Happy Birthday, Boy

Dear Carson,

Today you turn 15. I can hardly believe that 15 years has passed by so quickly. I'm sure I will say that last part every year-- "I can't believe (insert year) has passed by so quickly."

Having you as a member as our family has been a true blessing. Your quirky sense of humor has provided many stories that will live on for years and years. Your questioning nature, while at times frustrating for parents, will serve you well as you learn and grow. I just caution you to always be mindful of the Holy Ghost and continually pray to our Heavenly Father as you are seeking for answers and understanding.

Yellowstone, July 2011

You spent this last week in Yellowstone with your dad and Grandpa Graham. I can tell that your love cupboard was filled during this last week as you got to spend quality time with those two. How can I tell? Because your eyes were bright and your wonderful smile was on your face all night. I was also able to tease you a little about all of the cute girls I met while I was at Girl's Camp and how I could fix you up at the next stake dance. We'll try to keep that cupboard filled so we can enjoy your smile and laugh.

You are a hard worker, even though sometimes it takes a little pushing to get you going. Learning to work hard is an important life skill and will be necessary as you venture out on your own. Your father is a wonderful example of a hard worker. Watch and learn from him. You will learn from him that you can work hard but also play hard once the work is done. Learn to apply that work ethic not just to physical labor but also to your schooling.

Work on strengthening your relationship with your sister. When you were younger, you two were very close. When we would visit Grandpa Lee and Grandma Flo, the two of you would play together all day in the lake. Grandma Flo often commented on how wonderful it was that you two were such great friends. I know that as you get older it is easy to drift apart as you each become involved in your own activities and find other friends. I get that. But I would still encourage you to take the time to find out what fills her love cupboard so that you can find that friendship once again. (Yes, of course, I will give this same advice to your sister, but today this letter is to you.)

I love you, Boy. I love being your mom.

Love,
Mom

Taking a Stab at Carson's Homework

Carson is taking an independent-study creative writing course this summer. I was so impressed when he picked this course out of all the available independent study courses. He actually is quite a good writer so I'm excited to see the growth that will surely occur with taking this course.

Watching Carson work on this course has stirred a dream I haven't thought about since I was in about 4th grade. When I was in elementary school I really wanted to be a writer. I had a notebook full of stories, thoughts/ideas, and plays. As I got older and became more self-conscious about my perceived lack of talent, I buried that dream and never really thought more about it--until now. The other day Carson shared with me one of the prompts that he was given to use as a starting point for a one-page story. I don't know how much Carson has worked on developing a story from this prompt, but I have spent several nights developing the story in my head. Now I just need to put it down on paper and maybe share it.

Maybe I have a project for my 40's--rekindling that writing dream.

Can I Reclaim the Gift if It Hasn't Ever Been Used?

I find giving gifts to teen-agers a precarious adventure. I hate asking for a list as much as my teen-agers hate making the list. My aversion to asking for a list is that I find it a manifestation of my failure as a parent to really know my child. The need to ask for a list means that I have not been as attentive to their likes/dislikes in order to successfully pick out a desired gift--at least that what it means to me. I'm not sure why my kids drag their feet in making a list, but perhaps it is because they feel like I should know them well enough to not need a list.

Eventually, they usually comply with the request and we do our best to accommodate their wish list. Although, I must admit, there have been times when Dave and I have gone rogue and not purchased anything from the provided list. That usually only occurs when the requested items are beyond our ability to provide, such as the time that Carson asked for a tree large enough in which to build a tree house.

So with all of that said, I am now at the subject for today's post. Last year's Katelyn's Christmas list included just a few items. First was clothes, usually a safe gift as long as a gift receipt is included. Next was make-up. Then there was a laptop and i-phone, neither of which was in the budget. There were a few other items that I can't remember. Last, but not least, was an i-pod nano.

All of the received Christmas gifts have been used with the exception of...

The i-pod nano

Yep, the nano and the $50 gift card sit in her room completely untouched. Actually it's worse than untouched. They remain unopened. Discarded, as if they were completely unwanted, even though they were on the list.

I could use the nano. It would be nice, on occassion, to run with some tunes. I haven't purchased a nano for me because I'm just too cheap to buy one just for me. But if there is one in the house that has been unopened for over 6 months, does it become fair game? Can I take it back? It's tempting. It may happen. We'll just have to see.



I Tri'd at Hayden Lake

As you might guess, I am the one putting on the yellow cap

About a month ago I was running with some ladies from church. They were busy talking about their training. I asked what they were training for and they said the Hayden Lake Triathlon. I just tucked that little tidbit of information into my brain and didn't say much other than "good luck."

