Florida COVIDcation

Erik has been home from his mission for just about 16 months now and finished up his first year at Utah State -- first semester was living at home doing school online and second semester was living in Logan doing school in person.

The original plan several years ago was for Erik to come home in September, head to a niece's wedding in Georgia in October and then continue on the Florida to see his mission sites. But COVID disrupted all those plans, including the wedding. March 2021 came around and Covid seemed to be doing okay. We thought for sure by October things would be even better. So we booked our trip to Florida, a year later than originally planned.

The Saturday before we left, Ash went to Homecoming and the next Monday we caught the red-eye to Orlando.

This was Alex's first time on a plane, and he was pretty excited. Our early morning arrival gave us the chance to rush to the beach to catch the sunrise, something Erik had done several times when he was serving in the area.

We enjoyed our beautiful morning, but our late flight also tuckered us out a bit. So after driving through one of Erik's areas and stopping for lunch at a Wawa gas station (one of his favorites), we found a park to have a snooze before checking into our hotel.

The next day was Sea World. And this is where things went a little south for Ash. Her date from Homecoming texted her to say he tested positive for Covid. And despite being vaccinated, later that day she began to feel very tired.

Thankfully our hotel was pretty central to most things we were doing. She ended up being okay for the first half of the day but then needing to go back to sleep.

Universal with Harry Potter World was on our agenda along with Gatorland and my favorite, the Kennedy Space Center.

I grew up watching Space Camp and the Challenger explosion. I would often play astronaut in our unfinished basement with my dad's motorcycle helmet on, pretending I was going to the moon. I spent one summer checking out books from our library (two blocks from my house) about space. I was going to be an astronaut one day. The Space Center was a dream come true for me. And an even bigger dream was seeing a rocket take off. They happen a couple of times a month and we happened to be in town the day one was launched. We set our alarms for 5:30am and got to see it from our hotel window against the dark, night sky. That was a pretty awesome experience.

On Sunday we went to one of Erik's last wards located in Sanford and afterwards visited the Orlando Temple site. We headed back to the beach with Ash (at this point she had missed several days of activities). The crowded Sunday afternoon beach was a much different beach than the quiet early morning beach we were used to.

Our last day was Disney's Animal Kingdom. Pure magical is all I can say. Disney definitely knows how to do things right. This park had such a different feel than Universal. While we were there, a park ranger (not sure what to call her) approached us to tell us that is was national Okapi day and would we like to go behind the scenes and meet one. Tyler and I both looked at each other like what was the catch. How much was it going to cost us? Was it really national Okapi day? There was no catch. She took us behind the gates to where they keep the animals and we got to meet an Okapi up close and personal. Unfortunately, they wouldn't allow us to take pictures, so you'll just have to take our word for it. We easily spent 45 minutes where no other tourists were talking to these keepers about Okapis and feeding him his lunch of leaves and tree branches. It was really quite an amazing experience.

And just like we began our trip with a beautiful sunrise, we ended our trip with a beautiful sunrise. Florida was an amazing trip. I'm so glad we were able to make it happen.

Missionary + Experiences + Tender Mercies

Our missionary son doesn't call home much or write, so I love when I get little glimpses from other people. Nate's Grandma Laura has a cousin who is serving in his same mission and will keep me updated from time to time.

She says: Missy, your missionary is changing lives here, especially with the missionaries. He is such a hard worker, and his diligence and obedience blesses everyone that he woks with. He is making a difference! She basically mentioned the same thing in a letter to Grandma Laura that was forwarded to the entire Ellis family. "Your missionary serving here in the Colorado Denver North Mission, Elder Nathan Leary is one of our finest missionaries! And that is the truth. He has an extremely good work ethic, and his companions love him. He's making a difference here!"

He consistently challenges me to look for opportunities. One of my goals over the past couple of years has been to follow through on those little thoughts and promptings I get.

This week I did just that and couldn't wait to email or talk to Nate about it. This is where that little tender mercy comes in. Nate's p-day is usually Monday and it didn't surprise me when he didn't call. But on Wednesday, immediately after hanging up the phone from arranging a much-needed blessing for a neighbor, Nate called. I couldn't believe it. P-day got moved due to meetings on Monday. I was ecstatic to tell him of my missionary experience.

We came home from our Thanksgiving vacation and I had a thought that I needed to reach out to my neighbor about her upcoming surgery. I knew it was happening; I just didn't know when. She messaged me with these words: " Hi Missy. It's Thursday Dec 2nd and I stay all night then come home Friday. I start PT Monday morning. OUCH. I'm so scared. . . ." That was the part that really got me thinking.

I could have just sent back some encouraging words. But the spirit told me that this lady needed more. She might could use a blessing.

Now, a little background. I would never have guessed that she belonged to my faith, but she shows up on our records (there is another story there). We've been neighborly. I've gone walking with her and shared my produce. She's asked us to watch their yard. But she's never been one I thought might in the least be interested in any kind of religion. The book The Power of Everyday Missionaries taught me you can never predict who or who wouldn't be a good candidate; you always ask and invite. So that is exactly what I decided to do.

Wednesday morning I sent her a quick message, asking if she'd like a priesthood blessing. I explained that God wants to bless all of his children and that I've had several blessings in my lifetime that have brought comfort and peace to me, something I knew she was needing.

I sat . . . and sat . . . and sat with my finger on the send button. I was a bit nervous not knowing how she would take it.

I finally pushed send, shut my laptop lid, and went to work.

At lunchtime I checked my messages and there was one from her. Oh how I was a little scared to open it. But I did.

"Hi Missy. Yes. I would like one."

I couldn't believe what I was reading. I knew I had followed through on promptings from the past couple of days. It was such a good feeling to know that the Lord trusted me with an errand and I followed through.

