Tiger Run - 3 runners 3 different races - great results

Starting at 6:00 am - Mark was busy getting kids ready and out the door to be at the Tiger Run Cross Country meet.  Robert had to be there by 7:00, while Devon and Marissa had to be at the school by 7:15.  Thank goodness for car pools.

This is the first race of the year for all three teams.  Everyone is a bit nervous and a bit excited at the same time.

Robert ran first at 9:00 am  Robert ran a great race.  He came in 39th out of 350 runners with a time of 11:57 - a PR!  He came in 9th for his team which show that NOMS has a great boys team.  The team took first place!  Robert was awarded the trophy to take home for one week because he had such great improvement from last year (over a minute on his time).

Devon ran at 11:00 am.  He ran on the JV team.   Devon ran a great race coming in 53 out of 256 runners with a time of 19:22 - that's over a minute and a half better than his time at the same race last year.  He came in 6th on his team!

mid way through the race, what a good pace

a great finish for Devon

Marissa ran at 11:45 am.  She too ran in the JV race (all Freshman did).  She not only ran a great race coming in 36th out of 252 runners with a time and PR of 23:27 but she also out ran (time wise) some of the Varsity runners.  She came in 4th for her team in the race and 9th overall (Varsity and JV).

They each wanted to do good in this race to start the season off right and they all did FANTASTIC!  So proud of them!

seeing friends and family in UTAH

It was so nice of Sandy and Chris to drive Riker and Hunter from Seattle to Provo so we could see them while taking Jessica to school.  Of course, she also got to see and visit with Alex (her daughter), but it was so nice for me to see my sister again, and to essentially meet the boys all over since they didn't remember me and had never met Jessica.  

We met at the hotel in the afternoon and then picked Jessica up after Orientation.  We ate dinner at the Texas Roadhouse - very nice.  Riker is seated in the back (13) and Hunter (nearly 11) is wearing brown.  They were very funny - great kids!

Sandy and Chris ate with us.  It's so good to see my sister so happy!  I wish we lived closer.  She stays very fit (as always) and daunts over Chris's food (which he doesn't mind) :)

The funnest part of the evening was that we got to meet Ali's (I'm the only person that still calls her Ali, she now goes by Alex) boyfriend, Chris.  He has one more semester at BYU and is already in construction (his major).  They are so cute together.  

While we were there we got to celebrate Ali's and Hunter's birthday (August 28 and August 31).

Sister!  Only one year apart

The next day we met for lunch before Sandy and her crew had to get back on the road to head home.  We, of course had to buy shirts at the BYU Bookstore!  See below!  

Jessica with Chris and Sandy

That night we drove up to Sandy, UT to visit with Jessica's Uncle Alan, Aunt Laurel and cousins Kealoni and Mikayla.  Jessica and Alan were very close when Jessica was a little girl.  It was great to see him, and his wonderful family.  My how they have grown.  Kealoni is starting 1st grade.  That was the age Jessica was the last time Alan lived with us.  Our time with them was short because Jessica had to get back for the Orientation Grand Finale: Party!  

taking Jessica to BYU

On August 24, 2011 Jessica and I flew to SLC to take Jessica to Provo, UT to attend BYU.  It's been a long awaited arrival to the college of her choice!  She's a little scare and very excited!  I am too.  This is the view from her plane window of the Great Salt Lake as we approached SLC.  There was so preparation that had to go into this so the following is an account of this week…

You know how I've been dreading the time that I would have to say goodbye to Jessica as she prepares to leave for college - well, those days have now come to face me square in the face.  This past week I have packed, traveled and left her at college - some 2000 miles away.  I thought it would be terrible, that it would be like ripping out part of my own heart.  How could I go on?  How could I pass her room every night without saying "good night" to her?

It's hard to believe but I not only survived leaving her at college, but I am thrilled for her to have this opportunity.  It didn't all happen at once.  It went like this …

Day 1-Monday:  I reminded her she needed to be packing just about everything she wanted to have with her for the next four months.  Suitcases, six of them, came up from the basement and were scattered all around her room and mine.  She packed up all the winter clothing - one down, five to go.  Slowly but surely she made progress.

Day 2-Tuesday:  She met with friends and then we finished packing - thanks to space saver bags. (which took forever).  Reality starts to hit home.  Little sister is crying - I comfort her, she is crying, I comfort her.  It was a wonderful talk, the right time and the right words.  I really want to thank my Heavenly Father for guiding me.

