Shasta Lake

When we drove into this resort by the lake, we knew we had found a popular destination. This campground was packed with RVs, close together, but each site still managed to have trees. Families and friends took adjacent sites and gathered for dinner. There were basketball and volleyball games each night, and lots of laughter and play, late into the night. Children on bikes yelled, “Safety patrol!” as they policed the curvy dirt roads, reminding campers to follow the rules. Each building, from the laundry and bathrooms to the small ice cream and novelties shop, wore scraps of their original coats of paint, probably applied during the 1960’s. This felt like history, and with all of the gatherings around us, I think generations of families have been coming here for years. An especially large gathering was beside our campsite, and I noticed they prayed before eating dinner. This made me feel so at home.

The boys and Richard will probably say that this was their favorite part of the trip. We rented a boat, skis, and a tube and spent a lot of time on the lake. The weather was perfect. We were warm for the first time on the trip. We stopped for ice cream and shakes on the last night and shared ping pong paddles and a ball with a gang of little boys.

When we planned this trip, we wanted the lake experience to be like my memories of Clear Lake. While we didn’t stay at Clear Lake and rent an old cabin, this really did provide a similar feeling. I made sure to buy comic books ahead of time for the kids to read.

Best memories: Mark on the tube, Daniel and Timothy getting up on skis, Richard skiing, all the boys on the tube together, ice cream at the shop, tubing hair

Menu: roasted hot dogs, pigs in a blanket, deli sandwiches, grapes, oranges, pasta salad, baked beans, pop tarts instead when the free pancakes were actually not free.

Things we are so glad we brought: a toaster oven for cookies, biscuits, toast, and pigs in a blanket; plastic drawers for toiletries, sunblock, first aid, etc.; drying racks for towels; audio books; our own life jackets; extra blankets; twine; DUCT TAPE

 

Humboldt Redwoods

We took so many pictures in the redwoods, but with each capture, we grew to understand that the secrets of the forest cannot be taken. The photos are hardly representative of what we saw. I think the redwoods evoke a feeling apart from any other, so the day we took a walk through the trees was a true highlight of our trip.

Nice things: few tourists and nice families, Avenue of the Giants road, playing in the river

Surprise: Someone placed small toy figures in crevices of the bark of trees on the hike and Mark found five of them. This is something we want to do for others on a future nature hike.

RV Park: this was our nicest campground, but we kind of panicked when the bathrooms were closed for a long, long, long time. They had a nice gift shop and delivered ice to our site. There was a pond and living turtle and fish inside the gift shop. We were the only pop-up trailer in a park full of big RVs. There were many toy breed dogs traveling in RVs.

Menu: stew and biscuits, fresh chocolate chip cookies, lots of oranges, PBJ sandwiches, a restaurant called Peppers

Half Moon Bay

We arrived at Half Moon Bay after dark on a Sunday night. We set up quickly and fell asleep to the sound of waves. It was so dark, we couldn’t know how close we were to the water, and looked forward to the morning to reveal where we had landed.

In the morning, the beach was ours to claim, cold and beautiful, and we did claim it, most of us in a commando crawl on the sand to stay warm and out of the wind. Mark, of course, took on the waves with little boy zeal in a longer, leaner version of himself than the last time he was at the beach. I knew I was watching some of the last of his childhood as he moved to attack the waves with kicks and leaps. He will be more reserved next time. I will brace myself for that.

Two favorite memories from this leg if the trip: an eclectic and well-stocked used bookstore and an old fashioned diner.

Good surprises from Half Moon Bay: a new friend at the campground named Dave, flowers everywhere along the path to the beach, Daniel’s videos of Mark, and we became faster at folding up the pop-up trailer each time.

Menu: chicken salad on pitas, breakfast burritos, pizza, diner food, roasted hot dogs, and cinnamon sugar doughies by Mark and Richard

Essentials: jackets, heater, books, magazines

Favorite conversation: at Grandma Ruth’s house about “The List” of things she is not supposed to eat anymore.

 

 

Coasts

We are on an epic road trip through northern California with a pop-up trailer. Paige is settled in Manhattan. Richard has seen both coasts this week. It’s a new time for all of us, and the person I see in the mirror and photos seems different. It could be new experiences, age, cares, and possibly the camping hair.

