Category: Alexis

Departure for Cuenca set for Monday, June 15th @ 5:20pm.

Mindy Gledhill’s song “whole wide world” seems to be an accurate representation of my attitude about life, so much so that I used it for the premise of this blog. 🙂

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URR_4i5gIFU?rel=0&showinfo=0&w=560&h=315]

My dad and I went on an amazing three week european adventure in April/May 2015. First stop was a quick layover in London, England; then to Stavenger, Norway the next day to visit Astrid (our former exchange student) and her family.

Big Ben

London Bridge

bad night’s sleep in the london airport

The Gudmestad Family: Astrid, Jone, Elin, & Eilert

fish soup

Astrid and her boyfriend Roar

sheep at the farm

sisters

the gudmestad home

Next, Paris France…Astrid came with us.

Notre Dame

Eiffel Tower

Our hotel room was tiny!

Sacre Couer

Arc De Triumph

Mona Lisa Selfie

The Louvre

Then on to Amsterdam Netherlands…the hostel experience was NOT a highlight.

Spain on Cinco de Mayo felt appropriate.

We drove through the Swiss Alps listening to the sound of music. Switzerland, Germany, and Austria were probably my favorite countries.

Italian food in Italy and all of the historical sites were amazing.

Wow – that's about all I can ay is WoW! I remember 10 years ago dropping Lexi off at a new school in Idaho Falls without any friends. I looked backed and saw her swinging on the swings all alone. Even though she felt fine, I cried all of the way home because my baby was going to school ALL day long! I cannot believe I am sitting here now typing this because on the way to school today Lexi proclaimed, "two more years of HS and then I'm done!" Where has the time gone??? Just to let anyone that is planning on reading the rest of this know – I am totally going to brag about this chic in the following paragraphs.  She is pretty good at being humble for the most part, so I need to document her latest and awesome accomplishments, because that is just what moms can and should do. I can take NONE of the credit for any of these cool things – it is just who she is, and it is amazing to get to sit by and watch her become who she is meant to be.

I sure love this daughter of mine. She makes me proud to get to say I'm her mother. She isn't perfect, and that is hard for her to accept – but she is pretty darn close most of the time. haha 🙂 But really, she works really hard to be her best in all she does and I greatly admire her for it.

At school she is known as "Parker", no. 6 on the girls soccer team. In fact, at the game I didn't get to see on Saturday she scored her first goal of the season! Way to start things off right Lex! She was voted the Jr. Class Captain of her team this year, and really felt honored about it. She takes things serious – sometimes a little too serious, but that is why we love her and how she can do some of the great things she sets out to do. She got a few fundraisers going for her team, and has been a great older sister to Mason as he is starting off his first season on the HS team. She looks out after him and is there to be a friend when he needs one. That makes my heart smile really, really big. She has also helped out with her choir a lot. She and a friend volunteered to pick out the outfits for both the boys and girls. She is pretty responsible and good at communicating to have a positive result. She also was excited about getting the solo of Cosette in the song, "Castle on a Cloud". She also get to be the Jr. Class President this year. She hasn't gotten put to work yet, but I know the Lip Sync is something she has been thinking about and wanting to help her class win this year.

At church Lexi is the one that her YW leaders like to ask to do things because she is willing and good at being dependable. She has developed great habits of reading her scriptures & praying. She is one of the people you could describe as a quiet strength to others. She isn't one to stand up and proclaim her beliefs – she just lives them every day. She is out of her comfort zone to bear her testimony all of the time, but heck ya she has a strong one! She has chosen and is determined to live a virtuous life and has set high standards for herself, which is inspiring. She has adopted a sweet old lady in our ward and often goes over to help her with some work or just to watch TV or visit.

At work, yes she has a job!, she is trying hard to do her best too. For her it is important to be punctual to make sandwiches and swirl yogurt at Mill Hollow Frozen Yogurt. She has enjoyed her work there and has made some fun new friends. She really likes working with her cousin Paige. They have become even better friends and have had a fun summer – along with Riley and Haley (and Kassie when she is in town). We seem to find ourselves stopping in for a yogurt more than we ever have, just to see the cute blonde girl behind the counter working hard to make money for College and Mission. She is a miser when it comes to spending and saving her money. She does not let it exit her hands without thinking really hard about where it is going to go. She splurged at bought herself a pair of Tom wedges (shoes) for school. She was so freaked out it almost made her sick. But I'll tell you what, she is so proud of those shoes and treats them better than any piece of china.

Friends/Boys/Dating because she is now 16. She has had fun doing some group dating this summer, but is finding it isn't THAT big of a deal. It is fun for her to spend more time hanging with boys & girls at parties because she didn't really do that as often before. She has nice and good guys all around her to hang out with, so that makes us as parents happy for her. She has a few that she has reserved at the top of her list, but mostly she is just waiting for "boys" to grow up into the "man" she is dreaming of. haha – that is totally her mother saying that – not her!

