Cat Turned 14!

Cat had a great birthday.  As she was going to bed that night she was thrilled with the day she'd had.  We started with a few presents, raspberry rolls from Shirley's, and watching "My Fair Lady" with Grammy.  (Also, there were several neighbor kids hanging out with us while their mom was busy having a baby.  But that didn't bother Cat at all.)

Then later in the afternoon Grammy took Cat shopping at one of her favorite stores and out for ice cream.

They were gone just long enough for me to tell the younger kids that we were about to pull off a surprise party and to get everything set up.  We got the house cleaned up and decorated a little more (Cat had actually put up several decorations the night before, just because) and set out the food.  Cat's friends arrived right on time, and Grammy brought Cat to the house exactly when she was supposed to, after being forced to come up with several delays in order to get the timing just right.  It worked out great!  Even though Cat had requested a surprise party and I knew she was suspected she would get one, we managed to pull it off anyway.  (She was expecting the surprise to happen later, when she thought she'd be hanging out at her friend Janie's house.)  Janie had been a huge help in getting friends to come, even though lots of Cat's friends were out of town on summer trips with their families.

The teenagers had a lot of fun just eating dinner, hanging out and talking, then we watched the original "Men in Black" movie and they had some time to play a few games before parents came to pick them up.  The two gals we were taking home also did sparklers with us before we headed out.

I love that Cat's two big birthday gifts were a Hydro Flask water bottle and a Book of Mormon study guide she's been wanting.  That's just who she is.  But I think she was the most excited about a gift that didn't cost any money: I finally let her have her own Instagram account.  She has several parameters she'll have to operate within, combined with the general understanding that I can revoke the account at any time and for any reason, but it was a win for her nonetheless.  And the timing was perfect since she quickly connected with her friends on IG and they gave her some sweet birthday shoutouts.  So far, she's been responsible with the account and kept to her promise to not post too often and to always run her posts by me before she publishes them.  And the posts have been very honest and sweet and uplifting.  I sure love this girl.

7/4/19

We had a fun Fourth of July, getting up early to check out the hot air balloons in Provo.  They're always so cool!  I love their bright colors and that they're so big and impressive.  The weather didn't allow the balloons to fly that day, but just seeing them and walking around among them was fun anyway.

   

After a little while we walked over to watch the parade on University Avenue where we were lucky that a family offered us a spot beside them.  While we waited for the parade to start Ben and Luke walked to the Provo Bakery for doughnuts.  It was a longer walk than we thought, but we loved the doughnuts when they brought them back.  The parade was really fun with cool floats and balloons and lots of missionaries.  Oh, and Chuck Norris was the Grand Marshall.  So that was neat.

We hung out at home in the afternoon, watching "National Treasure," then cooking out for dinner.  In the evening we drove up to Ben's office so we could watch the fireworks at Thanksgiving Point, and tons of other fireworks in the valley, from his balcony.  It was actually pretty chilly that night, but we loved the fireworks show anyway.

A New Favorite Story

Fun fact about Cat: She doesn't get embarrassed... pretty much ever.  Not when I dance crazy while her friends are in the car or yell out the door that I love her when she's walking into her MS/HS or do other traditionally cringe-worthy mom-things.  Sometimes this bothers me just a little.  Shouldn't a mom be able to embarrass her teenager on occasion?  But mostly, I think it's great.  It means that she can just have fun and roll with whatever's going on.

At the beginning of the month I took all the kids along to a dermatologist appointment for Cat.  The PA we were seeing asked if we would consider Acutane as a treatment for Cat's acne and we said we would.  So we started discussing that option.  Then the PA stood directly in front of Cat and said, "Now, I know your entire family is here.  But I need you to answer me honestly.  Are you sexually active?"  Cat didn't even flinch.  She answered that she wasn't, and then she answered that she wouldn't be, and then the PA continued to discuss the reason why a woman should not be sexually active while on this medication (if she were to get pregnant, the baby would have severe birth defects) and the precations that she is required to take to make sure that her patients would not get pregnant during the course of treatment.  Cat had to take the first of two pregnancy tests that day.  She also had to sign multiple forms saying that she understood the risks of taking this medication and knew that she needed to do everything she could to prevent pregnancy.  (Abstinence counts.)  She also had to watch a video about how to prevent pregnancy.  Whoa mama.

