Tennis Weekend

Who would have guessed all those years ago when Mr. Wright gave me my first tennis lesson that tennis would become such a pleasant part of my life. Some of my tennis group traveled to St. George last weekend to have our last outdoor tennis event. We had such fun--playing tennis almost non-stop on Friday and Saturday. We did end early on Saturday so that we could go to the St. George temple. Very nice weekend.

A Welcome Sunday Morning Visit

We were able to visit young Mr. Carson in person when Jordan and Heather stopped by this morning. He is soooo cute, and Heather looks great. Jordan looks good too! Ha!

Our Fragile Bodies

Kate's spine, Caroline's right side, Bryce's shoulder. And I won't even mention Me, Clint and Jacque and our various ailments. Our bodies are wonderful, but at times our greatest challenge. Kate had her semi-annual appointment with Dr. Smith at Primary Childrens last week, and it is time to think seriously about surgery. Caroline is going throught the process of trying to figure out what is wrong--hoping nothing is--but hating the uncertainty. Bryce can't stand being limited by pain--and is trying hard to heal and improve. But of course we continue to love our bodies even when they give us trouble, because they also allow us to do the things that we love. Kate continues to dance, Care runs and Bryce golfs (among other things!) And we are all loving the glorious fall weather.

Children Playing

Perhaps one of the reasons I enjoy reading your blogs so much, is because it gives me a chance to see pictures of your young children and watch them grow and participate in their activities. Just so you know, the playing never ends--and so I have posted pictures of my "not so young" children playing. It is harder than you think to get everyone in the air at once. I love how Dallin fits in our family so well.

St George Marathon

Several months ago, we made plans to go to St. George to watch Caroline run the marathon. We told her that if she was going to run, we would all go. As the time got closer, Caroline warned us that she wasn't sure about her training, and then just a month before the marathon she got very sick. She again warned us that she would be slow, and was just a little concerned about finishing. So of course she came running in at 3 hours 11 minutes and was 2nd in her age group. The first words out of her mouth when we found her after the race were "I am so impressed with myself!" We were impressed too--and now we have all committed to go and watch her run the Boston Marathon (for which she qualified) next spring.

Homecoming Week

We spent most of last week helping Kate because it was HOMECOMING! That meant that she had dance rehersals--Dance Company performed at half time. She had to choose a dress out of her sisters' dance dress closet. (How nice for me! We have quite a collection to choose from.) I had to make the alterations and sew a shrug to wear with the dress. We attended the burning of the "B" where she also danced . We went to the football game with a group of our friends who are the new Kate Fan Club. (Their children are all graduated, so they are nice to support Kate for her final two years.) We cheered as our team won. We cheered for Kate when they danced at half time--she had a solo and was wonderful. (Mother insight.) We got her up at 6:30 am the next day for her date to take her to breakfast, then activities at the park, then dinner, then the dance, then a gymnastics type of activity place--and finally home at 1:00 am. (Curfew is extended for formal dances.) Whew!

I was glad when it was all over. She had fun and was with a really great group of kids. So guess what she did last night? Asked a boy to MORP--the next school dance. It never ends! Ha!

Always Learning

We traveled to visit Bryce's Mom & Dad in their new "cabin." It was also Nolan's farewell. Bryce rented ATVs so we could explore the land around Arlin and Marlene's new home. I learned a few things:

Bryce patiently gave the children rides. That did not surprise me.

Kendyl and Jon always had a lot of fun. That didn't surprise me.

Clint was great on the ATVs and was patient with his slower Mom. That didn't surprise me.

I was very cautious and did not completely love ATV riding. That didn't surprise me.

Kate was fearless and loved riding the ATVs. Now THAT did surprise me. Always learning new things about the people closest to us.