The Batchelor Pad

Grandad's Creations

2026-09-02T21:28:01.407-04:00

Grandad has been going crazy designing things with horse shoes. He's having so much fun. He goes with Max Seamons from their Palmyra mission. He has all the tools.

Here are some of his creations. They're so cool.

Cowboys

Turkey

Bunny

Dragon - this one was for me!!

Dog for Tiff

Angel

Mr. and Mrs. Claus

Christmas Tree

Bull

USA

Kokopelli

Wind chime

Sunflower

Butterflies

Bumblebee

Viking for Erik

Flower

Snowman

Pumpkin for me

Cow for me! (I added the bell.)

Owl

Bear

Mustang

Saddle Bronc

Odds and Ends

2026-09-02T21:08:57.862-04:00

Here are random things I want to remember.

In July, Jalen went to FSY. It was his second time and he loved it even more than the first time. He roomed with Gideon Stroud. I'm glad he has good friends in his life.

Jalen, Luke, Gideon, Alee

with Gideon

Nice view from the dorms. This was Alee's room since I never saw Jalen's.

The whole Irmo Ward gang.

no idea, no idea, Gage, no idea, Gideon, Jay, Jalen, Luke

After dropping off Jalen, I met up with Stephanie Hall and went to lunch.

At some point we went to see the new Spiderman movie. It was so good. We loved it.

I made salsa with tomatoes and peppers from our pitiful garden.

Baylie wrote this beautiful tribute to me. It made me so happy. I wanted to save it forever.

Baylie got a scholarship from the NAACP. The award gala was a bit of a downer because they didn't have a dinner seat for her, but the award was beautiful and the scholarship was a welcome addition.

David went with her.

Our oven quit working and I was devastated. I love our oven and we couldn't afford to replace or repair it. Fortunately I found a YouTube video that taught me how to fix it. And it worked!!

taking it apart

the culprit

It works!!

All back together.

And we finally finished the brownies started two days earlier.

The next week the air conditioner went out. Crud! Once again, YouTube came to the rescue. We figured out that a part called a capacitor had gone out and we could replace it for $20! David bought the part at Home Depot and fixed it himself. So awesome! I didn't get a picture of the actual repair, but this is him being proud of himself once the air kicked back on.

And speaking of fans, we bought two fans for $20 each. Our kitchen had a fan, but later when our bedroom fan quit working, we moved the kitchen fan to the bedroom. Later the pull chain broke so we could never change the fan speed. So with the two new fans, we replaced the kitchen and bedroom fans! Score!

I'm so proud of us!

We got two new chickens. They are so pretty. We are fostering them while Ella Filter is on her mission in the Philippines.

Spike is eating and pooping more than ever. He seems like a pretty happy camper.

Jalen went to Fleet Feet and got measured for new cross country shoes. They do custom analysis and fitting.

The employee that helped him was his teammate Zack.

Jalen paid half and we paid half. They were not cheap!

But he loves them.

Baylie was invited to sing the National Anthem at the ribbon cutting of the new Saluda Shoes Riverwalk at Dreher Shoals park. She nailed it. You can see her sing it HERE.

With her principal, Dr. Kaaren Hampton.

We did fantasy football again this year and apparently my team is going to be amazing. I don't know most of the people I picked, but I have Puka Nakua and Travis Kelce.

A lot of good things are happening right now. It's weird without Baylie, but I'm really happy for her.

Lauryn's Farewell & BYU Move In

2026-09-02T15:27:05.395-04:00

The day finally arrived when we were flying out of South Carolina to take Baylie to BYU. We were headed to Utah by way of Las Vegas. The baggage limit is 50 lbs. Baylie made it just under the wire!

We got bumped off the first flight through D.C., which would have got us into Vegas at about 8:30 p.m. We ended up on a later flight through Chicago that got us in at 11:00 p.m. The strip is always amazing to see at night.

Reminder that 11 p.m. Vegas time is 2:00 a.m. South Carolina time. We were tired!

The reason we went through Vegas was so we could be there when Clara went through the temple for the first time. Tiffani's whole family was there together. What a special moment. Grammy, Grandad, Erik, and Shanelle were also there. I love being in the temple with family.

friends and family in front of the temple

While most of us were in the endowment session with Clara, Jalen, Baylie, and Asher did baptisms.

Jalen, Baylie, Clara, Asher, Lauryn

Later that evening we joined Tiffani's ward for an activity at a really cool hot spring called Warm Springs Recreational Ranch. It used to belong to Howard Hughes.

The kids and Tiff did a little cliff jumping. I hadn't packed a swimming suit so I missed out.

Not sure what they're doing, but they think they're cool.

the grands at pool side

Asher, Baylie, Lauryn, Greye (Clara's boyfriend), Clara, Jalen

The next day was Lauryn's missionary farewell and the other reason we were in Vegas. Lauryn is going to serve in the Mexico City Northwest Mission.

Clara also spoke and they both gave really great talks.

Clara's boyfriend is going to my mission in Argentina so I made alfajores and mantecol. (The mantecol didn't turn out for some reason.)

I also found a Mexican candy store and bought some of my favorite candy for Lauryn to try.

We wore the folks out.

We had planned to drive back on Monday, but decided to head home Sunday late afternoon. I wanted to stay with Tiff, but when we got to Grammy and Grandad's, I was glad we had decided to leave early. It was nice to sleep in the next day and Jalen was able to have a more stable school day.

Baylie and Jalen rode with Shanelle and Asher. (Erik had flown home the day before.) I rode with Grammy and Grandad.

Tiff's pomegranate tree is so pretty. It's how I imagine the tree of good and evil.

On Tuesday, we picked up Asher and did baptisms at the new Lindon temple. It has two baptistries!

I forgot to mention that David flew out that morning to join us. He made both his flights without any trouble.

Temples always have such beautiful grounds.

Wednesday David and I went to the Walk With Christ. After experiencing that in June, I really wanted him to have the same experience.

Thursday was the day we moved Baylie into her dorm. She had been going stir crazy and was very excited to go.

We moved in most of her stuff, but then needed to make a Walmart run. Her roommate Clayre had already moved in so we took her with us. She is such a sweet girl! While walking into Walmart, we ran into Jayden Black, one of our favorite missionaries. Such fun

We bought A LOT of stuff!