Well as so often happens, that little tidbit continued to grow and the thought of doing a triathlon became appealing again. I was a little nervous about getting ready because of the short timeline--4 weeks really isn't a lot of time to train. Fortunately, I had a really strong cardiovascular base from all of my running so I really only needed to get my arms ready to swim a 1/2 mile and my legs ready for a 12 mile bike ride followed by a 3 mile run.

I had some other friends who were training for a triathlon the week before the Hayden Lake triathlon so I hopped in with them on their training schedule. Training with friends is so much better than training on your own.

I felt ready to roll on Saturday. I was as prepared as I could be.


Don't I look confident and excited? OK, maybe it was a forced smile, but I was excited & feeling pretty confident.


The race went pretty well. My swim was about what I expected it to be. The thing I felt happiest about with the swim was that I finally started out aggressive and didn't hyperventilate. My bike was way faster than I expected it to be--a lot faster than I had trained. That was good and bad news. Good because it was fast. Bad because my body wasn't used to where my heart rate was at as I transitioned to the run. Because my heart rate was more elevated that I was used to, my run was a little slower than it had been during my training, but I was still able to finish strong.



Goal finish time was 1 hour 30 minutes. Actual finish time was 1 hour 31 minutes. Overall, it was a good race. I was so grateful for my support crew (David, Carson, and my friend Marla). I'm pretty sure that I'll do this one again next year; hopefully with the same group of ladies from church.







The ladies who inspired me to tri again.



A Visit to Mt. St. Helens

May 18, 1980.

Does that date have any significance for you?

 It doesn't mean a whole lot to me, but it is a day that was a big deal for Dave.

 His dog, Ginger, had puppies.

Oh, and Mt. St. Helens blew its top.

Dave was 10 and living in Elma, WA when the mountain erupted. He said he can remember having to wear masks whenever they went outside. He also remembers it getting dark and the ash falling all around. The news stories are etched in his mind.

Last weekend (particularly Saturday) was a bright, clear day. The mountain was visible for much of the time once one went south from Centralia. Dave was fascinated by the mountain and would watch for it around every bend. He was looking forward to stopping and seeing it up close on Sunday.

Sunday wasn't as bright and crisp as Saturday, but good enough that we could stop and still see something. We stopped at the Visitor's Center at the base, but didn't spend much time there as there was an admission charge. I did get a picture from that Visitor's Center.

We proceeded up the highway, through Toutle and a few other small towns. The whole time, Mt. St. Helens was visible out the passenger's side window. I only had to remind David a handful of times to please watch the road and not the mountain. The highway doesn't actually take you up Mt. St. Helens; maybe it did before the mountain erupted, but the new highway is across the river from Mt. St. Helens.

 

We finally arrived at Johnstons Ridge Observatory and Visitor's Center. The mountain looked massive from that vantage point. We walked around a little, viewed the film and exhibits in the Visitor's Center, and took a moment to take another picture.

 

Dave was so glad that he finally got to visit the volcano. The boys kept asking what would happened if it blew again while we were up there--there was steam coming out of one of the lava domes. I asked them if they had learned nothing from the film and observing the landscape around us because to me the answer seemed obvious what would happen if the mountain erupted again while we were there.

On the way down, Carson spotted Sasquatch (his fascination with the legend of Sasquatch is fodder for a whole other blog). We stopped for another picture with the Squatch and a picnic.

And thus ended our visit to Mt. St. Helens.

Oh, and the extra boy in the pictures is my nephew, Skyler.

He Did It--The STP in a Day

Carson and I spent last Saturday being support crew for Dave as he rode in the Seattle to Portland bike ride. He completed all 204 miles in one day. To me, that is one impressive feat. I'm not sure that I could be that determined. I think a crash like Dave had at the Loreen Miller ride (a century ride he did on Father's Day) would have deterred me from riding a bike for a very long time. But he was a brave soul, got back on the the proverbial horse, and decided not to let the months of training go to waste.

I wasn't super great about getting pictures. I have no start line pictures because I didn't go to the start line with him. He and his brother left Puyallup at 3 o'clock in the morning so they could be at the UW by 4:15. They (Dave, his brother, Mike, and Mike's friend William) left in the first wave of riders at 4:45 a.m. We first saw them as they rode into Spanaway at 8:15 a.m. The guys stopped briefly for a natural break, a chat, and a kiss. The next stop was in Centralia at around 11:15 a.m. The stop was a little longer here because they had lunch. The road trip continued and we saw them again in Winlock. Here I actually remembered to get my camera out and took a picture of Dave. 

