A Post About Brenden
At the end of January, my first born child turned eight….and it’s true what they say, eight is pretty great. Eight year old Brenden is fantastic. He’s smart, creative, kind, and keeps us laughing with his quirky sense of humor. Brenden is one of a kind. He is fascinated by sharks, and all monster fish in general. His favorite food is saucy meat balls over rice. He loves building lego models, and dances down a grocery isle better than anyone I know. He is always entertaining.
The whole year Brenden was seven, he couldn’t stop talking about when he’d turn eight. I’m sure his excitement was in large part from watching his fun, older cousins set an example of being baptized, and also because his Dad was a cub scout leader. When you’re a boy that belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, baptism and cubby scouts are big time things to look forward to when you turn eight. Brenden was very eager to participate in both.
This smug face makes me laugh.
Greg does a good job of promoting a love of scouting. He and Brenden used to talk all the time about when B would be able to join Cub Scouts, and B could. not. wait. It’s been so fun to watch him join and take on the responsibilities of being a scout with enthusiasm. He’s so handsome in his little uniform, and loves working on his requirements.
As much as Brenden looked forward scouting, he anticipated his baptism day for much, much longer.
Each cousin and friend getting baptized before him set the standard for what Brenden thought was cool. However, as his birthday got closer and closer, it became more apparent that his choice to be baptized was being influenced by the Spirit. Plain and simple, Brenden felt good about it, and believed that what he was being taught about Heavenly Father and Jesus was true. Brenden radiated joy and confidence. He felt joy in choosing the right, and his happiness was particularly impossible to miss on the day of his baptism. Two words: perma grin. Looking through these pictures brings me a lot of comfort. I feel like I slept walked through this time, but seeing his happy face brings to mind many sweet moments that might have been forgotten.
For example: There was the Sunday that we “lost” Miles after church. After looking everywhere, Greg and I agreed to split up at the back of the church, comb each side for him, and meet at the car in the front. Brenden, Eve and Greg made it to the car quickly. Brenden being sensitive to our concern offered to say a prayer. He asked Heavenly Father to please bless me to find Miles, closed with an Amen, and declared with confidence, “There. That should do it.” I walked up with a mischievous Miles in tow about ten minutes later…grateful for the heavenly assistance.
I can’t imagine our family without Brenden. He is a great example to his siblings and his parents. We love him dearly.
We were fortunate to have bunches of people from our family and ward come to support Brenden. He loved it, and so did I. We felt very loved as a family. Our friends and family are awesome.
Cousins Will and Eli walked up just in time to get in on the picture taking. These boys are so LOVED in our home.
It kills me when I stop to notice just how tall and grown up Brenden has gotten. It happened in a blink, I tell ya. A BLINK!
Brenden was particularly glad to have both sets of his grandparents come. My Dad even made the hard trip after just having knee surgery. I couldn’t ask for better Papas and Grammas for my kids.
Going under water is NOT Brenden’s favorite thing. However, this face embodies how he faced his baptism day: no fear, only smiles. He walked confidently into the water with his dad with a few nervous giggles. When Greg immersed him in the water, Brenden launched himself back up to the top with the most hilarious wide-eyed face. The panic only lingered for a split second before he broke into laughter. His whole face beamed. I’ve never seen Brenden more proud of himself. I hope he never forgets how he felt that day. I know I’ll never forget the joy I saw in his face.
I love this boy.
School
I’ve had a bunch of people inquire about how school is going for the boys, (specifically about Miles and diabetes) so I figured I should do an update for all y’all.
In a nutshell: Both boys love school. They can hardly wait to jump out of the car in the morning. For them, school is thebomb.com.
Brenden’s teacher is fantastic. I was a bit nervous to see how he would do this year. He grew so much in first grade. A lot of credit for that goes to his wonderful first grade teacher. I hoped this new one would help keep things moving in the right direction. I’m happy to report that thus far our experience has exceeded expectations. I couldn’t be more pleased with where he’s at. He’s on mark in every way. I’m so proud of him. My schedule has been such that I can volunteer in Brenden’s class once a week. I help run his little reading group, and we’ve both liked it a lot. It’s been fun to be able to observe him in his school world for the first time.
