Andy at Age 12

Andy continues to be a force! It's crazy to think about how much he's changed this past year and how much his life has changed too--starting junior high, moving down to the basement, starting young mens, getting his first phone, switching soccer teams, etc.

• Moving downstairs has been a big change this year! He spends a lot of time down there, usually blasting really loud rap music. Right now he says he likes The Gorillaz, Juice World, and Travis Scott.
• He has gotten very into clothes and fashion this year. He cares very much about his clothes and is very into shoes. He loves his air jordans and dunks. He keeps his nice Nikes in their boxes in his mudroom locker and is always scouting out Nike's website dreaming about future shoes. 
• He's shot up this year and passed me up in height a month or two ago. He's a size 9 shoe, but likes to buy size 10 shoes so they'll fit him longer ha ha.
• He's been in the ALL classes at Timberline this year, which has big overall a great experience. I think it's helping him develop some critical thinking. Math has been tough, but it's helping him create some good habits like going slower and showing his work. His favorite class is English.
• He is still reading constantly. He says his favorite books are Aragon, Fablehaven, and Dragonwatch.
• Andy got his first phone this year! A Gabb phone. We thought we were getting him the "safe phone for kids," but didn't realize there's no way to limit the amount of time it's used. So we're battling him texting basically all day every day. 
• Girls...we'll just say there's definitely some interest in girls this year, and there's one particular girl he's texting all the time. ;)
• Andy continues to excel at piano. He's very talented. We've made the transition to me not helping him practice at all, which I think is really good for both of us though practicing may be slightly less effective. ;) He's learning the Prokofiev "Montagues and Capulets" right now and loves it. He worked on a Bolcom Rag piece earlier this year and loved that too. He got second place in the Encore Keyboard Competition and was a winner in the Encore Concerto Festival too. Right now he's learning "Moonlight Sonata" very quickly before learning his first "real" Beethoven sonata. He definitely complains about practicing but also loves being able to play. He played his Moskowski during a choir concert this year and loved that. He also played in church this year and played in a stake youth meeting--"I Believe in Christ." 
• He loved doing student council in sixth grade and misses that. I think they became a really close knit group and he loved the experiences they had together. His favorite was doing the chalk festival.

He loved his sixth grade class and having Mrs. Childs as his teacher.

He did Jr. Jazz last winter and loved it!

His friend Asher was his partner for a school project during the Renaissance Fair. They made a game that was kind of like combining chess with soccer.

This is from Andy's first time doing baptisms for the dead. We haven't taken him quite enough this year, but he's really enjoyed the experiences he's had.

So special that he gets to know his Great Grandma! He loves GG and they have a sweet relationship.

A few shots from his sixth grade class.

One of many piano events this year! Andy has a goal to do every Encore event during the year so he gets a plaque.

This ended up being his final season with his Steel Titans team. He absolutely loved playing on this team. This past fall it transitioned to becoming a La Roca team. The coach is the same and a few team members are the same, but it's mostly very different and a lot more competitive.

Another fun sixth grade shot.

We finished our basement this year and got my childhood piano down there. Andy loves playing it and loves the bright sound.

There's a really sweet, tender side to Andy that we occasionally get to see. He has a soft spot for little kids--especially little cousins like Carson and Fordy. Here he's helping Davis during his first ever dentist appointment.

A cute Vanuatu shot.

His good friend Jayden moved away this year, which was a big bummer. He, Jayden, and Kade Ballam have had a marco polo conversation all year that's very cute.

Like most boys his age he's gone through a real Prime obsession this year and spent much of his money on these bottles. He even has an empty bottle collection in his room.

Andy's new La Roca team he started on in the fall.

Seventh grade picture

Andy joined the mountain biking team and had a fantastic first season. I think he really caught the competitive bug after his first race. He missed one race because there were a bunch of grasshoppers on the course and he still really really really hates bugs.

He won second place in the Encore Keyboard Competition this year. He did so well and was so happy! He played the Preambulum of Bach's Partita No. 5 and a Moskowski Etude in F Major.

Cute seventh grade boys after a choir concert.

A fun night at Cornbelly's with Cade Myers and friends. They also met up with a couple of girls that night (!!!)--Isla Garlock and one of her friends.

These three are the cutest trio. Andy loves Sam and they have so much fun together.

Trick or treating with friends.

Andy had a surgery in November--a turbinate reduction and adenoid removal. He has a hard time breathing through his nose and this is supposed to help. They also cauterized some blood vessels while they were in there to help with his bloody noses. I think he was surprised at how uncomfortable the whole experience was and had thought he'd just be enjoyed watching shows for a few days. 

He's been in 7th grade choir this year.

Andy and Charlie continue to have a really cute friendship.

Andy took art this year. These are some of his favorite pieces.

