saying goodbye

Ok, so not goodbye.  That suggests something permanent, and Dani is just going off on her next big adventure in life.  She's going to college. ( BYU )  She'll be back.

But it still is a big deal, and we still wanted to go over and say goodbye, and give her a few parting gifts, like an I ♥ Arizona bumper sticker, and Nick's Tigger to watch over.   Tigger will watch over her while she's away, and she can watch over Tigger while Nick's away ;) .

Of course if she meets some guy at BYU (it happens) then while we shall always be good friends, and we shall still love her, and I will be very happy for her happiness, she'll have to give Tigger back.

You know how most of your friends start off being your friend because your kids are friends and then you're like "Well, I better get to know their parents...." ? That's pretty much the case here, but fortunately I think my friendship with her parents has become strong enough to withstand our kids being gone.

But we wish Dani best of luck at BYU.  Even if she gets married in the first semester.  (Actually especially then, because marrying some guy you just barely met would necessitate a whole lot of good luck wished upon you.)

4th year camp revisted

Since the 4th year girls all got rained out this year, they arranged for them to participate in the activities they missed out on, namely hiking, rappelling, and canyoneering.

John volunteered me to drive, which I wasn't too thrilled about because it meant that I would have to participate in at the very least the hiking portion of the day, which isn't so bad except August in Phoenix isn't too pleasant, and I doubted there was any place in Arizona that we could make a day trip of from Phoenix that would be pleasant to hike in August.

And I was mostly right.  It was pretty hot and icky, but worth it.  And I didn't bring the requisite swim suit and board shorts required to do the canyoneering trip.  It may or may not have been on purpose, although I was a little sorry afterwards. Everyone talked about how fun it was.

(Side note- I have a serious prejudice against canyoneering.  When I was 17, my dad took me on a trip with my brothers and a bunch of other boys and it was probably the worst trip of my life.  They all thought it was fun.  I didn't think freezing my tail off because I was soaking wet and climbing over boulders for miles was fun. At one point I was gingerly making my way down the middle of the waist high waters of the Virgin River, walking on what can only be described as greased bowling balls when I fell and was completely soaked head to toe.  Modesty went out the window when I frantically started ripping off my soaking wet shirt to try and get warm.  My dad gave me his jacket. )

Besides, I was just a driver, and group chaperone.  I wasn't really expecting to be able to participate.  I thought the rappelling part looked fun, until I watched my friend have a minor panic attack.  And she's no shrinking violet.  She's the type of girl, who for her 40th birthday gets trapeze lessons.  And then shows you her certificate and bruises to prove it.

So I went and found myself a perch where I could take some pictures (and also kept me at a safe distance in case anyone wanted to offer me the same opportunity).

So I watched and photographed.

From my vantage point it seemed Maddie was having a hard time.  Compared to the other girls, she seemed to be spending a considerable more amount of time talking to the guy who was helping her over the edge.

And me being the awesome, supportive mother that I am, I yelled for them to "Push her!"  Several times.

She finally went.  (I found out later that she was having a total panic attack and actually crying.  And then to make matters worse some of the other groups were doing the canyoneering part, and were at the bottom of the cliff in the river, and recognized her, and were cheering her on.  No pressure.)

And then to my horror, that guy who helped Maddie over the edge (I think he was a Bishop in another ward), he pointed at me and beckoned me to come over there.  I reluctantly obeyed.

He felt that Maddie and I needed to "share that experience, so that we could have something to talk about".  I won't deny that I deserved it. Stinking karma.

And from a distance it doesn't look that scary, but when you are the one strapped in, and they are telling you to lean backwards.  Like actually lean backwards.  Like try to make yourself perpendicular to the cliff.  What the heck?

"I can't do it."  I probably said that like a dozen times.

And then he said something that got me to go for it.

He said, "You've done harder things."  I mean, the guy doesn't know me, and I have no idea what he classified as "harder" than leaning backwards off a really tall cliff, but I thought, "Well, I am a mom. I did give birth.  Four times.  Once without an epidural."   I still can't think of anything harder than that. (And all that comes with it.)

So I went.  And it was fun.  But then of course, what goes down, must come up, and that meant climbing up a rope, and that kinda sucked, cause I was tired and shaky, and still recovering from leaning backwards off a cliff.

Maddie hated it though.  She crossed that one off her bucket list, and vows never to go again.  She has a paralyzing fear of heights which seems to be getting worse as she gets older.

cub scouts

I love this picture.

Our Bear troop was in charge of leading the Flag Ceremony.  The other two boys who were there on time had already earned their Bear, so Christopher got the dubious honor of leading the attendees at the monthly pack meeting.

He wasn't thrilled with me standing there and helping him, but the actual ceremony went something like this-

Christopher "Denner- Please stand for the flag ceremony"
Me- (whispering) "We don't say denner"
Christopher (not whispering) "Is denner a bad word?"

And then he proceeded to plow through the whole ceremony barely giving the color guard time to do their job.   Not quite the solemn, respectful ceremony we were going for, but he gets points for enthusiasm.

