Puerto Penasco with Papa Frank

    Papa Frank had a wedding to go to in Puerto Penasco and didn't want to go by himself.  Well the entire Meeker family was happy to join him BUT then Max got called up to Varsity Basketball for the State Playoffs and so Dad and Max stayed home. for that and Tatum and I headed out to Mexico.  (Heritage lost in the second round😓)

    Mexico is always a ton of fun.  It was kinda nice to get away and to a beach for a few days.  Papa Frank's driving is a little scary but hey, we survived.  We of course had to hit our favorite restaurant our first night there--Wrecked at the Reef.

Papa & Tatum

    The wedding was BEAUTIFUL--the Knoops have been long-time friends with the Herrera & Hensley families so it was kinda like a little Deming-reunion for me.  I actually had an old gymnastics student of mine, Elsa, come up and give me a big hug.  I didn't recognize her right away but I was so touched that she was so excited to see me.  To see her all grown up was just one of the best things ever.  It's be over 25 years since I've taught a gymnastics class--seems like a whole other lifetime ago.  I went to high school with the mother of the bride.  My younger brother thew shot/discus in track with the father of the bride.  The wedding took place RIGHT on the beach.  It was a beautiful sunny day.  The ceremony was beautiful and then a true Mexican Fiesta happened right away--so LOTS of GOOD food and FUN dancing.

Papa Frank & the Hensley Men

There were several little gifts for the guests.  The blanket was Tatum's favorite by far--that girl LOVES her blankets.  She was using that thing within 15 minutes of arriving:)

Already cold!

    On Sunday, we hit the beach to collect some seashells and found a ward to go to church at.  Lots of Americans there for the holiday weekend so we fit right in.  We didn't understand much but Tatum and I had a great time picking out the very few words we recognized but had an even better time watching this little toddler boy whack his sister over and over again with his jacket.  One of those "had to be there" to really enjoy it but believe me, it was quite funny.

    We also did face masks and painted nails that night.  Papa Frank resisted at first but we managed to get him to put on a facial mask--definitely the first time he's ever had one on his face and probably the last time.😂

    

    So we sure enjoyed our little weekend away.  Meekers are ALWAYS up for a trip--big or small:)

Chris got to be NOAH!!!

    This year in Primary we are studying the Old Testament.  Last month, our primary kiddos had a visit from "Adam & Eve" and this month, "Noah" came.  I'm so grateful to have a husband that goes along with most of my crazy ideas.  He was a FABULOUS Noah and the kids just loved having him there.

Carlie's Sophomore Recital--BYU

    So despite the MANY credits Carlie has at BYU, she is technically a Sophomore in music years.  But as a Sophomore, she is doing everything a Senior and Graduate student would be required.  She planned out her own recital this past fall--we bought our plane tickets as soon as she picked the date of Feb. 5th.  So we've been looking forwards to this for months!
    We flew out bright and early on Friday, Feb. 4th.  Our flight was right on time--we landed in Provo at 7:30 am and then headed right over to the Provo Temple to do an 8:30 am sealings session.  It's been crazy hard to get times for us to complete our work in the Gilbert Temple so we took our chances in Provo and got everything DONE!!!  

Cute little Temple story:  After our session, I was already dressed back into my normal clothes waiting for Carlie to finish changing.  This sweet older sister looked at me and said, "Sister!  You look BEAUTIFUL this morning!!!  Are you already done with your session?"  I said, "YES!" and explained that I had JUST flown in that morning from AZ.  She was just SOOO excited to hear that and asked me why I was there to which I explained that I was there to watch my daughter's recital at BYU the next day.  About that time, Carlie joined us.  She looked at Carlie and asked, "What do you play???"  Carlie told her "I play oboe."  And I'm not even sure if this sweet sister knew what an oboe was but she was just SOO genuine and excited and kind.  The whole interaction with this sweet lady just made my day!

    So we dropped Carlie off at BYU then took her car out to my little brother's house in Spanish Fork.  We had a hotel in Provo but spent most our time with Travis and his family.  

Asa, Carlie, & Taylee

The MAIN EVENT:  We arrived at the school early to help Carlie set up her room.  She had about 25 people come to watch.  I just sat there in total AWE thinking, "Wow...I can't believe that I actually MADE this super human girl."  She was INCREDIBLE!!!  Jaw-dropping INCREDIBLE.  Everyone here in Chandler thinks I'm pretty good but my daughter AND her accompanist....they are on a whole other level/different caliber than I can ever hope to achieve.  I felt so privileged and blessed to even be sitting in the same room as these two amazing musicians.

Emily is one of Carlie's oldest friends--
and college roommate their Freshman year 
before they both served missions.  

Amalie (the pianist) & Carlie

    On Sunday, we got up early to go to church with Travis and his family.  All in all, it was a perfect weekend.  We got to spend lots of great time with Carlie and Travis's family AND Chris got to be "Mr. Fix-it-Up Chappie" fixing things on Carlie's AND Travis's vehicles--seriously my husband is a SUPER GENIUS when it comes to fixing things.  And I got to experience greatness and watch my own flesh and blood achieve amazing things.  I could not be more proud.

Max-Heritage Basketball 2021-22

    It may seem like everything comes easy for Max--he is HANDS DOWN our most social kid who can make friends anytime/anywhere.  But basketball is something he's had to REALLY work at.  This season started off pretty rough for him.  He didn't get much playing time and in that little time, he scored very few points--I know points are everything but they sure help one's confidence.  He was just ready for the season to be over and didn't want us making all the effort to be at his games.  But then something happened for him the last 5 games of the season.  He was all of the sudden getting more playing time which gave him more time to make things happened.  He seriously went from scoring 2-4 points a game to 15-18 points a game.  So the last few games of the season were actually REALLY great to watch.  So here's some great pics AND video of a few of his highlights this season.  He's been called up to the Varsity team as they go into the state playoffs this next week.  I'm just so grateful that the season ended on a positive note for him.