Tom Highs - Whenever I'm around kids and grandkids. Jake's amazing place in Costa Rica. Hawaii with Natalie and family and swimming with the dolphins - six weeks in paradise. Rehoboth Beach with my
brother, Jake and Steveo's family. Home teaching with Don Richie. Two perfect months in Europe. Kids and grandkids visiting Heber. Teaching for IDARM in Monterey (2), Czech Republic, South Africa and Miami. Hanging out with Larry and Robyn. Meeting Mats. Mission reunions. Talking to Elder Kearon again at the Christmas concert. Hadestown and Daniel Craig in NYC. All visits to Solana Beach. My brother's visit to Utah in January. Being married to Anita Packer. Lows - Anita getting sick the first week in Monterey. Getting Covid and missing out on Dan's visit with Zane, Scarlett, and Levi.
Anita - Going to Costa Rica, Hawaii for 6 weeks, Rehoboth Beach, Jonah baptized on my birthday, NYC and see the broadway show "Hadestown", HS girls reunion, Europe for 2 months, early skiing at PC,
visits in Heber from family (Natalie, Seth, Colie and Dan). Sunday calls. Swimming with dolphins. Low: My sisters cancer and knee surgery. Flu in Monterey and Tom's Covid for second time.
Seth. Lows: I'll start with lows because they put the highs in perspective. My best friend from intern year is Mike Peterson - someone that I spent a lot of late nights and miserable days with and have stayed close with since. He had some headaches and dizziness in Oct/Nov. Got an MRI and there was a tumor in the brain. He had surgery and despite reasons for optimism that it would be a less aggressive tumor, the pathology came back with one of the worst brain cancers you could have. He's 39, has four kids, and now is facing that he may be measuring his life in months.
I'm not sure why things like this have to hit closer to home to make you appreciate everything more - seems like if i had more empathy i could feel the same way with all the tough things other people have to go through. But either way this has brought a change of perspective. I would have said my knee surgery after the April grand canyon mishap was a low but it feels hard to say that now. Actually kind of cool to get anesthesia (very trippy to be on the other end - and the other side) and get healed up and be back to doing things. Seems more fair for our last year to call things non-highlights rather than lows.
Highs: I would have said my highs were the adventures this year and i would still say they were: the week-long river trip in the grand canyon in October where we hiked in and out with our packrafts and floated without seeing anyone for days was unreal. Havasupai was still closed to tourists so that place being empty was sublime. Floating the Salmon and the Virgin River through the gorge when it was flashing during summer monsoons was great. Mtn biking in Sedona and many other rides and hikes and ski days (huge powder day in Jackson this year!!) are things that I live for. I think I would still say they were if I was Peterson.
But I also imagine I would say that Penny snuggling me for a whole Christmas movie was a highlight. And Joph wanting to play "tent game" in our bed on a Sunday morning was a highlight. And something as ordinary pillow talk with Heidi or picking up Luke from a soccer practice was a highlight. Or a Saturday morning mtn bike ride w Taft (and Luke if we're lucky) up airport hill that we've done dozens of times - still a highlight.
Grateful for all the time I've spent with all of you this year. Grateful everyone is alive and relatively healthy and sometimes annoyed with each other and sometimes getting along great. The highs and the lows, the disgreements and the times everyone is vibing - they are all wonderful things and we are all lucky to experience it all.
Sorry I've gone on but I'm feeling sentimental! Uh..... Amen.
