Best of 2018

At this time of year people usually reflect on the past year and make plans for a successful new year.

I can’t remember a time when I’ve ever reflected, but this year I decided to do it. And I asked my kids to do the same.

The way we did it was to go back through our Chatbooks. Chatbooks have got to be the greatest idea ever. Chatbooks is linked to my personal Instagram account, and whenever I add a picture to Instagram, it automatically links to Chatbooks. When I have 60 images, a book is generated and mailed. It’s a super simple way for me to document our activities. And my kids LOVE looking back through the books. We complete a book every month and a half or so.

This post is mostly for my family, but we still hope you enjoy reviewing 2018 with us and re-living our favorite parts.

This year Braedi turned 16 and got her driver’s license. It didn’t quite happen like she wanted. She had to take the test twice and wait for vehicle (we were in the process of selling both our cars and she had to borrow one from grandma). Word of advice? Practice the 3 point turn before taking the test. But it is so nice to have another driver in the house.

She earned enough money and bought her own piano this year. It sounds amazing.

Braedi also attended piano camp with her bestie. They flew to Provo by themselves, and she only got homesick once. Another camp she went to was with the girls from church.

And she wrote a song about faith and performed it several times for her friends. If you listen to Christian music, keep your eye out for her. I’m sure it will be recorded soon. The message is super powerful.

A highlight for her and Corbin and Jonathan and I was a Pioneer Trek we all attended. It was an awesome experience and one we probably won’t ever forget. You can read more about it here and here.

Besides trek, Corbin had his own set of summer camp adventures. He attended a week-long camp called Especially for Youth. He met some new friends and created memories.

He also did a week-long backpacking trip with some boys from church. The unfortunate thing was that there was a flood and they had to be helicoptered out of the canyon. Corbin also lost most of his camping gear. Thank goodness they all made it out safely.

Another hi-light for Corbin was receiving a varsity letter for wrestling. As a freshman. As a homeschooler, he can still participate in sports at the local high school. He joined the football team and did wrestling. He enjoyed both, but seemed to excel in wrestling.

Dyllan discovered a love for all things theater this year. She participated in a theater class, learned how to apply stage make-up and is looking forward to joining the drama club at the high school next fall.

She had a great time attending Jesterz (a local comedy club) with the family and even got called up on stage to do a skit with the actors. This was a favorite activity for most of us. We love doing things together.

Dyllan also learned that she likes archery and is pretty good at it. I don’t know how to foster that though. . .

Another favorite part of 2018 for Dyllan was spending time with her dad. She had won several movie tickets and took him to see a movie one night.

Ephram had a year full of bests. He attended an overnight camp with the 11 year old scouts and finished a few merit badges with his troop and on his own.

He did a lot of things baseball this year. He played in the spring and in the fall and attended a one day clinic in early summer. He loves baseball and is looking forward to practicing and learning more about the sport.

Ephram turned 12 in July, which, for our family, means he can sit in the front. I think he looked forward to that more than any of the other kids.

Turning 12 also meant that he could go to the temple and do baptisms. (To learn more about this part of our religion visit here.)

Ephram also attended a week long summer camp with his scout troop. It was a busy summer for the kids and weird for me. As a homeschool mom, I’m used to having the kids home ALL THE TIME. For most of the summer I was missing 1 or 2 or 3 kids at a time. I looked at it as preparation for when they leave the house.

One of Faythe’s favorite things this year was participating in a dance class. A young lady in a friend’s neighborhood taught a class in her home. It was a fun experience for Faythe. She would like to take another class and if I can find another situation like this one I will sign her up.

She also went to a 2 day horse camp. She loved learning about horses, taking care of them, and riding them.

Another of Faythe’s favorite family activities was floating down the river. It was a relaxing day and another favorite for the whole family.

Faythe also said that a hi-light of 2018 was visiting the temple grounds while her siblings were inside doing baptisms. She enjoyed looking at the flowers and fountains. She is looking forward to the time when she will be old enough.

One of my favorite things about 2018 was the 50 acts of service that I posted about last week. It felt so good to set a goal and accomplish it. Helping others on the way was a bonus.

Jonathan and I also had some fun dates this year. We often get into a rut of watching a movie at home or going out to dinner. With some of the food restrictions we’ve both had to deal with, eating out is limited so we got creative. These are two of the projects we did. What different things do you like to do on dates with your spouse?

I decided to take a class this year. It’s called The Mission Driven Mom. We read a lot of books and discuss them. There are also other assignments for us to complete. I’ve been needing something for myself and I’ve loved the learning and growing I’ve experience from the class.

Jonathan also is taking a class. He signed up for Jiu-jitsu and has been going a couple times a week.

Jonathan and I love to travel sans kids. This year we only took two trips by ourselves. One of them was a cruise to the Bahamas. We went with friends and had a great time together.

2018 was a great year. There were a lot of good experiences and things to remember. It was fun to look back on all that we did.

What were your favorite parts of 2018? How will you remember them? Share in the comments below.