I asked Brigitta how it feels officially being a teenager and she replied, "Feels the same as twelve." Not the most glowing review, but hey she's a girl who knows her own mind! She sent us a list of possible gifts and I selected a Dandy Worldwide hoodie with some cute hearts on the sleeve. She negotiated to open her presents a day before her birthday rather than after.
For her breakfast in bed she requested scrambled eggs, sausage, English muffins, an Olipop and yes, flamin' hot Cheetos.
We actually didn't see her much on the day of her birthday because after relaxing in bed a bit, she headed off to a Girl Scout activity at Hurricane Harbor.
She was pleased as punch to hang out with friends and soak up the very last of what was an incredibly busy summer for her.
I have said it before and I will say it again, Gita is NOT my favorite child, but in many ways she is my easiest child. Straight A student, highly self-motivated, she makes plans and notifies us later. She's organized in a way I easily understand and she loves getting up early on Saturday to clean the car (we have a whole routine down) and run to Trader Joes for flowers and groceries. Gita is excited by so many things! She lights up about a new drink at Starbucks or a beautiful sky. When she's not mixing it up with her sisters, she's a naturally happy girl and her Bing Bong is still very much alive as she has an incredible imagination. This girl believes she is going to the moon!
Honestly I've leaned a lot on her positivity. When I've been low, Gita pops into my room for one reason or another. I can chat with her, tease her, tickle her... it all just lifts my spirits a bit. I have some guilt about that. Parents shouldn't depend on their kids like that and I really hope she hasn't felt it too much. But my life definitely wouldn't be the same without my Gita Girl!
I have to admit when we bought this house I really didn't like the trees that surrounded the fire pit, right outside our bedroom and bathroom windows. At the time I felt they just blocked the light but over the years I've come to love taking a leisurely soak under the ever changing view of those trees.
Autumn
Winter
Spring
Summer
A massive bunch of branches ripped off during a recent summer storm and I'm afraid these trees are showing their age. Eventually they may go but for now I'll enjoy them as much as possible.
Brigitta was SO excited for Cougarette Camp this summer and I was incredibly excited to get away with these two. Sydney isn't quite old enough and she doesn't have quite the same passion for dance as her big sister. While Brigitta was on campus we planned to hang out on our own.
I'm sure I've posted dozens of photos from the O'Hare hall of flags but I love it so much!
At the Admiral's Club, Brigitta asked if she could get a mulligan on the Chocolate Challenge since we were leaving the state. I said sure and in her sweatpants and hoodie, she drank hot chocolate, in August.
Sydney was planning to crochet and found her yarn in a bit of a mess at the bottom of her bag.
Our airline attendant took one look at the girls and said, "Comfrt sets?" When I confirmed, she nodded. I guess other people wear these on flights as well!
Going from O'Hare's Hall of Flags to this one in SLC (I think it's supposed to mimic a canyon?) is always fun.
We made a beeline for the nearest Cafe Rio for those delicious burritos...
...and salads!
Stopped by Katrina's where the girls fell in love with all her puppies.
Got in some cousin time at a really cool ice cream place called Brookers which was Abigail's suggestion.
I had a lot of fun catching up with these kids we don't see often. Their brother is on a mission and they all clearly miss him which was heartwarming to see.
The ice cream and the ambiance were fantastic to boot!
Really though, they loved the puppies!
On Sunday we went to Music and the Spoken Word which was effectively our church service.
Hearing them all sing God Be With You Till We Meet Again always makes me tear up. Life is hard and I had a lot of hard things to do on this trip. This song was balm of Gilead.
I was in the middle of training for a Project Management course I was taking so we went to a park north of the SLC temple where the girls played so I could focus. As a reward for their patience, they were able to meet up with our old neighbors for some swimming. LOL- Gita is so much shorter! See how she's standing on tiptoe?
We met up with some more cousins for dinner and they were so sweet with the little girls!
Early Monday morning it was time to drop Gita off at her dorm. She was very much giving, "MOMAHHH I got thisssss" vibes so we got her checked in...
...she checked her fit...
and she was off to class!
Sydney and I stopped in the Cougareat for some old favorites- BYU mint brownies and chocolate milk from the Creamery.
YUM!
I really wish the rest of the time was just hanging out with Sydney but unfortunately I was finishing up my training, I had an interview and we had to get my parents funeral plans in place. Not exactly the fun times I was hoping for. Sydney was a sport though. She had a sunburn to recover from and didn't mind some peace and quiet away from her sisters.
We did manage to go shopping a few times and found a great place called Gardner Village with really cute boutique shops including an adorable quilt shop. I actually bought a quilt kit- which I never do- because it was so dang adorable! Well technically Katrina bought it for me. She Venmoed me the money as an early birthday gift and then asked that I send the pattern when I'm done.
We also stopped by an Ulta to pick up something to combat the dry Utah air. Nearby was an Apollo burger that hit the spot. As we ate I noticed that table of kids behind Sydney and then pointed out they were hanging out while their mom worked. Sydney wasn't having the fun-filled trip of a lifetime, but things could definitely be worse.
