There has never been any question as to who the fun parent is at our house. That means our kids have adventures, exercise, fun times, and see beautiful places. Blessed. Richard doesn’t just do fun things. He does all the difficult things, too. He has a great sense of balance.
We had a evening of French cuisine at a beautiful setting this week with Mark. We went to La Caille with Mark’s foods class who had just studied table etiquette, so they knew just what to do with all of those utencils. And now we can say we have tried escargot.
Richard was here, too, but he is not pictured. I am grateful for the leaders and for the adventures the boys have each summer, even though it means I mask my fears to allow them to go.
Not pictured in this post: the faithful Scoutmaster who took these photos.
Richard and Mark left for Scout Camp this morning at 6 am. I got up to wish them goodbye, and now I can’t seem to make myself happy or get going. The trade-off for missing Richard is that I know Mark will be ok with his dad around. I miss Mark already. He is my companion most of the time, and he pats me on the back while I shop for groceries and he likes to fix me little things for lunch.
Some days are bad days for me, just like anyone, even if I don’t vocalize it.
It takes a lot of family and leader effort to get a scout to a beautiful Eagle Court of Honor like we had last weekend.
On Sunday evening at the Spencer cabin, we held Daniel’s Eagle Court of Honor during our family reunion. Thanks to Richard J. and Sarah, we have some great photos from the evening. We were surrounded by family, friends, and special guests, but we were also in a sacred setting. The cabin and mountains, with more than 100 years of family memories, added to the feelings of the evening. Daniel earned his Eagle a long time ago, but the court of honor felt intimidating to do, so we delayed. I’m so glad we decided to do it in this setting before he leaves on his mission.
We arrived at Half Moon Bay after dark on a Sunday night. We set up quickly and fell asleep to the sound of waves. It was so dark, we couldn’t know how close we were to the water, and looked forward to the morning to reveal where we had landed.
In the morning, the beach was ours to claim, cold and beautiful, and we did claim it, most of us in a commando crawl on the sand to stay warm and out of the wind. Mark, of course, took on the waves with little boy zeal in a longer, leaner version of himself than the last time he was at the beach. I knew I was watching some of the last of his childhood as he moved to attack the waves with kicks and leaps. He will be more reserved next time. I will brace myself for that.
Two favorite memories from this leg if the trip: an eclectic and well-stocked used bookstore and an old fashioned diner.
Good surprises from Half Moon Bay: a new friend at the campground named Dave, flowers everywhere along the path to the beach, Daniel’s videos of Mark, and we became faster at folding up the pop-up trailer each time.
Menu: chicken salad on pitas, breakfast burritos, pizza, diner food, roasted hot dogs, and cinnamon sugar doughies by Mark and Richard
Essentials: jackets, heater, books, magazines
Favorite conversation: at Grandma Ruth’s house about “The List” of things she is not supposed to eat anymore.
Richard and I had plans to go to Timothy’s jazz band dinner dance this week, but I was sick and had to miss it. Mark went in my place. I really missed out on a great evening! Timothy was able to play with some seasoned jazz musicians and play some of my favorite big band music. He is the trombone player on the second row in the video.
Today is Mark’s 12th birthday. I am happy for him, and a little sad for me. This week he displayed some work in an art show, played trumpet in a band concert, and sang in a choir concert. I couldn’t get a good photo of him in the back of the band. However, I bet you can spot him easily in the choir. He is ambivalent about the choir experience for many reasons, one being his section.
It’s the Fathers and Sons campout tonight, so we will celebrate Mark tomorrow night with all the good things.
Each day but one this week Daniel or Timothy took AP tests. I tried to warn them, but they took the classes and tests anyway. 😉
Paige was accepted into the Illustration BFA program at BYU and things are moving forward with her internship in New York this summer.
Mark was awarded three ranks in Scouting. He achieved the rank of First Class, just in time to turn twelve.
Paige and I drove to Cedar City for lunch with Richard’s female relatives to celebrate his mom’s birthday. I didn’t capture everyone in this picture. With so many schedules it was amazing that so many could make it.
Dessert in Beaver
Daniel learned he is Valedictorian of his class and received the Heritage scholarship at BYU.
Not pictured: Timothy in his tux playing at the State Band competition, winning Frisbee points at the tournament on Saturday, and the electric guitar he is making in his woods class.
Richard and I celebrated our 23rd anniversary.
Not every week is a harvest, and I am thankful when one comes along.