Where did the month of July Go?

Hello my dear! I promise I haven’t forgotten you. I’m thinking about you all the time in fact, and we are making plans for you to come home. We are all pretty excited to see you!. I’m so glad you were able to go back to Allston to finish out your mission with Elder Finch. We loved hearing about your temple experience, and I’m so glad you were able to reconnect with Steve and Felicia. It sounds like the mission is really successful and growing right now which is very exciting. We are so proud of all the hard work and effort you’ve put in during your time there.

We have had a busy summer, and I’m feeling a bit unmoored—totally disconnected from my regular routines. Honestly, at this point everything is a blur.  What day is it even?

1. We’ve had a few lazy afternoons at Cherry Hill, but not nearly as many as I would have liked.

2. I'm spending a surprising amount of time driving kids around. Ethan is going to/from TOSH in Murray, to/from the golf course, and has theater camp this week. Jett has soccer, and now football. Tate is taking swimming lessons this week. And we are trying to get all of the well-checks, dentist visits, and ortho appointments taken care of before school starts.  Praise be, I don’t have to drive Blake to football this year. And so help me… if Ty gets his license suspended, I’m going to make him ride his bike to work.

3. Jett’s dentist appointment didn’t go well. On Wednesday he has to have three teeth pulled, one filling, and get a bump lasered off his tongue. Let’s hope he learns better dental hygiene before he destroys his permanent teeth.

4. I took Jett to get his football equipment. We got there a few minutes early (shocking, I know) and the line was already stretched across the parking lot. I had him hop out and get in line while I went to try and find a place to park. When I joined him in line I discovered him hopping from one foot to another…because he was not wearing shoes, and the pavement was a million degrees. Sigh. How old does he need to be to remember to put on shoes every time he gets in the car?

5. One night we drove down to Sandy to watch Mission Impossible with dad at the firm outing. It was highly entertaining (if unbelievable). Definitely recommend. We saw our friends Dan and Alisa at the movie and decided to go out to dinner with them after. So I sent Ethan to ride home with Blake, and put Blake in charge of getting Jett to and from soccer practice. Except he forgot to pick up Jett. So that was fun. Blake, unfortunately is not an especially attentive babysitter. 

6. Jett and Tate were disappointed to miss the 4th of July Parade this year. So I was happy to find out the Farmington Parade was on the 15th, and Blake riding with the football team. But then Jett had a soccer game scheduled for the same time. So I took Tate. And it was awesome. We parked right by the beginning of the parade, sat in the shade, and collected like 3 pounds of candy—plenty to share with Jett. Although Jett was still disappointed to miss the actual parade. The kids gets disappointed really easily these days. Hopefully it’s a passing phase.

7. Jett has started football and was placed on the A team. He’s been a little bit sick, so it was a bit of a rough start, but I think he’s going to love it. Blake is also playing football (obviously). He’s working hard and will be starting varsity at Left Tackle. The kid has goals, and he works for them! We are excited for the season to get started.

8. Tate’s 5th birthday finally arrived! He has been waiting for this day and planning his party for exactly 365 days. It had to be epic. But all of the older boys were going to be leaving for football camp/high adventure on his birthday and I didn’t want him to feel let down. So we planed a pre-birthday party the night before and we all went to see the new Spiderverse movie. I loved it and thought it was an absolute creative masterpiece of animation. Dad hated it—too overstimulating? After the movie we had dinner, cupcakes, and present opening after 10 pm—because of course we did. I had planned to surprise him with a Pokemon cake and had bought all of the supplies, but at the last minute he demanded a dragon cake. So I decided to save the Pokemon cake for his friend party and we decorated a dragon made of cupcakes on Monday. I would definitely term it a Pinterest “Fail,” but Tate loved it and had a great time helping. The next day we decorated for the party with Pokemon balloons and table cloth and plates. Tate was so over-the-moon he didn’t even notice his brothers leaving for camp. We took his friends to see the movie Elemental, played on the playground at Station Park, came home for cake and presents, and traded Pokemon cards. It was a big success and Tate was exhausted by the end of it all. Grandparents came for cake and presents. It was a great day. Plus the Pokemon cake was awesome!

