Levi just finished up his amazing Cross Country season. He continued to improve his times with every race he ran. About half way through the season at the Bob Firman race, a huge invitational run with schools coming from all over the western US to compete, he finally beat the one freshman who was on his school’s varsity team, putting him not only onto Varsity but winning 10th place out of 270 kids!

At districts he got another PR-Personal Record, with 17:22. Varsity placed 4th and qualified for State.

And then it was on to the state competition in Lewiston Idaho, 5 hours away. Rock drove there to watch the race and texted me live updates. Centennial did Awesome! They were one point away from the 4th place trophy. Levi PR’d again with the sub 17 minute time of 16:55. He is the 2nd fastest freshman in Centennial High School history, behind the fastest by only 1 second. Rock was a cross country runner as well, but he wasn’t this fast, so I keep telling him that, obviously, it is MY genes that have made Levi this fast. 😉

Levi absolutely loved being a part of this team. It takes a special kind of kid to run Cross Country. They push themselves harder than many athletes, mentally and physically. I’m so proud of Levi for working hard enough to make it to state with this team. And I’m so glad he has a good group of kids who push him to do the hard things. He is a great example to our family and to his peers, and not just in sports; he just finished reading Les Miserables. I don’t know ANY 14 year olds who have read that book, do you?! When he was done, he asked Rock if he should read War and Peace next. LOL!!! Rock recommended he wait on that one. 🙂

That time we had a dog for a month.

I told my kids for years that we would get a dog when I was done having babies. We’d watched our friends suffer through puppy-hood with babies still in the house and we did NOT want to do the same. You can’t put a diaper on a dog. Well, 12 years after our last baby, I finally made good on my promise. I agreed to an outside dog, so we prepped the yard; did a ton of work filling in the trampoline hole, planted sod, put up a fence so he’d have a big enough space to roam around but not be able to tear apart the whole yard. We turned the playhouse into a dog house. Insulated and huge with a front porch to boot, this was going to be a dog palace.

Levi researched dogs for months, trying to find one that could be outside and that would be relatively independent (ie. not a golden retriever who need lots of love and attention) and one that was older, not a puppy. He wanted to train the dog to do tricks, so it needed to be a smart dog. Levi was by far the most excited and did quite a bit of the work in the yard to get ready for the dog. He decided a Border Collie would be a good fit. After a few failed attempts at the dog shelters we found a 9 month old Border Collie on Craigslist at a cattle ranch up in the foothills. So we drove up past Hidden Springs to check him out. It was way out there. We had to wait at the gate while the owners rode down in their 4 wheeler to open the gate.

Chasing the 4 wheeler were three dogs, one of which was Tucker. We followed him as he raced alongside the 4 wheeler back up to the main house area. When we got out of the car, Tucker was friendly and social and relatively calm. The owners told us he was basically a failed sheep dog. He didn’t have it in him to chase the cattle and nip at their heels. He just wanted to play and love on his owners and be loved back. We felt like he was a perfect fit, since he’d already been an outside dog, so we took him home. The kids were in heaven. I was apprehensive but he was so sweet and calm that I felt ok about it. We hoped 9 months was old enough.

