I give up on August. Meet me in September.

I'm post-dating this entry.
It's actually mid-September and I've been spending the past six months trying to do this blog thing all backwards, remembering things that had happened, and then posting about them.
Here's the facts:
I'm doing some great LIVING, and some awful remembering.
I love summer. 
Here are a few pictures from August.
It was great!

Hiking.

Girls Camp.

News from our missionary.

Family visitors. 

 Kimball's.

 Sunday driving.

 Visits from Enrique.

 Sister time.

Together time.

 Tomato time.

A week in Manhattan.

 Gardening.

 More Hiking.

(Sleeping Giant State Park, CT)

 Friendships.

Wednesday nights are FREE! at the MFA in Boston

The parking is NOT free, ($28 in the museum lot) but well worth admitting a group of art lovers into the MFA for the evening. A nice walk from the museum is the Prudential Center. We browsed a couple of shops, and then went right to the top for stunning views of the city.

 We grabbed some pizza on the walk back, and enjoyed the rest of the night as patrons of the arts.

PROM

FINALLY!

Finally. The long-awaited PROM weekend arrived.

Rooney and I drove to Springfield to her date Z's house, where they dressed, primped and we took photos. 

When Z didn't step up quickly enough for pictures, his younger brother ran to his room, put on his new suit, and stepped in.  

At 12 years old, he was a handsome stunt double. 

Then everyone relaxed and the pre-prom formalities began.

They had a great time.

San Diego Status: ARRIVED

 Last night after dinner Mr. Dub gasped with delight in the dining room. I immediately turned towards him to see what happened.

An email had arrived in his inbox from the mission president of the San Diego mission, and he was reading aloud, informing me that our missionary had arrived, and there were pictures to prove that this was, indeed, a happy affair.

She did not arrive alone, as you can see. The mission president and his wife are seated in the front row, and all of the new arrivals are seated and standing around them. I spoke briefly with her on the phone in the morning, as she was waiting to board her flight from Salt Lake to San Diego. She was excited, a bit nervous and happy to be on her way. It was fun to hear her voice, and then even better to see these pictures.

Come in, MTC, do you copy?

It was radio silence for seven days.

I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't a teensy bit anxious about hearing from Sweet Mesquite--my mother heart needed confirmation in the affirmative that the eagle had not only landed, but that she was settling comfortably into her new routine.

I'm happy to report that I received the big 10-4 yesterday afternoon. Not only is there no need for a distress signal, the eagle is SOARING.

 Our little missionary sent several emails full of happy details and pictures about her days in training. She has been assigned to a district of eight new missionaries, and has been paired up with a companion from the local area, Sister Carlson. They became fast friends. During their second (and final) week in the training center, they will serve as the leaders of the sister zone. She said it's been exhilarating to walk around and say "Welcome to the MTC!" to all of the missionaries with orange dots on their tags, indicating new arrivals.

 They will both be headed to San Diego next Tuesday, along with three others. The remaining three of the group of eight have been assigned to the Washington D.C. mission. (not to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, as the next picture might lead you to believe)

She spends hours and hours in a classroom, but she assures us that time flies by. She reports that the food is good, gym time is fun, and she has even bumped into a friend from home.

 I know the relationships she is forming with these young adults who are commissioned and committed to the same ideals and beliefs she holds so dear will be forever friendships.

Mesquite was excited to report that as of yesterday, for the first time in the history of the Provo MTC, there were 52% sister missionaries, and 48% elders. Girl power!

Her next email will come from San Diego.

Signal is clear. Roger that.

XOXO

Goodbye April, Hello May

Too much life, not enough time.

Lemme sum up:

Instead of blogging about life, we've been LIVING it!

Fast and furiously.

There were events, vacations, visits and togetherness that didn't get documented.

April was fantastic, and now it's May.

Enrique just finished his four years at the University of Massachusetts.

He graduated with a double major in

Middle Eastern Studies

and Psychology.

We can't wait to see what's next for him.

To commemorate his accomplishments, ALL of us! gathered on campus to take some pictures and share a meal. It was memorable.

And fun.

Having all the boys

-and-

all the girls together

makes us HAPPY.

We're a good team.

More and more our key players seem to go more than they come; 

Thank heavens this guy is a constant, and not a variable.

He knows when to huddle up and talk strategy.

There's no one I'd rather have as my co-captain and team leader.