50/50

8/31  Sunrise

This morning I was listening to a podcast about anxiety.

There were a couple points the woman made that I really appreciated.  First, if people are going to say things about you that you don't like, there's nothing wrong with that.  People can talk, but those who matter to you and really get you will know when things are true or false.

And second, she referred to that Book of Mormon scripture about opposition and said, knowing what we know about opposition and that it's a part of life, it's normal that about half of our human existence is going to be opposition and struggles and negative emotions that we have to deal with, and the other half is joy and happiness and treasured friendships and love.  It's our human existence, the total package.

50/50.  Like the beautiful sunrise I got to see as I was walking today, a little cloudy and gray, but also full of sunlight bursting through those clouds.

It was just some common sense that I really needed this morning, thinking about my own growing pains at school, the crazy flooding in Texas, friends in the hospital, and on and on.  These things aren't fun, they are difficult and trying.  And that's okay.

How grateful I am for the people and blessings in my life that make up that other 50%!

First Day of 12th and 8th grade!

We were all up bright and early for the first day of school on August 15th.  This year Rhiannon will finish high school and Wade will finish middle school.  There will be some new opportunities, too--Rhiannon will serve as band president and take an online psychology class as part of her schedule, and Wade is trying out cross country and robotics club.

I have to remind myself that Rhiannon and Wade are growing up, turning into strong, independent young people who are good humans, too.

I'll admit, though, sometimes I still see this when I look at them!  The time sure goes by fast!

The boys' annual backpacking trip!

Jason and Wade joined up with friends--the Kimblers, Fitts, Lees, and Tomlinsons--a couple weekends ago for a great summer adventure, hiking up in the Sierras past Lee Vining.  There was a LOT of snow and water and they had some crazy adventures getting through some of it, but I think they were glad to go.  Our friend Nate Kimbler took some amazing pictures from the trip and I had to share!

Young Men's Camp

In July there was a big fire up in the mountains called the Schaeffer Fire.  Our stake was putting together a Young Men's camp that had to be changed up a bit last-minute because the fire was heading in the direction of Camp Andrew Brown, where they'd planned to hold the week-long camp.

So the call was made to change plans and reorganize the week.  It was a good call.  Wade and friends had the choice to do rapelling or gun-shooting that Thursday night locally, and then the next day was an all-day excursion down to the Los Angeles Temple visitor center, a park for dinner, and an indoor trampoline park.  It was a fun day!

A great group of boys!  There were several more who came--this was the group from our congregation.

Fun t-shirts!  The back said "Eternity Just Got Real."

Off to Girls Camp

Rhiannon and I went off to Girls Camp the last week of July.  We both had a tremendously positive experience and were glad to be there.  We worked hard, made a lot of memories, and strengthened friendships and testimonies.

I loved Rhiannon's response:

"I came home last night from one of the best experiences of my life. It was my first time as a Youth Camp Leader (YCL). I was scared at first, but my cabin girls, fellow YCL's and all of the other amazing people there made it a total blast. I'm now a better leader, better friend, and a better sister. Just a better person in general.  I'm so grateful I had the opportunity and that my foot held up!!!!! I love you guys!!"

I've served in the Young Women organization for a gazillion years, and I always avoided Girls Camp like. the. plague.  I didn't want anything to do with girl drama and I didn't want to be away from home that long and have to make the long, hard drive up into the mountains to do it.

Well, after being up there that week, I realized that I'd missed out on some special experiences all those other years.   I'm so grateful for the courage, kindness, service, love, and miracles that I saw throughout the week, for the opportunity to rub shoulders with amazing adults and young women who made me smile and laugh and feel. the. love. every day that week.

Here was my list from the week:

"On my last morning of Girls Camp, three sweet girls approached me with big smiles on their faces and said, "Sister Cushing, we have a gift for you, for surviving your first time at camp." It was super funny and weirdly thoughtful at the same time, haha! 

I could probably write a book of all the experiences up at beautiful Camp Wilderness this week, but to give you an idea, here are just a few (of many) highlights:

I rappelled off a bridge.
I drove up and down a mountain.
I *tried to* sleep with mice in my cabin.
I went a week without showering, by choice. #babywipesRULE
I laughed and laughed and laughed, then laughed some more.
I walked a huge, crazy hard (for me) hike.
I saw countless examples of love, patience, service, and friendship.
I saw miracles and the "hand of God" often.
I ate REALLY good food.
I felt the Spirit and God's love for every person up there with me.