Brenden did get sent to the assistant principles office a couple weeks ago, but since it was for playing his butt like a guitar in the lunch room, we decided not to care. The A.P. made such a big deal out of it that I’m sure he won’t be a repeat offender. Hilarious! I’ve mentioned before that B likes to boogie, right? :)
Miles taught himself a valuable lesson about friction a couple days before school started. He placed his forehead on a rapidly rotating wheel, and gave himself a big ol’ burn. (Good one, Miles.) I wish I had video of the incident. It was really something amazing. Picture a Big Wheel bike upside down on the porch…Miles sitting on a small chair with the hard, plastic front wheel between his knees…both hands on the pedals, making the wheel spin as fast as he possibly can…then slowly bowing his head down to make contact. The look of pure confusion he gave as he came back up has me shaking with laughter now as I think about it again. I guess you probably had to be there. :)
Miles has been ready to attend school with Brenden for two years now. Having Brenden move on to bigger and better things without him has really chapped his hide. To say he was excited to finally start kindergarten is an understatement. It was the best day of his life. It took him about two seconds to make friends with the whole class. He definitely doesn’t struggle in the “putting yourself out there” department. He loves to be in the center of the action.
As far as diabetes goes…jeez, where to begin?
It is…okay?
Yeah, “okay” works.
Well…maybe “okay” is the wrong way to say it.
It’s mostly great…but sometimes really, REALLY awful.
As far as Miles is concerned, it’s been great. He gets a lot of attention from people (kids and adults alike) for his testing skills and knowledge of what he needs. Right now he loves that. Plus, if he ever gets bored, all he has to do is hint something is wrong, and he gets out of class. (A trick he puts to use all too often…already. I expected those kind of shenanigans in jr. high not kindergarten!)
My behind the scenes experience has been a little more bumpy.
There have been bad moments. Like the time I had a feeling to go into school with Miles, and found an unexpected substitute teacher that knew nothing about him, his needs, or anything about diabetes in general. That was pretty fantastic. (I was furious.) There have been self administered guilt trips for numbers that aren’t perfect. (I’ve got to get over that.) There has been unwanted advice, and suggestions from people who have been dealing with diabetes for two seconds. That’s been hard, because I’ve realized Miles will have to deal with stereo-types and people who have opinions, but not necessarily knowledge, for the rest of his life. Speaking of people, there was the day I had to meet with the principle, the school nurse, and the heath tech to discuss how I think the heath tech is incompetent. That was terrible. My Dad’s name is Dale. A favorite Dale-ism is, “You don’t know your butt!” The heath tech is a woman who for sure does not know her butt. Nothing gets me whipped up into frenzy faster than talking about that woman. Say the term “heath tech” around me, and you’re likely to get an earful. There’s just no way to slice it…Miles is not safe in her care.
However, there have been wonderful things happening too. Miles’ teacher might not get it all, but she is supportive and accommodating. Our principle has a child with diabetes also, and I really feel like she has our backs. Having common ground on this issue has made a huge difference. Our school nurse is heaven sent, and is 100% committed to keeping Miles safe and happy at school. She has completely re-arranged her schedule so we don’t have to deal with the heath tech anymore. I feel like we’re on the right track.
One of the nicest happenings has been having people who have been there just when I needed them. Whether it be for watching kids while I attend to issues, lending an ear for me to unload on, or sharing a good laugh. I have wonderful friends.
It is going to be a successful 2011-2012 school year.
This morning I woke up with lioness hair and major bags under my eyes. So I took pictures. Why not? Then I put on the first thing I could find, (my trusty old, worn-out yoga pants and a running shirt) pulled my hair-nest back into a pony tail, called yesterday’s make-up good, and took the kids to school. Autopilot.
