Homecoming 2009

In an effort to take a break from the emotions and excitement of missions, I am posting about Homecoming. Tess and Jessica both attended Homecoming with some friends from the ward. It was fun to go dress shopping (JCPenney is a great place to get nice dresses without spending a fortune!). The girls spent most of the day (Saturday) at a sub-district swim and dive meet. They rushed home, chlorine-drenched hair and all to get ready for their dates.

The boys arrived on time to find out that the girls were NOT ready! So, they waited nervously in the doorway. I tried to get them to come inside and sit down, but they preferred to stand in the entryway. Perhaps they were positioning themselves to make a quick get-away before getting the third-degree from mom and dad.

Finally, the girls were ready, looking beautiful! The group of them went to dinner...where Jessica's date apparently became violently ill and had to abandon the event mid-dinner. Jessica was a good sport, and went to the dance with Tess and her date. The group headed to the school dance...school dances always leave something to be desire in my mind. However, since I was chaperoning the dance, I felt okay about them attending. I think they only stayed about one hour (watching the dance from the side-lines) and left to spend the rest of the evening back at a friends home. Overall, it went well (for Tess) and they enjoyed wearing the new dresses to church the next day.

Tess is already thinking about Senior Prom. We may have to pull a favor or two to get some help in adapting a dress for Tess for the event. This is an exciting year for Tess, she has begun to apply to BYU (Idaho, Provo, and Hawaii). We will know where she will be attending college next year sometime in January.

Travis has entered the MTC

Well, I have just returned from taking Travis to the MTC. He and I flew from Seattle to Salt Lake City on Monday afternoon. We spent Tuesday visiting the sites around Temple Square. Our events for the day included attending the Salt Lake City Temple, watching the Joseph Smith movie, touring the Conference Center, and spending time together talking, reminiscing, etc. It was some of the best time I have ever spent with Travis...which made the pending curbside drop-off at the MTC even more difficult.

I am not trying to be dramatic, but it was the hardest thing I have ever done. Wayne and I have

remarked how Seth and Travis are looking forward, imagining the future for themselves, while we are looking back into the past. We are wishing for more time, more memories, more experiences, more joy. All of these emotions and thoughts are what made Wednesday's experience so hard. I have cried tears of joy and tears of sorrow...however I know that the work Travis is doing is tremendous. He is so excited, so overjoyed, and ready to begin his "Best Two Years". I would summarize the

experience by saying that I was truly caught off guard at how "unprepared" I was to let him go,

how much I wanted to hang on to him forever, how much I love him. One's children mean so much to them, and it is times like this, times when we

must let them go that we remember how much they

mean to us and how much they have made our life experiences what they are.

So, from this point on I am trying to look forward myself. I am trying to build memories with what I have. I am seeking patience, understanding and long suffering for my family. We will work harder to appreciate each other, and the time we have together. Sadly, they do grow up too fast, and although that statement has not been much more than a cliche to me in the past, it has new meaning today!

Only 729 days until Travis returns

home! I will be giving him a long overdue hug. By the way, Seth leaves us in 13 days. I am trying to prepare once again for a teary-eyed good bye.

Thank you to everyone who attended Travis' open house. The turnout was tremendous, he and I both felt very loved by our ward family. Thank you so much for your support, it means the world to our entire family!

Travis, "God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again!"

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The Pumpkin Patch, One Last Time!

We have been experiencing a series of "lasts" over the past few weeks. Sometime last week we realized that we needed one last trip to the pumpkin patch as a family before the boys leave. I must admit that my attitude about the trek to the pumpkin patch, through the corn mazes, and up and down the rows of overpriced pumpkins was much different this time around. In the past we have enjoyed most of our trips through the pumpkins and corn mazes. Sometimes we have not really enjoyed it...managing such a trip with eleven people can be...what's the word..."tricky" to put it nicely! This year, however, it was nostalgic! This will likely be the last one we will visit as an entire family, at least without flying someone home for the occasion. When the boys return from their missions, we will have two daughters at BYU, and two others who will be high school seniors! Times are changing. For the most part, I welcome such changes as an opportunity for new experiences. I look forward to the next life adventure. But in the past, such adventures did not include a child leaving home (or two children leaving home).

I have decided that the best thing to do is to focus on what is still the same, what good is coming of the boys serving missions, and the blessings our families will experience as a result of Seth and Travis serving the Lord for two years. I would imagine that the blessings will be great, and that our family will be better for them having served.

Here are some more photos from the pumpkin patch...this is one of Jessica and me as the official winners of the corn maze race (with only minimal cheating)!

Here we are weighing the family on the large scale that weighs your pumpkins and calculates the enormous price you will pay for them (sorry for the sarcasm). In case you were wondering, our family weighs 1,553 pounds. Divide that by eleven and we each weigh about...you can do the math!

Continuing with our theme of "lasts" we had one last family dinner on Sunday. We enjoyed the meal with some of the grandparents as they said their final good-bye's to Travis for quite some time. Overall, we are amazed and pleased at our sons desires, willingness, and worthiness to serve missions. We are new parents when it comes to things beyond high school, so we are going to try to enjoy the experience and grow as a family!

Travis is having an open house on Sunday the 18th...this Sunday from 6:00 to 7:00pm at our home. Please call if you have any questions!