After several hours, Baylie was all moved in and her room looked fantastic. I was so happy to see her surrounded with pictures of Christ and motivational quotes.

Later that day her room - roommate, Tessa, moved in. She was also very sweet. She also decorated with pictures of Christ and motivational quotes. It made my momma heart happy to know that Baylie is living in such a room and that these roommates were so sweet. Baylie stayed in her room, which was a little weird for me, but very good for her.

Tessa, Clayre, Baylie

David and Jalen flew home on Friday so David could give music lessons. Jalen was going to stay with me, but Grammy and Grandad had a mission reunion and I was going to be at orientation all day, so he went ahead and flew home. They made both their flights without any trouble. (I had changed them from Chicago to Washington, which ended up being a good choice. They would have been stuck in Chicago.)

Tiffani joined me for the student/parent orientation. Her girls had already gone to summer semester so she was mostly going just so I wouldn't be alone. I love her.

BYU does a pretty amazing orientation. So much energy and entern

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that the first time I got teary eyed was when the ROC flag got raised. Ridiculous. (ROC stands for Roar of Cougars - "the official and energetic student section for BYU Athletics.")

After all the celebration, there was a devotional. And this is the heart of BYU, prayer, hymns, and always remembering the higher purpose of higher education. I love this for Baylie.

I was going to go to some breakout sessions, but I ended up skipping them. Tiff and I went to the Bookstore and then Baylie asked us to come back to her dorm. I was happy that later that evening she also wanted me to go to the evening orientation at Lavell Edwards Stadium with her.

We didn't know we'd get split up. The students were sent to the south end zone to make a giant letter Y.

There was more entertainment and they kept right on going even when it started to rain.

Fire dancing

Fight Song

It was wrapped up with an amazing drone show.

I'm glad I got to experiencing these events with her.

Fun fact - I sat by a couple of really nice ladies at the evening event. One of them was the mother of the Vocal Point percussionist. The other was a sweet lady from Alabama who had just driven across the country with her son who had recently returned from a mission in Madagascar. Later I found out that Baylie had been sitting by her son! What are the chances?! They've now been on two dates...

I flew home without any trouble on Saturday. I did have to buy a Firste Class pass to fly from Chicago to Columbia, but it was worth the $17. I would have been bumped if I'd tried to fly economy.

Baylie was asked to play the piano for church on Sunday. She also met a new friend - Kianalei Hiller - who lives on her floor. Her mom, Maile, was Tiffani's roommate and dear friend. Her grandma Holly is a friend of mine from Optavia. Such a small world!

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I spent six hours on Monday deep cleaning Baylie's room. I have never seen that much dust in my life! Even on the walls! It now looks nice and fresh and I have taken over half of the closet.

We miss our girl, but we are so proud of her and happy for her.

Cameron Batchelor's Promotion

2026-09-01T22:39:17.450-04:00

On July 31, our nephew Cameron (on the Batchelor side) was promoted from Warrant Officer One to Warrant Officer Two. We were so pleased that he invited us to attend.

His mom, Jennifer, and his wife, Danielle, pinned the new insignia on him.

It was a really nice ceremony and we were so excited to be there. I helped take care of their new baby Levi while David entertained their 2-year-old Owen.

David, Kristin, father-in-law, best friend, Jennifer, Owen, Cameron, Levi, Danielle, Danielle's uncle and aunt

Program from the event.

Afterwards, we drove about an hour away to eat dinner at a restaurant owned by a friend of Cameron's. It was known for having different kinds of hard cider (obviously we didn't have any).

Owen is so cute.

Daddy duty.

Our rental car was snazzy.

We flew up and back the same day. It made for a really long day, but we were so glad to be there. Cameron and his mom are the people we are closest to on David's side of the family.

David got the infamous windowless window seat.

Camping With the Baileys

2026-09-01T22:17:47.383-04:00

We hadn't been on a "real" camping trip in a while. Our last one was pretty close to home and ended up being in the middle of a neighborhood. So when we found out the Baileys were going camping, we decided to hijack the trip.

We had just purchased a new tent. We got a great tent on sale. (Plus Walmart accidentally sent us an extra and told us to keep it.) It turned out to be awesome.

We went to Poinsett Campground. It was beautiful. It wasn't crowded at all.

We had our tubes and kayaks. The Baileys rented paddleboards and a pedal boat.

Jalen, Natalie, Bailey, Alee

Baylie was a pro on the paddleboard.

With Alee

Me and David in the kayak.

We hung out and played some games...

...and even did Come Follow Me. The kids taught the lesson.

We ate lots of yummy food...

...and lots of junk food...

...and hung out in the hammock while singing songs.

Dancing queens

Swing and line dancing

We had a great time.

Natalie, Rob, Beth, Gideon, Alee, Jalen, Bailey, David, Kristin

Being goofy

We were there for two nights. Early on the morning of our last day, it started to rain, and the Baileys found out their tent was leaky. They scrambled and got up and packed everything. We helped them and I wanted to stay. But my kids wanted to go so we ended up following them a couple of hours later.

Even with the rain, it was a really fun campout and we enjoyed going with friends.

I took this picture on accident, but thought it was cool.

World Cup July 2026

2026-09-01T21:17:07.680-04:00

We basically ate our way through the World Cup. I made Argentine food every time they played. Sadly they lost in the championship match.

alfajores

empanadas

saltines and dulce de leche

We watched one game while watching the Jennings kids - Owen and Jake. They're so much fun.

Another game we made ñoquis.

I learned how to make mantecol. I bought it as candy in Argentina and loved it. Turns out it's really good homemade too!

And, of course, we drank mate.

I may have jinxed the final by making Mexican street corn. It was sure yummy though.

Milanesas - yum!!

It was fun eating so much food from Argentina and it was fun cheering them on in the World Cup.

Family Photo Shoot

2026-09-01T21:06:09.812-04:00

We hadn't had family pictures taken since we were at the Salt Flats in 2020. We wanted to have pictures taken before Baylie went away to college. Samantha Nymeyer in our ward is a photographer and we traded a photography session for a piano tuning. We loved all the pictures.

Erik, Shanelle & Asher Visit South Carolina

2026-09-01T20:52:38.922-04:00

Erik and Shanelle always take their boys on a trip the year they graduate. Asher chose to come to South Carolina and we were so excited to see them. They came the middle of July. They started out in Myrtle Beach and then joined us for church on the 12th.