Day 3-Wednesday:  We load the suitcases into the van.  The family eats breakfast out together and then drives the younger kids to school.  We say our goodbyes there before dad drives us to the airport.  It was very hard for her dad to say goodbye.  Streams of tears came down his face, eyes redder then ever.  We flew out together. 

We arrived at BYU.  Check in.  Go to the room.  It's so exciting!!!  We haul the six huge suitcases up the three flights of stairs and stair at the blank room.  Where to begin?  Well, in reality we are both so excited to start decorating her room and getting her settled in.  She's scared but excited too.  Things get unpacked and a shopping list is created.  I'm in the zone - let's get this done.  We head out for dinner and for supplies.  Oh, My, goodness.  $480 later we come back from Target with everything she could possibly need.  She's set - the rest is on her.  We start in filling drawers, hanging up clothes, and arranging the big items.  Everything is done except for the two things that require a screwdriver - who knew.  We will have to borrow that from someone.  It's late.  She's decided to sleep in her dorm.  I head to my hotel room.  She loves her room and feels very good about being there.  I have no worries yet.

the view out her window:  hint hint

all set:  cutest dorm room on campus

Jenny finally arrives

Day 4-Thursday:  It's orientation day.  I meet her at her dorm along with Jenny and part of her family (friends of the family).  We walk over to check in together.  The students go off to their groups and the parents head in the direction they are to go - to the big conference center.  At the conference center it hits me - THIS IS THE BIG MOMENT.  I realize I am (in a day or two) just leave her here - alone - no family.  Her and the big campus.  Tears roll down my face.  I can't believe I can just leave her - how can I.  How terrible.   Reality is setting in - Mark faced it a day before, but now I, the one that was strong for everyone else, am alone to face my biggest challenge.  I go all day without seeing her or even hearing from her.  She's made new friends and is enjoying her orientation.  Reality is choking me and I miss her more with every passing minute.

BYU Cheerleaders at pep rally

We meet for dinner with Sandra, Darrin, Jenny, and Hannah.  What a great time.  That night they had a special celebration entitled "Tradition of Honor" which was all about the Honor Code at BYU and staying true to it!  I am so glad Jessica will be at a school that honors her values and morals.  Next is when it really hit me for the second time in one day.  Jessica, unknowingly really broke my heart.  After the "Tradition of Honor" the Freshmen were directed to the Football Stadium to have their Freshman Class Picture taken in the shape of a Y.  It is the first time they have ever done this.  We were all so excited to go (parents too) until Jessica said, "Are you going?" - emphasis on the Are YOU.  Here I've just spent $850 to fly us out, $457 on hotels to stay, $480 at Target for her supplies and I only have specific times that we can spend time together (Jessica has orientation all day tomorrow as well), and she doesn't even want to spend time together.  Wow - a dagger straight through the heart.  I am happy that she's made friends and wants to be with them, but what hurt is that she doesn't realize she has the whole semester/year to be with them and I've sacrificed a lot to be able to have these last 4 days with her.  I let her go off, but I too go to the stadium to get photos.  It was quite spectacular.  I'd never been to the BYU stadium.  It's a thrill.  That was it for the night - I went back to the hotel around 10:30.

BYU Dance team

Freshman class;  Jessica is in the middle

Day 5-Friday:  Jessica has orientation so I enjoy my morning.  I take a 5k jog, went grocery shopping for Jessica and then meet Sandra and her sister for lunch.  We share about our experiences.  I then go off to meet my niece Ali (Alex) Hodge at her apartment.  We drive over to the hotel to find my sister, Sandy and her fiance', Chris and two boys Hunter and Riker checking in.  Perfect timing.  We spend the afternoon together before I leave to pick up Jessica for dinner.  Now, I'm still feeling very removed from her life, but the reality that "this is what is supposed to be" is sinking in and I conclude that it doesn't matter how much time I have with her, as long as I make it the best.  We have a wonderful time with Sandy, Chris, Ali and her boyfriend - Chris, and the two cousins Jessica has never met - Hunter and Riker at Texas Roadhouse.