9. Late that night I started packing for girls camp which was an absolute blast, but I came home TIRED, HOT, and DIRTY. I was a great opportunity for me to get to know the girls better, and I really enjoyed the girl time. I introduced a bunch of them to Bananagrams, and dominated my first time playing The Great Dalmudi. I got up at 3:30 am to help M’Li Register for housing at BYU Hawaii and was able to take a moment to appreciate the amazing stars without light pollution. The leaders surprised the girls with a mob flash dance which was really fun (and harder to learn than I want to admit). We got caught in a huge Thunderstorm and had an impromptu dance party and ate cereal before bed every night. It was a lot of fun.

10. Blake went to football camp when Ty and Ethan left for high adventure. Football camp was at Altamont. There were firecrackers, skinny dipping, and a fight night. Blake neither confirms nor denies what he participated in. They played yard games, card games, swam—team building type stuff. After camp he drove (alone!) to Zion Ponderosa to join the other boys. Blake and Ty said the Pine creek hike was the highlight of the trip, and because the deacons couldn’t get permitted to join them, his highlight was the Narrows hike. The Pine Creek hike had 8-ish rappels and different pools to swim in. Apparently the Zion Ponderosa camp was a little nicer than Reid Ranch where I stayed. Jett and Tate got spend extra time with Nana and Grandma, and Dad was lonely at home without us. We had originally planed to go spend the weekend in Idaho with Rob and Leisja, but we decided to cancel. We all needed to be home and get a little rest.

11. Great Nana celebrated her 96th birthday on July 20th. Can you believe it?! She doesn’t look a day over 40. We celebrated Pioneer Day at her house with a BBQ and it was great to see her.

12. Did I tell you Jett got braces a few months ago? Only on the top. He will have a phase 1 & 2 like you did. He’s struggling a bit to keep his teeth clean and had to have a few teeth pulled at Dr. Call’s office this week.  I’m hoping he learns his lesson and takes better care of his permanent teeth. (Oh my Gosh. I’ve been writing this email for so long that I’m repeating myself. Sigh.) I finished up my Invisalign trays—hooray! I wish I had planned that out better and had done it during non-vacation months. I’m pleased with the results, but I hate the quality of my retainer.  I can’t believe they expect you to wear such a crappy piece of plastic in your mouth 10 hours a day. It’s awful. 

13. Blake went on a date and took a cute girl out mini-golfing. Ty went on a non-date and took a cute girl real golfing. Ty brought his friends home for crepes afterwards.

14. Ethan has been golfing a lot with Ryan. They are trying to get as much out of their Youth On Course pass as possible. And Ty can actually still use his pass, so he’s going all the time too. He did 36 holes Monday, and a total of 126 for the week. He can be sort of obsessive about things, ya know? I have not been golfing with my new clubs yet. It’s hotter than Hades outside. I actually stayed outside weeding until 11:00 Saturday because it cooled down a bit and I decided I’d rather get it done in the dark than wait until it’s 100 degrees out. The weeds are absolutely out of control this year. I mean really. Some of them are taller than I am. And the rose bush gave me really horrible wounds that are super sore. My mom came over Sunday with tweezers and a magnifying glass to dig out the thorns from my hands. I’m getting antsy to redesign the garden area, but it’s going to be a lot of work. 

15. Ethan seems to be discouraged about his knee. It’s still not 100% and he isn’t cleared to go back to all sports. He’s making lot of progress as TOSH, but I think he’s nervous about playing basketball again and re-injuring it. And he recognizes that his teammates have all been practicing and getting better while he has been a bit out of shape. He’s thinking he might like to focus on golf instead, which is great if that’s what he decides. But dad and I want him to fully recover before he makes that decision. Dad wants him to be doing EGT every day, and he’s resistant to it. 