After church we went to Congaree National Park. We love going to this park and it had been a while.

Mom, Dad, Asher, Jalen, Baylie, Shanelle, Erik

The boardwalk was new in a lot of places. It looked great.

Wise Guys

Goofy Kids

So pretty.

Weston Lake - an oxbow lake in the park.

It was very hot and muggy. We South Carolinians didn't think it was too bad, but the Utahn's were dying.

Boardwalk through the swamp. Look at the trunk propped up where it fell. So cool.

In all these years, I don't think we'd ever taken a picture by the park sign.

Erik, Shanelle, Asher

Me, Jalen, David, Baylie

The Kiddos

They wanted to see Williams-Brice Stadium. They travel to see stadiums all over, but said they'd never seen a stadium as big as this one. It is pretty impressive.

with Cocky

The next day we went to Boone Plantation. We hadn't been since the kids were little. It's always beautiful. But this time it was hard on the kids because they are older and understand what slavery is like. At the main house, there is a shopping list posted that has "slave girl" on it. That is so emotional to see.

Drive with the old oaks - truly stunning - there since 1743

The grounds

Drive to the main house

Slave cabins - From the internet - Constructed between 1790 and 1810 using locally sourced bricks made by enslaved laborers at the plantation's own brickyard. There are nine surviving structures remaining out of an original estimated 27 quarters that once formed a "slave street" leading up to the property. The cabins are situated along the famous Avenue of Oaks. Their prominent placement was originally intended to showcase the wealth and status of the plantation owners.

They do a really good Gullah presentation with actual descendants of the former enslaved people.

White ibis in flight.

Oyster shells imbedded in the mortar between the bricks of the cabins.

A bottle tree. The tradition began in 9th-century Central/West Africa, where people hung blue glass bottles on trees and huts to trap evil spirits. Enslaved Africans brought the tradition to the American South in the 17th century. Folklore says evil spirits or "hags" are attracted to the glittering glass at night, enter the bottle, and become trapped until the morning sun destroys them.

We even saw a racoon!

The plantation is still a working farm.

Oaks with Spanish Moss

Back of the house after the tour.

The dock on Wampacheone Creek, a tributary of the Wando River.

Stables

Oak lined road

After Boone Hall we headed to Isle of Palms beach. Another favorite. They loved the beach.

So did we.

Erik and Shanelle's Verbo was a traditional Charleston home divided into individual apartments.

It was cool and quirky, but definitely old. Check out the chimney and fireplace - a little off center.

We wanted to find a local place to eat. We ended up driving for what seemed like forever to the Tattooed Moose in North Charleston. When we got there, the vibe seemed a little different. Jalen looked at me and asked, "Mom, you know this is a gay bar, right?"

Who knew??!! It was a family, LBGTQ friendly establishment.

My name was even on the wall!

Too bad we missed Queen Night.

The next morning the kids and I stayed long enough to get some pralines before heading home.

A couple of days later they came back up and we went to the temple for baptisms.

David, Me, Jalen, Baylie, Asher, Shanelle, Erik

I'm grateful my family loves to go to the temple.

They flew from Charleston straight to Oregon for Hallie's blessing. She is Jessa and Parker's baby and the first grandbaby in their family.

We don't get to see family very often and this visit was so wonderful.

Utah - June 2026

2026-06-22T23:24:13.091-04:00

We made our annual pilgrimage to Utah. Normally we go the end of July, but since there is no Colorado reunion this year, we went in June to participate in some family activities. Gone are the days where we used to stay for a month. Now we just stay for a week.

We went to stake conference in the morning and then David dropped us off at the airport. He couldn't come with us because he got promoted at work and they haven't backfilled his job yet.

We had a 4-hour layover in Chicago. I like flying through ORD. We could have left later and had a shorter layover, but we always like to go for the earlier flights just in case.

Plenty of time for popcorn.

We made the flight and got to Salt Lake just before 11:00 p.m. Grandad is always such a good sport to pick us up.

The next day Baylie was able to spend some time with Kaitlyn in her newlywed apartment.

She is very happy.

Tuesday we went shopping to Trader Joe's and Costco.

Asher came over with his parents to mow the lawn.

When the yard work was finished, we sat around and talked. I cherish family time like this because we don't get much of it.

Erik, Asher, Jalen, Dad, Mom, Shanelle

Grandad gave Jalen some work to do so he could earn money for priesthood camp. They sanded down and repainted the BYU rocking chairs.

Baylie helped Grammy week the flower beds.

I'm grateful my kids have a good relationship with my parents.

I sat around and did nothing.

Dad has welding projects all over the yard and house. They're so cute.

He even made me a dragon.

We went to BYU so we could find all of Baylie's classes and her dorm.

In front of the library

With the Y in the background

The famous Y sculpture

Of course we made a trip to the BYU bookstore.

With Cosmo

Jalen made a killing on basketball and football jerseys! He was very excited with his purchases.

The bookstore is so cool. It's ridiculously expensive, but there's usually a clearance rack.

Me and my buddy Sitake.

Most of Baylie's classes are in the music building. This will be her music improvisation class. She will have a teacher who also taught David.

Lobby of the music building.

This will be Baylie's dorm at Heritage Halls - building 2. It's convenient because it's close to the Creamery where she'll work and the music building where she has most of her classes.

Back side of the building with their creamery ice cream.

I bought cheese curds.

We also bought soft drinks. Utah is unmatched when it comes to soft drink options.

We found a place to buy empanadas and alfajores to eat during the Argentina World Cup game.

I helped dad make sourdough. His turned out much softer than mine. I'm going to try Tiffani's recipe when we get home to see if my starter will make it this soft too.

I went to the state liquor store for vodka because in Utah you can only buy hard liquor at a state store - not at Costco or Total Wine like in South Carolina. I prepared the medicine jars for dad and we'll let them sit for 60 days.

We went for dinner at JDawgs. I'm not a big hot dog fan, but these were delicious! And the fries were fantastic. They even had a gluten free bun for Baylie.

Thursday Riley came over with strawberry fleece jackets for the three graduates that Dianne had made for them. They were so excited to get them.

