A climbing she will go

Jane had a hard week.  I had a hard week dealing with Jane having a hard week.  So on Wednesday I decided Jane and I both needed to have a little mom and Jane fun together so I invited her to come with the Laurels to go rock climbing. 

Brother Bradford and the Bishop were so kind to come and take the YW in an adventure up the mountain.  Jane and the others stretched themselves and had a blast.    It was fun to watch!!

11:11

This summer I was amazed that my girls somehow developed a 6th sense for the time 11:11.  We'd be driving, at home or out and about and all the sudden one of them would say its 11:11.  Even on one late night after Lagoon ride home from the backseat I heard a very drowsy "hey it's 11:11."    Not sure why 11:11 was such a big deal but they both sure thought it was.  

Last year Emily, much to her mom's demise, convinced her dad to let her use an old i phone.  Soon it became Emily's IPOD.   She loved it dearly, maybe a little too much.  Mostly to binge watch shows while getting ready for bed and occasionally face timing friends.    

One day Emily came back from a Beehive activity in tears.   She came in and said mom its the greatest day of your life but the saddest one of mine.  My phone's screen doesn't work anymore.   I showed no sign of being sad about it which to a hormonal teenager is the absolute meanest thing in her whole life that I could do to her.    I'm not going to lie I sometimes feel guilty I don't go get her phone.  Mostly seeing how sad she was when she realized she didn't know she was invited to a friends birthday party until the night before because she no longer can see the group text me app.  I know phones are a huge part of teenagers social world but I believe it is also a huge part of their social problem.  So I tell Emily how lucky she is that she gets to learn the long lost art of communicating face to face and that without screens are brains come alive and we are more creative and have the opportunity to feel the spirit and discover what Heavenly Father has in store for us. 

Emily usually doesn't battle me about this but is quick to point out that most mishaps like not communicating when or where to pick her up could be solved by her having a phone.  I see her point but she knows I'm pretty firm about it.   I've compromised and put her group me friends chain on my phone and I often let her take my phone right after school so she can catch up with the news ironically with all the people she has just spent the last 7 hours with.  I've learned to tolerate the thousands of alerts I get from this group of bacon emojis, nonsense memes and other pointless stuff.   I also don't ask probing questions when they are texting about boy drama but I'll have you know if I ever see anything inappropriate it will be shut down.     I really don't worry much about that because Emily has the nicest most supportive friends.  They recently added some new girl to the group and one morning she texted that she often feels really lonely at lunch time and immediately all the girls were like you need to come sit with us here is where you can find us in the lunch room.  I was impressed that the new girl would be brave enough to tell them what she was feeling and proud that the other girls showed her so much kindness.   

Im sure I"ll get Emily a phone eventually.  My neighbor, who son also does not have a phone, told me that she feels all the power in a phone is really an adult privilege and when he's ready to take on adult responsibilities like getting a job he can have a phone then.    This sounded right to me.   

  Going through my pictures on my phone, which was connected to my icloud before it died,  I discovered all these pictures of Emily with her friends.    Emily told me that whenever it's 11:11 its good luck to take a selfie with your friends and it so happened  that 11:11 landed during Emily's lunch Period.  So  here's to 11:11 and amazing friends.  

loved the most

My sister gave me a framed saying when I first moved into my house.  It hangs in my bathroom and says "I find as I grow older I love those the most whom I loved first."      After spending a couple of days at our Dark Valley Cabin I changed the saying too "I find as I grow older I love the places most that I loved first".     I love that the cabin is like stepping back to the 80's when life was  simple.  I have so many memories of my Grandma and Grandpa Pace loading a bunch of us Grandkids in the back of the Chevy Blazer  bouncing over the rockiest road known to mankind and spending a couple of  days playing in the cabin which involved being brave enough to shimmy along the  narrow catwalk to the loft area where the bucket of lincoln logs were, putting together puzzles around the wagon wheel coffee table, listening to old records like Patty Cline,  loading up with Gramps on the old Tractor to move the sprinklers and lots of hot chocolate around the fire at night.

Nowadays Dark Valley still means blazing an even more rocky road, playing in the Cabin for the kids, watching old VHS tapes from the 80's/90's like Dumb and Dumber at night when the Generator is running, playing card games around the same wagon wheel coffee table, pouring out the same bucket of lincoln logs to build with, lots of motorcycle, Cam An and 4 wheeler rides,  finding secret ponds and trying to catch a fish,  expanding the established huts many other extended cousins have built,  the large diabetes bag of candy provided so generously by Grandma Becky,  going on walks with my sisters and mom and occasionally throwing a big rock off the road, watching the grown boys load up Brooke's trailer full of logs for firewood for the winter and occasional horse rides when the cowboys aren't off gathering the cows.  Always the perfect way to end summer.  

Outtakes of Summer

Whew I'm finally finished rewinding my  movie(blog)  about summer.  Here are the credits and outtakes of pictures that didn't make it to the blog

Produced by Bart

Directed by Collette 

Friend loving event organizer daughter:  Emily

Camp loving slip n slide maestro daughter:  Jane

Up for a good time especially with other cousins son:  Aaron

King of the Castle/ everyones best friends son:  Spencer