Birthday, Soccer, and School-oh my!

A few "noteworthy" things from the Lloyds...

Nathanael just entered the 10th grade. He is officially attending high school! I just can't believe it! In my mind I am still 23 years old. I remember well my first day of high school and it doesn't seem that it was THAT long ago! He has a pretty full schedule this year but he feels like the classes are going to be very interesting. (I hope this attitude stays)! He is also really excited about his soccer season coming up soon.

Lindsay just entered eighth grade. She has turned into such a wonderful young woman. She is really excited about her classes this year and feels like she has so many great teachers. Her first soccer game was yesterday. It was sooooo hot! I had Clarissa and Zachary with me and they kept wanting to sit on my lap. I do not do well in the heat and it was all I could do not to jump up and scream!!! Lindsay, however, handled herself very well (she usually has a hard time in the heat as well). It is some unfortunate genetic problem.

Ethan entered the fifth grade. He is growing up so fast! He has a lot of friends in his class which makes it a lot more fun. He also had his first competitive soccer game yesterday with Travis coaching. Ethan played very well and it was a good experience for the team (The heat did not seem as bad as well).

My sweet little Clarissa is now a second grader and just celebrated her 7th birthday. Wow! We had a "mini-carnival" for her party. I stayed up until 2 a.m. doing a carousel birthday cake for her the night before. I thought that it turned out really well-but it slowly began falling throughout the day and just before her family party-it fell over. I fixed it as best I could and she still loved it. We were able to borrow a lot of cute carnival decorations from Travis' sister Jamie. It was fun! Clarissa also played her first soccer game of the season yesterday. I was a little worried because my brother Paul had coached her the last two years and she had a different coach this year. I was pleased to see her dribble all over the field-something Paul and Travis had worked on with her previous teams. One could tell she had been taught some great ball skills!

Zachary got to spend a lot of time with me because of the kids going back to school. He loves cars and he loves to take Ethan's Phineas and Ferb toys (a show from the Disney channel). I know he missed his siblings but it was nice to have some "one on one" time with him.

My "moment of joy" this week was when I stopped at a gas station after Lindsay's scorching soccer game and purchased a strawberry slushy-type drink. Boy-it hit the spot!!

Little Pioneer Children...

Things learned

It has been a couple of weeks-but here are a few "notes" from the Lloyd home...

Nathanael took a soccer refereeing class. He had to spend three nights for 4 hours each learning how to be a soccer referee. He passed the test at the end and now can referee not only recreational soccer but competitive as well. The higher the level of play, the more he will get paid. He was really excited for an opportunity to make some money.

Lindsay and Ethan went on a pioneer trek in Wyoming with my parents and Paul and Marja's family. It was a really good experience for them! They both came home and told me how much more they appreciated their ancestors. They had relatives that were in the Willie and Martin handcart companies.

Clarissa learned that swimming can be fun! She actually enjoyed going to swimming lessons for the first time ever! She became really good at the "dead man's float", the 'jellyfish float", and the "watermelon float". She also learned that she can be brave and jump in the water (she had a really hard time doing this).

Zachary learned to climb out of his crib. I tried one night to get him to settle down and instead, he climbed out of his crib (thank goodness he didn't get hurt) and now he does not like his crib at all!

My "moment of joy" actually was today during Sunday dinner. During Sunday dinner, we always go around the table and ask everyone what they learned in church. The Elders had a lesson on family responsibilities and that each family member has a role in making our home a nice place to be. Travis explained that there was a discussion about how we need to teach our children to work and that the prophets have told us this and that it is not something that he and I just made up to punish our children. He explained that we were following the prophet's council to teach them this principle. Clarissa then asked where and when the prophet said this-she wanted to see the quote for herself! Ah, Clarissa. Don't worry-we will gladly show it to you!!! Clarissa brings a smile to my face. :)

Cathy