We missed them at the next stop just outside of Kelso because they were so smokin' fast. We caught them a few miles down the road from the pit stop and fueled them up with good ole Quater Pounders. We saw them one more time in St. Helens, Oregon and then it was on to the finish line at Portland. They rolled into Portland at 6:25 p.m. I did manage to get a few more pictures here.

Crossing the finish line--Dave is the rider in red

Dave and Carson with Carson's version of a support sign.

Dave and his brother, Mike

William, Dave, and Mike

Dave said it was a good ride and he is already looking for the next event for this summer.

On Sunday we stopped at Mt. St. Helen's on the way home, but I'll save those pictures for another post. This post was about Dave for Dave.

Good-bye 30's

On Sunday I said good-bye to my 30's and welcomed the new decade of life called "the 40's". I did so much during my 30's that I wonder if my 40's will be able to keep up.

In my 30's I:

• moved to a new city.
• received a 2nd bachelor's degree and a master's degree.
• started my first 40 hr/week job because my children were in school full-time.
• started this blog.
• went on some really great vacations; some places we visited more than once because we had such a great time there.
• lived longer with my husband than I did with my parents.
• celebrated my 20th wedding anniversary.
• had a couple of health scares, but everything worked out OK
• became a runner and dabbled with a few triathlons.
• ran 5 half-marathons.
• had several ups and downs with my testimony, but with each down came a significant amount of spiritual growth.
• served in several different callings at church; some I really enjoyed, others not so much.
• developed a few really frustrating food allergies.
• made some really great friends.
• found some new interests, like gardening and photography. Pretty good at the gardening thing, photography not so much.
• enjoyed being an aunt and greeting each new niece and nephew.
• learned to love my husband in a deeper way and appreciate him for all he does for me and our family (read--became less selfish)
• discovered that being a parent to teen-agers is absolute kick and I love it.

I'm sure there were other things that I did in my 30's that should have made this list, but right now they escape me. I hope that doesn't signal a sign of aging--diminished memory. I am looking forward to some of the changes that this next decade will surely bring; others I'm not sure I will embrace so readily (such as the possible post-menopausal weight gain). But most of all I just don't want my time to be a waste. I want to know and follow the plan God has for me.

You Are Now Entering the Twilight Zone

It all started Sunday night after the birthday party guests had left. Carson had the remote and was channel surfing. He hadn't been flipping through channels for long when he stumbled upon a show that caught his attention. His first exposure to this show was at Disney's Tower of Terror, but until he found it on Sunday, he hadn't really watched any episodes. That would not be the case after Sunday. He discovered that the sci-fi channel was running a Twilight Zone 24-hour marathon. He was fascinated by the show.

Carson continued to be sucked in to the Twilight Zone all day Monday. Every chance he had, he would turn the TV to the sci-fi channel and watch. But what his dad and I didn't realize was just how much Carson was taking in and internalizing. His mind was spinning and thinking. We should have paid more attention and realized how this child's mind works. If we had, we would have cut him off. It would have saved us from the rest of this story if we had.

As I said, all day Monday Carson was watching as much Twilight Zone as he could. I spent much of the day in a Benadryl-induced coma, so I was a little oblivious to his new obsession. Finally, at 10:30 last night, Dave told Carson enough and that he needed to go to bed. Reluctantly, Carson headed to bed, but not until he had made sure the rest of the episodes were set up to be DVR'd. Dave and I headed to be shortly thereafter--probably around 11 p.m. We checked on the kids as we always do and turned out the lights.

Around 11:30, 11:40, the phone rings. Dave jumps to answer it and no one is there. A little weird, but we think nothing of it. About 15 minutes later, the doorbell rings--twice. Again, Dave gets up. This time to see who is at the door. I stand at the top of the stairs and ask who is at the door. Dave says no one is there. Now, I'm starting to get a little annoyed because I really just want to go to sleep. Next thing, the phone rings again. Dave picks up the extension in the kitchen and I get the extension in the bedroom. We can hear something on the other end, but nothing definite. Dave decides to go check to make sure the basement is locked. I see him come back and grab a golf club.

There is some noise and confusion. A "You almost got hit with this," and a distinct chuckle. Up from the basement comes Carson followed by David.

Carson is grounded from watching any more episodes of Twilight Zone.