Unread Letters

My oldest daughter is nearing her 12th birthday much to my chagrin. I keep telling her to stop growing up but she just won't listen to me! Last week she spent five days with her school class in Valley Forge. As in Pennsylvania. As in the opposite coast from where we live. When I first heard about this trip I was more than a little nervous about my little girl being so far away and I doubted she would even want to go. The school offered a week long program at home for those who wished to opt out and since she is kind of a home body and not very adventurous I thought she might like that option. We talked about her going to Valley Forge if my husband could go along as one of the chaperone parents, but it didn't work out. To my amazement, she said she wanted to go to Valley Forge anyway. It was a year before the trip. Surely she would change her mind as the trip got closer. When it was time to do all the paper work and start spending large sums of money she still insisted she would be fine, she really wanted to go. "Okay," I thought, "but she is going to get really homesick and miss her mom and dad." As the week of the trip neared and we were gathering and packing all the last minute items on the check list (I added a family picture to the list) she kept gushing about how excited she was! "She doesn't know what it's like to be away that long; the nights will be harder than she thinks," I worried.

The weekend before she left, my husband and I were on an anniversary trip. I happened to bring along a random information sheet about her trip and noticed for the first time we could send letters to our children in advance. What a great idea! I used the hotel stationary and both my husband and I wrote lengthy descriptions of everything we were seeing and doing along with advice for being homesick. I admonished her, "You'll be home soon enough so try to enjoy this experience as much as you can!" The letters I sent from the hotel would only cover the first couple days of her trip and I forgot to send one the day we got back as well as the Monday she left. I was very worried not only about her being the only child not to receive mail, but also about her feeling homesick and wanting a connection to her family back home. I hated to think of her feeling sad or lonely, so on Tuesday I wrote three separate letters, schlepped my two youngest children to the post office (always a dreamy experience, especially if the line is long and there are Disney bubble envelopes hanging low to the floor) and sent all three letters in an express envelope with each letter labeled "Wednesday, Thursday, Friday." There. I had done all that I could. Whatever happened from here on out was out of my control. I could only hope she would be okay.

It was a long week. No cell phones aloud. No emails. The only contact she would have from us would be those letters. I was glad I had gone to the trouble.

She got home at 12:30pm on Friday night. Both of us exhausted, we didn't talk much that night, but it was nice to have her home safe and sound. She was back under my wing where she belonged. The next day we talked about the trip and I was genuinely surprised at how nonchalant she was about the whole thing. It almost sounded like she wished the trip were longer. When I asked her if she liked the letters, she gave me a sheepish grin and said she "didn't have time" to read them! What! Didn't have time? I was spluttering incoherently in my mind but kept it cool with her and just laughed it off. Never even read them. Had an amazing time. Wished the trip were longer.

I guess she's growing up after all.

Sigh.

Family Trips are NOT Vacations

My husband and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary in April, but we didn't manage to get away alone together until the last weekend of May. What a dream! We were only gone for two nights and three days, but I felt like a completely different person! We have very rarely gone away like this so I had forgotten what it was like to sleep in, eat slowly, and stare into space uninterrupted. I enjoyed every second of every minute. We were in the quiet little coastal town of Cambria, just north of San Luis Obispo. We've often talked about driving up Pacific Coast Highway together and we finally did it. (Tho' we'd love to go all the way up the coast someday. Cambria is only about 31/2 hours north of Los Angeles.) We went to Hearst Castle, checked out the elephant seals, ate yummy food, walked the beach, visited a gorgeous nursery (Brandon wanted to check out the bonsai) and shopped for trinkets for the kids in the "quaint" downtown shops. It was heaven. Absolute heaven. THAT is the difference between a family trip and a vacation.

