Violet at 9

Violet continues to be an absolute delight in our home. Here she is with Penny and Monroe at a Cubby's dinner date. We have absolutely loved having Penny live so close!

Violet and I went with cousins to Beauty and the Beast at Hale Center Theater. She loves going to plays in general and loves attending events and having things to look forward to.

She's our little tumbler and loves this bar that she got for Christmas.

Her piano piece went all the way to state for reflections!

I've gotten to do activity days with Violet and it's so fun. She definitely turns into the entertainer/class clown when it's at our house though. Most people don't know that side of her because she can seem quiet and shy, but she's actually very silly.

She's started experimenting with doing her own hair. This was when I was out of town. :)

One of Violet's last pictures with Gigi. This was at her 90th birthday party. So special that she's gotten to know her great grandma so well.

Violet and Avery and Venna continue to be the cutest trio. I love that she gets to grow up with these special girls. They have the sweetest bond. Costa Rica with them was magical.

Violet always wants to match me and how can I say no?! Matching Easter dresses.

Violet's dance team for 2024/2025 was Twilight. She had so much fun with these girls! They did a dance to Waterloo.

Cute girl ready for third grade market.

Gigi is probably her closest friend these days. These two laugh nonstop and it's just the best.

Dance pictures for 2024/2025.

She got to do hip hop with Gigi.

She's had Miss Zoey for dance for two years and she loves her.

2nd grade field trip

After 3.5 years (I think?), Violet finished up with Singer's Company in the spring. She loved Miss Christie.

Violet with her second grade teacher, Mrs. Kelly.

Violet's very last picture with Gigi before she passed away.

Violet is absolutely obsessed with Louie and plays with him nonstop. She's even done some "babysitting" for him. She's always playing with the babies and toddlers. When she goes to play with Penny she ends up with Grant a lot. And she's always playing with Anna too.

She continued (somewhat willingly) her swimming education this past summer and is getting good at her side breathing.

Summers with Monroe are the best. They basically play all day every day.

Love her creativity and always love seeing what little houses and ideas she comes up with. She finds joy in little details.

Violet's had a big piano year. She finished her Bach Concerto and competed with it a lot. First place in this competition (American West), Honorable Mention in Honor Keyboard Competition, and she also really polished the Bach and played it at such a high level for the American Fork Symphony auditions. She has an incredible attitude and is always willing to keep trying, even when it's hard. In general she practices about 45 minutes a day. An hour if she's doing a competition. But it got up to be more than that the week before the American Fork concerto auditions.

Violet's become good friends with Indie and Gwen since they're in Mrs. Banks' class together and also dance together. It's been so fun to see her make new friends!

Violet made a poster for Monroe and cheered for her at her game.

Violet is always up for a photo op and always has the cutest poses.

A special picture with my teacher Dr. Peery-Fox. She was the judge at Keyboard Competition where Violet took honorable mention playing her Bach Concerto in F Minor, 3rd mvt, as well as Air de Ballet by Chaminade.

Violet went to her first dance convention this year, Epic Convention. Her new team for 2025/2026 is called Firelight. Venna is on her team, which is so fun! So are Indie, Gwen, and Harper from our neighborhood so that makes carpooling a dream. The team dances 5 hrs a week and she only did 2 last year, so that's definitely been a jump for her. And it's a stronger team than last year so she feels like she' playing catch-up a bit. But she's improving so much and I'm proud of her! She will tell you dance is her favorite extracurricular for sure. Dance, tumbling, choir, and then piano. (Though she feels bad telling me piano is her least favorite, ha ha. She's a people pleaser for sure!)

Violet went to her first concert in October for her birthday--Benson Boone.

We went with Gigi and Carli and had a blast!

Violet and Davis continue to be the cutest buddies. He's definitely pretty rough on her, but she's very forgiving. And she's definitely upped the sassiness this year and knows how to fight back and push her brothers' buttons. :)

Anna and Violet are always together. :)

Violet's solo shot from family pictures this year.

We continue to have a close bond. She's so kind and considerate to me. She asked the photographer for mother/daughter pictures at our family pictures and I love them so much. And I'm so glad we captured her toothy grin!