Taft: High: hanging with mountain bike team and races, skiing Jackson Hole Low: language arts teacher
Luke: High: Montana and skiing Jackson Hole Low: as much metal in his mouth as humanly possible- braces, expander and Mara device all at once
Jonah: High: Montana, track race, skiing shirtless on birthday, floating the Salmon, Orderville canyon Low: getting the flu (missed 7 days of school)
Penny: High: Lego camp, 4 wheeling in Montana, playing with friends every free second of the day. Low: got grounded (for 5 minutes), knowing we are moving and that Eden is not located in St George
Heidi: Highs: trip to bend with Seth, catching up with old friends at high school reunion, summer trips to Montana, Colorado and California, Hilton Head with Bluths, northern Utah summer hikes,
watching kids compete in soccer and mountain biking Lows: anticipating challenges of our upcoming move and everyone starting at new schools, etc., telling our neighbors we are moving,
Dan - highs: Philly trip with Eagles and World Series, daph and Zane killing it in college, Idaho Scientific having a record year, low: running a business is stressful
Lara - highs: kayaking mangroves in Florida Keys, growing my business and hiring 3 employees, all kids doing great, getting Copper puppy, Lake Tahoe; lows: getting hospitalized in Florida Keys
Daph - high: getting engaged, lows: chem prof at Boise St, getting tonsils out
Braxti - getting engaged, grandma dying
Zane - high: Bali/South Africa, low: getting COVID, influenza and strep at the same time the week before finals
Lettie - high: growing my guitar business, low: taking the stupid ACT
Brau - high: watching the Phillies live in the World Series, low: Phillies losing World Series
Levi - high: 2 TD and HR in one day, seeing a monster buck in Yellowstone, low: losing to Rigby in football twice
Highs: Felicia auditioning and getting into the Virginia Symphony choir. Kent getting a proper diagnosis and professional help as well as having a supportive teacher. He’s had such a turnaround in school since then. His Soundscapes (music class) has been fantastic and has really enjoyed learning sign
language at school. Isaac starting to communicate more. Kent and Isaac playing together. Steve getting promoted and being recognized at work. Still enjoying having our own house and really like our
neighborhood. Rehoboth trip in the summer, New York in the Fall, being able to drive to cool places like Philly while visiting family. NY Jets game in Philly. BYU game in Lynchburg, VA. Having the beach so close.
Lows: Health issues for Felicia and Isaac. Felicia’s took all year to get an answer and eventually she diagnosed herself and the doctor agreed with her. She also had to find her own treatment because the doctor’s prescription didn’t work. Isaac’s gone through waves of tummy problems.
Inflation made things tough before the promotion. Kent missing out on sports the entire year because of new parents not knowing how to do things.
Jake Highs: Showing off Costa Rica with mom and dad, Switzerland with Melanie, eating in
Switzerland, New Orleans with Tommy doing humanitarian work and getting to know him, Bourbon Street at midnight, Albania trip trying to figure out how to lead a foreign group of computer programmers only to learn I can't, mountain biking Sedona and Moab with Seth with the ultimate flexibility to run from fires in the Northwest, Switzerland with the Tomlinson's and teaching people how to live after the manner of happiness, Disney and Orlando without a car, France bike riding with the family in Loire valley - we made it back! Deepening my love and gratitude for my God by watching The Chosen, Melanie making good out of her hard life experiences and dedicating herself to blessing others as a life coach, watching Rachel, Tommy, Kate, and Lily be wonderful, kind, respectful, appreciative, independent contributors to society.
Lows: Throwing my back out again, hip pain that kept me from even walking. Something about the physical limitations that I am not mature enough to handle with class...I was beyond grumpy and even to the point of depressed for one of the few times in my life when this all happened in May. At the same time there was a lot going on in the world and in my world that made me feel like public enemy number one. Normally I had exercise to let it all out. This time it bubbled inside. Not healthy. But the health is back. The love is back. And I have a deeper empathy for those who "lose" it.
Melanie Highs: Sledging is Switzerland with Jake, visiting St George and spending time with so much family and going to my great grandma's house, Hilton Head with my brother, training to be a Health and Life coach and seeing my two practice clients quality of life change, being hired as a Kids Life Coach in our local area, our family trip to Disney World, Rachel getting her license and saving me 2 trips to Princeton every week, the Music Man on Broadway, our chateau in France, exploring castles, bike rides through the countryside and spending time together making a lemon tart and sitting by the fire.
Lows: Becoming estranged from my sisters, a house being built right in front of our Airbnb obstructing a bit of our view and causing a lot of noise for our guests, our dishwasher breaking and an infestation of ants in the kitchen, Jake traveling a lot.