16. The Crustmobile was in the shop for a few weeks getting all fixed up. The day Dad picked it up from the shop he listed it for sale on KSL. I told Dad that I was going to drive to TOSH in it and then take it to get washed and vacuumed and he didn’t even want me to do that. Like, nobody drive that car, we can’t risk anything else going wrong before we offload it! I was hesitant to sell the car because we don’t have anything available now for you and Ty to drive, but Dad was pretty adamant that it was time to sell. I did my best to clean it up and make it nice for the couple who bought it. I was pretty sentimental when it was time to hand over the keys. So many fun memories in that car together! I hope they love it. 

17. As you know, your Dad has been on the hunt for a car for you to drive. He’s spent a lot of time researching and shopping around. And he’s spent a lot of time getting your computer ready, housing secured, and your class schedule set. He is so good to you! And he cannot wait to have you home! Dad also took Ty down to meet his old mission companion that you will be working for. I think that’s going to be such a great opportunity for you.

18. Ty has been doing the rounds with attending mission call openings and farewells for his friends. I am really trying to remember all of their names and get to know them a bit. I tagged along to farewells for Caleb Taylor and Caleb Gunn. But the homecomings have been the best. I walked into church 3 weeks ago and Kaden Hyde was speaking. And then Tanner Nordquist got up to speak. I had a flashback to when they were just 12 hanging out at our house together. And I looked around the chapel and saw Bryson, and Cole, and Quade, and my heart just leapt to see all of your friends back home! The next week we went to Cole Cipriano’s homecoming, and last week we went to Cody’s. It was so funny. We were sitting in the back of the gym during Cody’s meeting, and Jaxon and his Dad walked in and sat behind us. They had brought Caleb Mordue who had just gotten home the day or two before. Everett was sitting a ways up from us and turned around, saw Caleb, and made the most surprised/elated face. And he just sat with his face frozen for a solid minute! Everyone is just excited to be home and together again. They are all asking about you. Sam Jenkins got home this week. He looks like his muscles are going to rip through his shirt. Lol. You should have him be your trainer while you’re living together! It seems to me that a lot of your friends are headed to Utah County. I think Bryson and Tanner will be living together going to UVU. Cole and Cody at UVU. And I think also Spencer Griffin? I can’t remember if Danny said he was going to BYU or UVU, but I think Perry will start at Utah State. I think Steph and Sydni are both at Utah State. Aspen got married a few days ago to NOT Quade. Everett will be going to Weber and living at home. Jaxon is doing Weber online (I think?) because he will be traveling to San Diego for work. Kaden Hyde has already started up his window washing business again. I think he’s planning to live at home for a bit, and maybe go to Weber? His brother Kaleb is getting married this weekend. It’s crazy the amount of wedding announcements we have on the counter right now. It’s such a fun time of life, and so exciting watching you kids make important decisions about where to go and who to become. It will be such a fun reunion for you when you get home. I’m sure it feels like a completely different lifetime.

19. Ty spoke in church two weeks ago, and did a great job. He received the Melchizedek priesthood Sunday, and the grandparents were all able to be here. I told the high councilor that my kids all know that they won the lottery jackpot when it comes to grandparents. It’s been so fun to be with Ty lately. He’s growing up and is such a good kid. I’m so sad to have him be leaving to college soon. It won’t be the same here without him. He cut off his Jedi braid last night. I’m not really sure what got into him, but the deed is done! And now Jett is asking when can he have one?
20. Tate learned how to ride a bike without training wheels! He’s doing great in swimming lessons, and today I taught him how to play Carcassone. He’s such a fun, smart little kid.

21. The world keeps on turning here. If you had told me 10 years ago that a former president of the United States would be criminally indicted for the 3rd time, but all I wanted to talk about was the Barbie movie, I would have thought you were crazy. But here we are. The movie is fan-freaking-tastic by the way. 

Congratulations for making it to the end of this never-ending email!

I loved talking to you today. I loved your letter. I LOVED the story about curses upon the Chinese government! I hope you had a great week, and soak up every last minute!

Love you,
Mom