Bad News Bears

Does baseball get any more exciting than at the Little League level? I don't think so. My eight year old son William was on a team this year that only won 2 games out of 13 (or was it 16?) during the season. Then tournament began. The first game was scheduled the same night as our church's annual father and son campout (which they wouldn't miss for the world) so we were a little disappointed thinking he wouldn't make what would probably be the last game. They were playing a team that had easily beat them before, but somehow they pulled off a win with some pretty amazing plays from the accounts we heard. We were thrilled! We could make the next scheduled game so we were happy, assuming once again this would be the last game. That's when it started to get exciting. All the moms were up and out of their chairs actually cheering and getting nervous for once. I couldn't help but remark to one of the moms, "this was a lot easier when we always lost". I thought I was going to have a heart attack each time my son was anywhere near the ball. We won THAT game which then put us into the championship game against a team that had only lost ONE game during the season. They had handily beat us badly two times. What you have to know is that our coaches and our parents were all about just having fun and making sure all the boys had a good experience. Our coaches would give everybody a shot at all sorts of positions even if we were losing - they were really great guys. So now we are in the championship game against a team that was known for being fairly competitive. It played out like a movie right down to the huge, red headed son of the tall, good looking coach getting a homer every time he was up to bat. I'll make a long story short: by the last inning we were winning 1-0 and they were up to bat last. There had been so many strike outs and outs at first that only one run had been made the whole game so the other team was pretty excited to have two on base. There were two outs. My blood pressure was going through the roof. I thought the mother of the pitcher would pass out. There was only one more boy up before the red headed son of the coach. Can you imagine the pressure on that poor kid up to bat? He did manage to hit the ball, but they got him out at first and that was it! The A's, the losing-est team in the Pinto's 8 league won the championship! It was classic American Little League and my son was on cloud nine! (It wasn't too bad for the "fans" either.)

Every Day Can't Be a Disney Day

I've been trying to get back on track with my psycho "in a perfect world" schedule. This particular day that meant taking the two little girls to the library. (That's what good moms do, right?) Part of getting back on track is also getting everyone on a better sleep routine which was disrupted by the previous night's Little League game. I pressed forward though, waking everyone up early in the morning so they would conk out early that night. If only it were that easy. The baby was kind of spacey and whiny at the library. While I was trying to pay my big fat fine she started to throw a royal fit on the floor for a completely unknown reason. This is a new development happening more frequently than I would like. Bee line to the frozen yogurt store (a promise to the five year old) where she has another tantrum I am able to properly de-code: I want my gummy bears ON THE SIDE, Mom! NOT ON THE FROZEN YOGURT!!!!!!! Okay, deep breaths. I managed the rest of the frozen yogurt store without incident and she fell asleep as I pulled into the driveway around 12:30. Perfect! "She'll nap and wake up before 3 when the kids get home" I think to myself "and I can take care of the jury summons, the overdue tax payment, medical bills, the check list for my daughter's Valley Forge trip, sign ups for soccer before it's too late, etc. etc. etc." (LONG nasty list of paperwork that has built up.) While transferring her to her crib, the person that is building me a kitchen office (I have no office space right now, hence the paperwork build up) shows up unexpectedly (which is better than NEVER since this project is taking FOREVER) and wakes up the baby enough that she remembers her recent goal of resisting sleep in any way, shape or form. She spends the next hour hollering in her crib as I try to occasionally go in and help her back down. Did I mention a friend and her two children under 3 came back from the library with me and I'm also trying to make them lunch and set up a slip and slide? That's when the plumber showed up. Then a sales dude from Utah. I'm not making this up. It was a circus. I finally gave up, got the baby up and committed to not let her sleep until at least 6:30 when she could feasibly go down for the night. The friend went home and I spent the next 20 minutes going through the automated phone system for the LA court system to try to get excused from jury duty. (Please tell me 4 young children is a good enough reason!) When I was finally transferred to a person I hear "all circuits are busy" and to try later. Click. Now it's just about time for the older kids to come home from school and they showed up at the door with my sister in law's two older kids who asked if they could come over to play. I know my sister in law has been a little sick and since I am suspicious I gave it to her and I have a very very strong and active guilt complex, I say . . . YES!! Shoes off, backpacks open, snacks please, slip and slide, I want to go first, she hit me on purpose, can I have more snacks, do you have a different swimsuit, can you tie this, I need to use the bathroom, do you have a towel, turn the water down, will you get me some milk, it's time to come in - GASP! - it's 4:20 and the baby has fallen asleep in the highchair!! Argh!!!!!! My sister in law arrives and takes her kids after I explain to her older daughter 5000 times that I am not comfortable having my 11 year old "babysit" her at my house, and I leave sleepy head and the five year old with Kate while I take Will to a quick orthodontic appointment. This is by far and away the highlight of my day. To feel comfortable enough to leave Kate in charge for a bit and go alone with Will to that appointment where I sat for 20 blessed minutes mindlessly sifting through a magazine was wonderful. (I regretfully left my beloved planner in the car.) Back home at 5:30. Everyone is starving despite the 23 snacks they ate after school 2 hours ago. I pulled together some gyoza, rice and strawberries for dinner. Brandon got home around 7 at which point I had totally given up the fight! A wise woman knows when she has been beat, and I was beat! Just burn me at the stake, kids! Brandon let me have a minute to myself back in our bedroom where the laptop is today but then he started a robot building project with Will. Why is this happening at 7:30 on a school night? I have no idea. All I know is Elizabeth is now sitting on me "practicing" her recorder in my ear for the concert I will have to attend in a few minutes I am told. I have no more will to resist. "Where's the concert?" Next I'm in her bedroom watching the concert, the baby (who refused to wake up until 6:30) is racing wildly around the room with glee at the sound of the recorder which is driving me out of my mind. You know at this point the house is a wreck, but the missionaries from church don't mind that OR the time (8:00) when they show up unannounced just to "see how we are doing". Thanks, guys! (I know sarcasm is NOT a good virtue.) By 9:30 I am hiding out in my bedroom trying to make the day go away by going to sleep as dear Brandon plans to endure the baby's shenanigans until she goes to bed. Right at the moment I assume everyone else is in bed and I can drift into blissful oblivion I hear a HUGE clang from the bathroom. Sounds like a towel bar broke and fell. Sweet! Just another day in paradise.

