Milestones

Mikayla was asked out on her first date this evening by a boy she doesn't know and is not attracted to in any way. It was an extremely awkward phone conversation as she had a difficult time trying to place a name with a face and, sad but true, a disappointment when she realized that she was free on Friday and then awkward again when she asked who they would be doubling with and he told her he was just planning on going on their own and she told him she couldn't single date and he tried to tell her it wasn't a date. She ended up letting him know that whatever "it" was she couldn't go alone, so he said he'd try to get some of his friends and call her tomorrow. It wasn't the fairy tale phone call that every 16 year old girl dreams of, but those will come too. Fred and I just encouraged her that 16 was all about meeting new people and learning to communicate and seeing what characteristics interest you and what characteristics are dissatisfying (and if you get a free movie out of the deal, then that's a bonus). After Mikayla confided in her 17 year old best friend at the Bishop's fireside tonight, Tessia made the comment that ALL dates are awkward unless you are going out with a very close friend, which I thought was a very realistic comment. I have to admit that I am a little apprehensive because although I guess this young man is in our stake I don't know him or anything about him. If he finds a "double" and this date materializes on Friday night, he won't be getting out my door without a "mother chat".
Mikayla will be attending the Boise Youth Spectacular, which is an E.F.Y. appendage at B.S.U. Tuesday-Thursday. She'll be staying in the dorms and having all kinds of fun, uplifting experiences and she is excited. I get to help serve dinner on Wednesday evening, right before the big dance and I am looking forward to sharing that opportunity with her.
Eden is proving to have the "Bloomquist sleep gene" and is spending much of her summer days in bed. Mikayla is proving to have the "Jones" non-compassionate gene and spends much of her summer days pulling her out. It's a precarious tug of war and Eden is a good sport. She is mastering the art of enjoying enthusiasm for life with a smile on her face and a pillow under her head. Like every 13 year old girl, she is trying to hone into the most appropriate areas to channel her zeal and recognize exactly who she is, but once she locks in those coordinates, there will be no stopping her.
Abe's birthday is tomorrow and he has furnished me with written reminders all over the house; a large post it note on my calendar with the time he wants breakfast in bed (Cocoa Roos and grapefruit--a more disgusting combination I can't imagine), piles of highly re-worked pages of notes on date, dinner, refreshment, and party plans plastered all over the refrigerator and strewn on the kitchen table. He gave me at least 10 different "last goodnight hugs from an 8 year old" before I finally coaxed him into bed tonight. I think he is swimming in reservoirs of anticipation.
I have decided to enroll Lily and Sophie in the public school and volunteer as a classroom helper while we all adjust this Fall. It will be a new experience to have that opportunity without younger children to worry about at home. If the sporadic schedule gets too inconsistent for them, I can always pull them out. I am hoping that I can start trying to figure out a school plan for me as well, as I'd really like to finish my bachelors degree from BYU Independent study.
Fred got back from Florida late Saturday night as the twins were keeping sentinel at the front window. It's good to have him home; I know he is glad to be here. I think he felt like it was a lonely, unproductive week as approval for accreditation was pushed back once more as they asked for more detailed documentation that he couldn't work on until he got back to the office and social time was uncomfortable because people resorted to getting drunk and acting foolish. It's too bad that he traveled to a physical paradise of sorts and wasn't able to experience that mentally. It was beautiful and he got to swim in a warm ocean and walk on the beach, picking up shells, and go out to eat at extravagantly overpriced restaurants but he just couldn't wait to come home. We missed him too!
View from lobby of Marriott in Florida


Miles of shells on the beach




Marriot Hotel courtyard


View from Fred's balcony


On the beach


Pathway along the beach


The Marriot Hotel where Fred stayed on the beachfront

Daboul Maunzie

Jordan got a chinchilla this past week. He called us on the web cam on Wednesday to show us. Sometimes our connection is poor and we just had a slow motion, blurry picture, so we couldn't see very well. However, we could tell that he is a fast little thing and held up close to the camera he had a very darling face. Jordan got a baby and one of his roommates got an adult who is much larger and quite strange looking. They heard an african name "Daboul Maunzie" that they liked and so Dillon named his chinchilla "Daboul" and Jordan named his Maunize". They are nocturnal which works well for the boys lifestyle right now, but you know who will inherit it as soon as Jordan takes off to college and his mission don't you? Mikayla is already claiming ownership. I'm just trying to gear up for the guilt that will accompany an uncommon animal with "special needs".

Fred leaves for Florida on Tuesday morning and will be gone until Saturday night for a business convention. He tried to talk me into coming with him, but I just couldn't rationalize the cost of the plane ticket when we had just had an anniversary retreat last month. I'm not looking forward to his absence; I don't like having all of my men gone. I'm not complaining--well, just a little. Poor Abe is in for a long week with a house full of girls. I'm afraid without the structure of Fred's work schedule to keep us sensible there are going to be some late nights and a lot of "foraged" meals. Maybe I will make a dent in "Ivanhoe" at night, since I can't go to sleep while Fred's gone until I just sink from pure exhaustion. Of course with Fred gone exhaustion may come much quicker than usual:)

The kids are loving the pool as always this summer. It is starting to wear out and needing pumping and patching constantly. I hope it holds out a few more years because it is such a fun part of our summer memories. Though our school year always seems to get hectic, we have been successful, so far, in keeping our summers very low key and relaxing and I love having things that keep the kids wanting to stay close to home for fun. It's a great way to unwind on family night at well, at least when we have warm weather. This summer has been uncommonly cool, which is great for working in the yard, but not so great for swimming in an unheated pool when you are a cold blooded adult.