For a few days, we thought we were incredibly lucky. He never barked, would obey a little, though he hadn’t been officially trained, and he was just sweet as could be. He just wanted to be loved and petted. But the longer we had him the more we realized we had picked the one Border Collie on the planet who was a golden retriever at heart. Sweet but needy, Tucker didn’t want to be in his dog palace and yard, he wanted to be with us. So he climbed over the fence. And as you can see from the picture above, that’s not a safe fence for a dog to climb over. He was going to hurt himself, so instead of being able to roam free in his yard, we had to stake him so he wouldn’t jump the fence and head for the bunny on the other side of the yard-which he did whenever we let him out. Knowing that Collies are super smart and that they need lots of mental stimulation we spent tons of money trying to find toys and things that would occupy him so he wouldn’t wine and be lonely while the kids were at school. I liked Tucker, more than I thought I would, but I was not going to play with him all day. Well, none of the toys worked for long and that’s when the digging started. He dug holes all over the new grass we had planted for him and tore up all the sod he could reach. He started digging up the rock path that I had spent so much time and effort and muscle on creating. In planting the new grass, we created a bit of a drainage problem that Tucker uncovered for us when he dug up a hole in the low part of the yard and started drinking from the well he’d dug. Rock and I got nothing done for two weeks as we tried to keep the dog safe, entertained and out of trouble. He was also becoming a lot more wild and jumpy-he is still a puppy after all. And it’s not fun to have a dog who’s been digging in mud jump up on you. Liberty, who had been so attentive to him in the beginning, was now starting to avoid him because he wrecked her clothes every time she got near him. And even with all of that, he was so sweet. He just wanted us to love him and pet him. He adored attention. I felt terrible, knowing that he was just bored and needed more attention than we could give him, but knowing that I am not ready for an indoor dog at this point. Dog training, which Rock and Levi wanted to do themselves became a more immediate priority, so we looked into dog training, we looked into building a taller fence, we looked at having a french drain put in to deal with the drainage issues. We looked at all the options to help make this work for Tucker and for us.

We went into this thinking (foolishly) that the kids would be around to help with a lot of the work of owning a dog, but it quickly became clear that Levi was way too busy with school and cross country and friends to really spend much time with the dog and even Liberty, who did quite a bit, was not enough to balance it out. Rock was doing most of the walking, poop scooping and training. Unfortunately, I’m not a dog person. I did my best. I made trip after trip to Petco to find bones for him to chew on instead of the playhouse, I filled kong ball after kong ball to keep him occupied. I tried to love him and pet him and give him what he needed, even if it was often through the fence because every time I got near him, he’d jump up on me and well, that bothers me. Ultimately, it was Rock who decided it was time to find Tucker a new home. Most likely an indoor home where he could be loved and adored and petted all day by a family who could give him what we couldn’t. After doing all the work and seeing what kind of time commitment and restraints it put on our time and freedom and with the damage being done every day to the yard, Rock and I both felt like it was the right call. The kids were sad, but they realized that this wasn’t a good fit. We listed him on several sites but didn’t get any takers, so today Rock took him to the Humane Society where they have a really high rate of adoptions. He is such a sweetheart, I know he will get snatched up quickly.

Will we get another dog? We don’t know yet. I think we’ve all decided that for the stage our family is in right now, an indoor dog is the only kind that would get any attention and I’m not sure yet that I can do that. That being said, it will surprise many of you to know that it made me sad to give Tucker away. Yes, I even cried. I never thought I could come to love a dog, but Tucker helped me get a taste of what it’s like to really care for an animal. I really wanted him to be happy. And let me tell you, “the puppy dog look” is REAL. And even though it was only for a month, (and even though he destroyed our yard and ate our playhouse :-), I’m grateful for the chance to have had him as a member of our family for just a little bit.

Levi started high school this year, which also means he started high school Cross Country. Because of his broken toe, he missed the entire summer practice season. But that hasn’t slowed him down any. At his first JV meet he was 3rd on his team to finish and he varsity lettered because he beat 19 minutes. At his next meet he beat the time of the lowest Varsity runner at his school and improved his time by 30 seconds. And at his most recent meet he won the JV race! It is a lot of fun to watch this kid run! He is loving German and Seminary and obviously, running.

This beautiful girl is still sweet, but there’s a little more spice to her personality than there used to be. Sigh. Such is middle school. So far she loves Spanish and math and is experimenting with clothes, hair and makeup. She got braces this last week and has been pretty sore and miserable. But she knows it’s worth it and doesn’t complain too much. She also knows that if she complains I will give here my version of the “Uphill both ways to school” lecture about kids who can’t afford braces.

