2024 was a great year. We put ahead of us a lot of personal challenges, and we did well to accomplish and overcome them.
Here’s our 2024 highlights:

From Zion to the Grand Canyon to Sedona
Fall break was a blast! We flew in Las Vegas, rented a car and then drove out to Zion. Zion ruined our trip. (I’ll tell you why in a sec.) It’s one of the most beautiful parks you can visit, and we enjoyed hiking the Virgin River, exploring on UTVs, and riding in the tunnel. We then headed to the Grand Canyon (on train, nonetheless). The beauty was a different type of beauty… seeing miles up and down and out. (NIxon then said on first impression… “Well, it’s not Zion.” Afterward we then drove out to Sedona, which I really liked. We then headed back to Las Vegas to finish up with a trip to Meowulf, Red Rocks, and our first Golden Knights game. It was amazing! (Oh, and we got into a bit of a fender demolisher
Running to Big Sur, Finishing RTO, Running All Year
I signed up for my 6th marathon (I think). It was a lottery to get in, and it was a beautiful (but challenging) run. I hit my goal of finishing up in less than 4 hours. Over the course of the year, I averaged 25 miles a week and hit 1300+ miles over the year. Bridget and I finished up our 12th RTO, completing all legs of the race. Crazy how many great people and memories we shared.
House Updates
Well, now that we’re in the house, Bridget and I had to make a few updates:

  • We were intending to paint the trellis, but came to find out that rot and carpenter ants compromised the deck and trellis. We had to rip it all out.
  • Bridget wanted to do a fancy accent wall. And so… a fancy accent wall she got.
  • We also added a few additional lights in the house. It’s a work in progress.
  • We also had our new induction oven go out. Samsung took forever to get people out and troubleshoot. So, we were without an over for a good 3 months. (We ended up getting an LG which has been great.)
  • We got a new furnace and A/C. That was a big upgrade considering the house didn’t have A/C when we bought it.
Baseball
Little league baseball was a lot of fun. Nixon played with a really good team this year. He was one of the youngest, but he was still hitting towards the top of the lineup. The team (sadly the Yankees) was coached by a great person who I used to be assistant coach with, and they finished at the top of the league. I then coached fall ball, and we had a lot of familiar faces to see: Matthew, Beau, William, and others. We also ended the season at the top, and NIxon’s hitting and fielding dramatically improved. He also joined Scorpions travel ball, which he’s hoping to make the tourney team this year.
Also Nixon threw out the first pitch at an Aces game this year. That was really cool. (Bridget won the opportunity at a WIN breakfast.)
The School Rollercoaster
Lyla has had two really amazing teachers. Mrs. Weber (and Donny Osmond) and Mrs. Magee. We saw a noticeable difference in Lyla’s engagement in school since Mrs. Weber. She began to love reading and testing herself. It really showed for me the difference an amazing teacher can have.
Nixon on the other hand did not have the best fifth grade teacher. (She was brought back out of retirement.) Needless to say Nixon went the other way. He still got great grades but was not inspired at all. We enrolled him in Kumon. He also challenged himself and got into the Magnet Program for his sixth grade year. So, when Swope called, we were excited about the next phase of education. He’s loved Swope so far. He’s been getting straight A’s, and in multiple after school clubs – Robotics, chess, D&D, and others.

Honorable mention:

  • Nixon won his swim meet for silver bear in his first time ever competing. He won 3 races, which was amazing.
  • Lyla joined Girls on the Run. She an a 5k about a month ago, and she’s also been doing great at swimming.
  • The board at the Discovery Museum continues to be fun and challenging.
  • Nixon has been learning the trombone. Lyla has been learning the piano.
  • We camped out in Shingletown again with the Dykins, Paschals, and Nevins.
  • We headed to San Francisco with the Walquists and Phillips to watch the Giants game.