Category: August

Last Days of Summer Vacation

This week was the last week before school starts. Emilee has piano lessons on Monday mornings. So we went to that and when we were driving home we were talking about what we should do for the day. We didn’t have anything planned for the rest of the day and we decided to do something fun. We came up with going to Worlds of Fun. It has been a little bit since we have been there. We asked a few friends if they could go with us last minute and Ethan was available. We picked him up and had a fun day at the amusement park. It was hot and a Monday so it wasn’t to crowded, we went on our favorite rides twice.

Emilee was able to squeeze a few more fun things in for the last week before school started. She went to a swim party with most of her friends from school at Rachel’s house. We binged watched a lot of The Office, went out to dinner together. Her and Harriet went swimming together one afternoon. We got a few school supplies. We went to back to school night at her school and out for ice cream with friends afterwards. She is all set to start 8th grade on Monday!

First Phone Call

Matthew can message people but emails and and phone calls to family are supposed to be done on his preparation day (P-day). It was 8 days after he left before he had a p-day. In the MTC it isn’t a full day, its just a few hours. That is a little stressful for me because some of the times he is available I am at work. Its only a few weeks but I still want to talk to him. It was so good to hear his voice and see him over facetime. All of us got to talk to him, and all of us were looking forward to it and anticipating it. Emilee even said she would skip her riding lesson so she could talk to him. It had ‘only’ been eight days but it felt like a month. We talked for a while. I think he is getting frustrated with the speed he is learning Portuguese. I’m sure its going to get a lot more frustrating before it gets better. Especially once he is in Recife and learning and figuring it out or not being able to communicate with people. I’m also sure that he will get it and then have the confidence and pride that comes with conquering a huge challenge and task. He likes his district and seems like he is already forming some pretty solid new friendships. It was great to talk to him and I am going to look forward to it every week.

Matthew started a photo album that he can add pictures to for us to see. We made one for him too. Here are his pictures from the Brazil MTC.

MTC Courtyard
MTC food
Campinas Temple
View of Sao Paulo from the MTC
Campinas Brazil Temple
Sao Paulo Temple
Campinas Brazil Temple
Elder Stewart and Elder Terry
MTC District at Sao Paulo Temple
Elder Stewart, Terry and Patterson
This is Matthew’s first video of him bearing his testimony in Portuguese he sent us at the end of the Brazil MTC.

Planes, Boats, and a Baby!

The first weekend after Matthew left I was pretty down in the dumps. Ryan tried to distract me a little bit. There was a Commemorative Airplane Show at an airport near by so we went with some friends to check it out. There were jeeps, helicopters, a museum and a handful of plans from WWII and Vietnam.

Allison went on her annual lake trip with a group of her friends for their friend Olivia’s birthday. This is the third year she has gone.

The Jones family picture that was taken on at Thanksgiving has now become outdated. John and Rachel had their fourth baby, second girl, Johanna. I believe they are going to call her Jojo. She was in the NICU for a few days because her breathing was struggling but she is doing great now.

Allison has been taking drivers education and practicing driving the past year. She recently got her learners permit for driving bumped up to her restricted driver license. That means she can now drive by herself, or with one sibling, to work, church, or school. For her first drive with Emilee to the church for youth night we took these pictures of her backing out. Its kind of hard to see but the first one is Allison crossing her fingers, and the second one is Emilee’s reaction when she saw her doing it. It was pretty funny. Allison did great and everyone got to and from where they were supposed to safely.

First Day of School 2025

While Matthew started the MTC the girls started school! Allison is a soft more at Spring Hill High School. She is taking honors math and chemistry and an AP History class. She is planning on wrestling in the winter. Emilee is a 7th grader at Forest Springs Middle School. She is excited for math, spanish and her engineering class. She is doing club softball and still doing her riding lessons. Hopefully they will both have busy fun school years!

10th Grade
7th Grade

Elder Terry

Matthew was set apart Sunday, August 10th. The day before he started home MTC. He gave his farewell talk in sacrament that morning, and was set apart that afternoon. Our church still zoom’s the sacrament meeting for people that can’t be there in person but want to listen, so we were able to send the link to family that was far away to watch if they wanted too. I was planning on recording it, but new I would probably forget so I asked Emilee to record it for me. I did forget until about half way through so I was glad she did it for me. A few of his friends from high school that hadn’t left for college yet came and listened to his talk. I think he did a great job. I am proud of him and excited for him.

Bishop Sirois

Monday, August 11th Matthew started the MTC (Missionary Training Center) at home through online zoom meetings. August 11th is the day our family has always remembered Aaron. I think it is pretty special and not a coincidence that Matthew started his mission on the same day Aaron returned to heaven and started his mission there.

Home MTC is a little rough, its is several 3 hour long online zoom meetings and studying with your companion for several more hours each day. Day one was fun to start meeting people and exciting that your mission is actually starting. His first companion is Elder Stewart (not sure if that is how he spells it though). He did a year of college at a military college in Colorado. They are a good pair. I am writing this a few weeks after they met but they seemed like a good fit from the beginning. By day two he was already getting a little stir crazy. It is hard to focus for three hours but on a zoom call it is even harder. We tried to take him out of the house for lunch. I tried to be around on his breaks to give him someone to interact with in person. We played games after family dinner. Campbell came over most evenings to hangout. It was a little awkward for them because Matthew is supposed to follow all the mission rules so he was trying to keep it friendly. Campbell knew but still wanted to sit close and snuggle. Matthew handled it with pats on the back and lots of pacing and walking around while he talked with her. A little awkward.

Overall, it is a good transition for starting a mission. He is still home so I get to ease into him leaving, and he gets to ease into following the rules and getting on the missionary schedule. After a week of it though, he was itching to get to the real MTC. I imagine the process will be the same for the MTC, excitement and adjusting at first, then going crazy and ready to get to your actual mission by the time the five weeks are up.

Elder Terry on a zoom meeting
He needed a nap after waking up early the first few days. He was still adjusting from his Summer sleep schedule.
Family game night.
Blake is Matthews best friend Carter’s brother. Carter is already on his mission in the Philippines. Blake brought him some snacks for the plane and came to say goodbye the night before he left.

He flew out Tuesday, August 19th. He flew by himself to Atlanta Georgia. In Atlanta, he thought he would meat up with about 20 missionaries and fly to Sao Paulo. I found out later it was more like 60. That would be cool to see 60 missionaries getting on a plane together. There was no communication with us about his flight and meeting other people. As far as I knew he was flying the whole way by himself. He wasn’t supposed to take his phone with him, so that meant I had no way to see if he was where he was supposed to be or for him to communicate with anyone if there was a change or problem with flights, or if he even made it to his final destination. That bothered me a lot. I told him he had to take his phone and he could turn it off once he got there. Matthew is a rule follower so he didn’t want to take his phone. After several discussions and not coming to an agreement, Ryan told Matthew that even Jesus broke a rule when his mom asked him to do something so he had to take the phone. Matthew didn’t like it but being the sweet respectful son he is, he grudgingly agreed. However, when he found out there were at least a dozen other missionaries meeting him in Atlanta, I felt much better. Normally I wouldn’t be to comforted having to rely on a think tank of a dozen teenagers, but knowing if there was a problem, or missed flight, he wouldn’t be completely alone I felt a lot calmer about sending him off to a foreign country with no phone. I told him I was ok with him not taking his phone, but I was putting an air tag in his carryon luggage so I could at least see where he was.

Dropping him off at the airport is one of the hardest days of my life. A piece of my heart literally walked away, waved at me one last time through the security gate and will be gone for the next two years. Somehow I am supposed to carry on like everything is great. I don’t even want to write about how hard its been. Just. Hard.

Campbell said goodbye at the house before we left for the airport.

Ryan tried to get a video of some hugs for me to watch while he was gone, Allison ruined it. I am angry about it but I am still keeping the video.

The air tag in his luggage was a life line for me. I really appreciated being able to know he made it to Atlanta, and then Sao Paulo, and then the MTC. It helped me a lot. Once he made it to the MTC they gave him a phone and he texted to say he made it, the flight was horrible and ask if he packed any temple clothes. It was the best text ever. The MTC sent us a picture of everyone together to let us know they arrived too.

First picture from the mission, arriving at the MTC

I am going to tag all the missionary posts I write while he is gone and then when he gets home I can print them all into a book for him. This is the first post. Only 23 1/2 months to go.

Matthew’s Last Pre-Mission Days

When we got back from Gulf Shores, that meant it was just a few days, eleven to be exact until Matthew started his mission. Just like the Summer they flew by way to fast.

Matthew went through the temple on August 2nd. It was a special day. He had the Terry, Jones, and Torgerson grandparents, and his aunt and uncles-Dave, Jen, Ross and Lauren come with him along with us. Bishop Sirois also came. When I went through the temple for the first time it was a little overwhelming and I wasn’t very well prepared. Matthew said he thought it was exactly what he was expecting it to be. I was very impressed and grateful for the Covenant Prep class, and Bishop Sirois’ personal temple prep class he did along with us to help Matthew be prepared and understand more about what he was committing to do before he went.

We got there a little early and took some pictures outside. They make a plaque for each missionary with their picture, a favorite scripture of theirs and where they are serving their mission. Matthew wanted his picture for his plaque to be at the temple with the Brazil flag.

When we were done, we all took a group picture together outside and then went to lunch together at a Greek restaurant called Meddi’s.

The last week was pretty busy. The girls were getting ready for school. We did some last minute shopping to make sure everyone had everything they needed for school or the mission. Nadia and a few of her brothers-Jesse and Alex- came up to spend a few days. Matt had one last night with his high school friends before most of them left for college. We just tried to cram as many ‘one last time’ things in we wanted to do with Matthew. Most of them revolved around what he wanted to eat. Ryan grilled lots of steak-specifically picanha. Our family went to a Brazilian steak house called Fogo de Chao with Grandpa Terry and Campbell. One of the favorite meats we had there was picanha, so we got some to grill on our own a few nights afterwards. We had lots of Costa Vida and K-macho’s. Matthew really loves food. One of our last Sunday dinners with the Terry’s we did a root beer tasting contest. Matthew, dad and the girls went golfing together. There was also a lot of just following Matthew around, especially from me. Probably driving him crazy but he didn’t show it. He let me sit by him, hug him and talk with him as much as I could. We went to a couple missionary welcome homes too. His buddy Bret Sawaya came home from Brazil, and Tanner Lewis came home from Saratoga Utah.

Allison painted a life size Matthew
Last game night with his high school buddies
Root beer tasting.
Allison wasn’t feeling the root beer.
Lunch at K-Pot, Matt’s seafood soup had a live giant shrimp in it…until he cooked it.
Golfing…dad won.
More golfing…I think this is actually in Gulf Shores though…
Saying goodbye to Grandma because they went to Idaho for two weeks and were gone when he left.

