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!

In a "Holding Pattern"

We had a great weekend, as Seth and Travis went through the temple for the first time. It is interesting to view them as adults more so now than before. As the title mentions, we are in a "holding pattern" waiting for the boys to leave on their missions. Travis leaves for Hiroshima, Japan on October 19th. That's less than one month (for those of us who are keeping track). I have decided that I must fly him out to Provo and deliver him to the MTC myself. Everyone's work schedules do not permit us to make a pilgrimage to Provo, but I couldn't bring myself to drop him off curbside at the airport! So, I will be dropping him off curbside at the MTC.

I am not sure if everyone realizes that missionaries are no longer accompanied into the MTC for a short farewell ceremony as has been done in the past. So, we will be arriving on a Monday night, spend Tuesday touring Salt Lake City and the BYU campus...and then it's farewell until October of 2011. Wow, 2011 that's a long time from now.

Seth, on the other hand, will be dropped off at the airport. Seth had the pleasure of spending three weeks in Florida with his grandmother. He had a great time! We made a "deal" that this trip took the place of us flying him down to Provo ourselves. Seth will leave for Provo on November 4th. His cousin, Nick left for the same country (Dominican Republic) today! Both Seth and Travis will be in the MTC together for Thanksgiving...the thought of them being "together" brings me a sense of peace and contentment. Seth will leave the Provo MTC in late November, heading for the Dominican Republic MTC for 9 more weeks of training. Travis will linger in Provo until January 4th. Seth is excited to be serving in an area where he will learn a new language and be able to serve the Lord in a way that he has not done before. The missionaries in our ward have made good use of Seth (and Travis) as they take them on discussions with them. What an exciting time this is for our family. Everyone is looking forward to hearing all about the adventures and challenges that the boys will surely face over the next two years.

We were able to purchase a "countdown" poster from Deseret Book last week...Seth and Travis will have a well documented mission! It was nice to see them pick out a missionary journal along with a new scripture bag and a pocket-sized hymnal. Seth received his missionary suit ( he was told to only purchase one...and that it will be left in the mission home) and a very nice watch for his birthday on Sunday. I guess you could say that our preparations are well underway!

School Begins!

Well, another summer has come and gone. The kids (and parents) go back to school on Wednesday, September 9th. I think we are the latest school district in the state to start school, or at least it seems that way. Seth and Travis are working odd jobs and preparing to leave for their missions soon. Travis leaves first on October 21st and Seth follows on November 4th. They will both be in the Provo MTC for Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to them heading out on their missions, but with some sadness too. It seems strange to be letting them go.

Our youngest, Evan and Alyssa are all alone at the middle school this year. They are in 7th grade together, and have said "good bye" to Aarun who has entered high school. That really shakes me up...Aarun in high school! Wow, how time flies!

Tess is a senior, Jessica a junior, Amanda and Ethan are sophomores, and Aarun is a freshman. Wayne and I will have an especially busy school year. I am working as the Dean of Students at the high school in the morning, teaching in the afternoon, and being a principal intern with my spare time. As Wayne and I both wrap up our Master's degrees, this will probably be our busiest year yet! Luckily, we don't mind sharing the work load and are pretty good at getting the kids to pitch in!

We are already planning a big summer trip to celebrate a busy school year. Perhaps Disneyland again next summer! The kids really enjoy the sights and sounds of southern California. We hope to be able to have one last big trip before sending Tess off to college next fall. Additionally, I hope to be working as a middle or high school assistant principal in the '10-'11 school year, so a nice trip would be a great beginning for a new adventure.

Grandma Ellen

It is with sadness and many fond memories that I report that my Grandma, Ellen Lee, passed away earlier this week after a nearly three year battle with Ovarian Cancer. Grandma was so valiant in her battle, refusing to give up, never complaining, and always considering the thoughts of others.

My earliest memories of Grandma are of summers spent on her farm (with Grandpa) on Thorp road in Ellensburg. Every time we drive through Ellensburg I look for the farm house and big barn...it is still there even though the barn is blue instead of the original red. I recall picking lettuce and raspberries in her garden, attending swimming lessons in town, and most of all playing in her square dancing dresses in the attic with my cousin Lisa. As we grew older, grandma never seemed to change. Her house decor was always familiar, her scented lotion the same, and her kind and loving spirit always comforting. I struggle with the thought of not being in her home this coming holiday season...even when she was not well, she always enjoyed the holidays and invited us to her home. If I am counting correctly, she is a grandmother to six children, and a great-grandmother to fourteen great grand children. Her spirit will always be remembered, and my heart aches to think of her not being a phone call or visit away. May my father be comforted, my cousins as well, and may we always cherish our memories of Grandma Ellen. I feel confident that she has been reunited with the many loved ones we have lost and who await our eventual return to our heavenly home. I love you, Grandma!

Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo West Mission!

Seth received his mission call on Thursday to the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo West mission! Immediately we realized that Seth's cousin, Nick, is also going to the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo area. He is in the Southern Mission. How interesting! Seth enters the MTC in Provo on November 4th for three weeks, and then transfers to the MTC in the Dominican Republic for another six weeks of training. We are so happy for Seth! When Wayne and I married, Seth was in 4th grade. Even then he was almost a foot taller than his peers, and that is still the case. We are confident that we will be an outstanding missionary. With one boy leaving October 21st and one November 4th, we will be busy over the next several weeks. Both of them will spend Christmas in the MTC...one in Provo and on in the Dominican Republic! Guess who will be busy sending care packages this Christmas?

Once the boys leave, we will likely turn our focus to Tess, who will be entering her senior year. Senior year is busy with exams, college applications, prom and graduation. With Tess being our first daughter to graduate from high school, we look forward to this adventure!