January/February: Wins and Upheavals

 January was filled with music videos involving this gang of girls plus O.  I think my test of character for any of Kate or Zachary's friends will be if they are kind to Owen.  These girls treat him like one of them.  It is so heartening to see teenagers so kind to children.

Between music videos there is almost always surf time or swim time, and this time Todd got them all passes to Koloa Landing for a swim afternoon.

Owen set up his new projector and Roxy spent the evening gawping.

Owen and Lowick started getting very close during baseball season.  They were always run club friends and recess friends, but they became attached at the hip.  Every day, they walked side-by-side to the church from school where I watched them happily laugh and chat, accompanied often by Azie and Raya.  

Post school Fresh Shave (my kids never like the real fruit flavors of fresh shave and prefer instead flavors like "Dragon's blood"):

Owen at catcher.  Baseball in January/Feb was still 5-6 days a week.

We threw Isaac's going away party as he prepared to leave for Argentina on his mission.  During difficult friendship struggles, Isaac was a solid friend to Zac.  It was a difficult situation and I will always remember his kindness.

Last tourney of baseball!  Owen was ready for the season to end, although said that these kids were the best friends ever.  I was impressed with the coaches during this tournament.  As I lapped fields during practices, I observed coaches from at least 2 other teams in this age bracket with coaches barking at kids and losing sight of the why--why team sports, why new skills, why community, etc.  I was so happy to have Coach Jeremy, who has in the past been too intense but grew in patience over the years.  He was constantly patient with Owen, who missed a big chunk of the season while we were in Utah and later when O had a nasty cold.  Jeremy understood him missing Thursday practices for piano and would meet 30 min prior to practice to run drills with him and have him hit balls before he "hit the keys."  

These kids played hard and actually had the game-winning run, but there was a score discrepancy with the recorder on the other team so the game went longer and we lost.  All of us were so proud of these boys, who were missing a couple of their key players to illness (and a divorce battle), and thus short-staffed.  Parents on both sides of the fence were cheering and it was my favorite game in all of baseball with Owen, jumping up and down and holding my breath.  Owen had a few key hits that helped in the game, playing through some insecurities in his ability level and ending the season on a very positive note.

Thank you, Coach Jeremy, for going the extra mile!  Jeremy works in the cafeteria so knows all these boys well.  

Coach Owen with Owen!

Coach Matt:

I'm not positive but I'm guessing that is a wrap on baseball for our family.  A few observations: #1 and most obvious: it is not a great sport for physical fitness at this level.  After practice, I was there for 30 solid minutes while the boys ran around playing tag, and I was happy to do that because for the previous 2 hours, they were standing around with intermittent running.  #2: Despite this complaint, I do appreciate the game strategy, skill, and patience required.  I love watching these kids grasp the game and make the gorgeous double play.  #3: This sport is the best way to connect with locals.  All my time in food booths, walking around the field with my conversation-starter-dog, and sitting in the sun connected me to intergenerational families that I haven't otherwise known.  #4: I was not heartbroken that Owen declared after 4 seasons that he was probably finished with baseball and wanted to focus more on soccer and maybe basketball.  Baseball is an all-in, year-round sport on Kaua'i and he was at the juncture where he would need to choose.  

Next up: supporting the Voyagers in basketball, and cheering on a few boys from the ward.  I love watching basketball.  Owen came out of there convinced that he wanted to play basketball.

Kate was on the opposing side, cheering on Kaua'i High.  So fun to see so many of our young men on the court.

I continued playing piano most Wednesdays for Kate's ballet class.  Hilary and I really got a groove going with tempo and I felt like we were finishing each other's sentences artistically.

Kate was suddenly invested in hair, asking me each morning to create a picture online.  This is her Taylor braid:

The first Sunday in February, Brady and I had "the conversation."  Separately, we both felt distinctly that it was time to move closer to family.  It came out of nowhere for me.  When we left the discussion a year ago after attempting relocation, we had agreed to wait at least 3 years.  To suddenly feel differently when things were going so well for both of our jobs and kids' activities seemed unnecessarily abrupt. 