We spent hours Larkin Memorial Gardens planning my parents funerals. Even though I had an appointment and I came prepared with their wishes, it just took hours and hours. They had snacks and Sydney played on my laptop but my gosh, it was kind of the worst. I was constantly making phone calls to siblings about flowers (can we arrange our own spray? Those things are $500!) and programs (do we need more than 100? No way, right?) and a slideshow (can we put that together on our own?). There were discussions about Costco caskets and I found out that all wood caskets are particle board with just a nice veneer and picking out interior lining. It was like planning the most depressing wedding ever. Then there was the eye-watering cost. I'm really glad it's done so when the day comes we won't have to make snap decisions and pay the price for it. To treat her for her patience, I took Sydney to Leatherby's for some ice cream.
Snacks at the funeral home were free and so were mints and tissues. I later found Sydney had stocked up on the mints! I corralled them into my sunglasses case and had to laugh.
The next morning I had a job interview and Sydney really wanted to go down to the pool. My mom brain flashed her tripping and falling and then drowning so I told her no, she needed to be in the room and sadly this time she could not use my laptop because I needed it. So she just had to entertain herself for an hour. I ended up needing my phone as well (couldn't get the camera to work) and oh that poor girl! I had follow up calls to make so we found a trampoline park while I did those from a nearby bench.
Sydney was happy to finally be able to move around a bit and just have some fun.
We arrived back at BYU long before the official showcase and snuck up to the balcony for a better view. Things filled in around us and I ended up chatting with several moms. I was so happy to see Brigitta just doing her thing- she had a blast at Cougarette camp!
Jazz
Lyrical
Hip Hop- this one was my favorite (especially with the 6 7 at the end!)
I knew we were going to eat at Bombay House at some point, but Brigitta didn't want to miss out on that heavenly butter chicken so we went right after camp was over. I'm not going to claim I'm the world's best mother, but I have done my darndest to raise my girls with a good palate. We don't tolerate food fussies and while everyone has something they don't love, they are really good about trying new foods. Gita perused the menu and ordered a rose lassi- which I'd never heard of before. I looked at the menu and decided to try the strawberry lassi. Oh my, they were SO GOOD!!! We ended up swapping and I fell in love with the rose lassi and I know I'll be craving it until I can have another.
The butter chicken was absolute perfection. The owner stopped by our table several times to joke around with the girls. It was such a great ending to camp and the whirlwind week Sydney and I had!
Sydney and I hadn't been able to see everything at Gardner Village so we stopped by on our way to the airport. So many spots for good photos like this one:
A friend had recommended The Peppered Vine in Sandy so this was our very last stop before heading to the airport. It was adorable, the girls were delighted with the Mexican cokes and cafe tables and chairs.
The sandwiches were fantastic! We definitely need to try this place again!
That walk from security to our gate is no joke! SLC International is clean and beautiful but my gosh it stretches your legs!
It was a great trip in many ways. Gita loved camp. Sydney and I were able to squeeze in some fun of our own. But I definitely want a do-over on this one. There were so many distractions and anxiety it wasn't truly the relaxing vacation I was hoping for.
It was lovely to get away, but we were also so happy to fly into the wild, blue yonder and head home.
With summer in full swing, here's what we were up to in July! Liesel put in hours at work, bringing home free food (often requested by her sisters) who were able to try the latest and greatest like ??? I found myself in the Wendy's drive through way more often just to grab some fries and say hi. So proud of her! If she wasn't working Liesel was off with friends, making the most of her summer with several of them before they leave for college.
Brigitta had a busy, busy month. This is the only year she will be at Spanish Camp alone as she was with Ireland last year and Sydney will join her next year. She loved having the place to herself and chose the name Juanita for the two weeks she was at camp.
Her Progress Report brought tears to my eyes: Juanita was a wild child in the absolute best way. Her energy and enthusiasm lit up the whole casa and her laugh had a way of pulling everyone in. Every day she brought this fearless attitude to whatever was in front of her. Whether it was a new activity, a challenge or a game she approached it like “I’ll do it and if I mess up, I’ll just try again”. That attitude inspired the people around her more than she probably knows. This carried on to her Spanish speaking, as Juanita used Spanish with boldness and curiosity. She wasn’t afraid to jump in and try, and her confidence helped others feel braver too. She asked questions when she needed to and picked things up
quickly just by being engaged. She was also an incredible artist and drew hilarious portraits of several people in the casa that had everyone cracking up. From the very beginning she fit right in and people were naturally drawn to her. There is no surprise why. Juanita was a huge part of what made this session so unforgettable and we truly hope she decides to come back next year!
Brigitta is indeed a wild child in the best way! We were happy to have her home again, for sure.
She tagged along often when I drove Sydney to Improv Camp and we discovered an adorable flower shop just down the street. This Brigita has only one t instead of two but still, it's a unique name and we were excited to stumble upon it!
Sydney really enjoyed Improv Camp! The skits challenged her creativity and she made lots of friends.
I'm realizing this is one of the few pics I have of Ireland in all of July. She was out with friends all the time! We hardly saw her. But Brent and I did manage to bribe them into going to Superman with us one evening and we had an interesting discussion about it afterwards!
They also asked to use my phone so they could take photos to send their friends.
Liesel doing the "Superman stance".
Speaking of power moves- she is getting up there! She insists she's taller than me now but I think she needs a couple more inches. Liesel is stunningly statuesque with those dancer legs of hers!
During BJ's visit we started talking about the upcoming Wuehler Reunion at Disneyland and of course we had to break out some ears!
A stunning sky on one of my morning walks.
Have I mentioned I love fresh flowers?
We saw this RV getting towed and we are curious what happened here. Are those bullet holes?
