Since we were already in Utah for Grandpa’s funeral, we figured that we may as well stay a few extra days to ski. We stayed with my cousin Connie, who had four unused bedrooms in her basement.

Saturday, March 12, we drove down to Orem to take Uncle Ryan out for a late birthday lunch.

Raine’s finger was looking pretty bad, so we found an after-hours clinic to get some x-rays done. Sure enough, it was broken. The nurse also pointed out in one of the x-rays where you could see the growth plate, that Raine is still growing! She estimated that Raine would likely be 5’11” or possibly even 6′.

Sunday, March 13, Connie was out of town visiting her oldest daughter most of the time we were there so we hung out with her husband David and the kids loved on her dog! Sunday night all of her local daughters came over for dinner along with Uncle Wayne and Aunt Genan.

March 14-16, skiing at Brighton.

Carter got pretty daring the second day and decided to make a couple runs down a black diamond.

Raine got pretty daring and made a few runs down this double black diamond!

The last day, Carter discovered the terrain park with beginner jumps!

We flew up to Utah for Grandpa Dewey’s funeral just before Spring Break. Since the Dewey family home was sold at the end of last year, after Sue passed, we had to find our own place to stay. We ended up staying right next to Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City. While Daddy was off with his siblings, we walked over to Temple Square.

We had lunch at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

The temple is undergoing major renovations

After lunch, we did a little window shopping at City Creek Center. Carter wanted ice cream, even though it was freezing cold.

That night was the viewing. The kids didn’t want to stay at the viewing for more than a minute, so we took Katie’s kids and went to dinner and a movie. They sang karaoke the whole time.

March 11 – Grandpa Dewey had full military honors at the graveside service. It was really special.

After the funeral, the family had a luncheon back at the church. The kids found a basketball and started playing. Somehow, Raine managed to break her finger!

Tucker

February 5 – Raine got highlights

February 9 – Mom’s birthday

Carter soccer

Young Women basketball

Mom, trying to work

We stayed in a tiny house near Lake Texoma over Martin Luther King Day weekend. It was FREEZING cold when we arrived, but warmed up enough for us to hike and bike the day we left.

1/16/22

1/17/22

On the 15th, when we left Colleyville, there was a hostage standoff taking place just blocks from our house at the Congregation Beth Israel Jewish Synagogue. That morning, before we knew what was going on, I drove through that area to pick up Raine for her YW basketball game. There were police cars blocking Hardage Ln at Pleasant Run, so I turned left on Waller and tried to come up Cooks Ln, but there was a police car there as well, so I cut through the Pleasant Run Baptist Church parking lot and got onto Pleasant Run just long enough to turn onto Shelton Dr. I assumed the police activity must be centered closer to Hardage; I had no idea that the problem was at the empty-looking synagogue when I saw it along my detour.

By the end of the basketball game, we knew there was something wrong and shortly after we arrived home, we knew that there was a hostage situation. DJ called his co-worker who attends that synagogue and he told us that their Rabi and two other church members were taken hostage by a Palestinian. Throughout the day, additional law enforcement agencies arrived and staged in the school parking lots near our home.

The hostage situation ended late that night when Rabi Walker threw a chair at the gunman and he and the 2 other hostages ran out a side door. The federal agents then stormed the building and the gunman was killed.

When we returned home Monday, the media was all over Cooks Ln and the Pleasant Run Baptist Church parking lot. It is very unsettling to see an international terrorist situation happen so close to home.

Grandma and Grandpa Anderson come to visit over New Year so that they could be here for Carter’s priesthood ordination.

New Year’s Eve-day hike

New Year’s Eve pinata

New Year’s Day run/walk

Bowling at Main Event

January 2, 2022 Carter was ordained a Deacon

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

December 19 we drove to Taos, NM for a three-day, pre-Christmas ski vacation. We knew that we were taking a gamble on snow coverage, and while there was barely enough to open a couple runs, we had fun anyway. We stayed in a little condo right next to the resort so we could ski in for lunch and then hike down the road to catch the lift (since there wasn’t enough coverage to ski out).

We drove home on the 23rd and Raine dressed for the unseasonably warm temps in Texas rather than the icy temps at Taos.

December 18, 2021

BYU played in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, LA so we drove over to watch the Cougar Football team end their season. It was cold and rainy most of the game, and BYU lost terribly, but we survived.

November 17, 2021 Southlake, 2-mile 15:12.0; 31st

11/18/21

November 30, 2021 Bedford, 2-mile 15:58.3 17th

December 8, 2021 Southlake, 2-mile 14:15.2; 37th out of 90.

December 14, 2021 Southlake, 2-mile 14.39.4; 46th out of 144.

*** UPDATED ***

January 12, 2022 GCISD District Championship, Cross Timbers MS, 2-mile 15:51.6; 22nd out of 64

* Note: the Southlake course was short, everyone’s times were a lot faster in Southlake than at the other courses.

December 2, 2021

Raine competed in the school spelling bee again this year (it was back in-person after being just a computerized test last year).

Raine finished in the top 10, but she wasn’t happy at all. She got out on Korea because she literally didn’t know what the pronouncer was talking about. Raine is TERRIBLE at geography, so when the pronouncer automatically gave the definition because it is a homonym, it completely confused poor Raine. I could see the confusion on her face and knew she was done for. Sure enough, she spelled it with a C because she thought it was in the Caribbean.

She was so mad afterwards that I had to pull her out of school and take her out for brunch before she could go back to class!

Interesting side-not: Raine wore the same shirt that she wore 2 years earlier when she won the school bee in 6th grade. Apparently it wasn’t a lucky shirt after-all!