Summer 2017

Can time go by too quickly? Yes it can. It is almost autumn and so much has happened in our family.

Jarek graduated high school. He finished in the top 1%, which meant he was able to speak at his graduation ceremony. He had planned a fun "meme"-filled speech, which eventually got denied a day or two prior. He then had to come up with another talk. He did great. He then got accepted into BYU on a full scholarship, which was amazing. He also finished his 3 AP tests this year with a score of 5 on each. That means for all the AP tests he did, he got a 5 on each one in high school. What a smart kid (or good test-taker). He is currently working on getting in his mission papers and has deferred attending BYU for now. He finally got his drivers license, too. It has been difficult for me to imagine life without Jarek here. Therefore I don't think about it much. But all too soon he will be out of the house. Amazing.

To celebrate his scholarship we offered him a trip to anywhere in the world. He eventually chose London and Paris. Tevia and I went with him on the trip. It was amazing. We had such a great time seeing these old, global cities. Jarek did great even though he had to walk a lot. He wanted to see a castle so we went to Dover Castle one day, which was amazing. In Paris we spent one day in Versailles and the last day we went to Disneyland Paris. The weather was fantastic and it was so enjoyable for me to share such an experience with him as he prepares for adulthood. He is a man now. So hard to believe. I remember the day he was born so vividly. In New York; so many years ago. Having him out of the house will definitely be the biggest change in our lives in the next few months. He will do wonderful. I have no worries for him besides the normal parental worries about stupid things. He is a strong, spiritual and kind man.

For the Lake Powell trip this year I was only able to attend the last two days due to work. The two days were great. I love that place and love to see my brothers and sister and their families.

We did a camping trip at in Sedona (Oak Creek canyon) which ended up having quite a few people come. The weather was great, though we weren't able to do fires this year. We went to slide rock the one day and had so much fun. Jacob and Kathy and their families were able to come, along with Brandt and his wife and Cari's sister and her family (who just moved to Arizona).

Malik started taking composition classes with a professor down at ASU. He absolutely loves it. It is a long drive for Tevia but we are happy to help Malik develop his musical passion of composing songs.

Enok this summer started taking tennis lessons as well as playing in a basketball league. He loves them both and is doing well. It has been fun seeing him progress as he eventually was able to score a couple of times in his basketball league.

For work I've traveled quite a bit. I had a trip to China and Singapore early summer and was able to connect with a couple of old friends in Singapore. Work has been steady and good. I am ready for something new, but I love the people I work with and have had a lot of success.

My parents ended up going on a mission. They are serving in the Cleveland, Ohio mission in a town called Tiffin. I was able to visit them one weekend on a business trip I had to the area. It was great to see them and they are doing great. I am happy they chose to go.

As the summer winds down and cooler temperatures descend upon us, we get ready for the eventual departure of Jarek and our fun trips in the fall and winter. I continue to be blessed with a wonderful family who I love. They boys' hearts are doing well. We strive to be better people. Tevia is as beautiful as the day I met her.