(Lucky) Thirteen

Zach turned 13.

My third teenager.  The other two have been (relatively) easy (so far) so I'm not as wary as I was when the other two turned 13.

Plus, he's a pretty good kid.  In his first thirteen years on this planet he's made (mostly) good decisions (nobody's perfect) gets good grades, and picks good friends.  He torments his little brother a bit, and isn't a fan of practicing the piano or trumpet, but he's sweet and smart and creative and funny.

In fact, if he follows in the footsteps of his siblings, I think I have a lot to look forward to in these teenage years.

We actually celebrated his birthday a week early because his grandpa was in town, and his brother left on his mission the day before his actual birthday.   I did make him a second cake though for his actual birthday.  It's a rootbeer float cake and one of his favorites and it disappeared pretty quickly the first time. (plus it's super easy to make)

The Best Two Years

That's what they say anyway.  Of course the verdict is out on whether it's the best two years OF your life, or FOR your life.

Arrival at the airport.  Maybe it's just me, but he looks nervous.

Trying to hide his nervousness with a smile. Plus I miss that awkward goofy way he stands sometimes. It's like he doesn't know what to do with his limbs.

I'm a little behind on the blogging (like 3 months) so I'm pre-dating this, pretending it's really August when I am actually smack in the middle of November, trying to remember the thoughts and feelings as I sent my first born child off into the world for two whole years.  Yes, it's just Montana, the water is safe, and packages usually arrive safe and sound (sometimes I have to pay an extra Three Whole Dollars to have the postman have someone sign for it so it doesn't just get dumped on the front porch) But in some ways it feels like he's half a world away.

I can't help but wonder how this picture will change in the next two years.  Maddie doesn't have much hope of growing taller, and Nick probably not much either, but I think the younger two will change quite a bit.

They say the first few months are the longest, and the rest of it seems to fly by, and I am holding to that faith because while these may be the best two years for/of Nick's life, I'm worried they will be two of the longest of mine.  (With three other kids wanting to go on missions, those are nearly 8 long years I am staring down)

But I'm proud of him.  It was time for him to go.  I became painfully aware during the extra six weeks that he was home that he needed to go.  Not that I didn't love having him around, but it was this feeling that I had done all I could.  He will learn more and grow more in the next two years out in the mission field than he could ever at home.  In fact, it felt like it wasn't even a contest. Any growth or learning going on here was minuscule compared to what would happen on his mission.  It's hard to explain, but the feeling to get him on that mission, despite how much I knew I'd miss him, was overwhelming.  He needed to Go. Now.

Luckily his friend, Elder Logan Hendrix would be flying on that same flight with Nick. Tender Mercy.

And so he went.

Of course I couldn't resist the urge to stalk for a little bit as he was in the security line.   "Hey, your mom is taking a picture..."

" Oh hey mom!"

He's smiling because he knows I'm a ridiculous stalker.  His glasses are off because he was trying to clean himself up from crying.  This goodbye was hard on all of us. 

You can read all about his adventures on his blog -> just click on his picture there on the sidebar on the right.

Stake President Layton saw them at the airport.  His flight was an hour before theirs, but he hung out and waited to see them.  

My parents were able to pick them up at the airport and take them to lunch and then to the MTC.

And it's a curious feeling sending someone off into the world, knowing they won't be the same when they get back.  Hopefully all good changes though.  Three months later, and he tells me he has finally learned the value of a hamper. "You'd be proud of me, mom.  There are no clothes on my floor.  Ever." (This is what I was talking about.   18 1/2 years, and I couldn't manage to teach him that, despite my best efforts.)

Grandma and Grandpa Berrett

It just occurred to me that some day in the not too distant future, that could be my title. I admit I am looking forward to being a grandma, but not for awhile, and I am really not thrilled with being called a grandma.

Not the point.  Sorry got off topic.

John's dad and his wife, Linda visited!

Which was another unexpected little bonus since Nick didn't leave when he was supposed to.  He got to see his grandparents again before he left, so that was cool.

We commemorated the event by taking pictures out front.  I set up my tripod and hit the delay button so I could have 10 seconds to run and get in the picture.

I was going through the pictures today and was really starting to worry that I didn't get one decent picture. This one will have to do!

(Christopher can't wait until he's taller than grandma Linda.  He talks about it all the time.)

Hangin' with Nick

With the kids in school, Nick and I had a little bit of time to hang out.  (When he wasn't off with his friends)

We did things like go to the temple (and run into other friends)

And go out to lunch (with other friends)

I like having a grown-up kid.  He's kinda fun to hang out with.  (And if you can't tell, he was pretty proud of that grown-up beard he was sporting while he had the chance)

First Day of School

Of course we have to have the requisite first day of school pics. (I admit that it's weird to only have three kids going off to school. I feel like I'm forgetting someone)

Maddie-  10th grade

Zach - 8th grade

Christopher - 4th grade