Timothy's Eagle Court of Honor!

On March 18, 2016 we were finally able to have Timothy's much anticipated Eagle Court of Honor!  It was 2 days after his 16th Birthday and 6 months after he advanced to the rank of Eagle scout!  It came about 2 weeks after returning from my brothers funeral and I was uncertain how I was going to make it work.  Many amazing friends stepped up and helped me with all the finishing touches.  We were expecting about 50 people for the evening and were blown away by an attendance somewhere between 100-110 people.  All I remember was friends pulling down more chairs than the 75 we had set up.  It was a great evening highlighting Timothy and his accomplishments as a scout and as a young man.  As a mom sitting in the audiance I experienced many tears of joy as I looked around at all the people in attendance that had such a meaningful impact on Timothy and his life.  He gave out 6 roses to woman who had made a positive impact on his life, these included Tina Grimes, DJ Garrett, Kasey Mckay, Melanie Yeager, Grandma Abbott and Wanda Krentz.  He gave out 5 Eagle mentor pins to Stan Hall, Richard Warne, Rick Yeager, Doug Walters and Larry Bowden.  He presented Nathan and I with parent pins.  Timothy has grown up to be a young man that I am proud to have as my son.  Following the ceremony he went on his first date!:)  Here are just a few pictures from the night ( not all in attendance want pictures on the internet).All pictures for the evening were taken by my friend Brooke.:)

                                                Gift from Grandma and Grandpa Abbott

                                                 Gift from Uncle Nathan and Aunt DeLinda

                                                     Gift From Sariah

                                           Gift from Mom and Dad

                                              Painted by Aunt Jennifer:)

                                                   Michael and Timothy

                                          Sister and Elder Anderson with Timothy

                                                     Aunt Jennifer, Timothy and Uncle Brad

                                               Grandma Niles and Timothy

                                   Aunt Jennifer, Sandy, Timothy and Uncle Bradley

                                            Michael, Timothy and Samuel

                                                               Sariah

                                                      Solinda and her Dad

                                                Maggie and Sariah

                                                       Grandpa Abbott and Uncle Nelson

                                                Michael, Josh, Timothy and Samuel

                                           Timothy with poster made by friends!!

                                                    Family Pictures

                                        Picture with Allison ( first date later that night)

                                                 Sariah and Grandma Niles

                                         Picture with Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Bradley

                                           Picture with all family in attendance

Fun, Crazy and Wonderful Summer!

We decided to change up our summer this year and take no baseball trip:(   We felt it was time for Nathan and I to go on a Honeymoon (That we never went on) to Hawaii!  Timothy got his first official job with the Youth Conservation Corps.  He spent the summer in Joshua Tree National Park building and repairing trails as well as learning other careers within the park service.  Sadly he did get injured in the last two weeks and still has one week to go.  He has really enjoyed the experience and the money he has earned for his mission in 2 years.    Nathan has spent the week with Sam at Camp Fiesta Island in San Diego.  It sounds like they have made memories they will never forget.  Sariah and I got to spend the day at the Wet and Wild Water park with friends and had a super fun day.  We will be headed to Utah for the last 3 days of our summer vacation, we wish we had more time but are grateful for the time that we do have.

                         Sam with good friend Hunter!(came from Florida to go to camp with him)                                                                    Ready for scout camp!

                                                            Small boat Sailing!!!

                                              Sam and Nathan Ready to go to camp!!

