50/20

Our Boy Scout District office hosted a 50/20 activity for boys ages 14 and older. That means the boys hike 50 miles in 20 hours, nonstop. Our ward was scheduled to do youth baptisms Friday evening so Zach had to make a decision. He finally decided to do the 50/20. He made arrangements to attend and we bought him a few supplies. We were excited to see him attend this activity and he was excited to go. We dropped him off at the assigned location and told him we'd see him the following day.

The boys were supposed to each have a leader with them along the way. None of the leaders in our ward were able to attend with Zach so he was assigned to travel with some leaders from a different ward. The plan was that they would travel as a group to Oakley were the hike would begin at 4pm Friday evening. There were check stations set up every 5-ish miles where the boys could refill water, tape their feet, eat, whatever they needed. There were also vehicles traveling with the boys and a couple of porta-potties also traveling with them. Looking back, Ken and I really had very little information about this activity and we were very trusting that Zach would be okay.

Throughout the evening Ken and I kept commenting about how far Zach should be and imagining the kind of fun he must be having with all those youth and leaders. We even called one of the stake leaders to find out how Zach was doing. He said he had not seen Zach yet but the group was way ahead of schedule and doing well. We couldn't wait to hear all the details the following day when he arrived home, exhausted, yet successful.

About 12:30 a.m. the garage opened. I sat straight up in bed and nudged Ken awake. I was terrified. Someone was breaking into our house...someone who knew the garage code! .... ??????

Ken was brave and went to investigate. He brought back...Zach.

He was tired and hungry and DONE!

I was shocked and confused and full of questions.

As he pulled the duct tape off of his feet (it was wrapped around each toe and looked like it was going to be painful to pull off), he told us of his evening.

They all started out as a big group. He walked many miles with the Stake President and several boys. About 10:30 p.m. his feet hurt so he stopped at the check station to wrap his feet. When he was ready to leave, he realized his group had already left. He was sure they were just ahead of him so he started out alone. This part of the trek was on a dirt road. It was dark and the road had rocks all along it. He walked and walked but did not find anyone. At the next check station, the leaders stopped him and told him he could not walk alone. He had to be with a group. It was about midnight. He waited for the next group. It was a group from the Spanish Branch. He walked with them for a while but they were not speaking in English so he still felt like he was walking alone. When one of the cars following the group asked him how he was doing, he said he was ready to go home. They loaded him into the car and brought him home. He had walked 25 miles!

Wait! He walked alone for 5 miles in the dark out in the middle of nowhere? Where was his assigned leaders? The leader that knew he was responsible for Zach actually dropped out about 2 hours into the hike. Zach was fine because he was walking with the Stake President so he was fine. Except that the Stake President wasn't responsible for Zach.

I was feeling very upset about the idea that Zach had been out alone. I realize he is 14 years old and hiking 50 miles in 20 hours is a hard thing to do. But he didn't quit because he was physically tired. He quit because he didn't want to walk the next 25 miles ALONE!!!

The next morning Ken and I got up to go walk the canyon. We drove past the church. About a mile out, there was a boy running to the finish line. Behind him was his father, also running (our Stake President). Further back was another group of boys and some leaders. It was 7 am. This group was the first to make it in. They were exhausted, yet they were running last couple miles in. I have to admit, I was very impressed. I also felt very sad. While this son was crossing the finish line with his father close behind, my son was home in bed.

I did not feel like Ken had let his son down. Ken had fallen off his bike a couple days before and injured his ankle. There was no way he could have walked 50 miles. I also did not have hard feelings towards his leaders. I understand that they had prior commitments. I just felt sad that no one was there for my son. He walked alone.

I thought about this through out the next several days. It really bothered me. My mind was full of so many "what if's", "could have's", and "should have's".

I later found out that most of the boys dropped out at 25 miles or before. Only a few made it to the finish line. Those that did had a strong support group of friends, leaders, and fathers.

My son had none of those things.

We live in a ward where he is the only teacher. We have one priest, and three deacons.

I imagine it must be hard to be a leader to only one boy. He has not felt the support of teacher leaders. He is with the priests most of the time. He enjoys that but feels like the 5th wheel in the group. He feels alone and often is discouraged about attending activities throughout the week. He has told me that most of his monthly fasts and his daily prayers include a plea to Heavenly Father to send just one more boys to his quorum.

I have really struggled as I watch him struggle. He is a good kid. He tries hard to always do what is right, especially when it comes to honoring his priesthood and living the gospel.

This was just a hike but it caused me to look deeply at life. He is a young man. He has never walked this path before. He has been given parents and leaders to help guide him and support him. The road is rough and painful and times. Some hours are dark and he must learn to walk by faith.

So what happens to the youth who walk alone? They give up. They get lost. They don't make it to the finish line.

If our children are going to make it through the trials of this life, they cannot be expected to walk alone. We also cannot step back and hope that someone else will help them get there.

This experience has caused me to evaluate the kind of parents Ken and I are to our children. We need to do better.

