Changes and Changes and Changes September 2023

For over a year now my dad has seen visions of people coming into his home, staring at him, sometimes poking him, and then leaving. It scares him, leaves him a little upset for the day. I've tried to explain to my dad that he cannot see and so whatever he can see "clearly" is not real. He usually accepts that explanation for a little while but last time when the strange man poked him he told me, "Well, the poke certainly felt real!"

Two nights ago he saw a young man in his room, but he didn't scare him or poke him. He smiled before leaving.

It's interesting to think that it was my grandfather, perhaps warning him that he'd be back for him soon. Although I think a truly benevolent spirit would just let the poor man sleep. 

In any case, we are relieved that this visit was friendly. 

Things are also hard with Emma gone. I miss my girl. I'm excited for her but still am also so very sad. I'm also confused as to why my kids don't miss her more! They seem to be quite content with her gone, and I wonder if I did something wrong if they're fine without a sibling?

And yesterday Izzy went with her breeder to have her second litter of puppies. She's been a little stinker lately, having accidents in the house. It's time to thoroughly clean the carpets, maybe get new carpet in the basement, and clean while she is gone.

Changes and changes and changes. I'm not very good with them.

Happy Birthday Macey 2023

Happy happy birthday Macey!

So having a snow day on your birthday is kind of awesome, but you had a fun field trip scheduled today so I know it’s not the day you wanted.

When you were born you were a scheduled c-section with a planned morning arrival, but the hospital was small and really busy. The nurse warned us that things may not go as planned.

Rough start, but you were perfect. The nurses loved to check on you because you were tiny and perfect.

And that’s this year! Not the ideal start but this is your year to dance and get into crazy competitive medical programs and research schools and make crazy soda concoctions because you are still perfect, and we love you!

Raising Daughters 2023

I got two separate texts from two different daughters within about two minutes. One asked me to go with her after school to sign some paperwork and offered to buy me a treat on the way home. A different daughter asked me to send her a picture of my signature so she could do a good job forging it at school. Honestly, how am I supposed to parent within these two extremes?!?!

Dances and Dance Recitals 2023

Macey was able to go to Prom in April with a friend from one of her classes. She looked beautiful and had a good time!

Speaking of dancing, Spring was able competition season for UDA. We were lucky and a lot of the competitions were local so Macey was able to drive herself, dance, stay for awards and come home. It was a lot less drama than previous seasons. 

Except for one competition. This one was in Farmington, and Macey was not expected to finish until midnight.

It was a crazy night. We stopped to eat, I took Molly to do a little shopping until the stores closed, and then we watched a lot of dance. And oh ya, it was snowing outside. Sigh.

But Macey looked beautiful.

Happy Birthday Braden March 29, 2023

 Happy Birthday to B! When he was little I used to hold his hand in the parking lot or store and say, “I like it when you hold my hand!” And he’d answer and say, “I like it when you hold MY hand!”

The other day I reached for his hand and he carefully redirected it back to me. That's fair. I had a good run!

B is FUNNY and always up for a board game or video game or a trip or swimming with sharks or a new restaurant or basically anything but school. He loves his dogs and hats and friends and almost all of his sisters. We love him!!

Izzy's First Litter

 Izzy had four puppies in her first litter. Two girls, two boys. The girls were merle and the boys were tri-colored. They were BEAUTIFUL. One buyer pulled out so we were able to keep Baby Roo when we brought Izzy home. Baby Roo was such a good dog. Smart and playful. Got a little mean and bitey before naps. We loved him.

Easter 2023

 Easter season came with one more opportunity for my kids to go see the Easter bunny (such good sports) and for one more epic family dinner and Easter egg hunt.

Chloe's Wedding

Hands down one of the best things about moving to Utah in December of 2009 was moving closer to the Child's. We have loved our theme nights, game nights, holidays and birthdays together. 

I especially loved being able to include Chloe in a lot of our outings. When I bought season tickets to This is the Place or the Zoo I always declared five kids so I could bring Chloe along. 

She was the best kid who became a beautiful bride in April. 

She had a beautiful sealing in the Draper temple surrounded by family and a lot of Tyler's friends. And she had a really nice ceremony, dinner and reception down in the Memorial Gardens in Salt Lake City. 