Rachel Highs: The french countryside is where I'm meant to live I swear it's like I'm living inside a pre-Raphaelite children's book illustration. Disney World - awesomest day in my entire life. It was so
perfect and I was living the dream with my family. Princeton Girlchoir concerts - in Princeton, in a random charter school in western Pennsylvania. Singing is a dream and I love hanging with the homies. Sang Carmina Burana in Carnegie Hall with the Pennsbury Community Chorus!!! Going to the Forrest Gump Place. The south is fun. Trek with Allie and joking about Forest Gump AP Spanish with Senor Padilla! 9 member class. Senor Padilla was so chill we learned Puerto Rican card games and he told stories and we would throw paper airplanes and sneak out to buy Dunkin Donuts. Best memories ever.
Lows: Speech and Debate. Grammie remembers me freaking out about writing and memorizing a 10 minute speech for a competition in one night . College applications - the constant indecision and hinging you self worth on a bunch of 40 year old stranger's assumptions based on a handful of numbers and letters. Recording Elegie by Rachmananoff for the piano audition. I kinda went insane.. Ecuador - no contact with family or anyone for 3 weeks - only intense and constant social interaction with strangers from Utah in a foreign country.
Tommy Highs: Vacations, New Orleans Lows: School, Geometry, English, Spanish, etc.
Kate Highs: Paris, Girls Camp, Oake choir festival, the Simmons coming to visit, Disney World/Six Flags/Rollercoasters, Hilton Head with cousins, Ending 5th grade (parties and activities), getting a phone, Young Women and temple trips.
Lows: Starting 6th grade (middle school), Girls Camp (spiders), Warnicks moving, soccer season, not going to Costa Rica
Lily Highs: Hilton Head with the Grossens, Disney World, France, Costa Rica, Grammie and Pop came, Isaac eats pillow, when Sara came over for Lion King, Flee market, Christmas, New Year's Eve, St
Patricks Day, Easter, Halloween, Rehoboth gelato, covering people with toilet paper, Birthday, date nights, crepes, Fufu, sleeping
Lows: school, Teddy being mean, Warnick's moved, thinking how we miss the chickens, the nightmare
Colie Highs - family trip to Hawaii to visit the Portugals, new kitchen, girls learning to swim, bike + ski, the Carmen San Diego era in the home
Lows - homework for kids
Cora Highs - “going to Hawaii and being in the beautiful ocean, butterfly biosphere, Heber at 4th of July and Christmas with family, my Christmas presents, my comfy bed”
Lows - “homework and my teacher yelling, learning hard things about money”
Jules Highs - “swimming with sea turtles when I was a mermaid in Hawaii with my cousins, hot tubbing in Heber with Mamie and Pop, Penny’s house at Easter, snuggling every morning and night of every single day all the time”
Lows - “going to bed before my mom goes to bed, chores”
Isa High: summer vacation especially the road trip Low: not being with grammie and pop or in/near snow for christmas
Tori High:Jr lifeguards. Painting a fish with artist Hilton on the mural at my school. Only Penny and I
got to do this. Austin. Seeing cousins and cousins visiting. Summer and trips- glamping, Yellowstone, disneyland, California, grammie & pop’s house, wakeboarding. Building my bed . Grammie and pop visiting and being here for my bday. Peyton visiting . Gymnastics. Tim McGraw concert. Getting Ms. Ah Sue for 4th grade. Hotel with dad . The posada .
Low: Alice moved away. Getting sick while my parents were on a trip. Finding out I’m allergic to lots of plants and animals.
Noel High: going to Barcelona and Marrakech Low: Getting a knee meniscus tear and not being able to play tennis
Natalie High: Getting into my top choice for my masters program and enjoying it . Kids school no longer requiring masks (fall 2022) finally!! physical therapy working miracles .swimming in the ocean with turtles and dolphins. Tim McGraw. Family visiting. Trips: Austin, ID/WY/Yellowstone, Utah winter and summer, Disneyland/LA, Barcelona, Marrakech. Proud of my kids for trying new things this year and did things that scared them. Grateful they have good friends and school is going well.
Low: Insomnia. Missing Mauna Loa lava flow by just days (first eruption in 40 years). Covid on my bday and Noel’s.
Bryn High: traveling with Jillian and Isa, being on our own in Utah. Visiting friends and family in Idaho and going to Yellowstone for the first time and going to Disneyland of course. Also getting first place in my first spotlight dance competition in June !!!
Low: Missing out on the family and the snow in Utah this winter.