We tried to make the most of it. I know I am going to miss Matthew A LOT, we all will. He is a big piece of our family and two years is a long time. This past year, I have tried to enjoy all the memories we have made and not focus on it being ‘the last’ or focusing on the sad part of that. I wanted to enjoy the moments and remember them as happy, not crying or sad about it meaning we were getting closer to him leaving everyday. I did pretty good and we made lots of great happy memories. When it got to about a month out, it started to get a little harder to do that. The last few days in August, I was pretty weepy. I still tried to push it off the sad part until later but it broke through more than I wanted. It is a surreal thing to have a child leave. It was like a real of his life going on in my head every time I look at him. I remember the first time I saw and held him, I could not believe we just left the hospital with a baby that was ours to keep forever. I remember him rolling around like a bowling pin learning to sit, then walk, then playing hide-n-seek, and watching Mickey Mouse Club house and laughing himself to tears about Goofy’s stinky shoes. I asked him on his 6th birthday if he would stop getting older and he said with all seriousness that he would do his best but he didn’t know how. Over the next few years I would remind him to stop growing up and he gave the same answer until he finally told me he wasn’t going to be able to but he will always give me hugs and love me. Countless trips to the zoo, learning all about animals. Hundreds of baseball games, basketball, football, racing his dad each year on his birthday. Thousands of memories. Its been 18 years, almost 19 now, but it really feels like no time at all. The hardest part of his mission I think for me will be not physically being with him and able to hug him for two years. Ugg, that is such a long time. It wasn’t perfect but I think we were able to be present in the moment and enjoy Matthew and the last few days with him as much as we could.

First Day of the 2024-2025 School Year

It was a big year for the kids in school this year!

Emilee is officially a middle schooler now. She started at Forest Spring Middle School. Because of our move she is attending a new middle school that Matt or Allison didn’t attend so she gets to blaze her own path. She was a little nervous to start without really knowing people. It was hard to not be going to the middle school most of her friends were at. She was a good sport about it and crushed her first day. She even made a few friends right away because she was pretty good at opening lockers so she helped some girls around her a few times. She was most excited about her FACS class and engineering class. She catches a bus each morning which I think she likes because she is on her own schedule and doesn’t have to wait for anyone.

Allison left middle school behind and became a Freshman this year. She is planning on doing wrestling in the winter. She decided to give Spanish one more try because last year was a disaster with a new teacher that has now been fired and not a lot of Spanish was learned. She rides with Matthew and is pretty gracious with accepting that she is the Freshman and he is the Senior so she doesn’t get to pick the music or where they park. She started seminary this year and has done great at getting up and getting there on time. She likes to be in the know so she is quickly learning every person in the schools name. She has a good group of friends that seem to get along pretty good for the most part. She would love to get a job and is keeping her ears open but opportunities are a little scarce for 14 year olds.

I remember when Matthew was in kindergarten they called them the class of 2025 and I thought I had forever until then. Now it is here and it doesn’t seem like it took forever at all. He has the confidence of a senior that has high school figured out…but is in no hurry to graduate yet. He should have 9-12 college credits when he graduates and could take a few less classes his last semester but he loves weights and lifetime fitness so much he is going to take them. He has Campbell and a solid group of friends that keep him busy along with his part time job at Costa Vida. Seniors had a first day of school sunrise event that he went to the first day. We are all going to try and make the most out of his last year in HS and enjoy all the things. Starting with senior pictures which he is not as excited about but his mother has told him are very required. I know his eyes are closed in most of these pictures. These were the best our of the 20 options I took. He said, “Its ok mom, it will remind me I was to tired to even open my eyes on the first day of school.”

Matthew and Campbell and a few other friends started the first week of school off by going to a Zach Bryan concert. He is one of both of their favorites. Matthew says one of his top three favorites. They had a great time and stayed up really late on a school night, just like seniors should.

Zach Bryan Concert

The End of Summer 2024

After the float trip it was pretty much time to get ready for back to school. Since we weren’t doing our own family vacation anywhere this Summer I was a little worried it would be a boring, slow Summer. It really wasn’t though. We had lots of family come visit and between camps, sports and the kids going to visit grandparents we were pretty busy.

Sherrie and Dave (Ryan’s birth mom) came up for a visit at the beginning of Summer to watch Matthew play baseball. We had some extra time between games and were right by Liberty so we went and saw the Liberty jail visitor center with them. His half brother Dave and his family came up to visit for a weekend too. They took Allison to the zoo with them on the day Emilee had a softball tournament. Emilee went home with them for a week and spent time with her cousin Lizzy and then they stayed at our house for a week too.

We squeezed Matthew getting his wisdom teeth out between baseball seasons. He recovered pretty quickly. We were very grateful for that because a week after he had them out Campbell wanted him to take pictures with her for part of her senior pictures and we were worried he would have bruising or maybe still be swollen. He was fine, still a little hard to smile a full smile but the pictures turned out great. Campbell is a sweetheart. She is outgoing and responsible and beautiful. Her and Matthew are pretty cute together.

Allison was not in a hurry to get her learners permit once she turned 14 but I was. Kansas makes them have it a full year from when they get it before it can become a limited license and they can drive themselves to school and work. Allison is young for her grade so I need her to have that before the start of next school year so she can drive herself to school. Matthew and her go together this year- which I love- it is great sibling time for them. So…we braved the stupid DMV to get her learners permit. They tried their best to be difficult. My deep breathing exercises before and during all interactions helped me remain calm. Even though we had an appointment to get a learners permit scheduled through their system they tried to tell me they wouldn’t have time to do it before they closed. Even though their computer stopped working so they thought we wouldn’t be able to finish. Even though my valid drivers license with my current address wasn’t proof enough and I had to find an electric bill that anyone could forge to prove my legal, valid, #1 source of identification drivers license did in fact have my real address on it. Even though the employee had to work until 4:32 instead of 4:30. Even through all that made up stupid drama, we all persevered, Allison passed the test, took a beautiful picture and got her learners permit! When I took these pictures in the car she told me she had used up her one good picture for the permit so this is the best I was going to get.

Ryan had a work trip to upstate New York right as school was starting. I had never been there so I decided to tag along. It is a lot different than New York City. It is a lot like Kansas. We stayed in a VRBO with his boss and a few of the other VP’s of the company. There were some other spouses that came too. There were several nice dinners, and the main work event was a day at the Saratoga Race Track watching horse races. Neither of us had ever been to a horse race so it was a cool experience. We also wrote our names on a table at one of the places we went to mark our spot in history that we were there.🤣 We had a great long weekend. We did a ferry boat tour of one of Lake George. I am glad Ryan has found a place that he loves to work at and feels pride and happiness from it. He works hard and works with good people. I am proud of him and appreciate all he does to provide for his family.

A few years back when Ryan found is biological mom and met her and more of her side of the family, he also looked into his biological dads side. His dad passed away back in the late 90’s and the only family he really has left was a sister and a cousin. Ryan didn’t reach out to either of them because he was a little overwhelmed at the time and was working through the emotions of meeting Sherrie. His information was public on the 23 and Me website so his dads cousin saw the connection and put it together and he and his aunt-Rae-Ann reached out to Ryan to see if he would be interested in meeting them. He talked with them on the phone and a few times after that as well every few months but it never worked out to meet them in person. In August he was traveling pretty close to where Rae Ann lives and he felt ok about meeting her so he reached out and they set a meeting up for an afternoon while he was in the area. He said said it was a nice afternoon and he appreciated meeting her and getting to know her and more about that part of his history from her. He plans on keeping in touch with her and his cousin going forward. Here is a picture of there first meeting. I can see a family resemblance in them.

Summer Float Trip

We didn’t do a big vacation this Summer because we are going on vacation in October together-more about that later- but we wanted to have a mini-cation together at some point this Summer. We have been wanting to do a float trip with the kids for a while so we decided it was time to do it. Ryan had a friend from work that lives by the Current river in Missouri. They have people come stay with them a lot and they have all the stuff you need to float the river. They have invited us several times and it hasn’t worked out so we decided it was a good time to do it.

The week of our trip Allison went to girls came Monday through Thursday. She was actually pretty close to were we were going to be so instead of having her drive home and then all the way back to the same place, we left on Thursday and picked her up at the camp she was at before they left to come home. She was actually at camp for her birthday. We had lots of little celebrations to celebrate her this year. Becky made her a cake and we celebrated with the rest of the KC Terry’s on Sunday before she left for camp. I sent a surprise gift bag for her to open on her actual birthday at camp. Her main gift this year was a new bed and mattress for her room. She wanted a queen bed instead of a twin. She also wanted to but some board and baton on one wall in her room and make an accent wall. We got that put up for her and painted it the blue color she wanted. Then we let her pick a place to eat out for her birthday dinner when we were on our float trip and Matthew and Emilee were back.

Matthew and Emilee came home from their Florida trip late Wednesday night and we left to get Allison Thursday morning and then go straight to the river. On Tuesday Ryan’s work buddy that was going to take us to the river and let us stay with him called and said that his wife was pretty sick with COVID and he would still let us use stuff and take us to the river but it might be best if we don’t stay at their house so we didn’t get sick. I would always rather stay at our own place than with someone so I thought it worked out great. Ryan decided to see if he could find a VRBO even though it was last minute. There were literally two options available. One was a definite no and the second was pretty new but had a handful of decent reviews. Once we gathered our kids from Florida and girls camp we headed to the Current river. We had some time to pass before we could check into our place so we stopped and watched the new movie Twisters on the way. It was pretty good. It still makes me feel old to watch ‘new movies’ that are remakes of movies that came out when I was young. After the movie stop we finished making our way to our little VRBO that the kids quickly nick named the “Crack Shack”. We were a little concerned when we pulled up. It looked a little rough from the outside. Luckily it was clean and not as bad on the inside, and had good door locks. It was literally 30 feet from a Dollar General store which is a little ghetto but very convenient. We settled in and went to dinner at an outdoor burger and ice cream stand. We watched the Olympics and played games the rest of the evening.

The next day we met Ryan’s friend and he hooked us up with all kinds of floating options. Ryan decided to get a kayak and the rest of us went with a tube. He drove us to a spot on the river to get in at and planned to meet us about 4-5 hours later at the pick up spot. Allison was a little tired from her week at girls camp and was a little less than excited about the whole trip. It took some convincing to get her to come out of her room and do anything with us the first night. With a little bit of help from us, mostly her brother Matthew, we loaded up and headed to the water. Once we got on the river it was much better. All of us loved it. The weather was great, the water was clean and a perfect temperature. It was so relaxing. We had the river to ourselves most of the time too because we went early instead of in the evening. We stopped to swim and play in the water a few times. We caught a baby turtle, saw some fun animals, got tan, and enjoyed each others company. I love float trips. It was the perfect length too. About the time we were getting tired and had run out of snacks we saw the pick up point.