Violet has had some pretty GI issues the past few years (really--since she was 3 or so). She's worked with Dr. Jessica the past two years and she finally graduated from her dr. visits! She's almost completely weaned off all of her medications too. This has been a major trial that's been so hard in Violet's life and we're so proud of her.

Cutest pics with her new dance team.

Got her nails done at Gigi's birthday party!

She and Grace also were winners in the Ensemble Festival. They played a fun Jingle Bells and a patriotic duet too.

Violet and Avery are such good friends and we love having her so close.

She loves all things Wicked and loved the new movie! She loves to sing along to all the songs and loves following along with the lyrics on my phone.

Thanksgiving play in Mrs. Banks class.

Grandma Jean and Grandpa Mark came to her play. She continues to have a special relationship with Grandma Jean. She always wants to sit next to her and be with her. I'm convinced they were friends in heaven.

Like I said, she has the best poses! This was on Thanksgiving.

Violet got to hold her second cousin, baby Maggie, at Thanksgiving. They have the same birthday!

I love this pic of Violet because it shows her extremely silly side. She's very funny and loves to laugh and make people laugh. She and Cameron are very silly every night when he says goodnight to her and I love hearing them laugh together.

Violet did Millennial Choir for the first time this past fall! She loved singing the Christmas songs and singing with Cameron, who did it too. She loved "Go Tell It On The Mountain" and "Good King Wenceslas." 

Choir pic!

Nothing cuter! Obsessed with our girl.

3rd grade pic. One of her favorite outfits!

Silly girl hiking

Violet, Grace, and Ellie made up the cutest show for us in St. George. Violet is quite the leader with all the little cousins. We get together for a biweekly Sunday dinner with my family and she and Grace basically organize fun activities for all the younger cousins and call it "Fun Club." She's quite the leader! 

She's always making up dances on her own and with friends. This is from when she and Avery made up a dance to "Popular." It was the best.

She's very into nails and all things girly. She got her own gel nail kit for Christmas and loves doing her nails, my nails, and all her friends' nails.

• Her favorite shows are Bunked and Jesse (Disney Channel sitcoms). I remember loving that kind of thing so it's fun to see her love it too. She loves watching movies that are funny and have love stories. She told me yesterday that "The Parent Trap" is her favorite movie. She, Grace, and Penny watched the "Lizzie McGuire Movie" a few weeks ago and they loved it so much. She was singing the songs for days. 
• She loves sleepovers with cousins and is always begging for them.
• She's very into style and has very strong opinions about her clothes and hair. She has a specific vision about which hairstyle will go with her outfits, which shoes look best, picking jewelry to match, and just loves putting outfits together in general. 
• She continues to be a fantastic eater and always has a healthy appetite (expect for at breakfast--she hates eating breakfast). Her favorite foods are brisket and ribs. She always loves when we go to Cafe Rio and usually begs me for a salad. 
• When she's with friends she loves to talk and play games like "family." She likes to play with her American Girl dolls too.
• She loves to read. She loves graphic novels--Big Nate is a favorite and so is Diary of a Wimpy Kid. She likes funny books.
• She really likes to ski and wants to do more of that. She also really likes Yahtzee and puzzles (she must have gotten that from her dad). 
• One big trial in Violet's life this past year is falling asleep. It takes her longer than she'd like to fall asleep and it's really hard for her. Some nights she can't fall asleep for 2-3 hours after getting in bed and it makes her so sad. It's so hard. 
• She loves to look forward to things and be excited about things. She's always talking about what's coming up that she's excited about. She really finds joy in life and loves doing so much. She also feels things strongly and is disappointed when things don't go the way she wants. But then she's quick to adjust her expectations, look for the good, and quick to apologize if necessary. She's really a sweetheart. 
• She loves to sing along to music and dance. Benson Boone is her favorite singer. She loves the Wicked music. 
• Violet is an absolute delight in our home. She's kind, a peacemaker, so smart, funny, nurturing, thoughtful, talented, and so much more. We are so grateful she's part of our family.