Baylie, Clara, Lauryn

That night was the Strawberry Days Rodeo. It's such a great rodeo and I love it whenever we get to go. It's usually a family affair, which makes it even more fun.

Front: Di, Riley, Bailey, Lily, Jayden, Molly, friend
Back: Camden, Clara, Jalen, Grandad, Grammy, me

Back: Dave, Tiff, Lauryn, Baylie, Asher
Front: Grammy, Grandad, Jalen

Patriotic Bea

Back: Ashley, Will, Simon
Front: Molly, Rosie, Jayden, Di, Bea, Bailey, Riley

friend, Leah, Kolton, Cameron

Scott's family joins the crowd

Dave, Tiffani, Rowan

Front (l-r): Molly, Rosie, Jayden, Di, Bailey, Riley, Hailey
Back: Clara, Jalen, Ashley, Will, Tyler

Grammy & Grandad with their strawberries and cream

So yummy!!

Bea and Simon

Gingham check girls - me, Di, Hailey

Friday morning I got up super early with Grandad to take him to the temple to work his shift. Then I went home and got Jalen and we went and got Asher. We then met the girls, Tiff, and Grammy back at the temple. Grandad arranged to work in the baptistry at the same time we were there. Jalen and Asher baptized each other and the girls. It was so neat to be there as a family and there was a beautiful spirit. I love these moments.

Asher, Jalen, Baylie, Lauryn, Clara

Clara!!

After the temple, they took Baylie's dorm stuff to Tiffani's rental home to store it until fall and they got the twin's stuff from the house so they can move into the dorm. Girls have lots of stuff!

Afterwards the girls and Asher went to BYU to find where all the girls' classes will be. And of course made a trip to the Creamery.

Jalen and Kristin came back to the house to watch the USA play Australia in the World Cup. The U.S. won! They will for sure advance to the next round. Now we just have to see if they will go in first or second place. (Updated: they're going in first.)

Saturday morning was the Strawberry Days parade. Nothing quite like a small town parade! This parade still throws out TONS of candy. My brother Erik and his wife Shanelle always have a church breakfast in their front yard since it's on the parade route.

Grammy & Grandad

Lauryn, Clara, Baylie, Jalen, Asher

We went back to Erik and Shanelle's for a hamburger dinner before heading up to Heber Canyon for a special family activity.

Cameron, Grammy, Camden, Lauryn, Clara, Baylie, Grandad Jalen

Shanelle, Asher, Tiffani

Shanelle had planned for us to all go to The Walk With Christ in honor of Grammy & Grandad's 60th anniversary, which will be on July 20. Most of the family was able to go. It was an incredibly powerful experience. We all wore headphones so it was a very personal experience. I cried through the whole thing.

Grammy & Grandad

Tiffani, Cameron, Clara, Baylie, Jalen, Asher, Camden, Kolton, Lauryn
Me, Dianne, Clark
Lily

Waiting in line

Beautiful mountains

Starting the walk.

After the walk.

Camden, Kolton, Erik, Baylie, Cameron, Jaylen, Tiffani, Clara, Clark, Asher, Dianne
Shanelle, Lauryn, Lily, Grammy, Grandad, Me

Jalen and Baylie also had moving experiences on the walk. Like me, they both cried. Even though it was an individual experience, I'm grateful I got to share it with so many members of my family. I love my family so much.

We had originally planned to go straight to the airport after the walk and catch a red eye flight. However, the walk took longer than expected. We decided to go back to Provo so we could watch Grandad open his Father's Day presents. We got a couple of hours of sleep and then Dave and Tiff drove us to the airport for a 5:10 a.m. flight.

We made it to Chicago and had 45 minutes to make a quick connection. The gate agent was super kind because the flight was full in coach. He could have denied us boarding, but he let me rebook the kids in first class at the last minute. They got to fly first class and I flew in coach so we all made it home by 2:30.

We were able to celebrate Father's Day with David.

We were all SOOO tired! It was a perfect visit, we made all of our flights, and it's always good to come home.

Senior Stuff 2026

2026-05-27T19:38:00.000-04:00

Baylie won a drawing for a free graduate photo shoot from Samantha Nymeyer in our ward. We were so grateful and it was quite the photo session. We met them at Mungo Park on March 7. Samantha's husband, Brenton, even brought out a drone.

They made Baylie feel so special.

She decided to try two different outfits.

This particular photo did not make the final cut.

Maggie and Capri tried out the cap.

I made her announcements and printed them myself. I loved how they turned out, although I probably should have included the graduation date and not just the open house.

On the evening of May 18, there was a senior awards ceremony. Baylie was recognized in several different ways.

Sal, Olivia, Baylie

me, Baylie, Alexa, April

Baylie with her awards and recognitions.

On May 19 we went back to Irmo Elementary for the Senior Walk. I love this tradition. I remember watching this when my kids were in elementary school. It made me emotional even back then. Seeing not just Baylie, but also her friends and classmates, go back to their elementary school was truly a full circle moment.

First time dressing with all the regalia

Back where it all began

Full circle moment - wish I had a before picture

All the graduates - they attend different high schools, but all came back for the senior walk.

Savannah and Baylie

The walk was too long to upload, but you can view it HERE.

with Barbara Parker - Kindergarten

with Laura Ward - 1st Grade

with Stacey Patton - 4th Grade

with Claire Bulwinkle - 5th Grade

with Pollyanna Buff - 5th Grade

with Tania Turner - 5th Grade Chorus

with Alexa Alsup

with Isabella Baltzegar and Logan

with Meghan Burgess and Sophie

with Savannah Stephens

with Kaitlyn Lenke

with Sal

with Hayden Applegate

with Grant

with ??

The moms - April, Yasmin and me

Jalen also got the opportunity to see some of his former teachers. Irmo Elementary is truly a special place.

with Margaret Nickerson - 3rd grade

with Kinley Turbeville - 3rd grade and Erin Roberts - kindergarten

with Margaret Moody - 4th grade

On May 19, Baylie graduated from seminary. She completed four years of early morning seminary. I'm grateful she was always willing to go and never complained about it. I know it will be a blessing to her throughout her life.

On May 24, Baylie and Cherish Taylor went to the service at McGregor Presbyterian church to receive a $2,000 scholarship. It was so kind of them to honor these girls. They invited us for a potluck afterwards.

