Birthday Interview with an 18 year old

(This interview took place in January 2023)

We have an adult in the house!  Crazy!   William it is hard to believe that this is your last birthday at home.  Next year you will be at BYU-Idaho and then on a mission.  We will miss you so much!  You love hanging out with friends and have more than I can keep track of.  You are so smart and funny and we all love it when you hang out with us.  I especially love it when you smile.  Happy birthday!

What is your favorite...color? dark green

food? In-n-Out 4x4

toy? snowboard

show? None. 

animal?  bear

book(s)? I don't read

song?   I don't have a favorite. 

hymn? I don't have a favorite

What do you like to do? hang out and snowboard

Who is your best friend?  I don't have just one.  Ben, Cole, Wyatt

What do you want to be when you grow up? rich

Do you have a girlfriend/crush? no girlfriend... when I asked about a crush he said, "yes, but I'm not telling"

I am -  18

I am afraid of - school (he's not afraid he just doesn't like waking up for it)

I like - sleep

I like to eat - In-n-Out

I don't like - school

I know - a lot

I want to be -  rich

I like to watch - people

I like to go to - Mt. Charleston

My hero is-  me

I cry when - I yawn

Mom gets mad when -  I don't clean up my room

Mom is happy when - I clean my room

Dad gets mad when - I don't listen to mom to clean my room

Dad is happy when - I do 

I can't wait for - graduation

Something Mom says to me - "clean your room"

Something Dad says to me - "clean your room"

My favorite place to go is - mountains

My Mom and Dad make me laugh by - I don't know

I know my mom loves me because -she tells me to do stuff and bosses me around

I know my dad loves me because -he gets crazy about school

S E V E N T E E N

So much has happened in this past year!  Even though we are still living through a pandemic you were able to get your license, get a summer job (Kona Ice), serve as first assistant in the Priest's Quorum, a finish off a year of virtual school.  There have been many ups and downs but you have gotten through it!  You are a hard worker, a problem solver, and have the best smile!  We love you!

(This interview took place in January 2022)

What is your favorite...color? blue

food? steak

toy? splat gun

show? None. I don't watch shows

animal?  bear

book(s)? none

song?  none. I don't have a favorite

hymn? none. I don't know

What do you like to do? hang out with my friends

Who is your best friend?  Eli

What do you want to be when you grow up? rich

Do you have a girlfriend/crush? no

I am -  very cool

I am afraid of - nothing, I guess.  I don't know.

I like - days off school

I like to eat - steak

I don't like - Shadow Ridge Administration (the new principal has come in and caused a lot of tension with some students)

I know - a couple things

I want to be -  rich

I like to watch - movies--good ones

I like to go to - not school

My hero is-  I don't know

I cry when - I don't know

Mom gets mad when -  I don't do the dishes

Mom is happy when - I do the dishes

Dad gets mad when - I don't listen to mom

Dad is happy when - I do what mom says

I can't wait for - Spring Break

Something Mom says to me - "do the dishes now or you're not hanging out"

Something Dad says to me - "do your homework now or you're not hanging out"

My favorite place to go is - anywhere besides school

My Mom and Dad make me laugh by - I don't know

I know my mom loves me because -she's always on me and telling me what to do

I know my dad loves me because -the same but to a lesser degree

Quaratine 16!

Sunday was William’s 16^th birthday!  I can’t believe he is 16 now!  He had a good birthday and is planning something with his friends for this coming week. Everyone in the family was happy with his food selections for the day—French Toast Bread Pudding with warm peaches for breakfast, ribs for dinner, and crème brulee for dessert! 

Super 16

 Time just won't slow down!  William has accomplished some amazing things this past year including earning his Eagle Scout award, getting his drivers permit, blessing the sacrament for our home Sacrament Meetings for most of the year, and learning guitar.  

William is so patient with others, researches topics he cares about, and is really musically talented (although you have to catch him at it because he doesn't like to share).  He is a great friend and loves to sleep.

William was so funny during this interview and gave me all sorts of crazy answers... so here you go. See if you can tell where he was being serious and where he was just saying the first thing that popped into his head!

What is your favorite...

color? brown
food? dino chicken nuggets
toy? hot wheels (really though? I think it's his phone or his skateboard)
show? Calliou (he really doesn't watch many shows but I know he hates Calliou...)
animal?  monkey
book(s)? "I don't read"
song?  Baby by Justin Beiber (he's laughing as he says this so I know it's absolutely false)
hymn? Joy to the World
What do you like to do? hang out with my friends
Who is your best friend?  Elias
What do you want to be when you grow up? dump truck driver (again, super not true)
Do you have a girlfriend/crush? "no... and I wouldn't tell you if I did because you'd tease me about it"

I am -  16

I am afraid of - 

I like - my birthday and Christmas

I like to eat - food

I don't like - school

I know - stuff

I want to be -  out of school

I like to watch - YouTube

I like to go to - not school

My hero is- me

I cry when - I yawn

Mom gets mad when -  I don't do school

Mom is happy when - I do my school

Dad gets mad when - I don't do my seminary

Dad is happy when - I do my seminary

I can't wait for - April (first he said Coronavirus to be over... )

Something Mom says to me - "do your homework"

Something Dad says to me - "don't fall asleep in class"

My favorite place to go is - fun places

My Mom and Dad make me laugh by - showing me a funny video

I know my mom loves me because -she tells me to do my homework

I know my dad loves me because -he's making ribs for me right now

The next year will bring even more changes.  William, I am so excited the path that you will take.  You are amazing!  Happy birthday!

