May

May is winding up. Where did it go? It began with the Mraz concert and ended with a camping trip with a whole lot of up and down in between.

Having a graduate in the household adds to the busi-ness of life, a reflection of my own neglect in getting projects done that I should have been doing for years....And I admit seeing my third son graduate made me sad as did Brandon's and Garrett's graduation.

A few highlights:

Matt's graduation was held at the Community of Christ Auditorium (RLDS) in Independence. Right across from the Mormon Visitor's Center in Independence. 464 Graduates. Another "We Miss Casselton" moment.

Open house followed--held with 5 other seniors in our ward (missing one in the picture below).


















The Ransoms have been good friends to our boys (and us), which we truly appreciate as they are great examples.







We managed to sneak away the last few nights with our friends, the Trumans, and go camping at Roaring River State Park (still in Missouri, but barely). We haven't been camping for a few years. FUN! Surprisingly, I didn't miss the pop-up trailer much. Okay, maybe more than much. Trumans are good cooks, so we ate. And ate. That Weight Watcher weigh in will have to be post-poned.

Here's a classic shot of boys being boys...having a spitting contest over a bridge while hiking. Very unlady like for the Truman girls as their mom kept reminding them.
The river is stocked so they have a fish hatchery. Big beautiful trout that get released each night around 9:30 pm. So you'd think my fishermen would catch maybe one or two, but nada. Zilch. Bro. Truman, however, caught plenty. And that wraps up our May.

Free!

Where did the years go? Today was Matt's LAST day of school. So in honor of this momentous occasion:

First day of Kindergarten (Riverton, Utah, July 25, 1996):

And his final day of high school (Lee's Summit, MO, May 13, 2009):



Congratulations, Matt!

13.1--Done!

The past five weeks Matthew, Nathan, Todd and myself have been training to run the Fargo 1/2 Marathon. It was a goal we were working as family to achieve. It would be the boys' first 1/2 marathon. Memories of running sprints on the track in wind and downpours will probably be the most dominant.

Our hard work paid off two days ago as we approached the start line with 5,000 other halfers and 1500 marathoners. Lessons learned while pushing your body and mind are valuable but difficult. I'm proud of Matt and Nate's hard work put forth to reach this goal. And Todd's too! ....Is there a 26.2 in their future?

Live High

Last night we did just that. We were "lucky" to attended a Jason Mraz concert, "lucky" the weather was beautiful, and "lucky" Garrett could come too. We wanted GREAT seats so we went early and stood in line for 4 hours. We used the time to catch up on Garrett's world.

We were successful in our endeavor--center, six rows back. Yes, everyone's ears are still ringing.














Jason was amazing. You have to like his music, but he was quite the entertainer, pretty darn clean, and his range is impressive.

Garrett was especially inspired as the band he just joined is currently playing in Provo. We keep reminding him that he's there for COLLEGE....

A Mother Who Knew

Today is my mother's birthday (shout hooray!) and as I ponder her life, I am amazed at her example of diligence, faith, patience, perseverance, endurance, and love unfeigned. I am so grateful she is my mother and hope that I can be a portion of what she is. She is definitely a mother who knew.

Happy birthday, Mom! I love you!

Shout Hooray!

Somebody has a birthday, and it's GRANDPA! He's 85 years old today. We gathered at Traci's while Lynda was in town to celebrate.





Having him live with us the last 10 months has been priceless. We enjoy his humor, wit, and faithful testimony. Ah, and his memory is excellent so we love to listen to his stories of yester-year (can you believe hot lunch cost $.03 in 1938).










Here's to another 85? No, we won't wish that on him, but here's to MANY more years of good health and a wonderful life.

Fun Visit

Company at the Hendricksons this week...Todd's sister, Lynda and her husband, Bill stayed for 5 days while visiting Dad. It was fun to catch up and be with them.

We didn't do a lot as they really just wanted to visit with Dad, but we did drive to Crown Center and met Todd at his office. After the exciting tour of the FDIC Regional Office we ate lunch at a classy downtown KC restaurant--Wendy's:-)

And I will never complain about my husband's funny-looking feet again, as Uncle Bill's feet easily out did Todd's....as you can see.