After we dropped off the equipment we went home and showered and went to a pizza place that was recommended. It had potential…but they must have been short staffed and had a new cook, and something. It was comical how ridiculous it was. They only had half the items on the menu available…no pizza, which is what we went there for. Once we ordered the waitress (who had to go ask someone else about everything because she was brand new) said it would be about 45 minutes before the food was ready. We decided to try some of the games they had…the only one that worked was the dart board. That after asking almost everyone that worked there only had two working darts. They had axe throwing-another reason we went there… but it wasn’t available. When the food finally arrived it was ok. Nothing great. We decided to see if we could save the meal with shakes for dessert. After what seemed like forever waiting for the shakes we asked if they were coming and our waitress said they were almost ready. Then we watched her walk over to check on them and they must have told her to do it herself because she then went over and made them by herself one at a time. It took a while and we think it was her first time handling ice cream ever. By the time we got the shakes, the first three were liquid, two were the wrong flavor, mine was only half full and tasted like thick milk. It was so ridiculous from start to finish we just all laughed about it. We left and went back to our crack shack. The Dollar Store was still open so we got some junk food and played games the rest of the night. The next day we headed home.

It was a short but sweet vacation. Lots of little hiccups but I will still probably remember it as one of my favorite vacations with the kids. Our season of life is getting ready to change after this year. I have loved this season. I love the kids being older and a little more independent and watching their personalities develop. It is a time they are developing themselves and trying things but it is still a little bubble that their lives don’t have to much craziness or stress. They are all awesome people and I love spending time with them.

The Race

For the past many years every year on Matthew’s birthday, he has raced his dad. Dead sprint, about 100 yards, winner gets bragging rights for the next year on being the fastest. Of course when this started Ryan smoked Matthew. In recent years Matthew is more and more convinced it will be the year he will win. Once or twice we have had a false start or some shenanigans that has resulted in a race being disqualified and having to run again. Ryan has been the clear winner each year though. This past year when Matthew turned 16 Ryan had a tweaked neck and wasn’t able to race. Then Matthew was sick, then it was winter, then something else and it was many many months after Matthew’s actual 16th birthday and they still hadn’t raced. Both trashed talked each other and said they other was scared to race because they new they would loose. Blah blah blah. They are both talkers. Finally one nice sunny day this Summer I told them both to get outside and race. I can’t remember when exactly they raced Matthew was closer to 17 than 16 (luckily it was before he broke his arm) but we are calling it the 16 year race. After being a late bloomer waiting semi-patiently for growth and puberty to catch up Matthew finally had some man muscle mixed in with his youth. Combined with his dad having old age mixed in with his man muscles and the perfect storm occurred and Matthew had his day. It was a proud moment for him.

Last Days of Summer

After celebrating Grandma and Grandpa’s 50th Anniversary we had a few days of Summer left before school started. We did school shopping and back to school nights. Aaron’s birthday this year was a pretty rainy day. We decided to go see him anyways. Our original plan was to go to the temple and do baptisms that day but Matthew had some doctor appointments and was still pretty limited to being up and about a lot so we bumped that and did it with Grandpa and a friend of Allison’s later. Ryan’s brother David and his wife Jen came up to KC one night and took us to dinner.

Our house was moving along but not ready to move into yet so we stayed at our rental and started another year of school. Matthew had surgery at the end of August on his elbow. They had to reattach some tendons and bone and he was pretty out of it for a few days. Now he is working on getting back into shape for baseball in the Spring.

My sister Sherri got a big promotion at work so DeAnna and I decided to send her a congratulation gift. We settled on a Potato Parcel. It is literally a potato that we had a picture and message printed on. Can’t get more unique than that. We think she liked it.

Then school started!!! Matthew is a Junior. Allison is in 8th grade. Emilee is in 5th grade. This is the last year with one in each school. Next year will be down to only two schools for a while. It was a bit of a rough start, the girls bus driver was new and it took a bit for her to get the girls picked up and to the right school then dropped off at the right spot after school. Matthew missed some school with surgery and Dr appointments. A few weeks in we started to get into our school grove.

Celebrating 50 Years!!

Roger and Rhonda were married for 50 years this past August! They decided they wanted to have a family reunion to celebrate. The plan was originally for a place in Colorado but as it got closer Roger wanted to make a few changes to make it a closer travel location for Rhonda. We moved our plans to Branson Missouri at Table Rock Lake. It is the same place we met last year for a Terry get together and everyone had a great time so we voted to do it again.

We all headed up to the cabin we rented on Sunday afternoon and got settled. It was a nice place. Plenty of bedrooms, a little shy on bathrooms, but we made it work. Everyone was able to come which meant we had 26 people. The first task Roger and Rhonda wanted was a family picture. Lauren did a great job at organizing us and we managed to get some pretty nice pictures. Lauren also makes a collage of pictures of each of the grandkids every few years so she took individual pictures of them to update that for Roger and Rhonda.

Lauren trying to ‘herd cats’. She did great as you will see in the following pictures.

Here are the individual pictures of grandkids. For some reason I don’t have Kiara, Alex or Dalion’s individuals. They are in the family ones though. I believe I have them in youngest to oldest order but there could be a few mistakes in the middle. We start with Kaden, Chloe, (Kiara missing), Sadie, Tristan, Jovee, Alex(missing), Tyler, Emilee, Jesse, Allison, Leah, Dalion(missing), Ethan, Matthew, and Nadia.

Once pictures were done we ate dinner and played games the rest of the evening. Monday we headed to the marina and rented a few boats. We did a speed boat for the older kids to get pulled and bounced around more in the tube and a pontoon for a calmer experience on the tube. It also has a slide so it is fun to anchor and just swim and play in the water around the pontoon. There was lots of fun and everyone had a great time. The weather was perfect.

After lunch things got a little crazy. Ross decided to try skiing. He popped right up and did great. When he was done he let go and his ski flipped up and hit him in the forehead. We pulled him in the boat and could tell he was going to need a few stitches. We drove back to the dock and Roger met him at the boat ramp with the car to take him to urgent care. It took him a few hours but a few shots, some antibiotics, a gnarly headache and 12 stitches later he was back at the cabin. While he was gone the rest of us took a break from the boats for a bit and swam around the docks. Then people were ready to go back out. I went with the little kids and Kris on the pontoon. Ryan and the older kids went on the speed boat with Jake and Becky. About 20 minutes later Matthew fell off the tube and dislocated/broke his elbow. Jake had to jump in and help him back into the boat. Then Rachelle met them at the boat dock with her car and took Matthew and Ryan to the emergency room. Jake came and found me on the boat with Kris and told me what happened. That took the rest of the wind out of the boating sails for the day. We dropped everyone off. Ross had just gotten back from urgent care so we got the boats ready and took them back. Several of our cars were at the marina so I went with them to return the boats and then got my car and went to the hospital. They were pretty backed up and it took about four hours by the time Ryan got there initially and they got us back to a room and medicated, x-rayed and decided they could reset it and he could have surgery later up in Kansas City. It was a rough couple hours. By the time we got home it was pretty late and Matthew was ready for bed.

Tuesday everyone was planning on going to Silver Dollar City. Most people still went to Silver Dollar City (it is a fun amusement park). We tweaked the plans a bit. Emilee doesn’t love roller coasters so Ryan found a horse ride he was planning on doing with her. Roger and Rhonda wanted to stay home. I talked with the Doctors in KC about Matthew’s arm and they said to let him rest a day or two and bring him in on Thursday. So he found a comfy spot on the couch and grandpa kept him supplied with pain meds when he needed and he slept the day away. Ross decided to go on the horse ride instead of the roller coasters to give his head less jerking around and I joined them since it was just an hour or two. It was a pretty good day all things considered.

After everyone’s various activities we all ate dinner together and then had a family gathering to chat and celebrate Roger and Rhonda. Ross and Lauren had made a slide show with lots of pictures from their 50 years of marriage. Roger shared some home videos and everyone shared experiences or asked questions about them, like their first date, places they lived, things like that. It was a fun evening. Becky made a cake and Ross made a plaque for them. I think they had a great evening and enjoyed the family time.

Wednesday we headed back to KC, except for the Lee’s they headed back to Texas. The Bourne’s stayed another day or two and then they went back to Idaho. There was lots of cousin time. Along with grandma and grandpa’s anniversary we celebrated Chole and Allison’s birthday too.

Last Week of Summer

After the reunion we had a week left before school started. We got all the school supplies, clothes, shoes, did back to school nights, and enjoyed the last few days of Summer Vacation. Since we had just done an amusement park in Branson for our annual cousins trip to World’s of Fun we went to a creek and played for the day instead. Matthew brought his fishing stuff, he caught one fish and four sticks, and lost three lures-including a frog. He does that a lot. They made up a few games- one of them ended up in losing Jovee’s water shoe. It is a fun little spot they like to play.

collecting rocks
looking for fish

Ryan is having to try a little harder to make sure he still beats Matthew when they play basketball.

The next two pictures are demonstrating the difference between Matthew and Allison preparing to go to school. This is Allison’s locker that she organized three times and still had a back pack full of stuff to bring the next day. Matthew grabbed a handful of pencils from Allison’s stack and ripped the pages out of a notebook that he used last year.

We went to Arkansas for the weekend. Ryan’s biological family invited us to come visit. His brother David and his wife moved from Utah to Arkansas in April. Now two of the four siblings live there and his mom lives about two hours from them.

We stayed at David’s house. They have a swimming pool and the kids loved being able to swim basically anytime they wanted. We got there about 8:30 Friday night. They were in the pool within five minutes. Saturday we played games and swam. That night the adults went to dinner then they set up an outdoor movie for everyone to watch. Jen had all kinds of movie treats, my kids were very impressed. Emilee thought it was so cool to swim, eat cotton candy and watch a movie outside, all at the same time. Ryan taught everyone a new game and his brother David a few new games. Matthew learned the card game hand and foot and really liked it. It was a fun weekend. It was nice to see them and get to know them better. We went to church with them on Sunday and then came home.

End of our drive to Arkansas.

A friend of mine sent me this picture of our boys getting ready to do the sacrament on a Sunday. These three are quite a group. They are all good kids and I am glad he has a good friend group to hang out with.

August Kick Off- Terry Reunion

The first thing that happened in August was we got Allison back from Grandma. We were heading to a family reunion in Branson Missouri the next day so there was a lot of family here to welcome her home. It was great to have her back. She and Grandma Jana made some hats for babies at the hospital while she was there. She made one for her newest cousin Kaden. He loved it and it fit perfectly. She got home later in the evening on Tuesday, so Wednesday morning we woke her up with donuts and candles and sang her happy birthday in person.

Leah made a cute welcome sign for Allison.
These two were loving the baby time.
Allison made this hat for Kaden.
Allison is always up for a silly picture.
Happy Birthday sweet girl!
I was taking a picture of Matthew and she stepped in front of it and did a silly pose.

Then we were off to Branson for a Terry Family Reunion. People came and stayed a few days before and after but Branson was the official reunion part. Ryan arranged a place for everyone to stay and organized a day of boating for everyone. Ross organized and planned the food and did most of the cooking. Wednesday everyone left Kansas on their own schedule and then we all met at Lamberts for dinner.

Becky, Rachelle and Roger and Rhonda went to an aquarium on the way down. Our family and Ross’ and Nadia went on a tour of the Fantastic Caverns. Then we meandered around a giant Bass Pro store until it was time for dinner.

Lambert’s is a fun restaurant for a family dinner. They have really good rolls that they bring out fresh from the oven. If you want one you raise your hand and they toss it across the room to you. It was a good kick off to the reunion.

