Dear Jonah

Tonight we watched some old youtube videos that Dad posted a few years ago.  You were a basically a baby, only one year old in a few of them, and the oldest clip was posted when you were barely five years old.  At one point when we were watching for the third time a Mother's Day video from 2011 that we sent to both Grandma Hill and Grandma Harris, you said you didn't want to watch it again and you went upstairs in tears.  I followed you up because I was so confused as to why watching this old video made you upset... especially since we'd already watched it twice before.  You refused to tell me despite my gentle pleas.  I convinced you to come down so we could watch one more that you hadn't seen yet. You were fine until I mentioned how fun it was to see you at three years old talking about your "cow-cow" blanket, and then your lip started quivering and I knew I had touched that place in your heart that was aching - even though I was still unsure what, exactly, you were feeling.

After that, at bedtime, we snugged and read in my bed but I wanted to make sure you were alright and I also wanted to make sure I knew why you were upset.  When I asked if you wanted to talk about what made you sad, you just started to cry again and then when I asked if you just missed being so little,  you nodded your head with tears streaming down your face.  That was it: you simply missed being that little boy who said and did funny things, who played with toys that have long since been packed away in the attic, whose voice was so different, so small, whose face was cherubically round and whose eyes had not yet decided on a final color.  I was not surprised to learn this, as you are my only child who deeply cherishes what surrounds you in your seven year old world.  You often talk about your possessions with thoughts of the future.  You tell me that I can't send things to the thrift store because you want to have them for your little boys (you don't want daughters right now...that may change).  You talk about the future and how you want to give your children these same experiences that you have had as a child. Nothing, absolutely nothing means more to me than knowing that your life thus far has been filled with so much joy that your heart aches to see the past as you watch your own self growing up.

I love you so very much Jonah and I promise you that there will be more times in your life when you are able to look back and miss what is gone to the world of memories...a sure sign of a life well lived.

Here you are at 4 years old:

General Conference

I love the Fall session of General Conference.  I love that the weather has cooled down a bit, that there is little to no humidity, and that the leaves are changing colors and when I look out any of my windows I watch them falling like rain with the gentlest of winds.  I also love some of the traditions we have around conference that have evolved over time, including hiking in Mint Springs on Sunday morning, coloring mosaics while listening to the speakers (I find it's a great tactic to stay engaged), having Navajo tacos on Saturday night and Stromboli on Sunday.  But the best part of the whole weekend is gathering around the t.v. together to listen to the Prophet and Apostles inspire us to become better people each and every day. Unfortunately, Jared has missed both 2013 sessions because of academic conference commitments, so these are all the photos I texted him over the weekend to help him feel a little closer to home.

Saturday after soccer games were wrapped up we headed in for long overdue haircuts before catching the 4:00 session of conference. Gavin and Liam are hidden behind their two hairdressers in the background.

 Mosiacs

More doodling

Indian Fry Bread for Navajo Tacos with TVP

Caleb left for the evening Priesthood session and the rest of us played a rousing game of Quirkle where for the first time Gavin and I didn't come in 1st and 2nd places.  In fact, Liam set a new family record of getting 6 Quirkles in a row and 8 total over the course of the game!

Resting after the first half mile of uphill climbing in Mint Springs.  Jonah carried the map the entire hike.

Gavin was leading out and decided that he wanted to venture up to this impressive power lines tower or whatever you call that thing.

Jonah figuring out where we were and where we were going.

Gavin, as usual, was the leader of our pack and he kept a pace I had to try to keep up with.  The others were not interested in taking the extra .5 mile section that he and I wanted to explore, so we parted ways.  I love hiking with Gavin....he never complains and like me ends up wanting to push a little further because we just want to see what's around that next bend in the path.  Here is a selfie of the two of us.

I couldn't get a clear shot of all the mosaics with my phone, so this will have to do.

Jared is en route back home and the stromboli is about to be consumed as soon as the boys come down after showering and cleaning up.  I can hear Liam blowdrying his hair....this is a new fascination of his and frankly his hair looks great when he gives it that extra touch! The only other male person in the world who I know blow dries their hair every day is Uncle James, who Liam James is in part named after.......

