Writer's Notebook #2: Rachel

Rachel

I’m the one

who feels peace

as the green grass of summer touches my skin,

who finds comfort

as my fingers twist in her hair.

I’m the one

who sees the world in my own way,

and waits for someone to see- truly see- me.

I’m the one

who sees wildflowers in weeds &  beauty in the changing colors of a leaf,

who gives love in inked kindnesses placed on pillows

I’m the one

who runs-

through aching legs, calculus problems, anxiety, fear, confusion.

I'm the one

who knows Triumph.

I am commitment.  

Catching up: June Birthdays

Rachel turned 17 in June...

Again.... 

birthday celebrations were overshadowed by wedding and school. 

It seems like there were 10,000 things going on that week and we tried to fit in some celebrating and 

why we ended up with 2 lone pictures is a mystery...

I am losing my bday celebration touch.

She had more than that little cupcake-- 

We actually made a strawberry bottom cheesecake but it's hard to stick candles in that.

she is always my nontraditional bday cake girl.

We've made rice crispy treat sushi with gummy worms...

fruit bouquets...

and strawberry pie

All hard to stick a candle in.

She's been busy since turning 17~

She had a couple weeks off in between track season ending and cross country season starting but starting in June she would leave the house at 7ish to go running, get home between 10:30 and 11:00 with enough time to shower and get ready and hopefully get something to eat before heading to work from 12-4 at Response (a telemarketing place)  It wasn't her favorite job but it was the same time every day and not too long of a shift and gave her mornings off for cross country and evenings off for YW, family stuff and hanging out with friends. The first month she pretty much hated it.  Carly worked there too until she got marrried and so they drove over together during June but after she got the hang of it, it wasn't so bad.  It will never be her favorite job but she'd do it again she said.  She quit when school started because it is just too hard to work and train.

Her hard work in cross country has paid off.  She is better than ever this season.  I think staying in shape for track helped and she learned some other techniques for shorter distance that have helped her build up speed. She's been placing in the top 5 at most of her races.  She is the 2nd fastest girl on her team.  She is currently ranked 16th in the state on a website that tracks all high school cross country runners according to race times.  There is a University xCountry coach talking to her and trying to get her to join his team for next year-  but it's not a school she had on her "I wanna go there" list but maybe that will change.

She is crazy busy and its hard to find time to even say hi to her sometimes.  We're all way too busy over here!

Carly got the best birthday celebration of the season and it was her wedding causing everyone else's birthdays to be lackluster.... 

Hmmm.... Something seems a little weird here....

I guess we were all feeling sentimental and wanted to send her off with a big Happy Birthday Bang.  She turned 19 in June and wanted a "Little kid birthday party" since it was her last kid birthday.

She chose a dragon birthday cake to reminisce about her 5th and 6th grade "dragon phase".

We're all pretty grateful she came out of that one unscathed-

Not that there's anything wrong with a dragon phase but you know... 

I have just seen too many adults who never leave it and walk around the mall with giant pewter dragon necklaces and when I see them- I just thank my lucky stars, that's all...

She really got into the cake and helped me shop for the candy accessories and besides the gold covered chocolate coins, we had purchased a bag of those Hershey Treasure mini chocolate bars and chocolate w/ toffee and Chocolate with almonds that are wrapped in Gold and Silver foil wrappers but...

in between the purchasing and the actual dragon cake I had a few of those "I NEED CHOCOLATE BECAUSE I HAVE A TEST TOMORROW AND MY KID IS GETTING MARRIED WAY EARLIER THAN I EXPECTED" moments...

You've had those right? 

and pilfering your daughter's birthday chocolate is totally acceptable right? 

She wanted party hats and party blowers and all the trimmings

So- That's what she got

It was actually pretty fun-

She wanted the quintessential  kid party party game....

"Pin the tail on the donkey"

They didn't' have it at the dollar store- 

but they did have pin the skull on the pirate ship

so we played that instead

A good Time

was had

by all!

