2025 was a very school-heavy year. I'm taking some of the hardest classes I've faced in my academic career, including Organic Chemistry. This means I've spent a lot of my time in paradise in books and cramming for difficult exams. When I'm not studying, I'm working part time in Kahuku or hanging out with my roommates or my boyfriend, Kiron. I've also enjoyed participating with the Latin American club and dancing in BYU-Hawaii's Culture Night.

This summer I turned 20 and got to take a trip around the world. It was a much needed break from school and I got to stop in Doha, Qatar en route to Singapore and then Taiwan. It was a memorable trip. The food was amazing: I especially loved Nasi Lamak, satay, hotpot and Llaollao frozen yogurt. I enjoyed experiencing new cultures and the natural beauty of the Earth, especially the jungles of Taiwan.

I'm excited to come home for Christmas and am aiming to graduate from BYU-Hawaii with a degree in Health and Human Science next year. Have an amazing Christmas season!

This year I was able to complete my last show at American Fork High School. We produced Catch Me if You Can, where I was a deck lead, meaning I was in charge of positioning set pieces. Senior year of High School was a ride. In addition to my time with the play, I enjoyed hanging out with friends, going to dances, participating in hiking club, and staying on top of academics. I wound up graduating with a 3.97 GPA. I was admitted to and accepted an invitation to go to BYU Provo in the Fall.

For my senior trip, I got to do a road trip across Central Europe. We flew into Krarkow Poland, then drove through Czechia, Hungary, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and Slovakia before flying to Montenegro and then driving (briefly) into Albania. On the way back we got to spend a day in Amsterdam. I loved being able to explore different cultures and the nature of the area. My favorite stop was Montenegro - it had stunning water and beautiful, tall mountain peaks. I loved being able to road trip with nobody else in the car, which was a new experience for me. I loved being able to check off my "musical" checklist, stopping in places with famous songs named after them (think, "Vienna" by Billy Joel, "Budapest" by George Ezra and "Amsterdam" by Imagine Dragons). I loved being able to spend my dad's money at the cute markets buying earrings and local dishes like stroopwaffle 🤤. We saw SO many castles.

The rest of the summer was spent working to save up money and spending time with friends before they went off to college and missions. I also got to spend a week back up in the Pacific Northwest, visiting my uncle Leckie and his family and then traveling out with my grandparents to Ocean Shores, WA. It was a great end to the summer before starting my freshman year at BYU.

My first semester at BYU has been enjoyable. I am living in Helaman Halls and love my roommate, Rani, from Texas. I've been involved with extracurriculars including an origami club, karaoke club, and I especially love doing improv with Laugh out Loud. I did my first ever live performance, which was anxiety-inducing but such a blast. Classes are going well - it is SO much reading. I'm taking a lot of generals and am especially loving the Book of Mormon class I'm taking from Hank Smith.

I'm very much looking forward to next year - I am working on my mission papers and can now leave right after my first year at BYU. My dad has told me not to hope for a specific mission call or I might wind up in Idaho like him so I'll be happy to go wherever I go!

This year was a very busy one for me. I love being involved in everything my time will allow (and maybe more than my time allows). This year, that includes being active in the American Sign Language (ASL) Honors Society, starting a Swing Dancing club, and participating in two musicals and three choir concerts. I'm especially looking forward to performing alongside the Tabernacle Choir as part of my class in December.

I started my Sophomore year at Lone Peak High School and have been challenging myself with advanced classes, including AP World History, Honors English and American History, Physics 1010 (UVU concurrent enrollment), and Secondary 3 Extended Math. I've only cried 17 times. I also love to do indoor climbing as a student and as a coach of 3-5 year olds.

I got my driver's license in October, which I think my parents were more excited about than me. That means I can drive myself to my many social functions - I love hanging out with my friend group, they are AMAZING.

This Summer was busy with 4 different outings, including a trip to Park City with my grandparents, FSY at BYU in Provo, Covenant Daughters in Southern Utah, and floating down a river for Girls Camp. Also, I chopped 10 inches off my hair!

This year I turned 11 in January. I had a birthday party at the Nickelcade and got to meet some of the original Studio C cast. I still like the cold and earlier this year I ran 2 miles in flipflops and shorts and t-shirt in the snow.

In the beginning of the year, I played on a Junior Jazz basketball team. As part of that, I got to go with my dad to a Jazz game.

Summer was a lot of fun - I enjoyed jumping on the trampoline with friends while the sprinkler was running under it and doing a sleepover on the trampoline with Caroline and dad. I played 2 seasons of flag football. I played quarterback and we won all of our games (dad's note: there was only one other team in the league). I enjoyed a road trip with mom and Caroline to Idaho to see my cousin Lauren and my friend Trey.

This year I lost my last baby tooth and started growing in 12 year old molars. I was also old enough to go with my dad on several young men's outings and I'm excited to be joining them this January.

I started sixth grade at Highland Elementary for my fourth year at that school. It is also my fourth year in the ALL (Advanced Learning Lab) program. I am in the chess club and I love playing at school or with friends. I got to go with mom to Seattle for my 11 year old trip. We played in the woods and got to spend time on the lake with my cousins up there. I loved our family road trip in October. Some highlights were going to Wall Drug in South Dakota, seeing Mt Rushmore, the big metal sculptures in North Dakota, and going to McDonald's near Chicago.

This year I had a great time while doing some really great adventures and now I'm going to tell you about them. In the summer I tripped down some concrete stairs and James fell off his bike. We had a really sad time that year and kind of funny because James only hurt his body and I hurt my face when we fell down. I also had some good times too - I didn't just fall down and hurt myself.