The battery on my camera has run out again so while I try to talk myself into investing in a rechargeable battery and recharger, my blogs remain pictureless for yet another week. I miss that part of journaling. I love Becky's pictures every week and the pictures that Mom and Dad are always sending. I'd love some pictures from everyone else.

Out of The Mouths of Babes

Our family was in the Suburban going somewhere this past week and Mikayla was in the far back with the twins, listening to her MP4. Lily could just hear bits of sound coming from Mikayla's earphones and finally said, "Hey, those ding parts hear like Spirit" (the movie); an appropriate comment from our dingy little Lulu. We'll have to start focusing on grammar during study time:)

Oh Say Can You See

We decided to fly Jordan in this past holiday weekend, since he had Saturday off. What a thrill to have him home. We spent all day Friday grocery shopping and cleaning and cooking in anticipation of his homecoming. It was more exciting than Christmas and just when we were getting ready to climb in the car at 4:00 to go pick him up from the airport, and I was putting dinner in the oven to cook while we were gone, I double checked his itinerary to make sure that the information that Fred had was correct and realized that he was leaving Spokane at the time that Fred thought he was coming into Boise and we had two more hours before we had to leave. That was a looong wait! We tried to fill it up by going to the fireworks stand and finishing off the laundry folding while we watched Andy Griffith episodes, but it felt like time was standing still! It was so exciting to finally pile in the Suburban and head out. By the time Jordan came walking through those glass doors, everybody in the airport knew he was coming as all the little kids were shouting, "there he is!" and he's coming!" and I had trouble spotting him for a minute because he was wearing an unfamiliar shirt, his head was buzzed and he just looked so 'big' walking in that group of people. We smothered him with hugs and kisses and then I had to laugh as we were walking through the lobby because we were all walking in a circle around him and he could barely move. He's loved.


Everyone was famished when we finally sat down to eat dinner after 8:00 and the phone rang for Jordan before we could even say the prayer. Friends--wanting him to come play. I reminded him that because of the $180 plane ticket, I 'owned' him. We ate, Jordan talked us into going swimming at 9:00 and by 10:00 some of his friends had found us, taking a detour on their way over to a party. Fred told me Jordan would never be content until he saw "the girl", so I reluctantly let go briefly and he headed over to see the "old clan" while we watched a movie.


We visited all morning on Saturday and then went to the parade that passes the end of our street, which is always such a highlight; to the youngest because they are thrown bagfuls of candy; to the rest of us because the 4th of July is a bonding experience in a little town. Everyone is in good spirits and are united in doing the same thing. There are no fancy floats, but you recognize almost everybody and know many and it just feels like family.


Because Mikayla's 16th birthday was on Sunday, Jordan took her on her first date Saturday afternoon to play her first game of golf. We figured we could fudge one day with a brother;) Around 5:00, Ben and Renee's family came over and we ate and visited and laughed and swam and listened to Jared and Ben play us festive harmonica duets. It was sooo nice to be with family and just relax for hours. Around 9:30 we started the dusk fireworks of smoke bombs and snakes and tanks and sparklers and anything else that Fred could talk us into (the more he can shoot off before the city show, the less time he has to stay up after;) At that point, the phone started ringing for Jordan again, but this time he turned down all invitations and invited anyone who wanted, to come find us at the community fireworks show. Sometime after 10:00 we headed to the school grounds to find a spot to spread our blankets. Renee brought treats, some of Jordan's friends found us and once again there was that sense of community family that makes Middleton so appealing to us. We had an impressive pre-show just watching all of the fireworks that people were shooting off from the yards that surround the school, and the city show was fantastic. It's only about 20 minutes every year, and is completely funded by donations, so I am sure we could find something bigger and more literally flashy, but we enjoy it more than any big city display that costs thousands of dollars because we are with neighbors and friends and we don't have to fight any traffic. We are grateful to Ben and Renee for being willing to come our way every year. We sure enjoy their company!


Sunday was Mikayla's birthday and we were able to spend the whole day just marinading in each other companionship. At one point, as I was finishing the touches on Mikayla's birthday dinner, I looked out the window and Jordan and Fred and Mikayla and the twins were all sitting together in the hammock. I am fairly certain that they were exceeding the 450 pound weight limit, but they looked so joyful. A few minutes later, Fred came inside and said, "It's so great to have Jordan back, it feels like those days at the farm when everyone would come over to visit and we would just sit around and talk." Those moments are rare and precious and fleeting. It was a memorable day.


