Mark Prepares for His Mission

Much of our summer was spent getting Mark ready for his mission to Rosario, Argentina. We started early, working with the Missionary Mall to get lots of white shirts, two new suits, socks, belts, and lots of shoes. Before Mom sent her oldest away, she made sure he tried on dozens of pairs, mostly from Amazon, and all but 5 got sent back. 

We went to the Missionary Mall to get a bunch of things for Mark.

He got a fancy new suit.

He is getting ready.

On June 8, 2025, Mark received the Melchezidek Priesthood from his dad. Grandma and Grandpa Daniels showed up because both Mark and Daniel were becoming Elders. It made more sense to do them both on the same day.

We took a picture in the foyer. 

Mark is very ready to be an Elder.

Since the Webbs moved to town, Mark and Daniel have shared a lot of milestones.

Mark also went to the temple to receive his own endowment. This was really special for Mom and Dad, because we are the Temple Preparation teachers for our ward. Because we have several missionaries leaving this summer, we had a class of four right in our own living room, including Mark and Daniel. We enjoyed the lessons and the boys testimonies. Near the end of the course, we took Mark over to Desert Book and got him everything he needs to attend the temple.

Finally, the day came. We had quite a few family members attend the temple, mostly aunts and uncles. Mark went through our own Saratoga Springs Temple. It was a beautiful evening, and Mark said he felt well-prepared, so the class must have been just right. 

Dad got to sit by Mark during the session. 

Laurie and Glen have always supported Mark.

We've worked for a long time to get Mark here.

Grandma and Mark have a special relationship.

Outside the temple.

Family that came to support Mark and Daniel.

Grandma and Grandpa with the boys.

Mark and Daniel spoke in Sacrament Meeting prior to leaving on their missions. Mark did an amazing job, and we felt like he was speaking right to us. Of course, we sit up front, but much of the time he was looking at us, delivering his remarks as if to say, "See, Mom and Dad? I'm ready for this!" We were so proud of him. He and Daniel also performed a musical duet on piano and organ between their talks. Mark laughed because he lost a whole line, but we were sure no one could tell.

Mark did such an amazing job on his talk.

Even more family came to this one. 

Mark and Aubrey, one of many friends who attend the meeting.

Ben was so sad that he wouldn't be seeing Mark for 2 whole years.

Mom and her brunette sisters.

Grandpa, you ok?

Mark and all the boy cousins (except James).

Grandpa was unable to come to some of the events, but he and Mark visited at Kaylan's wedding.

It's tradition to have some kind of get together on the day missionaries speak, but we left that to the Webbs. They hosted a party for the Daniels on that day. The following week, after Mark had entered Home MTC, we had a party for Mark's relatives on the Ockey side. This worked really well, because Gary and Shelley were in town. Lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins were able to attend, and Grandpa was there, too. We had a nice barbecue and enjoyed being together.

There were lots of Ockeys.

We had two cakes. This one was for Grandpa's 90th birthday.

And this one was for Mark.

Sandy was in Alaska, and Jim stayed in New Zealand.

Bear Lake

This year our Bear Lake trip was a little shorter. We stayed just 3 nights in a new place in Garden City. The kids were excited because there was a boys' room and a girls' room, and the adults were excited because they got private rooms. We still had two full days at the lake, and the weather was perfect. We also went to Pickleville Playhouse and saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which is one of our favorite shows. Of course, we took Mark to the bird refuge one more time, and we spotted two bitterns, which was exciting because they were right next to the van. We only took a few pictures, but this year at Bear Lake was another great one! 

The house we stayed at had the best view!

We love this tradition of going to Pickleville.

We saw Joseph and it was amazing!

Beautiful sunset!

And a little sunset basketball.

Oldest and youngest always buddies.

Lots of water baseball. 

Dad escaping the unicorn kitty club.

Mom and Dad escaping everyone.

Grandma and Grandpa in the shade.

We love Bear Lake.

James read this book with Mark a million times.

Seth, Audrey, and Charlie are getting a little big to ride a kayak together!

Sisters

Muscles and Brittany!

Cousin friends

Seth is always happy at Bear lake.

The bittern sightings were so awesome.

We were so excited.

Dax went fishing at the little Bear Lake park pond.

Lots of fun with cousins.

Baseball Season

Baseball season was quite a bit different this year. First of all, we had two boys on the same team, which was very exciting. Mark and Dax both played in the high school rec league in American Fork. Mark and his senior friends that won the championship last year split into 2 teams. This meant that Mark could pick up Dax and a few other younger brothers. We were still really good, and the only close game we had during the season was against the team that split off from us. We ended up beating them in a close game. Mark held down shortstop and did a lot of pitching. Dax was an amazing centerfielder and made a lot of plays and great throws. Both boys were good offensively. 

We coasted through the tournament all the way to the championship. Then we ran into our old friends from last year. Despite struggling with the bats, we came back at the end. We had a chance to tie it in the last inning. Dax was up with runners on, and he roped a line drive right over the shortstop's head. Unfortunately, the kid made a leaping ice cream cone grab, and we lost by a run. Still, it was fun to be with all those guys on the field for the Championship like last year. Also, we got tan shirts and they got pink, so maybe 2nd place was the real winner this time. 

It was fun to watch these two play together.

Dax and Mark hit by each other in the lineup.

Mark was a strong hitter again this year.

Mark played short stop unless he was pitching.

 Mark pitched well.

Dax was our best outfielder.

The best group of boys!

Daniel was also on team. Grandma and Grandpa came to watch a few times.

Dax got hurt one time, and Mark came right out to comfort him.

It was a great season!

The other thing that was new was that Dad decided to be a head coach for Seth. Though Dad's helped a lot of the boys' baseball teams, and he's been the designated adult on Mark's team for years, he has never really been the head coach. Luckily, he was able to take over a team with Seth's friend (his Dad also coached football with Dad). Then we picked up the Bishop's son, so we had plenty of help. Dad drafted pretty well, and we actually ended up with a good team, despite that fact that we only had 3 of 12 returning players.

Seth's team worked hard all season and came out with a winning record. They won two games in the city tournament and qualified for the state tournament in Nephi. Unfortunately, they only went 1-2 and were eliminated in pool play. Seth was amazing, playing shortstop, catcher, and pitcher. He was easily the best at each of these positions, consistently throwing strikes, and stopping everything behind the plate. When he was at shortstop, he kept things settled down in the field, too. Overall, it was a very successful season.

Seth was a team leader.

He caught so well. 

And was a very consistent pitcher.

One of the games was against all of his best buddies. 

Seth hit well.

It was such a fun team!

We were so glad Dad got to be the coach.

It was a fun and tiring baseball season!

Our friend made this on ChatGPT for Seth!!