It will be a wonderful few years ahead with this girl. I love to cheer for her at soccer games, sit by her at church and sing the hymns – we switch who sings alto/soprano every other verse without even planning it…we just know, watching her ham it up on the stage of her swing choir songs and dimpley smile, curling her hair when I get the honored privilege, depending on her to take care of the family when I'm gone from home, and mostly all of the great talks found at the end of my bed after she gets home from work or playing with friends.

Strong willed, independent, dependable, & full of integrity is this girl in a nut shell. LOVE her to death!

So almost a month ago my fun loving daughter, Lexi, turned 16! It was a momentous occasion and one to be remembered. The celebration lasted nearly a week and she had to of felt special and loved.

To catch her off guard, Astrid and I decided to throw her a surprise birthday party a few days before her birthday so she wouldn't suspect anything. Astrid put a great list of friends together and spread the word, and I focused on buying enough ice cream and candy to make homemade cold stones. The night of the party arrived and she was going to ref a soccer game – it was the perfect amount of time to decorate and prepare for the arrival of many loud teenagers. Mason helped us put up zig zag streamers all over the ceiling and the sweet 16 water bottles made their debut on the counter. Astrid took photos of Lexi from all of the years her life and formed them into a 16 onto the window. People showed up and we had them dress up in random props for a photo booth option. They made a birthday message on a mini white board.  Stephen took lexi to the ref job, so we could have control of when to have her back home. We had all of her friends park in the forest, but still their cars couldn't be completely concealed….so as Stephen came to the cemetery he dropped a ton of papers and food on the floor of the car and told her to pick them up keeping her eyes down so she wouldn't suspect any visitors. When she entered through the garage door – she was genuinely surprised! It was an awesome moment – I loved it! Kids were jumping out of cubbies blowing party favors in her face and there was a grand chorus of happy voices. I sure appreciate her friends for giving her a happy moment to remember forever. I also appreciate Astrid for helping make it happen. FUN TIMES were had…the cold stones were a hit, and most kids ended up playing soccer in the backyard to top the evening off. It was super awesome to see Lexi so happy.

On her birthday morning the unveiling of a special and meaningful gift entered the scene. Stephen, Mason, and JT had been working for weeks to produce a gorgeous trunk for Lex to hold all of her special things and prepare for the future. She loved it and it looks amazing in her room. It is some of Stephen's finest work! From me she received a ticket to Les Miserable in Salt Lake City. I think she was excited, but felt conflicted because she had already accepted dates for Friday and Saturday nights. She got the date thing all figured out at school and I picked her up at noon. We hit the road and I told her I needed to go pick something up from Stephanie's house on the way. She didn't know that I had been planning for a few weeks to surprise her with a fun weekend with her Parker cousins. When we got to the Ricks house, she told Riley and Paige what had transpired and then I asked, "Should we take these two with us?" And then it dawned on her what was going on. I personally think she was more excited about hanging with her cousins than anything else that had happened for her birthday. We drove to Lance and Anne's house where they were so nice to let us stay, and Haley, and of course Kassie, were both there for a sleep over. We all went to Les Miserables and had an awesome time!It was definitely a very indulgent way to celebrate a child turning 16, and I hope we can live up to it 4 more times. 🙂

I just love this daughter of mine and the fine young woman she is turning into. After 16 years I have come to know how much she loves surprises, music, family, friends, & soccer. It is who she is and I value the contributions she makes to the world in being energetic, fun loving, bright, hard working, full of faith & testimony, studious, kind, ambitious, social, silly, great integrity, trustworthy, dependable, & great helper to name a few! She has a bright future ahead and many trails to blaze. Keep up the great work daughter!

Lexi is half way through driver's ed. What a joy. I personally cannot wait for her to get her license so she can drive herself to where she needs to go. Yippee. I am not excited about worrying that she is safe and paying more for insurance though. 🙂 I do have a lot of confidence in her and think she will make a responsible driver. Driver's Ed consists of driving every Monday from 3-4:30 after school, and Tues & Thurs morning classes (6:30-7:30) this is the schedule for 2-1/2 months. She absolutely hates writing chapter summaries – which are due every Thursday. They are very time consuming and she has to type them, but it will all be worth it very soon.

We had a fun day last Friday when she got out of school. The final scores were turned in for the last trimester and she aced it receiving her first 4.0! After seeing her work so hard for it, I decided it was time for a "fancy pants" scholarship. She has been wanting some cool jeans for awhile. We set out to find the perfect pair and came home with some fancy pants. She wore them proudly on Monday to school. Fun days.

Other photos were from a fun photo shoot her and Stacy Roberts went on. Love the turquoise house.

