How was your summer?

My summer ran away from me.  It literally ran away from me.  I just wasn't watching for one second and then suddenly it was gone.  I was left thinking, "Wait, how can summer be over?!"  Thank goodness the kids are in school again, but I feel like I missed all the spaces in between.  Anyone else feel like that?

So, I thought I would post some pictures for you from our summer vacation, and I have realized we have really had quite a summer.  It has just been so super busy that it hasn't really felt like a vacation.  I'm not complaining, but man! I do feel like I missed the leisurely aspect of a lazy summer.  None of that for us, thank you very much! :(

Okay, see if you can catch your breath while I run you through our summer:

Rachel graduated from elementary school and the fifth grade.  Isn't she adorable?  Tyler and I stayed up till after midnight the night before to make her money lei.

Cole and Preston won the cardboard boat race.  It was the friday after school got out and there was only one other contestant.  The water at Recapture is so low, it was actually a good year to attempt a full crossing, because they didn't have as far to go.  Nobody's boat sank, so that was a nice bonus :)

The bottom of the cardboard "boat" had been encased in layers of wood glue and shellac.  But, as you can see, it was pretty soggy still at the end of the race.  I think they had fun.  I just think it's too bad more people didn't participate.

Garrett left us.

It was the last week of school when I got a text from my brother-in-law Richie Call.  He works for the theatre department at Utah State University in Logan.  Earlier in the year, he had told us about the summer internship with the Old Lyric Repertory Theatre and Utah State.  Garrett applied and tried out, but in April, we learned he didn't make the cut.  Then, Richie called and told me someone had dropped out and he had recommended Garrett to fill the spot.  Could he do it?  Yes!  We were thrilled that Garrett could do something he loves this summer (and get college credit and get paid for it--Bonus!).  But because of the rigorous nature of the program, Garrett would not be able to take any breaks all summer.  That meant we wouldn't get to see him all summer until practically right before school started again.  That is, we wouldn't get to see him unless we went up there to Logan.

We were lucky that he was able to stay with Chrislynn and Richie at their home while he did the internship.  It was so fun for me to get to visit my sister and her family, when I dropped him off, when we brought him his truck and when we came to see a couple of his plays.  I was thrilled to be able to get a little more culture in my life.  I love going to the theatre.  Of course, it meant quite a bit of traveling this summer (and that was only a small part of the traveling we did this summer).

All three of my girls (and Olivia's friend Aysia Pehrson) participated in 4H Quilt Camp with Grandma Gail.  Aysia won Best of Show for her rag flag at the San Juan County Fair.

Wow, that was just May!  Yeah, I have a ton more things to post, but I think they will have to be separate posts.  Yes, it has been quite a summer!

Early Mother's Day Present

*I started this post weeks ago. I guess it is time to hit "publish".

This afternoon I made a phone call to schedule hair cut appointments for my boys. The phone conversation that followed honestly threw me for a bit of a loop. Not in a bad way; it just went in a bit of a different direction than I was expecting. And now I feel I should express my gratitude for kind words offered to me that I hadn't even realized I desperately needed to hear.

I recently read a story about validation. I cannot attribute credit where it is due, because I do not remember the source (probably Facebook; I live there too often, I know). The gist of the story, or at least what I got from it, is that everyone needs to feel appreciated for what we do, to feel validated, to be able to see that our efforts are valued. Even for the seemingly minor things.

Most of you have probably seen the Drops of Awesome story. I can't link to it here; I'm posting from my iPad. Same kind of idea, but essentially validating ourselves, celebrating the things we do right, instead of beating ourselves up for our perceived failures. I will tell you what. I have been in a rut, feeling inadequate, not awesome enough, well just not enough period. I know my own failings; I surround myself with them, I hide behind them, I disappear into them. And then I worry what am I teaching my kids? I want them to believe they can do anything, but sometimes I can't even get myself out of the house.

Well, I have spent the past few weeks being sick, so that hasn't helped.

*Started this over two weeks ago.  I guess it is time to finish the story. . . .

Back to that phone call.  The lady who cuts my boys' hair politely reminded me that I had forgotten to get a check to her the last time the boys got their hair cut.  I had been out of town at the time, and told the boys to let her know I would bring a check later.  But I completely forgot.  Just being my flaky self, I guess.  Of course, all the traveling and then being sick didn't help the situation for me, either.  I am so glad she reminded me, even though I felt like a total idiot, you know.  Anyway, just as I was in the middle of feeling mortified at my ineptness, she starts to say something else.