Eagle Court of Honor

 William had his Eagle Board of Review back in January 2020.  We planned to have his Court of Honor a few months later when our neighbor, Jace Bishop, had finished up his last few requirements.  And then COVID hit the world and changed everything.  It delayed Jace from finishing up and then there were strict regulations in place that would have limited our gathering (gatherings were limited to 50 people, we couldn't use the church building, and the heat was unbearable to hold it outside).  When the governor allowed gatherings of 250 people (and the weather was cooling down) we jumped at the chance to finally honor these boys and their hard work.

We were crazy enough to do it on Lydia's birthday (but that was the day that the park and pavilion were available.) Lydia didn't mind though because we all sang her "Happy birthday" at the very beginning and she got to hang out with her friend, Kora.

The evening turned out so nice!

Kes Andersen (the Teacher's Quorum advisor) drove out 2 1/2 hours to be there and speak.  He gave an awesome analogy of a Golden Eagle that he once found who had severely damaged his feathers by going after a small rabbit. One bad decision had prevented this eagle from behaving like an eagle.  Kes challenged the boys to always make choices that will enable them to be the Eagles that they are.  It was a great talk!

(The Eagle's Nest)

Jerry Weise (a local judge and Jace's most recent scout leader) did a great job conducting the meeting and presenting the boys with their Eagles.

William presented his mentor pin to Tyler Darrington who was one of his first scout leaders as a Deacon. (Tyler was working that night but William walked over to his house a few days later to present the pin).

I wish I had taken more pictures afterward but I was too busy chatting with everyone.  I'm grateful to all those who came out to support William!

August 2020

Back in May when William was eligible to get his driver's permit the DMV was closed because of the pandemic.  Then there were issues with getting appointments.  Rich spent the night at the DMV (2 different nights) so that William would have a chance to do a walk-in appointment on Saturday morning.  He was happy to finally have his permit!

Lydia decided to play "Primary" with her dolls one Sunday.  

She also loves to wear her great-great Grandma Peterson's earrings.

She also loves the bear claw necklace from the bear Grandpa Fisher killed.

Our kids' dreams came true when we finally bought a trampoline.  It was a good investment... they play on it all the time.

The Davis's were out of town and we took advantage of swimming in their pool.  It was a lot of fun!

Lydia and Evelyn had a virtual tea party.  They were so cute in their conversation and then they decided to play a game of Sleeping Queens.

We had a chocolate chip tasting one day.  Delicious!

Henry planned a breakfast party for us one morning.  He made muffins the day before and we ate on the trampoline (until it was too hot).

We finally got to go to church!  It was 5 months of exclusively home church.  We got to go to church one week in August.  It was weird having to wear masks and not sing.

The movie theaters finally opened!  Rich and I intended to watch a movie and then the projector broke!  Luckily they gave us a few vouchers so that we could go the movies another time.

 

January 2020

We started off the month by keeping with our tradition of using Grandma Fisher's Christmas money and spending time together at Gravady.  It's always so much fun... but I was so sore afterward!

Lydia spent some time watching a movie with her furry friends.

She lost her ballerina bunny a long time ago and has been asking for another one for so long.  She and I spent some time making a new bunny.  She picked out all the fabric and helped to put the stuffing in.

William was ordained to the office of a Priest this month!  We are so proud of him.

For our Come Follow Me lesson about Lehi's dream we acted it out!  (Rich did the same thing for his seminary lesson.)

Lydia was SO excited to match with Henry!  They are so cute!

Lydia got a little tea set in Mexico and has been hosting tea parties for her dolls and anyone who will join her.

Lydia also loves to paint... she's always trying to convince me to pull out the paints!

We spend lots of mornings at the park... sometimes Lydia grabs my phone and takes pictures.

The boys were given a VR headset and it is super funny to watch them play!

One of Rich's Christmas gifts to me was tickets to see The Piano Guys.  It was such a great show!  The next time they come we will have to get tickets for the whole family because everyone would have loved it!

We brought home a ton of lemons from Elise's house so we made some lemonade.  It was delicious!

For Come Follow Me we made some liahona's.

Lydia cuddled up with me one day while I was reading and fell asleep.  It's not often that she does this anymore and in a few more months she'll be at school all day.  Luckily I had a book and my phone nearby so I could stay put and enjoy it.

For family night William had the kids build a boat like Nephi!

One more day of a show with her animals.  This time she only took out the animals that "hadn't seen this show before."  She's too cute!