The End of An Era

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the leaders of missions are called to serve for three years. Usually the new mission leaders arrive in their missions in late June of the year they are to start serving. When Chase got his mission call to Spokane, Washington in the summer of 2022, we quickly looked up the names of his mission leaders and how long they had been serving. As of that time, they had only been out for one year. They would be his mission leaders for almost the entirety of his mission...but not quite. They would go home when Chase had about three months left on his mission. Man, that sounded so far away, it was almost inconceivable that the time would ever come.

But here we are. Starting next Wednesday, July 3rd, Chase will have exactly three months left on his mission. And President and Sister LeBaron returned home to Utah just three days ago. There really aren't words to explain what this amazing couple has meant to our son. They have shaped him in a way that no one else on the earth ever has, and he loves them more than anyone outside of his family. 

Here he is, on the day of his arrival in Spokane 21 months ago:

And here he is again, first with his zone and then just by himself, on the last day he was able to see them before they departed. I understand that there were a lot of tears, which is a lovely sign of how much this couple did for their missionaries. 

We couldn't be more grateful for their inspiring service, for their dedication to the mission, for their desire to lead missionaries to be full of spirit, integrity and determination. Miracles, my friends. Miracles. 

One of These Fingers is Not Like the Others

If you get queasy looking at photos of injuries, this is one blog post you need to skip.

The construction gods have demanded payment. And naturally, they exacted their price on the same night I was in charge of a Relief Society activity. That makes four times that's happened now. Once in about 2009 I was running the activity on the same night that Troy was driving to Roosevelt, Utah to pick up elk meat from a butcher there after his family's annual elk hunt/camping trip. Our little Eagle Summit died on the way there and Troy had to be rescued by one of our dads. There was the year our brand new plumbing under our brand new bathroom floor sprung a leak. And the year that our water heater went out. All on Relief Society dinner nights. I think I need to boycott Relief Society dinners. 

Last Thursday was our annual Garden Party - dinner and dessert in the lovely garden of my friend Debbie, who has been hosting for years. She did most of the work but I prepared the main dishes for the dinner. It was a long day - the last day of my Child Life internship, which of course was in Lehi that day. I was so tired! The dinner went well, and then just as we were cleaning up and getting ready to head out, my phone rang. It was Troy. Truthfully, I almost didn't answer because I was right in the middle of a conversation, but I felt a nudge telling me to pick up. Troy said, "You need to come home right now. I just broke my finger." 

OH CRAP.

I zoomed home, left all the food and dishes in the car, and Troy and I walked across the street to the conveniently-near emergency room. He was in surprisingly good spirits, making jokes, even though he was in a lot of pain. 

Ok brace yourself. I am now putting in the photos, which I still have a hard time looking at. 

 

I about fainted when I saw it. In fact I'm trying to type with my eyes closed right now. Doesn't it look just awful? While I was helping get him checked in I had to shield my eyes from the sight of it. It's hilarious that I work in health care. 

Here's the good news. I thought his little bone in there was snapped right in half. But instead, the break was a little bone fragment, and the main damage was that his finger was dislocated. I'm not happy about the bone fragment of course, but it could have been so much worse. They took a few x-rays and then the doctor let Troy choose if wanted numbing meds or just to get the finger popped back in place in a hurry. Troy picked the former. I tried to leave the room and got about 3 steps out before they let me know it was done. Oh. So...that was quick. Painful, I know, but I heard no cursing, so that's something. He got a brace and they sent us on our way.

I had been worried about Troy's finger, and also that the work on the room was going come to a standstill for possibly weeks. But nope, sweet Troy just went right back to work the next day. A little gingerly of course, but the progress goes on.