 

 

Joyful Celebration

 

Most of us will never know what it is like to lead the class procession at graduation and give the valedictory speech, but I can say that being Daniel’s mother this evening felt pretty great. I felt distant among all the conversations and congratulations with friends, I think because I was busy finding dedicated places in my heart for all that this evening meant to me. Now, late at night, I am going through pictures, alternately smiling to myself and drying tears.

Tonight was one of the last nights it will be possible to have all of our children together for a few years. Paige left for New York tonight, accompanied by Richard, and she’ll come back just in time to say goodbye to Daniel before he leaves on his mission.

On my shelf in the kitchen, I just placed a sign that says “Gather,” but I keep thinking that the more fitting word for us this summer is “Fly.”

 

Superpowers Required

There was a big meeting scheduled this week for my calling. We were asked to “arrange our schedules” so we could attend. This phrase read in my mind, “It will be a sin to miss it.” The problem was, this meeting was at the same time as the Senior awards night. I felt the urgency of the message to fix my schedule, and wondered if God expected me to miss an important part of graduation. I mean, my ancestors left their countries and families to cross the plains and serve missions. Here it was again: the call of church and family, ringing in all parts of my mind, not in harmony, but dissonant and out of sync. This interpretation of events is no one’s fault but my own. No meeting is worth the angst I felt, but it illustrates the way I and many women face the world. We interpret invitations as commandments and feel regret when we can’t do everything. Compound this with the question, is there anything worse than a mother who doesn’t show up for her kids? Mothers are needed more than presidents, but I need to feel my choices are actually mine to make. I believe I usually choose the right option after some thought and talking it out. Of course I would choose my son, but in my mind, I was wrestling to know if it was God’s will or mine that made me think I should choose the meeting. In the end, I chose my son and was thankful that my Father in Heaven gave me counselors to cover meetings I can’t attend.

I don’t believe I need to do more things to be of worth. But independent of my worth, I want to be useful, and that means I need to do the right things. It feels like super powers are required sometimes. Sometimes I am torn in big ways, but other times I think it is funny what I am asked to do. This week included the following:

I was asked to help with an essay, but I was not allowed to read the rough draft.

I needed to visit a home full of dogs, but focus on the people, not the beloved dog biting my feet during the visit.

I was asked to demonstrate Timothy’s electric guitar since I am the only one in the house who plays the guitar. Never mind that I can’t play Metallica.

And of course, I needed to be in two places at once, or at least I felt that way until I let it go and delegated the responsibility to someone else. I think this is the freedom that I was looking for this week. My Father in Heaven has everything in place to make things work for busy moms at church.

When You Turned Twelve

The day you turned twelve, I saw you once in the morning, on your way to school. You opened your first present, a Lego Chewbacca and were happy about that. When you returned home, I was at a tournament and your dad took you camping. You and a friend decided you didn’t need your dads around, so you sent them home and camped out on your own.

I took you on a trip to the Lego store without your brothers and watched you shop very carefully, settling on a red vehicle. Then we met your dad and brothers for dinner at a buffet restaurant and you tried pot roast, got seconds on that, plus plenty of cinnamon butter and scones. There were many plates of food. You tried several desserts and made me a sundae because you are good at that and you are kind. You finished everything off with a mug of hot chocolate. Why not?

We waited a week for Solo to come out and all of us joined you for a matinee at the movie theater, Paige, too! After the movie, you asked your usual reporter questions, “Which was your favorite scene?” “Which character was the best?”

You were so nervous about church, being called up and presented to the congregation. Your nervousness showed itself in your frustration about not having the right skinny tie. Daniel helped you with that, and you wore a skinny coral tie from one of Daniel’s dances, which he tied for you. When you were called to the front of the congregation, I was proud of you for making a short smile to help everyone see the real you.

I know the Legos we bought you will not be played with as much as you believe they will.  I know that your hairstyle is becoming a more important concern and I notice how you are hungry all of the time. When you got angry about something recently, you asked what to do to get over it. I suggested you do something you loved. You baked a cake and all was well.

Your favorite subjects are world history and science. You are smart. Sometimes I hear you singing and humming to yourself in your room and wish things could just stay as they are, but we’re on a faster track now. In fact, next year, you will be very different than you are today. Overall, you can look forward to bigger achievements, adventures in nature, a deeper voice, longer math problems, and you may not feel like telling me you love me as often as you do now. It’s ok. I know you still do. And oh, how I love you!