On May 27, we picked up Baylie's official diploma and she voted for the very first time. Adulting!

Baylie's Graduation 2026

2026-05-24T20:23:00.000-04:00

Baylie's graduation was a beautiful experience. I thought I would be sad, but I was mostly just happy. Baylie was selected as a speaker so we had to get there early - 10 a.m. for the 11:30 ceremony. We were glad we didn't have the really early or late slot.

With Dr. Kaaren Hampton - Irmo High School Principal

With Dr. Akil Ross - Lexington Richland School District 5 Superintendent

With Amy Mew - Drama Teacher

Because we had to get there early, we had to wait in line for an hour. While that was hot and hard on my knee, it meant we got really good seats. My sweet friend Yasmine Baltzegar was there to watch her daughter Isabella graduate. We made friends when our girls were in kindergarten together.

The Bailey's came to support Baylie.

Natalie, Alee, Jalen, Beth, David, Me

Baylie came over to say "hi" before the official walk in.

She was listed in the program in several different places.

Official walk in

Hi, Baylie!

Baylie's speech. The pictures Baylie took of the broadcast were better than the ones I took in the arena.

The graduation was on YouTube. Baylie’s speech is at 56 minutes. She was vulnerable and brave as she shared her struggles with mental illness. We were so proud of her. She got tons of compliments, some of which I'll share at the end of this post. You can watch her walk across the stage a little after 1:22.

Walking across the stage

Hugging Dr. Hampton

Hugging Dr. Ross

Not very many kids got hugs from the principal and the superintendent.

And just like that, it was done! And it was time for the pictures.

The Bailey's - Beth, Natalie and Alee

with Grant

with Jayden's sister

with Jayden

with Mr. Walker

with Ms. Clark and Mr. Hoodenpyle (Mr. H)

with Isabella

Here is a list of her graduation accolades.

Stoles: yellow-National Honor Society, green-Fine Arts, blue-Health Science, white-Teacher Cadet (signed by her middle school students), black and white - hand-crafted by Leua Wilson (candy and money no longer present)
Cords: red/yellow-Spanish Honor Society, pink-4 years of Music, purple-Arts & Humanities, yellow-Distinguised Honor Grad, blue/yellow-Thespian Society, blue/green-Teacher Cadet, maroon-Arts Honor Society (hope these are all right because she can't remember)
Medallions: Distinguished Honor Graduate (top 5% of her class), College and Career Ready
Scholarships: Full Tuition to Winthrop University, Palmetto Fellows (South Carolina’s premier merit-based program), Macgregor Presbyterian, Irmo High School Education Foundation, Rotary Club, and still interviewing/waiting to hear back on others

On Saturday we had a joint Open House for Baylie and Olivia Chorey. I was glad we did it with the Choreys because they are laid back like us. We had popcorn and dirty sodas.

Mary got these pictures of the decorations. Neither one of us took pictures during the party. We just enjoyed speaking with friends and family (Chorey family). So many people came and it was so nice to see the girls supported.

On Sunday we went to the open house for Alexa Alsup. It was lovely.

It is surreal that this stage of Baylie's life is over. I don't think it will feel real until we drop her off at BYU.

Here are some of the compliments she received on her speech. She's received many in person as well. It had quite an impact.

Co-op 2025-2026

2026-05-21T22:36:00.000-04:00

In addition to our classes with Colearn and at home, we also took part in a weekly co-op with Jay Brusin and Alee Bailey. Beth Bailey conducted all the chemistry experiments, Rob Bailey taught computer science, and I taught Spanish. This was such a blessing because I could never have taught Chemistry or Computers on my own. And learning Spanish is more fun with a group.

Brother Bailey teaches computer programming at the University of South Carolina so Jalen was lucky to have him teach the class. I'm sure he learned more than Baylie did at Irmo High School. They learned all kinds about computers and even took one apart.

Each week they did the experiements that went along with the chapter they were studying.

Usually we met at the Baileys, but one time we met at our house. There was a tornado warning so we all ended up in the hallway. Exciting times!

Very focused

Gideon usually managed to cause some minor disruptions.

One week we made churros y chocolate. Delicioso!

For our final co-op we met at a Mexican restaurant and the kids ordered in Spanish. They did pretty good. Everyone was off of school so the siblings came too.

Alee, Natalie, Baylie, Me, Calee, Shay, Beth, Gideon, Jalen, Jay

I wanted to order something more traditional for everyone to try. I was super excited to see they had elote (street corn). It's not common in the U.S. and it's so good.

I ordered Mol Cajete because I figured the kids would think it was cool. It was much larger than it looks in the picture.

It was a great school year and I was so glad we got to share so much of it with our friends.

IHS Track 2026

2026-05-21T22:34:00.000-04:00

This year instead of playing tennis, Jalen decided to try out track. Turns out, he loved it. He was a sprinter, competing in the 100, 200, and 400. While it wasn't exactly the same team atmosphere as cross country, it was similar and Jalen really liked the kids on the team.

Jonny, Gideon, Jalen, Jay

Jalen ended up winning this heat!

He got better and better throughout the year. He definitely learned that he prefers sprinting to distance. He wants to be the cross country manager rather than compete next year.

Look at those muscles!

The rest of us learned that track meets are LOOOOONNNNGGGG! Like five hours or more long. Crazy! And his events are at the beginning and the end so we have to stay for the whole thing.

Baylie didn't get to go to many meets because of musical practice. She went to one and froze to death!

Cross Country team at the track end of year banquet.

PR's:

100 - 12.91

200 - 27.73

400 - 62.37

Colearn Fieldtrip - Trampoline Park

2026-05-15T01:53:00.000-04:00

Our final fieldtrip of the year was to a trampoline park. The stress of school was over and it was fun to just let loose and have fun. The park was enormous and had so many different things to do: trampolines, obstacles, ninja course, dodgeball, and more.

Rubik's Cube climbing tower

Racing Alee

Ninja course

Jalen had a run in with a pole. And lost.

We had some highs and lows with Colearn, but in the end, we were glad we decided to join and we will do it again next year.

IHS Choir 2026

2026-05-07T21:48:00.000-04:00

Baylie had a great year in choir. It was one of the highlights of her senior year. After not making ACDA last year, she made it this year and was excited to go. Sadly, a bad storm came in and it was cancelled. Fortunately she made All State for the third year in a row, not a very common accomplishment.