All the while, the other kids were in the room with us, kind of talking amonst themselves, joking around a little, reading books, etc.  I didn't like that they were present during the conversation, but since I needed to be there, I didn't see any other option.  But I didn't think they were paying attention, so perhaps it didn't matter.

But then Jack piped up with a question.  "What if Cat gets married?"  As in, what if my sister would like to start a family one day?  He was paying attention.  And he got exactly what we were talking about.  The PA explained that as soon as Cat stops taking the medication, the danger of having a baby with birth defects would disappear, and Cat would be able to have a family if she would like to.

Well, between the discussion, the pregnancy test, Jack's obvious understanding of the situation, and the very awkward and outdated film we all watched together, Cat continued to take it all in stride, laughing at the awkwardness of it, but never being shy or uncomfortable.

Since she obviously hadn't been embarrassed enough at that point, I requested that she don the special Fourth of July Headdress our nurse had been wearing when we arrived for our appointment.

She obliged.  Without getting embarrassed.

Bear Lake with Grammy!

I've been hearing so much about Bear Lake from just about everyone in Utah that I've wanted to check it out for a while.  So I finally booked a night at a tiny cabin (smaller than a standard two-double-bed-hotel-room) and twisted Grammy's arm into coming up for the night with the kids and me.

It was such a fun little trip!  We had just enough time to check out the lake for an hour or so before dinner time Monday.  We ate a yummy pizza place in Garden City, then had our obligatory raspberry shakes, which were delicious.  We watched a movie in our tiny cabin before going to bed.  The next morning when we checked out we were told about a different beach we should check out, which we did, and which was great.  The kids enjoyed having some more lake time and Grammy and I once again happily watched them from the shore.

We stopped in Logan for lunch and spudnuts (!) on our way home.  Another great choice.

A few things to note about Bear Lake:
1. The water is freezing.
2. The beaches are only moderately beachy.
3. The most beautiful part of the entire trip was the drive through Logan canyon.  I mean, probably the most scenic country I've seen in Utah.  I was practically drooling the entire time.

Andy and Amy Visited!

Andy and Amy arrived on Friday afternoon and we had just enough time to let the kids have some water play time in the back yard before we all headed out for the evening.  Between the kiddie pool, the hose, the water balloons, and the squirt guns, the kids got some energy out and beat the heat and had lots of fun while the adults (mostly) watched from the shade.

The reason for Andy and Amy's visit was my cousin Carson's wedding.  So on Friday evening, Andy and Amy and Ben and Suz drove up to the pre-wedding dinner while Ben and I took all the kids to his company's summer party.  The party was so fun!  The kids loved the rock climbing wall, the balloon toys, the inflatables, the bottomless shave ice, the face painting, and even the creepy gaming truck.  Ben was one of the designated dunk tank guys and the kids had a blast dunking him, without even bothering to throw the ball (mostly Whit kept running up and hitting the button).  The fire knife performance was a hit too, though Ben's participation in the show made me a little nervous, especially since his elbow was still very much hurt at the time.

Then on Saturday morning, Cat took care of all the kids so the adults could drive up to Salt Lake to attend Carson's sealing.  It was beautiful!  We were so glad we could witness this special event.

 

We drove home to pick up the kids and get our family's combined wedding gift ready: the tandem bike the couple registered for on Amazon.  We grabbed some dinner on our way north and Andy and Jack made an entrance to the outdoor reception (behind the state capitol) in style.  Then we had fun hanging out with our extended family, eating ice cream, and dancing the night away.

 

On Sunday morning several of my favorite people drove up to Salt Lake to attend Music & the Spoken Word, which I especially appreciated because it was a fun Fourth of July program AND Andy and Amy left right from there to drive back to California.  I loved having them there!

With Andy and Amy's visit, I officially saw every single member of our immediate families in less than 6 weeks.  I think the last time that happened was before we moved to Utah in 2011... when our families were much smaller.  I feel so blessed to have had so much family time during the first half of our summer.