Camping

This past weekend we got to enjoy a 3 day break from school and being that our normal weeks don't end until Caleb finishes up with cello on Friday night at 7:15, I was beyond excited.  I think Jared and I shared a collective sigh when C. and I arrived home after 7:30 that night.  Jared had the brilliant idea to go camping after church on Sunday!  Perfect!  So after a Saturday full to the brim with soccer and Sunday's normal church services, we came home and I threw in some lasagna to eat before departing while Jared packed us up.  We headed to Loft Mountain where we camped last August, and which sits along the Shenandoah Parkway about 60 minutes or less from our front door.  We drove along the roads looking for the very spot we camped last year only to find it was taken, so we ventured down a few more roads scouting out the different sites until we found F135 and pitched the tents.  We have the huge family tent that can sleep 6 comfortably, but Caleb wanted to bring his own tent he recently purchased, so he put that one up for himself and Gavin.  Ruby was along for the adventure and joined us in the tent on her sleeping rug because dog hair makes me crazy and I didn't want her sleeping next to or with anyone.  

After the tents were pitched we snacked on roasted red pepper hummus I made with Liam before leaving and which was voted by 3 of us to be better than Sticks kebob shop in town. Afterwards it was time for marshmallow roasting.  A few caught on fire and Jonah was frustrated with all of his that kept burning.  Gavin would always offer his up to help out the situation......thanks Gavin.  Caleb was the most patient and mastered the roasting, presenting us with a nicely golden delight that he smooshed between two graham crackers.  There was no chocolate, because I forgot to buy some.

This first picture is the only one snapped at night time and the rest are from the the following morning:

When I finally decided to get out of my cozy new lightweight sleeping bag Jared bought, I kept hearing them call to Ruby over and over, which was starting to get annoying.  So when I came out I discovered that Ruby was gone and no one was looking for her because they said, in a very unconcerned tone, that she would come back at some point!  So I got in the car to go look for her, knowing full well she would not be making her way back because she loves people and she had no identification tags on her collar.  In fact, when I finally figured out that she was with the camp host thanks to another camper out walking her dog, she and her husband told me that in the 45 minutes that they had her they decided that if someone didn't claim her they were planning on keeping her.  The husband even described how he just sat and held her and she snuggled right into him......here I am searching for her leash while the host is taking down our information and gently reminding me that the Park Ranger is not so forgiving of pets not on a leash.  

I'd keep her too if I found her wandering in the woods with no tags!  We all love this girl!

We broke down camp and headed for Chimney Rocks for our 3.5 mile hike.  

Like all self-timed photos this one was painful.  The boys know how to push Jared's buttons when it comes to taking group photos and this one was no exception, but I'm glad we persevered and have it for the record! Caleb is standing on a rock looking tall, but in reality he IS taller than me by almost 2 inches and his shoe size is bigger than Jared's.

This is my favorite picture from the trip.  I love to see them in order of age with Caleb leading the pack and Jonah happy to bring up the rear.  

On top of Chimney Rocks with the Shenandoah Valley in the background.

Stopping for lunch.  Caleb refuses to ever wear his hat so the brim shades his face and asked if he could sunscreen his face and cover his neck!  Jared didn't go for that...so he sun screened both face and neck and wore his hat however he wanted.

This photo was the most painful for all of us on the entire trip.  Jared was losing patience with the boys antics, we were sitting on the edge of a ledge with 30+ foot drop and at one point a huge spider came out of no where and nearly landed on Gavin which of course made us all scream and jump up out of position. And then in the end the best shot, Jonah's eyes are closed! His smile is fantastic though...

Poor Jonah, he's trying so hard to smile through the tears after deliberately messing up yet another shot:) Oh the joys of family photos!

We made it back in time to unpack, eat leftovers, send Caleb and Liam to orchestra and give everyone a well deserved shower before climbing in bed to start the week the next morning.

FUN

At the end of school this past year,  Liam was invited to the FUN concert by one of his buddies who had two tickets in this Easter basket.  Liam was over the moon excited and when we determined that it was not on a Sunday we gave him the green light.  I did warn him though that friends can be fickle and being that the concert was nearly 4 months away, things could change. I even suspected that there would be great disappointment because even though Liam had said they were best buds, these two had never had a play-date, never.  We heard from this friend once over the summer when they invited Liam to another concert that he couldn't make it to.  But it was then that I apprehensively asked the mom if the talk about Liam coming to the FUN concert was still in the plans. When she said that yes,  I will admit that I was very relieved.  It's hard to be the bearer of bad news for your kids.

