Come On, Does It Have To Be This Hard?

I knew sending McKayla off for the summer was going to be hard. How is a mom to stand 6 weeks of separation from her little girl? But I didn't realize the actual sending her would be so difficult. I'm not talking emotionally, although it was and is. You may recall my previous ranting about a certain person who tends to make life difficult. Well, we have another installment! McKayla has flown to Texas 4 times in the past 18 months (although you may choose to count 5 after reading). Two of those 4 experiences have been a nightmare, and none of it has been anything I could control. Seriously, 50% screw ups. How someone can screw up so often and not lose out to the "survival of the fittest" I'll never know.Mess #1 - Last October (trip #2), McKayla went to Texas for fall break. I got a call at the time her flight was supposed to take off to come home, informing me that she missed her flight. For real. The next direct flight home was in two days. Again for real. Halloween was the next day. So, she got thrown on a connecting flight through Atlanta where my 8-year-old had to sit for a couple of hours before coming home. I had to miss the final game of my softball tournament to pick her up. It was a mess all the way around, and McKayla was traumatized by the idea of ever making a connecting flight again. Which leads to......

..Mess #2 - Last Monday, McKayla was to make her 4th trip to Texas. We spent all morning getting ready and met Tyson for lunch. She said very tearful goodbyes to her daddy and then at the airport to me and the boys. It was nearly unbearable. I thought I was going to break into pieces it hurt so much. McKayla was to fly to Houston and then connect to her destination. She was very scared of this idea based on previous experience. We had her cell phone all charged so she could call and talk for the 3 hour lay-over. She called just as expected, but she told me she was scared because they told her she couldn't go on. So the nice Delta employee asked her if she was talking to her mom, and asked to talk to me. He explained that the ticket that the above mentioned pain-in-my-neck had purchased (online, without any kind of checking to make sure it was OK for her) required a transfer to Continental, who doesn't accept unaccompanied minors. They were putting her on a plane in 10 minutes back home. The poor girl had already flown for hours, and was being sent right back.

I talked to her until they boarded her, and then made plans to return to the airport hours later to get her. What kind of person makes a reservation through a 3rd party online agency for a 9-year-old to make a connection without checking with the airline to ensure it's legitimate? Delta was very nice and kept telling me that their agents should have never let it be booked. I assured them that through my experience with both parties, it was highly unlikely that they had erred. So McKayla came home for the night. A new flight was booked for the next morning, and we began a more successful (meaning she actually got to her destination) round two on a direct flight to a different airport. Again, we all had to go through the pain of separation for this sequel. What a nightmare!

So now she's there, and all I have to worry about is how in the world I'm going to survive without her for 5 straight weeks, scorpions, idiots who believe a 9-year-old girl should be put on an unbroken horse (she told me today she can finally raise her shoulder without excruciating pain), tarantulas, idiots who teach 2-year-olds to shoot guns, and the rattlesnakes. OK, so there's more wonderful things from the idiots to worry about, but I'm out of emotional strength to worry about it all. I guess what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so Kayla and I should win Ms. Universe! At least I booked her return flight, which means it's direct and I know she can fly on it. That's some peace of mind.

"Teenage Girls are Scary!"

That's what a friend of mine said when I mentioned I had just returned from Girls' Camp. I have to admit that I might have agreed beforehand. I've never been one for bonding with the teenagers. So the whole idea of girls' camp with all 12-18 year olds was a little intimidating to say the least. The planning and prep work was crazy and busy, but not intimidating. Teenage girls are intimidating.

We went to the Heber Valley Camp last week, and it was amazing. I have never seen a more beautiful place. It was amazing. They told us that a committee to find a new site for a camp found the area and took President Hinckley to see the 80 acres they were proposing. He apparently loved it as much as I did, maybe even more, and told them to buy the whole mountain - 8060 acres. When it was dedicated, it was called a "refuge from the world" for the girls, and it was. I can't even describe how incredible the camp was.

Oh, and the girls were incredible too. Seriously. I fell in love with every one of them. I'm actually sad to be done working with them. Here's the group (notice the adorable sweatshirts. I designed them with the camp logo..)

The camp has cabins, and we were lucky enough to fit all of us in one. I was even luckier that there was a dividing wall between my bunk and the girls. Not that I needed it, because they all went to bed when told, and the last night they were yelling to us leaders to be quiet and go to bed! Here's the cabin, my bunk, and the girls hanging out in the cabin.

