Last Day of 8th & 10th Grade

 As another school year comes to a close, we're celebrating some big milestones in our family!

Middle school has officially come to an end as Madden graduated from 8th grade. To say we're sad would be far from the truth—after three years, Madden was definitely ready to move on. Honestly, I think he was ready to leave back in November!

Like most boys his age, middle school had its fair share of ups and downs, but it was also a time of tremendous growth. He made a great group of new friends, matured so much over the past three years, and, for the most part, was an average student. Most of his teachers absolutely loved him (minus his two history teachers! 😂). The staff all seemed to know Madden—whether for good or not-so-good reasons—but I think they'd all agree his charm usually won them over.

Madden is incredibly excited to start high school this fall, and we truly believe it's where he'll thrive—socially for sure, and hopefully academically too! We can't wait to watch this next chapter unfold.

Skylar also had an incredible year at Carlsbad High School. She absolutely crushed 10th grade, earning straight A's both semesters and finishing the year with an impressive 4.33 GPA thanks to her AP coursework. We couldn't be prouder of how hard she worked.

Outside the classroom, she was living her best life with her amazing group of friends. She also made the difficult decision to step away from dance after 13 years and take a chance by trying out for the Carlsbad Cheer team. She made the team, and we haven't seen her this happy in a long time. Jake and I are so excited to spend our Friday nights cheering her on from the stands at every football game.

We truly can't wait to have both kids back on the same campus again. Here's to new beginnings, exciting adventures, and an unforgettable year ahead!

Buds since first grade.  Can't believe how much they have grown.

Madden and Noah.

Madden and his dear friend Addie.

Cooper, Kason, Ian, Madden, William and Hudson.

Madden and his buddy Sharbel.

All the boys with their favorite teacher Mr. Rai.

Noah, Madden, Nico and Joey.

Grad night Madden and his buddies went to a big bash that a handful of girls were throwing.  They didn't want to go but ending up having a blast.

FNL Spring 2026 - Princeton Tigers

After 14 seasons, 3 Division Championships, 6 Championship Game appearances, and 4 League Championships, Madden’s FNL career has officially come to an end.

FNL was one of the things that brought Madden the most joy throughout his childhood. He started playing in kindergarten, and now, as he finishes 8th grade, that chapter has come to a close. Other than the season he played Pop Warner, he never missed a season. It was something he always looked forward to and truly loved being a part of.

Madden was incredibly passionate about the game. It brought him so much happiness, excitement, and yes, sometimes a few tears when things didn’t go the way he had hoped. His love for the game was evident every time he stepped onto the field.

FNL was also a special bonding experience for Jake and Madden. Jake coached him in 10 of those 14 seasons, and so much of Madden’s success and love for the game can be credited to having his dad leading the way. Together, they created memories that will last a lifetime.

Over the years, we played alongside so many great boys, worked with several amazing assistant coaches, and met countless wonderful families who became part of our journey. Looking back, there is truly no other way I would have rather spent my Friday nights all those years.

Thank you, FNL, for the memories, friendships, lessons, and unforgettable moments. What a ride it has been. 🏈❤️

Madden's 14th Birthday

Typical Madden—making birthday planning pretty easy for us. He never wants a big party or even a small get-together with friends. His only requests this year: a steak dinner and cheesecake for dessert.

Jake went all in and got him a 10-pound cut of meat so he can cook himself steak all week—he was beyond thrilled.

Can’t believe our boy is 14 already. Watching him grow into such a great young man has been the best gift of all. ❤️

Scrimmage at SoFi Stadium

Madden’s Pop Warner football league was invited to play a scrimmage at SoFi Stadium before an NFL game! All the boys got to skip school and head down to LA to play on an actual NFL field. It was such a fun experience for everyone involved, and seeing Madden and Jake out on the field together was super cool. Madden had an absolute blast. Before the NFL matchup, a few of us took the boys to Topgolf, which was a ton of fun, and then we headed back to the stadium to watch the game. It was such a special day for all of us!

First Day of 10th & 8th Grade

 Another school year has officially begun! Today was the first day of 10th grade for Skylar and 8th grade for Madden — and I’m still trying to wrap my head around how quickly time is flying. It feels like just yesterday they were walking into elementary school with backpacks almost bigger than they were.

Skylar was so excited to be back with all her friends and to no longer be the youngest ones on campus. She’s already looking forward to everything this year has in store and seems so much more confident stepping into her sophomore year.