He has some lovely bruises too ~

 

 

Oh goodness! I didn't mention how this catastrophe even happened. It involved a drill press, the steel shelf brackets, and a glove. Troy knew that wearing gloves wasn't a great idea when using a drill press, but the steel was cutting up his hands quite a bit. And when he brushed his hand a little too near the spinning drill bit, it grabbed on to the fabric and yanked his finger off to the side and around the bit. Just imagine if Troy had the big fancy drill press of his dreams! Bye, pinkie finger. What a blessing it wasn't worse. Ok, construction gods, are you happy? Can that be it please?

That's Not Going Anywhere

Once the studs were all up, it was time to start adding steel supports for the future built-in shelves and desk. Here is something I adore about my husband. Troy is so good at envisioning final results. He is creative and makes things well, and also makes sure that form always follows function. He has seen in his mind's eye how cool it would be to have beautiful hardwood shelves and a desk built in to this bedroom, and he knew basically how he wanted to support the heavy structures. He explained it to me many times and I sort of got it, but not entirely clearly. 

Troy fabricated out of steel some supports that were to be bolted into the studs. A lot of this steel required cutting and shaping. He figured he'd do it all with the reciprocating saw and a grinder, but it didn't take long before he could see that it would be an eternity to do it that way. Happily he found a metal-cutting chop saw on KSL classifieds for cheap - totally worth the afternoon it took to go to Riverton to buy it. It might not be the most elegant tool but it sure got the job done faster.

Then it was time to install the steel! Troy may have gotten a little bit of guff from his brothers about how many of the supports he made and how many bolts and screws (and glue) each one had. But guess what. Those suckers aren't going anywhere! In classic dad style, every time Troy finished installing a bracket, he would firmly grasp it and say, "That's not going anywhere!" It makes us laugh every time.

Of course it's been a pretty big pain, but also it's been fun to see Troy put a lot of his tools plus his skill to good use. I love it when he gets to use his welder. Plus he looks so cute in the leather jerkin he has to wear to protect himself while welding. 

 

Also, the closet is now mostly framed in. We are feeling like the room is closing in on us just a little bit since we used to have three more feet of vertical space in there and much shallower studs. But I'll take an actual floor over those three feet of headspace any day. I know it will be a small little room, but it will be bigger than it was! Plus all that lovely shelving....

Heigh ho, the work continues on. 

Escape to Vernal

Emma also made a getaway just a few days after her school let out for summer. She got invited to go to a ranch (?) with her friend Pidge. I can tell that Emma is my youngest because...I really didn't know much about this ranch and I confess, I didn't do a whole lot to find out. We have grown very fond of Pidge this year, as well as their other friend Carrot. These two friends are both two years older than Emma and have totally adopted her. They show up at our place all the time, usually stopping by Emma's bedroom window before making an entrance through the front door. Actually, they used to also enter via the window until we convinced them that the door was really preferable. They kidnap her and take her for drives and treats, they bring coloring books and crayons when she is sad, and they sometimes even help with math. They are complete sweethearts. 

I believe that Carrot was out of town immediately after school, so she wasn't able to join. Emma was so happy to get invited and I was happy too. Her trip was taking place right as I was starting my job and I was feeling so bad about leaving her home alone all day every day. It was great to just send her off with a friend and not worry about keeping her busy.

I don't actually know much about what they did or even specifically where they went - aren't I the best mom ever? But I know it was near Vernal. I believe they spent some time shopping and playing in Vernal, so it couldn't have been too far. I know they stayed up late, watched lots of movies, slept in, went for walks, worked on their archery skills, made s'mores, and laughed and talked a LOT. What could make for a better trip with a friend?

Here are a few photos Emma shared with me:

Escape to St. George

Here's something that Troy and I find both funny and pretty sweet. Just over a year ago, as Romney's senior year of high school was winding down and she was so sick of school and so sick of the high school social scene, she talked a lot about how seriously ready she was to get away to UVU. She was ready for a fresh start, ready for fresh people in her life, ready for a change of scene and pattern to her daily life. 