And this is where my pity train got derailed:

"I just love your boys," she says, and then she goes on to describe how the boys told her we had left them in charge, and they were probably going to take the younger kids out for dinner at Patio that evening.  And she said, isn't it nice when our kids are old enough that we can leave them alone like that?  And how nice when they are responsible enough that we can do so, without stressing about it.  She went on to talk about how much she has enjoyed getting to know them, how polite they are, and well spoken.  She just said so many nice things about those kids of mine, I actually started to get a little embarrassed.  And then, I thought to myself, my boys are pretty awesome.  They are!  Thank you for pointing that out to me.  Not that I didn't already think so; I am a little biased after all, but it is truly nice to hear that from someone else.

And then I wondered to myself, do I let them know how awesome I think they are?  Probably something I could work on a little more.  But the point of this is not to beat myself up, and I wasn't down on myself then, either.  It was just a gentle reminder to me that I need to let my kids know how great they are, in my eyes, and through the eyes of others who see them.

And it couldn't hurt to let other parents know how great I think their kids are, the ones I get to know throug my church callings, volunteer school activities, and their associations with my kids.  Pay it forward, you know.  I think I will.

What an awesome early Mother's Day gift that was.  I am blessed.

Overwhelmingly Overdue

I have a thousand and one posts to catch up on, but until I do, here is a {somewhat} brief summary of what we have been up to these past several months:

 In July, we went to Lagoon with our cousins and Grandma Carol and Papa Joe.  Jennilyn and her kids joined us, as well as Shondell and her kids.  Kimberlee came down and played with us, too.  We spent three nights at the Lagoon campground and two days in the park, and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Abbey joined us too at Lagoon on Saturday.  The girls were THRILLED to have her there!  Lagoon was a blast.  Everyone had a marvelous time.  I promise I will post more details later. 

We shopped, and shopped and shopped for new school clothes.  And everyone looked very stylish on their first day of school.

But the only pictures I got were of Olivia and Rachel

We made it to Lake Powell on Labor Day and WE LOVED IT!  Thanks to our good friends the Berretts for taking us with them

It was a lovely day in the sun and on the water

Tyler and Garrett competed in Cross Country

Cole played his first year of high school football.  He played on the C team and on the JV team.  Some of his best plays happened later in the year on the JV team, but I didn't get any decent pictures.  Cole worked out and improved throughout the season.  He is proving that you don't have to be big in size to play big.

We moved.  We found someone to rent our house in the Fifth Ward, and another family hoping to buy our home once they sell theirs.  We now live in the Second Ward, close to the middle school and high school and the Stake Center, where we now attend church.  It is a beautiful home, in a really nice neighborhood, with a great yard with mature landscaping.  FYI, moving sucks.  But I do believe our family can be really happy in this home, for several years to come.

Garrett competed in the Mr. San Juan Pageant.  This was the evening wear portion.  Hmm.

Olivia had a birthday.  She is eight.

She was so excited to be baptized by her dad

I got to see Wicked in Las Vegas with my mother-in-law and sisters.  Thanks again, Charlene!  It was the best time!

Garrett competed with a scene from Romeo and Juliet with his girlfriend Jessie McDaniel.  My girls were amazed to see them kiss on stage.  (They are not together anymore, though)

The girls and I traveled to Logan for the blessing of Chrislynn's baby, Josie.

Chrislynn sewed the dress herself, including gorgeous smocking on the front.  It was really beautiful!

I got caught speeding on the way home (outside of Ogden), and received a warning and a seat belt  violation (Rachel).  Ugh!  It only happens to me when I am driving alone with the girls.

Britt has been teaching the Missionary Prep class for a few years now.  They have seen a great deal of success in the class, and since the announcement by the prophet that young men can serve at age 18, and young women at 19, the class went from averaging about ten students to thirty plus.  It is exciting and overwhelming for Britt.  He does a great job with these young men and women!

You may know Halloween happened, and crazy hair day and other events, and I did not get any pictures, so there will be no posts about that this year.  Sorry.

And of course, I have several posts as well from last year and earlier this year.