So last night was the culmination of 4 months of anticipation. When the U2 360 tour came around Jared took both Caleb and Liam to Baltimore to see the show.  It was huge with thousands of people and the whole 360 stage set up was mind-blowing in it's scale and very cool design.  That was a rock concert! (Jared and I saw them previously here in C-ville). But FUN was going to be something entirely different.  Held at the Charlottesville Pavilion where President Obama set the record for number of attendees at 5,000 two years ago, there may have been only 1,000 or so concert goers with the majority being young people, teens and preteens and the accompanying parents.  The stage was close...about 30 rows in total and the remaining space was standing/dancing room.  There was a big screen so he could see everything going on on stage, but it was close enough that if he wanted (he didn't) he could have walked right up the where they were playing.  He said they mostly stayed behind the last row of chairs, which were useless as no one sat, and spent the 90 minute show dancing, singing and screaming.  He also said his favorite part was when they dropped all of this confetti at the end of the concert. Magical. It doesn't get much better for an 11 year old!

He was home by 10:45, much to my surprise as I was expecting him to show up at 11:30 or later with the traffic congestion, and wow was he BEAMING!  He went on and on about the how awesome the whole experience was.  A mom sent video of Liam and all his preteen friends, both boys and girls, jumping and singing all the words to songs like We are Young or Carry On and I cannot describe what vivid memories that elicited and even made me choke up.  Seriously...but ever since having babies I get choked up and teary with any sort of event that involves a heightened sense of emotion.....calling out of the players names at a NBA basket ball game, I'm done, the tears are there.  But  I LOVED "stomps"...dancing and singing to all the latest songs from bands like B52's, Oingo Boingo, Lionel Richie, Culture Club, Prince, Cindi Lauper, REO Speedwagon, Madonna, Pet Shop boys and all the other 80's hits .  I also remember my first concert: Oingo Boingo.  It's a far contrast to Jared's favorite bands at that time which included Boston, Rush, Van Halen, REO Speedwagon, James Taylor, and these are still some of his favorites!

Here he is with all his buddies on this night that he will never forget:

Week with G&G Harris

A few weeks ago,  G&G Harris came out to visit for the week to see us and as well as to enjoy the first game of the UVA football season against BYU.  It's been 18 months since we've seen them out here in Virginia and one year since Gavin and Jonah and myself have seen them at all, which is way too long!

They arrived late and with the time change we were all up and gone to school and piano before they woke, so the boys were all very excited to get home and see them....especially Gavin because it was his birthday. Here they are prepping Gavin's birthday card.

Grandma, as always, was excited to try whatever new game the boys wanted to play.  She even ventured into Clue a game that required a little refresher from Gavin. It happens to be Jonah's favorite game next to Sleeping Queens, which is what they are playing here.

An evening walk up and down the luge before heading to Gavin's birthday dinner.

Liam escorting Grandma to the restaurant for Gavin's birthday.

Caleb recently bought a tent and had it set up for a little show and tell.  Grandma was a great sport to join Caleb inside and help keep Ruby out.

You'd never guess that Grandpa was 86 years old and Grandma 84.  They were always good sports about playing with the boys.

An evening walk for Gavin to give his new long board a nice long ride on the only relatively level stretch of pavement in the neighborhood.

Jared and I with the boys (sans Jonah) had picked peaches several days before G&G arrived with the intent to do some canning together.  Despite our efforts of ripening these little beauties, they were devils to peal.  We canned 4 quarts on the first day before giving up and waited a few more days only to fail again.  I ended up with 8 quarts for Jared and I (the boys are pretty sure they don't like them, but they haven't even tried them yet, sheesh!).  I ended up making freezer jam with the remaining peaches, which to everyones surprise was delish. And how could it not be with 6 cups of sugar to every 3.5 cups of peaches.

Before heading out for the events on Saturday,  Caleb made his weekly breakfast of ebelskivers.  He recruits Liam to melt the butter and prep the bowls of cinnamon sugar, but it's just the two of them who pull off this wonderful morning treat.