Baby Rachel's wild ride

A couple of months ago Rachel got her wisdom teeth out...

Carly was pretty quiet when she came out of the anesthesia.  She was a little worried about her puffy cheeks but was overall pretty quiet and sensible.

Not this girl.......

 She was VERY emotional when it was over.  She alternated between Laughing and crying all the way home. As we started up the car to leave she pointed to a girl running down the street and started crying hysterically.  I asked what was wrong "that girl, that girl" what's wrong with that girl?  "sob… her pink shorts"  is there something wrong with her shorts???   "I WANT SOME!!!!!!" 

Then we drove a couple minutes down the road. She looks at the wadded up tissue in her hand and asks hysterically in a frightened sobbing voice "what is that??? what is that??" i answered it's just a tissue baby to which she cried "BUT how did it get there????"  

As we drove down the road, she sobbed until she caught sight of herself in the outside mirror and started laughing loudly exclaiming "I look funny" and then more crying as she saw a boy riding a bike on a bike path next to the road exclaiming "that's scary".  

She is taking sign language at school this year and she kept signing things to me.  I asked her if she wanted a jamba juice and she said yes but NO BANANAS and then started making the sign for bananas and then spelling it out alphabetically in sign.  Then  she pointed to a truck and proclaimed in a disgusted voice " THat is stupid"  what" "THAT! factory parts express (she read off the truck) that's stupid!", then more crying as she touched her face and said it was fat and she didn't want to be fat. I told her it was just numb and she said no, she could feel it, and it was fat.  

Then more laughing as she saw a liscence plate "LANALE" saying Lana, Lana, Lana Lee  over and over and laughing. THen it was pointing at the spinning golden arches at Center street stoplight saying "that's cool! can you see it spinning mom? I want to ride on that thing and go around and around and …… that's stupid" what? (pointing across the street at the burger king sign) "BURGER KING!!! it's stupid" why? "Cause it's just sitting there"   Then more sign language spelling out jamba juice as we turned in to get her a smoothie.  

There was more crying at the pharmacy when she couldn't get the mirror to open, more crying and screaming when we pulled out onto the street and she was sure that a car almost hit us that was not anywhere close to hitting us and she cried and said "it was that (pinching her fingers) close, we're gonna die, I don't want to die"  I don't want to die either Rachel, your eyes are just playing tricks on you, I'm driving carefully.  I have lots of things I still want to do.  

More crying  and "I don't want to die, I have stuff I want to do too like go to dances and stuff!"  

Finally we were home. Phew! 

Her fears were alleviated later that night when she was 

asked to Prom by a very tall, handsome runner....

Her friend McKay came over and knelt in front of her on one knee holding out a jamba juice and said 

"now that you've lost a little wisdom... will you go to prom with me?"

She said YES and if she coulda smiled bigger.... 

she woulda!

Mr. Joe Love and the fall in love

I have been looking for this story FOR.EV.ER

Rachel wrote it ages ago when we lived in Brigham City so age 5 or younger.  

I thought it was lost and in a landfill somewhere but--

Miracle of miracles... 

we found it when we were cleaning out a bookshelf down in her room so we can make room to move Samantha down to Carly's old side of the room and then move Jacob down to Samantha's room...

It's an agonizingly slow process as we've been waiting for Rachel to clean her room..

She always said the room was a mess because of Carly...

Hmmm...

Carly DID leave a TON of stuff behind for us to muck out but it has not looked much cleaner since Rachel took over sole ownership of the room.  

Carly is vindicated...

(somewhat)

I LOVED this story.  I love the stalking and the stolen kisses and the miracle of the cookies.  

My brother Matthew laughed when he read it and at the time being fresh out of Rick's College and newly engaged said 

"Ahh.... Sounds like a Rick's College love story...."

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.... 

Too Cool For School

First day of School 2012

it's not that I was too busy to post or anything last year... I was just waiting, on purpose, so I could do this awesome comparison post...