This year marks Madden’s last year in middle school, which is hard to believe. Next year, both kids will be at the same school again — high school! It’s a little surreal to think about, but also really special. 

Last Day of 7th & 9th Grade

 Another school year in the books!

    7th grade definitely had its ups and downs for Madden. He made a great group of new friends and we even got a few sweet notes from teachers saying he was a pleasure to have in class — though they also mentioned he might be just a little too chatty. 😅 Academically, it wasn’t quite the year we had hoped for. We tried to help him build better study habits, but let’s just say... that often led to more battles than breakthroughs. We're really hoping 8th grade brings a bit more focus and fewer struggles in that department.

    On the upside, he had a major growth spurt this year — it feels like he’s grown inches overnight — and we’re curious to see if that continues into next year!

Skylar’s first year of high school was a major success! She did an amazing job with her grades and study habits — we never had to remind her to prepare for a quiz or test. All her hard work paid off with straight A’s! She was also a total social butterfly, always out and about with friends. There were weekends where we’d drop her off at school on Friday and barely see her again until Sunday!

She loved being part of the school dance team and is excited for another year representing her school in that way. Next year will definitely come with more challenges, but we have no doubt Skylar is ready to take them on.

FNL 🏈 UC Davis Aggies (Spring 2025)

Madden had another incredible FNL season. It’s hard to believe he’s been playing twice a year since kindergarten—and still absolutely loves it. This season was especially meaningful because we managed to build a strong team made up entirely of boys from Madden's Pop Warner squad. Jake claimed he was going to step back from coaching, but we all knew that wasn’t really going to happen.

The boys had a great regular season, finishing 8-1 and taking second place in their division. Honestly, they could have gone 9-0—they just had one off game. For most teams, it wouldn’t have even been considered a bad performance, but for them, it was below their usual standard.

When playoffs started, they locked in. Keep in mind, this is the 7th/8th grade division, so to reach the finals, we had to go through several tough 8th grade teams. The boys played some of the best football we’ve ever seen from them—every single player stepped up.

We made it to the championship game against a huge 8th grade team. And when I say huge, I mean the other team looked twice the size of our boys. But it didn’t matter—our team simply out-skilled them. It was one of the most intense games I’ve ever watched. The game went into overtime, tied at 32-32. Our defense held strong, and then Madden scored the winning touchdown to bring home the championship. It was an unforgettable night.

This marks Madden’s fourth FNL Championship win—with just one more season to go.

Madden's 13th Birthday

We officially have another teenager in the house with Madden turning 13! In typical Madden fashion he kept his birthday really chill.  Requested steak dinner with the family and a margarita glass full of cookies and cream ice cream.  We did take him and 3 friends to conveyor belt sushi (which of course I forgot to take a photo) and that was how he wanted to celebrate.  

Last Day of 8th and 6th Grade

These last couple months has been filled with many milestones for Skylar.  Turning 14, 10 years of dancing at CDC and now graduating from 8th grade.  Both Madden and Skylar had a great middle school year.  They both were in ASB together which was a lot of fun. Sadly Madden didn't want to follow in his sisters footsteps of doing ASB for another year but it was fun for them to be in one class period together.  Skylar of course got closer to a ton of her friends, Madden made a bunch of new friend and has had 2 girlfriends this year..haha!  

Skylar got amazing grades while balancing several hours of dance each day. Madden started off strong but unfortunately lost a little sight on school and didn't end the way we would of liked.  Going to keep a better eye on him next year because we know he has the potential.  It's going to be another couple years before they are back in school together so I definitely cherished this past school year.

6th Grade carpool on the first and last day of school.

Getting her 8th grade diploma.

Skylar and Isabelle.  Sweet Isabelle is moving back to Ireland this summer which is making all the girls really sad.

Skylar and Anna.  Anna came to this school just this year and these two couldn't of been faster friends.  They dance together and I don't think Skylar would of survived some of her classes without her.

Lucy, Madeline, Skylar, Ashby, Amelia, Isabelle, Anna, and Adri.

Lucy and Skylar..Besties since the first day of Kindergarten.

Skylar and Madeline have known each other since they were 3 years old.

Amanda, Skylar and Lucy.

Couldn't be prouder of our girl!

The graduates!  Off to CHS next year!

How it started....................How It ended.