Disneyland

Could there be anything more fun as a mom than surprising your newly minted five year old daughter that just the two of you are going to Disneyland? What a blast! This year at Disneyland you can go for free on your birthday if you bring a copy of your birth certificate so Brandon took the day off to stay with Rachael and just Elizabeth and I went to Disneyland! So so so so fun! The perfect age. She was adorable - about 6 or 7 times during the day she turned to me and said spontaneously, "Mommy, thank you SO much for bringing me here!" It doesn't get much sweeter than that. We were bummed that Peter Pan was closed, but going on "It's a Small World" two times made up for the loss. Next favorite was Pirates. Her best friend (and apparently her crush from what I heard her telling her cousin and big brother in the back of the car today . . .) Max has the same birthday and he was also there with his mom and dad so we spent a few hours together. Too cute. Here are some of the best pics.

Mother's Day

The best day of the year! Not only does my husband bring me breakfast in bed (seriously, can you believe that? english muffins with pumpkin butter, two perfectly cooked over easy eggs and some yogurt with fresh blackberries and raspberries) but he takes the kids and insists I have time to myself while also orchestrating a little family "program" where the kids give me their AWESOME homemade gifts and then say one thing they love about me. Happens every year. This year Kate gave me a beautiful plant and cute card with qualities she likes in me all starting with the first letters of my name. Will made me a painted, baked clay penguin (doesn't that rock?) and Elizabeth gave me a long, thin pink candle with a holder made from some spongey material which she also painted. I told my husband some day I want a curio cabinet just to show off the homemade gifts. Brandon also takes care of dinner, unless we are lucky enough to go to his mom and dad's house for dinner which happened this year. He did take the sides and went overboard with that too: strawberries and homemade whipping cream, crescent rolls and bagged, grocery store ceasar salad. (I hate to say it, but it's my favorite!) It was more like Father's Day because he was THE MAN all day long!

On Mother's Day at our church the kids under age 12 always sing to their moms during the main worship meeting. My 11 year old daughter was REALLY embarrassed about it and didn't want to go up. I could completely relate since I can still remember feeling the exact same way at her age (also a September birthday) but I begged her to do it for me since it would be the last time and I was feeling rather sentimental about it. Sweet as she is, she did it, but begrudgingly and the look on her face was worth it! We got a good laugh out of it together afterward. I think she liked hiding behind her cousin and making that rolled-eye expression while she was up there. It said a lot to me about where we are both at in this journey of motherhood: on the brink of a BIG, NEW STAGE! Are we ready for it? I'll let you know.

Some months are busier than others. . .

What a fun, exhausting, event filled month! We spent three days of our spring break skiing up at Big Bear with just our little family. The day after we got back my parents flew in from Iowa for 10 days. During that time we celebrated Easter and our 8 year old son William was baptized. (The major house projects are another story . . .) There are almost too many highlights to catalog, but it is certainly worth a try. Some memories just need to be recorded!