The gut feeling would not go away, so we decided to pursue options.  Right away, we had Layton's approval for the move, with an ok from Will Summerhays and Tyler Dillon, the VPs of the Hawai'i office.  Brady was in contact with the Utah VP and plans were in the works.  At this time, Traci (my boss) asked if I would sign my contract for the following year.  I told her then that I would not be returning.  So many tears for my favorite job of all time.  Traci had me sit in and interview my replacement options.  

Zachary's scapula finally healed enough that he could play in the Island School games.  He had playing time vs Waimea and Kaua'i High, playing against a few of the kids that have always been on his Keahi team and with kids who had played against him.  Such an interesting reversal.  

Island school won KIF and moved on to the state tourney.  There was a lot of chatter.  If any Kaua'i team had a shot at the state title, it was this team, this year.  Brady and I took the day off (we learned our lesson last year when we missed Game 1 and he scored 2 goals), and we were there to watch the team secure their first win.  I was so grateful for his coaches who played him a nice chunk of time in the game.  During this game, Lucas Summerhays broke his foot, taking him out for the remainder of the season as well as out of his starting point guard position in basketball.

Summerhays family and Naomi cooking in the sun during the game.

We flew back for the Semi-final game, a close game but Island School for the WIN!

My phone photo for the past 6 months came from the flight back:

One more flight!  This one for the state cup.  We took another early flight and headed over to watch the nail-biter.

Island School was up 1-0 at the half with an incredible assist and shot, but Kamehameha had so many shots on our goal.  Mason, our goalie, had spectacular save after spectacular save.

It was one of my favorite athletic contests of all time.  We watched this kid (Isaac?) fight passionately to keep the ball upfield.  He sprints so fast, and never stops.  We worried about it after he had severe cramping in the semis, but he was back, hydrated, and unreal as a defender.  

More shots on our goal, more shots on theirs, but none of them landed.  They did it!  They won!  State Champions!

First Kaua'i team in soccer history to win state, and with a teeny tiny school population.

We made it on local ESPN--I was tugging nervously on my hair.  My Kaua'i friends joked about my jittery state on TV.  

There's our #16:

Zac ached to play more but he was so happy to be part of this team.

MVP Mason:

The coaches each talked to us, expressing their desire to see Zac healthy next season and contributing more to these wins.  Such a celebration!

In other "winning" news, Owen's caterpillar hatched into a gorgeous monarch.  We watched her fly to freedom/death.  I can't believe I've been a mom for 16 years and this was the first time we had this experience!

Kels and Kate:

Super Bowl Sunday...our one photo from the entire day.....

Ty opened his mission call #1 to Orem, in the area we knew we'd be living but no one else knew.  We thought Will Summerhays might accidentally spread the news when Ty opened it, because he started with, "That's where...you have family, right?"  We knew he meant to say we'd be in his area.  It wasn't the right time to share the news about our move until we were certain.

It was the most awkward mission call opening we'd ever experienced.  It was clear Ty and his family were all unhappy with the location.  No one really knew what to do with themselves. Ultimately, they asked the mission department to reconsider and Ty was reassigned to the Flagstaff mission.

The Clarks' new dog, Luna.

Owina, again the victim of the girls' music video charades:

Brady and I walked every night, discussing our plans for the move and how to make it happen.  It was hard to stay secretive but after the moving fiasco and emotions of the year before, we did not want to mess it up again.  On our own workouts, though, it all felt like a celebration and mourning for "lasts."

We took this trail at least once a week for a few hours.  Roxy came with us and had her first off-leash hiking experiences.  She loved it so much!  She raced across the golf course and trail, running back to us after quick explorations and bird-chasing.

Many of these walks included tears.  Grief is heavy and comes in waves.