26 Hungry Terry’s waiting to eat.
Matthew, Leah, Chloe. Kiara, Allison, Chole, Dalion, Alex, Ethan (Nadia is taking the pictures)
Tristan, Tyler, Emilee, Jovee, Jesse, Kris, Rachelle
Becky, Jake, Janae, Kaden, Ryan, Rhonda, Roger, Lauren, Ross

The next day was our boating day. Ross, Lauren, Ryan and I made a pancake breakfast. It was a little rainy in the morning but it cleared up pretty quick. We all headed to Table Rock Lake and spent the day riding in the boats, swimming in the water, and tubing. Everyone got lots of sun and had tons of fun. Grandpa, Ryan and Ross were the drivers for the day. We played all day, the cousins had a blast with each other.



After a day on the lake Ross and Ryan made dinner for everyone and then we hung out and visited, played games, and watched old home videos that Roger brought. It was also Chole’s birthday that day so we sang happy birthday to her and had cake and ice cream.

The next day was Silver Dollar City. Despite everyone arriving over a period of an hour and fifteen minutes we took a group picture and then the older kids went off on their own and the rest of us divided into groups based on our sense of adventure. The lines were not bad at all, we were able to go on any of the rides we wanted, even multiple times. The Lee’s left and headed home around lunch time. Grandma and Grandpa went home after pictures, and the rest of us spent the day and left that evening. The weather was pretty good and there were lots of water rides to keep us cool.

Some of the girls got a wax hand.

Terry Family Reunion, August 2022
Headed home after a fun day.

Here are pictures from before and after the trip to Branson of people having fun together.

Kaden and I took a few naps together.
Wrestling Uncle Jake
Watched Matthew’s last baseball game of the season.
Lots of board games
Keep away at the pool
Allison keeps us stocked with baked goods.

BACK TO SCHOOL 2021

Well, unlike last year school started one the original day it was supposed to. That was a plus. To make a long story short our school district said it was up to parents if their kids wore masks or not. I think that is a great idea because 1-they are my kids and I should be the one making decisions for them. 2- there is no mask mandate anywhere in our entire county right now. 3-Despite the news and politicians making it look like people are dropping dead in the streets and hospitals are overwhelmed with COVID patients, its not. One hospital (ironically Children’s Mercy) has made a public post TWICE saying they are not full and have very few COVID patients. However, the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners decided they know better (despite ZERO children’s deaths in our county and very low infection rates for children since all this started in March 2020) and made an order requiring all K-6th grade students to wear a mask. Our school board found a way around it by providing a mask exemption form for parents and/or doctors to sign but it has caused quite a tizzy. It is all kinds of crazy. The world and people are getting crazier everyday. But my kids are back in school, mine have the option to wear a mask ONLY if they want and unlike the other districts around us they did not have to define their sexuality and declare their pronouns the first day of school. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Emilee is in 3rd Grade. She has the same teacher Allison had in 3rd grade but her name is different because she got married. Mrs. Dechant. She is a great teacher and even though Emilee isn’t a huge fan of school I hope she will have a good year. I need to work on raising my expectations for her and helping her out of the “youngest child please do everything for me” funk.

Allison is in 6th grade and is ready to conquer it in a blaze of glory. There is a lot of cello players this year and they tried to persuade some kids to switch but she wouldn’t budge. She has been waiting a year to get to learn to play the cello and be an “Orch Dork”. She has a lot of classes with her friends and has organized and re-organized her locker multiple times a day since school started three days ago. Her friends and her make towel tents for each other to change in for PE and she can get seconds at lunch if she wants. Other than her mom making her ride the bus instead of personally delivering her to the front of the school each morning, she is loving life. If Allison is happy, the rest of us are even more happy. Doing the work won’t be a problem for her. Staying on top of things herself and being responsible will be her mountain to over come. She can do it!

Matthew started 9th grade this year, making it our first of many years to have a kid in each school. He got the classes he wanted but doesn’t have any close friends in any of them. He sees his besties in the hall and in a few weeks at lunch when they switch to the open hour lunch. He is a little bummed about that but his dad and I are encouraging him to meet new people. Good new people. So far he has a very good track record of picking friends that are good people and steering clear of the ones that aren’t as nice. He is starting to get some height going so that is exciting for him and he is hoping to bulk up a bit with weights as a class this year. His teenage laziness is effecting his motivation levels for school but he has always been good at staying up with assignments and managing it on his own. He told me he was looking forward to his retirement the other day. I rolled my eyes and told him to enjoy the phase he is at in life now. He takes drivers education soon and as soon as he is 15 he can drive by himself in a car to and from school if needed. He does have the slight problem of not having a car yet. They school had a gas leak 20 minutes after it started on the first day and everyone had to evacuate for an hour and a half but since then it has been pretty low key at the high school.

  • First day, catching the bus with neighbors Jack and Finn

Farewell to Summer Break

As the end of Summer approached we did our usual back to school shopping and registering and getting ready to start back into the routine of school. Ryan has been toying with the idea of getting some kind of property by a lake. His brother and him have been talking about it for the past year or two and they are trying to convince their dad to join them. Matthew was still on his high from boating for the first time this Summer at High Adventure. When August arrived he doubled his efforts and focused his ideas and requests to do it again on Ryan. Between that and a client of Ryan’s offering to let us use a time share of his we decided to squish in one more fun Summer trip before school started. We invited our cousins and Grandpa Terry even came down for a day and played with us.

We went to Branson Missouri and Table Rock Lake. Branson is very similar to Gatlinburg Tennessee. There is a touristy main street area with lots of fun shops and museums and things to do. Gatlinburg is more Dolly Parton themed, Branson seemed more Elvis Presley. A lot of the places are in both locations, one of them being the Titanic Museum. We didn’t have the chance to go to it when we were in Gatlinburg so I made it a must for Branson. My children rushed me through it a little faster then I would have gone on my own but it was a very interesting museum.

The place we stayed was basically a two bedroom apartment. The adults each took a room and we had air mattresses all over the place for the kids to sleep on. Roger just came up for one day and didn’t stay the night because Rhonda wasn’t up for traveling and he didn’t want to leave her alone. We played games and ate dinner and checked out the pool the day we arrived. The next morning was our boating day. I went boating a lot when I was growing up. My grandparents had a cabin and boat and we spent many weekends playing at the lake. We rented a pontoon boat that all 11 of us could ride on at the same time and did the tube, knee board, and wake board. I’ll tell you what. It was pretty awesome to show up and have a boat already in the water, fully fueled and ready to go with any toys we needed on board. I did the math roughly in my head and for how often our family would likely go boating if we made it a thing in the Summer it is well worth it to rent verses buy our own boat. I’ve tried to get Ryan to go boating several times in the past and he said he wasn’t interested and wasn’t a boat person. About 30 minutes into our day he came over and told me he loved it and we need to do it more often.

It was a great day. We packed a few coolers of food and drinks and we were on the boat from 10-6pm and didn’t get tired or bored once. Everyone had a great time. Everyone took a turn on the tube, some of us tried a few other things. We found a little cove around lunch time and thru the anchor and the lilly pad out and ate lunch and swam for an hour or two. Grandpa even got on the paddle board and did a flip off the boat with the kids. The lake is really nice, the water is pretty clean for a lake (I think because it is mostly rock on the bottom not mud) and the water is perfect temperature. Ross, Grandpa and Ryan were all pretty comfortable driving the boat by the end of the day. We all want to do it again and more often. The only bummer is that it is a three hour drive to get there from our house.

After we got back to our place that night everyone took a quick shower and then headed to Lambert’s for dinner. They have home style country food and they throw the rolls at you whenever you want one. The kids really liked it. Sherrie and Dave and Genevieve and Robert and their son Eric were close to Branson so they met us there for dinner. Roger and I stopped by to say hi. He met Sherrie for the first time. (It went well 😊) We didn’t stay long, he wanted to get home to Rhonda and I had to work the next day so we went home while everyone else ate.

The next day everyone that stayed went to Silver Dollar City, which is an amusement park. It was another fun and successful day. There were rides and food to please all the people. There were different level of thrill seekers that could pair up and have fun together. After a full day at the park, they played games and played one more night at the time share. The next morning they headed home.

It was a pretty fun, basically spontaneous, farewell to Summer trip. We have already talked about making it our Summer kick off next year too. Ross and Lauren’s kids started school the day after they got back. Our kids still had a week- the final count down to back to school begins!

August Festivities

We packed in a lot of fun activities the last few weeks of Summer.

First up was all my children returning home from their visits to se Grandma and Grandpa Jones. They were all happy to see each other and be home together again. It took them about 5 seconds to remember how to push each others buttons though. 🤦‍♀️ I put a few of the pictures grandma and grandpa sent from their adventure in an earlier post but here are a few more they sent after I wrote that.

  • Going to the zoo with Hannah
  • Reunited siblings

Ryan and I went to the Garth Brooks concert with some friends and a couple people from his work. It was the second time we have seen him. It was his first concert since COVID and I think Garth was pretty pooped. He usually sings a lot longer than he did. It was still a great concert but between the ridiculous heat and not being used to it, it felt a little brief. Martina McBride made a surprise appearance. That was cool. It broke back memories of listening to her while we painted our house one Summer in Wyoming.

Our favorite neighbors through a party-Jeff and Margarita-so we attended that. We usually try and get out of neighborhood shin digs but we made an exception this time.

All the kids find school supplies that they really need for school when we go school shopping-that have nothing to do with school. Emilee tried to sell me on this, but settled for a picture instead.

We squeezed in our 3rd (maybe 4th) annual cousins trip to World’s of Fun and Ocean’s of Fun. We are now only one kid away from having no height restrictions on any of the rides. Jovee is 2 inches away from 100% ride qualification. We have it down pretty good now on what rides we have to hit for each person and then head over and spend the rest of the time at Ocean’s. We did come back for the evening to World’s this time. The kids liked the lights and music they turn on at night for the rides. The night ended with fireworks at closing time, that was fun too.

Emilee was really excited to get back to horse lessons when she got home from Grandma and Grandpa Jones’. I caught a picture of her taking a little break and stretching for a second during her lesson. Her and Reese are becoming quite the horse lovers. These two have been besties since birth and they were born two weeks apart. After their lesson one day Reese told Liz and I that they would skip their birthday presents and just get a horse for Christmas since it was ‘kind of a big present’. Emilee looked at Reese and said, “Well, maybe less birthday presents but not NO birthday presents!”

Allison

This girl keeps our life from being dull. Allison just started 6th grade this year and she is loving it. She is one step closer to being an adult which she has been looking forward to since she was 2 years old. Allison sees the world differently then the rest of us. She is creative and smart and keeps us on our toes.

At the end of last year we had her tested and moved to a more advanced Math class. Her brain loves math and she incorporates it into anything she does from planning her day to doing the dishes. She is learning the cello this year in orchestra. She is still doing gymnastics and moved up to level six this summer.

She can be one of the wittiest and funniest people I know, or one of the grumpiest. Whatever emotion she is feeling is level 10. There is no lower gear for her. For a while it seemed like her and I just butted heads constantly but I see more and more of Allison’s pleasant and reasonable side lately.