Since we were all dressed up, I took the opportunity to gather my family together for a picture.

Dance Season!

At the beginning of her Senior year I told Emma that I hoped she would love and enjoy every minute of her Senior year. I did not want her dreaming too far in the future that she missed what she had right here. Go to the games, go to the dances, hang out with friends. Just love it all. And wow, did she ever! Here's Student Body Prom, Bingham Prom, Herriman Prom and MORP 2023.

Mothers Day 2023

I really love Mother's Day. I love the peaceful mornings with presents. I love buying new dresses and doing my nails to match. I love pie in Relief Society. I love gathering my kids and dogs for the Mothers Day Selfie. I love not feeling guilty for napping or reading or doing anything because it's my day. It's easy to have good ones with such good kids.

Spring Tennis 2023

 I signed up Braden for Spring Tennis along with three other neighborhood boys. The season had a very rough start. I believe the first two weeks were cancelled because of all the ridiculous spring snow we got this year. Eventually the courts dried up and Braden was able to split time between soccer practice and tennis practice. He missed enough practices, however, that he had to play in JV but it worked out because he was able to win the JV Doubles Championship for the Region.

It was a good experience overall but I may look for indoor sports in the Spring next year. Spring in Utah is rarely kind.

Seminary Graduation May 21, 2023

 We were able to go see Emma graduate from Seminary on May 21st. We are really proud of how engaged she was in Seminary, particularly in the last two years, and how she made it a priority in her overall schooling. I think she developed a strong testimony of the seminary program, and I am grateful she was able to participate!

Oh The Places: May 26th

 

We did it! Twelve years ago I read about this idea to have teachers sign this Dr. Seuss book at the end of the school year. I am so proud of us for not forgetting and not losing this book! I hope Emma enjoys looking back on it.

 

Dad Turns 95: June 1, 2023

My dad turned 95 this year, and to celebrate we had a big party at Rachelle's house. My dad cannot see much anymore -- just shadows, I think -- which must be hard for someone who loved to relax by coming home and spreading out the newspaper on the living room carpet. 

He also cannot hear very well, which makes sense since he had to tune out his seven kids in order to survive, I think.

His memory is very limited. He seems to have one core memory for everyone in the family that he has latched onto. 

Obviously, Garry's is his job. My dad takes a lot of pleasure in talking to Garry about his job. 

Mine is the time I took him to A Christmas Carol at the Shakespeare Theater in downtown DC right after Molly was born. I was unsure of the best way to get home that night and told my dad that in DC the key was to follow someone who looked like they knew where they were going -- they signal early, the don't hesitate at intersections -- and follow them. It worked that night. It almost always does work. I used it last night at Molly's soccer game, actually. My dad has told that story probably 100 times now. 

For Emma it is school. He's so happy she's going to BYU and talks to her about it every time. And sometimes when he thinks I'm Emma I have to answer questions about BYU. Luckily I can ;)

For Macey it is also school. I do not think that he knows she's studying medicine. He would have really loved hearing that back in the days when information went it and stayed there.

For Molly it is obviously soccer. He can't go to her games -- not really a point if you cannot see or hear -- but he asks my Mom to call and check on the score.

For Braden he asks about school and sports. Braden has moved from soccer to tennis to swimming. He's involved in a lot, and he'll fill my dad in.

He's in a Helen Keller world without a Helen Keller brain. But he never complains and appreciates time outside and good food.

Emma's Graduation: June 1st

Emma graduated Bingham High School on June 1, 2023. The graduation was held at Utah Valley University. For some reason Emma was one of the very last girls in line and she graduated along with some very loud football players who was also last in line, and we were afraid we would not be able to hear her name. 

I've asked Macey to not do that next year. 

After graduation we went to the River Bottoms in Provo for a small family dinner after having a larger family gathering the night before at home.

Sweet Emma is way more than “thoroughly tolerable.” She is the exceptional “boiled potato” to my steak. Watching her walk — she is “very fond of walking” — was as amazing as it was heartbreaking.

Emma, I am so proud of you. I “love you - most ardently” and can’t wait to help make all of your dreams come true.

