It is both awesome and a little terrifying to realize that our little girls have turned into WOMEN in what seems like the blink of an eye. As our daughters grow older, more independent, and more mobile, we are adjusting to a newer parenting style: Less caretaking and taxiing, more advising and emotional support. However, as busy as our family is, we know that there are a few more hectic years ahead before our nest is truly empty!
In the meantime, we are enjoying the many wonderful moments where we can take pride in our daughter's talents, be grateful for the friendships they have in each other, and rejoice at the fun we all bring to each other's lives! Every day, we are learning to better cherish our blessings.
Perhaps the most "momentous" family event in 2023 was seeing our oldest child graduate high school & leave home for college! Lorelai finished her senior year strong at Walden Grove High School, graduating with many honors and earning many scholarships. After visiting several college campuses, she ultimately settled on the one closest to home: The University of Arizona! It definitely feels like the right place for her to be.
In August, she began her freshman year—JUST after turning 18! She is a scholarship student and a member of the Honors College. She moved into Gila dorm on campus and is loving life so far. She gets along well with her roommate, and is working through her general education classes as she settles on a major (hopefully TBD in 2024!). We are so happy that Lorelai gets to live the "college life," but we are still getting used to not having her around much (even though she is just a short drive away)!
In 2023, we took two family trips—first, we visited Washington D.C. during Spring Break. It was a trip we'd been planning for a long time, and it was a wonderful experience. Everyone loved it! We spent every day walking and seeing the sights; every night, we crashed, tired but fulfilled in our hotel room. It was an unforgettable time!
In July, we drove up to Flagstaff for the Nash Family reunion! It was great to see Grandma & Grandpa Nash, and all our Carlin & Nash aunts, uncles, & cousins! We rented a cabin and had several nature excursions, as well as lots of family time.
Besides our family vacations, we had several smaller "road trips" as well, featuring one or two family members. Aurora had several weekends in Phoenix (and one in Flagstaff) for various soccer tournaments.
Celeste and Aurora both got to go to our stake Girl's Camp (Celeste even served as a youth camp leader there!).
Celeste was also able to travel with the 14+ youth to the stake youth conference in Flagstaff, with Adrianne along for the ride as a ward youth chaperone! The kids participated in an intense ropes course, played in a mountain lake, and generally had a great time. As you can see, Flagstaff was a popular destination for us this year!
Here
are a few of our individual 2023 highlights:
Nathan:
2023 was a year that brought many work-related changes for Nathan. While settling into his new job as Management Analyst for the Town of Sahuarita, he also earned his professional Human Resources Certification. It's something he's been working towards for several years now, and we are all so proud of him for passing his exam and gaining valuable job skills for future opportunities.
This spring, due to a boundary change, our family (along with many others in our LDS Church congregation) were moved into a new ward (a congregation covering an assigned geographical area). Goodbye, Anamax Ward (we miss you!). Hello, Ranch Ward! Shortly after changing wards, Nathan was called to serve in the Ranch Ward Elders Quorum Presidency. It has been a good opportunity for him to get to know the members of our new ward and to serve them in a variety of ways. In between working, serving at church, and driving kids around, Nathan still loves
reading, puzzling, and gaming in what spare time he has left.
Adrianne:
As is usually the case for Adrianne, she spent the year rotating through her many different "hats" (or should we say, "shirts," as you can see in the pictures below?). She likes to juggle a variety of jobs & responsibilities!
First and foremost, Adrianne (tries) to be Mom...which encompasses a lot, but often roughly translates to "Taxi Driver" (especially in 2023, when we spent much of the year with two busy but NON-DRIVING teens still living at home!). Here's a few assorted pictures of her other roles...
Private Piano Teacher (she & some of her students are pictured here at their spring recital);
Soccer Mom (seen here volunteering at a tournament sponsored by Aurora's club). Not pictured: The MANY MANY hours spent driving Aurora to & from games/tournaments all over Tucson and Phoenix, and even beyond!
Part-time K-5
music teacher at Great Expectations Academy (the pictures show Adrianne in her classroom, with her teaching partner Shannon Cornaby, and her view from one of her two school concerts this year);
Proud Band Mom (on both a middle- AND high-school AND college-level!). Adrianne also serves as treasurer of the Red Wolves Music
Boosters at Walden Grove High School. That job keeps her especially busy during marching band (and football concessions) season;
Member of the Tucson Music Teacher's Association, and (by extension) a committee member of the annual TMTA Ensemble Concert committee. Adrianne and the girls all participate in Ensemble every spring. It is a lot of work to put it together, but it is a very rewarding experience!
Adrianne also occasionally manages to walk Coco, our sweet dog, or read a book!
