Carly's JV Basketball Season

 To be honest, Carly was hoping to make the Varsity Basketball Team at Cardston High School. But then they put her on the Junior Varsity team instead. She shed a couple tears and then decided to make the most of it. It turned out to be a really great season.

First, she had amazing coaches. Logan Van Dusen and Jeremy Townsend were the perfect mix of intensity and high expectations in such a positive way. They put so much effort into the team and built up each player. Practices were productive and fun. They had a team Christmas party and a team bonding activity in Lethbridge to watch a college basketball game and go axe throwing. When the season was over, they met with each girl to talk about their strengths and things to improve on.

Logan and Jeremy each came to me and Austin a few times at the beginning of the season to say that they knew she probably wanted to make varsity and she was good enough to, but she would get so much more playing time on JV and they needed a few older girls to be on the team to be team leaders.  Two other girls from grade 11 also stayed on JV - Lilah Kormos and Miya Hansen. 

Sidenote deep thought: Logan said they put Carly and Lilah and Miya on JV so that they would have the best opportunity to improve and to help their team. Then Logan said this would be the best preparation so next year's varsity team could be provincial champions. In life, there are opportunities we have, some hard and some really good, to help us become provincial champions in life. We are also placed with certain people at certain times to help them to become provincial champions... all of us as a team of provincial champions and working on our goal of becoming more like Jesus and working towards eternal life.

The team played in 4 tournaments (Western Canada, CHS, Holy Trinity in Okotoks, and Immanuel Christian in Lethbridge) and won 3 of them. The last tournament was a varsity tournament, and they won 2 games and lost one 58-56 after being tied with 8 seconds to go. They won all of their league games except they lost to Raymond both times. Then they won both games of the zone tournament and were zone champs!  Their season record was 21-3. 

It really was a really great season...great coaches, great teammates, great athletes

Oregon or Bust

Six months ago, Diana and Sharon had the idea for all of us to go to the Oregon coast together. So we all booked flights and the vacation rental house. We would never have guessed that we would have all been together at Tyce's funeral one week before. But it felt divinely planned to all be together to be with Julie. She wasn't sure she wanted to come, and she felt like it was hard to do something normal and fun, but we were so glad we could be together to talk and laugh and cry.

 My mom and sisters all flew to Portland where our taxi driver, Sharon picked us up. The flying adventures weren't without complication, as my mom and Julie's Allegiant flight got delayed 3 times. We were so worried the flight would just get cancelled, since Allegiant does that kind of thing.  Even with their incoming plane finally arrived, they announced now they were waiting for a technician to look at the problem they delayed the plane in Provo and Portland. Then 5 minutes later they started boarding....so it just made you worried a bit if the problem was really fixed or not. But luckily they made it safely.

We ate at a cute hamburger place for dinner and then went to Trader Joe's grocery store to stock up on snacks and breakfast foods. Then we drove to the Oregon coast to the cutest little vacation rental home that Diana had found for us that was right on the ocean. Rachelle gave us each a matching heart necklace.

The next morning we went for a walk on the beach. Then we went to the Tillamook Cheese factory and ate cheese and ice cream. Then we drove to a cute little light house. The ocean is so pretty but it was so rainy and windy...it added to the adventure. We shopped at some cute shops. Then we ate lunch/dinner at a food truck by the ocean and went in a little shop where the worker told us that they were expecting an unusual amount of rain over the weekend- calling it a atmospheric river and expecting 5 inches of rain. I definitely think it did rain that much.

When we got back to our house, we ran out into the ocean in the rain and wind and then ran back and sat in the hot tub.

That night Jeanette was trying to figure out how to get back to Portland because she had to leave a day earlier than us. She had asked a rich man she knew at the airport how to get back, and he said to take a helcopter...it really isn't that expensive. We laughed about that a lot. She tried to order an uber drive, and they took her money and accepted the reservation, but no one actually wanted to drive 2 hours to the coast to pick her up. So at 11 pm, I told Jeanette I would drive her to Portland. So off we went through the pouring rain. My mom and sisters gathered and Julie said a prayer for us to travel safely an blessed that Tyce would be with us to protect us. As we were driving, Jeanette offered to pay for me to stay in a hotel and then drive back in the light, so I accepted the offer. We stopped at the first hotel after the forest, and she had an uber driver take her to the airport. At 4 am I woke up and realized she hadn't text me to say she made it to the airport, so I tried texting...no answer. Calling...no answer. Facebook messenger... no answer. Finally I tried FaceTiming her and she did answer and she had been asleep on the airport floor. Luckily I woke her up because they were starting to board her 5 am flight.  The story had a happy ending because she got to see Lindsey for a half hour before she left to Florida on her mission after she had spent her first transfer in Orem, Utah. I made it safely back to the coast. All of the ruffled feathers of the sisters were calmed and we had a fun Sunday.

On Sunday morning we went to church in the cutest little branch in Rockaway, Oregon, the little town where we stayed. Then we had a little nap, ate at a Mexican restaurant and then went to Cannon Beach. They have these famous big rocks in the ocean that we wanted to see. We parked and headed to the beach in a downpour and then as we got to close to the beach, there was gale force winds blowing sand and rain. So we walked through a few shops and just drove to see the cool rocks. 

