DERRICK'S GRADUATION



Derrick - all decked out and ready to graduate!

 


Derrick with Grandpa and Grandma Gundersen

 


Derrick and Grandpa Rowsell




Ryan and Chelsea are going to miss their big brother

 Our Derrick graduated on May 31, 2012.  What a fun year we have had watching him in football, basketball, and track and as always excelling academically.  On top of all this, he is just one good kid.  I may be biased but I guess I have every right to be as his MOM.  He turns 19 this October and hopes to go straight out on his mission.  We are excited to see where he'll get to go.  We are going to miss having him around but are excited to watch his future unfold.  WE LOVE YOU DERRICK!!

BEAR LAKE HIGH SCHOOL TRACK

Derrick and all his teammates that went to State

District Long Jump Event

District Long Jump Event

Both Derrick and Ryan did track this year.  Ryan did the high jump and ran the 800 meter race.  Ryan was able to letter as a freshman again since he placed 5th in District in the high jump with a jump of 5'2".  WAY TO GO RYAN!!  As far as the 800 race, he just stuck it out till the bitter end - he's grown so much this past year he just doesn't have enough fat, muscle or whatever it takes to endure this wicked race.  He said his main goal was to not let Derrick lap him -which he accomplished. Derrick participated in several relays, the 800 meter race, and the long jump.  Half way through the season Derrick sprained his ankle quite badly playing basketball with the "forest service" group and couldn't practice for over 3 weeks but he still was able to go to State in his 800 race and the long jump.  This picture is of all the kids that went with him.  State Track is a way fun event to go to.  In years past it has always been held at Boise State University but this year because they are redoing the football field, it was held at Eagle High School.  Derrick scratched on his long jump so did not place in this event.  He took seventh in the 800 with a personal best record of 2 minutes 1 second - sprained ankle and all.  We were proud of him.

CHELSEA'S ALL-STAR BASKETBALL TEAM

Our little Chelsea played basketball this winter also.  She played on a regular season team and then got to play on the all-star team.  Her coach for both was Michelle Mattson; whom she really has liked.  She had her last year also.  Chelsea was usually one of the taller girls out on the court and if she just held her hands up high no one could really block her shot.  Her games were mainly on Saturday mornings so they didn't interfere with her brother's games too much.  We had alot of fun watching her!!!

SPRING BREAK - CALIFORNIA

We decided to spend our Spring Break this year in beautiful, sunny Southern California. We flew out of Idaho Falls and the day we left was a blizzard. We rented a car and drove down the Pacific Coast Highway all the way to Imperial Beach just this side of the Mexico Border. We saw people surfing, but not swimming, at most of the beach areas we stopped at. They were all wearing wet suits so we decided that the temperature of the water must be a little chilly this time of year even in California. Derrick really wanted to swim in the ocean though and we're tough, well-winterized Bear Lakers used to cold conditions of any kind, RIGHT?  Anyway, we went to the nearest lifeguard station and asked if swimming was legal this time of year.  She replied with a smile on her face; "Yes, but usually the only people that dare swim right now are tourists from Idaho." Well, little did she know, we fit the description - tourists from Idaho. Derrick couldn't talk Ryan or Chelsea into going with him so he went all by himself. He spent about an hour riding the waves on a small boogie board he had bought. After he got out, he spent the next hour or two shaking and shivering

BASKETBALL FUN!!!

This is what makes BEAR LAKE WINTERS bearable - No pun intended.  We had so much fun watching Derrick and Ryan play basketball this winter.  At the beginning of the season, Ryan was on the Freshman Team so we would watch it, then the JV, then Derrick on the Varsity.  After a few weeks, they moved Ryan up to the JV so then we only had to sit through 2 hours of games instead of three.  Jer and I had a rough time getting our old bodies to move very well even after the shortened time sitting on those hard old bleachers.  The Varsity Team ended up losing the District Championship game to Snake River but were still able to go to the State Tournament by winning a play-in game against Teton High - Ryan actually got to letter as a Freshman by getting to play in this game for a few minutes.  At State, after three intense games, we ended up taking 4th place.  WAY TO GO BEARS!!

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

We usually celebrate Ryan and Chelsea's birthday on the Sunday in between January 27th (Ryan's Birthday) and February 2nd (Chelsea's Birthday).  Chelsea always has a heart-shaped cake and Ryan's usually is a basketball but this year we decided to do something different for him- a Smiley Face.

Ryan turned 15 years old and is 6' 5" tall.  He is currently taking Driver's Ed.  He will finish up the class part around the end of February and then will have to drive with us, his parents, for 50 hours before he can get his actual license.  This will be the sixth time I've had this experience and  I still don't enjoy driving with beginners - it's just too nerve-wracking.  Looking on the bright side though, I only have to do it one more time after this.  Ryan enjoys "hunting" so his main birthday gift was a pair of binoculars so he won't have to borrow his dad's anymore.

OUR NEWEST ARRIVAL

Our new little granddaughter is finally here - February 1, 2012. Embree Sage Wells weighed in at 7 lbs. 14 ozs. and was 20 1/2 inches long.  Andrea went to her doctor's appointment yesterday and Dr. Degnan felt like she was ready and told her to be at the hospital this morning at 7:00.  They had a bit of a scare - each time Andrea had a contraction the baby's heartbeat would get really low and then they couldn't find it at all.
The nurse called the doctor in and he decided that the baby was in trouble so even though Andrea was only dilated to 8 cm. he wanted the baby out immediately.  He had to use forceps and literally pull little Embree out.  Apparently the cord was wrapped around her neck causing her to stop breathing as the contractions tried to push her out.  The nurse told Andrea that she was very blessed to have Dr. Degnan, who by the way is 80 years old, as her doctor because he is very skilled in using forceps.  The only other option would have been a c-section which would have taken too long and the baby may have died.  We are so thankful to our Heavenly Father for this special blessing and so glad to have our little Embree safely here.  When we took big sister Halle in to see little Embree she really didn't say much but the continuous smile on her face was worth a thousand words.