But hey, I blogged.  {pats self on back}  And you know what else?  Since we got better high speed internet here, it didn't take nearly as long to upload those pictures, so really I have no excuse.  I promise I will try to post more, if not today, soon.  Thanks for reading.

License to Drive

This is the sight that greeted me today as Garrett exited his dad's car, along with the Driver License official, after taking his driving test this morning for the second time (the first was last week on his birthday):

In case you can't tell, it means he passed! Woot!

Here he is posing with his temporary license. 

And here he is getting into his "new" car to drive himself to school.

The lady who took him out for his test today (and last week) was fairly pleasant today.  Last week, pleasant, nice, polite, friendly. . . none of those would be adjectives I could use to describe her.  She told him he was less nervous today.  He didn't think he had been that nervous the first time.  I really believe it is their policy there to not pass young drivers the first time, just to make them "learn" or something.  Anyway, I don't want to say anything more about her because I would just be unkind.

The point is Garrett got his license to drive today!!!  In some ways, my life is about to get a lot simpler. And in other ways, it just got a lot more complicated (hopefully not too much).  Go, Garrett. :)

I am not a runner

But I will Race to Eradicate Polio, when my dad and my brother convince me I need to register for the Blanding Rotary First Annual 5K.  Eliminating Polio is actually something we are kind of passionate about, since my grandfather, my dad's dad had Polio.  I was quite young when my Grandpa Glover passed away, but I remembered him always in that wheelchair.  As a matter of fact, when I was a kid, even a teenager, I just always assumed that my grandpa had gotten Polio as a child, as is usually the case.  It has only been recently I realized, he was a young father, with a small family when Polio struck, at the age of 29.  He was a busy, energetic man, struck down by a crippling disease.  Still, once he overcame the affects of the disease, one of which was irreversible paralysis, he continued to be very active and involved in the community.

There is no cure for Polio.

But vaccines can prevent the disease.  Since 1988, Polio cases have decreased by over 99%  Historically, Polio has been the world's greatest cause of disability.  Today there are less than 2,000 people affected by Polio.*

*Facts from the brochure "End Polio Now" created by USU-Eastern SJC Microbiology student volunteers.

Garrett and I get ready for the race to start.  Yes, it was COLD! 

the runners 

good to go 

Rachel and Thomas were ready to go, too 

These guys did the one mile Fun Run with Grandpa Worthy.  Timothy kept going even after he tripped and fell 

Garrett had a strong race.  He came in 5th place.  The guys ahead of him are serious runners:  First place, I didn't recognize, but he was fast!  Second place, Ryan Heck; Third, Ricky Arthur; Fourth, Brian Kirby.

And the fact that Garrett has not been running since Cross Country makes his performance even more impressive.  I think he takes after his dad. 

There I am, coming to the finish line.  Yes, it was sooo uphill. 

I guess it is not fair to say I am not a runner.  This exact route is the same one I used to run all the time a few years ago.  When I struggled with depression several years ago, I discovered that the thing that helped most, more than the medication or anything else was running.  Maybe it was also the fact that, while running,  I listened to the podcast of "Wait, Wait, don't tell me: The NPR News Quiz."  Whenever anyone saw me running, they would usually catch me grinning, too.  I loved listening to that podcast while running.  I have about thirty of them on my computer now, because listening to them around the house is just not the same.

And it is not that I am out of shape, obviously, since I do go to Step Aerobics and Zumba classes regularly.  I do miss running, though.  I am just not a competitor.  I don't usually do races like this.  And even when I run on my own, I go fairly slow, because my heart-rate monitor (which is currently broken) tells me to.

So even though I am not a runner, today I raced for a good cause.  Now I need a nap.

My guys like to play

Over Thanksgiving break, we were visiting family in St. George.  Britt and Jennilyn made plans to hike Angel's Landing in Zion National Park.  But wimp that I am, I refused to go with them.

Actually my fear of heights had nothing to do with my choice not to go with them.  That whole visit, I barely managed to get out of bed longer than one or two hours at a time.  At the end of the trip, I finally went to a doctor and discovered that I had Strep Throat.  I wasn't just being unsocial; I was feeling lousy.

But I think these guys (and girl) had a fun hike:

Um, yeah.  Some of those pictures make me think maybe it wasn't such a bad thing I didn't make it out for that hike.  Living on the edge is not my favorite kind of thrill.

Well at least they had a good time.