After several texts and phone calls, I went with her ministering brother and a member of our stake presidency, both who live on the same street and two people she knew (although she did message me later about how grateful she was that I came with -- it helped her feel more comfortable). It was a beautiful experience, one I hope to talk with her more about. She has never had a priesthood blessing in her life, so the two men did a wonderful job explaining how the whole process worked.

The whole day was one of shock and excitement. I got a little glimpse of what a missionary must feel. And it's something we can all be a part of. It made me want to try a little harder.

Summer Shenanigans

I feel like a tsunami came crashing into my life 2 months ago and I'm trying to come up for air. Between school and COVID and produce in my garden and a Primary program and planning for a vacation and tennis matches . . . I'm ready for that vacation. 

Last year we really took precautions with COVID and school. This year has been a whole 'nother story. We've had so many staff out and with a lack of substitutes, we start pulling from wherever we can. Which means I have often had no lunch breaks or planning time because my aids have been pulled out of my class to attend somewhere else. I've had students gone A LOT!! It's pretty typical for me to have 4 or 5 students gone every day. I'm beginning to wonder if last year's "online" Friday (which we really a 3-day weekend) got parents used to missing school. I feel the weekend now begins Wednesday afternoon which is our short day.

AND on top of all that the state threw all K-3 teachers into a 2-year program revolving around reading. We have been required every week to finish one course of our FIRST 8-week module (there are 8 modules total). This includes reading the book, watching the course online (this is no sit-and-do-something-else-while-it-plays), and then practicing it in the classroom. It takes me anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours a week of outside school time to complete. AND if I don't? Well, there's a good chance I won't have a job if I want to teach K-3. I was very excited to be apart of this training; teaching reading is my passion; I just didn't know how intensive it would be. I feel for teachers who have too much going on outside of school to keep up. I've literally been thrown back into school but without my say-so this time.

Now for a massive catch-up.

Swim Lessons for Alex: He missed last year due to COVID and I really wanted him to be a better swimmer. I signed him up for some private lessons and I couldn't believe how far he came with his comfort in the water.

Girls Hawaii Trip: We had planned this for last year to coincide with Angie's 40th birthday, but, like so many other plans, those got waylaid because of COVID. Even still, I had to get a negative COVID test and wear a mask on the plane despite being fully vaccinated. This trip was so much fun. There just isn't a better way to create stronger relationships than living and eating with people for a few days. It gives you time for some deep talks and bonding. I also learned something about myself. I have always thought the best vacation would be a beach and a book. Well, it came true with this vacation and I was done with the beach after about 3 hours. I am more of a mountain girl with her hammock and a book.

We hiked and shopped and boogeyboarded. We even rooted on our Utah Jazz from afar watching their playoff games while eating out or in our room. We visited Grandma Julie's old stomping grounds from the time she spent 6 months attending BYU-Hawaii and living with my Uncle Johnny.

Gardening: My summer gardening theme comes from a hymn, "Today while the sun shines, work with a will." With our ongoing drought and high temperatures and water shortages, I've been rethinking my grass and how to cut grass out. This has been the summer of new planting beds and moving sprinkler heads. We also had 20 yards of compost delivered. I've slowly been working that into my beds. I got about half done before the school crazy hit. We also had Erik move some dirt for us since he had access to one of those nifty machines. He even let Alex try it out. Tyler has been the president of the Tooele County Master Gardeners Association, a role he kind of got thrown into. Sadly, USU who is tied to the association has decided it's time to split ways. They have disbanded and so this tight group of gardeners is trying to figure out ways to keep their activities and funding going. Tyler is to be the last presidente.

Alex: Alex had a birthday party for his 11th. He also has started a YouTube channel with Ian called The Cousins where they make little videos with the help of Erik showing him how to edit the videos. Their latest video involved Tanner and Logan, his other cousins, and can be viewed here.

Tennis and Pickleball Tournaments: Erik signed up for his real tennis tournament. He also plays tennis several times a week. He started school at USU and is loving it. He's joined the club team up there and keeps winning all his matches. He spent the summer working for Beehive Broadband and hanging with friends, painting a lot of the time.

Pickleball: Alex and I played pickleball just about every morning at the new courts in Stansbury. I managed to beat him once. For Ty's birthday we got a net for our sport court and our own racquets (we always used Erik's).

Uintahs: The plan was to backpack this year. But with rain forecasted and not being able to make fires (there's that drought again), we chose to make it a day hike. We hiked and fished and got caught in a downpour on our way out.

Ears Pierced: Ash got her ears pierced and went to girls camp. She pretty much worked her entire summer and played a little tennis and hung out with friends.

Races: Tyler has been running for over a year now and is up to 5 miles. Yay for him! We entered two races: 4th of July and 24th of July. Erik ran the Temple to Temple race with us (24th) and about killed himself proving to his dad that he could beat a certain time. The kid doesn't run and his legs began to cramp badly when he finished. But he did it! Under 20. Alex scootered his way through with cousins.

Family Reunion: We hosted a family reunion for my mom and her sisters. COVID was on the rise so we weren't sure who was coming, but it turned out to be better than expected. I saw cousins I haven't seen for quite awhile.

Ollie Time: Ollie got to hang with us for a few days this summer.

Nate: And lastly, Nate. Nate is doing well. I did finally get some photos. He's been in downtown Denver being a trainer and district leader. He tells me that it took him 8 months to figure out what being a missionary was all about and now he just can't get enough of it. He hit his year mark and will be home next year. Australia is pretty much out of the picture, but he says he wouldn't want to start all over again figuring out a new area. And his mission president has played a big part in his life up to this point. We sure miss that boy!