I haven’t been sleeping well lately. I’ve always dreamed in technicolor, but my midnight mind movies have gotten super funky and/or freaky these past few months. They wake me up a lot, and then I’m just left staring out the window alone with my thoughts. I make mental to-do lists. I think back on the previous day. I think about my church calling. I think about mountain tops, my friends, Greg, and the kids. All with no particular order, rhyme or reason. Think think think. Blah. My brain betrays my sleepy self.
Last night I thought a lot about Brenden. He’s growing up into such an amazing boy. His imagination is truly something to envy. Saturday morning I woke up to the rustling of legos coming from the other room. Then Brenden bounded in to say good morning with his newest creation.
The vampire hippo: complete with blood-ed teeth and intimidating black cape.
Awesome right?! I heard him telling Miles about a book with a vampire rabbit named Bunnicula before he came in, so I can only assume his derived his inspiration from that. Yay for cell phone cameras, and pictures of his ravenous hippopotamus! When he left my room he declared, “I’M AN AMAZING LEGO ARTIST!!” haha! It made my morning.
Yesterday, Greg told me a friend came up to him, and said something to the effect of, “I’m so impressed with your son, Brenden. The other night at the scouting function, I asked Brenden if he would like to drink soda or milk. Brenden chose milk. He said his little brother couldn’t have soda, so he wouldn’t either.” Of course, I just about started bawling. When I gave Miles insulin for his cake and milk that night, I had no idea his brother smiling next to him had made that little sacrifice. We would have never known if this friend hadn’t told Greg. I noticed Brenden was listening to Greg tell me the story, so I asked him about it. He beamed as he confirmed everything. I said, “Brenden, do you know what you showed Miles that night?” His eyes got big. “You showed him that you love him.” “I know!” he chirped with a smile. Miles was sitting nearby at the table listening to every word. It was a big deal, and you could tell it meant the world to him. :) …and I thought my heart was bursting with pride at B’s lego building skills.
Brenden likes himself, and he is creative and kind. What more could I ask for?
Last night I was also thinking about how I should put some Halloween pictures up on the blog before it’s Christmas. Look at me… actually acting on one of my mental to-do lists. I’m so proud of me. :)
This year, Brenden was Harry Potter. I love that we’ve reached the Harry Potter stage. Eve went as a Pumpkin Witch, but ditched her hat any chance she could. Miles wore a different costume for every party we went to. He was a lion at our Diabetes Association party, he was Luigi at our ward trunk-or-treat, and he dressed up as Captain Hook on Halloween to walk around the neighborhood.
We forgot Brenden’s lightning scar for the trunk-or-treat. His red hair made him look a bit like Ron in Harry’s glasses, but his personality can sell any costume. I wish I would have gotten video. This cell phone pic does him a little more justice though.
Here’s Eve with her hat at her little music class.
The kids got loaded down with lots of candy. Miles was pumped about it.
Some crazy lady kept hanging around us when we were trunk-or-treating.
Boy was she sexy though!
Three cheers for me actually blogging!! Hip hip hooray!
Breakfast on the porch
One fav thing for us this summer eating outside on the porch. Here are some snaps from a breakfast early in the summer. Eve was giving me some adorable half-moon-eyed smiles when Brenden startled us both by sneaking up behind.
Let’s Play Music
I have to apologize a bit for that last post. I didn’t really mean to make this place a space for advertisements, but I wanted to take a quick minute get the word out our rad music classes, and help our friend hopefully rustle up some new students. We didn’t get anything for hosting a class or having people sign up. We just wanted to share. That being said…What a boring post!! No pictures or anything! It made me realize I haven’t posted anything fun all summer. Where has it gone?!! So I figured, Let’s Play Music is actually a great place to start. You’ve heard my little review of the class…now here are some pictures from the recital the boys had. It was only a few months ago. :)
Let’s Play Music is not a performance group, but at the end of the year, all the classes come together to show off everything they’ve learned. Miles was especially excited to be center stage. No surprise there. I love his fearless attitude. Here he and the others are singing a song about three chords they’ve been learning to recognize and play.
