Special Needs Rodeo

Every first weekend of June, Herriman hosts a PRCA rodeo.  (If you read the post from yesterday, you'll realize the first weekend of June is a pretty busy one around here!)  On Saturday afternoon, a lot of the people involved in the big rodeo volunteer at the Special Needs Rodeo.  They give our kids a chance to ride horses, pet small livestock, ride on a hand-powered mechanical bull and enjoy other rodeo activities.  Our kids LOVE this Saturday and several of them look forward to it all year.  We are so grateful to all those who work together to put this on!  They also give us tickets to the big rodeo that night.  We have not been rodeo people in the past, but last year we took a couple of the younger kids and we really enjoyed.  This year, seven of our ten kids went to the big rodeo. I think it's a fun new family tradition:)

Elli loved the bouncy horse!

Conner mostly loved the attention from all of the cowgirls! 

Dream Night at the Zoo

Every June, Utah's Hogle Zoo hosts Dream Night at the Zoo.  For three hours in the evening, the zoo is open only to kids with special needs and their families.  This year I took Cali, Graci, Sophi, Lexi, Jesi, Xander and Conner, along with my nephew Ben and Jesi's friend, Erin.  Chick-fil-A provides food and they have school mascots and Star Wars characters and face painting and princesses.  It is really a fun night for the kids.

Off we go!

With Cosmo, BYU's mascot

This is the mascot for Rocky Mountain Raceway.  He was clearly touched by Conner and Lexi.

Storm Troopers and bounty hunters!

About every 30 seconds Sophi found a new spot in which she absolutely HAD to be photographed.  I've only included a small portion of these pics:)

Looks like she could reach out and pet him...

Aragog or Shelob? I guess it depends on which epic fantasy you prefer.

They thought it was pretty cool to be so close to a bald eagle!

These cuties spent most of the night on their own.

Xander wanted to capture this beautiful sunset.

Conner braves the lion's mouth for a drink of water

These two could be twins!

Conner surrounded by beautiful girls.  He is very happy!

I'm a lucky dad to have all these fantastic kids to hang out with!!!

-Jer

Congratulations, Graci!

We are so proud of our Graci Kate!  It's hard to believe how quickly the time has passed since we adopted our sweet little princess.  Here she is at nine years old in our hotel in China:

And here she is at 18, graduating high school:

She has worked so hard to achieve this.  She spoke virtually no English when she came here, yet she graduated with high honors (3.7 or greater GPA).  She has become a beloved darling to all who know her, both at school and at church.  She has required very little help from Christi and me to keep up with her work at school.  She is a self-starter and makes sure everything is turned in when it needs to be.  Not to mention she is an incredible helper around the house and has been indispensable at helping us take care of Elli.  Her siblings all love her so much, and the younger ones pretty much worship her.  We don't know what we will do when our little girl moves on to a different adventure.  

Graci also was awarded a scholarship from Pearson, Butler and Carson, a local law firm.  She submitted an essay on how she has overcome challenges in her life.  Few people have overcome more than she has or maintained a more cheerful outlook on life in doing so.  So proud of you, Grace!

Here are some more pictures of graduation night.  Taylor was one of two Junior Marshalls who led the seniors into the auditorium:

Sophi loves her Parker!!!

For Christi and me, this may be our favorite picture of the night:

Lots of family support:

Graci has never been one for kisses...

But momma insisted:)

Actually receiving her diploma:

A tremendously thoughtful gift from grandma and grandpa:

Christi arranged for some beautiful senior pictures.  Doesn't out sweet girl just sparkle?

re

We love you, Grace!  We know you will do great things!!!

-Dad