Fruitland or bust

When our niece Maddie announced that she was serving a mission, Jessica and I both resolved to go to her farewell. We had wanted so badly to support the family, so when the weekend of her report came, we hopped in our trusty 2007 Chrysler impala and crossed the border - headed for Fruitland, Idaho. 

We hit roadblock after roadblock all along the way. 

For example, 15 minutes into the trip, I realized that I had grabbed John's passport, not mine. Home we went.

Three hours into the trip, when we stopped to rent a car because we figured ours wouldn't make it all the way, we learned that there wasn't a rental car in all the land.  Well, atleast not in Great Falls. Forward we went. (We probably shouldn't have continued in our car, but we were determined.)

We LOVED stopping in Helena to see the new temple and we REALLY enjoyed Chic Filet. 

Somewhere, near the town of Dillon, well past dark, the check engine light came on and the car started to sound a little bit funny. Fueled by childhood memories of a similar vehicular situation near Dillon, I instructed Jessica to take the first exit she found and we drove straight to a hotel. For that night, we wondered and debated. Do we press on (we were only halfway through our journey) or do we head home? I did not want to risk going further south only to run into worse trouble with the car. 

By morning, I had decided that we would close the gap between us and hope and turn around. 

That said, we were 20 minutes from Rexburg Idaho, so we did go there and spend a few hours on campus, exploring the nursing floor and getting a sense of the area. It piqued Jessica's interest and put the thought of BYUI back on the table. 

As we finished up on campus, we said a prayer and asked for safe travels as we started for home. The car ran great for about 6 hours, the engine light only coming on again as we pulled into the parking lot of a hotel in Great Falls. I knew we'd make it home safely the next day. 

We were sad to have missed our chance to support Maddie, but I was sure grateful for the time spent in this dingy old car - with this girl. She's made life fun. 

I'm grateful for her. 

Random June

Oh June - you were medicine to my tired heart. After years of schooling, June 2024 brought some sunshine and rest. It was a beautiful spring!

Nate broke the front tire on his purple and green moped and quickly bought a used moped from a member of his baseball team. Turns out we got scammed big time and the moped has ended up being a total lemon. Such a bummer, but we have noone to blame but ourselves. We can be too gullible, sometimes. 

Because I'd been hired to work at the Junior high, the principal called me in often to sub. I got nervous each time (kids are often mean to the subs) but it did help me get to know the school and the students better. This is one of the school EAs who I got to know that month. 

Jessica really hit the books during those last weeks of school. She juggled softball and finals like a champ, but man, I got sick up seeing papers splayed over my kitchen table for days. 

Nate really stepped up at DQ (he'd been working there for a couple of months) and took a lot of shifts as the end of school drew near. He is such a fun young man. Happy, and engaging. I love him. 

Jess and Nate's teams did well, this past ball season. Jessica's team won zones, which wasn't surprising, but was fun. Nate's team had a great season too!

I really tried hard to soak up the evenings of ball. For years, I'd opted to attend classes or do homework instead. It was nice to not have anything looming. 

June brought the High School graduation of many of my former Young Women. I was so happy to get to hug some of them and congratulate them. Esther especially had worked really hard to achieve this. 

 Abby really works hard and June was no exception. While serving in Sibiu she had some great experiences and she reached her 1 year mark!

June marked 7 months in the field for Sam. He is growing so much and I have been so proud of the way that he has embraced his mission and resolved to serve. 

Towards the end of June, Brent and Rachel went on a trip together. We watched the kids for a few days. It was fun to have little ones around. We tried to be as fun as possible. 

We ordered fries and Chicken from every fast food spot in town and voted on the favorites. Oddly enough, I think KFC won for best Chicken AND best fries. 

We played lots of games!

We took the kids into Lethbridge to swim at the YMCA...

and finished our day in the city with a big order of Crumbl cookies.  So good!

On our final day together, we took the kids to Waterton for a walk and lunch at Beavertails. 

By the time Rachel and Brent got home, I had gained forty pounds and was exhausted, but it was fun to have them stay with us. 

Pomp & Circumstance

This day was big. For me, it was four years in the making. 

For four years, I had stayed up layed, poured over books, hunched over my computer and juggled every schedule. I often dreamed about being done and graduated, and I wondered if I would actually attend my convocation. I debated going, right up to the very day, but ultimately, I wanted to see this journey through to the very end and I was SO thankful that John and Nate were able and wiling to join me. 

I did not realize how many graduates I would be attending with. 

I loved walking into the auditorium and finding Nate and John in the crowd. (Jess had a softball game that she felt she needed to be at. I respect that, but she was missed.)

There was so much pomp and tradition associated with the graduation ceremony. I was impressed with the procedure and protocols. 

After the ceremony, we stopped by Burning Bird, a favourite Louisiana Chicken shop that has become a family favorite. I'm pretty sure that was the highlight of Nate's day and the only thing that made the two hour drive and the three hour ceremony worth it.  

To each his own.