We also went on some really cool adventures. My mom took me and James to Idaho and we also had a road trip as a family. It was awesome. I loved seeing all the beautiful sights like Mount Rushmore glowing at night. I loved hiking in the woods to see a really pretty lake. I even saw a restaurant that said, "Caroline's restaurant!" on it! I tried to get some free breakfast because my name is Caroline, but it didn't work out because my Dad wouldn't let me ask them.

We also did a picnic in our van. Me and James got to camp in our van and get breakfast in bed. We got to do some fun activities. We got to go through Easter and April Fool's Day and so many more adventures. I also did a season of cheerleading for the first time and I loved it. I want to be a flyer someday.

My birthday was only a couple days ago and it's crazy how I'm already eight! I'm getting baptized next year in 2026. I've had an amazing adventure this year and have been meeting some new people and having trips with my family and I'm glad I can do that this year and have a great time, but also kind of sad because of the face. But mostly a good time. The end.

2025 was a great year of adventures and new chapters. I loved the many opportunities I had to travel, especially with my family. In April, I surprised Hailey by showing up at her apartment in Laie, Hawaii to spend a couple days with her (the sacrifices a mother makes, right?). I also loved going with Abby and Lewis to take Abby on her senior trip to Europe. It was fast-paced and I loved being able to visit corners of Europe I hadn't seen before. Montenegro and Poland were both standout locations.

In July I was able to spend a few days in the beloved Pacific Northwest, visiting the Oregon Coast. Seeing the greenery and breathing the PNW air is so good for my soul. In August, I kidnapped our two youngest for a quick road trip to Rexburg. And later in the summer, I got to go back once again to my old stomping grounds, taking James on his 11-year old trip to visit Seattle and Cle Elum, Washington.

This year also opened a new chapter for me on the career front as I began working as a part time bookkeeper. It's been fun busting out my previously dormant finance knowledge and I've found I really enjoy the work. I love being involved in our neighborhood activities and serving in the church. I'm so grateful for the Savior and this time of year when we reflect on His birth and life.

2025 was another banger, as the kids say (said?), full of adventure, growth and a whole lot of unexpected turns. In church, I have loved working with the young men, enjoying campouts, hikes, our Sunday classes and other activities. I have also been enjoying time volunteering as an Institute Teacher for the BYU Pathway program - my classes so far this year have been students based in Mexico so I've been dusting off my cheesy Spanish jokes. I'm excited to teach a class in Asia early next year.

In March, I enjoyed a quick weekend trip to South Carolina for a Governor's School (my high school alma mater) reunion in Hartsville. It's hard to believe that it's been 25 years but living there was a very formative part of my youth and I loved getting to see old classmates (and seriously, we're getting old!) again. It's a little taste of heaven to reunite with long-separated friends!

On the work front, I've spent the better part of the year with a contractor role at my former employer, Sift. It has been a great boon to be able to work-for-pay while also continuing to work on my Escape Room business. I also got into vibe coding in the last months of the year and shipped a product I call the Alexandria. It's like Food Storage for Emergency Preparedness, but for knowledge. See https://aftr.tech for more details. 2026 is a giant question mark, still, but I'm grateful for the experiences I've had building new experiences.

I continue to love international travel when I have the opportunity. This year, when my first contract at Sift was up and I had some time off, I posed a question to Natalie - "Hey, would it be cool if I took a few days and went to Taiwan?" For context, Hailey was going to be going over the summer and I, in a very petty fashion, wanted to go before she did. Because she is loving beyond my merit, she approved the idea. A few hours of planning later in which I found some really cheap long haul flights, I came back with a revised question: "What if it was an around-the-world trip?" She, patiently, acquiesced. That was a Thursday evening. By Saturday, I had planned & booked the trip and the following Saturday I was on a plane for LAX (then Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Doha, Rome, Rimini, San Marino, Kaunas, Vilnius, Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Oslo). It was a whirlwind of a trip, recap below. (14 countries, 11 days, 53 hours on 11 flights, 11 hours on 6 trains, 8 hotels, 8 hours on 2 buses, 2 car rentals and 88 hours exploring). I planned on building (and still may) Youtube content out of it and went so far as to change my channel name to @CheckboxTravel but after many edits I'm struggling to find the tone I want to strike with it. That kind of trip, while insane, is my happy place.

Lewis random Round-the-World trip summary:

• 11 days of travel
• 11 new (to me) countries: Taiwan, Qatar, Vatican City, San Marino, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway | total count is now 46
• 11 flights | 53 hours in the air
• 6 trains | 11 hours
• 8 hotels, 2 buses, 2 car rentals, partridge in a pear tree
• Travel recap video

I also really enjoyed taking Abby and Natalie on Abby's senior trip. We did a roadtrip across Central EU, beginning and ending in Krakow Poland and visiting Czechia, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and Slovakia (it was a fair amount of driving) before flying down to Podgorica Montenegro (Montenegro is dope) and spending a few days there. I'll let Abby share more about that in her section though!

Finally, on the travel front, in March I helped coordinate a surprise birthday present for my mom's 70th birthday. I worked with my siblings to put together a birthday scavenger hunt and song, making it high-effort enough to throw her off the scent of any additional fun-ness. We closed the song with a 70th verse that we sang to her live and only then announced that we were sending her and my dad to Thailand, leaving the next day. Huge shout out to my siblings for their help and especially to my dad who managed to help coordinate and keep it a secret for months!

In its totality, though, 2025 was another year of really great growth, amazing reminders of how richly blessed I am to be married to my best friend (who supports me in all kinds of insanity) and father to these really awesome children, who you get to hear more from now! I'm especially grateful for the continued growth and stretching opportunities that this chapter has had in my life and I'm better able to see and recognize God's hand in guiding my path, which is priceless.