I was really proud of Brenden though. He warmed right up, and when it was his turn, he was one of the few kids who remembered to sing and play at the same time. He played the Dinosaur Song. You can imagine by the title that it was a favorite at our house. The cool thing about LPM is each song has all this cool hidden musical information in it. This particular song taught them recognize notes stepping and skipping up and down the music staff and on their tone bells.
Miles got to play next to his cousin, Eli. They both did awesome at playing A Frog Went a-Hoppin’. For this song, they played pretty much three notes in a steady beat, leaping up and down the staff and bells, but learned to harmonize their voices with what they were playing. Cool stuff.
Here the whole group is singing the final number, Do RE MI. (Like the Do a Deer song from The Sound of Music, but the LPM version.) Brenden and Miles are in the back doing the hand signs for the notes. They were on MI. Do you like how Miles took advantage of the elevated elbows to wipe his nose on his sleeve? :) I do.
Brenden got super excited about DO. :) Yeah, remember when I said Brenden warmed up to performing? Well, not only did he warm up, he turned into THE Performer. He was absolutely killing us with how much he was getting into it. Brenden is awesome, and he was totally eating up all the attention. Miles started off strong, but ended up having some lame blood sugar issues toward the end. His infusion set had come off (of course the only time I don’t have a spare on hand) so his numbers went really high. We didn’t realize he was having a problem until almost the end. He hadn’t gotten the insulin for his snack beforehand or any base for a couple hours. He was feeling like C R A P by the finale. Still you wouldn’t have really known it until he came off the stage. Then he just fell apart.
You can see it in his face here. Poor kid. Despite lame diabetes, their recital was such a fun cap to a great year with Miss Danicia. I remember her telling me before classes ever started, that the whole mission of Let’s Play Music was to grow intelligence, increase confidence, and bond children to their parents through play and music. Don’t quote me on that, but it’s what I remember. All I know is LPM accomplished all those things for us. We can’t wait to start up again in a couple weeks!!
As Danicia would say: Adios with a ME, RE, DO! :)
important things
We were sitting side-by-side on the couch when Miles leaned in closer to say, “Mom, I love you more than ice cream.”
There’s just something about the way little boys love their mothers. It melts my heart like ice cream in the hot July sun. I could just eat Miles up, I love him so.
I got the children dressed and ready for the day before finding clothes for myself. Eve came around the corner, and took one look at my attire, and declared, “Mom!! We sames!” I love how she says “sames” when she sees a match. It may have just been me, but on this occasion there seemed to be a hint of embarrassment in her voice when she said it. We were indeed exact sames. Black lounge pants with blue Boise State t-shirts. A complete accident even though I had just dressed her not 10 minutes prior. I was too lazy to change, so we laughed about it instead. I’m glad she’s so willing to laugh.
Brenden lost his sixth tooth on the last night he was a six year old. It happened so long ago, and I’m afraid I’ll forget about it if wait to write it down any longer. January marked seven years passing me by in such a rush I could hardly believe it. Now first grade has ended, and he has an independence and fearlessness that I can hardly recognize. I just happened to glance at the class memory book he brought home yesterday. Each child has their own page with a paragraph of important things about them with a black and white picture of themselves underneath. I turned to his page, and found he had already colored his hair vivid orange with a marker. The text read, “The important thing about Brenden is that he has a mom that he likes. It is true that he likes playing video games. He is good at “Portal 2″ and Star Wars. And he is good at listening to his mom. But the most important thing about Brenden is that he has a mom that he likes.” That was the best gift he could have ever given me today.