My back to school project has been cleaning out closets and moving the stuff in every single closet in our house to a different closet in our house. I’m cleaning out files and cupboards and drawers and filling up lots of boxes for Goodwill. We have some empty rooms now and Liberty and Levi are anxiously waiting to claim them. We are going to redo the basement which also means I’m working on remodeling the 3rd bathroom in 2 years. And I have 100 tulip bulbs coming any day now from Holland to plant in my yard for next Spring. Busy Busy! Life is good.

We are entering a new season of life, Rock and I. The season when our kids start to leave the nest. It probably would have been good for my mental health if they had spread it out to avoid the double exodus in one summer, but oh well. People ask me how I’m doing with it. I have good days and bad. I am excited for them and their future, worried too, some. But I’m in a kind of mourning too. I am mourning the loss of a role. Or maybe just the changing of it. I know everyone says “a parent’s job is never done” and “you never stop parenting” and I believe that’s true. But with Reagan and Cade now moved out (details to follow, don’t worry) and Levi in high school and Liberty in 7th grade, I am no longer the mother of young children. From the time I was in high school I have worked with small children. My degree was with small children, my life for the last 18 years has been with and almost solely focused on small children. This blog, has been full of the antics of small children. And now I look at my bookshelves of dusty children’s books and the dusty lego bins and the empty bedrooms and I realize there are no more small children at my house and I mourn for what is past. I am closing a chapter in my life that has been busy and hard and challenging, yes, but full of wonderful memories and sweet chubby faces too. It is truly bittersweet. But enough with the sappy sad stuff, onto the big news.

Reagan

Reagan moved out in July to a house with roommates a few miles away. We teased him that it was time for him to leave the Garden of Eden and strike out on his own, so he found a place and moved in all in about a weekend! When we pulled up to his place to help him move in, we found fencing foils in the garage and a machete stuck in a tree in the backyard. His roommates were gone for a few days and he’d been watching Stranger Things so his first few nights were a little touch and go, but he stuck it out and is learning a lot about life and what he wants and needs in future living situations. 🙂 He is at a decision point in his life and has lots of big ones to make that could take him anywhere, but for now, at least, we still get to have him over for Sunday dinners.

Cade

We took Cade down to BYU at the end of August. He is living in the dorms and rooming with a friend from Boise. He discovered the tunnel singing group his first Sunday there and felt it was a sign he’d come to the right school. lol. Tunnel singing under the walkways to the Marriott Center has been a tradition on Sunday nights since the 80’s-Rock even did it when he lived in the dorms. Cade got a coveted spot in the BYU Men’s Chorus, which I am so excited about! They are my favorite choir, ever! I will be going down to see some of his concerts for sure! He is doing well, likes his classes so far and is learning all about the joys and sorrows of coin operated laundry. 😉

We are so excited to see what they will make of their lives and futures. Our prayers and hopes are with them both in their new grand adventures.

It is often said, and it is true in our case, that the father can always see his sons as the men they will become, but a mother will always see them as the little boys they were. Love you, Reagan Dean and Caderade.

Yes, that was a nod to Olivia Newton John. 🙂

July Happenings

Birthdays!

They had pizza and and presents, cake and ice cream, watched Wild Hearts Can’t be Broken (my favorite!) and then roasted smore’s on top of that!

Liberty and I went to our first girl’s camp! My first as a leader and her first as a camper. I can’t believe we didn’t get any good pictures, but here’s proof she was there as her wild and crazy self.

August Happenings

Our neighbors fixed up their old boat and took Levi with them for the first voyage. He LOVED it.

Levi and Libby spent a fun filled day with Aunt Janie and my cousin Dan’s daughter who was visiting from New York. It was a little crazy to have the tables turned. I was her age when I went to New York to spend time with the cousins I hardly knew. They love spending time on the farm and rode horses, played with the chickens and went swimming in the river. Levi, a lover of Louis Lamour books was truly in heaven and wants to ride horses all the time now.

We managed to get a couple day trips in at the very end of our summer once Rock was more mobile. First was a day in McCall. No summer is complete without a trip to My Father’s Place for the best hamburgers and milkshakes in Idaho. Liberty and Rock and I drove up to meet Cade and Levi, who had done an overnight backpacking trip up past McCall at Loon Lake. Here are some awesome pictures from their trip and ours.

