Sweet Sixteen . . . sniff!

Can it really be true?  Could this little guy actually be 16?!? 

It seriously hurts my heart!  How does 16 years go by so quickly?!? And what am I going to do in two years when he turns 18 and thinks he should graduate??? {SHUDDER}  Let's just pretend that is not the case and live awhile longer in denial. :)

About a month before his birthday, Kade noticed that the Utah Jazz would be playing the Boston Celtics (his favorite team) in Salt Lake City and started dropping hints at what a great birthday gift that would be.  Recognizing that this was a wicked good aligning of the stars that this game happened to fall on his very birthday and also that with him growing up so quickly there would be fewer opportunities for us to get to do these things together, we decided it would be a great way to celebrate such a momentous occasion.  Because of a conflict with a job Greg was asked to help with and his overall lack of enthusiasm over sports in general, Greg did not express a strong desire to attend.  I was excited at the prospect of a mother/son trip - it seems like I get a lot more chances to spend time like this with Courtney, but not so much Kaden, as he is much more interested in things like elk hunting, steelhead fishing, and other manly man hobbies.

So, we celebrated together as a family on Sunday evening with steak and homemade french fries, yummy mint chocolate chip ice cream/brownie birthday cake, and presents.  The Wildes stopped by, along with Heather, and Grandpa and Grandma Martineau.  He got some yummy cologne, a converter cassette to play his ipod in the old truck, a brick of .22 shells, along with birthday money and a promise of some birthday shopping in Salt Lake.  He also got 2 tickets to the Jazz game, which he was most excited about.

We set off the next morning, getting on the road about 11:00 a.m.  We stopped in Tremonton for lunch and finally got to our first stop - the Outlet malls in Lehi - around 3:00 p.m.  Our first stop was the Nike outlet, where he found a pair of Air Aggressors that he thought would make great shoes to play basketball in, so we added that to the list of birthday gifts.  We then went to Under Armour where he found a really cool hoodie that he was able to use Grandpa & Grandma's birthday money on.  Pretty good shopping trip when you're a 16 year old boy!  We then started to work our way back up to SLC, with a quick stop at Ikea so that Kade could see the store and buy some of their delicious chocolate bars at the end.

Once we got back to SLC, it was about 5:15 with the game starting at 7:00.  Now Kade had heard that if you go early, you can get the opportunity to watch the players warm up and potentially get some autographs.  He thought this sounded better than getting dinner, so we went straight to Energy Solutions Arena.  Since it was so early, we could go down in the bleachers to about the 2nd or 3rd row and watch as these players practiced their three pointers, free throws and so on.  It was pretty cool to be able to see them so close up and watch them play. 

As each player would finish warming up, they would return to the locker room and as they walked towards the tunnel, groups of kids would swarm the rail closest to them asking for autographs.  Kaden was lucky enough to get Jeff Green's autograph on the Celtics shirt he was wearing (we didn't come very prepared to get autographs).  After awhile, all the players returned to their locker room and we were left patiently waiting for the game to start.

Finally, the main attraction.  The game was good, Kade was excited to be there.  The Celtics ended up losing,  but not by a huge amount, so Kade wasn't too disappointed.  We had great seats, which made it more fun and exciting, we ended up being in row 20 of the lower bowl.  This allowed us to watch the game itself, instead of the big screens.

What a lucky mom am I to get to be my son's first date?!?  I sure do love this boy!

After the game, we walked over to Tucano's (a Brazilian restaurant) and sampled all of the many meats they brought to our table, along with the yummy grilled pineapple!  Kade thought the restaurant was pretty good and even let me take his picture in his new Under Armour sweatshirt.

We got to stay at a nice Best Western hotel and had just a fun night all together, just him and I.

The next day we got up, had breakfast and then did some mom shopping (which he loved) and then began to make our way back home.  Of course we had to stop at In-N-Out Burger - Kade's request - so we stopped off in Riverside to grab a quick bite (and a delicious Diet Coke).

On our way home, we stopped in Brigham City, where Greg was working so that we could see what they were doing and spent 45 minutes visiting with him there.  We finally made it home around 5:30 - (just in time to get ready for YW New Beginnings) and both agreed that we'd had a pretty awesome trip.  I hope that it will be one he remembers for the rest of his life.