There are so many things about Brenden at this age that are important to me…like the way he’ll still hold my hand when I offer it. I know the time for that is quickly coming to an end. Did you know that when something really tickles Brenden’s funny-bone, he covers his mouth, and giggles with his whole body? His eyes shine when that happens. I love that. Brenden still draws or colors at every possible opportunity. He reads, reads, READS anything with type on it. He always has a tune on his lips, and a groove to go with it. Nobody moves like Brenden. He has this quirky, jerky style that is so rad. (It’s kind of like if Mr. Robot-o could pop and lock, and had Pee-Wee Herman-esk mannerisms. Awesome.) Brenden will do anything to casually get out of cleaning his room. It drives me crazy, but I have to admire his creativity about it. He’s pretty crafty. B loves to play. I’ll often overhear him challenge his siblings to “Coffee me!” Then I’ll loudly clear my throat, and he’ll say, “Oops! I mean copy me.” I think its so funny that he still mispronounces that word all the time. Brenden’s brother and sister love him fiercely. Eve-E looked at him the other day, and said, “Brenden, you’re so cute!” He blushed, and grinned in a silly sort of way. You could tell he loved her saying that. He leaned over, sniffed her hair, and declared, “Eve, your red hair smells like strawberries.” She’s obsessed with Strawberry Korrcake (Shortcake) so that was just about the best compliment he could give her in return. They are such a funny pair. (I’m glad I overheard that exchange so I had some idea why Eve was asking me to smell her hair today.) Brenden loves his Book of Mormon, and does such a good job reading when it’s his turn. He loves to ask Greg and I how to say random words in different languages. I don’t know why he thinks we speak French! (Pardon my lack of French, Bud. Let’s stick to Spanish or Portuguese.) (…or Canadian, cuz you know they have a “unique” way to say EVERYTHING, eh.)
I want so bad to freeze this gap-toothed little boy in my memory so I’ll always have this time with him.
I am so blessed to be a mom.
A tale of unders and a snowy day
****I’m not sure why I’ve had this post saved as a draft for pretty much a month. Better late than never. =) ****
Eve likes to fake potty training. It’s pretty cute, and annoying. I’m probably the worst potty trainer ever. My boys were both awful, so I’m taking an entirely different approach with Eve. We’re in no hurry to officially start, but I decided awhile ago that whenever she asked to “go” I’d accommodate. My goal is to be patient, and follow her lead. She asks all the time to use the toilet, and LOVES it. However, when her unders go on, she pretty much refuses to use the toilet. That’s so Eve. She really likes things to be on her terms. (No idea where she got that from.) After a day without diapers, we are back in them, and still practicing in the toilet whenever she wants. I’m ok with moving on her terms in this case. My boys have scarred me. :) Isn’t she cute in underwear though?!
I am loving December so far. It started off with a bang…eight inches of snow and a school cancellation. YAY! Wednesday December 1 was the first time my kids have experienced an official snow day from school. I think every kid can agree that there’s nothing quite so awesome as a snow day. After a slow paced breakfast, we suited up in our snow gear, and went out to enjoy the source of our mini holiday. It was perfect-for-play wet snow, and we had a blast.
I adore Eve’s snow kissed profile.
We got cold just in time for lunch, and a mug of hot chocolate warmed us up quickly. Hot chocolate is a big deal at our house. I’m so glad for modern advances in medicine. It makes it possible for us to enjoy a simple thing like hot chocolate as a family. Diabetes stinks, but life with chocolate is still good.
The balance of the day was filled with Christmas movies, blankets, and imaginary play. This classic Christmas special is a favorite at our house. I just about started crying when I discovered it again this year. I LOVED Grampy when I was a kid. I always wanted snow to stick on my boots the way it does on his. :) Anyways, as an adult I find the whole thing hilarious so I’m glad my kids love to watch it.
Inspired by all the holiday merriment, Brenden ( aka: Mr. Can-A-Costume-Out-Of-Anything) decided that Christmas was to be the theme of all games, and he wanted to be Santa.
He wore an old black leather belt wrapped twice around his not-so-plump belly, and his paper hat was too small for his head so he taped it to a bandanna. :)
Brenden had Eve wear her Christmas dress so she could be Mrs. Claus. She was all about dressing up, but basically ignored everything else. Playing with our LittlePeople nativity scene almost always takes precedence.
Miles plays a naughty elf really well…maybe too well.
Amen!
Wednesday afternoon I found myself looking through this month’s New Era for a thought to share at our youth back to school party. Just as something caught my eye, Eve walked in, flipped the magazine closed, and said, “Amen!” Of course, then it became a big game of “don’t let Mom read.” Amen after amen, she laughed and laughed. So did I.