Allison loves a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich. She is my only kiddo that will eat a fruit or vegetable without any prompting-just because she likes them. She is amazing at making cookies and brownies. She usually keeps our house stocked with them, which is awesome. She has a tough outer shell but her inside is sweet and caring and very thoughtful. When we are driving around if we see any cat or dog without a leash on-even if it is most likely in it’s own yard-she wants to stop the car immediately and save it from whatever it needs to be ‘rescued’ from. She is very responsible when she wants to be. She takes care of Peanut her guinea pig everyday without any reminding. When we go out of town she arranges for someone to take care of him and leaves them copious amounts of notes on the proper way to feed him.

Crafting is another thing Allison enjoys doing. She is often decorating or creating some art for her room (or Emilee’s if it doesn’t meet her standards when she is done 😂) If I have something I need to make or get ready for Primary she is always willing to help and does a great job at it.

It is a treat to watch her grow up. Allison will be a mountain mover in whatever she decides to invest her time and energy in.

Matthew

Matthew, Matthew, Matthew…what can I say about Matthew. I could say he is the spitting image of his dad is looks and personality. That would be the quickest way to describe him. Every year those two become more and more alike. Matthew tries to deny it sometimes but he can see the similarities. They are a fun pair and I love watching Ryan guide and teach a younger less mature version of himself. So do his parents.

Due to Matthew getting a little older and closer to adulthood we picked a few activities to help him develop his more mental, emotional, and spiritual side, disguised with lots of physical fun too of course. One of them was High Adventure with the boys at church, and the other was FSY (For Strength of Youth) a church camp with most of the boys from church. They were both very fun activities and very good for him. One was a little more obviously fun to him but he did enjoy both. High Adventure was boating, zip lining, and camping. He has told us no less than 5 times week since he has been home that we need to go boating, get a boat, or make friends that have boats. Along with our trip to the beach where he body surfed as much as possible he tells us we can move to a beach at any time and he will support it. Since those activities he has loved going to YM activities and a lot of the boys hang out together on the weekends.

  • Getting checked in at FSY.

He is almost 15 so he does have some teenage brain development going on but so far I still really enjoy him and his company. Along with the teenage stuff he also has his dad’s iron will, and it does show it self more and more often. Just. Like. Ryan. His voice takes on a certain tone, and his jaw sets and his eyes lock and there is nothing you can say or do at that point to change his mind. Ryan will look at me and say something about how ridiculous and stubborn he is being and I say, “Yes you are, I mean, yes he is.” Also like his dad when he gets like this he usually goes off somewhere and mulls over whatever the issue is privately then comes back and is more reasonable. Until then you will have more luck paddling upstream with a fork.

He really enjoys watching and playing sports. His favorites to play are basketball and baseball. He likes watching football too. Most of the time when Matthew is talking to you it is frustratingly quiet. The exception to this is when he is watching sports or playing video games. Then you can hear him anywhere.

Matthew is quiet and a little shy when you first meet him but once he feels comfortable he is a fun kid, he likes to joke and tease. We like to joke and tease him too. Being a teenager he is a little more concerned with appearance and ‘image’ than the average person. Ryan often likes to get photo evidence of him looking like a dork to pull out when its convenient. These pictures of Matthew playing with the VR glasses is a good example. He has a pleasant and witty sense of humor.

He starts 9th grade at the High School this year. He says he is excited and looking forward to it. He has always done great at school. Last year with stupid online learning and his particular math teacher (she was fine just taught differently than Matthew learns) he struggled with math. Since kindergarten I have never had to check his work and make sure he turns stuff in or even remind him to do his homework. He stays on top of it and keeps things organized. When he started middle school he came home overwhelmed about keeping track of so many different classes. I showed him what a binder and dividers are and he has continued to do great since then. He has a good singing voice but doesn’t want to do choir. Or theater. He has taken several art classes and enjoys them. He also humored me by taking a cooking class/sewing class. Right now he thinks he will go into something sports related like a trainer or physical therapist. He can’t handle even talking about blood so I wonder if he will change when he realizes how much anatomy and physiology there is.

He takes drivers education in a few weeks. It is still a while before he gets his drivers license but I am looking forward to it. Him being able to drive himself to weights, practices, seminary, and everywhere else he goes will be awesome.

A new hobby he just discovered thanks to his buddy Carter is fishing. They have gone a few times together and Matthew caught a fish within 2 minutes the first time. He hasn’t caught one since but he still really likes it. He even asked for fishing stuff for his birthday.

Firebird Baseball Club Fall 2020

Matthew started his new baseball team for Fall. I mentioned it a little before but Ryan and Jimmy joined with another coach named Robby and they combined part of three teams into two teams. For Fall they will be mixing and matching the boys up different for each tournament and then settle into more permanent teams in the Spring. It is still new but we have played several times and are getting to know each other and learning to play with each other. Matthew caught a ball with his cheek bone the other day and has a nice black eye to show for it. They have finished in the top three for several of tournaments we played which is fun and encouraging.

First Day of School

Well, it was delayed 2 weeks and then middle school and high school were changed to virtual only for an undetermined amount of time based on a ridiculous skewed made up ‘gating criteria’ but we had the first day of school this past week!

The principal kept all the walkers until after the car riders were gone so Allison sat in the class room an extra 45 minutes, got home an hour after school ended, and crossed a four lane road without a crossing guard, but after what I can only imagine was a full inbox, many phone calls, a meeting with the teachers, and even more in person conversations she decided against that and let the kids go when school was over the next day. This was a big issue several years ago but the principal in her never ending attempts to control every single thing tried it again. Four years left of this woman…four years.

Allison rode the bus the first day with Emilee so she wouldn’t be by herself and is in 5th grade. Her last year of elementary school. Her teacher is Mrs. Brown and seems to be pretty awesome so far. Back to school night was all virtual and she did a good job so you could actually hear and see what was going on. I think she will be a good fit for Allison. As I mentioned, she can ride the bus but most of the time wants to walk or ride her bike to see her friends because none of her best friends ended up in her class. We have made the deal that on days I work and dad isn’t working from home she has to ride the bus, other days she can pick. She is going to do one more year of girls scouts. She is doing cheer one last time (hopefully) and has gymnastics twice a week for 2 1/2 hours. She color coded all of her school supplies to the correct pencil box they go in. As usual she is up to date on all the school gossip and happenings, even some from the middle school, despite being with her class and her class only all day long. Lunch is in the class room, and recess is rotating to different areas with your own class. She is glad to be back in school though and see and interact with more people.

Emilee is starting 2nd grade. She will ride the bus each day. She puts her mask on and they take her temperature then she is whisked away to the school. Once she is dropped off she walks around a one way loop at the school until she arrives at her classroom. Her teacher this year is Mrs. Trimble. Allison had her for 2nd grade as well and I wasn’t impressed. I requested a change but the principal said she can’t do anything about it. For now we will keep her there and hope that it goes well. If it doesn’t I will have a meeting with the principle about it. Anyway, she is doing good so far. There are 18 kids in her class, 6 of those are girls. She seems to be pretty comfortable now since she knows most of the kids and is familiar with the school. Recess rotation on the grass with no balls and not allowed to play tag is pretty boring but she did find two frogs so that brightened her day. She is not going to do Girl Scouts this year. Hopefully activity days will be starting again before to long. We will get her on a basketball team in the winter. We are also looking into horse lessons with her bestie Reese once a week.

Matthew is in 8th grade. He started conditioning this summer with the intentions of playing football but ended up deciding against it. He has put on a grand total of 5 pounds this last year and 1 inch making him 5 feet even and 85 pounds soaking wet. He decided to focus on getting better at basketball and baseball instead of getting squished in football. He was supposed to start school full time in person, but the school switched a few days before school started to all virtual. Apparently it is safe enough to play sports…but not sit in a desk at school. So he has four classes a day for 1 1/2 hours each via zoom. That is a long time to be staring at a computer screen. We are trying to make the best of it and hopefully it will not last much longer. He is pretty social and is finding and settling in with a good group of kids it seems like. None of them are close enough to hang out after school without parent assistance in getting there but they are close enough it is pretty easy to get them together. There is one boy in particular we are glad he is buddies with. Tyson Beshore. The whole family is a great family, anytime we can get them together we are more than happy to do it. Matthew can get his learners permit for driving in October. That is pretty crazy.

So the 2020 school year if off to a start. It is going to be a different, frustrating, and hopefully end well but we will see. I hope my kids can learn and grow mentally, physically, socially, and emotionally.

Kayaking

We got a new neighbor last August right next door to us. They are a nice family. I chatted with them a little but when COVID quarantine was going in March and April her and I got to know each other a little better. Her name is Margarita. We started going on walks together and then she asked if I wanted to play tennis with her on the neighborhood court.

When we started playing I was only half interested. We plan on playing for an hour and after 40 minutes I was ready to be done. My endurance has improved along with my skills so I enjoy it much more now and look forward to going. I even asked for a new racquet for my birthday. I also got a brace for my elbow because I am old and got tennis elbow. Maybe in a few decades we will be in the Senior Olympics together in tennis. She is a good friend and we have fun together. We can share our woes of children with each other too when we are on our walks.

She got into kayaking this summer too and invited me along with her. It is very peaceful and relaxing and we enjoyed the sunset.

Butterflies

We made it to Powell Gardens again this year with the McDonald family to see the butterflies and walk around the gardens. It is always beautiful. With the COVID restrictions we had to wait in line a bit to go into the conservatory but it wasn’t to bad.

The kids played in the fountains for a little while. There was a new kid area for them to dig in the dirt and plant stuff. There was a second monarch butterfly house as well. The weather was not ridiculously hot so it was a nice day.

It was nice to get out and have something to do. We usually go to the Cultural Festival with the McDonald’s in August as well but that has been canceled this year.

Just Going to Leave This Right Here.

All right dear Allison. This post is about you. Maybe no one ever reads it again. Maybe we laugh about it together in the future. Maybe it is just for immediate therapy.

You are a strong willed, determined, passionate human being. I love those qualities in you but I admit they are also sometimes difficult to help you learn to manage and direct. I know sometimes I am to overbearing and short and impatient with you. I promise it is something I work on daily. Darn it girl! You don’t make it easy sometimes. We seem to struggle more sometimes than others with getting along with each other and lately it has been more struggle than not.

Yesterday we had some dentist appointments and then were meeting some friends at the Butterfly Garden to spend the afternoon. The dental appointments went a little quicker than usual, we had an hour drive and were still going to be a little early to meet our friends. There was a McDonald’s right next to us so I asked the girls if they wanted to get a little snack to eat on the way at McDonald’s. This is how the next few minutes went.

Me: Ok, I will swing by McDonald’s and you can each get something.

Allison: Is there a Wendy’s? I like Wendy’s better.

Me: No, there is not a Wendy’s around here. We are by McDonald’s already, that is why I said McDonald’s.

Allison: We passed a Burger King on the way here. Can we go there instead?