So, where are my boys this week?

Justyn is at scout camp and Zach just left on the High Adventure White Water Rafting Trip. Once again I have entrusted my boys into the care of their leaders. Actually Justyn's leader could only stay at camp until Wednesday but assured me that another ward would look after him for the remaining 4 days. Because those words echoed a familiar tune, I begged my dad to attend camp the second half of the week so that Justyn would have someone there who really cared about his well being. My Dad does not even live in our ward, let alone the same town. He lives an hour away and is in the middle of watering his fields right now. He loves his family and makes sacrifices for what is important in life. My Dad is awesome like that. Thanks Dad!!!

I am a little more nervous about Zach's adventure. Once again he does not have any leaders from our ward with him (and I only have one dad). I have been reassured that he will be taken good care of. He was called to be the President of this group. This ensures that he will be next to the Stake Leaders at all times since he is their "go-to" kid. I'm sure he will arrive home exhausted and tired on Saturday with many tales to tell. At least I hope...

Now, if my garage door opens at 12:30 a.m. tonight,....

A picnic in the South Hills

On Monday July 12, we took the kids up to the South Hills to spend the afternoon.
On the drive we saw whatlooked like cows,....or horses,.... or moose?????

We pulled over to watch them for a few minutes. At first we only saw the two babies. Not sure how we didn't notice the mama but she was VERY aware of us. They were so big. The babies were the size of full grown cows. The mother was 3 times their size!

After about 5 minutes, they disappeared into the trees and we continued to our favorite picnic spot. We packed a picnic lunch of fried chicken, sweet dinner rolls, fresh pineapple, bean dip and chips, go-gurts, jello, and Ken made some homemade root beer.

It was funny to watch as everyone adjusted to the bugs and dirt. Obviously we don't get out much! Zach had a huge bug-thing land on his shoulder. He felt it hit him and when he saw it he freaked! It didn't just fall off so between his screaming and jumping around we all got a pretty good laugh.

Ken had taken Henry off to help him go potty. About the same time Zach started screaming, we heard a little Henry scream off in the distance. Ken came back laughing and explained that just as Henry was about to "go", a huge bug landed on "him". Needless to say, he was unable to pee after that and refused to try again.

After Zach refused to get out of the car and rejoin us, we decided to pack up and move a little further down the road to one of our favorite hiking trails. The kids were excited to venture into the woods.

We hiked for about a mile when we decided to turn around. The kids were getting tired and most of the trail was uphill back to our car.


Henry had a little "accident" and wanted someone to piggy back him back to the car. No one volunteered so he had to walk. In order to get him out of there, we started to find small broken branches that looked like really cool "guns" and other violent weapons and he war games all the way back to the car.


Kate was struggling to keep walking so we looked for pretty wild flowers along the trail. We found so many and luckily for us, we kept finding flowers of different colors and shapes all the way back. By the time we reached the car, she had a beautiful bouquet. She proudly presented it to Alexys for her to enjoy.

Back at the car, the kids noticed some big rocks in the parking lot and while I cleaned Henry up, the kids climbed.

By the time we headed home, everyone was covered in mountain dirt. It was fun to watch everyone relax and enjoy the atmosphere. All the way home the kids laughed and sang and played together.

It seems like it's been a long time since we have felt those kinds of feelings of unity and togetherness in our family. Our lives are so crazy and full of busy-ness that we don't take time to just relax and enjoy the beauty around us. Working together to come up with creative and distracting games to help the little one's hike out of the mountain trail was fun for everyone. For a few hours, no one argued, or whined, or complained. It was almost...peaceful!

Ken commented as we drove home, "There are some experiences and feelings money really can't buy."

Teddy Bear Tea Party

On July 8th, the girls invited some friends over for a "Teddy Bear Tea Party". It was fun!

We had about 20 girls total that came to party with us. They each brought their special teddy bear to show off.

Shaelynne and her friends were in charge of pulling the activities together. They had the girls tell about their teddy's and why they were special to them. Then they played "Honey, Honey, Teddy Bear" (Duck, Duck, Goose) and "What Time is it, Mr. Teddy Bear?" They read a couple stories about teddy bears. For a craft, they had the girls make bracelets and/or necklaces for themselves and a matching one for their bear. Snacks were Teddy Grahams, Gummy Bears, Fruity Treats cut into bear shapes (Rice Crispy treats made out of Fruity Dino Bites Cereal instead of Rice Crispy cereal), sugar cookies that they could decorate themselves, and ice cream bars.

My girls had a fun time. It was very casual but a fun excuse to play with some friends we don't get to see everyday.

Wordless Wednesday

I asked the kids to hoe the weeds on the side of the house. They claim they got distracted!

See the small yellow wire near the bottom of the hole next to Henry's left arm?????

Yea, that's why we don't dig holes unless we have asked permission first. Also, we shouldn't let small innocent children play in holes with exposed underground wires unless we first know what they go to.

