Last Day of Summer

Today was the last day of summer for Jenna. We had a great day shopping and ended the day shopping at Pacific City in Huntington Beach. We live in such a beautiful area.

San Elijo Camping

This year's family vacation to San Elijo was special. Every year is special, but this was the last year with two "kids." Heather had turned 18, but she was still at home so-to-speak, and still a kid. When we return as a family, Heather will be an independent, adult human. While I sat on the beach I kept having flashing backs of the little people who used to run around on the beach in front of my chair and build sand castles for hours. Sniff, sniff.  Anyway, we brought Scarlet with us, and she loved the beach. We took her for walks and let her hang out around the campfire. She slept with Jenna, climbed up to give Kelly hugs and love the dog beach. We had to keep her on a leash which was a bummer because she would have galloped around forever. We took her to Besta Wan because they are dog friendly. She did great! You know, we had originally thought about saving up for a trip to Europe this past year because we were going to be celebrating Heather's graduation, her 18th birthday, my 50th birthday and our 30th wedding anniversary. But after talking about it for a bit, Heather decided she wanted to have her senior summer to be full of all the sentimental things she's loved over the years. San Elijo is one of those things, and we were so grateful to get a camping spot and to have so much fun together hanging out at the beach, playing games like Hearts, and sitting around the campfire.

Sentimental Moments

August 2017

August 2003 - Sharing Ice Cream Truck with Sis

I heard the ice cream truck tonight and I HAD to grab some cash and call the girls to run out with me. They used to hear it during the summer and every now and then, we'd run out and catch it if it wasn't dinner time. Due to all the milestones and life changes coming up, I wanted to grab a piece of the past and be that mom with the little girls again running to catch the ice cream truck. These years flew by so fast. Oh my heart.

Summer Varsity League

Jenna was invited to play on the Varsity Summer League team. She was one of only two players from the Frosh/Soph teams asked to play. She's been working hard, and it was amazing for her to receive the invitation. It isn't a guarantee that she'll make Varsity, but it is a start to playing with more skilled girls. She'll definitely get some good experience in.

Last Hurrah

After the volleyball camp wrapped up, we decided to make one last trip to Salt Lake. We went and saw the Jospeh Smith movie with the girls and walked around Temple Square some more. We popped into the Family History Center while the girls walked around City Creek Mall to take some pictures of the pedigree screens. They were supposed to be emailed, but never came. It was such good information that I wanted to make sure I had copies. We met the girls back at City Creek Mall to grab dinner and ride the Trax. It was a fun way to spend our last night in Utah.

BYU Volleyball Camp

The original plan for BYU summer camp was to drop Jenna off each morning and then spend the hours she'd be at camp roaming around with Shelly exploring her stomping grounds, going to the Temple, etc. But Jenna ended up with the stomach flu on Sunday, and it was a bad one. She hadn't recovered by Monday morning when camp started.  We called the camp and let them know she'd be coming later. I had to accompany her because she was weak from throwing all night Saturday (six hours) and sleeping all of Sunday. She hadn't eaten, but this camp was SO important. We checked her in late and then found one of the buildings where the camp was located. After talking with someone on the floor and letting them know Jenna needed to watch today, we sat and watched the court nearest us. Just after getting situated, Heather Olmsted and her assistant coach came through to check on the courts. She came over to talk to us, and we let her know Jenna needed to sit today. She noticed Jenna's Tstreet attire, and we let her know Jenna was a setter and was looking forward to instruction at a higher level. She invited Jenna over to the Smith Fieldhouse which was where the top three courts were. We sat over there and watched the activity before leaving for the day. We returned the following morning. Jenna still hadn't eaten very much, but she was determined to get out there. Heather directed her to court three with Mary Lake, and they were so excited to have a second setter. I ended up staying because we weren't sure if Jenna was going to hurl or be okay. As the next few days progressed and Jenna got stronger, I was in the routine of going in with her. I felt like I might be a little obvious hanging out so I found a perch high up in the stands and hid while watching the activities. Jenna got pulled to play one night with the top court which was a great experience. She received instruction from Linsey Haddock, a setter on the team, Amy Boswell, the fantastic middle blocker, and Mary Lake who is one of the best Liberos in the country. The head coaches were there to watch the play and instruct as well. For all the frustration of being sick and the heartache of not being able to play at 100% (she did pretty darn good anyway), the week went well. I've learned that I say too many things to coaches that make me sound like a dork, and that I worry about the process and progress too much (Is she on the right court? Is she progressing fast enough to achieve her goals?). We also learned that prayer works and that the power of the priesthood is real.  Jenna had an amazing blessing from Sarah's grandpa. We carried that blessing through the week. Jenna also prayed on Tuesday that she would feel better and after resting during lunch, she was able to go back and play really well. Sometimes you can exercise faith through other people praying for you and a blessing, but Heavenly Father wants to hear from us too.  On our way out on the last day, we stopped by the BYU sign and grabbed a soda and sugar cookie from the famous Swig. This was a great experience. If Jenna hadn't been sick and sitting in the place she was at the time she was, we don't know if the coaches would have noticed her being from Tstreet or whether she would have been invited to the top courts. We think this all happened for a reason, maybe one that we won't understand for some time.

Birthdays, Sickness and The Priesthood

On Saturday we hung out at the house and attended Brittany's oldest daughter's 3rd birthday party. I got to hold Hannah's new baby, and later in the evening we watched a cool lightening storm. Jenna wasn't feeling well so, she hung out inside. Somewhere around midnight, she started throwing up and that went on for six hours. It was horrid. She hates throwing up.  We missed church on Sunday and stayed home so both of us could sleep after being up all night. Unfortunately by the evening, Jenna still wasn't feeling better. She threw up a couple more times after trying to eat. This was apparently a nasty stomach virus going around. As word got out we learned that Hannah's husband had it as well as some other friends they knew. We were so worried about volleyball camp the next day that I asked Jenna if Sarah's grandpa could give her a blessing.  I don't know if the blessing comforted Jenna more or me, but it was beautiful. Grandpa and a couple of uncles stood in, and it was amazing for Jenna to see that the Lord works through the priesthood. This man who knew very little about Jenna blessed her with health and let her know the Lord has plenty in store for her. He mentioned that she was blessed with talents and abilities and that through these talents and abilities she will help that will further the church.  I understood those to be volleyball talents he was mentioning, but they may be different talents. Or volleyball may help her help others if she plays and represents the church well. Or there may be other talents.  All I know is that I knew all was well. Jenna was told what an amazing young woman she was, and I'm glad that she heard that. After the blessing, Jenna shook Wilf's hand and he said, "Boy, I don't know who you are, but your are someone special." He was a little in awe of the impressions he had received. What a gift for Jenna to hear how special she is. We're hoping some good rest tonight along with this blessing will help speed her recovery.

Temple Square

Today we drove to Salt Lake City and toured Temple Square. We've done this before, but Jenna was a lot younger. It was so nice to see the temple, and we spent time touring the Joseph Smith Memorial Building where we had lunch and the Lion House where Brigham Young Lived. We saw the Tabernacle and the new Conference Center. Later in the day Shelly and I drove the girls out to Lagoon, an amusement park north of Salt Lake, and we went back to spend some time in the Family History Center. That place is amazing! Shelly and I found out that we are related somewhere about seven generations back. Probably why we found each other all those years ago. I never get tired of seeing this temple, and I kept photographing it from all angles before we went to pick up the girls. What an amazing day!