Monday morning, Fred had to head back to work and we had to take Jordan back to the airport, and everyday life started up again. Jordan was teary eyed when everyone malled him for the last time and I was a little watery as we watched him walk barefoot, further and further away through the whole security labyrinth, but this experience has been so good for him and I am grateful for the opportunity to have this very gradual separation process, where we can still be so much a part of his life through the phone and the web cam and e-mail and he can learn life lessons about independence while still having a tangible support network at home. We're working through the school registration process together and he's figuring out how to manage his personal finances with guidance and is building a firm foundation to sustain him when he's truly on his own and has only one place to turn. I'm proud of who he's becoming.


Our temple has made it possible this summer for all of the youth to be able to attend baptism sessions without adult leadership. They can receive a personal limited use recommend that is good for one year and can attend Tuesdays at 5:30AM, Wednesdays at 6:30AM or 3:30PM and Thursday at 6:30AM. I have been amazed to watch the youth rise up and lead out. We have youth in our stake who are attending once a week at 5:30AM. They are organizing themselves and are making the most of these opportunities. Mikayla's best friend called and invited her to go this morning at 5:30--Eden asked to go with them. Eden will be going again with a group of friends tomorrow at 3:30. Mikayla is trying to organize a "cousin trip" this month. It has re motivated me to make it a priority to get to the temple more often, even if I have to go on my own, and take my small children to the temple grounds to "touch the temple". If we will let them, this generation will make sure the doors of our homes are facing the temple.



Mikayla's Thinking of her 16th Birthday Wish:




(I'm pretty sure she ran out of hot air before the candles went out;)

Shovels and Gardens and Books

With all of the morning hours Mikayla and I have been putting in, we finally got to a point in our yard work Friday morning, where all maintenance had been accomplished and we weren't sure what to do. That never happens! Not with housework--not with yardwork. We stood around looking for so much as a weed to hoe and nothing! We actually got to move past the maintenance step into the creating phase and spent an hour planting flour seeds. I've never done that straight into the ground, but what else were we going to do--laundry? There will be plenty of maintenance by tomorrow morning, but it was fun to feel that tiny taste of progress.

Fred has a co-worker who offered us cherries from her backyard if we wanted to go pick them on Saturday. Of course we were excited! Cherries are so expensive and picking is a fun family activity, but I wasn't prepared for what we found in her back yard. It was an adventure, with trees everywhere, some places making a low canopy that you had to pick your way through and dotted throughout with all kinds of little garden spots and sitting nooks, interwoven with paths and sidewalks that seemed to meander around and through and under all kinds of foliage. I'm sure her whole lot wasn't over an acre, . It wasn't the kind of place that would be conducive to capture the flag or touch football, and F.H.E. Sardines would have been impossible there, but it was inspiring and Fred and I came straight home and started measuring and dreaming about our own little garden nooks -- on graph paper, something that I'm sure this lady never used because there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to her landscaping. Maybe by the time our children are grown we will have learned some of the arts of Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Floyd and created a garden of Eden of our own, for the grandchildren. We are enjoying the cherries and even though last Mondays lesson was on refinement, I am afraid we have had some rousing cherry pit spitting contests. I can't imagine what the neighbors must think as the younger the contestant the louder and messier the competition seems to be. I cringe to think what apricot and plum season will mean ;)

Mikayla's 16th birthday is just one week away. It feels quite different to have a daughter turning 16, than it did a son. Different concerns, different excitements--more protectiveness. We are also letting her get her driver's license, after stalling for a year. I'm afraid she has my direction impairment so I will only be comfortable with her driving in Middleton alone, but she will be happy even for that bit of freedom. I wrote last week that she had checked out "Great Expectations" from the library; I was wrong, she actually checked out "David Copperfield", but it is still Dickens and she has surprised me with her interest. She wakes up before me every morning (around 6:00 or 6:30 and I always find her in her saucer chair with her nose in the book. I wasn't interested in Dickens at her age, in fact I didn't discover him until after I was married, but I think Mikayla is more mature than I was at her age. It's fun to watch her enjoying the charming caricatures that he creates. I haven't ever read Copperfield, but she is determined that we switch books when she is done.

We bought Fred a hammock stand for Father's Day last week, so he could finally get his hammock out of garage storage and put it to good use once again. It is now in constant use--it begs for people to grab a good book and sink in. Even Fred, who rarely has time for such luxuries spent a good hour in it last Thursday, begrudgingly finishing "Song of Years" (Dad will understand his pain:) I am glad to report that he is now in that small family club of people who made the emotional journey and are glad for having done it. He has resorted to using Jeremiah lines, however, so I may have to resort to using Sara lines though I'd feel awfully foolish if he didn't notice anything different:0

Jordan flies in early Friday evening of this coming weekend and flies out early Monday morning so we have him for the entire weekend. We're all feeling a little giddy. He won't get a wink of sleep! He's doing great in Spokane with all of those preparatory life lessons. One of his roomates got his mission call last Thursday and they all got to be a part of that "opening the call" experience. These are just the beginning of "days never to be forgotten". Next week Jordan and Dillon are getting Chinchilla's. Wo is me--you know where they are going to end up don't you. Crazy boys!

"Muscle Man" Abe

buried in the best outdoor investment we ever made.