YAY YAY YAY!
(and did I mention YAY?)
Tuesday is always the day I wait with anticipation for missionary email, and if I get really lucky, I get a short little email of my own... and then the MOTHER LODE comes the next day, the ACTUAL... "I get to hold it" letter!!! So Tuesday came and went, Wednesday I was gone, but by the time I got back on Thursday I just KNEW my letter would be waiting.
No luck. Thursday afternoon mail... no letter. But today... YAY! YAY! YAY!
I picked up Wade last night at the train... this time with no "suspicious characters" hunting him down after arriving. Last time he had to make a connection and got approached by some of the local scaries... offering him "candy". He is currently asleep on the couch.
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| City & Colour |
Between last night and today, he is kinda worn out. We went to Avett Brothers last night, and... what can I say?.. I'm a fan. City & Colour opened for them, and they were a band I could totally see Brenden sitting in behind playing the drums for. Very much "Brenden style".
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| Avett Brothers |
After only 6 hours of sleep (and amazingly, for Wade, going to bed before midnight) we made it to 7 Peaks today, too. Because there are so many fires burning right now, the sky was horribly smoky. There is a fire in Neola, Duchesne (close to a possible explosive situation), Delta, Fairview (2 fires), and one along I-15 south of Spanish Fork. Another was just announced about a half an hour ago with major evacuations from Herriman. The Colorado fire ended up wiping out neighborhoods and over 300 homes, so far, and is still burning. It's crazy. It is especially crazy when you consider that some are started by stupid people out shooting off fireworks, or target practicing in the horribly flammable conditions. Just dumb decisions. Hayden jokes about maybe pushing our house to the fire line and letting it "get devoured". It would be probably worth more burned than standing :)
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| The "cabin" with the swing |
On Tuesday, Hayden was home and his worker guys were working on a floor, and we decided to take a drive. We headed south thinking we would stop in and say hello to Grandma and Grandpa Fraser, but about Provo, Hayden called Grandma and she had plans... so we just kept driving south. We stopped in Richfield and bought a couple changes of clothes, some bathroom supplies and a pair of shoes each, and just kept right on driving until we got to Torrey. We both love Capital Reef, and we both love the Lodge at Red River down there, so we checked in and decided to stay a couple days. We ate at Cafe Diablo... twice, drove to Boulder after a hike to explore and eat, and sat in the hot tub a couple times. Aspen found a dog at Cafe Diablo to play soccer with the first night, which she named Serena (seriously... everything gets names with crazy strange names... and they change all the time!). There was also a cat at the lodge, which received the name Pixie... or Sabela... depending on the day (and the minute).
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| This is Heaven... I'm sure of it |
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| Morning Shadows |
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| Writing Utensil = Happiness |
We only did one hike while we were down there, but it was a big one. Hayden thought it wouldn't be that big of a deal to just do a two miler (to OVERLOOK POINT) a mile above Hickman Bridge... the same hike you and Wade did last October. Yeah... well, Aspen lasted about 1/2 mile, then she was whining, and begging for rests. Hayden and I took turns packing her on our shoulders, which is NO small incline. By the time I was done with one portion of my turn, I was sweating like crazy... and it was only 9am. We only had to hear "How much longer" 23,512,502 times... luckily.
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| One of the 12,386 breaks she had to take |
But the end result...
It was beautiful.
It was worth it.
It was TIRING!
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| Barely Survived the Aspen Workout |
We managed the full 4.6 miles in just over 3 hours... far from the lightning speed you guys did it in, but we survived. Even Aspen, who had a ride 80% of the time, and she thought SHE was going to die, but Hayden and I... survived. On the way down the stairs at the end she was riding on Hayden, and I kept calling her SELFISH. She finally asked what it meant and I said "It means you are being mean and making dad carry you the entire way... he is tired and needs a rest." This was met with silence for awhile, then she said, "No, he's great. He's doing just fine".
I have 10 days. 10 days until half of my heart goes across the country and to Mexico then on to Honduras for 2 years. 10 days to get as much alternative Indie music as I possibly can added to playlists to survive on while he is gone. 10 days until a small melt-down ensues. 
10 days.
It hurts to think about not having him around. We've been through hikes and concerts and sad times and great times together. We have cooked together more than I can even count and had some great discussions. 
I love this boy. My toe-headed 3 year old that once existed has turned into a 6'1" tall handsome young man. I'm so proud of him and what he has done with his life thus far. He has been working on his culinary arts certificate and will have it done early, before he leaves the day before Thanksgiving. He graduated in May and had played tennis and ran cross country. He has been loving, open minded and a good listener to my times of stress and anxiety. He has been my source of off the radar music, and I'm not sure I'm able to pick up the slack while he is away... but I'll try. His playlist might be endlessly long when he gets back, but I'll try to do his job while he is away doing his.