Me: (deep breath- 9 out of 10 times when we have any plans or decisions made Allison will request they be changes for her convenience- we have time to kill, it isn’t a big deal) Sure, it isn’t on the way but since it is pretty close and we have a little extra time we can go to Burger King instead.

A few minutes later pulling into BK I ask the girls what they want. Emilee wants french toast sticks and Allison requests mozzarella sticks. It is still early so I ask the employee if they are making mozzarella sticks or not. They say they are not but will make them ‘special’. I look at the menu and it says 4 or 8 sticks, and ask Allison how many she wants.

Allison: I want 5.

Me: They don’t do 5. You can do 4 or 8.

Allison: I only want 5. I will eat 6. Can you ask them for 6.

Me: (deep breath-Allison often likes to ignore facts, rules, or guidelines and will just keep repeating her question/statement to see if the answer will change) 6 is not an option. 4 or 8 is the option. If you want 6 get 8 and share the rest with others.

Allison: Uugg. I will do 4. Ask them for extra mozzarella.

Me: They are already made sticks, you can’t add mozzarella to them.

Allison: Why can’t you just ask. It doesn’t seem hard to add cheese to something.

Me: (deep breath) Tell the person we are ready to order and ask for 8 mozzarella. As I do this Allison repeats over and over in my ear from the back seat to just ask for extra mozzarella. I ignore her.

Allison: Rolls her window down (which I usually have locked for reasons just like this) and interrupts me and asks the employee if she can change her order to 6 sticks and add extra cheese.

I take another deep breath while the employee says, as you might expect, “We only have 4 or 8 sticks, and we can’t add extra cheese but we can do extra sauce.” Allison then changes her order to 4 sticks and NO extra sauce. I take another deep breath and pull forward to get the food. As we wait she repeatedly asks in my ear from the back seat to ask for extra sauce because she now wants extra sauce. They hand me me the bag and there is a large container of sauce-easily plenty for 4 sticks. She insists it is not enough, so I ask for an extra sauce and we drive away.

Allison ends up eating 4 sticks with no sauce because ‘it tastes weird’.

I have had several conversations with Allison in the past when my patience is better about doing things efficiently, or easily, or conveniently, or considering others time or preferences. When I finish she explains to me that efficiency, ease, and convenience are below zero on her scale of importance when making decisions and other peoples needs she will try to consider more often but by her tone are barely above the previous reasons. Her desires, interests, aesthetic appeal, and fun are what drives her decisions. So we continue our daily interactions with very different approaches. One thing is for sure, we will both help each other build our patience and endurance.

Apparently I have Twins

The day after we got home from Colorado we started the unpacking of all the suitcases. Around lunch time we decided to go out to lunch together since we hadn’t gone to the grocery store yet, and I hate to cook.

The stars aligned and all the moons were in the right place and whatever else needs to happen for a miracle so everyone was happy, speaking cheerfully, and using good manners. As we were eating a lady sitting next to us turned and pointing at Matthew and Allison said, “Your kids are so cute, are these two twins?”

I have never been asked this before so I was a little caught off guard but I was swooning in the compliment about my kids because usually one is crying, one is whining, and one is asking if we can go yet over and over. Allison didn’t hesitate a second and like she had answered the question a million times and said, “Not identical, I am awesome he his not.”

Matthew’s face after receiving a completely unexpected and completely amazing ‘burn’ from his sister was just as funny as Allison’s comment. He had a flabbergasted look on his face and said, “I’m awesome too.” The lady laughed and moved on, I don’t know if she realized they weren’t twins or not.

It was pretty funny. It was one of those moments that I still think about every now and then and get a good chuckle. Hehe, Allison and her spunky wittiness.

Then vs now-Kindergarten

I think for a post every now and then I am going to pick an event that everyone (or most) of our family has done and compare them or write what we remember about those times. The first one I am going to do it kindergarten.

I’ll go first. I think these memories I have are from kindergarten…but they could be mixed with other memories and I don’t realize it. That’s the product of age plus memories I guess. Like the time when I was telling my mom about our trip to Nauvoo when I was younger and she told me I had never been to Nauvoo. I told her all about the trip and she showed me a picture book with pictures of the events that I had described. Apparently at some point I looked through the pictures and it became a memory of something I did instead of pictures I had seen. Anyway, I digress. Back to kindergarten.

I lived in Loa Utah, in a white house that I believe was on the corner of the street that was a straight shot down to the school. It would have been 1987. I want to say my teachers name was Mrs. Taft but I would have to look that up in a picture book to be sure and I am to lazy to do that right now. I remember learning our letters and she had a little blow up alphabet character for each letter and we could take turns bringing them home sometimes. I remember swinging on the swings and being ‘married’ to someone if we were swinging exactly together. I think we had a nap time. We did have snack time and it was chocolate or regular milk with something to eat. You were not allowed to blow bubbles in your milk or they would take your milk away. I remember blowing bubbles one day without really being aware of it and they took my milk away. I wondered how they even knew I was doing it. I remember wondering how adults knew a lot of things growing up. It makes me chuckle now when I can tell my kids are thinking the same thing. It is usually pretty obvious but in a kids mind you think you are being so sly. I remember our neighbor Clayton that was my age. He had a rabbit and I remember him explaining how to tell if it was a boy or girl and I had no idea what he was talking about because all I could see was fur. I remember telling my mom that I was sick one day when I wasn’t and I thought I was pretty slick because she let me stay home and lay on the couch. I was highly disappointed when everyone got home from school and I felt better and felt good enough to go play with everyone. my mom said I should probably stay on the couch for the rest of the day to make sure I didn’t get sick again. The only other thing I remember about kindergarten in that my dog followed me to school one day and was barking at people. I was worried they were going to take him to the pound but my mom came and got him and took him home.

Ryan lived in Manhattan Kansas. He would have started kindergarten in 1984.  He remembers racing out to the jungle gym for recess because everyone tried to race and get the spot on top. His teachers name was Ms Crane. His mom took him to school and he doesn’t really remember anything about in the class and learning. He remembers recesses and looking forward to them. He met his friend Jake Sumners in kindergarten and they are still friends to this day. The only other thing he remembers is how to get to his class room when he got to school.

Matthew went to Scarborough Elementary in Olathe Kansas and had afternoon kindergarten with Mrs Herl in 2012. He says some of his memories are also PE and recess related. He learned how to play color tag and found out that he was a pretty fast runner. His favorite things to do were PE with Mr Simpson. Toilet tag was another favorite that he taught them to play. It is basically freeze tag but when you get tagged you have to put one knee on the ground and hold your hand out. If someone runs by you and ‘flushes’ your hand you can unfreeze and start running again. The first fire drill scared him because he didn’t understand what a drill was. He remembers cutting his knee open when he slid on the rocks at recess and thought he was so tough because he didn’t even know it and it didn’t hurt. There were only 11 kids in his class and of those 11 only 3 were boys. They had two recesses. They had a Halloween costume parade and he was Optimus Prime. When they had career day and were supposed to dress up as what they wanted to be when they grew up he dressed up as a zoo keeper. One of his favorite things when he was in kindergarten was animals. He loved to watch the Nat Geo Wild Channel and his favorite TV show was Wild Kratz. All the parents sent in a couple boxes of something for snacks and if anyone was allergic to any foods they had to bring their own snack.

Allison went to half day morning kindergarten with Ms Ryder in 2015 at Prairie Creek Elementary. For her first Halloween at school she was a Spanish dancer, mostly because she liked the dress, not because she liked dancing. They had one 15 minute recess. I have asked several times what other things she liked about kindergarten and she has repeatedly told me nothing…so this is a short paragraph.

Emilee started full day kindergarten in 2018 with Mrs Pahl also at Prairie Creek. Half day kindergarten is no longer an option. I had to sign a waiver saying any snacks I send to school for Emilee will only be eaten by her and not contain any nuts or be made in a place that has nuts. She has a morning and afternoon recess for 15 minutes each. She is making friends and enjoys it once she gets there but is still a little nervous about going in the morning.

 

First child vs last child. Pregnancy.

Sometimes I laugh with my friends about how parenting changes from kid to kid.  I’m not talking about the differences caused by each kid because they are a different kid. I’m talking about the things that you wouldn’t see a reason for doing different from kid to kid but there seems to be a pretty steady pattern anyway, I will leave it for the reader to figure that pattern out.  The reasons for the pattern as you read on are numerous and debatable. Some of the more ‘popular’ or ‘obvious’ I have come up with are; experience, inexperience, perseverance, attrition, hind sight, fortitude, wisdom, time, sanity, lack of sanity, and the amount of sleep to required effort ratio. In no way do the patterns imply or mean that one kid was loved more or less. I love all my kids and they were all cared for and loved and the day I finally got to meet them and bring them home were some of the happiest days of my life. Mostly this is just for my kids to laugh at and compare the ‘unfair’ and ‘unjust’ discrepancies in their childhoods.

Pregnancy.

  • Matthew- I bought ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ and read one chapter ahead each week so I would know ‘what to expect’ then read the chapter several times during the week to make sure I remember and new it all.
  • Allison- got the book out in case I wanted to reference it, but ended up using it as a coaster on my nightstand instead.
  • Emilee- donated the book before I was even pregnant with her because I needed the space for Harry Potter on my shelf.

Birthing Class.

  • Matthew- I researched different options, got opinions from others, call or email several different instructors for their credentials. Reserved my spot for a one hour six week class months in advance in case it filled up.
  • Allison- laugh that I went to one the first go around.
  • Emilee- Are they still doing that?

Birth plan.

  • Matthew- The above mentioned class tells me to make a written birth plan to give to my doctor so we are all on the same page when it is time to deliver on ‘how I want the birth to go’. I ask my doctor when she wants me to get that to her  and she says- she doesn’t. I’m relieved because it sounds like homework and I didn’t want to do it anyway. My plan is to go to the hospital and let them take it from there.
  • Allison- Silently judge people (mostly silently) that actually do this…plan all you want the baby is coming how and when they want. Go to the hospital and let them take it from there.
  • Emilee- Get this baby out of me as fast and painless as possible.

Pain Management.

  • Matthew- Learn everything about getting an epideral and possible side effects for me and the baby. Want an epideral but feel a little guilty that I’m not ‘tough’ enough or ‘am willing to risk’ a fore mentioned risks involved. Decide I am a fan of modern medicine and have nothing to prove or be a hero about and get an epideral.
  • Allison- Request an epideral immediately after checking into the hospital.
  • Emilee- tell the front desk to get the epideral on the way  before I am even checked into the hospital.

Packing bag.

  • Matthew- Bring way to much crap to prepare for any possible scenario to the hospital including living there for 6 months and twelve different options for a first outfit picture.
  • Allison-Have one small bag packed and ready, Ryan can get anything I don’t have.
  • Emilee- if the hospital doesn’t have it I’ll go without for 36 hours.

Going to the hospital.