Seven kids from Irmo High School were in the choir. That's a lot from one school. They were placed in three different choirs. Baylie ended up with the best of the directors, Michael Barrett. He chose such fun music and the performance was fantastic.

Can you find Baylie??

Baylie loves her choir director, Mr. Frank Turner. He has inspired her to be a choir director as well.

We all went to Winthrop for the performance.

Choir besties - Sal, Baylie, Jayden

At the annual Concert Assessment Performance, they received a Superior With Distinction, the highest honor possible.

The Seniors - they will be much missed next year.

One of the highlights of the year was when they sang David's arrangement of Lift Every Voice and Sing. You can see the performance HERE.

The final performance of the year was a little emotional.

They always recognize the seniors and other accomplishments.

Baylie was a co-recipient of the Chorus Student of the Year.

The seniors surprised Mr. Turner by not only giving him a gift, but also because they had each written him a personal tribute. It was very moving.

Baylie and Ava Alsup

Add in Alexa Alsup - these girls have spent so much time together over the years

Tania Turner was Baylie's 5th grade music teacher and chose her to play Mrs. Clause in the school Christmas program. It's Baylie's favorite memory of elementary school. The Turners have been such great role models in her life.

Christopher Moore is the middle school choir teacher. Baylie helped him this year as part of her teacher cadet class. She loved it and it solidified her desire to teach choir.

The family

Baylie and her "let's not put a label on it" friend, Jayden Samuels.

Family+

Some of my favorite performances.

Prom 2026

2026-04-25T18:33:00.000-04:00

I really wanted both my kids to go to prom this year, especially since it would be their only chance to go together in the same group. I won't say I pushed them - but I did. I even made very strong suggestions on who they should invite.

Check out that handsome boy!

Jalen invited Alee Bailey. I pointed out that inviting a friend would make it more comfortable and fun. Plus Alee is a take-charge kind of girl and he could use that. They get along great and had a good time. He got a new vest and a tie that matched her dress. She did not want a corsage, but I made him a boutonniere. (Mary Chorey and I made them together - thank heavens because I had zero skills.)

Baylie and Jayden Samuels have been friends for several years. I pretty sure they've had crushes on each other off and on. I pointed out that it would be Baylie's last chance to go to Prom with him and said she should just go for it - so she did!

They went to church prom and school prom. Jayden had to meet with the bishop in order to go to church prom so it was cool he was willing to do that. They both agreed that church prom was more fun.

Apparently everyone knew that these two should be an item. Since prom they are now unofficially an item. Finally.

They've agreed "not to label it." Whatever. Mainly it's because they're both going off to school. Jayde is going to Clemson and Baylie to BYU.

I (i.e. Mary) made Jayden's boutonniere and he got her a wrist corsage.

They were part of a really good group of kids, which always makes it more fun.

Jayden, Baylie, Jalen, Alee, Gideon Stroud, Lucy King, Jay Brusin, Lizzy Louchez

The girls

The guys

Silly boys

Luke photobomber

Jalen, Gideon, Jayden, Jay
Lucy, Alee, Baylie, Lizzy

Guess how you get a cool picture like this.

Like this. Good thing Beth Bailey is a good sport!

As they were leaving, it started to rain.

So gallant!

They tried to go to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, but it was too full so they went to Moe's.

Not sure what they're doing here.

After prom they all came to our house for ice cream sundaes and to watch Napoleon Dynamite. I didn't take any pictures. They all had a good time and I was glad they got to make this memory together.

Colearn Fieldtrip - International Festival

2026-04-17T22:35:00.000-04:00

Colearn planned a fieldtrip to the International Festival on April 17 and it turns out Baylie's Spanish class also decided to come. I got a 2-for-1!

Musical instruments from Africa. (I don't remember which country.)

Chinese dragon

Germany

Jayden Samuels, Baylie, Alee Bailey

Panama

Tahiti - oh my!

Italy - Black Mona Lisa

Taiwan

Jalen hung out with Samuel Luz, his teacher Miss Cates, and her son. I didn't see him much at all.

I was surprised to find this carving at a table selling things from Ghana. What a shocker!

The festival was cool, but very overwhelming. There were so many countries represented without a lot of room to move around and see everything. There wasn't any international food that day, which was a little disappointing. But it was nice that they set aside a day for students to see everything.

Spring Break 2026 - Puerto Rico

2026-04-10T21:44:00.000-04:00

I wanted to go somewhere fun for Spring Break, but we didn't have much money. I looked at several options and decided we could make a quick trip if we only stayed one night in a hotel. The kids decided they were up for the adventure.

It started out exciting because the flight we were going to take from Columbia filled up so we decided to leave much earlier and drive to Charlotte. (In the end we would have made the Columbia flight - oh well! That's the standby life.) David was a good sport and drove us all the way there before heading to work back in Columbia.

We had a layover in Houston.

And made it to San Juan by 3:00 in the afternoon.

We cought an Uber and our first stop was the temple. It was very small and the street was kind of busy. We hopped out and took a quick picture and continued on our way.

We were staying in Old San Juan at the Casablanca Hotel.

I didn't take this picture - I stole it from the internet.

Check out this amazing room!! Baylie and I shared the bed.

Jalen slept on the couch. Seriously though - such a cool room. Check out the chandeliers!

Waiting area in the lobby.

The lobby.

We walked around the city and headed to el Castillo de San Felipe del Morro because that is supposed to be the best place to see the sunset. There are stunning views everywhere.

And also lots of cats.

Beautiful banyan tree

The sunset.

It was a scenic walk back. Here you can see the city wall with the only remaining of six original city gates - la Puerta de San Juan. They used to close the gates at night to protect the city.

We walked down and crossed through the gate.

The walls are 15 feet thick.

Above the gate is inscribed “Benedictus qui venit in nomine domini”- Latin for “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”.

We then walked around the outside of the walls along Paseo de la Princesa. It was lovely.

We found a hole-in-the-wall local place that sold amazing empanadas. We were exhausted and our feet were aching when we finally got back to the hotel. But we decided to still make a visit to the rooftop to see the tubs that look over the city. It was very cool, but the water was slow and cold and we were tired so we didn't stay for a soak.