We met up with them for lunch and then drove to one of our favorite spots, Brundage Reservoir.

The next weekend we drove up to Redfish Lake. It was smoky, but the Sawtooths never disappoint. We rode the boat across the lake this time and hiked around the other side. Rock hiked a little ways to this bridge and then found a nice spot to sit and read while we hiked further. We found some beautiful and unforgettable treasures!

And that was our summer-post surgery and broken toe!

We have had quite the month at our house. We’ll start with Levi. About four weeks ago he was running down the stairs and landed wrong on his big toe. He hurt it pretty bad, but we decided to wait and see before taking him into the doctor. It was feeling slightly better two days later, so he decided that trying to jump onto a skateboard, barefoot, in the dark, was a good idea. Strangely enough, it did not go well! He came hobbling into the house bleeding profusely and in a great deal of pain. At that point, I called in the cavalry because over the years with Levi, I have learned that I don’t do well with lots of blood. Rock got him cleaned up and I got the carpet cleaned up. 🙂 Since there was new damage to the same toe, we took him to the doctor the next day. It was indeed broken. A broken toe right at the beginning of summer=no swimming, hiking, mountain biking or cross country summer training runs. He has had to sit on the sidelines all summer and watch his friends do those things. Pretty rough. But he’s handled it pretty well and tomorrow we got back to see if the doc will give him the ok to run and swim. Fingers crossed.

Next up is Rock. My very active, healthy, weight lifting husband started having hip pain last fall. It took a while to track down the cause, but they determined that he had basically a bone spur in his hip socket that was causing a labral tear. After PT and a cortizone shot didn’t help, the Dr. recommended surgery. We had hoped to put off the surgery until the end of summer, but it got to the point where he couldn’t even mow the lawn or sit for any real length of time so we did the surgery the end of June. The surgery went well. The Dr. found quite a bit of damage so it’s good they operated. They repaired the labrum and stitched him up. What they didn’t do was prepare us for the next several days. We naively assumed he’d be able to get up stairs with crutches and sleep in his bed and.. go to the bathroom. Nope, nope and NOPE. When the nurse was preparing us to leave she looked shocked when I told her I didn’t have anyone to help me get him into the house. “Oh, honey, you’re gonna need some help.” So Cade and Levi were almost late to Top Gun Maverick because they had to stay and help me get Rock up the steps into the house. His meds were not completely worn off, and he’d never done crutches so it was a little touch and go there, but we got him in and settled. Sleeping in the recliner wouldn’t be too bad and it was right near the bathroom which he was beginning to need- a lot. Three miserable days later he still wasn’t able to pee, so I took him to Urgent Care where we waited for 3 hours only for them to tell us he’d need a catheter and they couldn’t do one. They sent him home with some meds and said if they didn’t work in a few hours to go to the ER.

At 10:30 that night, as we were getting into the car to head to the ER, we got a phone call from Reagan. He was on his way home from a road trip with a friend and had run out of gas 1.5 hours from home nowhere near a gas station. There was no way I could go get him, so, Cade, thrilled to be able to “rescue” his big brother, offered to drive out to Reagan and give him some gas. We headed to the ER and Cade headed to the Idaho/Oregon border.

The ER doctor examined Rock and was shocked to see the extent of his poor bladder and quickly ordered a catheter. Right at that moment, Reagan texted me to tell me that even with the gas Cade had provided, his car still wouldn’t start. Rather than calling Cade who was driving away, he called me and wouldn’t stop talking to me long enough to call Cade to stop him from leaving them without the car working. In frustration, I left the room to go outside the hospital. Pacing up and down in front of the ER entrance I pointed out the craziness of the whole situation and may or may not have yelled the exact details of catheter installment to Reagan over the phone. This garnered several strange looks from those poor passersby who found themselves unlucky enough to visit the ER that night-and Reagan’s travel buddy, who heard the description through the phone. I hung up with Reagan, called Cade and told him to STOP! and go back and just pick up Reagan and friend and bring them home. He obliged and I went back into the exam room.