Braden's Last Day of Elementary School: June 2nd

Emma's graduation was quickly followed by Braden's last day at Monte Vista Elementary School. I was already a blubbering mess with Emma's graduation. Braden's milestone did not help. 

I moved Braden and Molly to Monte Vista from Eastlake in 2019. A friend of mine from bookclub mentioned that she was thinking of moving her kids there to help with the transition to Junior High. A vast majority of the Eastlake kids do not go to South Jordan Middle School, and so Emma and Macey really walked into Junior High only knowing a few people. I always joked that Emma knew three people total and one of them was the lunch lady. If I moved Molly and Braden to Monte Vista, they would go to Junior High knowing a lot of the kids.

This friend never made the move, she actually decided to take her kids out of Chinese Immersion and opted to send her kids to the local school. But another neighbor came with me, and I was excited to have a carpool, if only for two years.

Molly really struggled with the move for a few weeks. She would call crying and asking to come home and said that she could not understand her teacher's Chinese at all. I think her anxiety just made her shut down completely to the point where she could not understand a word being said or taught. But she got an award in 5th grade and started to make friends and had really great teachers. It ended up being a good experience.

Braden also had a good experience, though he'll never admit to it. His third grade Chinese teacher was really hard on him and loved to keep him in during recess to work on math but luckily for him he had her during Covid so he didn't have a full year of her. He found good friends and a complete obsession with four square. Braden can talk about four square for a very long time and all elementary school drama seemed to center on four square: who lost the ball on the roof, who cut in line, who purposefully tried to get him out, etc., etc.

My favorite part of Monte Vista was how easy it was to do drop-offs and pick-ups compared to Eastlake. The church made it easy to park and pick up and the neighborhood made for much speedier returns home. I'm glad we made the move, and I am sad to see this part of our lives end.

Macey Ends Ballet: June 10th

Macey had foot surgery in July, and so her final recital on June 10th was probably her last dance recital.

That's a lot to take in.

She's been dancing since she was so small. Her very first class was this Ballerina camp in Southern Maryland where I had to borrow a leo from a neighbor. 

Now we have a lot ;)

Moving on means leaving some things behind, and that's really painful. 

Macey is a beautiful dancer. With her Google brain she learns her dances quickly and well. Her body was never as flexible as she wanted or needed it to be, and that held her back a little. She was in five studios here in South Jordan: Black Diamon, Elite, C&C, Rocky Mountain and finally UDA.

She seemed to find more opportunities at UDA. This year she was also able to participate in her dance studio's Varsity Ballet program. It meant a lot of dancing, she was at the studio for hours on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but she seemed to really enjoy it.

I don't think she likes the social aspect of class -- she just never quite found "her people" in dance class the way that she has with the Medical Assistant program at JATC. But hopefully she'll look back at all the years she put into dance with joy.

TREK: June 14th

Garry, Macey and Molly had the opportunity to participate in our Stake's TREK this summer. I cannot say that any of them were super excited to go, but they seemed to have a good time and came away with good friends and good memories. 

They ate well and only really hated one day when they were told that it was a short hike and it ended up being a lot longer.

For me, I just had to help them get their clothes ready. Thank goodness for Deseret Industries and online shopping. Garry took care of everything else on this list, from buckets to utensils.

Taking Dad Through the Car Wash: August 26, 2023

Molly's high school soccer team has had a lot of fundraisers in order to help with expenses. One fundraiser was a carwash. 

My parents were kind enough to purchase a $10 carwash, and Garry picked up my Dad to take him through while their Camry was spiffed up by the soccer team. 

The team also provided donuts. Garry handed my Dad a donut, and I think my Dad thought he was just holding it for Garry but was excited when he discovered that it was his. 

Still thinking that it might be Garry's donut he was supposed to share, my Dad only ate half of it until Garry told him he could finish it or save it for later. "I'm not very good at saving things for later," my Dad said and finished the donut. 

He loves sweets. And he still talks to Molly about that fundraiser, asking her how much her team earned.

Emma's Summer Course at BYU

And so it begins! First day of school for Emma at BYU was June 26th. It’s an online course she's taking with her cousin Chloe.

Emma is the fourth generation female to start at BYU. Her great grandma was at BY Academy, her grandma studied at BYU, and I graduated from there.