Andy is asking me several times a week, "Mom can I make youtube videos on your phone?" He and Max have a lot of fun doing them together, especially with Sam. They get extremely excited when one of their videos gets a lot of views. Some of the content has been questionable and has to be deleted (like the video they made about stealing things from a store because they were armed with guns). Most of it is pretty harmless and cute. :)

Max at Age 10

Max is the coolest guy and we are so glad he's part of our family. He's so funny. So smart. So fun to be around. Such a deep thinker. Here are some things we want to remember about him at age 10:

• He continues to be a very social guy and has lots of friends. Graham and Cooper are his besties, but he has spent lots of time with other friends too. Danielle Miller has become a good friend. Ollie, Ford Holland, Cohen Duckett, Eli Whitley, and Hadley Cragun are some of his good buddies too. It's been so fun having the Craguns start at Ridgeline in the fall!
• He tried out for the school play (Willy Wonka) and told them he didn't want a big part and didn't want to sing any solos. And then they cast him as....Charlie Bucket, ha ha. He actually rejected the role because it was too overwhelming and they cast him as Augustus Gloop instead. It's coming up in April, so we'll see how it goes! He's already regretting being in the play because he tells me he doesn't want the stress of something hanging over him.
• He's had some mountain biking improvement this year and did really well at Bearclaw Poppy once we can drag him there. I don't think he's quite caught the vision yet. ;) 
• He continues to love to read, especially graphic novels. He loves Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Big Nate. He also likes Garfield and Cameron's old comic books. He just got a new kindle for Christmas and is very excited about that. 
• He really likes all the Marvel movies. He's not majorly into screens but enjoys most things. He likes to play Gangbeasts on the Nintendo Switch. 
• He is seriously so funny and clever. He loves to make people laugh. I think he inherited the awesome Lee sense of humor. 
• He's just a unique guy overall. There are little details that illustrate this...one of which is that most of the year he slept with an eye mask every night. 
• We're forcing him to try out a jr jazz team in January, and he's not super pumped about it. But got slightly more excited when I bought him new shoes for it. 
• He has a pretty explosive temper we're working on. It's so wild that it makes me laugh. The temper is especially ignited when Violet is nearby, which we're also working on. ;) 

He's a McDonald's lover, which is funny because we hardly ever eat there. He says his favorite food is McDonald's fries and his third grade class nickname for him was "McDonald's Max." He even came up with a McDonald's Club at school where they were supposed to eat at McDonald's every Friday. The parents weren't as invested as they'd hoped and I think it only happened once. :)

He loves scrambled eggs and makes them for himself a lot. His palate is definitely expanding. He loves guacamole. And this year decided he likes potatoes and rice. 

He has such a creative brain. I love seeing the things he comes up with. This is a game he made up, Rainbow Railroad.

He did a book report on Joe Biden's biography. :) This is a pic of him in his top bunk--I don't know if I've ever written about how he wiped hundreds of boogers on the wall up here and I had to spend a whole afternoon removing them. I think he owes me forever for that. We got rid of the bunk bed in May when Andy moved downstairs and now Max has the most expensive bed in the house.

I just love him so much.

Hanging out with his friend Ollie. Ollie's family breeds dogs and he begged me to adopt one after this playdate.

His award for getting all his ninja math facts. He does very well in school. His reading retell is always the top of his class. He's a very detailed communicator.

Max and I have a special bond. GG noticed that he's always right by me at every gathering...and it's true. He always wants to be right by me. I love it.

His best friend is still Graham. I love that they've been friends since they were four. 

From a dinner date with GG.

Max and Graham with their necklaces Max got in Vanuatu this summer.

First stitches in the family! On Cameron's birthday he decided it was a good idea to ride his bike with no hands, with his eyes closed, and with no helmet. 

He's full of cool art ideas like this one he did on our driveway.

He has the coolest style! He very meticulously picks out his shirts, shoes, etc. He says most of Andy's hand me downs are unacceptable and really really hates that he gets hand me downs at all.

Swimming playdate with friends!

He started a AA soccer team in the fall (a step above rec). He talked all last year about how embarrassing it was that he was "only doing rec." And after all that...he doesn't really seem to love his AA team. 

He's a big BYU fan and talks about how we don't go to enough BYU events. But when he was at a football game with Cameron, Greg, and Brendan, he got pretty bored. :)

He'll tell you Graham and Cooper are his best friends. They're the cutest trio.

He's excelled so much in piano this year. He practices with Cameron every morning about 30 minutes (though we should probably up that). He played "The Baptism Song" during the primary program. Right now he's learning a Chopin Waltz. He learned "Moonlight Mood" and "The Cuckoo" for Encore Keyboard Competition this year. He worked so hard and should have made it to the finals, but there was a judging mishap this year so he didn't. 

This is a pic of Max's new soccer team! 

Decorating cookies with his besties.

4th grade picture! He loves his teacher Mrs. Owens. He's in the same class as Graham and Cooper yet again--they've managed to do that every year since first grade! (Also, I love the long hair he grew out for most of the year, although he's since cut it. He meticulously does his hair every morning and asks me to fix it if there are any hairs out of place.) 

He marches to the beat of his own drum in all things, and picked a prairie dog for his animal report. This is his sculpture. He also loves this Vans Sesame Street Sweatshirt he picked up at the Vans Outlet. He's a Vans boy for sure! He also got his first air jordans this year and loves those.

Ridgeline has the best art teacher (Mrs. Alcorn) and they make art based on art history. He's enjoyed learning about Keith Haring and making his own Keith Haring art!