I guess I’ve seen too many doctor shows, because I knew what was coming and poor Rock really didn’t. I am ashamed to say I tried to get out of it, and offered to leave in case he didn’t want me in there as an audience, but my sweet husband has no shame and said he wanted me to stay. Sigh. So I stayed to be supportive in his moment of need. He stays through childbirth, after all. Let’s just say that NO ONE, no male, anyway, should have to have a catheter put in while they are conscious. It is a horrible and painful experience-the stuff of nightmares. After draining over a liter of liquid-a huge amount, in case you are wondering-they informed us that he would have to wear the catheter at home for a week and sent us home at about 2:00 AM.

Reagan and Cade’s adventure was not over yet, however. When Cade arrived back on the scene with Reagan, they decided the reason for the car stopping was not lack of gas as they had thought, but most likely a dead battery. So, Cade drove 10 miles down the road to buy jumper cables, drove back and the three of them had to figure out how to use the cables. Apparently, they did not remember the times they had been shown at home, in scouts and in YM. After getting the car started, they finally made it home about 3:00 AM.

The next few days were truly miserable for Rock. It was worse than the pain from the surgery and having a too full bladder. Luckily, he only had to have the catheter for 3 days. It was a long three days. He slept a good chunk of each day-as a way of coping with the discomfort, I think. I will say, taking care of another adult AND a house and kids is more work than I thought. It wears on you and I don’t know how people do it for long periods of time. Caregivers are saints in my book.

Finally, a week after surgery, all the systems were working again and he could get on with the business of healing. Eight weeks later he is almost back to normal as far as simple things like stairs and driving. He’s still doing PT and working on his range of motion. He’s not hiking mountains yet, one of the many activities that got postponed this summer, but he’s been a trooper with something that he, at least in the beginning, expected to be much easier.

I had such high hopes for this summer. But alas, traveling to far away and exotic places was not to be for us this year. It’s just as well, I suppose, with gas as expensive as it is right now. What we saved in gas money, we can use to purchase a new car! 😉

I felt like Cade needed some one on one time to read a book with me and see some beautiful scenery. So we began to plan a trip. It went through MANY different iterations that went something like this: Yellowstone/Tetons (too much one on one time?) Coeur d’ Alaine with Aunt Alli (not enough one on one time) BYU Campus tour (just the right amount of one on one time but not as exciting as Yellowstone) Yellowstone (100 year flood closes Yellowstone) Tetons (where everyone goes if Yellowstone is closed, ie. too crowded) Looks like it’s BYU Campus Tour for the win!

Though it was not Cade’s first choice, it was an awesome trip. We had lots of driving time to read and discuss an amazing book-Digital Minimalism-I highly recommend it! Cade loved seeing BYU and the dorms where he’ll be living this fall. We also got to show him some of the beauties of the Wasatch Front. Overall, I’d say my mission was accomplished!

Monday:
Drove to Utah and wandered up Little Cottonwood Canyon, which I’d never seen before. WOW!!! It was so awesome Cade wanted to come back the next day to hike it.

Alli drove up to join us at the best Mexican restaurant in Salt Lake-The Red Iguana.

The night was young, so we hiked to the top of Ensign Peak for some amazing views of the valley.

Tuesday-BYU Bound
Cade totally loved the BYU campus. We found his dorm, the Cannon Center, found all his classes, ate at the Cougar Eat and shopped at the bookstore. And no trip to BYU is complete without a stop at the Creamery. Best ice cream ever!

For dinner that night we met up with Sarin at my other favorite place to eat in Provo-the Pizza Factory. Love me some long braided breadsticks.

As if walking around the entire BYU campus were not enough walking for one day, we decided to celebrate the longest day of the year by going on an evening hike up to First Falls on the Mount Timpanogas Trail. We were well rewarded. Not only was it a beautiful night and hike, but we got to see a MOOSE! They really do exist and are not, in fact, mythical creatures as I was beginning to believe! I caught a video of it because Levi and I have been looking for one for years! He was extremely jealous. I told him, “Hey, odds are you won’t have to wait as long as me to see your first moose.” That didn’t make him feel better.

