:47.61 at Widefield 
26.37 split time vs Air Academy
25.34 split time at Indian Invite (CMHS)
25.58 split time vs Rampart
25.15 split time at Mustang Invite
27.20 split time at Liberty
25.13 split time at Coronado
26.54 split time vs FFC
 
200 Medley Relay
Breaststroke split time NR vs Palmer (team time 1:56.82)
Freestyle split time NR at Widefield (team time 2:12.53)
Freestyle split time 25.25 at Coronado
Butterfly split time NR vs FFC (team time 2:07.46)

Today Andrew went to his first and last prom with Sam. I’m so grateful I got to experience the excitement of prom with Andrew. Andrew and Sam are quite the pair and I couldn’t be happier that they got to go with each other. We headed over to Sam's house where Andrew gave Sam her corsage and she pinned on his boutonnière. I had both of them made with real succulents and they were beautiful. It was tricky to get Andrew's boutonnière pinned on but after a few people helping we managed to get it to stay on just long enough for photos. We headed to a park off of Voyager to take group photos with some of their friends. They had fun posing and doing silly photos with their friends before heading off to Prom at the Spruce Mountain Ranch with the rest of their classmates at Pine Creek High School. Lucky Andrew got to take his dad's sweet ride and drive the 4Runner for the night. It ended up being a good thing too because when Prom was over and they were headed out, Sam realized that she had left her phone. The line to get out was crazy so Andrew made a u-turn and off-loaded it back up to grab her phone. What an adventurous night they had together.

Today was Andrew's very last Jazz Band concert at the high school. I can't even begin to explain what a difference Jazz and Mrs. Margrave (or Flynn as the students called her) made in Andrew's life. Andrew really resonated with the Jazz style of music and he truly developed a passion for music through this program. He walked into the jazz program as a freshman, not knowing very much about jazz music or how to even play it. He picked things up very quickly and by his junior year, he joined the Advanced Jazz Band. I am so grateful that Andrew found something that resonated with him. This last concert was so much fun to watch. Andrew finally decided to solo in one of the songs. He always shied away from solos, so I was thrilled to see him solo once before he graduated. I will miss watching Andrew play the trombone. 

One of Andrew's college essays was dedicated to Jazz music and the things he learned how to play Jazz music:
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While I have many different interests, I find music, especially Jazz music, to be the most engaging experience that I get to enjoy on a daily basis. I have always been a huge fan of music, but Jazz music peaked my interest more than any other type of music. In Jazz, there are no limits to your creativity; you can express your emotions through the ways that you play. Each song that I hear is a new story, a new experience. I often find myself losing track of time whenever I listen to or play Jazz.
            
During my freshman year in high school, I had the opportunity to join the high school Jazz band as a trombonist. I had always wanted to know more about Jazz, but I had only dreamed about playing it. Learning how to play was not easy. It took many hours of hard work to begin to develop my skills, which inspired me to learn even more. A defining opportunity came when our class went to see the Dizzy Gillespie big band. I used every moment to study how these great musicians played, from their sound to their posture. Later that night, we were able to work with these musicians and learn from their experience with Jazz music. Although we were only able to work with them for thirty minutes, I learned some new techniques. One of their trombonists told me that the best way to learn Jazz was to watch good musicians play live.
            
Since then, I have been able to work with all sorts of Jazz bands and musicians from all over the state. Having an opportunity to learn more about Jazz feels like Christmas to me. Even now, I am in a music honors society where I take every opportunity I can to teach others about Jazz. I also play in our High School’s advanced Jazz band, which was created just this year. I listen to Jazz music every day and it never gets old. I’ve learned so much about music in general because of my love for Jazz music, and I will never forget the things I have learned about hard work and the feelings that come from playing Jazz.  

​Every year during the latter half of the swim season the boys get to play water polo with a greased-up watermelon. They call it the watermelon invite. They always have a great time and they also get a good workout. Mike and I had a blast watching our boys battling it out on opposite teams. Most of the boys walked away unscathed, except for a few scratches and a black eye for Peter. Peter got hit in the eye when someone decided to throw the watermelon in his direction. Ouch! Still, he was pretty much all smiles even though he got hit in the face.   

Mike and I both enjoyed Andrew’s Senior Luncheon at the Broadmoor Hotel where they did a capping ceremony before graduation next month. Before the luncheon began, we walked around the lobby and looked at all the different memory boards. Inside the banquet hall we were seated at a table in the front row with some other folks we didn’t know. We enjoyed the slideshow of all the seniors and the tasty lunch before the capping ceremony began. Each student nominated someone to cap them and wrote a small dedication. They were read out loud during the capping. It was so sweet to hear what Andrew wrote about Mike and to celebrate this special time with Andrew. It was nice to see and talk with Andrew’s close friends he has been best buds with all through high school and to spend time with his girlfriend Sam. Andrew enjoyed talking afterwards with two of his favorite teachers at Pine Creek - Mrs. Margrave, who was his awesome music teacher and Frau Lykens, who was the coolest German teacher ever. I can’t believe Andrew’s senior year is quickly coming to a close.
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For one of Andrew’s graduation gifts I decided to put together a t-shirt quilt for him with all the shirts that I have been collecting since he was in elementary school in Japan.  It was so much fun to look at all the shirts and remember all the memories of him wearing them. I was a little nervous to cut them up but, in the end, I knew that having them displayed somewhere cool would be a fun way to preserve those memories. I wanted Andrew to have something that reminded him of his childhood and home when he goes to college.  All I had to do was sew all the shirts together and then I took it into a lady to have it quilted.