The next morning we were ready to go again! We got some breakfast at a grocery store and bought Jalen a "Bad Bunny hat." It's actually called a pava.

We loved the colorful homes and blue cobblestone streets.

Calle La Fortaleza leading to La Fortaleza, the governor's residence. It is one of the oldest executive mansions in the Americas.

Next we went to Parque de las Palmoas - Pigeon Park.

It runs along the top of the wall that borders the sea.

Pigeon boxes

After that we went back to Castillo de San Felipe del Morro. "El Morro is a huge, six-level fortress built to protect the city from sea invaders. The Fort itself was originally “completed” in 1589, but the massive walls were added in the mid 1700’s ." It is truly massive. We only explored three levels of it.

This doesn't truly show how steep these stairs were. They looked like escalators.

Amazing views

Upper walkway

Right next to the castle is Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery. It's right on the edge of the ocean.

Next to the cemetary is La Perla, them most dangerous part of Old San Juan and site of the music video Depasito. You can see it from above as you walk down this colorful street, but tourists are advised to avoid the area. It can only be accessed through three entry ways.

View of La Perla from above.

There’s also a cool basketball court that was built by Carmelo Anthony.

We walked from there to the Castillo San Cristobal (Christopher Columbus) when it started to pour down rain. We didn't spend much time there as we were running out of time and we had spent so much time at El Morro. We walked the short distance to Parroquia San Francisco de Asís to see the crypts beneath it. They were small and underwhelming. At that point we had to return to the airport so we called another Uber and headed back.

We caught the last possible flight, which was to IAD.

Beautiful views from the air.

We then made our flight to Columbia where we were picked up by David. It was a crazy whirlwind trip that felt much longer than it actually was. It was nice because we had days of rest before and after the trip so we still got to relax over Spring Break. Perfect!

One day I'd like to go back to Puerto Rico to kayak in the bioluminescent bays at night and visit El Yunque Rain Forest.

Baylie's 18th Birthday & Little Shop of Horrors

2026-03-22T23:10:00.000-04:00

18 Years of Baylie

Happy 18th Birthday Baylie Anne!!

Her birthday happened to be on opening night of the musical - Little Shop of Horrors. She played the part of Crystal, a street urchin. She had a really fun singing number. Little Shop of Horrors is not my favorite play, but I loved this performance.

Final Bow

The cast sang Happy Birthday to her. I missed the beginning of it.

Jayden played the role of the plant. He was great of course.

Photobomber

Members of the cast and a bunch of friends and family that came to support.

After the play we went to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate.

Then we went home for cake and presents. She wanted a lemon bundt cake and I found a gluten free recipe. It was pretty good!

Since Baylie wants to be a conductor, David gave her the conducting baton that Nove had given to him. It's a treasure. Hopefully she doesn't lose it.

I gave her a laptop bag.

And we gave her a massive puzzle table with drawers.

There was another show on Friday night and more friends came to support.

Brusins - Gage, Tim, Shay, Calee, Baylie

Sadie Caley, Bella Howe, Ava Alsup, Baylie, April and Alexa Alsup

Savannah Stephens, Drake Allen, Prince Lloyd, Dallas Burns, Khalil Smith, Samantha Wilkerson, Jayden Samuels, Janai Brown, Jacob Quinones, Sal Erwin, Baylie, Jahira McNair

Baylie received LOTS of flowers!

This year Baylie was inducted to the International Thespian Society because of her participation in the musicals and because she sang as part of the One Act Plays.

Baylie also sang at the ceremony. You can see her performance HERE.

Grammy & Grandad Visit and Painting the Primary Room - March 2026

2026-03-21T23:54:00.000-04:00

In addition to the musical and Baylie's birthday, we had some other activities while Grammy and Grandad were here.

We went to see Jalen's track meet. And of course, it's usually warm, but while Grammy and Grandad were here, it was freezing. Miserably cold! It was still great for them to be here though because they never get to see the kids compete.

And he had a pretty good meet. Although the cold is really hard for him because he has raynaud's.

At some point we had Greek salad. I think maybe Baylie asked for it for her birthday dinner.

The Primary room was in such terrible shape. Grammy and Grandad couldn't believe the condition of our building, especially the Primary room.

Torn up walls

Dirt streaks

Seriously!

David took a day off work and we paid for the paint with our own money. He worked all day.

Grammy and Grandad and I went and helped tape the last part. He finished at about 10 p.m. It looks fantastic now!!

Before video

After video

Child abuse?

We introduced Grammy and Grandad to the awesomeness that is shamrock shakes.

Dad started to get sick and I gave him some of my homemade medicine. He wanted to make his own so we went to the herb shop. Now he just needs to buy the vodka. We'll probably do that next time we're in Utah.

It's always so wonderful to have them around, but I miss them so much when they have to leave. This trip was really hard on Grammy so I don't know if they'll be able to come back out again.

Colearn Fieldtrip - Darlington Raceway

2026-02-20T01:51:00.000-05:00

I had always wanted to see the Darlington Raceway so I was excited when a fieldtrip was scheduled for there. It was pretty cool, but underwhelming. It probably wasn't worth the drive just for the fieldtrip. It would be cool to see on the way to somewhere else. I'd also love to go back and watch a race. Even so, it was interesting and I didn't regret going.

While Darlington isn't mentioned in the Cars animated movies, it does seem to inspire them. Days of Thunder with Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise was filmed there.

It used to be a major track and then wasn't used as much. It's making a bit of a resurgence.

Alee Bailey, Jalen Batchelor, Jay Brusin

Gideon Bailey, Declan Evert, Maggie Nymeyer, Riley Evert, Navey Nymeyer, Oakley Nymeyer, Charlie Evert, Capri Nymeyer

Alee and Gideon with the Fabulous Hornet

A look inside at the framework.

Creepy baby story

Racers I knew the name of

They were doing some work on the track so we couldn't even get a look at it, which was disappointing.

Gideon, Oakley, Navey, Declan, Alee, Riley, Avery, Maggie, Capri, Charley, Jalen

As close as we could get to the stands.

And of course, we were close by, so we had to make a trip to Buc-ee's.

I'm glad we got to go, but unless we go to a race, I won't go back.

Snow Day 2026!