After our great breakfast, we ventured out to Caleb's first travel soccer tournament in Lynchburg, Virginia. Unfortunately it was super hot and super humid....like so hot that you sit there doing nothing and the sweat still drips down your back, your face, everywhere. Caleb played left striker for the first half which meant he was on our side of the field making his moves very visible to all of his sideline fans.

We left Caleb in Lynchburg to play his second game while the rest of us headed back up in the nick of time for the kick-off of the BYU vs UVA game.  Just because Jared and I are BYU alumni, the boys were not entirely swayed that thats who they should cheer for, and being that UVA pays our bills, we too were torn as to who we'd cheer for. In fact, I opted to wear neutral floral attire and Jared a nondescript blue shirt.  But then there was Liam who argued, "why would I cheer for a team I have no personal connection to"?  He was solidly decided on UVA and chose his clothes accordingly...orange from head to toe.  Gavin was gifted with Jared's old t-shirt from when he was Caleb's age!  Either it has really shrunk, or Jared was really small, or it was the 80's when clothes were designed to fit more snuggly and people were generally thinner.  I'm guessing the latter. Then there was Jonah who dug out an old UVA Caveman's shirt, but he never really took sides.

Every time UVA did something well, Liam was cheering with a little smack talk to all the BYU fans who surrounded him.  

Then a huge storm came in requiring us to evacuate the stadium for what ended up to be a very long two hours.  The boys were starting to poke, pinch, wrestle and chase each other in this very confined space with lots of other worn out folks.  Grandma, who never complains, finally suggested that she needed to sit down and good thing Jared brought down our stadium chairs, purchased for rent for $5.   The best $20 we spent the whole day.  

After a little more than two hours we were let back in to watch what would amount to 15 minutes of play before half-time and seconds before the clouds opened up again with heavy rain and more thunder.  Fortunately, Jared stashed our umbrellas near the entrance so we quickly grabbed those and made our way to the car.  Jared found a spot after dropping us off and parked illegally around the corner from the stadium, but it was by far the smartest move of the day next to the chair rentals.  Otherwise we'd have to walk over a mile in the downpour to get to our van. 

But, what we didn't expect was that when we came home to watch the second half of the game on the t.v., we found the power was out.  Seriously!! Those blasted trees all long Garth road, that they refuse to cut down for the scenic beauty, came crashing down on the power lines....just like they do at least 4-6 times every year!  Yes, it makes me super grumpy because what it really means is that we have no light, no AC, and worst of all no water.  Think toilets, think dirty dishes, think washing anything including yourself, think brushing your teeth, then think how grateful most of you are that you seldom lose power or when you do, you at least have water.

I love Jonah's face in this photo because if he had his way the power would be out all the time, but he is NOT happy with tomato soup and grill cheese.  And then there is Gavin, who I swear cannot seem to understand the value of the utensil despite the hundreds of times we've clearly explained it to him, with his paw in the bowl of watermelon intended to be shared.  Honestly!!  I hope he goes to Ethiopia on his mission where he can eat with his hands to his hearts content.

The next morning, Grandma getting ready for church in the sun room with the mirror from my bedroom.  The only way to get adequate light for primping and then there is Caleb getting his hair washed in the sink with a gallon of cold water.  He was not happy!

When we came back from church and a meal out where we didn't have to prepare or clean anything up we found the power was back on!!!  Oh the joy!  We had a great afternoon together and the puzzlers started into a new challenge.

Family shots.  The first one is taken by Caleb...not bad.

The night we had no power there were some who decided why not make it a tent night! Jonah spent a great deal of time getting organized with his animals, a book for the morning and his trusty clock.

It was still steaming hot at 11pm.  You can see Caleb's road rash from a spill on the long board.

The main project for the week was finishing the desk we bought a few days before G&G arrived.  The bottom is an antique and the top was an unfinished piece that we stained to match.  It turned out so well and Liam was beyond thrilled!

We had a great week with two of our favorite grandparents.  The boys are all old enough to hold the memories of this time with you in their hearts which makes me all the more grateful that you made the effort to come and be with us.   Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for being two truly remarkable people who are always full of a desire to bring joy to the lives of those around you.