We say Good-bye, You say Hello

It's time....Matt, Nate and I took a loaded truck of Matt's possessions (Todd was still in Philly and flew into SLC later to join us) and hit the freeway headin' west...destination Provo, Utah. Matt's summer term began last Monday. We wanted to get him there so he (we) could attend New Freshman Orientation. Apologies, Brandon, for using this pic...it was the better of the two.

Matt surprised himself and us as he continually attended more and more activities with his "Y" group from NFO . Both dances...can you believe that? The result has been a very happy Matt having a blast at BYU with his new found friends. Oh, yes, he's keeping up with his Econ class and B of M and slowly improving his tennis skills.

One of the friends he met is a gal from Arizona who asked if she could go for a run w/Matt and his new friend, Brandon. They chuckled to themselves and said she could. Imagine their surprise when she not only kept up with them, but set the pace at a darn good clip. Later they learned she's at BYU to run cross country and track. Humble pie, Matt.

Brandon and Julie were also in the midst of moving from Wymount to a basement apartment in South Provo, so when we weren't moving Matt in or attending a session of NFO, we were helping B & J. Which we were happy to do. It made for a busy but eventful weekend.

Brandon arranged for us to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. We took a quick break and headed north to our old neighborhood, which we could hardly recognize. We were in awe by the beauty of this sacred edifice. And to go together as a family was wonderful. The chocolate chip cookies in the hospitality tent were a delicious bonus. (Garrett left before we took the pic)

Garrett's band (J. Wride) was playing on Saturday night. What a bunch of talented kids. We were happy they had a gig while we were in town so we could hear them live. Garrett has some wonderful friends. We also were able to hang with Kent (nephew) and Janea and Paul (niece & hubby).



Father's Day B & J hosted a dinner (delicious) for all of us. And Julie's German brownies lasted about, ummm, 20 minutes before they were all gone.

I find myself missing my father more and more as different challenges come and go in my life. I often wonder what his counsel would be in those situations. He was a spiritual father, one that I wish I would have listened to more closely and absorbed his wisdom while he was yet with us.

But here's to our father Todd, who makes us smile and laugh while guiding and encouraging us along the way! Thanks for your great example. We Love you! (B & J gave him a fun remote controlled helicopter that was a hit).
That inevitable moment came too soon when we had to say goodbye to three children and a daughter-in-law. We miss Matt TONS at home, but are so glad he's happy and adjusting well to a new chapter in his life. And of course, we always miss the other kids as well. We're counting down the days until we're together again.

Phun in Philadelphia

Todd's graduate school of banking requires a once a year 10 day school at the Univ. of Pennsylvania.

He wanted us to come along the first year but we declined (Florida or Philly--it was a no-brainer). We couldn't tell him "no" twice. Here's a picture (right) of him at the U of Penn during his lunch break.

Overall impression of Philly: kinda dirty, lots of homeless people (sad) and too much brotherly love. Looking beyond those things, we were able to see many historial site and museums. They had an awesome running trail that went for miles next to the Schuykill River.

Independence Hall, Constitution Hall... The history was fascinating and made us reflect on their integrity and character. We wonder what they would think of our country today...

There's the famous Liberty Bell, which they "tap" on July 4th...just tap, no ringing. Yes, Liberty S., we did think of you as we admired that bell.

We also rode out to Valley Forge....on bikes. It ended up being longer and warmer than we anticipated. I assumed that the when the trail said "Valley Forge National Park" that it would dump us right into the historial site. But it was another 2 miles over to the park. That said, you can guess that it was not a hit with the boys. They were rather grumpy about the whole ordeal so when we arrived at Valley Forge, the visitor's center was all they would tolerate as there was no further biking required. There was a 9 mile loop with the famous National Arch that I would have liked to have seen. Another time. Two ice cream treats each to them get them back on their bikes for the 24 mile ride home.









The rain the Seamons brought with them to KC followed us to Philadelphia, so the bike trail was rather muddy and sprayed mud all down our backs.

In an effort to save money we chose not to rent a car and walk everywhere. The walking was plentiful and balanced out all our eating out. Sunday we walked around 3 miles to church and back. It was humid and a little warm...really, I had Matt's best interest in mind as I was preparing him for all the walking he would do next week at BYU.

It was Flag Festival at Besty's Ross's home Saturday so the boys and I walked over. We were all intrigued by this little monkey:

Monopoly has a Reading Railroad (pronouced by the locals "red-ing")...no doubt this is the original. It's an actual market inside where people sell produce, wares and goods. And delicious food and chocolates.









And who can pass up the chance to run up the steps of the Museum of Art that Rocky made famous? Not us. Here's Matt after making it up the steps:

And Nate:

Phun at the ball park on our final night in Philly . We did take the subway for the first time, although once we got there I could see easily the skyline of downtown Philly. I didn't mention that perhaps we could have walked there...just a thought. I think they would have shot me had I said it out loud. Enjoyed the infamous Philly cheese steak and all agreed the the KC Royals Stadium can't be beat.

And that wrapped up our Philly trip. One I-pod touch temporarily lost, as well as a cell phone left in the taxi as we rode back to the airport for KC but all was retrieved in the end.

Blessed

My nephew was married in the LA temple last Saturday. I flew out and back quickly, joining a few siblings and my mom for the ceremony. It was beautiful. As I listened I reflected on eternal marriage, and the blessings received from it.

It was SO fun to be with siblings and my mom. I really picked their brains on a variety of subjects, since they're SO much older than me and wiser:-)

Kuddos to my sister, Emily, who successfully navigated all the traffic and freeways without a scratch on the car, well, without too many scratches on the car. However, I do believe I spent more time sitting in the car in traffic than I did at all the wedding associated activities. The bright side is I enjoyed the company in the car and we used the time to catch up.

I'm grateful for parents who were faithful and taught me gospel principles, and grateful for an eternal marriage to a worthy priesthood holder.

Congratulations, Loren and Joanna!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, friends from North Dakota arrived in my absence. Brett and Shay have been avid supports of the boys' plays, sports, concerts. They are amazing. We are so blessed to have them as friends and appreciate their good examples. We thoroughly enjoyed spending the last three days with them and their kids. Our house will be unnervingly quiet when they pull out this morning. Good friends make all the difference---another blessing.



Life is good:-)

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....