  • Matthew- Call the doctor, nurse, and hospital tell them everything that is going on and refer to book every five minutes until deciding it is really time to go to the hospital.
  • Allison- Schedule and induction date leave Matthew with grandma and check in and out of the hospital on schedule.
  • Emilee- Get a haircut and a pedicure when I start having regular contractions two weeks early so my toes are cute while I’m in the hospital. Call Ross and Lauren last minute to drop the kids off on the way to the hospital because I was planning on having grandma watch the kids for another induction date in two weeks and had made no back up plan. Show up at the hospital without calling them or my doctor.

Husband during labor.

Matthew- Eat Chipotle in front of me while I am in labor, starving and only allowed ice chips. Have to go sit down with his head between his knees and breathe in a bag when I get an epideral.

Allison- Sneak me a bite of his Chipotle while I am in labor, starving and only allowed ice chips because he feels guilty for eating in front of me last time, I throw it up. Have to go sit down with his head between his knees and breathe in a bag when I get an epideral.

Emilee- Eat Chipotle in front of me while I am in labor, starving and only allowed ice chips, refuse to share with me when I ask because last time I threw up and ‘that was gross’. Have to go sit down with his head between his knees and breathe in a bag when I get an epideral.

Babies first night in hospital.

  • Matthew- Refuse the offers to take him out of my room for any reason because the book said there are creepers standing outside my door waiting to swap my baby or sneak them past the hospitals security protocols and I am his mother and can take care of him myself without any help even though this is the first 5 minutes I have been responsible for another human beings complete safety and well being and I am exhausted. Ryan sleeps on the sofa so I am not alone and complains its the worst night sleep in his life.
  • Allison- I agree to let them take her to the nursery so I can rest. Call and make the nurse come back immediately because in my exhausted state I didn’t feel I looked close enough at her credentials before she took Alli. Her credentials look legit so I let them take her and get a nap. It is glorious. Ryan settles in for the second worst nights sleep of his life on the hospital couch.
  • Emilee- She doesn’t cry AT ALL in the hospital, she stays with us during the day but off to the nursery at night so I can sleep. I try to convince Ryan to follow them to the nursery, he says I am paranoid. Ryan tries to suggest he sleeps at home but I tell him to get comfy in case I need something.

First outing.

  • Matthew- Pack EVERYTHING I might possibly need in case we never come home again in my diaper bag, back-up diaper bag, and the  back-up back-up diaper bag. Arrive an hour late because I had to change him and me twice when he pooped on us, threw up on us, and then had to go back because I forgot the back-up diaper bag. Upon arrival, look down and realize instead of shoes I am wearing fuzzy neon blue slippers.
  • Allison- Chuck the back-up diaper bags, decide to carry one bag to be my purse and diaper bag. Keep a pair of flip flops in my car for when I forget to change my slippers. Arrive only a few minutes late but look completely disheveled.
  • Emilee- If you need me, you can find me at my house wearing my fuzzy blue slippers, until I feel like taking three kids somewhere. I get a cute really big purse keep wipes, diaper, and a plastic bag inside for outings. Emilee wears nothing but a diaper for the rest of church several times after she has a blow out.

Bottle/Nursing Starting Solids

  • Matthew- Have a strict rotation schedule alternating bottle and nursing so he doesn’t get ‘nipple confusion’ start introducing solids at the earliest possible time. Spend hours coaxing him to eat, measuring what he eats, and introduce foods every two weeks.
  • Allison- Try nursing for two weeks, then switch to pumping and bottle only because it is not working. Wait as long as possible to start solids, introduce a new food every 3-4 days.
  • Emilee- She gets her tongue clipped in the hospital so she can nurse without killing me. Takes a bottle or nurses with no issue. Start solids as late as possible. Mostly fed by Allison because that entertains them both.

Toys for baby.

  • Matthew- Pre-wash ALL toys before Matthew is allowed to play with them. If any other kid touches or plays with a toy it has to be washed again. Otherwise, all toys will be washed on a monthly basis.  All toys have all parts, fresh batteries and are in perfect working order. Buy way to many toys that he doesn’t even care about.
  • Allison- Throw out washing toys unless there is visible body fluids, its good for their immune system. Buy a few pink toys so she has ‘girl toys’ and take batteries our of any noise making toys. Giveaway half the toys because we have to many.
  • Emilee- She can play with whatever is around the house as long as it isn’t toxic, sharp, or hot. If a toy hasn’t been touched for a month I’m giving it away because I’m tired of stepping on it. No batteries aloud.

 

Adjusting

The kids have been in school a little over a week now. Everyone is still adjusting and getting used to the new schedules.

Emilee. It is a big change for her to go to all day kindergarten. The thing she keeps telling me the most is, “It is sooooooo looooong!” She is mentally and physically tired when she gets home. The first few days she came home and immediately laid on the couch and didn’t move for a show or two. Then she started coming home and having to play with her toys right away. I think it is her way of unwinding and processing her new environment. She has always been pretty good playing but it is a very pressing need for her when she comes home. She gets a little anxious at night when she is going to sleep on on the way to school in the morning about going but once she is there she does great.  I ate lunch with her last week and she seems to be making friends and having a fun time. Several of her classmates said hi to her and waved when they walked past. She likes taking lunch and getting school lunch. She is growing up. I think I hold on to her a little more than I did the others because she is my last. She seems so young to me still but she is the same age Matthew was and a year older than Allison was when she started kindergarten.

Allison. She seems to have jumped into everything the easiest. This is her fourth year with the same group of kids so she is getting to know them pretty good. She has a young new teacher, which for some reason she has always wanted. Her best friend Carlee is at the new elementary school this year and I was a little worried about that. I asked her who she was playing with at recess and if she had made any friends. In true Alli fashion she told me she had enough friends and played with them at recess when she wanted to. She has been a little more tired than usual but otherwise seems to be doing great. I think this year will be a little more challenging for her which is good. She is smart and I don’t feel like she hasn’t been challenged as much as she could so far in her school. She is in a hurry to grow up so when she feels like she is getting more responsibility she usually does well with that. Having more homework will be more of a challenge for both of us though. She tends to take all evening doing it a little bit at a time which drives me crazy. I need to let her figure it out on her own but it is hard for me to step back sometimes, especially when there isn’t really a consequence at school for it. I think this year will be different.

Matthew. He started 6th grade which is middle school. He changes classes, has a locker, dresses out for PE, and rides the bus. He seemed to be doing fine, and reported that everything was fine, but after about the third day it was pretty evident that he was a little more stressed out then he was letting on. It takes him about 15 minutes to get ready for school in the morning. The bus picks him up in front of our house at 7:07. He was getting up at 6:15, I told him after the first day or two that he could probably sleep in 15 or 20 more minutes if he wanted and he lost it that he would miss the bus. We have been eating breakfast at 6:45 and reading scriptures and he starts panicking that he is going to miss the bus if we aren’t done by 6:55. He has had many meltdowns about…anything and everything. He finally said that he felt really unorganized and didn’t know how to keep track of everything. Once we got that figured out he seemed a little better. He is playing football and baseball on top of school, home, and youth night too. I have told him that we are never doing two sports again because it is to much. I think he will be fine with that though. Football is not as great as he thought it would be (thank goodness!!) he isn’t as aggressive as he needs to be for it. I think in another week or two he will be settled in and have the hang of everything.

 

First Day of School!

Summer ended and we have started a new school year!

Matthew is starting his first year of middle school in 6th grade. We went and walked his schedule and practiced opening his locker. The bus picks him up our front at 7:07 am. He wakes up at 6:15 and is ready by 6:30 then stresses that he is going to miss the bus if I don’t let him go out to the bus stop before 7. Then he gets home from school at 4:15. They added a last minute PE class as an option for an elective. He wanted to drop art and take the PE class instead but we talked him into sticking with art because he already has a PE class and he plays plenty of sports.He thought he would be the only boy in art class but was pleasantly surprised to find more boys than girls in art. He figured out how dressing out for PE works and seems to be settling in pretty good. The school gives everyone a computer that is theirs for the school year. He thinks its pretty cool to have his own computer.

Allison is in 3rd grade this year. They have new chairs that don’t look like chairs at all and spin, she thought that was great. Her teacher is very young and this might be her first year teaching but Allison seems to like her. She was ready to go to school and sits by a few people that she already knew. Her best friend Carlee is going to the new elementary school that was just built so I was a little worried she would struggle with finding some new friends but she has seemed to do great. She likes being the one in charge walking home since she is the oldest now. It has only been a few days but she has been doing a good job at being kind and watching out for Emilee. Her lunch is one of the earliest at 11 am, last year it was at noon and she was always starving to death so she was excited to have an earlier lunch this year. She wanted me to walk her to class and then leave. No need for staying around or dragging anything out.

Emilee started kindergarten! She was really excited when we got her a new backpack and shoes and picked out her new outfit for the first day. When we went back to school night and realized that I would  not be going to school with her she back peddled a little and said she no longer wanted to go to school. She was pretty shy when we got there the first day and hid her face behind her hair, but has been doing great. She likes deciding if she should eat a school lunch or take her own. She is still adjusting to how long it is and when it is bedtime says she doesn’t want to go to school but is always up and ready in the morning. The girls wake up at 6:45 for breakfast, prayers, and scriptures. That was a big concern for Emilee, she is not an early  riser but she seems to be doing ok with it so far.

I am adjusting to my new normal, with no kids home during the day. It is exciting and I look forward to having the day to get my stuff done and then be able to focus just on my kids when they get home. I had a little more of the panic, nervous, anxious feelings though then I expected. Sending all three of my kids off to school all day for someone else to take care of, influence them and make sure they are safe makes my anxiety go up.

Allison’s Baptism

Allison turned 8 on her last birthday so we had her baptism this past weekend. Both grandparents were able to come and Ross and Lauren’s family came, plus a few friends. It was a pretty good day. A year ago she was telling us she would never get baptized. Then a little before her birthday she decided it was something she did want to do. She helped me pick our her new scriptures for church and a carrying case for them.  Her baptism was at 5 pm on Saturday so we spent the day at our house, visiting and playing with cousins and eating lunch together. She looked beautiful and did a great job. When her dad gave her the gift of the Holy Ghost he told her she was a valiant and tenacious spirit. I loved those words to describe her. Sometimes when we talk or teach Allison something about church she gets irritable and prickly and doesn’t want to listen or do it. She didn’t want to have a FHE on baptism, practice how to do the baptism, or invite anyone to her baptism. I think it is mostly the source of the information. One more thing that mom and dad are ‘talking at her about’. She doesn’t like to talk about how she feels or explain things that we read to me but I think that she feels the spirit and somethings are sinking in. It was really sweet after her confirmation she shook everyone’s hand or hugged them. When she got to her dad she hugged him and just held on for a little while. That is not very typical of Allison. After her baptism and confirmation she wanted to have donuts and root beer for refreshments. Grandma and Grandpa Jones gave her a picture of a path through a forest to remind her to stay on the right path. Grandma and Grandpa Terry gave her a necklace that was an 8 to remind her of her special day. Dad and I gave her scriptures and a little book to write down stuff about her day.

As a little side note, while Alli was getting changed after her baptism, her friend Michael Dunn asked his mom to look up her birthstone. She told him it was a ruby. He said, “Ok, I am going to give her a ruby with diamonds around it for her wedding ring.” They have been friends since they were born and their older siblings tease them that they are boyfriend and girlfriend, which bothers neither of them at all.