"Then and now"

Samantha Grace 6th grade

Mason 4th Grade

Jake 8th grade 

and....

trying on

cool

Don't know what happened to Rachel's 11th grade First day of School... 

First day of School 2013

But here she is as a Senior!
My most driven, most goal-oriented, most serious child.

 Rachel 12th grade

the hardest working student I know.  She always says People think I'm smart but I'm not smart, I just work really, really hard!
I tell her " THAT's WHAT SMART IS!!!!"

Most of my kids are exactly 2 years apart... Because there is an uncharacteristic 3 yr gap between these 2 they haven't been in the same school for 6 years since she was in 6th and he in 3rd in elementary school.  With Jr. high and high school being 3 yrs each, she leaves the year he enters.  They are the closest friends and wish so much that could be different.

 Here's Jacob 9th grade

40 lbs heavier and 4 inches taller than the last first day of school 2012... 

 The glasses are new ones but essentially, the same look... 

He likes his Aviators.

 The hair has changed from the unicorn horn to the wave and he is still a great around the house helper and my happiest all around kid. He always makes me smile.
Lately it's been his "welcome to Nam" oneliners

 This year he and Samantha will be walking together as 7th and 9th graders

 Mason 5th grade

My lone elementary school attendee

Can't believe he's in 5th grade AND doing his hair!!!!!

 Can't believe I only have one left at Geneva.  

He is my cuddlebug and my charmer

Funny...
She was wearing blue pants on the first day 2012 too!

 Samantha Grace 7th grade
She is my thinker ahead
my best helper
and
my planner

 She went to school a day earlier than everyone else for 7th grade day.

 She has grown a few inches since last year too in height and hair length! 

She is excited about 7th grade and a little apprehensive too.  Jake was so sweet to take her to OJH and walk her around to help her find all of her classes and help her practice her locker the week before school started.  That helped alleviate her anxiety.

Rachel really wanted to walk her to class on the first day.  

She's lucky to have an older brother and sister to show her the ropes.  

Jake has promised to watch out for her and take care of any "problems"

such a boy! 

Here's to

newness

anxiety

excitement

pencils 

binders 

new faces

old faces 

rulers

books 

and 

whiteout!

Rachel Preference & Prom Spring 2013

Preference is a girl ask boy dance held in the winter.  I believe it was in late February.

She took a friend from the cross country team.  

She borrowed this dress from a girl on the cross country team.

Her Dad & brothers thought she looked awfully pretty.

So did her momma..

                                         

Prom came around in the spring and she was VERY excited.  The boy who asked her is a good friend (on the cross country team of course) and she's been hoping very much he would  ask her to a dance all year.  He was actually her very first date on her 16th bday as well. . .

She'd gone straight for Preference and decided to go extra curly for Prom.  She borrowed the dress form her cousin Kei.  It had very thin straps so we went on the search at the mall for shoes, a bolero jacket and jewelry.  We tried on every black bolero in the University Townecenter I am sure.  Funny thing is we bought the very fist one we tried on.  It was perfect. 

She wanted a color to perk up the black and white so we looked and looked for green shoes.  I finally found some at TJ Max.  There was one pair of green shoes on all the racks and they were her size and they weren't those crazy platform heels.  She could actually walk in them.

It was a prom miracle!

We bought some material that matched the shoes for her to make hair flowers with to keep the green accents going.  

Her date's mom sewed a green vest so they looked quite dashing all put together!

She decided she didn't want a rose boutiniere this time around and I thought this one looked really nice with their colors.

Rachel's date was pretty smooth... he must have heard a thing or two about Mark from his uncle (our stake president). 

He asked "what time do you want her home?"

Mark answered "11:30" 

and then he slid a 100 grand candy bar out of his pocket and held it out as an offering...

 Mark grabbed it and said "on second thought... Midnight!"

Well played... well played!

Rachel had a great time and came home smiling!