Email from Mom: Saturday, June 5, 2021

To: Kaitlyn.garcia@missionary.org
From: Mom
Subject: It's getting HOT here

sunshine is about the majority of our week around here. And I won’t complain one bit. I have sure loved the change it has brought to everyone’s mood for sure. How was your week? I am going to just recap each day for you so I don’t drag an email on for forever. (Because it would be easy to do! 🤣)

Monday ended just fine. I feel a little robbed with having to entertain people here and not getting a full Monday with you. Still bothers me as I type this up on Saturday. I think I finally experienced my first time of trying to shuffle normal life in with missionary mom life. And I didn’t handle it well, to say the least, in not being able to give my all to both. All I can think of is the word ‘sacrifice’ I guess for now.

Tuesday I got to start my day by going to the dentist. I wish I could start every week by being there. People think I am nuts but hey...clean teeth are a big deal! Rodney and I chatted about callings and how he is going to change things up around here in our ward here in the next month or so. I think it will be good and I am hopeful to get a bit of a breather myself. I have been in big callings for too long and I am certain I am burned out. I told him I thought Tammy Alsup would be great as a primary president and he just smiled and said ‘funny you should say that because that is exactly who I called’. Ha ha. Nailed it!!! Now to make sure she changes all the other counselors and secretary so I don’t end up still being there. 🏻I think I would be ok telling Rodney no and give him the reasons why. I am sure he will see it as well. With our ward being as small as it is there are a handful of us who actually do the work a calling asks of us. And when it is just the same people over and over again you get tired and don’t feel like you are spiritually feeding yourself because you are always feeding others. We will see I guess. But it is nice to know I am closing out the primary chapter of my life.

Wednesday was a little crazier. Christian had graduation practice and then a yearbook stomp at the school. They had food trucks and I guess it was a ton of fun. He showed me his yearbook when he got home and talked a little to me which was a nice change. I totally expected that he would just take it downstairs and I wouldn’t hear anything. He also had a graduation parade that he hadn’t said anything to me about until I finally asked him that afternoon what his plan was. He was going to ride with Davin and some friends so he didn’t need us...well I am sure glad because Brooklyn had friends coming to swim so it would have been tricky. I feel horrible for missing the parade but I finally had to remind him that he isn’t my only kid at home and ending a school year and making plans so I need a heads up. He seemed good with how it went and in the end I think he is glad he was there for it.

Thursday was graduation day. Out on the football field at 9am. And the high for the day was set to be 98’ which means by 9am it was already well into the upper 70’s!! We took some pictures with Christian before he headed off and then the three of us headed over to the school. The only seats still left were right in the sunshine and so we just dealt. It was nice to see a graduation and the speakers kept their talks short. In all it was about 2 hours is all. Afterwards Tyler and I ran some errands, B hung out at home and waited for the junior high to get out (she ended up pool side with me for about 40 minutes is all because holy cow hot & she didn’t want to get in the water), and then Christian went to work for a bit. He ended up at LaGoon for senior night at 6 and stayed until 2am. I was, as you can imagine, sound asleep but he said he had a great time and that cannibal is sketchy when it is super dark at night to ride. B had some friends again to swim and hang out (the girl uses the pool a LOT with friends!) and Tyler and I chilled on the deck watching the sun set and fireworks from Herriman High’s graduation.

Friday morning Christian slept in until I don’t know when because we were out the door with B and her friends on our way to Deer Creek with the boat. (Oh...Tyler, Banning, and Jessie took the boat this week and the windshield got SHATTERED on the boat and the trailer got a nail in one of its tires...needless to say it is going to be an expensive fix) The kids were great and all of them surfed. Even the ones who hadn’t done it before! B got up on her first try and just kept going. I am so proud of her. Tyler brought the new bandwagon tube and you know B was stoked about that. Tyler has learned to take it a little easier on the tube after seeing the incident with Megan in Powell so it wasn’t as crazy as normal but the kids still had to hang on tight. We thought maybe by 2 they would be long done (we got there at like 11) but they rode and played in the water until 4! I didn’t pack lunch stuff (just snacks) and I think all of them were sun tired and hungry because most of them crashed HARD when we got in the truck. Christian worked again for a couple of hours, hung at home, and then went for a drive he said. B ended up at Cutler’s to hang and so Tyler and I hung in the pool for a little bit. We invited the Miller, Stephens, and Bret and Lindsey to come over but the Millers were finishing up prep for Jurni’s baptism and the others ‘borrowed Chuck and Shawna’s pool’ for their kids so it ended up just the 2 of us which was fine. Tyler kept it entertaining by playing on the diving board for me. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣

Saturday: I had 2 baptisms today. One for Jurni and one for Dallin Dipo. Jurni is the funniest little thing and spicy. Man is she spicy. I gave her some new stretchy chokers and Tyler and B went home and waited for me to go to say hi at the luncheon they were hosting. I was hopeful the cousins stay away this afternoon because Brooklyn would like to hang with Kynlee in the pool but it seems that they have a couple of cousins graduating so there is a dinner party gathering something they will be heading too. They usually always have family something going.
Tyler and I have to speak with Christian on the 13th (Jason Millers birthday) for his farewell. I am going to do chicken salad croissants and chips at the house for anyone who comes in for a listen. We will see what he gets on that. I wish I didn’t have to speak and with your farewell and stake conference I am sure everyone else is sick of seeing me up there too. I tried to ask B to take my place and she told me she was going to be a Miller that day. What a punk!!
Christian has his temple recommend interviews tomorrow. One with Rodney in the morning and the stake in the afternoon. We will do a Deseret Book temple clothing/garments/ and temple bag shopping on Monday and he does the temple Tuesday at 9am. He isn’t inviting anyone else to join him so just the 3 of us again. I’m excited for him.
Tyler and I will head to the cabin Wednesday night to stay the night so we can leave early Thursday on our motorcycle ride with Kristina and Randy. We were due home Sunday night but since we all have to speak we will be home Saturday night instead. Christian said he would run to the Costco for the lunch stuff for after church so it should be a smooth transition from being gone to being home. Also, the motorcycle trip is going to be HOT and in jeans and riding boots I can already feel my feet swelling to horrible sizes of pain. Ahhh the joy right?
Other than all of this, it’s been a normal week of life around here really. Kids seem happy, Tyler is Tyler, Charli whacked her head/mouth on the coffee table in the living room when B was here and started bleeding from her mouth crazy bad but she is good now (still no clue where she was bleeding from or if she is missing a tooth or something), and I am working through each day one day at a time.
I wasn’t going to ramble on and on forever and yet I feel like I did just that. I am sorry!! I love you and wanted to keep you in the loop of all the things. I think I got most of the pictures accounted for on your drive but I will make sure so you can see them. I hope your dresses fit and that you guys got your surprise package delivered (it says for today so I am hopeful 🏻). Please let me know what you need and how I can help on my end for you.
I love you to the moon and back. Forever and ever.
Mom

Don’t you love the new choker?!? She put it on immediately. Oh and the crocs...she earned them by being super good while her parents were in Kauai.