Summer Update on Glen!

I recently did a whole series on what my family is up to this summer and never got to Glen, so here is his update... (Other updates can be found here...   Ellie,   Adam, Emma,  Cami , Spencer)

Glen had a birthday in June and Emma made him this beautiful cake!   

White chocolate raspberry is one of his favorite flavor combinations and it was quite tasty!   

Most of my family are big Brandon Sanderson fans and Glen is no exception.  He doesn't have a lot of spare time for reading currently, so it took him a good 6 months to get through his latest, "Wind and Truth."  Glen was very proud and happy to finish up that 1500 page tome!  

Back in mid-June, Glen's family had an impromptu family reunion in Colorado!  His parents are both in failing health and when his family realized that a couple of the out of town siblings were going to be there at the same time, they decided to make it an official gathering and see if they could get the whole crew at once.   Most of his five siblings don't love to travel, so it had been 7 years since the last time they were all together and there was no way Glen was going to miss that!  He flew straight from a business trip in San Diego to Colorado for approximately 36 hours.  

They spent time at both their Mom's and Dad's homes...

And even recreated this iconic G family pyramid picture...old person style!   

Here's a grandkid version of it from the early 2000's.   

It sounded like the trip was a great experience and a joy for them to be all together again.  

In addition to the work and church stuff that keeps him busy on a day -to -day basis, he also still loves to fish, play Magic the Gathering with Spence and Adam (and Garrett when he's in town), go golfing when he's got a buddy to play with, play disc golf with Spence, and play Pokemon Go.  He's been playing Pokemon Go long enough that he's reached the top level and is basically an expert.   He also walks with me most mornings, which is a habit/tradition that I love...time to connect and exercise together at the same time!  

Glen's a good one and I'm glad he's mine!  

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Between Alaska and Camp

 Letter to Cami:   June 25, 2017

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Hi, Cami!

How has your week been? Are you back up and running with a new ipad yet? Hopefully you've been able to see the photos and videos we've shared over the last couple of weeks. If not, let me know what the last thing you got was and we will try to re-upload whatever you didn't receive.

So, we can't wait to hear about this upcoming transfer. We assume that you'll likely stay there since Soeur Wadsworth is going home and you're a STL, but who knows? Let me know if you think I should send all of your letters to the mission home this week just to be safe. I already mentioned this in my previous email, but please also let me know where you'd like me to send your next package to and if there's anything specific you'd like me to include in it. I can wait to send it until you hear officially where you'll be.

Dad's at the cabin in Idaho this weekend. It's been a little sad not to have him home on his birthday, but I think he's really enjoying the time he's been able to spend with his siblings. He comes home tomorrow.

 

Adam heads to scout camp bright and early tomorrow morning. Emma goes up to YW camp tomorrow afternoon and Ellie and I head up on Tuesday! It should be a fun week full of camping. I'm happy at least that the weather forecast doesn't look too horrible for my 5th YW camp in a row!

It was fun to officially meet Madeleine M. on Thursday.

 

 I felt bad because the only day she was available was the day our AC was getting replaced, which meant we were stuck at home in a stiflingly hot house, but she was a good sport and came anyway. She is beautiful and very prim and proper and we loved her British/French accent. She is doing much better health-wise and actually attended Julliard part-time this past semester. Apparently she still has to undergo regular treatment for her AML and travels back-and-forth quite a bit for that, but it was great to see her healthy enough for a visit! Spencer seemed to really enjoy meeting her too, and I enjoyed seeing Spence act "grown up" in her presence.

Here's your weekly update on everyone:


Dad--got home from Alaska, got sick with a bad cold (which made it hard for him to breathe), worked his tail off for two days, then took off for Idaho. We've seen very little of him this past week and will see even less of him this upcoming week. :( Hopefully it'll be a bit quieter after camps are over.

