Kian came to visit AZ for his friend Cydnee's mission farewell.
We LOVED getting a quick visit from our Kookoo! And we made the most of it! He was originally supposed to fly in first thing on Friday morning...but his plane was delayed and entire DAY and he didn't get in until late morning on Saturday.
We still packed in swimming, a session at the temple, a comedy show, Cydnee's farewell, and some packing for our move before Kian had to leave on Monday AM. Again, his flight was delayed by a couple of hours. Allegiant is not feeling the love from the Lamoreauxs at the moment.
Kian's old stomping ground...Perry Pool.
Eden was at work and had to miss the fun, but she and I can regularly be found floating around with our pool noodles at Perry.
We got to meet up with Uncle Matt and Robbie for the Nate Bargatze show. We laughed our hearts out.
Thanks for coming for a visit, Kian! We already miss you.
The next random but very notable thing from the past few weeks is that Eden scored 5's on all three of her AP tests!!!! (AP United States Government and Politics, AP Calculus BC, and AP Macroeconomics) Can anyone say, "Genius"?
We are so impressed with all that Eden accomplishes through her hard work, her incredible study habits, her drive, and her natural intelligence. Seriously, what can this girl NOT do? Nothing!
In honor of all of her 5's, we allowed her to choose 5 different ways that we would celebrate. She chose:
1) 5 minute dance party (I actually imposed this one)
2) A number 5 "tattoo" on her wrist...with a Sharpie of course.
3) A toast to Eden with some sparkling apple cider tucked in the back of our garage fridge.
4) We played the game Clue which Eden always wins...and she did again.
5) Lastly, we bought Eden the Diagon Alley mini Lego set that she has been eyeing for a very long time. And then promptly told her she can't build it until after our move. We are really annoying like that.
It was fun to celebrate our girl!
I have a feeling these types of celebration are going to be a regular occurrence for this extraordinary young lady. 👌
We squeezed in some 4th of July fun during our frantic move prep. The holiday fell just one week before we were loading our pods and so we were/are truly in the fever pitch of moving. But all work and no play isn't a good idea, so we made time to celebrate one of our favorite holidays!
The day began fortuitously with our first visit of the season from our sweet Maxine. She woke up just in time for the semi quincentennial. 💪
We also sneaked in some yard work and packing so we wouldn't feel guilty about enjoying the day a little later on.
Then, Eden rolled out of bed at an appropriate hour for any teenager and we had brunch/lunch for the red, white, and blue sort. And got ready to head to the pool.
We have regularly gone to the pool for the 4th of July, and it has usually been cram-packed or at least a little busier than normal, but not so this year. Look at little Eden floating like a lonely toad in the massive pool. We had it to ourselves! It did eventually get busier, but it was a little awkward to have the eyes of lifeguards solely on us. 😂
Ezra and Taya hosted Kian at their house in Ogden (where Ezra is doing an internship this summer with Boeing...and where he is getting his security clearance and a permanent job offer is being prepared for him!!!!) and they were kind enough to send us some pics and cool videos of their celebrations. It made us happy to see them all having fun.
After the pool we headed to the theater to see Toy Story 5 and wait out the hot afternoon temps. Next up was a delicious dinner of grilled chicken, elote salad, chips and fresh guacamole, and watermelon. Mmm,mmm,mmm!
Then it was fireworks time.
It was such a fun afternoon celebrating this amazing country of ours. And the freedoms so bravely fought for. God Bless America!!!!
We celebrated Brig for Father's Day since he is just about the best Dad around!
We started with...can you guess...Heart Attack on a Plate! Brig loves what he loves.
Then we headed to church, where all the men had a special luncheon and got new socks. Brig picked the most vibrant available. You'll have to check his socks the next time you see him to see if he is wearing them. You will definitely know that it is "them".
After church, we came home and Kian called so we got to chat with him. He watched as Brig opened his gifts (Eden was more anxious and eager to start present time than the man of the hour. Lol!).
Nice face, Eden!
Like father, like daughter. 😂
We ended the festivities with Brig's dinner of choice, which was grilled spicy Italian sausage, mashed potatoes, and Ceasar salad. All chased down by a peach milkshake. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm!
*I also asked the kids what they love/appreciate most about Brig and here is what they said:
Ezra-I admire dad's goofiness. He is always able to make me laugh and I think that is important.
Taya- Something I admire about Brig is how he loves learning. He's always willing to try new things and can make everyone laugh. Hope you feel so loved today!
Kian- I like how dad likes messing around but still gets stuff done.
Eden- I'm grateful for dad always being willing to help me, whether it's with math or some random project.
We visited Rex the day before to drop off a gift and spend some time with him. He was super cute and put on the gift right after he opened it.
...and in the case of Brig, our favorite adventurer! He makes our lives so much more exciting and better all around. We love him and are lucky to be loved so happily in return.
"Each year, the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) hosts the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC), the largest collegiate rocket competition in the world, accepting over 150 collegiate teams to compete for the prestigious title of overall winner! Each team designs, builds, tests and launches rockets with a payload size of 2kg or 4.4 pounds and target altitudes of either 10,000, 30,000 or 45,000 feet. Rockets are typically 4 to 8 inches in diameter and 8 to 20 ft. long. Multistage rockets and all chemical propulsion types (solid, liquid, and hybrid) are allowed."
Well, guess who was there this year?! Ezra and the High-Powered Rocket Team for BYU!!!!! They headed to beautiful Midland, Texas last week to participate in the IREC, or International Rocket Engineering Competition with their amazing rocket, Snowbird. It truly was a beaut! The engineered fins even got a shout out on the live broadcast! Their goals were to successfully launch their solid fuel rocket, ascend to 30,000 ft with a payload of so many pounds (I can't remember, maybe 4 lbs...or 6 lbs) that would land intact, with a successful deployment of their parachute as well.
And not just anyone can compete. "Getting into the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC), hosted by the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA), is highly competitive. While anyone can apply, getting accepted requires passing a stringent vetting process that judges your university's capability to safely design, build, and fly a high-power rocket."
It is basically a year long process that begins just as the last competition ends. It takes dedication, that's for sure!
We, of course, were glued to the event's livestream for several days and cheered sweet EZ and his team on from AZ. Next year we WON'T be moving right in the middle of the competition and will BE THERE!!!! Mark my words! It was torture to be stuck in AZ and not in Texas cheering our boy on in person. Although, there were scorching temps (107F-108F), with rogue sandstorms and rainstorms working all sorts of trouble. I don't know that I am sad that we missed that part. 👀
Can you see our fav redheaded rocketeer? 😊
Here too...kind of blurry, but there EZ is, right by their amazing rocket.
Aside from the launch, the first two days of the competition were held in a giant conference center where each team displayed their rockets, their payloads, and information regarding their rocket. They answered questions, and the BYU team was even invited to participate in a "Podium Session" where they had a Q&A over their rocket that was livestreamed. Pretty fancy!
On launch day (Wed), Ezra and team arrived at the launch site before the sun was up. Look at those stars!
They elbowed their way as close to the front of the queue as they could...and it's a good thing because about 2 rockets after BYU's launch, a nasty windstorm blew through pausing all launches. Then, on Thursday night, it rained all through the night making it impossible to get out to the launch site. SO, that very early morning arrival, and all the prep through the night that meant no sleep, was well worth it.
(only in Texas)
We are very proud of how hard Ezra works and amazed with all that he is doing and accomplishing! Our favorite past time is cheering our incredible children on, and they just keep the amazing feats coming!
