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!

Still alive

 I am still here. Just took a unanticipated break from my blogging life.

Growth or comfort?

There's no growth in the comfort zone and no comfort in the growth zone.

That simple little phrase pretty much sums up my pepper plants. It was also a topic of conversation at home with some of my siblings a few weeks ago.

This year Tyler and I experimented with starting seeds. We learned A LOT and know what to do differently next year. This year didn't go so well. Several of our pepper plants have done absolutely nothing since putting them in the ground. We've watered them and babied them and nothing. They are simply refusing to grow. I think they preferred to be back in the house where the sun didn't beat down so hot. We do have one pepper plant that is just starting to put out some peppers. That little plant thought growth might be worth it after all.

Growth is voluntary. No one can force someone else to change for the better without their permission, and when it comes to bettering yourself or your situation whether it be spiritual, financial, educational, you have to want it.

Growth is also intentional. What do you really want out of life? Who do you really want to become?

That comfort zone is an easy place to hang out. It's not scary. It doesn't require much effort or work. It feels good. It's also unproductive.

Alma 34:32 For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

Alma tells me that this life is the time I have to prepare to meet God. I believe it is also the time I have to prepare to be like God, to do what's necessary to develop godly attributes, "to be a partaker of his divine nature, being diligent in adding to my faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity." (2 Peter 1)

If I want to become like Jesus Christ, growth is absolutely fundamental and will not happen if I'm comfortable with my current state of being. It's a necessary part of life. It can be terrifying. It will squeeze you a little and cause some pain. It's doing hard things when we don't want to do them. It's opening your mouth to speak up when you're terrified of public speaking. It's accepting a new calling in church or a job change when your old one was right up your alley. It's being bold when you'd rather sit back and let someone else take charge. It's forgiving when you've been hurt or misunderstood.

Growth or comfort? It really is our choice. And it's not an easy one to make sometimes.

Mission Update on Nate

This is a tale of two missionaries with two very different stories -- one home and one currently serving. 

Erik began his mission with 2 phone calls home a year and emails once a week. Four or five months in that changed to calling home weekly either through text, phone, video chat, messaging. I could count on Erik every Monday morning between 6:30 and 7am. And if a birthday or Mother's Day/Father's Day landed that week, we could get phone calls twice a week. Covid hit with all of it's quarantine restrictions and Erik was calling home as needed which was several times a week. He began his mission the traditional way with us dropping him off at the Provo MTC and three weeks later a flight to Orlando, Florida. He did the traditional missionary contact methods. Facebook was not one of them. And when Covid came swinging with all her punches, Erik still had 6 months left and missionary work came to a standstill as they struggled to figure out how to do missionary work in the nontraditional ways that didn't involve physically interacting with people. Erik was in a biking mission. We bought him a bike which he rarely used and sold at the end of his mission. His main mode of transportation was a car.

Nate is not quite like his brother. He calls home once in awhile and seems to write even less frequently. Although, he is good to call when I tell him too. I trust he is doing well and doesn't need the interaction with home as frequently has Erik might have. His original assignment is to Australia although he's beginning to believe he might never make it there and he is totally cool with it because he is where he needs to be in the Denver North Colorado Mission. He began his mission assignment right here at home. Home MTC. No dropping him off curbside and being whisked away. That came 3 weeks later at the airport. He began his missionary service using the nontraditional ways right from the start. Facebook has been a big part of his mission experience.

Erik had two mission presidents and I'm sure they were both great. I just didn't have very much involvement with them. Nate's mission president, President Blake, has been very much involved with parents, even creating a separate Facebook page just for parents where he can update us on things unbeknownst to our missionaries. He did a Zoom call with all missionary parents a few months back to let us know how the mission was doing and what their goals were. I was impressed. Nate tells me his career was to take struggling businesses and make them better, to take people in these businesses and make them better. He is a mission president at the right time as he tackles the process of being a missionary and making it better. He's inspired Nate enough that Nate is seriously rethinking his choice of schools post-mission. He was training a greenie who came out and struggled with headaches on the mission (never at home). After testing and moving apartments and other things, it was decided last week to send him home to figure things out. I hope he'll be back. Nate has been in a biking area on a bike we did not buy. Most of the time he bikes. Once in awhile he gets access to a car.

Tomorrow is p-day. Any bets on whether Nate calls tomorrow or sends an email?

He's happy sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and that's all I could ask for. These young people just radiate joy. You can see it in their faces. That is the spirit of God radiating goodness.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." --Galatians 5:22-23

Birthday Buddies

Our baby came to town! And we got to celebrate his first birthday along with Erik who celebrated his 21st. Our little Ollie just gets cuter and chubbier every time we see him. With Erik and Ashlyn who both love to take photos, I've come to just let them do the snapping and then I pilfer the ones I want from them.

Erik got a Jazz jersey to root them on to a championship this year. He also got a crock pot to put be able to put his culinary skills to use at college in a few months.

P.S. Ollie went home and got his first hair cut. He sure looks like a little boy now and not a baby.