Ladies and gentlemen, in no particular order, the top 10 of 2015.
1. Valencia Turns 1
There are few birthdays as celebrated as the first one. We are so fortunate to live amidst adopted family who gathered together to help celebrate our special little girl. She enjoyed presents, attention, bows, and of course, her very own cake.
2. Weddings!
This March we were blessed to attend the wedding of my brother Benjamin to his amazing wife, Jori. It was so fun to see family and friends and, most of all, to get to know Jori. She is amazingly talented, super fun and joyful, and best of all, can put up with a lot of Britts. Ben, you will be blessed for all eternity because of the lifelong choices that have led you to such an elite young woman. Jori, we love you, we are grateful for you, and please stop making the rest of us look bad.
In June we were honored to attend the wedding of my sister Crystal and her charming husband, Charlie. I am still amazed at the beautiful process that led to this marriage. Throughout the courtship I was amazed at how at ease and comfortable Crystal was with Charlie and with the relationship. He brings out the best of her, and I'm sure that she brings out the best in him. Charles Andrew, we are blessed to have such a lovable, manly, teddy-bear in the family. Crystal, please have him smoke us some jerky and be sure to hide the guns and knives from baby Maxwell!
4. HCHS
After planning for the doors to open for an entire year, it has been remarkable to see something that was once only a vision and a goal, become reality. This year, 100 9th graders have been learning, socializing, singing, speaking, writing and growing at Henderson Collegiate High School with Mr. Jackson Olsen as their founding principal. He plans with great care and leads his teachers in an inspiring way. He frequently checks his vision and makes any adjustments that he needs to in order to stay on course. While he has been working on average about 80 hours a week, Vali and I do our best to lighten his load and inspire him to stay the course. We love you, Jackson! We are proud of you!
The founding staff
The school
Back to School Night
Students working hard in Science Class
5. A North Carolina Christmas
After traveling out west four times in the 2014-15 school year, this year we have scaled back and enjoyed more family time here at home. Most notably, we stayed in North Carolina this past break. It was remarkable how much more refreshed we felt compared to hectic holiday travel with no real time to decompress. While we know that there is a time and a place for being home for the holidays, this year we were able spend quality time with Valencia, travel to nearby mountains in Asheville, spend Christmas day in 80 degree weather and do some much needed deep cleaning around the house. I loved carrying out our holiday traditions here at home and having a magical time with our girl.
Hayride and Christmas Lights
We made gingerbread houses
My Christmas Helper
Hiking in the Appalachians
Enjoying the Children's Museum
My Girl
Christmas Morning
6. Smith Family Traditions
Jackson's sister, Holly, is now our only remaining sibling on the east coast. She and her delightful family live in Connecticut, and while they are by no means close, they are within driving distance and we try to make a point to spend time with each other. It is a tradition that over Memorial day and Thanksgiving we meet somewhere to enjoy some cousin time and a small get-away. This year for Memorial day we met in the mountains of Virginia. It was about a week before Josie and her family moved to California, so they were able to join us as well. Thanks for making family time a priority, even though living 10 hours apart is not very convenient. :)
Memorial Day Weekend Crew
Vali and her cousin Estee over Thanksgiving
7. Spring Break 2015
Looking back to April of last year, I can't believe that we were able to do so much with such a short period of time! We started off by going to Arizona! While the primary reason for our trip out West was to attend a conference, we also got to stay with Sarah and the Nelson crew (pun intended) and play with some cousins. We then came back to east to South Carolina and enjoyed a few days of R&R in Charleston with our friends Matt and Kay Jacobs, along with their daughter Maddie, who was born 3 weeks before Valencia. It was beautiful, relaxing, and oh so much fun!
8. Valencia Walks
Let's be honest, there are few milestones as exciting as a baby's first steps. Here's to my girl and all of her effort to become a walker at 14 months.
9. Summer in Utah
There is nothing quite as magical for a mother than going to a place full of people who whisk your child out of your arms and gives her undivided attention while you hang out with your sisters, watch movies, go swimming and sleep. But seriously, who can blame them? This summer I spent 3 weeks in Utah and I loved every minute of it. Jackson was working in Denver for 2 weeks, so it seemed like a no brainer for me to go home, be with family and relax. I certainly made the most of it, and Valencia loved all of her cousins and attention too. This was one thing I actually did blog on, so please refer to my previous post for photos. :)
10. Henderson Collegiate, A+ School of Distinction
While I rarely blog about the details of what I do professionally, I could not accurately recount this year without celebrating the results of what Jackson and I do with the majority of our time. For those of you who don't know, last school year both Jackson and I were instructional coaches at our middle school. Our school earned the rating of A+ NG - which indicates that last year, our school effectively closed the achievement gap with a composite score of 85% on our end of year testing.
My primary role is to lead the science department and its teachers to create a rigorous and engaging curriculum that invests kids in learning process. Below are the results of the science department for our end of year tests.
I understand that testing is not the only way to measure student learning, but I also believe that when "performance is measured, performance improves" (Thomas S. Monson) and that there is value in measuring student performance to ensure that all kids get the education they deserve to prepare them for a successful life. To learn more about our school, visit HendersonCollegiate.org.
Honorable Mention:
Britt Family Text Strand - nothing has kept us closer
Pregnant Sisters - Congratulations to Mandy, Sarah and Crystal!
Merlin earns award for most cuddle needy dog in history
Valencia is a great eater, sleeper and noise maker
