2016 has gone by so quickly for my family! As a family we traveled to Polson, Montana, Oregon, Olympic National Park, and the Seattle area. We also visited Moab and went camping for a few days in the Fall. And of course we went on a few boat rides up at Deer Creek. Here are some updates on us individually.
Ryker
Ryker has really grown up so much this last year! His personality is unfolding every day. Ryker is a very smart boy. He reminds me of Sage when she was little. He has a talent for language and math. He can already count to 18, do simple addition and subtraction, and is learning the sounds of his letters. The funny thing is I have not made the effort to teach him anything but recognizing his letters. He learns it on his own through learning programs on TV, the computer, or from his brother Jace. He has also recently started going to Preschool this Fall. He loves his preschool and has quite the thirst for learning.
Ryker is neither a leader or a follower. Sometimes he follows, sometimes he leads. If other children choose not to follow him he could not really care less. This is what makes him different from my other two kids who prefer to lead. Both Sage and Jace are aggressive leaders. Ryker is a lot more laid back.
Ryker really enjoys playing fireman in the back yard, riding his 2 wheeler bike (this kid can whip around the neighborhood quickly on his bike!), learning on the computer, playing with his paw patrol, and playing with his siblings. He has recently discovered to not fear the water and now loves to swim (Thank you Sarah Udall!!)
Jace
Jace had really blossomed socially this year. He is Mr. popular at school, church or anywhere else he goes. Although he has struggled in the past socially, he seems to have figured it out while attending Rocky Mountain Preschool! He still struggles at times, but has made great strides in the right direction. I am very proud of him.
He is now a proud kindergartner at Timpanogos Academy. He excels at all subjects and is very popular among the girls. I hear reports of attempted kisses all the time.
Jace went through a huge phase this past year of dancing like Micheal Jackson! He is 100% self taught. The best part of his performances is his facial expressions. They are priceless. Unfortunately he has recently stopped dancing in front of people due to his claim that he is too shy.
T-ball season is played out well this year! He had a great coach and lots of support. He has drastically improved his skills at bat and in the field. And get this, he no longer plays in the sand! Yay! He continues to swing left and throw right and hits a lot harder this year than he hit last year.
We found out this year that Jace can run! He got second place out of the entire kindergarten in a one mile Turkey Trot. Thing is, he was not even breathing hard when he crossed the line. So my thoughts are he could have gotten first if he had pushed himself. I plan on having him run with Ashton and I as soon as it warms up.
Ashton
Ashton is doing much better socially in school this year. He did not get in any fist brawls, and has kept out of trouble. We have discovered that Ashton has a bit of an attention deficit problem and have been working hard to help him learn how to deal with it on a daily basis. He excels at math but struggles with reading comprehension and speed. Despite these set backs, Ashton keeps a positive attitude and has a great self confidence in himself and his abilities in school. We did however decide to pull him out of Lindon Elementary and enroll him at Timpanogos Academy where they have a better reading program. He has been doing great so far this year! His reading is improving drastically! This new school also seems to be helping a bit with his attention problems. His teacher is very organized and knows how to help him which is of great comfort to his overly worried mom.
Ashton continues to take piano lessons and play soccer in the Spring. He does well in both of these activities and really enjoys both of them. Ashton has also taken a real interest in cooking. He loves to watch and help me cook and bake. He will experiment with different ingredients and can cook basic things on the stove. Recently he has discovered that he loves the taste of fresh rosemary and will add it to his pasta all the time. Ashton also took swimming lessons this summer and worked very hard to get his strokes and kicks right. He has the most beautiful form on his back.
Ashton has become an awesome Cub Scouter. He is very self motivated and nearly done with his Bear! He loves every activity and loves wearing the uniform! He got second place int he Pinewood derby this year.
Sage
Sage has really grown up this last year! In the beginning of the school year I stepped back completely when it came to her school work. I wanted her to know what it was like to fail and succeed on her own. I did not check to make sure her homework was done. I did not correct her homework. I would only assist her if she needed and asked for help. The first report card reflected a student who did ok but not well. She had 2 As a few Bs and a C! We had a little chat about the importance of taking school seriously and how I knew she could do better. Her end of the year report card reflected a straight A student! And you know what! She did it by herself with no helicoptering on my end. I was a very proud mama.
Sage had a successful first year in the Utah Children's Choir! She was in the Choristers choir this year and and successfully managed to move into the Concert choir for this next year! We are very excited for her and her accomplishment.
Sage has many interests besides singing. This year she entered and competed in The Little Miss Lindon Pageant. Sage stood out with her unique personality, her unique song choice, her unique service project, and her unique hair color. She however did not win. This was hard for Sage to swallow at first but she is one determined little girl and will be attempting it again this next spring!
Sage had to say goodbye to Lindon Elementary a month ago. She is now in Jr. High! She is taking classes in literature, drama, art and science. She is excited to move forward in her academics and I am confident that I have taught her how to be successful. This girl has great things in store in her future! It will be fun to see her life as it unfolds.
Curtis
Curtis has been working hard as usual. He has taken a new job with Fidelity where he works more on the technical side of things. This job has really made him stretch. But he is learning so much and is grateful for the learning experience. He does however have to commute up to Salt Lake City. That part of the job has been rough on him and actually makes him reconsider his statement when he said 5 years ago that he would never move again.
Curtis continues with his volunteer service with the Utah County Search and Rescue and the Boy Scouts of America. He enjoys working with both organizations and will continue to give more time and effort to help them out. In fact I believe he will be a life long scout leader. Not too many people know how climb, repel, shoot a gun proficiently (his scouts have won the Turkey Shoot two years in a row!), start a fire with one match or no match at all, fix a car, and much much more. It has been fun to watch him as he helps others to grow and learn.
My sweet husband is in high demand. Watching him help others makes me proud to be his wife. But even more than that, I am so thankful for everything he does for our little family. He works so hard to make me and the children happy. Curtis is a good, dependable, loving husband and father.
Becky
What have I been up to you might ask? I have continued to work on building my newly found guitar skills and mothering my children and husband ;) Besides that I have been very active with my Church Calling in the Primary and in cub scouts! Running the primary can be very demanding of my time and sanity but I really do love working with the children. Curtis and I have also had the opportunity of going on a religious trek as a ma and a pa with the youth of our church in July. Other than that I have been running kids to and fro, helping them with school, supporting them in their activiites, attempting to keep the house clean and the children fed, supporting my husband in his tasks and goals and well... yeah I pretty much live for others. But I am ok with that.
One thing I have been doing for myself is working on my strength. My entire life I have been a runner. I was the fastest girl in elementary while running the mile. In France I made regional finals and placed 24th in my age group. As an adult I have used running to keep relatively fit. Well this last year I decided that I wanted to be strong too. So I have been going to the gym and working out with weights. And guess what. I have managed to become stronger. In fact I can proudly say my strength has visibly increased. You can see muscle now! Great thing about strength training is you can keep on improving. So I plan to push myself even more this year.
And that is about it! Happy new year from the Curtis and Becky Dudley clan. Let us know if you need our help and we will be there.
