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

Little Victories

Just a few "noteworthy" things that have happened in the Lloyd home this last week...

Nathanael played in a soccer tournament with his team, Arsenal, this last week. The tournament was the Strikerfest. His team, unfortunately, lost their games (they were all very close). However, Nat scored a goal during one game and in another game he got a penalty kick which resulted in a goal for his team. His coach even commented how much he likes that Nat fights for every ball!

Lindsay also played some soccer this week. Her team has been busy training and getting more in shape. During one of the practices, they played a game called World Cup. She and her partner in the game chose to be Italy and won!

Ethan and Clarissa both had swimming lessons this week. Ethan has taken this swimming level a couple of times and was finally able to pass. He will now move onto the level that is the highest that I expect my children to go. I must admit, I was so surprised at how well he did this year. He told me that he was "determined to pass". He also washed his Grandma Jam's car this last week-something which he had never done before. Too bad that it rained that afternoon! Ethan also got his glasses this week. When we walked out of the store he remarked on the mountains and that they actually have trees and other things on them. He was so excited to see the leaves on the trees and see that they really are not just "big green blobs". He said that it was like a new world!!

As I mentioned before, Clarissa also took swimming lessons this last week. She has been terrified every summer and dreaded swimming lessons! She told me last summer that she was just going to be the "grandma sitting in the kiddie pool". All my kids have been very cautious but she has had an extremely difficult time! This last week, however, she actually allowed herself to submerge in the pool and try to swim. When she came up she said, "That wasn't so bad!" She also was able to do the back float for the first time!

One of my callings in my ward is the Nursery Coordinator. I bring the nursery treats to church every week (that is why all the kids love me-ha,ha). Anyway, one of the treats I bring is goldfish crackers. Zachary loves them and saw them in my closet. He figured out how to open the carton-which is not that easy and take some fish. He then closed it back up and hid it out of sight! Oh, Zachary! It took me a bit to find it. He was very clever and hid it right behind all the other nursery boxes-just enough out of sight!

My "moment of joy" came this week when Clarissa swam the front crawl for the first time! I was so relieved and pleased that she was able to really overcome her fear and do it! I hope that she remembers this experience and realizes that she can overcome her fears and do great things!

Cathy

Varsity All-Stars

The Ides of July

A few "notes" from the Lloyd home....

Nathanael was invited to go with another young man from our ward to attend a High Adventure Varsity All-Stars scout camp. He left on Monday at 6:00 a.m. and got home Saturday about 3:30 p.m. It really was "high adventure". He did rock-climbing, mountain biking, hiking, canoeing, etc. I am just glad that he returned home safe! They played some games and he won a game called, Poison Stump, twice. He also was elected to be the squad leader for his squad-the Foxes. He got to work with boys from all over Utah. It was a good experience for him and I am grateful that he had this opportunity to go. I am also grateful that all my "chickens" are now home for the summer!

Lindsay started her soccer training this week. She also got to go to the midnight show of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" with Travis. They had a good time. She got to go with her grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins.

Ethan had kind of a crazy week. He started out the week with a virus that mimicked strep throat. However, his fever broke just in time to go to the eye doctor. Ethan needs glasses! I did not realize how bad his vision really was until he was reading the eye chart and the letters DID NOT resemble the letters on the chart at all! Poor Ethan! We went and ordered his glasses yesterday. He wanted something completely different from Nat's style. I think we chose well-he will look just as handsome as ever! It is just too bad that we seem to pass on the genes that we would rather not-crooked teeth, poor vision, etc.

Clarissa enjoyed having her cousins come over this week for a Harry Potter party. She and Ethan also found an old "spell book" that they created and "practiced" the spells. They spent many hours this week dressed up as students from Hogwarts and learning how to do magic!

Zachary has impressed me this week by "cleaning up" after himself. He will eat his fruit snacks and throw the package in the garbage. After he gets a drink, he puts the empty cup on the counter. He also likes to help me with the dishes! It is totally cool!

My "moment of joy" came this week when I was able to use our microwave again. We have had a lot of things break down on us this last month. First, it was our vacuum. Then the clothes dryer was next. Then our van had a part that needed to be fixed. Next, it was the microwave. Travis also had to fix a leaky valve on our sprinklers and finally our computer monitor died. We were able to get the other things taken care of pretty quickly but the microwave took longer. It was very inconvenient to say the least. However, now it is fixed and working again and hopefully, we are good to go on everything else for awhile!

Cathy

Summer sizzles

Just some "notes" on the kids this week...

Travis took Nathanael driving for the first time this week. He took him to the church parking lot to help him get used to the "feel" of the car. Travis took a little video of when he started and I was so impressed at how calm and positive Travis was with Nat. I can't believe that he is old enough to do this (maybe I just can't believe I am old enough to have a child starting to drive)!!

Lindsay is taking a sewing class this summer because it is a skill that I have never mastered and I would like my girls to do better in that area. Anyway, I had to sew Nat's Eagle rank patch on his uniform because he has been invited to a special Varsity High Adventure camp with another boy from our ward. I had not sewn the patch on yet because the bobbin fell out and for some reason I cannot put it in right. I read the directions, I have had people show me how to do it and I just cannot do it! I get so frustrated that I want to "speak in tongues"! Thankfully, Lindsay put the bobbin in with ease and has helped me put patches on Nat's uniform and mend a few little items. It seems that she will learn to sew much better than I-thank goodness!

Ethan has been playing a computer game called Zoo Tycoon. He has really enjoyed "taking care" of the animals and watching them and their progress. Ethan has always liked animals and even though it is just a game, it is fun for me to watch him get so excited about what they do!

Clarissa is beginning her first novel. Earlier this week she told me that her "hopes and dreams were shattered". What? She told me that all the stories that she had written were falling apart in the book baskets or lost and that she wanted to be an "arthor". I told her that she can still be an author if she wants and we talked about some ideas that might help her stories to last longer. She then decided to write a book and the interesting thing is that it has the voice of Junie B. Jones books. She loves those books and checks out at least 5 a week to read. I have caught her reading in the dark when she is supposed to be sleeping! Hmmmmm, I'm afraid I know exactly how she feels-wanting to stay up and find out what happens.

Zachary has been teething this week and so he has been lovely. We have not gotten a lot of sleep and it has been hard to get anything done because he hangs onto my legs! Thank goodness for pain medication! He has also become a "daddy's boy" watching Travis fix sprinklers and work on other projects.

My "moment of joy" came this week when we were watching fireworks with my parents. They were sitting behind me and I turned around to see if they could see all right and noticed that they were holding hands. I am so grateful for their examples!