Not So Lazy Summer Days

Hello my dear! It was so good to talk to you on Monday—even it was just spotty reception. I’m sorry you had such a rough night, and I hope the situation with Steve and Felicia resolves favorably. I can tell you are pouring your heart and energy into the work. Try to give yourself others patience and grace along the way. I’m proud of you!

This is likely the longest email I’ve ever written, so if you can’t make it to the end I understand!

Some highlights of our summer so far:

1. Ethan has been working really hard at TOSH. He goes twice a week, and they alternate days of plyometrics and treadmill work. He’s getting stronger!

2. Jett and Tate took swim lesson at the Farmington pool where they learned next to nothing. 

3. Blake went to BYU for FSY. Luckily he didn’t get kicked out for night time shenanigans. The next week he went back to BYU for a football camp and had a great time. He had to ride transit home from BYU and he was a bit confused about which train to get on, so it took a bit longer for him to get home, but it was a good life lesson! Learning to navigate public transit can be tricky. 

4. Blake had to transit from BYU because I was at a doctors appointment I’d been waiting months for. I got Botox for the first time—in a totally unexpected spot! Let’s just say it wasn’t a beauty treatment, but I’m very pleased with the results. 

5. Jett had a soccer tournament in Ogden and played goalie for both halves in all of the games. At the end of the games they did a shootout competition, and Jett just absolutely loved the excitement of it all. Unfortunately they only won one game. 

6. We’ve al been enjoying “Free Frazil Friday during the month of June. 

7. Dad is trying out intermittent fasting—basically skipping breakfast and lunch every day. I’ve been really impressed by his discipline. That’s tough to do!

8. When we got home from Olympic National Park Ty was home for a night or two and then he joined his friends for a trip to Jayden’s house(s).  I guess they were just massive homes with a ton of toys. They were going to be boating all week, but the weather forecast showed lightning so I asked Ty to be especially cautious and stay away from the water during storms. Ironically while I am typing this very message I ran into Jayden and her mom. And the mom apologized to me for having Ty in the boat during such rough waters. Apparently his hat blew off, so he jumped into the lake and then somehow forgot how to swim while the waves were especially turbulent. Had to make his way to shore by himself. So much for water safety. Jayden and her mom were *shocked* when I told them Ty is a lifeguard because they were convinced he couldn’t swim. 

9. We did a Lagoon day.  Tate loved it. I mean, I think they all did, but Tate especially has been wanting to go for a long time. Tate wasn’t tall enough to do any of the big rides, so he got stuck with me in kiddie land for awhile. The swings absolutely wrecked me, then the tidal wave, Bombora, Pete’s dragon. I was sick the rest of the day!

10. That night Ty had an overnight hang out with his HEFY friends. 

11. Dana and Tanner came to town for a concert and stayed the weekend, so we had them all over for Sunday dinner and games. We tried a new game called Stella that was a ton of fun. 

12. Tate, Jett, Ethan and I all got Cherry Hill passes this year. I’m having a lovely time floating the Lazy River. Jett, Ethan, and Tate love Kodiak Kanyon. It appears they will be adding a new attraction, but I doubt it will be ready this summer. 

13. Ethan has been earning cash and Fizz gift cards mowing lawn for the LaDows. Apparently that’s been quite the task because they went several weeks without mowing and Ethan had to haul all the grass that wouldn’t fit in their cans across the street and behind the Taylor’s property. 

14. Lucky for Ethan, dad just bought a new lawnmower. He heard that Honda will no longer be making lawnmowers, so he decided he better buy one before the mowers were no longer available for purchase. And apparently our old machine requires $400 in repairs, so maybe this purchase happened at just the right time. 

15. Speaking of costly repairs…Blake was driving the old Yukon (aka Crustmobile) and took a sharp left turn. The steering wheel locked up on him. Mechanic says something like $3600 to fix all the problems. This situation just solidifies that the car is not reliable. I think Dad would like to sell it ASAP, but I wonder if he should keep it until he finds something suitable for you to drive. 

16. Speaking of driving…Blake finally got his license! He went straight from football practice—no shower or anything, and didn’t care one bit that his picture would be on his license for a 10 years. But when we got there we were told that Blake still had to pass a safety test with 100% accuracy. Lol. So we had to go back home, study, pass, and return. He still didn’t manage to shower before he went back!

17.  Speaking of driver’s licenses, Ty got another speeding ticket. The police officer assured him that it wouldn’t push him over his point limitation. I of course gave him a lecture about not driving one mile over the speed limit, because I would not be driving him all over town all summer long. Well, when we got home from ONP there was a letter for Ty stating that he was over his allotted point limit and he only had a few days left to appear in traffic court. Ty was ticked off about the points, and also frustrated because he was heading out of town again and didn’t think he could get it done before he had to leave. Luckily he was able to do a phone interview instead, and the officer put him on probation for 1 year instead of suspending his license. 

