Sixteen and a half

 

Oh my sweet Edward is 16 and a half today.  My sweet, sweet baby boy who made me a mother is growing up and, wow, it is hard to take.  He is so independent and loves his alone time.  He still loves airsoft and wants to spend all this time and money on guns.  He is kind, loving, and thoughtful.  He works hard in school and loves to play computer games with his friends.  I just adore this boy.  He is amazing and I am proud of him.  Time is a thief.  

For his half birthday, we got sushi and he let me take his photo!   

 

Wibit, Escape, and Jiu Jitsu

 We are full blown in to August now and so many things have happened.  Nolen and I went to the wibit on Saturday and had a blast.  We ran around the slipper bounce house and then went over to the blue hole to jump in the freezing water.  It was fun to sit with our ward and the youth as we all soaked up some sun.  However, the bishop pulled me aside and let me know he was releasing me as young women's president.  I cried my eyes out.  I am so devastated.  I love the youth and I love my calling.  I am having such a hard time letting it all go.  I know Pamela Tracey will do an amazing job; however, I am still so sad it is over. It is hard to express my love for the young women in my ward in simple words.  They have left a lasting impression on me.  I will think of them for all the rest of my life.  I feel like the last six years in young women's have been some of the best years of my life.  I know I can never return to this time in my life but I am trying to soak up as much of it as I can.  I love the youth.    

After I got home from the wibit, Stephen decided he was ready to start hanging out with his work friends.  Wow, what a huge change!!  This was needed and necessary in our marriage.  Stephen has been living in a dark hole for the last 10 years at least.  It has been hard for him to crawl out of his depression.  I am so over joyed he is trying to turn over a new leaf.  I have pushed and pushed for change, but really a person just has to choose when they are ready.  The escape room was easy and we had fun figuring out the puzzles.  Afterward, Stephen and I went to get dessert at Flying Star and it was not worth the high price.  I could make something much tastier an cheaper! 

Nolen had his second Jiu Jitsu tournament of his life this last weekend.  He did so well.  He lost his first match but won his second match.  He has worked hard this last year tying to learn how to fight.  He is bigger and stronger now so hopefully, he will only get better! 

The new leaf continues with more time with Stephen.  He has wanted to hang out and do something nearly every single day.  It is so refreshing and I love it.  My heart is singing with love.  I almost feel overwhelmed because I am used to doing so many things on my own and now Stephen wants to join in.  I want this feeling to last forever.  I love him.  I adore him.  I have waited for this Stephen to return for so so so many years.  I am so glad he is finally feeling better.  The last year was so hard and he fought his way through addiction and mental health struggles caused by his job.  The stress of being an air traffic controller is intense.  

 

Back to school for Nolen

 After six years of home school, it is now time for Nolen to return.  He has been home with me every day for so long.  I literally do not know what to do with out him.  We have done so much together.  I adore this sweet little boy.  He melts my heart.  After a lot of discussion, we decided to send Nolen to High school.  It will be a huge adjustment but I know he will become the man he needs to become because of this choice.  May he meet new friends and have some fun life long experiences.

 

End of summer

 Why does the summer have to end?!  Why can't we just have endless summer days for the rest of our lives?  I want to live somewhere where summer is always and forever.  That is my heaven.  No real work to do and good weather all year long.  Dreams!  We finished our summer out with a quick swim at Craig and Blair's and I got an allergy test to figure out what is going on with my throat.  

I found out I am allergic to Cedar and Juniper.  Ugh!  And that those allergies could easily have caused my terrible sore throats.  Thankfully I am not allergic to the dog.  But she DOES have a ton of dog hair left everywhere around the house.  I kicked her out of my bedroom because I just can't take the dog hair another minute.  

 

Taos Up and Over

 

 This weekend, I went up to Taos with my friend, Spencer.  We left Friday after school and stopped for dinner with Pam Martinez and her husband.  Spencer picked an African restaurant that was pretty tasty in Santa Fe.  Spencer and I split the hotel room and had a blast!  We arrived a bit late, but jumped in the hot tub before we crashed in bed.  I barely slept all night, mostly because I contemplated my entire life while I laid in bed.  I hate that.  I wish I could turn off my mind like I used too.  Lately, I have had the hardest time sleeping.  I think it is more related to my Mom's death than anything.  It has almost been a year since she passed and I just can't sleep.  

I woke up from my non sleep at 6 AM.  The race didn't start until 9 so I had to just sit around waiting for hours.  HA!  Spencer finally work up at 8 and we walked to the race registration and got our numbers.  Then we had a light breakfast before we did a tiny warm up.  This race was TOUGH!  I had trained all summer with Pam while running hills but that was nothing compared to how steep the mountain is in Taos.  I started out pretty strong and didn't walk much of the first mile; however, that all changed as I hit mile 2 and 3.  I had to walk the entire last half mile because it was just too steep for me to run.  I got to the top of the mountain and was so relieved!!  I ran as fast as I could all the way back down the mountain.  6.2 miles of intense terrain really pushed me to my limit.  It was a super fun weekend and I am so glad I have a friend who likes to run.  

By the time I got home, I was exhausted!!  No sleep and an intense race made for a very tired day.  I think I slept half the day away and could barely get myself up for church on Sunday.  On to bigger and better adventures!  

First Day of School

 

Yep! You read that right, it is already back to school season.  Edward starts his junior year today.  I think it is way too soon to start school, but it is not up to me.  Edward it not super excited but I know he wants to be done soon.  It is incredibly hard to believe how fast he has grown up over the last two years.  He is responsible and such a good kid.  I enjoy all my time with him.  

 Edward still sleeps with his baby blanket and I just love that.  He has a few dolls that stay in his room as well.  This just melts my heart.  He is truly so kind hearted.