This year has been a “growing” year. We are grateful for the many ways we have been stretched, pulled, pushed and changed. Here are some of those ways in a quick highlight of our family and our 2022.

Blain and Heidi

We’ve expanded our family and we got a baby….dog. He is a joy to all of us and we feel so blessed to have Charlie in our home. Blain has been stretched pretty tight between work and church but somehow he manages to do it all! He’s still at Sundance and he just passed his 15 year mark which the kids love because of all the perks. Heidi has recently learned the art of gently stretching sourdough to make a gluten tolerant bread choice and it’s been a hit with the kids as well. But she didn’t enjoy having her teeth pulled and drilled when she experienced a wisdom tooth extraction and root canal at the same time. Blain and Heidi grew to love the remodeling of the camp trailer they purchased and gutted as a fun fixer upper. We have since taken it on many camping trips, once a month from April to October. We are the proud parents of 5 country music loving kids and we took them to their first concert this summer to see Thomas Rhett, who has become a household favorite now. 

 

Christian and Monica

Christian’s education which stretched him as he finished his degree in Mechanical Engineering at BYU and graduated in April. Monica’s belly grew as she produced a cute little human born on March 29 and she loves the growth as a new mommy. Monica has slowed down on filming weddings to be a mom and together they make the cutest parents. Baby Huxton is literally growing so fast and learning new things all the time. Our patience grows thin as we wait to see him....and Christian and Monica :) each week at family gatherings. He has the sweetest big blue eyes and grin and everyone fights over him when they come to visit. He was finally blessed at 8 months due to scheduling challenges, but better late than never.

 

Addy (19), also known as Sister Wilkey, did not grow “a foot or two”, but still chose to serve a mission for our church for 18 months. She is serving in the North Dakota, Bismarck mission and is currently serving in Williston, ND. Her wardrobe increased greatly with many many layers to fight off the -46 weather she has already experienced. Before she left she had a chance to go skydiving with her friend so she said yes before she could change her mind. And she has lived away from home while attending UVU for the last year and loved her independence...and our home being just 2 miles away :)

Jack (17) did push and stretch himself to earn the money to go on a humanitarian trip to the Dominican Republic. He loved working with the locals and improving his dancing skills. His feet have grown a size or two, and that comes in handy for his choice of activities: skiing, basketball, working 3 jobs…ok not so much for work and not all 3 at the same time, but he does like to stretch his wallet earning money and he is a hard worker. He is a senior at Timpview HS and looking forward to graduation in the Spring and the next phase of life, which includes following in his sister's much smaller footsteps and serving a mission.

Lauren (14) chose to expand her voice training and attended a voice boot camp she really enjoyed. She set a goal to get a 4.0 in her first year in High School and it pushed her at times, especially in her AP class, but she’s doing it! She is still our sweet lovable girl even in her teenage years and she is always good to stretch her arms around you for a warm hug. Lauren loves to dance and sing and has been wiggling since the day she was born. She is terrified of speaking in front of large groups, but is fine teaching in her Young Women's or Sunday School class, go figure. She will even ask to teach and likes to plan them all on her own.

 

Lia (10) it’s a bit of a stretch, but she enjoys her early morning choir class…just not the early part so much. She is was proud of herself this summer when she rode the world’s fastest and steepest rollercoaster, Iron Gwazi, on our family trip to Florida at Busch Gardens. She loves skiing, skating (ice and roller) and soccer. We love that Lia is always looking out for others and her fun creative personality. She is in 5th grade at Rock Canyon Elementary and she loves her teacher. She is our social butterfly and is often off playing with friends and cousins.

Charlie (1) our mini golden doodle, is the newest addition to our family and we are all in love. We feel so blessed to have been the recipients of such a great dog and we are still pinching ourselves. He loves to stretch himself all over you like a noodle, hence our nickname "the noodle doodle". He is Heidi's sidekick and makes you feel like a million dollars when you walk in the door. The kids love to do tricks with him and he has mastered the following: sit, high 5, paw (shake), lay down, roll over, and "which hand is the treat in". Are you impressed?

We hope 2023 finds you all healthy and happy. We know that as we make Christ the center of our lives we will have the ultimate source of happiness. We love you all….or you wouldn’t be getting this blog update ;)