I love being a Mom.
Life is in full swing these days. Brenden is officially a first grader. The first day of school was a week and a half ago! So early this year! I don’t know where our summer went. B’s loving class though. He has the sweetest teacher, and seems to be making friends. I won’t lie though, it’s super weird having him gone all day. We all miss him…a lot. It does have it’s nice points however. For example, Eve and Miles have started playing really well together. Greg and I are loving that. I’ve been enjoying the late summer days with only two kids to manage too. I’ve tried to minimize Brenden’s time away from home by opting to drive him to and from school everyday. I actually really like the flow it gives to the day.
The other day, picking Brenden up got a little interesting when Miles suddenly announced that he had to pee. Miles has this horrible habit of waiting until the last second to tell me he needs a bathroom, and it’s usually when a bathroom is hard to reach. We were kinda stuck in a parking lot full of people. Brenden was going to be coming out any second. Leaving wasn’t really an option, but the look in Miles’ eye told me I had better do something fast. I scanned the surroundings for ideas, and then I saw “it” in the back seat. I thought to myself for a second, “Are we really going to do this? Hmmm….yup.”
“Miles,” I said, “drop your drawers. You’re gunna pee in this bottle.”
I picked up the empty kid-sized water bottle, and showed him. I might as well have told him Santa had come early. See, that’s the great thing about having boys. Peeing in weird places is like THE MOST AWESOME ADVENTURE EVER. They are a bizarre breed.
When the bottle reached half full, and he was still going strong, the OH CRAP!’s starting racing through my mind. I was pretty sure we were going to have ourselves a Dumb and Dumber moment…minus the surplus of empties. Mercy! Thankfully he topped out at a little under 3/4’s capacity. Don’t think we’ll try that one again. (I shouldn’t say that…I’m sure now we will.)
You’re so welcome for the disgusting cellphone pic of pee in a bottle.
Welp…I think I’ll leave ya on that note. Happy Labor Day weekend! =)
Alturas Lake
I’m getting ahead of myself here. Eve’s birthday letter is half written, and “saved as draft”. Oh, and I had a birthday (shout hooray) as well. Summer is here, and it seams that everyday there is something going on worth writing about, but lets just forget all that for a bit, and take a moment for now.
Last weekend we had an awesome extended family reunion for my Dad’s side of the family. Here are a few favorite memories I want to keep fresh in my mind:
1. Miles was so excited after gathering up candy from a busted up piñata. He kept smiling and calling for me to look at how much he got. Then knowing he couldn’t just dive into it, he went back to his seat and started offering pieces to my aunts and uncles. When I came over to talk to his about his haul, he picked one out special just for me. Sweet boy. We agreed that he could eat two, and save the rest for later. After getting some insulin to cover his treat, we were walking toward our cabin, and I said, “Miles, I’m so proud of you for sharing your candy so nicely. Thank you for being so kind.” His eyes lit up, and he said, “Yeah! Thanks Mom, for letting me give one to you! Did it taste like jelly?! Did you like it?”
He…wow…he is awesome.
2. Brenden is old enough to not be close to me all the time. It’s good for him. It’s hard for me. He’s darn smart, but he processes things a little differently than others. I worry…will he know when he’s gone too far, will he stand up to his peers if they are making wrong choices, how will he really respond if he gets in to an emergency situation? The latter is a big one since Miles likes to follow him. (Being willing to let Miles roam is a wholenotherenchilada. Can you say fried nerves?) Last year B loved exploring the grounds, but was cautious. He liked being close to the lodge. He took his time at meals. He wanted some space, but not too much. This year, different story. This year we had to hunt him down for every meal. Then he’d woof his food, and be back out the door sometimes faster that I could get my own food. Not just out the door either, but gone. Exploring went to a whole new level. I think it’s called “little boy heaven.”