10 Things about Kaden James Goody -

1.  He is a funny kid.  For as long as I can remember, Kade has loved making people laugh.  Even when he was 2 years old, he was the kid at the family reunion telling jokes to a crowd of 50+ people.  He still loves making us laugh, whether appropriately or not, this kid has a great sense of humor.

2.  He is obsessed with his mullet.  He grew one over the summer and loved it so much, but by the time school started it was so long that it was driving him crazy, so he chopped it off.  He has since regrown the mullet and spends much time grooming it and fluffing it up just so.  People either love it or hate it, but he definitely loves it.



3.  Loves the Green Bay Packers and anything associated with them.  He began liking the Packers in about fourth grade and it has stuck.  He has plenty of Packers apparel, hats, and even a Cheesehead!  He was so disappointed when football season was over this year because he loves watching them play so much.  His ultimate goal will be to get to Lambeau field to watch them play in person.

4.  He hates losing.  Any time we play a game as a family, he loves to be the winner.  He definitely gets his competitive spirit from his mother and then some.  This keeps him working hard and motivates him to do his best.  He sometimes has a difficult time watching his teams lose too, but always listens to his mother try and explain that the Packers can't be expected to win EVERY game.

5.  Little old ladies love this boy.  My theory is because it is he is such a thoughtful, kind young man who is sensitive to the needs of those around him.  I know that each of his grandmas (adopted grandmas included) have a special spot in their hearts for Kaden because he takes such good care of them.  I even had a lady in our ward tell me recently what a great kid she thinks Kade is.  This attribute makes his mama proud.

6.  He moons the members of our household far too often.  This too may be a hereditary trait.  I will say no more.

7.  He loves his cousins, no matter their age.  I don't know that every 16 year old boy would be excited to spend the day with their younger cousins, but Kaden is.  A few weeks ago, he was invited to go to Rupert to hang out with three of my sisters and their kids.  He went and played basketball with the boys aged 5-9 for most of the day and had a great time.  He also is very good to the little girls and loves making them giggle.  He will even wait his turn to snuggle up the newborn babies and loves every minute of it.

8.  He loves the outdoor sports.  Anything to do with hunting and fishing.  This also means he gets to spend lots of time with his dad and grandpa doing the things they like too.  This year he shot his second elk and got to shoot at the "buck of a lifetime" according to my dad, which we have come to the conclusion, has become old and wisened to avoid actually being killed by aforementioned shooting.  He also likes to hunt birds such as ducks and geese.  He immensely enjoys fishing and works pretty hard at getting his dad to take him up to Salmon a couple of times each year to hit the steelhead run.

9.  Kaden is a great student.  He has always done well and is one smart kid.  I have no doubt that he will be able to accomplish anything he sets his mind to.

10.  Kaden is great at sharing his love.  I lucked out and got a teenage boy who hugs me at least twice a day when he leaves for school and goes to bed, and typically multiple times in between.  He is not afraid to tell those around him that he loves them and is great at showing that affection as well.  I am sure this is part of the reason he is so endearing to those grandmas that love him so much.

Ok, so I know I said 10 things, but I had one more that I wanted to share, so here is your bonus.

11.  Kaden is one of the most honest kids I know.  He has always been good about telling the truth, almost to a fault.  It is one of the traits I admire about him and one that I hope he will keep with him forever.  Even when he screws up, he is pretty forthcoming about what he did and why he did it, even though he knows that he will be in trouble.  I appreciate that I can trust him to be honest with me, even when it is hard to do so.

I am so happy that Kaden is a part of my family, I really don't know what I would do without him and his crazy self.  He is my favorite boy in this whole wide world and I am so excited to see the places he will go and the things he will do.  Love this boy!

The Time of Our Lives

I ran across this little gem today and didn't want it to ever disappear, so I thought I would post it to the blog.  You're welcome.

Good Karma

As I made my way to work this morning, after dropping the kids off at school and waiting in an unending line to get out of the high school parking lot, I made my way onto the highway near County Line.  Just as I was getting up to speed, I noticed a car pulled on the side of the road, and two people were starting to get out.  At this time of day, the highway is BUSY and it is a bit scary to pull over and get out of your vehicle.  As I began to pass the car, I noticed it was a very elderly couple who was getting out and it made my heart sink.  I was still driving, thinking there probably wasn't much I could do, but still I felt sick at the thought of someone hitting them or if they ended up stranded there for an extended period of time.