Super proud of her and all the work she put into getting here.

Losing Oreo

We lost sweet Oreo in June 2023.

Oreo was cranky and demanding. She would stare me down, wait by the gate to be fed and never ventured far from her bowls. She hated to be held.

But she was gorgeous, and she was mine.

I think pets in Heaven get to pick where they live.

I hope Oreo picks me because I made many a late night run to Harmon’s to make sure she had her morning banana chunk. I hope she takes that into consideration. And I adopted her crankier sister so they could stay together. Bonus heavenly home points, I think. I bought her balls and blankets and chew toys and tunnels. I wish I could have bought us more time.

Meeting Keith Morrison

On the back of my pretty Tahoe is a bumper sticker that says: If I Go Missing I Want Keith Morrison To Say I Light Up A Room.

I'm a fan. A big one.

I am not sure if I can post how this picture came into being. Just that Keith Morrison happened to be in Salt Lake City and I happened to know when and where and I also owe Garry.

California 2023

Soccer/Disney Trip 2023. Molly and her team played well in Oceanside, and I am excited for the upcoming season.

I really loved Oceanside. We could walk to the fields, the Starbucks knew how to spell my name, the Barnes & Noble employee dug through a pile of books to help me find a new release before my birthday, and the TACOS!

Emma & Macey flew down to join us for a Disney day. They got to the airport and on an Uber by themselves — big time adulting!

We love Disney, even when it doesn’t love our feet. We rushed through both parks and got on all the major rides we wanted to ride on. We even saw Indiana Jones out visiting the park before his big new movie comes out.

Macey's Surgery! July 7, 2023

Macey has been waiting for the right time to have her feet operated on. She has some large bunions which have caused her a lot of pain when walking and dancing and -- almost as importantly to a teenage girl -- she has a really hard time finding shoes.

But camp is over, TREK is over, a quick Disney trip is over, so it was a good time to have the surgery. 

I thought it was going to be a quick two hour surgery. It was not. It was four hours, and the hospital was FREEZING. If she decides to do the other foot I am either sending Garry, bringing a portable heater, or bringing hot chocolate.

I was scared to leave because I was told to stay put in case they needed me because she was a minor. I really had to use the restroom but did not dare leave my seat. By the time the doctor came out I was cold and cranky and just wanted to use the bathroom. The doctor said that I was free to leave -- they would have just called! 

Macey did really well with the surgery. The nerve blocker HURT, but she was grateful for it. It gave her time to get on top of her pain medication. 

Here's to a beautiful new foot!

Toothless Braden: July 21st

This poor kid has lost 8 teeth in 48 hours, but he assures me there’s still some teeth left in there! And now he can chill and eat ice cream. You have to pay the price to be this handsome!

He wasn't sure if the medication to knock him out was working until he tried to stand up! But it did its job. He stayed calm through the procedure, and he doesn't remember a thing, including dancing along to a Phineas and Ferb song. The goof.

Barbie Movie: July 24th

The movie was blah -- I kept waiting for both sides to realize they were being mean to each other and just be nice and respectful -- but my dates were super cute and we had great snacks. Win, win.

Bingham High School Soccer

 Molly worked hard all summer in preparation for high school tryouts. Molly is a good player. But I still worry when I send her out into new situations. Will a coach just look at her size? She is small, but she is FIERCE. 

Tryouts were two days long, and Molly made the team, finishing the physical requirements easily even when she was a little sick that first morning. But Not only did she make the team, she made Varsity. Not only did she make Varsity, she's a starter.

We're proud of Molly and how hard she works.

Braden Starts Junior High August 21, 2023

Oh this kid! First day of Junior High!

We’ve been taking him shopping, getting ready for a whole new school, a whole new year, and when he got ready for school today he grabbed a pair of shorts that had a hole in the butt (he thought it didn’t count because his shirt covered it) and a BYU game day shirt from 2021.

Boys are weird.

Jr High is so scary. I felt sick just dropping him off and watching him walk into the school. I wish I could just do these few first days for him as he gets used to his schedule and this whole new environment.