Mostly it was awesome for me too. On Sunday afternoon however, I started to get nervous. I hadn’t seen either boys for two or three hours. I thought they were with Greg, but I found him asleep with with Eve. Of course, the worst started running through my mind…. Is Miles having a massive low, laying on the forest floor unconscious? Is Brenden lost and confused/scared? Bears? Wolves?… Lions? Tigers? Ok ok, I really didn’t consider animal attack, but I was starting to freak a bit. Miles turned up quickly, but I was still really unsettled about Big B. I needed visual confirmation. I looked around all the cabins…nothing. Finally, after I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest, I spied a blue striped shirt cutting across the dirt road that leads up to camp.
(Breathing slowed. Heart rate calmed. Smile on my face. Prayer of thanks.)
I walked down to see what he was up to. From a distance it was obvious to see that he was having the time of his life. I called, “Hi Brenden!” He beamed, and returned an exuberant, “HI MOM! Eli and I are having an ADVENTURE!” (Eli is his cousin and bestest buddy.) Simultaneously, they both started rattling off all the details of the imaginary world they had created.
Instantly I was back in my childhood…. I was tromping through the forest on a covert mission with my little brother, Morgan, and cousin, Nathan. I was paddling a canoe (poorly) along the shoreline with my cousin Molly, trying to avoid the where the water turned dark because it was evil. Sharese, Lorisa, and I were peeing off the porch of the cabin we shared, because we were too scared to run through the trees to the bathrooms in the middle of the night. (Yet for some reason, a “bear” still peed in a bucket on the floor inside during the night. Hmmm…Reese?) I was listening to summer thunder storms pound upon a tin roof. I was in a water fight, and everyone was using spray bottles. I had a pleather pouch full of spray-painted gold stones. (What was that for? Don’t remember.) I was singing in the showers. I was a master at horse shoes. I was eating ice-cold watermelon on the beach. I was sneaking cookies. I was riding bikes. I was tagging along with my older cousins. I was laying on the dock, watching the stars, and listening to the water softly lap against the wood.
I could go on and on, but the point is, there in all his excitement, Brenden was me as a child at Alturas Lake in Idaho’s beautiful Stanley Basin. What a blissful place to be a child! Honestly, some of the best times of my life. Now my heart was beating fast again as I listened to my own son tell tales of slaying dragons that terrorized the very same woods. Mid-sentence he was distracted by a mysterious hole. Both boys got down on all fours to see what lived inside. They decided it was a snake hole, and filled with rocks to kill the foul beast.
Pure imagination and joy. That. was. a. great. moment.
3. Eve.
Eve spontaneously holding hands with her cousin, Maryn, as they followed me to the lodge. Eve getting so excited when we’d go to find her other cousin, Claire. Eve trotting up and down the wheelchair ramp. Eve squealing with joy while playing in the ice cold lake. Eve sleeping in a normal bed for the first time. Eve being my own personal echo. Eve dipping her licorice in her water, and taking a bite….over and over until the licorice was gone. Then drinking the red water. Weirdo. Eve running with arms wide to her daddy, screaming, “I get you!” Greg’s face as they laughed when she got him. Auntie Reese calling her hair carrot-y. I love carrot hair.
Eve was so sweet this trip. Independent and sassy as ever, but in an even more endearing way that usual.
4. Best part of the talent show? My Grandpa doing his military march. He is the most adorable man.
5. Second best part of the talent show? (that was probably actually the best part) My immediate family singing 42 sharp-toothed buzzards. I caught my brother’s eye while trying to figure out my mom’s crazed math, and started crying laughing. Guess you had to be there. Lemme tell ya though, the whole thing was epic.
Family reunions are great. I wish we could have had more time. I feel like I barely got to talk to my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins. It was so good to just be with up there with them though. I love them all! Thank goodness for the internet so that I don’t feel like we’re strangers.
The drive back was long. I didn’t feel like leaving. When we finally got home, Greg carried up the children. It was late, and they had been asleep for a couple hours already. I tucked in Eve, and the boys were instructed to get jammied up. When I came back to tuck them in, this is what I found:
Miles asleep in his closet. Sign of a good time. :)
just (me)linda 