So, I made my way over to the side of the road and then had to drive in reverse along the side of the road until I got within range of their vehicle.  I got out and approached them and asked if there was anything I could do.  Obviously, I'm no mechanical genius, but I told them I had a phone and could call someone or could give them a ride if they needed one.  I was even thinking I could call my husband, who IS a mechanical genius, and he could come help them. 

The man explained that he had been driving and that his car had begun to overheat and there was steam pouring out of the hood of his car that had left him unable to see.  When I asked if I could call someone for them, his wife offered that maybe she could call AAA and they could send someone.  So as she began to make that call, I stood there, wondering why I was standing there, thinking that I was doing nothing to help their situation, thinking that I should probably just go and call dispatch to send an officer to help.  The man was very sweet and blessed my heart a couple of times and thanked me for stopping, but I really felt like there wasn't much I was doing to help. 

Then as I stood there, I remembered the messy car that I had been lamenting just moments before and that there were probably about a half dozen water bottles filled with various levels of water and asked him if that would help.  He said yes and I walked back to my car to collect as many water bottles as I could find.  I walked back with about four plastic bottles of water and my own personal water bottle and handed them to him one by one as he filled his coolant reservoir (seriously, I am not a mechanic, is that what those things are called?), that had been bone dry before.  As he finished filling up the tank, he blessed my heart again, and as he stood there looking at me, he said, "You know, I helped out a woman who was having car trouble who looked just like you over thirty years ago."  He thanked me again, told me that he thought they could get to a service station now.  I wished them luck and got back in my car and was back on my way to my routine of life. 

As I drove away, I just thought it was cool what he had said and that when you do good things for people, good things come back to you.  I certainly didn't feel like I was much help, but in the end, just stopping and always having a messy car turned out to be a blessing to this couple and really helped me adjust my own attitude.  I went from worrying about stopping, being late for work, questioning why my car (and house) are always a mess to being grateful to be able to help someone (even though I was very inadequate help), thankful for those water bottles that roll around the floor of my car, and just kind of dazzled by the good karma that came from me stopping.  It was a good reminder to me to look around and be of service to others, instead of being wrapped up in my own little world so much.

Oregon Trip 2013 - Day 2

So, day 2 started out a little slower and a little more sore than the day before. 

We decided to go check out the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, so after eating breakfast (eggs without salt are not my favorite (no salt in the rental house . . . really?)) we packed up and headed out.

I didn't take my fancy camera with us through the aquarium because I never print the pictures of fish anyway, but I did take my iphone and snapped a couple of pics.

The starfish in the touching tank at the aquarium.  Lots of colors and sizes!

Jellyfish!  So beautiful, yet so frightening.  I think they are fascinating.

Courtney was being a giant crab . . . I mean was SITTING by a giant Japanese crab. 

After we were finished at the aquarium we went and got lunch.  While we wanted to try Mo's Restaurant, the line and the lack of parking in the bay area changed our minds and we headed for Pig'n Pancake instead where everyone enjoyed their favorite breakfast food for lunch.

After this, we realized that the slow leak coming from our tire should probably be checked, so we stopped at a local tire store and ended up having to replace the tire. Glad we took the time to have it looked at before we headed home later in the week.

After that, we decided it would be fun to go check out the shops in the bay area and we heard all kinds of ruckus going on at the pier.

Sea lions at Newport Bay - they sure are noisy!

See what I mean?

Newport Bay - love the shops down here.  We stopped in a candy shop and bought some different kinds of salt water taffy.  After we got outside the store, we started walking down the street and hadn't even got 10 feet away when Courtney realized that one of the pieces of taffy had pulled one of her molars completely out!  Not even one that was terribly loose. Ha ha! That's one way to get her teeth pulled. (She hates pulling teeth and will basically let them rot out of her head before she will pull them on her own.)

After we had wandered shops for some time, we decided we were beat again (vacation wears us out apparently) and headed back for the house.

After that, we explored the beach more, but since my camera is dead at this point, I will have to continue this post tomorrow . . .

Oregon Trip 2013 - Day 1

So in order to remember things about our trip and not just have my pictures go to Never Never Land, I decided to try to blog as we go and write a little about each of our days here on the Oregon Coast.

So starting with yesterday (Day 1 of being here) -

Here is a little video showing the house we rented.  We went with Sweet Home Rentals and the house that we got is awesome.  AND it is about a 30 second walk from the house to the beach.  :)

And THIS is a video of the ocean.  I am thinking I will just put this on a loop to play over and over again at my office.  It will be almost the same as actually being there, right?