Day 6-Saturday:  This is my last full day in Provo.  Jessica works out in the morning at the field house with her friends so I get my 5k jog in again.  Feels great, but the air is thin.  I pick Jessica up at 11:45 so we can meet up with some of her other cousins.  I want to make sure Jessica knows that she has family close by.  At noon we visit Shannon (Weaver) now Pope and her new husband Nick.  They were married just 3 weeks prior.  They live just 6 blocks from Jessica's dorm.  Then we met Sandy and the crew for lunch before they headed back to Seattle.  It was great to see her and Ali!  Ali let us borrow a screwdriver so I put up Jessica's drapes and constructed her night stand (it took a whole 15 minutes).  We left Provo around 5:00 to meet Jessica's Uncle Alan and Aunt Laurel with Kaeloni and Mikayla for dinner.  It was so great to see them.  Alan and Jessica were very close when Jessica was a young girl (before moving to England).  It's great to know she has family close by!  We then drove as fast as we could back to campus so Jessica could attend the "Orientation Party and Dance" that started at 8:00.  I told her I had to be at the airport by 9:00 so I was going to say my goodbyes tonight.  She asked me to come back after the party so she wouldn't be crying before.  I said that would be fine.  I went back to the hotel until 10:45 and then drove out in the rain.  I texted Jessica and offered to pick her up since it was raining and she was walking but she said she would walk back.  THIS IS WHERE IT GETS SAD.  So, I go up to her room and wait in the hallway at 11:00, knowing it will take some time to get back but she should be there soon.  11:15 - no Jessica.  I text her - no answer.  11:30 - no Jessica.  I text her.  no answer.  11:45 - I decide she decided it was more fun to be with friends than to say goodbye to her mom.  I'm very sad, crying really.  I text her one more time saying that I had waited 45 minutes and really wanted to say goodbye but needed to get going.  She finally texted me back and said she was on her way.  I was so sad.  It truly felt that it was more important for her to be with her new friends than it was for her to say goodbye to me.   I just couldn't believe it.  I mean I'm happy that she truly seems well adjusted - at least I don't feel the need to worry about her, but really, to forget about saying goodbye to your mother.  Ouch!!!Well, she rushed over and we talked.  Her friends showed up needing a ride back to their place so Jessica and I gave Amanda a ride.  We then had a chance to talk, hug and say goodbye before she turned to go back in her dorm.  Honestly, I cried because I'm so proud of her and will miss her so much, but I wasn't sad (like I thought I'd be).  I'm really happy for her and know she is all set.  She's prepared, she's got a great schedule, great roommate, new friends, and seems to feel comfortable!  What more could I ask for (except that the college not be 2000 miles away).  Love her!  Miss her! Trust her!  Admire her!  Respect her!  and most of all Happy that she is confident, happy and ready for this next step in her life!

prepare for BYU

Once Betsy got home from her cruise with Mark, it was an immediate "shift gears," wash clothes and start preparing Jessica for her trip to BYU.  We had so much to do and only 3 days to do it (one of them being Sunday - so nothing going on there).  

Monday morning Jessica and I went through her closet.   We packed up all her "winter" clothes and got them out of the way.  Even though it's 90 degrees outside right now, she is going to need them sooner than later.  Then we went through all the "spring/summer/fall" clothes, shoes, etc.  We went through the bathroom, jewelry, pictures of friends and family.  Essentially she is moving out, but has a place to always come back too (plus she's only moving into half a room :)).  It was very hard for Jessica to make decisions on what to take and what should stay, but once she figured out if she "needed" it or not AND that "we could always buy it if needed" she was okay with the process.  We had six suitcases between us - I planned on using only 1/2 of one.  She could have all the rest.  It all worked out perfect, and we actually had room to spare (of course we do plan on buying a lot out there).  One thing that was a space saver where those "space" bags.  They don't reduce weight, but they do reduce size.  I was able to pack to complete bed sets (including comforter) in 1/4 the space of it's natural space.

On the morning that Jessica and I were to fly to Provo, we had Marissa and Devon skip Seminary so we could go out for a family breakfast to have one last time with Jessica before she leaves for college.  Doesn't Robert look sad…

The family together - at the send off!

Devon was quick to say goodbye - not too emotional

Robert was a bit more - but still strong like a guy 

Marissa had most of her tears the night before, she wrote Jessica a letter to read on the plane.  These two are very close!

The one that took goodbye the hardest was Mark.  He was very teary and just so sad to see her go.  I was lucky - I didn't have to say goodbye just yet, but then again, I will be the last to say good-bye and will not have anyone there to remind me it's only until Christmas, and we can Skype, etc.