My favorite part was the challenge course. I was a facilitator for one activity, so I didn't get to be with the girls much, but I did get to do the high course which consisted of climbing a 35-40 ft. tree, anchoring yourself to a wire on the other side of the tree, and then walking 15 yards across a wire, with one above to hold on to. You then repelled down a tree at the other end. It was amazing and I wish I had pictures. We took one of each girl, but when I did it, there was no one watching, so I'm without proof. I promise I did it. So did all 12 of my girls! When I told Tanner about it, thinking he would be impressed, he only said, "Too bad you can't ride a unicycle on it like in the circus." So much for impressing a 5-year-old! We also hiked to a lake and canoed for an hour or so. That was a lot of fun.

I still can't believe the bond that I felt and still feel with the girls. I love every one of them! I think part of the reason we got so close was that I didn't have any assistant directors and that I was the only adult that stayed Monday through Friday. It was amazing how obedient and willing to help they all were. I was totally surprised by the lack of problems, especially girl fights. I expected a lot of back-biting, hurt feelings, and cattiness. There was none.

Last night we had a camp awards night, and they gave me the cutest blanket embroidered with the logo and my name, and a scrapbook with a note from each girl and leader and pictures.

I did miss my family like crazy! I ached for my kids. I couldn't get home fast enough on Friday! Tanner seemed to have had the hardest time, and he was my shadow for a couple of days. After I showered and got all the smoke smell out, I asked him if I smelled better. He responded, "You smell better than you ever have," and proceeded to hug me for 10 minutes. He is such a momma's boy. Tayler was excited to see me, but when I first picked him up, he asked, "Where Daddy go?" I guess 3 seconds of excitement should be enough! McKayla just seemed relieved to have me home. It's tough to be the only girl!

I wish I had more pictures, but after trying to be in charge, keep track of 12 teenage girls, and follow the schedule for one day, I gave up on the camera. I've asked all the other leaders and girls for discs with their pictures, so if I get any I'll add some. Now I just need to go take another nap to recover. Five days later, I'm still exhausted and have blood-shot eyes. I'm hoping by a week out I'll feel back to normal - except I won't be afraid of teenage girls anymore until I have my own!

Bests of the Month

Side note: Happy Birthday Lisa! It's awesome that everyone flies flags for you.

These are a few of my favorite things from the past month (in no particular order):

1. Putting in gas (that's not the favorite part) and having it stop at $66.66. I realize it's one 6 more than necessary, but doesn't that just make it more evil? I couldn't bring myself to top it off.
2. Watching "Pride and Prejudice" with McKayla and having her love it enough to try reading the book. Yea, a girl to watch chick flicks with!
3. Watching Tanner dance to "Bet on It" while watching High School Musical 2. It is his favorite part, of course. That boy was born to dance. Just not in tights. Ever.
   
4. Tyson getting my tire fixed! No more low tires and ignorant men. OK, so one out of two isn't bad.
5. Listening to McKayla sing "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Don't you wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?" while playing Polly Pockets. Polly was singing it to the boy apparently. She totally didn't learn it at home. I swear. Or I guess she did, but it was from watching The Chipmunks movie, not from my CD collection. I promise.
   
6. Tayler saying his first extremely clear, perfectly pronounced word. Money.
7. McKayla getting all dressed up with a skirt and earrings for a BBQ at Rafe's house. Have I mentioned the gigantic crush? It was like watching her get ready for a date. She was that into it. If only he were 20 years younger. Apparently I have my hands full.
8. Pumpkin-orange-butterscotch-white chocolate-craisin cookies dipped in chocolate. Seriously. It's like a flavor fiesta in your mouth.
9. Kids doing chores willingly and without nagging. Weird, I know. And McKayla has been asking for math worksheets. Really weird, I know.
10. Cool weather that means I don't have to use AC or water my lawn. I know I complained about the cold, but I decided it was saving me money, so hooray. Oh yeah, it's hot now. Not hooray.
11. Softball. Read below if there's any confusion.
12. Lagoon with the kids. So fun, and once again, hooray for the cool weather.
13. Family bike rides and picnics
14. Girls' camp is almost over, even though it hasn't started yet. I'll get my life back!
15. Tanner telling me his brain hurt when he coughed. (That would be a headache, little guy!)
    

Life From the Sidelines

That would be Tayler. He lives everyday on the schedule of his parents and siblings. I've dubbed him the professional spectator. He's going to grow up either loving or hating to watch sports/concerts/shopping etc. because that's what he does for the majority of his life. And he does it from his stroller. Somehow, he's content for the most part to just sit in the stroller. I think he doesn't know that there's an option. At Tanner's t-ball pictures the other day, Tyson let Tayler out to play on the playground for a minute, and one of our neighbors said, "He can walk?!?" Yeah, he can walk. We just prefer the restrained version.