Me--I got all excited to start cooking again when we got home from vacation, but unfortunately the only thing cooking was us! Our AC broke while we were on vacation and it was 85° in here when we got home. It was a loooooooong couple of roasty toasty days, in which I forbade anyone from turning on the oven or stove. We've had a few homecooked meals since it was fixed on Thursday night, but I daresay our kitchen is feeling somewhat neglected currently.

Spence--I think he really enjoyed Alaska. He's been playing a lot of video games since he's been home and seemed to really enjoy Madeleine's visit on Thursday. He needs a purpose.

Emma--She loved Alaska and missed cooking even more than I did. When I finally gave the green light for using the stove/oven again, she went on a cooking super spree. She not only planned the menu for the next few days, but she also went to the grocery store and did all the shopping herself, and she's been making every item of food herself (until tonight, when I finally got to make something).

Adam--He's always been pretty mature for his age, but recently he's been extra mature. He still loves to make sure everyone is following the rules, including being the main enforcer of Ellie's medicine intake, but he also is calm and likes to make sure things are running smoothly. He doesn't complain when we ask him to help out and I've gotten several compliments lately on how mature/helpful he is. He's also quite the calm social presence as well. He's not girl-crazy, but loves to go to every dance and ask girls to dance for every slow song. He's also good at recruiting his friends to come and ask girls too.

Ellie--As usual, she's growing up fast. You will be surprised at how grown up she is when you get home. She talks about fashion and boys and music, and all other sorts of teen-agey type of things to talk about. She's also still a little obsessed with her dystopian novel du jour, which means we hear all about Divergent too! She wears high heels to church (now that her feet are SIZE 9!!!!!!) and loves to curl her hair.  

We love you and hope you're having a wonderful week! I was happy to hear that G. was happy with his MCAT score! Hope they're having a great trip to Italy!

LOVE YOU!!!!!

Love,
Mom


Here are another couple of random photos:

This one was taken on a Saturday morning hike with AnnaLisa from Carderock to Great Falls and back (about 7 miles).    

 

 

This was at a little swimming hole we went to with friends....

 

8 Miles, A New Hobby, and Cami for the "W"

March 5:  

Adam and I went for an 8-mile hike today along the C&O towpath and  Billy Goat trail A.  Along the way we saw 11 great blue herons, 3 bald eagles, a bunch of beautiful scenery, and a raccoon.  

Tonight Cami and the women's lacrosse team played in a home game against U of U.   They beat the Utes 12-7 and Cami got  a little playing time, which was good since she had a pretty substantial cheering section there just for her.   

And on a completely random note, I skimmed this article this morning....

and couldn't stop laughing when I got to this part....

Apparently, some people have a wee bit too much time on their hands.

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He did it!

After months and months of training and fundraising, he did it!   

On Friday night we went to a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) inspiration dinner where Glen learned that, despite not quite reaching his goal yet, that he had placed third on his team of over 100 participants for fundraising amounts. 

After a pasta dinner to give the runners some good fuel, they had some speakers lined up to help inspire the team before their big race.    Immediately following a very entertaining writer from Runner's World (who also happens to be a huge supporter of LLS), it was Glen's turn to give a short presentation about the human side of the purpose of Team in Training.  Glen brought our family picture taken during Spencer's treatment and shared a bit of our story.  He closed by reading the "Little Soul," (that never fails to move me to tears) and thanked everyone for all they were doing to make a difference in the fight against blood cancers.  He returned to his seat and looked up to find the entire room giving him a thunderous standing ovation.  It was a proud moment. 

He went to bed that night with a nervous excitement about the upcoming race.  Saturday morning dawned early but happy, when Glen learned that overnight he'd met his fundraising goal.  It got the morning off to a great start and he was cheerful and chipper as he headed out with his brother in the wee hours of the morning.

I had every intention on going down to cheer him on and watch him finish, but alas our old car wouldn't start and I ended up having to  drive all five kids to their five different activities  (instead of Spencer being able to help with the driving).   At least I thought to take this one picture as he hopped out of the car on the way into the Metro station. 

