Ready...or Not

This is my freezer.

I've got homemade burritos, sauces with and without meatballs, enchiladas, pasta bakes...all kinds of good stuff. I guess you could call it the food storage I'd go for first in an emergency, but right now I think of it more as our cache of food I've prepared for those days I'm just too worn out to cook. My freezer is ready. Ready for what?

Well, school starts tomorrow. It will be my tenth first day of school as a teacher. Yes, tenth. My classroom is put together and organized, name tags are on desks, and I'm ready to greet eighteen little darlings in the morning. I hear that some of them actually aren't so darling, but hopefully, in time, I can help to change that, at least when they're with me. For the second time in three years I spent the entire summer thinking I was teaching fifth grade. Yet another miracle came my way just a week ago, and I returned to my favorite age of kids. In times like this I should (and am, really) just be grateful for a job, but a third grade job makes me smile a lot more than fifth.

And yet, I can say with absolute certainty, while structurally everything is ready, I am not so much. You see, this summer I fell in love with being a stay at home wife. I loved taking care of our home and yard. Being available to help friends and church members at any time of the day was just a treat! I definitely stayed busy, but it was busy on a schedule I created, instead of teaching all day and trying to fit everything else in as well. It's hard to fully describe the feelings I had, but I realized more than ever, that our home and family are who I want to work for most. I can't thank Nate enough for encouraging me (and basically deciding for me) to not work this summer. More than anyone, he saw how challenging last year was from a personal and medical perspective and he knew what I needed even better than I did.
Can I be honest? It's been a bit of a challenge resetting my reality for this year. Last Spring I thought I'd only be teaching until November. There were other things on the horizon. Things are different now. But different isn't altogether bad. It's just, well, different.

I am quite sure that there's a reason these kids and I are supposed to be together -- for the whole year. Third grade is fun; I love seeing those little eyes light up and get excited about learning. I'm a little nervous for the wild card kids and how life outside of school will affect how well I function as a teacher, but all of that will work itself out. It did last year, and that gives me confidence that I'm capable of handling it all again. So I guess it doesn't really matter if I'm ready or not. Tomorrow is right around the corner, and I get to choose how to handle it. It's probably best if I tackle it with excitement, humor and hard work...and maybe a little bravery for good measure. :-)

Nate's New Hobby

As we were leaving Bodega Bay a few weeks ago, Nate spoke up and asked if we could make a stop at one of the kite shops in town. He just wanted to LOOK for a fun kite. Well, looking turned into purchasing and, like a kid on Christmas, he couldn't wait to give it a try.

One problem, Folsom isn't exactly the Windy City, especially in August. So he waited a week until we got to Sea Ranch and couldn't wait to get his new stunt kite and its 40 feet of tail in the air. I caught some of the action and (since he won't say it, but I will), he's gotten even better than what you see here. I'm grateful for yet another hobby that is compact and portable. Any hobby that doesn't resemble anything that's missing an engine and keeping me from parking in the garage is welcome by me!

Becoming a Rancher

No, we have not taken up cattle branding and roping as new hobbies. This is an entirely different kind of ranching my friends.

Let me explain.

These are Nate’s sweet parents.

Thanks to them we had an incredible week at Sea Ranch (which, if you've never heard of it, isn't a ranch at all) with all of the family together. We were just missing that hardworking Elder Boyce.
There was plenty of time for playing, relaxing, reading, taking long walks and hitting the beach. Oh, and the most beautiful morning runs EVER. Coming back to the gym on Monday was such a let down!

Being all together doesn't happen very often.

Each time though it reminds us how blessed we are to be a part of something so wonderful. There's no one we'd rather laugh or be silly with!

We especially tried to soak in as much time as we could with these cuties:

So lucky to have such darling nieces...
even when they're having their meltdowns!

I loved exploring the tide pools, even though I fell both times we went. I guess the seaweed was a little more slippery than I thought. I'm sure it had nothing to do with my own clumsiness.

No big deal. A few scrapes and Nate helping me out of this terribly awkward position was totally worth it!

This trip was a true vacation – in every way.

For seven days there was little concern about a clean house, yard work, errands to run, medical appointments, or other stresses that seem to crowd themselves into every day life.

I never really understood how incredible this place is until I experienced it for myself. A lot of friends (especially you Everetts!) have spent time at Sea Ranch. They said great things, but I had no idea.

What I know now is that there’s a certain magic to Sea Ranch where everything slows down and life becomes much more simple. I'm ready to go back -- permanently.

A day at the beach

These are my cute parents.

I think they get more therapy out of a day at the beach, just hanging out and listening to the ocean waves, than most people could from a year with a psychologist. They just love it.

This is all my mom came to do:

I love that they want to bring us along! As kids we'd join with one of our favorite families (a shout out to the McDowells there!) and head to Bodega Bay for a day of fun. We're all grown up (well, some of us...but I'll get to that) so there's less playing in the frigid water and more book reading, but it's still a good time.