Dear Allison

Dear Allison,

This year is a big year for you. There is a lot of growing up in third grade. You are getting old enough that more will be expected and required of you. Your teacher will expect more responsibility from you. I want you to be a happy person Allison. Sometimes you might not think that, but I promise you it is true. I want nothing but the best for you. I want you to have real life long happiness. You are a sweet special girl to me. I LOVE YOU!! So, here are a few things I want you to remember as you start your third grade school year.

Pick good friends. Friends are important. Friends feel like everything, but if you don’t choose wisely, you can easily end up where you don’t want to be. Pick friends that have high standards. That think learning is cool, and that make you feel good about yourself. Pick friends that aren’t into being mean, and controlling you, and putting others down. Pick friends that want to do good, and be kind, even when someone isn’t kind back. Remember to be a good friend to others too. If you are kind and happy, you will attract kind and happy people. You are lucky to have a sister and a brother to be your friend your whole life. They can always be a friend when you need one.

Be yourself. Just because all your friends want to do something, doesn’t mean you have to. True friends will admire your confidence in being true to yourself. You are blessed with confidence Allison. I love that about you. Sometimes I think you feel like you have to be perfect and know everything. You don’t sweetheart. It is okay to admit you don’t know something. If you aren’t sure about something it is okay to ask for help. It will actually help you be more confident to recognize when you need a little extra help. It is good to let others help you.

Take care of your body. You do a good job at getting ready and wanting to look nice when you go places. That doesn’t mean having the trendiest clothes or the coolest shoes, or looking like someone else. You are a beautiful girl Allison. I want you to feel pretty and special and comfortable. Don’t stress about what everyone else wears or how they do their hair and having to be like them. You are beautiful the way you are. I love helping you do your hair and make sure you have clean nice clothes to wear. I want to help you. I love it when you accept my help. Your body is a gift, feed it good healthy food, drink water, and keep it clean. You are gifted at gymnastics. Use your talent to have fun, learn, and grow. Challenge yourself to learn and be able to do new things. Let your coaches help challenge you. Remember to take care of your body physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. All are very important.

School is important. Remember to enjoy learning and really learn stuff. Not just learn it enough to pass the test then forget it. I wish I had taken more time to enjoy learning when I was in school. It is hard to imagine now but when you are done with school, you will miss it sometimes. Having no responsibilities other than learning doesn’t happen as much the older you get, if ever. Enjoy that opportunity now.

Have fun. You’re going to be adjusting to a lot of new experiences in school, and it’s important to have fun. Try not to worry about being perfect, and relax into everything that comes your way. You only get to be this age once– you don’t need to grow up too fast.

Talk to us. If you’ll talk to me, I promise I’ll try to be understanding. I’ve been there. Friends hurt my feelings. I hurt my friends’ feelings. I made mistakes. I also know you’ll hear and see a lot of things that might make you scared, or worried, or confused. Talk to your dad and I about them, and I promise, you’ll feel better. Your dad and I love you like no one else does, and we always want to help you.

Don’t get wrapped up in girl drama. Sometimes girls aren’t nice. I wish I could stop you from ever having someone say something mean to you but I can’t. I can help you when you feel sad or your feelings are hurt though. Always remember to not be the mean girl too. Remember how you feel when your feelings are hurt and don’t make others feel that way by being mean, even when it is hard. You are a funny, smart, creative girl Allison. I love it when you share your kindness and happy side with me. Other people love it too.

Be the example. It’s hard being the example, and sometimes it sucks. But, people will look up to you for standing out, making good choices, and being kind even when you feel uncomfortable or uncool. Kids can be mean. So, stand up to the bullies, speak out against things you know are wrong, and don’t be afraid to be different. Even when it sucks. You might miss out on things, but I promise it’s not the end of the world, even though it feels like it. Be the example when you can, because you are brave, and strong.

Remember that we love you. I may not always know exactly how you feel, but I was your age once, and I remember the fun and not so fun things about third grade. You are never alone. You have a family that loves you, and even though we fight and argue sometimes you are one of my greatest treasures Allison. I love you more than I can explain. No mistake you make will ever make me feel different. YOU WILL ALWAYS BE LOVED. No matter what. Your Heavenly Father loves you too. No matter what situation or where you are, you are never alone. Heavenly Father is always there and will here and answer your prayers. I know this Allison. I promise you this. There have been many times in my life when He has comforted me, helped me, protected me, guided me, and reminded me that I am never alone and He loves me. Learn to listen, recognize and follow the promptings you receive from the Holy Ghost. You get them daily. It takes a lot of practice, but you are so amazing and smart and I know you can do anything you put your mind too.

Enjoy third grade my beautiful girl! You’ve got parents at home that always have your back. You are a power house Allison. You have the tenacity, brains, courage, and confidence to do so much good in your life, and bring so much happiness to those around you and yourself if you choose. You are beautiful inside and out. Don’t be shy about showing others how kind and thoughtful and sweet you are. I know we sometimes drive each other crazy but I wouldn’t trade you for anyone else in the entire galaxy. I love being your mom. I am blessed to be your mom. I love you!

 

 

Dear Matthew

Every year at Christmas I write each of my kids a letter from me that I put in their stocking for them. Sometimes they read them but most of the time it is quickly forgotten in the excitement of Christmas. I keep them for them each year and when they are older they can have them. I came across an article the other day that was about starting middle school. It got me thinking and I decided that I wanted to write Matthew and Allison a letter for starting school this year. I left it on their pillows for them but I decided to put it here for when they are older. It is my proof that I told them these things at some point too. Don’t worry Emilee, I will make you a fun picture or something with a note. You can’t read yet anyway. 🙂

Dear Matthew,

I’ve been thinking about you starting middle school next week a lot. I am excited for you. When I look back at any time in my life and what I was doing, most of the time there are a few “I wish I had known…” or “I wish I had done…” thoughts mixed in with all the memories and experiences. A little perspective it always helpful but ironically when you are in the middle of something it is sometimes the hardest point to get perspective from. It is hard to remember every specific thing you are taught but the hope is that eventually with enough reminders and repetition things will start to sink in and help you grow and develop your character, habits, and traits into a happy successful person. So, here are a few things I want you to remember as you start your middle school adventure.

Pick good friends. Friends are important. Friends feel like everything sometimes between now and through college, but if you don’t choose wisely, you can easily end up where you don’t want to be. Pick friends that have high standards. That think learning is cool, and that make you feel good about yourself. Pick friends that aren’t into being petty, and controlling you, and putting others down. Pick friends that want to do good, and value being kind, even when someone isn’t kind back.

Be yourself-confidence looks good on you. Middle school is a time to figure out who you want to be. You are trying to fit in, and that’s totally normal, but don’t blur who you really are with who you think you should be. Just because all your friends want to do something, doesn’t mean you have to. When they question you, don’t be afraid to just tell them that you’re not that interested. True friends will admire your confidence in being true to yourself. Confidence will always be a good look on you. I have seen your confidence growing the past year. I love it. I know you are more on the shy side and that is hard to overcome. Your dad and I both had that too, we know how you feel. When we push you we are trying to help you realize that the uncomfortableness is okay to push through so you don’t hold yourself back. Challenge yourself to continue to overcome that and develop your confidence.

Take care of your body. Wear deodorant, and take pride in how you look. That doesn’t mean having the trendiest clothes or the coolest shoes. It means that you should take the time to look presentable, put together, and ready for whatever life throws at you. No need to impress anyone with your clothes, but instead focus on treating your body as a gift. It is one. Feed it good healthy food, hydrate it, and trim your toe nails. J You know dads saying, ‘don’t be the stinky kid’. You are pretty good at this but as you get another year or two older it might feel like more of a struggle to do. You are gifted with a pretty good athletic ability Matthew. Use your talent to have fun, learn, and grow. Remember to take care of your body physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. All are very important.

School is important. You will have a lot more social activities, but school work is actually good. I am very impressed with your self-motivation and responsibility since you were in kindergarten to come home and do your school work and stay on top of all your assignments with very little if any reminding or help from me. Remember to enjoy learning and really learn stuff. Not just learn it enough to pass the test then forget it. I wish I had taken more time to enjoy things I was learning and process and internalize it more. It is hard to imagine now but when you are older and done with school, you will miss it sometimes. Having no responsibilities other than learning doesn’t happen as much the older you get, if ever. Enjoy that opportunity now.

Have fun. You’re going to be adjusting to a lot of new experiences in middle school, and it’s important to have fun. Try not to worry about being perfect, and relax into everything that gets thrown your way. You only get to be this age once– you don’t need to grow up too fast.

Talk to us. If you’ll talk to me, I promise I’ll try to be understanding. I’ve been there. I was awkward. Friends hurt my feelings. I hurt my friends’ feelings. I made mistakes. I also know you’ll hear and see a lot of things that might make you scared, or worried, or just plain confused. Talk to your dad and I about them, and I promise, you’ll feel better. Friends are a great resource, but your dad and I love you like no one else does, and we have a pretty decent perspective since we already went through middle school.

Don’t get wrapped up in girl drama. Middle school girls are full of hormones and drama. It’s a given. Be kind and honest with them, don’t make fun of or tease them for their feelings. Don’t play games with people’s emotions and feelings, or let them play games with yours. Respect them, and expect respect back. They are a person just like you, talk and act like yourself around them.

Electronics are not required. Your dad and I have talked to you about this often and a lot, and we will keep doing it. There are relationships to work on, books to read, and life to live. Don’t get sucked into what is happening on social media, the older you get the more you will feel the pressure for this. Social media is not required or necessary for having a happy social life. Video games are not required for a happy successful life. Go outside and live life, do something good for someone, create a memory, develop your talents.

Be the example. It’s hard being the example, and sometimes it sucks. But, people will look up to you for standing out, making good choices, and being kind even when you feel awkward or uncool. Kids can be mean. But, you’re not. So, stand up to the bullies, speak out against things you know are wrong, and don’t be afraid to be different. Even when it sucks. Sure, you might miss out on things, but I promise it’s not the end of the world, even though it feels like it. Be the example when you can, because you are brave, and strong.

Remember that we love you. I may not always know exactly how you feel, but you are never alone. You have a family that loves you, and we’ll always try to be a soft landing place for you when you fall. No mistake you make will ever make us feel different. YOU WILL ALWAYS BE LOVED. No matter what. Your Heavenly Father loves you too. No matter what situation or where you are, you are never alone. Heavenly Father is always there and will here and answer your prayers. I know this Matthew. I promise you this. There have been many times in my life when He has comforted me, helped me, protected me, guided me, and reminded me that I am never alone and He loves me. Learn to listen and follow the promptings you receive from the Holy Ghost. You get them daily. You will never regret it.

As you start middle school, remember that you’ve got this. You’re ready. You’ve got parents at home that always have your back. You are a very good person Matthew. I truly enjoy watching you grow and become the person you are. You have a good, kind, gentle, generous, loving heart. You came that way straight from Heaven the day you were born. I am blessed to be your mom. I love you!