And… the Non-mythical Moose!

Wednesday
We went to see some of the temples in the area, hiked the Temple Quarry hike up Little Cottonwood Canyon, ate lunch at In-n-Out and headed home.

I am really proud of this kid. He learned a lot from the book we read together and is trying hard to implement it in his life. He is doing a month-long digital declutter/detox, is taking up piano again, walking for hours a day, reading tons of books and making lots of great goals for his future.

I love May. It’s when my yard is greenest, the hills around Boise are green, lilacs and rhododendrons, my favorite flowers, are blooming and the weather is warm and wonderful-usually. This Spring has been on the colder, windier, rainier side, but it’s helping to fill the reservoirs so I can’t complain too much.

More successes this year….

Another one I’m super excited about is my Clematis.

Libby has taken an interest in flowers as well. She asked to go to the nursery with Rock’s mom and I and she bought a whole bunch of flowers to plant in her own garden box. Her friends even helped her plant them.

The last ones I am hoping will bloom this year are my hydrangeas. I’ve failed several times with them as well. This little bud gives me hope!!

Check back in mid July to see if these beauties actually bloom!

Cade graduated in May. For a kid who’s sophomore/junior year were decimated by the pandemic, he sure got the most out of his high school experience that he possibly could. He tried track and wrestling, and choir and musical theater and was in 3 plays all while getting good grades, taking piano lessons and working after school. Way to go, Caderade!

Reagan’s girlfriend, Brooke also graduated that day. Here is the studly picture his grandma captured while he was trying to find her afterward.

And….Seminary Graduation

Cade is planning to work and play this summer and then attend BYU Provo in the Fall. Congratulations, Caderade! We are so proud of you!

In May we finished up track season for Levi, tennis for Liberty and the big end of year choir concert and competitions for Cade. All the kids did amazing.

Liberty tried tennis for the first time this year. She and her doubles partner (and good friend) were undefeated! Way to go ladies!

It doesn’t start with T but Liberty did have her end of year ballet recital. She continues to love ballet and is only a year away from starting pointe!

Levi had an awesome track season. It was so fun to watch him be at the top of the pack as an 8th grader. He ran the mile, the 800, and the 4×400 relay. He was consistently in the top 5 of the mile and the 800 at each meet. Here’s the big 3 who kept pushing each other to get their best times.

He also decided to try triple jump this year just for the heck of it. He won every meet he was in! It was crazy! His best jump was 34.3. He was a natural. He was bummed when he got to districts and there were some surprise jumpers who were way better, but he still placed 6th in districts in an event he’s never done before! We are super proud of how hard he worked this season.

And Cade. This kid. From the day he was born 3 weeks early, he never ceases to surprise us. He taught himself to read at age 3 when we weren’t looking. He would only play the piano with the headphones on so every time we went to a recital we were blown away by how good he was. We never thought he’d actually win the state National History Day competition but before I knew it I was headed to DC with him to compete. He got up on stage in Into the Woods as Prince Charming and surprised us again with his acting and singing ability-never practicing at home where we could hear him. We had to look at each other and say, “this is our kid?!” He sings solos in concerts and doesn’t even tell us ahead of time! He came home a month ago to tell us that he was in the top 10 boys in the state up for a chance to compete in the Jimmy’s (High School Tony’s) on Broadway for a week.

His end of year/Senior Concert was fabulous. He sang the most amazing duet with his beautiful tenor voice that had the audience melting (direct quote from an audience member) and his mother (and father!) in tears. We are beyond proud of Cade and how hard he has worked at music in all its many forms over the last 4 years.

His choir sang “Do You Hear the People Sing” from Les Miserable and I snapped this picture of the ending.

He didn’t even know about this picture from the real Les Mis until I showed him. 🙂

Now we just have to get him to sing “Bring Him Home” or “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” or……