It's totally appropriate that my dad's license plate frame says, "I may get older, but I refuse to grow up." While that pesky Parkinson's disease may slow him down, his mind is quick and he's still just a big kid at heart. While Mom was keeping with tradition by making brownies and packing blankets and other necessary items for the day, Dad made sure the kite we've had since I was a kid was packed. I don't think we were on the beach for more than fifteen minutes before he pulled out the kite and got it in the air.Nate ended up flying it so high that it was lost in the clouds and fog. Bringing it back down was a bit of a workout!Back to my dad. After kite flying, he couldn't be still for too long, so he fed the seagulls Cheetos -- lots of Cheetos. Like these 'pigeons of the sea' need any encouragement, right?
And, when that was finished, Dad decided the rest of us needed a little antagonizing.
I love that he's got such a great spirit still and keeps us laughing so much of the time.

On the way home we stopped here.
Hands down the best ice cream -- ever. If you've seen the movie 'Up' you've at least heard of this place. There's a reason that kid Russell in the movie is such a darling chub. He probably visited Fenton's a few too many times. Next time you're driving through Vacaville you've got to stop. And if it's autumn, I'd definitely recommend the apple pie ice cream. I can't wait for it to come around in a few months. So good!
Ice cream for dinner was a perfect way to end the day. I mean, look at this.
DElicious, right?

Thanks Mom for nailing down a date and planning a great day at the beach! Your kids had a wonderful time.

So happy together!

Yesterday afternoon our home was filled with friends. So much fun! While we wish the circumstances that brought us all together would have been different, it was still such a treat to have them with us. These three BYU roommates from long ago and their wives (and our other friends who left before I thought about pulling the camera out -- sorry!) spent a few hours catching up on life, remembering some of their college antics and laughing a lot. All of the day's events made for one of my most favorite memories of this summer.
This morning, as our friends head back to Utah and Canada, we're feeling a little lonely. Even though we rarely see them as it is, it's kind of funny how being with good friends, the ones we're surely going to have for a lifetime, can do that. If I had my way, they'd be our lifetime neighbors -- for sure.

The Great Outdoors

Beautiful weather, a great campsite, a very handy and fun traveling companion and plenty of s'mores all made for a perfect camping trip. Last week we pack up and headed to D.L. Bliss State Park in Tahoe. Neither of us had ever heard of it, but when Sunset Magazine rated it as the fourth best campsite in California, we thought it deserved a try. It definitely didn't disappoint. Our only complaint about the park, and the entire trip really, is that we just weren't there long enough!It's been a looooooong time since I've been camping. I grumbled a bit (or maybe more than a bit) about how much work it is to get ready for a 'simple' trip like this. There was definitely a part of me that wanted to just pack a suitcase and check in at the Marriott instead of doing all of the prep work and extra packing that camping requires. But, in the end, it wasn't so bad, and all of our preparations were worth it.
The first night there we had DElicious foil dinners.

(No I did not gain 30 pounds, I'm just wearing Nate's jacket because it was a bit chilly.)

I've been known to make and assemble a s'more in the kitchen by 'roasting' a marshmallow on the gas flame of our stove top (they are one of my favorite foods, after all), but it's doesn't compare to one made by the campfire. If you're ever camping with Nate have him roast you a marshmallow. He's good.

(I guess we switched things up. Nate's doing the cooking and I'm attempting the photography!)

Sea kayaking was quite an adventure...a four hour adventure.
We launched at Baldwin Beach and journeyed over to Emerald Bay. Nate has wanted to explore Fannette Island in the Bay so that's where we headed to. There was a high wind advisory for later that afternoon and we sure had a few windy moments as we paddled and paddled and paddled some more. But, eventually we made it, climbed up the rocky stairs and had a beautiful view of the lake. So worth it.
Oh, and kayaking back, although still not easy, was so much better because the wind was actually helping us along this time.

The two of us did some other hiking, but we loved our campsite and wanted to hang out there a lot of the time too.

(Pretty much the best campsite...at least we think so after driving through the whole campground!)

Nate had already tried it out, but this was my first time using our new tent. (Thank you REI used gear sale!) It didn't disappoint, that's for sure. In fact, our tent combined with an air mattress (and probably just being more relaxed), made for better sleeping than I get at home sometimes!

We ventured into South Lake Tahoe for an afternoon and checked out the shops at Heavenly Village. Fun, but I was enjoying being a camper far too much to be too interested in being a shopper. And, our last stop before leaving Tahoe was the super cute ice cream parlor at Camp Richardson.
The whole area of Camp Richardson was bursting with families having lots of fun and the ice cream shop was no exception. I've never seen a 'single' scoop quite that large before. It was more like 4 scoops -- and so tasty!

Sunset Magazine is right. This is a great place to camp and hopefully the beginning of a family tradition that takes us back again.

I miss this face...

I've been a widow this week. A Boy Scout widow. I lost my husband to some serious adventure and camping in the high Sierras. This whole super activity was his idea, thus a large part of the planning and organization became his responsibility as well. He spent months preparing and worked so hard getting ready for it. It was no small task to coordinate (and buy!) food for the week, plan activities, and even build a really fancy (maybe functional is a better word choice) top for a latrine -- with a real toilet seat and toilet paper holder! Thanks Grandpa for your help on that one. Basically, to keep it short, it was a TON of work for him. But he did it and I know those boys have had a great, memorable time and so has he. I tell you, I'm a lucky wife to have such a hardworking, dedicated husband.

I'm excited for him to come home tomorrow. We've been apart for longer, but never gone this long without talking on the phone -- even when we were dating and I was in Zambia.

So come home sweet husband. Your wife and the washing machine (uh, and the shower) are awaiting your arrival!