Lorelai:
As mentioned above, Lorelai graduated Walden Grove High School in May; she is a proud member of the Class of 2023! She had a fairly eventful final semester of high school as well, much of it involving music.
Lorelai was one of just eight trombones statewide to qualify for the AMEA All-State Jazz Band. She was in Jazz Combo B, and spent a weekend performing with incredible high-school musicians from all over the state. She loved the experience! In February, Lorelai also qualified as one of the top trombones in the AMEA Regional Band, and was able to perform (along with many of her other talented classmates) at another festival. She also auditioned for All-State band in March in Phoenix.
Lorelai didn't play piano as much her senior year, but she was still able to complete a difficult duet piece and be honored as a senior performer at the TMTA Ensemble concert in March (she performed the duet with Celeste as her partner!). At the end of the school year, on top of her many academic honors, she also received special recognition as the Outstanding Senior Musician in Walden Grove's Wind Ensemble (honor band). We were so proud of all her successes in academics and in music in her final year of school!
Even with such a busy schedule, Lorelai still managed to hold down a job as a server at Green Valley's La Posada Assisted Living Center. She worked there her entire senior year, and she was given several college scholarships from them. Lorelai has even worked at La Posada on and off when she comes home for the holidays between college semesters. We are all so impressed by her work ethic and know it will take her far in life!
Celeste:
Celeste successfully completed her freshman year of high school in early 2023; so far, she has been thriving during her sophomore year--despite having a VERY intense schedule! As you can see by many of these pictures, you will often find her with the band!
This year, Celeste has thrown herself into improving on the tenor saxophone. She began taking private lessons early in 2023, and her performance & skill has improved dramatically. She has been having a lot of fun playing the sax and volunteering to play it at any opportunity she can. She was part of a small saxophone solo in the marching band's program this last fall, and she loved "jazzing it up" in front of a large crowd.
Celeste has had many opportunities to perform throughout the year, and enthusiastically tackles every assignment...whether it's the marching band program, or soloing as the first tenor sax in jazz band at school concerts, Christmas fundraisers, and various other public events. She can't wait to go "on the road" with the jazz band as they travel to California in Spring 2024!
Celeste is also a proud member of the Tri-M music honors society, and hopes to participate in the pit orchestra for the school district's spring 2024 musical. And did we mention she managed a straight-A semester while juggling all this??
AND did we mention that Celeste held down TWO paid jobs so far in 2023?? First, she was a lifeguard in the summer, and later in the fall, a busser at Arizona Family Restaurant. All this BEFORE her Sweet 16, which she just celebrated on December 13th.
Celeste finished the year strong, earning her driver's license. Now two of our three daughters are licensed drivers...hooray! It is a source of great relief to her mom to NOT have to be the designated chaperone for Celeste's crazy schedule. We all wish her well!
Even with her breakneck pace and many sleepless nights (thanks, early-morning seminary!), Celeste has maintained an upbeat, sunny disposition and remains our family's ray of sunshine. She is also a HARD-CORE Taylor Swift fan...so we thought it only fitting that Taylor greet Celeste PERSONALLY on the morning of December 13th, with Happy Birthday wishes! Celeste shares a birthday with Taylor Swift, which of course means they GET EACH OTHER. Living with such an intense Swiftie (TWO of them, in fact...Aurora is also a huge fan) has been a real pop-culture education for the rest of the family!
Aurora:
Our over-achieving
almost-14-year-old keeps her mom busy driving her back and forth.
In the winter
and spring seasons, she played club soccer and league volleyball at the same time. That made for a few pretty crazy weekends!
In fact, Aurora loves soccer so much, she also got certified as a referee over the summer. She now occasionally acts as an assistant referee during other people's games, in order to earn a little money in between her extracurricular activities!
In addition to sports, Aurora still practices piano regularly (mom still gives her occasional lessons) AND holds down the first trumpet spot in the award-winning jazz band at Great
Expectations Academy. In the spring, she even won an Outstanding Soloist Award at a regional jazz festival. In late summer, she also got to represent her band in accepting a beautiful 100-year-old cornet, which was presented to the jazz band as a gift from a local community member. Aurora is a great trumpet player, and it makes us happy to see her enjoy playing jazz music just as her older sisters did!
Now Aurora is an 8th-grader...it's her last year at Great Expectations Academy, and she is VERY excited to move up to high school! In fact, it's the last year for our WHOLE FAMILY at Great Expectations Academy...it is truly the end of an era for us! We are grateful for the many good years it has given all our kids, in developing their academic and musical talents. Adrianne is also grateful for the opportunity to have worked as an elementary music teacher at GEA for several years...it has been a joy!
We
love you all, and wish you health, happiness, and success in 2024!!
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