Macey's Senior Year! August 21, 2023

Cute Macey is starting the Medical Assistant program at JATC along with taking a few concurrent language and political science classes. And, oh ya, she’s finishing her requirements for high school, too. I am so excited that she gets to really start focusing on studying things she loves with good friends. It’s going to be a great year! 

Molly's Freshman Year!

It’s time for this beauty to head back to school! Although what I think she’s most excited for right now is getting to check out early on game day. We'll just settle for her being excited period. This year she hopes to have a lot of friends in her classes (she made a chart!) including one with her brother! They have a Chinese class together, which I think is really cute. I think she'll also get her braces off at the end of the school year so hopefully in the last day of school picture we'll see some teeth!

A Campus Tour!

 

My kids know BYU's campus really well. Even when we lived back East when we came to Utah we would stop at BYU and buy them ice cream and chocolate covered cinnamon bears and tshirts and hats. We wanted their feelings toward BYU to be just a little lower than their feelings toward Disneyland.

Well, it worked! Emma is on her way there, and since we had an open Saturday I thought it would be a good time to help her find her classes.

Some things on campus have changed. The HFAC is gone. SFLC is gone. There are at least four new buildings. At least.

So much has not changed. The JKHB, now just the JKB, smells the same. The JSB is still beautiful. And I am just so excited for Emma.

Together

 

Before Emma heads off to school, I wanted to take one last picture Sunday morning while we were all dressed up and looking presentable. I asked a neighbor to come over in the morning, and we even convinced the dogs to kind of look at the camera. 

For years Garry served in the Bishopric as the Ward Clerk. It was my job to get the kids dressed and to church on time. The first week we didn't go great. I think we walked in during announcements. But after that initial failure the kids did really well at getting up and going and ready. They are such great kids.

Craft Saturday

I know it’s 100 degrees outside but it seems like the perfect time to do fall crafts with the kids.

Doing crafts now that I am older is much more relaxing. I know that paint washes off and imperfect crafts hold more memories.

Emma asked me if I wanted to check her work, and I told her no. I wanted all the smudges and all the fingerprints.

As we get ready to send her to BYU, I’m pretty sure I’ll be a puddle by the end of this week.

Day of You & Me!

 

Day of You & Me!

The day before kindergarten I would have a Day of You & Me with my kids to thank them for being my buddy for five whole years!

When I was done with all the kids starting Kindergarten I told Emma we could do one on the other end and asked if she wanted to do a day before her senior year or college.

She chose college. And that actually day came. Time is a tricky thief.

Like Kindergarten, Emma got to choose an activity, something to buy, and a place to eat. Emma chose a massage and facial, jeans from PacSun and since Texas Roadhouse (her favorite!) was closed until the late afternoon, we decided on hibachi.

The activities were different, but the sentiment was the same: I am so grateful that Emma has been my buddy.

Macey's Second Job!

Sweet Macey has moved on from Sodalicious to our favorite big box store. She’s going to work in the new Ulta going into the Target in the District. Really proud of her. She had a great experience at Sodalicious. She worked with some nice people, and her family (especially Emma!) really enjoyed the free drinks. But this girl has big plans and Target pays substantially more. The application process was intense and multi-layered, and I am proud that she worked through it on her own, just notifying me of her progress along the way. She's awesome!

BYU Enters the Big 12

 This Saturday I woke up with only one real plan: try to eat really good food that day as we watched the Season Opener -- and new Conference opener -- for BYU Football. But Garry told me that our neighbors kindly offered up their in-person tickets due to another conflict. Emma chose to sit in the student section, Macey was working, and Molly was having friends over but we did convince Braden to come to the game. He's easily bribed with a Cougartail! The game ended up being more of a whimper than a roaring start. Our new quarterback cannot seem to throw anything more than five yard passes accurately. But we won! And it was fun to be there!

Emma Starts BYU!

And she’s off! First day of classes for Emma at BYU.

A relatively quiet day with just Chinese and a religion course. I remember her first preschool. She was so little. Because she has a fall birthday she was actually only two when she started which looking back is just crazy. She didn’t tell me much about her days. I think it was overwhelming. I’d pick her up and she wouldn’t have much to say until one day I started asking if anyone got in trouble that day and she would talk — she liked to discuss the drama of the day. Have the best day, Emma! I hope it is drama free.