A Dozen Years!

How is our first baby already 12 years old!?! She too LOVED celebrating her birthday in California. 

The day after their birthday, Alicia called home and was asking the girls about their amazing cake. When Alicia asked Hazel what flavor of cake, she replied, "Ummm....  sand?" Haha! I'm glad our girl isn't too big for blog-worthy quotes!

Now that Hazel is in Young Women's, she's had a BUSY summer! First up was Youth Conference in Springville Canyon. I don't have a single picture of her trip, but she said they had a blast hiking, having a dessert cook-off against the Young Men, hearing a fireside from the ASL institute director, and of course playing and having fun. 

The following week, Michael and I were able to take Hazel to the temple for the first time. It was also the first time we were able to go back to the temple in nearly 18 months since COVID hit. It was a wonderful day! I've missed the peace of the temple, and felt so happy to share it with Hazel. She even did some family history work leading up to our visit and was able to take some family names. 

A week after our California trip, Hazel (and Bishop Daddy) got to attend girl's camp in Moab! A few hours in to their trips I get a slightly cryptic text that says, "Girl's camp adventures. Don't worry, we're fine" but no picture. Here's the picture that came through eventually. What's girl's camp without a blown tire on the trailer, right? 

Both Hazel and Michael said they had a great time! The girls planned this camp all on their own since Stake Girls camp still was off due to COVID. They stayed two nights in Moab and spent lots of time playing in the river. They finished off the trip with a float trip on the last day. 

She made it home tired and slightly sunburnt, but with wonderful stories and a sparkle in her eye. I'm so glad she loved her first girl's camp! 

In about March, Hazel was called to be the secretary for her Young Women's class (which is our ward is all the young women since we don't have a very large group). She has really risen to the occasion. She's done well organizing dates and keeping good records. She also stays on top of sending weekly emails about activities to all the girls. 

Hazel, you are an incredible young lady in so many ways! You can share ideas and converse intelligently on so many topics. You and Grandpa are always sharing deep conversations whenever you have a change to "Pow wow." 

You love and respect nature. 

You are becoming a great dancer. Irish has been such a great fit for Hazel! (And is anyone surprised she convinced her classmates to let her be the purple dwarf for their end of year performance?)

You've officially been taller than me for about 6 months, but you're sweet enough not to give me too hard of a time about it. 

You have an incredible passion for reading! One of your favorite quotes is from Aunt Marge in Little Women. "She's too fond of books and it has turned her brain!" It's certainly very fitting! This year Hazel has decided to keep a list of all the books she read. So far, she's read over 60 books! And not just easy ones either. She's read Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Giver series, most of the books in the Anne of Green Gables series, Hatchet, Esperanza Rising, and more. Your passion for books is incredible, and your mind truly remarkable already thanks to the incredible books you choose.

While you may be a bookworm, you are also a ton of fun. I love that you play along with the younger kids and makes them feel included and special. 

You also lead them to ideas like creating a mud bath from the perfect, silty mud at the edge of the lake. 

Today you hit another big milestone - braces. What you hoped would only be about 6 months of braces to close the gaps in your teeth will actually be 18-24 months to correct your "deep bite." Your only disappointment was that you couldn't get colored bands yet, but when you do I'm sure they will be purple. 

We love you Hazel! Thanks for being you!