Meet the new Lexi! She is sporting a new "do". Yesterday, she took the plunge and chopped off almost ALL of her hair. She is so bold, brave, & confidant. I am a bit jealous of her qualities. I guarantee that I don't have the kind of self-confidence she does, let alone back as a freshman in high school! Being the conservative person that I am, I went through all of the reasons with her that she may not like short hair, but she stuck to her guns. In fact, I think she even wanted it cut more after these conversations. When we got to the one about how basically 90% of all boys like long hair better on girls, she said, "I don't care about any stinking boys. I don't have to impress them. They should like me for who I am – what's inside!" Bamm!! That is right! Way to be Lex – you are so right on. She is lucky to have a beautiful face and be able to carry long or short hair well. Kacie Hatch King cut it for her and was so dang cute while she cut it. It was a fun experience for Lex. I'm sure this will be a moment she will always remember. She was so excited the night before her hair cut that she couldn't even sleep. She has always loved the song, "Whole Wide World" from Mindy Gledhill – it must be "her" song, listen to it and decide for yourself. Once this girl makes up her mind with anything involved she is unstoppable. I think she is a bit like her dad – LOVE that about her!

Comments:

kenzie said…

WOW lexi!!!!!!!! i love your new look!
it’s super cute!!!
Thursday, January 26, 2012 10:05:59 AM

Jana said…

I love it Lex…you look awesome!
Thursday, January 26, 2012 2:57:34 PM

Stacie said…

I am loving it! Way cute! You could get away with anything though! You are so adorable! Love ya!
Wednesday, February 01, 2012 8:06:22 AM

Paige said…

i love it lex! you look adorable!!!!! And i love what you said about the boys who should like as you are! 🙂 i love you!!!!
Wednesday, February 01, 2012 4:06:37 PM

So Lexi had a blast on her Great Day Temple Square Choir Tour. She had her eyes opened to the life of HS kids on busses and being away from home – some good, some bad. She had fun hanging out with Stacy Roberts. I also went along and drove down with some of the other moms. I was proud of Lex with her singing, her standards, and her respect towards me. She is a great gal.

My sister, Michelle, picked us up after the tour was over as our family was coming to spend the weekend in SLC to see the lights at Temple Square. Michelle took us to lunch at Zuppas (one of my favorites!). She also took us shopping and paid money toward Lexi's prize purchase of the weekend – sparkling silver, glitter "TOMS". A "cool" shoe that she has been excited about owning and wearing.

Lexi also just had a great experience being invited to play futsal with her friend, Tanner and his pals over the Christmas break. She was a bit intimidated, but her excited-ness won out over her nerves and she chalked it up as one of her highlights of the break.

She also loved having her cousins in town – Parker and Baldwin! Bridget was able to stay at our house for 3 nights and accompanied Lex along with Grant and Jed to our Stake New Year's Eve dance.  It is so much fun to watch these amazing young people grown up. 

Lexi has been involved with the Great Day Choir this fall. Last night was their dinner show. It was really great. They, along with the other "Swing Choir", entertained the tables of people for 1 -1/2 hours straight! I was impressed. This is the kind of choir that dances and sings – they had to have gotten a great work out! She looked so cute and I was so proud of her. We went with both, Grandpa and Grandma Baldwin and Parker. Lily also begged and pleaded to come and asked if it could be an early birthday present. I know she was so proud of her sister and dreams of the day that she will get to follow in her footsteps. November 30th these choirs get to travel down to SLC to perform in the Temple Square Concert Series. I am excited for Alexis to have this opportunity as it was one of the highlights from my high school career. 🙂

Last Thursday we were thumbing through our newspaper and came across this article about soccer. We looked closer and were so excited to see some of Lexi's friends listed. We got to the second column and saw the name: Lexi Parker and screamed with delight! Something we weren't expecting or even knew about – what a great day! The only freshman listed on the all district soccer selection? She was more than happy about.

Sweet shot of I do say so myself, check out the thigh muscles!

Lexi had the privilege of playing with the Sugar Salem High School Girl's Soccer Team this year where she was known as "Parker". She had a fabulous year. She grew mentally and physically as a player and was the best darn "stopper" out on that field. She was fortunate enough to get to start and play the entire game every time – pretty exciting to say as a freshman. Her coaches were Amy Feik, Trina Eirchenbach, and Hannah ?. They really boosted her confidence as a player because they believed and encouraged her. The girls on the team were top notch girls. There were 8 seniors and each senior was so sweet to go out of their way to look out for the younger girls on and off of the field. Lexi has made many lasting friendships with her soccer sisters. This week was the district tournament. They won their first game and made it to the championship game against Teton. They played strong and tied 1:1 and ended up having a 10 minute overtime in which teton scored on them and won. 🙁 It was a sad moment. On the goal Sugar got during the game, Lexi had an assist. We are sure proud of her and the way she dedicated herself to being her best. It is hard for her to think about the season being over, but she is already talking about indoor soccer and spring soccer. I'm not sure if we are going to get a break? 🙂

It was also fun to watch the SSHS Boys Team this season. They are an amazing team and the championship game last night left all Digger fans in turmoil. I don't even think I can type it up right now. I will leave it at they really did WIN the game as far as I'm concerned!

I really just think soccer is the coolest sport ever. I figured out this season, that when Lexi is a JR. if Mason makes the boys team as a Freshman, that we will get to watch both play for 2 years together….and then Lily will come along, and Olivia, and hopefully JT. We are just getting started aren't we?