Then summer happened and the pressure and stress of school was off her shoulders. She got a pass to Lagoon and started going there a lot with her buddies Anna and Judd and their rather cute friend Nicholas. There were a lot of late-night Dungeons and Dragons sessions and hanging out and the friend group regained some of its shine and allure. In fact, leaving them got harder and harder as the summer wore on. They truly are dear dear people.

All year long Romney has enjoyed school at UVU but hasn't hesitated to come home at every opportunity. I'm sure it's mostly to see her family.....wait, nevermind. It was totally about Nick and the other friends. And us a little bit too. It's always wonderful when Romney comes home.

So the friends all started planning a summer trip together. Most of them just graduated this May, and as a celebration, they decided to head south to St. George where Fran had access to a big nice house with a community pool. I know the planning was kind of stressful - there were 8 of them going and none of them were super-planners, but they pulled it off. These four took off in one car on a Sunday afternoon and met up with three more friends plus one dad down there. An eighth friend arrived via shuttle on Wednesday.

I don't think they had really major plans - they did lots of cooking together, getting up early for hikes, taking long afternoon naps, swimming, a little shopping, and staying up very late together. What could be more fun for a big group of friends?

Romney only sent me a couple of photos. Luckily Nicholas took it upon himself to send me a pile of them.

I was so happy they got to escape away for a whole week. It's really the only summer trip Romney will get this year besides one more weekend in St. George for some plays at Tuacahn in August. She'll be employed as a pioneer pretty much all the other weeks of the summer, so this was a great escape! Too bad it was 100 billion degrees.

Happy Birthday to Emma Lyn!

Every year, Emma's birthday coincides almost precisely with the last day of school. It's been a slight bummer for her. However, this year our district decided to switch up the schedule a little and school actually ended at the end of May. So June 3rd was a true summer day for our newest 15 year old girl!

I had started my internship the week before Emma's birthday, but I let them know that I wouldn't be available that day. I had things to do! Parties to host! Food to make! Presents to wrap and celebrations to enjoy!

Our day started with one of Emma's favorite breakfasts - scones. I tried a new thing, which was to make them with my sourdough. I think they were quite tasty and were extremely puffy. Perfect for filling with Nutella and other delights. Romney had helped me pick out some gifts for Emma and she did a great job. A funny iPods case that looks like a package of goldfish crackers, some very cool eyeliner, a beading tool, and some cute new shoes.

 

Later in the day I took Emma and her friend Bella out to The Olive Garden for lunch. This was for sure not a place Emma would have picked on her own, but I just so happened to have a stack of gift cards that were a hand-me-down from Grandma. We put those Olive Garden cards to good use.

Bella has been an absolutely darling friend. They had a class together on the very first day of high school, and recognized each other as a vaguely familiar face from middle school. They decided they both needed a buddy on that first scary day, and stayed friends all year long. I really like her so much.

Later in the day Emma gathered with a different group of friends. She really wanted to take them to an escape room so we found one with a "walk the plank" pirate-type theme. I sat outside the room and heard lots of laughing and excited hollering. My conclusion is that they had a great time.

After the escape room I bought them WAY too much pizza and they feasted on it at our house, followed by chocolate cake.

 

I think Emma really had a great birthday. Lots of fun treats and surprises from her friends, who are such a cute group. They were totally sweet. And they ranged in age from freshman to seniors. Impressive. Of course, we told them that 11:00 pm would be a great time to head out since Troy and I both had to work early in the morning. Instead he and I took Advil PM, zonked out at 10:00, and I haven't a clue when they all went home. Oh how times have changed. 

And not long after the birthday party came Emma's first turn behind the wheel of a car. She's very excited to drive and wants to go out every chance she gets. We have a long learning curve ahead of us, but she's doing great.

Also I had to include these photos - the day after Emma's birthday, Romney had a day off of work at This is The Place and decided to take Emma on a little outing. Where did they go? This is The Place, of course. They walked around and shopped and got lunch and just had some lovely sister time. Aren't they just so cute?