A little bit about our trip to Hawaii.  We decided to fly into Honolulu to see friends, hike diamond head, go to Pearl Harbor Museum and to go to the Polynesian cultural center and of course a luau.  Our friends met us at the airport and gave us the proper Hawaiian greeting with leis  It was incredible to experience all of these and was also good to reconnect with friends.  The next part of our trip was an adventure.  We took an 8 passenger plane over to Maui.  We stayed right on the beach and enjoyed sitting on the patio every morning and night watching the waves crash in and watch the sun rise and set.  The views were beyond breathtaking.  We tried very hard to make the best of the short 6 days in Maui.  We spent time at the beach and enjoyed just relaxing and talking without interruption.  We took the road to Hana trip and enjoyed the breathtaking views and the history we learned about the Island from our tour guide.  She was fun and kept us laughing the entire time.  We attended a show that taught us about the culture and life of the people of Maui.  We then ate a yummy  dinner at Ruth Chris steak House.  We enjoyed so much wonderful Hawaiian food while there, I believe I gained 10 pounds in the 9 days we were gone. We also went on a dinner cruise because a nice lady gave us a free ticket. This trip was possible because Grandma Niles was willing to come take care of the kids while we were gone which was such a blessing to not worry for them while we were away. Here are a just a few of the hundreds of pictures taken from the trip.

  
                                                                Pearl Harbor

Diamond Head 

Road to Hana 

Road to Hana 

Patio view in Maui 

Road to Hana 

Road to Hana 

                                                                   Road to Hana

                                                             Honolulu Beach

                                                         Honolulu Temple

                                                                   Plane ride to Maui

                                                               Dinner Cruise

                                                        Sunset on dinner cruise

                                                                Road to Hana 

Time has passed by fast

Time has passed by so quickly since I last updated the blog.  We had a great visit to Utah at Thanksgiving.  We were able to meet Bradley and Jennifer and had a great time.  Jennifer and I even did some black Friday shopping.  I was able to spend some great quality time with all my brothers and sister.  I would later learn that the time I spent with my brother would be the last time I would see him:(  We enjoyed our Christmas break and enjoyed spending  most of it at home.  Timothy participated in a soccer tournament in Loma Linda, CA.  We went to wonder lights at the living desert and stayed in Palm Springs for a few days.

Sariah turned 7 in January.  It is hard to believe she is that old already.  We enjoyed watching Timothy play soccer all month long.  We even traveled around a little to watch some away games.  In February I received the sad news that my brother passed away.  I was volunteering at the Navy Relief and am so glad that I had so many wonderful people by my side.  I flew home to be with my two beautiful nieces, nephew and sister in law.  Nothing in life really prepares you to say good bye to your little brother and friend.  He had called me the night before and told me he loved me very much.  He was always there for me and was the best Uncle a kid could have.  The kids have so many memories with him.  He bought a swing set that they have all played on over the years.  He went to Tiijuana with us, he came and took the kids off roading in the Joshua Tree National Park.  He came when Sariah was just a few weeks old with his wife and daughter.  I have so many great memories of my brother and I will continue to hold those memories close to my heart.  Life is short, take the time today to let all you love know that you love them .

CIF Prelims

Timothy made it to CIF prelims with the boys cross country team.  We enjoyed a great day in Riverside with friends that were also there to cheer him on.  He had the best race he has had up to this point!  He ran an 18:11 and his best prior to this was a 19 flat.  He enjoyed the season and we are very proud of him.  Here are some pictures from the race:)

School, life and Scouts

                                 After Timothy's presentation at the city council meeting!

                                          Sam and Sariah, their last year in the same school:(

                                          Sariah won first place in the pie contest!:)

                          Tim at the race in Yucca Valley he had a PR of 32 seconds on the hardest course.

                              Sam got the Student of the month award for September!

We made it back home from vacation in one piece and had a wonderful time.  School began immediately and so did cross country for Tim.  Timothy got his Sophomore schedule and was very excited that he would finally have his dad as a teacher.  Samuel and Sariah were very happy with their teachers as well.  Timothy received an award at the football game for keeping a 4.0 GPA his entire freshman year.  We are very proud of him as parents.  Timothy had to speak at the city council meeting in September to present his Eagle project to the council.  The radio said he wowed the audience with his adult presentation. :)  He then did his board of review and we now officially have an Eagle Scout and are proud of the young man he has become on this journey.  Nathan is in full swing coaching both Sam and Sariah's teams in park and recreation soccer.  I continue to serve as the Relief Society President and am always busy.  I will be starting my first job on Monday after an almost 15 year break.  I am excited and nervous at the same time. :)  We are all excited for fall!