Much to the happiness of 35,000+ runners (and a whole bunch of mulch haulers), the predicted rain and cold held off until the late afternoon and they actually ended up with a beautiful day for physical exertion--not too warm, not too cold, and not a drop of rain until it was all over.  Glen wasn't aiming for any specific time.  In fact his quote when asked is that he hoped to finish the race the same day he started, which I'm pleased to say he accomplished without issue!   

He and his brother came home exhausted and famished, but happy to be done.  We spent the rest of the day picking up kids from their various activities and trying to make sure that the marathoners did not starve.    Glen's brother Alex left bright and early on Sunday morning and now Glen is turning his thoughts to his 100 mile bike ride coming up on June 1st. 

Go Glen! 

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Blah, blah, blah...

Lately it just doesn't seem to matter what I blog about...boring, funny, newsy, bragging...it's all the same result.... 

So instead of expending my very limited brainpower this fine evening trying to transform some random (but cute) pictures of my kids into something semi-interesting for anyone else to read, I'm switching my brain into automaton mode for the rest of the night. 


blah, blah, blah, Cami, Emma, blah, blah, blah...

blah, blah, Glen and his brother, Alex, blah, blah, Spencer smile, blah, blah, Ellie....

blah, Adam, blah, fake smile, blah, Ellie, blah, blah, blah, Emma...

blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, Great Falls, blah, bluh, blah, I wish I had something really shocking to throw in right here, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah...

blah, blah, blah, blah, beautiful day, blah, blah, love autumn time, blah, blah, Alex, just one day, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah....

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, done babbling. 

Good blah. 




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High Quality Junk

Guess which East Coast iconic restaurant we introduced the cousins to tonight?


It wasn't too bad (for a burger) and officially declared better than In-N-Out by the Utah cousins.

Now if I could just get those five guys to roll me to my bed....
We'll miss you Alex, Catherine, and Devin!

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New Facebook Profile Pics and Status Updates for the Whole Family...

Note: This post is rated "PG" for a wardrobe malfunction.

Glen Hanging out with bro Alex at the beach. The waves are the best yet tonight and the body surfing was epic.


Ellie 101 degree fever and they're still dragging me to the beach. Also lost 2nd tooth, but the tooth fairy didn't know where to find me....again.


Lara's kids are accusing me of being a little snap happy with the camera. I, for one, am proud of my hours spent knee deep in the ocean capturing awesome shots. All with nary a drop of water on my camera.


Spencer My belly is scratched up like hamburger meat, but you can now call me Wave Master of the Universe.


Cami chilling with cuz at the beach and looking cute all the way!


Devin and Catherine (cousins) First time in the Atlantic Ocean and first time seeing fireflies! The East Coast is awesome!


Adam Fever Shmever. I caught at least 97 baby horseshoe crabs today.


Emma is loving the waves, the sand, and all the snacks lying around the beach house.



Bethany Beach is enjoying the view of the moon tonight (and I don't mean the one in the sky).

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Disclaimer #1: The last picture has been modified from its original form to be appropriate for all audiences.

Disclaimer #2: The "moonee" and his parents were unaware of his wardrobe malfunction at the time this photo (and several others) were taken. After the little problem was brought to his attention (by several children pointing and laughing ) he took efforts to be a little more modest. He was mildly successful.

Disclaimer #3: No teens were bribed or hoodwinked in the publishing of this post.

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Summer Rhyme Time

Oh, what do you do in the summertime?

When all the world is boiling?
Do you jump in an ocean and boogie board to shore?

Or laugh at the sunscreen streaks galore?

Do you find yourself sandy?

In places that aren't very handy?

Or just hang out with your brother?
Or maybe cling to your mother?


Or find baby crabs

That will grow as big as Mom's abs?

Is that what you do?

We do too!

Whoop-dee-do!