18. Meanwhile, I am very much enjoying my new car, and Ty & Blake are not allowed to drive it. The kids are loving the entertainment system, but it’s not as easy to use as our last one. 

19. We celebrated my 44th birthday with Cafe Rio and Chocolate cake. Dad bought me a set of golf clubs! Now hopefully I can tag along to the Reed Family Golf tournament next year. 

20. Dad took Ty & Ethan to the golf tournament. I couldn’t go because I was out of town. Dad says they shot about an 80. Grandpa couldn’t golf, so he drove around on a golf cart handing out drinks. Not sure he liked the assignment!

21. I finally got a new washing machine delivered, but after the delivery guy left, I realized my dryer was not longer working. So then I had to call someone else to come fix the dryer. I think it just needed to be reconnected to the gas line, but the whole process was such a pain. And for some reason they can’t get the machines back as far as it needs to go, so it’s perched on the edge of the water basin and it’s so irritating that they didn’t make the basin a few inches deeper. 

23. Blake has been training with the football team. Projected to be the starting left tackle! He helped out a bit at the FHS football camp for younger kids. He’s also been going out to Rockwell to train with Matt Byrd and Ant. They want him to go on a recruiting trip, but there is no way Dad is letting Blake go alone!

24. Blake has also been doing yardwork for Ron Jackson. Ron has discovered that Blake has only one speed, and it’s not “hustle.”

25. Ty also helped out at the high school, but he volunteered with the pottery class. He’s been picking up shifts at Jersey Mike’s again, and just put in his notice at Columbia. He’s got a terrible dilemma—if he works extra hours to afford trips with friends and expensive things he wants, he won’t actually have time to vacation with friends. But if he doesn’t work much then he can’t afford to go regardless. Tricky, tricky. 

26. Last week Ty went down to St George to stay in a condo with his BAM friends. They golfed and played video games and stayed up until 4 am every night. We picked him from St George and then drove to California the next day. During our Disney trip Ty went down to San Diego for a few nights to go birding with his school group. And when we are done in sequioa he’s going to meet up with some friends and stay at a beach house for the week. And then he will have a couple of days before leaving for high adventure. I’m not sure he will sleep in his own bed 10 times this summer. 


27.  Ethan has been golfing as often as he can with his youth on course pass. Ryan Hancock got one as well, so he has a great golfing buddy. 

28. We had tickets to an RSL game, and Ethan and Jett got to bring friends along. It was a lovely evening outdoors. On the walk home he stopped and bought drinks at the rootbeer store. 

29. I really have not been home long enough  to get much meaningful yard work done. So especially the garden area has grown completely wild. I did get the blackberries and grapes tied up, so hopefully we will at least have some good fruit soon. But I’ve given up on trying to grow anything in those stupid grow boxes. So I took a bunch of tomato plants and planted them in my parents garden. Hopefully we get some decent tomatoes this year. And hopefully we are able to redesign the side yard soon. 

30. Rhean has continued to improve after the surgery on her hip. They have moved her to a new care center, but she is no longer on hospice. 

31.  Dad went to a wedding reception for Campbell Allen and anther for Steve Bennett’s son. We got a wedding announcement in the mail for Aspen.  Crazy!

32. Bryson Ryan got home from his mission on June 24th, and Everett I think is coming home this week. Gannon will be home July 3rd. Cole Cipriano July 15. Caleb July 28. Jaxon July 13. Hayden July 29. 

33. I got so busy and distracted that I lost my Duolingo streak. Such a bummer. But I have started playing quordle, which is quite fun. 

35. Last summer I took Jett and Tate to Fort Collins to visit their cousins, and it was such a great trip that I decided it would be fun to do every summer. And since then both Dana and Maddy have moved to Colorado as well. So I ended up taking the littles to stay at Dana’s house for a few days, and Zach and Alison brought their kids too. We had a great time playing with the kids and relaxing in their brand new swimming pool. Alison and I took a bike ride and the kids played at a really great bike park. And we all took a short hike. But Tate had sand in his sandals and refused to keep walking, so I never made it to the top. Instead we just sat down and I taught him how to make cairnes. Later he decided he wanted to catch up to the group, but instead he fell down into a cactus and got 100 prickly spines stuck into his arm. So. Tate’s not really a fan of hiking right now. 

36. I’m wondering if I have already told you this, but your Dad has been placed on the Management Committee at work. He’s had the opportunity to provide ideas and feedback and create spreadsheets. I think he’s pleased with the position, and happy to hand off the recruiting committee to someone else. 

I’m not sure if you’ve made it all the way through this email, but that’s all I’ve got for now!