A New Chapter for Ashley

Ashley graduated from high school. Wow, I can hardly believe it. She will be going to BYU-I this fall. She has the Fall/Spring schedule. Thank you to everyone who has been involved in her life. She has had so many people influence her and help show her the way. There is no way a parent can do this alone. She has very special brothers that have helped raise her. Each of them have made a special contribution to the person she is today. I know Ashley loves the time she spends with her brothers and wishes she had more time with them. Ashley also loves the times she spends with Aunts Uncles and Cousins. She loves spending time with all of you. Family reunions are some of her favorite memories. Ashley especially loves spending times with her grandparents. She goes to their house and loves to listen to them remember the good old days. Mom and Dad usually 'get into it' because they each remember things a little differently than each other. They will argue over who remembers the best. Sometimes they are both wrong. I know Ashley is in for bigger things in life. I pray that I have taught her what she needs to know to be a well adjusted adult, we'll see. You probably need to be a well adjusted adult in order to show someone else how to do it. We might be behind the 8 Ball here. I love you Sis. It's been great hanging out with you.

It's back to school time again. This time of year comes around too often. Ashley is a Senior this year. I can hardly believe my baby is grown up. Ashley is not playing volleyball this fall. All that girl drama is too much to handle. She has a job. I don't quite get it but she is a mentor to a developmentally delayed child. She is allowed to spend up to 22 hours a week with the child and do whatever she and the child might want to do. Go shopping, do household chores, homework or whatever. Ashley really likes this kind of work.
I am back at the school district. I wish I could find something else. I keep looking and applying to various places.
We had everyone at home at different times this summer. It was so much fun having all the grandkids at home all at the same time. It was also nice to see Melissa and her kids. Lynette and her family. Leon and Danny. Steve and Melanie. Gary came for a couple of days. Of course I see Teresa and her family and Alecia and her family on a regular basis. I am very grateful to be able to have so much of my family stopping by mom and dad's house. I get to see family when they come to town to see mom and dad. That is a bonus for me.

Our Growing Family

I can't believe how fast things change. Since we had our family pictures taken a year and a half ago, we have had 3 new additions to our family. Each of the families with kids have added one more to the mix. I already introduced you to Vivian, Scott and Julie's little one. David and Cheri added Kennedi and Shea and Erin added Emily. Three new girls. WOW!

As you can see, we have a new addition to our family. Vivian Pearl Gibbons was born on July 21. She is a sweet baby. She squeaks when she has an unfulfilled need. We were a little surprised to see the blond hair. Cadee's hair was dark. I guess Vivian is just showing us she is an individual. What a beauty.

Aren't they adorable!

I've have had this dumb blog since October 2007. I just never have anything interesting to say. Here goes. I will not post on it very often because in the words of my daughter, "I'm boring". She also tells me I'm half dead because I'm so old, that's a whole other story. We do have an interesting thing going on soon. Ashley is involved in the softball "World Series" being held in Park City Utah. It starts on July 20th with opening ceremonies and a bunch of stuff for just the girls. On July 21st they start playing games. There are supposed to be close to 200 teams in her age category (16U) alone. We don't know yet when her first games are. If your would be interested in getting a daily text message as to her next day 1st game of the day, let me know the phone number to text to and I will try to update you. I don't get to go to this tournament so I will have to do everything from here. Shea and Chad are going to try to keep updated too since they will be closer than me. I don't know yet if there will be 'pool play' first and then 'bracket play' or if it is straight 'bracket play'. I will let you know as soon as I know.
Ashley's team is called Caldwell Chargers. Their logo is the lightening bolt from the San Diego Chargers football team. Their colors are Navy blue and Yellow. One uniform is mainly yellow and the other uniform is mainly navy blue. They will on occasion wear white baseball pants but not often. Ashley most often plays catcher. Her catchers gear is light gray.
This tournament is part of the 'Triple Crown' Series. This one is the last of the big three tournaments. They were invited because of their record last year. Their performance hasn't been as stellar this year. If she plays next year, they will be a great team. Every other year they lose half of their team due to age and they have to rebuild. Next year, they will have the old team back together. Ashley is really looking forward to being in this tournament because she loves being around so many people that have her same passion for the sport.