Jessica you are such a joy and treasure in our family.  We know you are going where you 1) want to go, 2) should be going and 3) we are so happy for you.  We love and miss you and hope you know we are always here for you.  We hope you have a wonderful experience at BYU and get excellent grades.  We know you are capable of accomplishing anything you set your heart and mind to do!  LOVE YOU!!!!

Backwards Motion Sickness

Okay, leave it to me to have to be difficult.

Mark and I had only a tinge of motion sickness the very first day of the cruise, but it was easily slept off.  Mark thinks it was because he put his patch on a little late and I think I had a bit due to the Dramamine I took.  We were more sleepy than anything.

The rest of the time we were on the cruise and in port - we didn't have any trouble!  It was great.  There were times you didn't even realize you were on a boat - like when Mark and I were dancing to the 80's music.  There were also times that you could feel it, but it was natural and normal to feel that "sway" after all we were on a ship.

Well, on our drive home from Jacksonville, Betsy became sea-sick while walking on dry land.  To her it was as if the whole world were rocking back and forth, or as if she were in a swing going forwards and backwards or from side to side.  It was an awful feeling.  Mark drove the rest of the way home, just to be safe.

Unfortunately the feeling didn't go away for nearly 10 days. (actually I still feel it from time to time).  It is the weirdest feeling and one I'd prefer to never have again.

Mostly I was nervous about having the feeling while traveling with Jessica - but it wasn't a problem.

Bahamas

Unfortunately, our cruise ship was running about 1 1/2 hours behind schedule on the day we were to arrive in the Bahamas.  There had been a distress call from a sinking fishing boat, that we had to answer.  All was well, and actually another ship boarded the stranded fishermen, but we still arrived late to Nassau.  By the time we got there, so did the big storm.  Ironically, the Weather Channel said it was only scattered thunderstorms, but as you can see from the photos the storm was not just passing through.

The storm has gusts of wind and very dark clouds.  Soon the rain came.  Once it started it didn't stop.  It would let up for a bit and then come down fierce and hard, but for the most part it was manageable.  

Mark and I were so grateful we didn't spend the money to tour the Atlantis Hotel at $109 per person.  The view from the ship wasn't very exciting.  

Today was supposed to be our "beach" day but it clearly was not going to be, so we decided to venture into Nassau and try some shopping. 

These pictures show the wind and rain forcing it's way on the island and every thing on it.  You could hardly see the HUGE Atlantis Hotel.  The trees are at an angle as if fighting the strong wind - to no avail.  

After a while it calmed down.  Mark and I debarked the ship to explore the streets and shops.  Betsy made quite the sport of it.  Run from shop to shop while dodging the rain.  It was a nice summer rain, but we had no means for drying our clothes so we were trying to stay as dry as possible (I guess the ship did have laundry facilities).  Betsy was quite lucky to find some great deals - they will be Christmas presents later on.

Mark and I went back on the ship around 6:30 - got ready for dinner and enjoyed a delicious meal in the main dinning room (as usual).  We had a wonderful time that evening making our rounds to the Karaoke, and 80's clubs.  The ship pulled out of Nassau around 11:00 pm.  We are due into Jacksonville at 8:30 am.  I imagined we will make up time in travel so that we still arrive as scheduled (and we did).

Key west

On Wednesday the ship docked in Key West, Florida at 7:00 am.  Mark and I departed the boat to tour the island before our snorkeling trip scheduled to start at 9:15 am.   You can see that the ship is huge.  

We had a wonderful ride out on a large catamaran.  We sat in the back so to help Mark with motion sickness.  Overall he did really great.  You can see our cruise ship in the background as our tour took us out to the third largest barrier reef of coral in the world.

The captain announced that there was an unusually large amount of jelly fish in the water today.    He went to five different spots before informing us that this place would have the least amount, however it still had an very high number of jelly fish in the water.  Mark and I were one of the first in the water.  We did well to avoid the jelly fish for the first 10 minutes but then it seemed to me that that was all I was doing.  I did see a sting ray and barracuda and beautiful fish, but mostly I saw jelly fish EVERYWHERE!  I decided I had had enough and boarded the catamaran.  Mark stayed in the water about 10 more minutes.  At one point he was surrounded by jelly fish and had to dive down to avoid being stung.

Mark with snorkel gear

jelly fish everywhere!