2026-02-01T12:17:00.000-05:00

The night of Saturday, January 31 we had an unusual South Carolina snowfall. Church was cancelled for the following day.

We got almost two inches of snow.

We decided to wake up the kids to share in the excitement.

They were thrilled.

Snowball Fight!!!

Our kids have not seen a lot of icicles, so this was exciting.

This kids did the snow faceplant challenge.

Snow Queen

and King

and Man

Front Yard

Back Yard

Ice Cigar

Baylie and David made snowangels, but the video was too long to upload. You can view it here.

Patriot's Point Field Trip 2026

2026-01-30T11:14:00.000-05:00

On January 30, Jalen and I joined a Colearn trip to Patriot's Point in Charleston. It's a place we had wanted to visit for a long time and it did not dissapoint.

Patriot's Point is home to the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, the tenth aircraft carrier to serve in the United States Navy. It was named in honor of the ship that was lost at the Battle of Midway.

It's huge!!

It is also home to the USS Laffey, the most decorated World War II era Destroyer still in existence. The Laffey provided support to the D-Day invasion at Normandy at the Utah Beach landing site.

It's really affordable and one ticket gets you into all the sights. The Yorktown is overwhelmingly big. This giant mural is on the initial deck.

Ship's Bell

I don't remember the stories or types of all the aircrafts. This was one we could actually get inside.

The wings fold up so it's easier to fit them on a flight deck.

The flight deck was enormous and fit several different airplanes.

I was fascinated by all the insignias.

Captain's chair with a view of the Charleston Bridge.

Inside the ship. (Honestly, I don't know which pictures are inside which ship.)

Top Gun flight instruction.

Surgery

Mess Hall

1938 Packard

Missile

There was also a Vietnam Experience

MK1 River Patrol Boat

Helicopters

Inside the copters

Mess hall

Look out tower

The entire experience was very cool and definitely worth the drive to Chalreston.

Jalen 16th Birthday and Ordination

2026-01-19T07:44:00.000-05:00

January was a big month for Jalen. He turned 16 and was ordained a priest. Grammy and Grandad flew out for the big day. David was able to ordain Jalen and it was a special day for our family.

Grandad, David, Jalen, Bishop Bruno

Grandad, David, me, Baylie, Jalen, Grammy

The next day was a school holiday so we were able to hold Jalen's birthday party on his actual birthday. He chose to have a mall scavenger hunt with a bunch of his friends.

I ordered a logo from Etsy and Beth Bailey helped me make this cool t-shirt.

And then I modified the J. Crew logo to make t-shirts for the other kids. I have to say it was pretty awesome.

We ordered cool birthday decorations from Amazon.

It was his first girl/boy party, which added some excitement to the event.

We divided into two teams at the mall. (Jonny joined us at the mall and I had forgotten his shirt at the house.)

Caroline Perry, Claire Saunders, Grade Jennings, Alee Bailey, Jonny, James Connors, Jalen, Gideon Stroud, Jay Brusin

Jalen's Team (I never got the pictures of the other team)

Gideon, Jay, Jalen, Jonny, James, Caroline, Alee, Claire, Grace

Everyone had a lot of fun and Jalen was happy with his party.

He chose to have his birthday dinner at Chipotle. I think he liked it!

And then we opened presents. His Aunt Tiffani knows him very well.

So does his mom.

Grammy's birthday is two days after Jalen's so we celebrated her birthday too.

What is Grammy so excited about?? Good & Plenty candy!! Crazy lady!

I think we wore them out.

We were so glad we got to have Grammy and Grandad with us. We always miss them so much when they have to go home.

Christmas 2025

2025-12-25T22:47:00.000-05:00

As has become our norm, we decorated for Christmas at the beginning of November. I love having the house decorated for longer.

Precious Moments Nativity - mom gave us a piece each year for several years

Christmas Countdown

Family Room Tree

Nutcrackers & Stockings

Living Room Tatted Ornament Tree

Baylie and Bella Howe helped kids with their coloring pages at the Christmas Tree Lighting.

April and I froze our buns off, but had a great time.

I designed a t-shirt. I'm quite proud of it!

We took Elder Carter and Elder Peery to Costco for hot dogs and then to drive through the Living Nativity at Union Methodist Church. The kids had a mutual activity so it was just us and the elders.

Our traditional Christmas jammies around the tree photo.

Jalen helped me harvest mistletoe that we then shared with friends. I love this new tradition. We've done it for three or four years now.

David and I joined Jalen on a Colearn field trip. This has become too expensive, but since it was part of a field trip, it was more affordable. The lights were beautiful this year so I was glad we didn't miss it.

Baylie was working so it was some two-on-one time with Jalen.

Proposing to a monkey.

Channeling their inner Dr. Who.

So many cool lights.

We had another missionary Costco outing - this time followed by a drive through the lights at Saluda Shoals. Baylie was working the lights this night.

There are way more lights at Saluda Shoals than in Spanish Fork.

I made Rosca de Reyes for co-op.

And later made latkes and sufganiyot for our annual Hannukah celebration with Yasmin and kids. This year it was just Jackson. I hear Trader Joe's has good frozen latkes so I'll probably try that next year because they are so tricky to make.

Followed by a game of dreidel. I love this annual tradition.

Another tradition I love is our Soup and Singing night. We always manage to fit a pretty good crowd into our little home. We have such wonderful friends and neighbors.

Christmas is full of traditions for our family. Gingerbread houses is another favorite, especially since I started making the gingerbread myself. Homemade is so much better.

I even made one this year. Usually I just watch.

We love sharing this tradition with the neighbors.

The cute Evert kids helped set out the luminarios.

We had the Everts and missionaries back over for Christmas Eve dinner. The kids tackled Jalen.

Yummy Christmas dinner! We love having guests!

It's especially fun having little people to act out the nativity.

As always, it was a wonderful Christmas full of gifts. We have always been blessed to have good Christmases even in our limited financial situation.

Baylie got a laptop from us and from Grammy and Grandad. It was a Christmas/graduation present.

Jalen was as excited about deoderant and he was the Lego set. He loves to smell nice!

He was also excited about his BYU blanket.

And Ohtani jersey.

Once all the gifts were opened, the kids were pooped! Good thing they have fancy blankets!

I had to throw in videos of some interesting musical gifts.