Eva turned eight and got baptized. She is in second grade
and in the gifted and talented program for the third year. Her best friend is
Mia. Her favorite colors are pink, orange, and blue. Her favorite parts of 2018
were going to see Phantom of the Opera, and going on vacation to Tyler, TX and
Gulf Shores, AL. She also loved going to Golden Corral. Her favorite foods are
sushi and Chinese food. She also loves soda and candy. Her favorite things are
her pets and her family.
Jack turned 11 and started middle school. He is in sixth
grade. His favorite class was science (until his science teacher retired). It
is now lunch. His best friends are Josh, Alex, Javier, and Preston. His favorite
parts of 2018 were his old science teacher, going on vacation with the family,
and dog sitting for the Livingstons. He also really enjoyed going camping with
his dad, Bret, Jake, and sometimes Drew. He loves Marvel and Percy Jackson and
playing Dungeons and Dragons. He wants to be a chef and loves cooking, although
he says he is now leaning towards being a teacher.
Beth just barely turned 13. She is in seventh grade. Her
favorite class is ELA (English) because they “always do such fun projects”. Her
best friends are Ashley, Kirsten, and Chloe. Her favorite parts of 2018 were
going to Phantom of the Opera, starting seventh grade, and the Harry Potter
birthday party she held for her twelfth birthday. Her favorite things are pizza
and books, especially Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. She also enjoys superhero
films, both Marvel and DC. Her favorite superheroes are Supergirl and Spiderman.
Kylie turned 14 and started high school. Her favorite class
is ASL (American Sign Language) because she really likes the teacher and the
subject. Her best friends are Megan and Sydnie. She says she doesn’t know what
her favorite parts of 2018 were, but the vacations were fun, starting high
school was cool, and going to Phantom of the Opera was cool. Her favorite food
is green olives. Her favorite things are anime and Dungeons and Dragons.
Megan turned 16 and is a junior in high school. She has been
practicing driving in parking lots, but hasn’t gotten her permit or license
yet. Her favorite class is Interior Design because she got an architect ruler
and now can draft house plans. She also enjoys working with color schemes. She
plans to major in Residential Interior Design when she starts college. Her best
friend is Kylie. Her favorite parts of 2018 were going to Nauvoo with her
church group and going on vacation to Gulf Shores, AL. Her favorite things are
interior design, architecture, drawing, and having quiet time alone in her room
because it’s peaceful. Her favorite food is French Dip sandwiches. Her favorite
color is mint green.
Laney turned 40 this year and got a stamp in her passport
for the first time when she and Rob went to the Cayman Islands, where she fulfilled
her childhood dream of swimming with dolphins. She became a published author in
January when In Tandem by Mark Bird (available
on Amazon) was published as she co-wrote a chapter in the book. She got fully
licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in January and she became business
partners with her former supervisor (Mark) in March. She and Mark co-founded
the Institute for Connection and Recovery (ICR), a training program for
therapists that certifies clinicians in the model of therapy she and Mark
created. She and Mark presented at the TAMFT (state-wide MFT) conference in February
and the ACA (largest international organization for mental health counselors in
the world) conference in April. ICR had it’s first training in September. She
started her PhD program in October. Interspersed with that, she had surgery on
her heart in March and multiple injections in her spine throughout the year due
to a herniated disc.
Rob continues to work at Fidelity. He loved the vacations we
went on this year, especially learning to drive on the left side of the road in
the Cayman Islands. He enjoyed going camping several times this year with Jack
and friends. He loves being the primary character for the kids because it’s
wonderful to watch them learn and grow. He feels like he missed a lot of the
older kids’ childhood experiences because of his work schedule and is really
enjoying getting to connect with them now. He loves getting to support Laney in
her career and watching her succeed. He’s decided he closely connects to Dennis
Thatcher (Margaret Thatcher’s husband) because he enjoys playing the behind the
scenes support role to Laney.