  The token first picture of the kids together on vacation.

 Selfie!  (Kaden is not being tortured or hurt, he just hates having his picture taken and it causes him a great deal of distress.)

 "Our Beach" a/k/a Yachats State Park (right outside our door).

We actually got here the night before (after a LOOONG drive), but because it was so dark, we didn't take any pictures.  So after we got up on Sunday and explored "our beach" a bit (I didn't take my "nice" camera), we decided to go check out Cape Perpetua and Devil's Churn.

We didn't quite know where to park and we could see there were a number of trails around, so we asked two ladies who looked like they knew what they were doing and they told us we could park at the top and get where we wanted to go that way.  I think they were like evil Disney witches or something because that actually ended up with us going on a four + mile hike in the end (that was completely unnecessary) and we weren't even parked where we needed to be to get to the two things we were trying to find.

So here we are starting our hike (unsuspecting fools), look how high up we are!

 This was also taken at the starting point - Oregon is SO beautiful.  I love the ocean SO much and have declared that there is nothing in nature that I love more than the ocean.

So, the upside of the going-on-a-big-hike-that-you-hadn't-really-planned-on-going-so-you-were-wearing-flip-flops was that this was the view of the majority of the hike.  So lush.  So green.  So beautiful.

 Here was a bridge to get to the "Big Spruce" which was BIG.

 After hiking aimlessly (we didn't know where we were going) and stopping to gorge ourselves on the wild blackberries growing in the parking lot of the campsite, we FINALLY came upon the BIG spruce.  And you can see that it was BIG.  The sign informed us that it was over 550 years old and I think it was 15 feet thick.  Wowsa!

After the wonderment of the spruce, we hiked on and finally found the visitor's center.  They informed us that Devil's Churn (one of the things we had originally wanted to see) was another mile or so hike and that it wouldn't be that great to see because we were at low tide and that would be no good.  Instead, the helpful park attendant recommended that we hike another .3 miles and go check out Captain Cook's Tide Pools. 

Starfish!

 We think these are mussels (they are some type of clam/oyster thing), but they cover the rocks so that you walk on them all over the place when you are exploring the rocks/tide pools by the beach.  They are all over the rocks by our beach too.

 Token name in the sand picture.

 I caught a mermaid - obviously her fin transformed back into legs before I could get photographic evidence.

 More starfish!  There are lots and lots and Courtney keeps trying to talk us into letting her take one home.

 This picture is of two teenagers in the wild and demonstrates that not only do they like being at the ocean, but I think they might actually like each other too!

One more picture from the top.  I love how the forest meets the sea.  It certainly creates some terrific scenery.

We did survive the hike, a bit more sore and out of breath than when we first started (especially since the hike back to the car was 1.3 miles all uphill).  And we did finally find where we SHOULD have parked, so if we so choose, we may go back and look at Devil's Churn and Spouting Horn. :)

After all this, we had worked up quite an appetite, so we headed back home to powder our noses and go get some dinner.  We ended up at Luna's Fish House and all enjoyed the various sea food fare that was served there.

Afterwards, we headed home and were all so worn out that we decided to stay in and watch a movie.  Well, my big kids crashed within about 30 minutes around 8:45 and Greg wasn't too far after that.  We were beat!  So we called it a night and headed to bed.

The house that we are staying in has the master bedroom on the second floor and so it's a little more stuffy and warm up there.  I started opening a few windows to cool things off and was loving the fact that you can hear the ocean from our bedroom window - I can't even imagine living this close to the ocean!  How awesome would that be?

So Day 1 was pretty great, our hiking adventure was a bit unexpected, but it took us places we probably wouldn't have seen otherwise. 

My favorite parts of Day 1?  Loved getting back to the ocean, I swear to you that it feeds my soul and that it makes me so happy beyond belief.  When we got here Saturday night, it was already after dark, but we still walked down to the beach just to see what we could see of it, it just energizes me and I really wish we lived closer.  The other thing I love is the love my kids have for the ocean.  Even though they are 15 and 13, both of them could spend hours exploring, looking for shells/marine life, and just playing in the sand and the surf.  It is so fun for me to watch them love it so much. 

So grateful.

The fun of having a 14 year old boy . . .

The embedded video kind of cuts Kaden out, so if you want to see the full screen wonderment, go to http://youtu.be/9tsbhy1aW50.

I totally laughed until I cried. Thanks Kade & Dylan for the entertainment!

Oh, what do YOU do in the Summertime?

Summer is half way gone and what have we done?

Well, first and foremost, we really like camping. We've only been officially out twice, but went for five days both times so to enjoy the time there. And you're going to spend the same in gas whether you go five days or two, so . . .

This is our favorite spot in Kilgore. The campsite is perfect, it is shady, there is a creek that runs right behind where our camper is parked, there are easy hikes nearby, someone has made huge log benches around the firepit, and there aren't nearly as many people there as Island Park and Palisades - both places I also love.

On our second trip, our friends came and stayed a couple of the nights we were there. This is a picture of the kids after we hiked to Salamander Lake.

Kaden & Jackson fishing at the lake.

This is what Kaden likes to do most during the summer. His goal was to catch 100 fish this summer, not sure what the official count is, but I would think that he has probably reached that goal already.

Courtney celebrated her 12th birthday in Kilgore. I CANNOT believe that my baby is 12. She got her much awaited ipod, and makeup, and shaving equipment. She is growing up much too fast and is turning into a beautiful young woman - which she has been very happy to graduate from Primary and go to Young Women too. So glad I get to be her mom.

And finally, here is a picture of my boyfriend. He likes to take me to the mountains and play his guitar for me. I am most happy with this arrangement.

Other things we have done this summer:

I got to travel to Boston for work in June which was much fun. If I get really ambitious, I will post pics of that trip and tell a little bit more about it. During the time I was gone, Courtney got to go and stay with Annie for a week - which I think they both loved, and Kaden and Greg went to Boise and caught up with Greg's friends and family. We were all very glad to see each other at the end of the week (especially after I ended up sleeping in the Denver airport on the last night of my trip).

Courtney got to go to girls camp in Mackay - which she loved and Kaden got to go to High Adventurer Camp in Copperbasin - which he reported was "ok", (do not be alarmed, I think he had fun, "ok" and "not bad" are standard answers for 14 year old boys).

Kaden has been taking golf lessons, which I think he also likes, and Courtney has been in swimming lessons twice, which she will openly admit that she LOVES. She got to do a week of swimming lessons when she stayed with Annie and now she is taking two weeks of lessons with her cousins Shelby & Kesley. She loves the water and she is becoming a great swimmer. Courtney is also still taking violin lessons and is very talented. She had to change teachers this summer because Vanessa moved, but I think we are settled in with her new teacher and she is planning on taking Orchestra this year in school.

Greg picked up an old fishing boat off of Craig's List and now has it in good working order, so we have also done quite a bit of boat fishing this year. He is a miracle worker mechanic, I swear he can bring back almost anything from the dead and is pretty handy to have around most of the time.

We have also been trying to get projects and general cleaning done around the house. Deep cleaning each room in the house, washing windows, yard work, etc. Not as much fun, but good to have it done.

One of the projects I recently finished, the quilt I made for Courtney this year. I love how it turned out. (Jellybean Pattern by Thimbleblossoms, Ruby fabric by Bonnie & Camille)

I have also been running lots this summer. Because of the nice weather, I have been running consistently since March-ish and am planning on running my 2nd Half Marathon ever this Saturday.

In May, I ran The Dam Run with Annie, my brother-in-law Brett, and cousins Nick & Becky at Lake Walcott. And what a Dam Run it was, it was freezing cold and the wind blew the entire time. The first four miles or so were directly into the wind and there were times I thought we were probably just running in place. Because it was so cold, Annie and I waited in the car before the race started and when it was about five minutes before we thought it should start, we got out and headed over. We saw people lined up at the starting line and figured we had plenty of time, so Annie went and used the bathroom while I waited for her. We moseyed over to the start line and found Nick, when we asked him where Becky & Brett were, he started laughing and informed us that he was waiting for the 5k run and that we had completely missed the start for the 10k and that they had left about five minutes ago. So, the spazzes that we are, we completely missed the start of our race and now are the idiots in the way back trying to catch up with everyone else. Don't worry though, we didn't come in last and we both had a real good laugh over it.

Well, that's what we've accomplished thus far. Hope to get a bit more camping & fishing in before we are all freezing again. How about you? What have you done this summer?