I am the one who really wanted to go somewhere "fun" for spring break, but Brandon gets all the credit for figuring it out and making the arrangements. I was a little more than hesitant about going back up on the slopes again after last year's fiasco. (A snowboarder slammed into me and I spent several weeks in a leg brace with a baby strapped to my torso trying to take care of the rest of my crew!) The kids were so excited tho' - it was worth my little bit of paranoia! They really miss the snow of Iowa every year when winter rolls around(this was our third winter in southern California) so it was a little more than ironic when we went just 2 hours north of our home near L.A. to find some cold and snow - in April!

Like most good family trips (there is a big difference between a family trip and a vacation . . .) we had plenty of stories by the end of our short three days. Two of the best were when Elizabeth got off the lift too soon and went rolling backward down the mountain! (She was fine . . .) The other was the night Brandon and I thought we'd settle down and watch some MASH episodes together in the peace and quiet of our little mountain condo after the kids were in bed. We lit a fire, snuggled up, turned on the DVD and then the smoke started. It ended up filling the whole condo and even set off the smoke alarm before we could get the fire out!

I failed to mention that Brandon also sent me to a day spa for a massage and pedi/medi because . . . he's awesome! The kids LOVED the old condo we stayed in because it had a ladder up to a loft area where they could hang out. Mom and Dad loved the hot tub outside. We all had a blast together one cold night playing telephone and screaming as we got out of the hot water into the cold air! We gorged on junk food and had an all around good time. I've already forgotten how exhausting it was! :D

We got home late Wednesday and went to the airport to get my parents on Thursday. We went to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley on Friday, opened Easter baskets, colored Easter Eggs and did food prep on Saturday, opened more "spiritual" gifts on Sunday morning (I like to do "Easter Bunny Saturday" and "Resurrection Sunday") and then enjoyed church and Easter dinner. On Monday my dad finally consented to let Brandon do a little urologic procedure for him which turned into a bigger deal than originally planned and dragged out until Wednesday, but I was so glad Brandon could do that for him! He is doing great now. On Thursday my mom and I took Elizabeth and "Flat Stanley" (for my niece Hannah in Iowa) to the Los Angeles Observatory and then all over Hollywood and Beverly Hills to get what I hope were some fabulous pictures because WHAT A PAIN IN THE NECK THAT WAS! Oh, it was funny when it was all over, but we sat in a LOT of traffic and had a lovely interaction with a completely CRAZY homeless person (it was seriously scary - never stop and ask for directions in Hollywood . . .) On Friday my mom and I took the kids out of school and went to Chinatown. Saturday Brandon took my Dad to the classic car show in downtown Montrose and then we got ready for Will's baptism that night.



;lk






Will's baptism was surprisingly spiritual considering what a little goofball he can be at times. His dad and I have been diligently trying to prepare him for this day. We really wanted him to feel the importance of the covenant he was making with God as well as realize it was his decision. We talked to him over and over again about listening in his heart for feelings of the spirit of God to confirm to him that what he was doing was right and and also to be able to sense the sacredness of this ordinance and covenant. Well, I've never seen him more serious than he was that evening. Before we got started we took some family pictures and then Brandon and I both had a personal letter for him to read before we began the meeting. I've never seen him like that. He took his time reading those letters, very carefully, and even quietly held up a little finger to his cousin when he came running up to let him know he would be just a minute. He was in a zone I had never seen him in before. We had a lot of beautiful music, Grandpa Waddell (PaPa) gave the opening prayer. Grandma Waddell (MiMi) spoke about her baptism and the principle of baptism in general. Brandon baptized him and (poor guy!) could hardly get the words out he was so emotional. While waiting for the two of them to get dressed and come back we had a time for people to share their spiritual thoughts and feelings and Aunt Laura, both Grandpas, Uncle Todd and Marty Newton all got the tears going for everyone! Then Grandma Reynolds spoke about the Spirit of God after which Brandon confirmed him an official member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and also conferred the gift of the Holy Ghost on him. More beautiful music and kind words by Floyd Walters (the member of the bishopric who was conducting) and a closing prayer by Grandpa Reynolds. Will was especially happy because his best friend Rithik came, with his parents and big sister. It was a wonderful day! That night when I tucked him into bed, I was snuggling him a bit and I just had to ask if he felt the spirit speaking to him. He looked at me seriously again (so rare for him . . . he's a funny kid!) and said, "Yeah, I even almost cried a couple of times."