So far everything still works so it must not have been damaged.....

How many weeks are left in summer vacation??????

Percy Jackson released on DVD

In an attempt to convince my children that I am not the lamest mother ever and they are not having the most boring summer of their lives, I decided to have a little celebration for the release of the new Percy Jackson movie on DVD. It was released to DVD on June 29th, so I'm a little late in getting this posted.

I have to admit I have not read these books or seen this movie so I had no idea what to do for a party. I googled "Percy Jackson Party" and found an idea.

Apparently, Percy's mother feeds him blue foods???? So we had a "blue" dinner. I made "blue" rolls, "blue" chicken salad sandwich stuff, "blue" jello, "blue kool aide, "blue" sugar cookies for dessert, and "blue" popcorn to munch on during the movie.

Before you begin to feel impressed, let me just add, it doesn't seem to matter how extravegant or how simple my plans are, I always seem to encounter bad luck along the way and the Rockwell Painting moment I envision in my mind....is just that: in my mind!

So, I originally thought "blue" jigglers would be fun for the kids. I made them and asked Zach to put them in the fridge in the garage for me since there was not room in the kitchen fridge. Justyn came in from helping him, grumbling about how the shelf was broke and Zach was rude and blah, blah, blah. That should have been my cue to investigate but it summer and my kids have grumbled at each other everyday, all day long for the last 6 weeks. Instead, I chose to ignore the arguement and work on my math class (yes, I am taking a 3 credit math class this summer and I am hating every single minute of it!)

I took the kids to therapy, feeling pretty good about the progress I had made on my dinner party. I returned home to find Ken very upset. He took me to the garage where he showed my a "blue" trail that led straight to my fridge.

Ken explained that he had asked Zach to clean it up and he had gotten the hose out and was preparing to hose the garage out. Now, this may have seemed like a brilliant and EASY way to clean up his mess, but the garage is in the far back corner with boxes, bags, lawn mower, bikes, 3 motor cycles, pictures, scrapbook stuff,..... you get the idea. A hose, water, blue jello and a 14 year old boy would not mix well with the mess I already have out there. Just a thought!

I opened the fridge and there was blue jello everywhere. The blue trail was not a result of spilling it as he took it to the fridge. No, it was because the shelf was broke and Zach didn't bother to fix it or work with, he just put the jello in and closed the door and it ran everywhere!

When I asked him what he was thinking (I know, great self-esteem building question right?) he said that jello sets up and gets thick so why would a broken shelf be a problem. Ummm....because it takes a few minutes for the jello to get thick. In the meantime, it's a liquid and liquids can make really big messes if not contained properly. Especially sticky, blue jello!!!

Needless to say, he spent a few hours cleaning the fridge and the garage with a bucket of soapy liquid. :)

Back to the dinner, I was grouchy and tired and left to go on a walk with Ken while the kids fed themselves and watched the movie. They took this picture for me.


I still have not seen the movie but the kids really like the idea of "blue" foods and thought it was pretty cool that I knew Percy Jackson's mother fed him blue foods without even reading the book. You know, mom's just know those kinds of things! *wink*

Wordless Wednesday

My Grandma and Grandpa Lowder
Robert and Nelda Lowder

Grandma turned 85 in February and Grandpa turns 86 next week! They have been married for 64 years. They have 8 children, 47 grand children, and 111 great grandchildren with at least 5 more on the way.

I am so thankful for the lives they have lived and for the examples they have set. I don't know how many more years we will get to have them around. Grandpa doesn't have much time left.

This picture was taken a couple days ago at my parents home at our Wilson family reunion. We treasure each additional day we get to have them around. This year at our talent show, Grandma read us a poem out of the red book she always reads from (it was written by one of her relatives) and Grandpa sang the mule song he has sung for years. It was priceless to have them participate with us. I loved that my children got to experience these treasures one more time.

Alexys' 9th birthday

Alexys turned 9 this year. I let them have a birthday party on their eighth birthday but Alexys did not want a party last year. This year she asked to have one friend over for a party. We invited Claire and her older sister, Elizabeth, to come celebrate with us.

We went to Scrappin' Girlfriends(a scrapbook and bead shop located downtown)to make bracelets.

Then we went to Daisy's (an old-fashioned ice cream parlor) to open presents and have volcano drinks and ice cream cones.




That evening she invited another friend and her family over for cake and ice cream and a couple more presents.


For her cake I made her a rainbow cake. I got the idea from here who got it from here. The kids all wanted to help make it and Zach took on the job of decorating the outside. Obviously mine was lacking in presentation but Alexys loved it anyways!


And here is the inside...

That evening we took her shopping to spend her birthday money. Ken and I couldn't decide what to get her so we just gave her money and a date with us to spend it. She bought and i-pod shuffle and a pink scooter. It was fun to watch her shop and spend that time with her.

We also went to the park for lunch and she had speech therapy that day. We couldn't have squeezed one more thing in. It was a fun (and exhausting) day!