Today is April Fool’s day. 28 years ago, we got engaged. Best prank I’ve ever pulled off – or maybe he’s pulled off?
Time is one of those things I wish wasn’t linear and that I could understand on God’s level then it wouldn’t seem so weird to be this old. Don’t you?
We finally got to talk to Lelu – on March 10th. She is “killing it”. I can’t wait for her to write a blog for me all about her adventures and let me tell you….it’s EPIC! We could hear in her voice a joy, confidence and excitement that I don’t think we’ve ever heard from her. She can do hard things! Like really really really hard things! She’s had some really hilarious experiences, really scary and painful experiences and some spiritual experiences that I’m not sure 90% of even missionaries are blessed with. We don’t get to hear from her again until she is done on April 22nd. Right now she is kayaking in the Marlborough sound. And then she switches in the field to sailing. Here’s a few key themes she’s experiencing:
- No Showering – which means no shaving her legs. And not caring at all anymore. She’s a mountain girl.
- Spiders on her all the time.
- Wiping with sticks and rocks
- reading topography maps and having to lead small groups by following those maps.
- NO TRAILS
- Eating oatmeal, pasta, nuts high calorie protein bars and not much else.
- Burning 7000 calories a day – honestly! They are testing their metabolism, muscle mass etc throughout the course.
- Spending five days with only three other girls alone in the New Zealand bush and saying it was the best five days ever.
- Reaching a peak at midnight on a completely clear night and being overwhelmed by the pure love of God and his majesty.
- Singing primary songs, church songs, disney songs and popular songs constantly while hiking (she’s become Ari) because there is no music available – no electronics at all.
- Carrying a 55 lb (literally half her size) backback over 190 km (that’s 111 miles) in 32 days.
- Having to trade off sharing three tents between 10 people.
- Learning unbelievably valuable leadership skills.
- Absolutely loving being off the grid and not missing Social media at all.
She could only send seven photos because their internet was really bad and everyone was trying to use it at the same time. The other photos we snaked off their social media page.
The pride, the worrying and the ache missing her back here in Draper is heavy – but man time is flying!
Meanwhile, Master D and Maddie go on super cute dates like BYU dances where they dressed up, listening to conference on the salt flats and just being the cutest darn couple I’ve ever been around!
We are spending a lot of time outside watching TT play LaCrosse for CCHS. Some days it’s absolutely beautiful and some days – I’m freezing to death in a down pour. On this particular game, he had just scored a goal and I caught him high fiving his teammate. He’s in the white, number 64 with a white helmet. It’s fun to watch him improve all the time. I can’t emphasize enough how brutal of a game this is. It’s like hockey where they act like they want to get in fights and someone is always in the penalty box.
Ari made the cheer team again. Their coaches won’t announce who is on Varsity and JV until the end of the school year and right now they are all practicing together. Between Lacrosse and Cheer, I feel like I go back and forth to the school all day long. Yesterday I went back and forth five times. I do hear more info about their lives in the car from them and between them and their friends than I ever get when they are just home or I question them, so I know I’ll miss that part of taxi driving when they get their license in six months, but man do I spend a lot of time in the car – I’ve listened to at least a book a week on audible.
Meanwhile I’m winding down on what felt like an eternal trek to get my degree. I only have 20 more days until I am DONE! This last philosophy class I needed that I’m taking right now has almost put me in a coma due to extreme bortitude! And a very difficult paper grading professor AND Then I can hang my 30-year-long-quest-for-my-degree-proof on the wall.
B has been in the craziest ups and downs with business that I can ever remember – it seems to be especially rife with uncertainties…but along the way has been way too many coincidences to be coincidences so I’m going with the story that something is guiding us and I pray it’s got our best interests in mind while sending all of these coincidences. B says that philosophy is pretty much common sense but wrapped in a riddle. So I’m wrapping B’s life lately into a riddle.
Aub has some fun plans this summer to go see her favorite podcasters and comedians in cool places. We’re going to Portland for her birthday and then she’ll be back in UT the next weekend for MY GRADUATION May 5th, 9 am @ The Huntsman Center.
This is where Lelu is right now:
