Godspeed, My Son

It has been about 24 hours now since we put Ryan on the plane and said our goodbyes. The goodbye part is always hard. Kind of like "ripping off the bandaid," as Heidi would say.

We are gonna miss the happy, sweet, kind, compassionate, hilarious, thoughtful, friendly, hard-working, and humble presence that is Ryan. He leaves a gigantic hole. But what a happy experience! He is doing exactly the right thing at exactly the right time. Wouldn't change it for the world. All I can say is LUCKY CROATIA.



Enjoy the adventure, and Godspeed, my son. (Especially the speed part!)

Birthdays

Happy Birthday Ang.
A sweeter girl was never born.
Thanks for keeping us laughing and reaching higher.
You are the best thing that ever happened to July 10.
{Do you realize it was 70 degrees the day you were born????}
Fabulous mom, wife, daughter, and sister. Not to mention all the other stuff you do.
Hope your day is excellent! You deserve the very best.

The Twenty Year Tag

20 years ago I was

1. 35 years old.
2. Living in American Fork, Utah.
3. The wife of the bishop of our ward and he was traveling a lot with his work.
4. The mother of 4 children who were 9, 7, 5, and 2, and I was expecting #5.
5. Loving working in my very large yard, working with the Beehives in my ward, and playing in the yard with my kids after dinner instead of doing dishes.
6. Maybe perhaps the driver of a brown and cream Volkswagen Vanagon.

10 years ago I was

1. 45 years old.
2. Living in Mesa, AZ.
3. The wife of an employee of Oracle who traveled the world.
4. The mother of 6 children who were 19, 17, 15ish, 11, 9 and 4. Had one in college, one in high school, one in jr. high, 2 in elementary, and one in preschool.
5. Fighting my way back from the effects of mono.
6. The mother of the bride...Heidi got engaged and married. Busy, happy times.

5 years ago I was

1. 50 years old, and happy to make it.
2. Living in Mesa, AZ.
3. Now a granny, with 2 children now married.
4. The victim of purse theft and stolen identity. Very stressful, mounds of paperwork.
5. The mother of the bride again...Angie got engaged and married, making 3 married, 3 at home.
6. Still loving working in the yard and avoiding dishes.

3 years ago I was

1. 52 years old, even happier to make it.
2. Living in Mesa, AZ.
3. Enduring Mark's unemployment, working at Scrapbook.com and started teaching piano lessons.
4. Loving being a granny.
5. Anticipating Eric's mission call.
6. Still loving working in the yard and avoiding dishes.

So far this year I have

1. Become a senior citizen.
2. Appreciated more than ever my husband, children, and grandchildren.
3. Anticipated another grandchild.
4. Had a reception in the yard, had girl's camp, and helped Heidi move into her Colorado home in the space of 3 weeks.
5. Watched Ryan open his mission call. Wahoo!
6. Enjoyed working in the yard, avoiding cooking AND dishes as often as possible.

Yesterday I

1. Went to IKEA and bought what I went for PLUS a new kiddie table and chairs for granny's playroom.
2. Went to Sam's Club and got luggage and vitamins for Ryan's mission.
3. Went out to dinner with the fam. You gotta love Tia Rosa's.
4. Grabbed the shirts needing ironing and then put them back on the rack to wait.
5. Purchased at Target some little dishes to put in the little cupboard to then be played with on the new IKEA table. Got out the pretend fridge and stove from the attic. Unearthed a heap 'o memories!
6. Fertilized plants, sprayed weeds, avoided cooking and dishes.

Today I

1. Enjoyed the morning in church.
2. Finished up that last visiting teaching visit.
3. Went to choir.
4. Prepared dinner.
5. Enjoyed having everyone come home for dinner (except our Coloradoans.) Loved watching the grandkids enjoy the new set-up in the playroom.
6. Attended post camp fireside.

Tomorrow I

1. WILL go to the gym early-ish in the morning.
2. Need to do laundry and the above-mentioned postponed ironing.
3. Will finish Sunday dishes.
4. Need to get back to some missionary prep shopping.
5. Realize it is exactly one month till Ryan departs.
6. Will enjoy having Mark in town!

In the next year I

1. Will enjoy having a new grandchild.
2. Will look forward to weekly emails from Croatia.
3. Plan to spend as much time digging in the dirt as possible.
4. Will make trips to Colorado.
5. Hope to get some family history work done.
6. Will probably still be avoiding mundane household chores.

Actually, I think 20 years ago I started this post. I tag angieinpink, runningfan, and redheaded stepchild.

Licensed!

Let me introduce you to the latest and greatest real estate agent in Arizona. Yup, Eric got licensed last month and is more than willing to help you with all your buying/selling needs. We are really proud of his hard work and tenacity in getting this done so quickly. Break a leg, Eric! {You should definitely call him if you are in the market for a new house!}

Father's Day

Just have to make a quick post to honor this guy. What a blessing he has been to me and to my children. Thanks, Mark, for being a perfect example of all a dad should be.

Camp was....awesome!

Sometimes pictures speak louder than words.

Girl's Camp Eve

So, here's what I'm thinking about at 11:45 the night before camp.

1. What did I forget to pack? It seems impossible that there could be anything because of the ginormous duffle sitting in my living room. But there will be something. Guaranteed. Packing for all the "what ifs" is gettin' me down.

2. I'm already so tired I can't see straight. Not a good way to start out.

3. Do you realize it was snowing in the camp ground two days ago?

4. How did I get to be a senior citizen and not learn how to plan/organize/pull off girl's camp? Thank heaven for camp directors and great staff who did.

5. I'm gonna have fun. It is going to be a blast. Think of me hurtling down the zip line thinkin' I'm gonna die. What could be more fun than that? Maybe canoeing or shooting or repelling off of the giant tower? Maybe.

6. I'll be back in no time to give you a report. Only 4 sleepless nights to go. Hahahaha.

7. I really do love my calling.