Tayler has kept on eating since the cheeseburger trick, and he's growing in leaps and bounds - not that there was a size problem before! In fact, a few days ago I took him to run errands with me early while the older kids were at a recreation program, and Tayler started asking for a cheeseburger and fries the minute we walked in to Walmart. Yes, I do usually feed him a happy meal while doing my grocery shopping, but usually it's at lunch time. This was 9:30 in the morning and he was freaking out for a cheeseburger. I ended up taking all the kids out that day to appease him.

Some of Tayler's favorite things to say include:
Where ________ go? (fill in the blank with anyone's name and he'll ask it for hours)
Bampa Choo Choo (grandpa's choo choo. That would be frontrunner.)
Shee um? (See them? It's asked about everything that he sees)
teeseburger n fwies (see above)
Yea Daddy, chicken! (He cheers for everyone every time they take a bite of anything. It's an illness)

Someday he'll get off the sidelines and live life for real!

Dash (aka Tanner, Tan Tan Spiderman, Tanman.....)

There's always so much to say about Tanner, but first, he graduated from Kindergarten! My little boy will be in school full-time next year. I realize that about 3 years ago I would have paid anyone any amount to let him go to school full-time, but now he's so sweet and such a momma's boy, that I really don't want to let him go. First grade is definitely harder on me than kindergarten.


Tanner also had a school program that was adorable. I was the only one there for Tanner, so I tried to take pictures and video with both the camera and video camera at the same time. As a result, neither are very good. But he was great and did his speaking part perfectly!

Here's a little video of the program, too (you'll want to pause the playlist to the right to hear the video):

Tanner played soccer this year for the first time and he was so fun to watch. At the beginning of this Spring season, I told him to use his Dash powers to dribble to ball down the field and score. He looked at me confused and then said, "That would be cheating, Mom." Apparently there are codes of conduct for superheroes, and using your powers to win sporting events is not acceptable. It took some doing to convince him to use his full speed. Thanks to the incentive of Grandpa's dollars, Tanner managed to score several goals.

Right now, Tanner plays T-ball. I have to admit that as much as I love softball, watching baseball isn't my favorite. T-ball ranks below that. However, it has actually been so entertaining that I forget how much I don't like to watch it - boys tackling each other to get the ball, hitting and running after the ball instead of to first base, all kinds of fun! Tanner definitely knows how to look and act the part of a baseball player far better than he knows how to play the game. I think he's spent too much time at my games. It was much easier this time to convince him that using his Dash powers wasn't cheating.


Last, but certainly not least, Tanner decided he didn't want his training wheels anymore. This came as quite a surprise to me because he really didn't ride his bike well with the training wheels. So I told him that as soon as he could ride McKayla's old princess bike that was his size, I'd take his training wheels off of his bike. So, in true Tanner fashion, he got on her bike and rode off like he'd been doing it for years.

I made him ride the pink bike for a few days because I couldn't believe he could really do it, but he could. He even went on a 4-mile ride with us less than a week later and was awesome.

McKayla's World....

I decided that because I've done little in the way of the "momblog" for the past several weeks, I'd do an individual update on each child and their activities. As usual, I'll begin with the oldest.


McKayla has been insanely busy the past couple of months. The spectrum program gives the students so many different opportunities for learning and fun! This past month they had their olympics at the local high school track. McKayla did great. She ran the 100 m and got 4th out of all 3rd through 6th grade girls. She ran the 400 m coed relay and also got 4th. I was super proud, and it made me realize that it's fun to go as a spectator. I always thought of it as a huge sacrifice for my parents to attend my events, which I know it was, but I never realized it was actually fun for them too!

The spectrum program also gives them the opportunity to play chimes and learn music. I can't believe how much better McKayla is at piano and music theory just from the chimes. They had their year end concert a few weeks ago, and McKayla did great.

She also got to sing with a small group of students during the concert and she was amazing!

And for a final school related note, McKayla received the academic award from the spectrum program for 3rd grade. It's a tough award to receive! You have to enter the science fair, maintain a 3.75 grade average, test in the 90th percentile on standardized year-end tests, and do a 10 hour research project in addition to all of the usual work. She worked hard and we're very proud (as well as tired, because as all parents know, these projects are as much ours as theirs).

Soccer season just ended a couple of weeks ago, and Kayla played like a champ. Unfortunately, the team didn't. They lost all their games, but I think she had fun anyway. And as a result of my frustration with a coach that didn't teach the girls a thing, I'm registered to coach next year.


Last, but definitely not least in McKayla's mind, is her riding lessons. McKayla's getting better all the time. She rides Willy most of the time now and is really loving it! I think she is less afraid than her mother as she rides.

Yesterday, the horse tripped and almost went down with her on it, and she didn't even flinch. I, on the other hand, needed a dose of valium to calm me down!

Tanner, Tayler, and Tyson (yes, he does occasionally count as one of the children) to come!