Then we went back to the cheese factory to get more cheese and ice cream, and we picked up a pizza for our dinner. We had a mini birthday party for Diana with pizza, ice cream and gifts we had bought for her in the little shops.

We had such a fun weekend.

A few more quotes from the trip:

Rachelle - "Let them."  a saying from a book she just read that applied to a lot of situations

Sharon, "Thanks to the Atlantic for letting us sit and your parking lot and think about take a private jet.  We decided we didn't want to." Then it was time to pick up mom and Sharon

"Look for the topper." Any time we needed to find Sharon's car.

Julie - "Thanks for the 3 fry bonus." We went through the drive-through of Wendy's after we picked up Mom and Julie and their bag had 3 fries in the bottom of the bag.

Julie - "No one this side of 5 should eat dino-nuggets."

Julie - "It's not a blood line thing" story about the nephew wanting to take over the family business

Jeanette - "Tomorrow night...skinny dipping or bust."

Jeanette - "I have 99 problems, but car sickness is not one of them."

Julie telling about Brandon guessing that one of Tyce's friend's has spaz syndrome - why he is on a service mission.

Jeanette - "I give myself an F for packing for this trip."

Sharon driving in the downpour. "I'm choosing to find it funny right now. I'll let you know if that changes."

Sharon - "All I have in this life is diet coke."

Rachelle - "If it makes you feel any better, I'd give my left lung to have my kids get Cs in school."

Bonus of a funeral: a family reunion

We had a slumber party with the Perkins in our hotel room. The Teicherts stayed in a different room, same hotel. We had been there a few minutes and Will said he was going to make dinner, and he put a little packet of spoon/napkin/sugar from the hotel in the microwave and pushed start. It immediately started sparking. An exciting start. 

It was the first time that the Teicherts got to meet Charlotte.

Carly got to be the favorite aunt and swim in the pool with Will twice.

The whole family went out to dinner at Cafe Sabor on Saturday night. It was a lot of people, but it was so fun to intermix with where everyone sat. The funniest quote of the night: Larsen said, "Austin and Kaylynn raised the most patient and loving person I know. She is in Puerto Rico right now."

A small burn on Jill but the truth about Lucy:)

The younger cousins were so cute with Will.

Henry (Doug's son) shook Austin's hand at the funeral and then said to him, "I have never shaken hands with a big man before."

 

Tyce's Funeral

The church was filled with family and friends in mismatched socks to celebrate Tyce.

Austin gave the family prayer. He was so honored when Julie text him the week before. 

Austin was driving a few days later, thinking about the prayer, when he had a very distinct impression that Tyce had a message he wanted Austin to give his family:

Brandon, Creighton, Lizzie, and Capri... you will be blessed and strengthened and know that i am near and will be there in times that are joyful and hard. Live up to your commitments. Tristan and Julie, When you smell fresh cut grass, hear the smack of a ball when it hits the glove or the crack of a bat, remember I am near and I am happy. Pray for the people I am teaching that they will accept the gospel of Jesus Christ and attend the temple often to do the work they need to enter into the presence of Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven, When the laundry is folded and put a way, a pair of mismatched socks that is left behind is a message of I love you.

The funeral was amazing - the nicest funeral Austin said he had ever been to.

Here was the program:

Opening Prayer: Grandpa Randy Waite

Life Sketch: Brandon John

Speakers: Tate Miller (Tyce's best friend since 8th grade)

Julie John (what courage to speak at your son's funeral)

Musical Number: Say a Prayer by lots of friends

Tristan John (who also did amazing)

Closing Prayer: Grandpa LaMar John

Then we went to the cemetery. The funeral home gave a free upgrade to the rolls royce hearse - it was pretty awesome. It was pretty cold outside, but at least the blizzard we woke up to had mostly ended.

Tristan's brother dedicate the grave. It makes the whole plan of salvation seem so much more real when you dedicate the grave until the day of the Resurrection.

There was a cute little mouse running around all of the people who were gathered.

When most of the people had left, Tristan gathered the rest of the people still there and we circled the casket with our arms on each other's shoulders and did the Titan's cheer.

Then we went back to the church for a family luncheon...bless the Relief Society ladies.

It was an amazing day to celebrate Tyce. He affected so many people. We learned so much more about him from all of the people who came and the talks given.

Julie shared 3 miracles:

1. To have had Tyce live in in their family for almost 19 years. They saw so many babies and children at the hospital who likely didn't live very long or not in a normal life

2. Tyce got to attend college. He really wanted to be able to go to college. He got to go for 1 semester and then 3 weeks of the second semester.

3. Julie feels so grateful that Creighton and Lizzie spent Christmas with the Johns so that their last Christmas together was all together.

Julie shared 2 Tyce lessons:

1. Don't quit

2. Love like Tyce

We had three cousins come, which was awesome...Scott Waite, Kristen Gagnon and Kyle Gagnon.