Dear BYU...

Dear BYU,

I am perturbed at you. You have made me feel mad, sad, anxious, irritable, a little depressed, slightly insecure, and a whole lot of old. You see, my oldest daughter will be attending your "hallowed campus" in the fall. Be good to her because I had to leave her with you today. Because of you lurking in the background, I was constantly aware of the hours ticking down until I had to return to Idaho without her. Because of you I didn't really get to enjoy the time with my family because I was too preoccupied with Sunday - the day I left. Because of you I wasn't myself most of the time while I was in Utah. That's not fair and I'm a little irked. Please take care of her and make sure you take every precaution to ensure her safety while on your campus. Are the locks to the dorms new? Are all the lightbulbs in the outside floodlights working by her dorm? Are your campus policemen well rested? Are the boys who will attend your school fully passing background checks? Are the creepers and men in their 30s told to stay away from incoming freshmen girls? Let me assure you, I have many more questions for you since it is not easy to leave a child at school and return home to find her bedroom empty, her picture wall blank, her clothes absent from the closet and dresser, and to find no laptop on the computer desk. Not easy AT ALL.

BYU, will you please make sure she finds gainful employment with you? She is a good worker and knows how to be consistent and responsible in her work environment. She has an open mind and has been exposed to lots of diversity in her short 18 years. Please make sure her mind is continually expanding with lots of valuable information that your employed professors get paid to impart. She is a very tolerant individual - one who gives people a chance even when they look, sound, or seem close minded. Keep her head full of important facts and make sure we get our money's worth each and every day.

BYU, you are getting her for 4 years - maybe 6 if she likes you enough and wants to continue to grace your classrooms for even more higher education. But that's it! You don't get her for one year more. Give her back to me after she is finished!

BYU, do you get many letters from selfish mothers like me? Am I the only one? Do you think I'm being a little overbearing in writing this note to you? Hmmm. I don't and I really don't care what you think. I love her enough to let you know my feelings about how you are taking her away from me. I know it's for the best and that she will enjoy her years with you, but I intend for you to take the very best care of her that you possibly can. Do we have a deal? I hope so.

Sincerely,
The momentarily slightly blue mother of Alyssa.

Another Race with a Brown Shirt

Once again, Lindsay and Payton laced up their running shoes, donned the lovely brown t-shirt, hydrated themselves with all the free chocolate milk they could stomach, ate as many Power Bars as they were allowed, then were off and running at the Main Street Mile.

It's a pretty fun race.

You get to see the mayor. You get to see an ice cream truck with kids running after it. You get to smell sweaty kids. You get free chocolate milk. You get to take funny pictures. You get to relax and enjoy the fact that you, the parent, does not have to run a mile as fast as you can! Ahhh. The Main Street Mile. Wanna join us next year? heehee

Tippin-over-the-cave

Hiking. It seems to be a theme for me during the summertime.
While the kids are at swim team, my friend Jen and I hike up beautiful Table Rock. It's early morning exercise at its finest! The views are breathtaking, the conversation is priceless (we've solved lots of problems and vented lots of stuff), and the workout, oh. the. workout. LOVE IT! We've done this for years! Probably like 6 years now, huh, Jen?
This year Alyssa even joined us for several tramps up the trail. It is a sad moment when swimteam ends and I realize that hiking up to Table Rock is almost over... sigh.

This summer we did another type of hike. With lots of cousins. With steeper trails. With a cave at the end of the trail! The following pictures are views of us hiking Mount Timpanogos...or as Bill used to call it "Mount Tippin-over-the-cave". Loved. It.

Deep in the dark, dark cave...

The heart of Timpanogos

Awww... love in the cave!

Wowww... lovin' that cave!

Payton and The Burn!

So a couple of days ago I decided to sign Payton up for a highly overpriced football camp which only lasted 3 hours for a total cost of $50.00.
Gasp. What? I. Know. Me. I paid that much for 3 hours of playing with a football in an indoor arena.

I think I love Payton a little too much... Aaaaawww... What's not to love though???

Aaaaanyway. I think we got our $50 worth since our little guy made the 5:00 and 10:00 news here in Boise! Woot woot!

click here to see his skills!

A Little Behind

So, here it is, July 1, 2009, and I am feeling
A Little Behind.
It's not that I'm not doing anything. I can putter around the house all day and when Billy comes home, it looks as if I have done nothing... Oh, how I have a love/hate relationship with this season called summer.

I feel so rushed during the school year that I go to the extreme opposite during the summer months where all I want to do is:
1. Hike Table Rock - but only on cool mornings
2. Go to the pool and read my book
3. Take a nap while at the pool
4. Go for an evening walk with my hubby

Yep, that's it. Those are the 4 things I want to do and you'll notice that laundry, housecleaning, meal preparation, grocery shopping, de-cluttering, blogging, and doing anything that's productive, creative, or necessary did not make the list.

So, I'm feeling a little behind in most every aspect of my life, but, heck, it's only a couple of months, right?