So grateful for the experience, for answered prayers, and for the many, many adults and girls who made it a wonderful week!"

Can't wait to go and do it again next year!

Some unique summer purchases.

Wanted to make sure I document a couple of summer purchases that have been a lot of fun:

Rhiannon's post about this on social media:

"I had the time of my life today at WalMart when Mom and I found this gem!! I waved at people on the way home and got a lot of smiles, waves, and an older gentleman rolled down his window so he could take a picture of me. Day made."

Oh my goodness, we were laughing so hard that our sides hurt and I had tears running down my cheeks!

The funniest thing, though, is that Rhiannon and Wade went back to WalMart within minutes and got a tiger mask for Wade and a bunny rabbit for Jason (his request).  We spent 60 bucks on animal heads that day, and I'm still laughing about it.  

Another fun purchase was a letter board.  A friend posted that there was a killer deal on them at JoAnns, and I could. not. resist.  We've all had some fun this summer adding things to the board.

Wade brings in the "dolla billz"

At the end of June, Wade approached me about posting something for him on Facebook.  (Side note:  yes, we've said he can have his own account, but he hasn't taken us up on it yet because he says he'd use up all of his allotted computer time on it, haha!  Smart boy.)

This was the simple post:

"My 13-year-old son Wade would love to earn some extra money this summer. He asked me to post that he has experience with dog care, watering plants, and general house-sitting while you're on vacation. He's open to doing other small jobs as well (weeding, yard care, etc. He mows our backyard.) If you need an odd job done here or there and think he might be the young man for the job, let me know and I'll have him contact you!"

The response was quick and since that time he has done all kinds of jobs:

--helping someone move heavy furniture

--dog sitting and walking

--lawn mowing

--trench digging

--big yard clean-up project

--and his first babysitting jobs!

He hopes next to paint a fence and continue with some lawn mowing jobs.  Wade worked hard, getting up very early most summer mornings to tackle outdoor projects before it got too hot.  Hurray for earning money with some hard work!  We love this kid.

And then Rhiannon had surgery.

On the Wednesday after we got back from our summer trip to Utah and Idaho, Rhiannon had surgery on her left foot to correct a bunion that had been giving her trouble for a long time.

It was a scary day for her.  Here's a special memory from that day that we both shared on social media:

"Rhiannon is having foot surgery this morning. Understandably, she was pretty nervous when we got to the surgery center at 6 am. The second person we saw was her high school drumline coach, Art Atencio, who works there. He gave her a big hello and then came back a few minutes later and asked to offer a prayer with us. It is hard to put into words how much that meant to us! We had already been saying a LOT of prayers, haha!, but that one in the waiting room, with a caring friend, was very special."


Rhiannon took her recovery time seriously and stayed off the foot for many weeks, transitioning to crutches, then a walking boot, and finally to tennis shoes.  She still has swelling and can't wear any shoes besides her sneakers, but she's doing well and her podiatrist, Dr. Nguyen, is happy with the results.

I had to include this picture of the craziness Rhiannon and I were trying to follow the first couple days after the surgery, getting up every two hours to take either antibiotics, codeine, or ibuprofen.  We were total zombies and needed some help.  And, once again, God was watching over that girl and sent an angel friend, Cathi Judd, who just wanted to stop by with some ice cream for Rhiannon but also gave us some wonderful nursing advice on pain meds.  Both of us slept 10 hours straight that night, we were exhausted!

This was a fun moment, too--Rhiannon's first time riding a jazzy cart, at the grocery store.  We laughed and laughed!

We are so proud of Rhiannon for weathering this experience--it wasn't easy and she had some hard days, but she is on the mend and doing great.

Our epic Summer 2017 trip. Part 3: Beck Reunion and time with even more Sheens

After 3 lovely days at Bear Lake, our big crew worked fast and furiously to clean up and pack out and get on our way to Burley, Idaho for the Beck reunion.  This is an annual event that's been happening for many years with my mom and her siblings taking turns to organize it.  It was the first time for our family to be there, and my mom's turn to do it.  What an experience!  For Jason, it was the first time since our wedding day that he'd been with Becks, and Rhiannon and Wade's first time ever.   Hindsight is 20/20, and looking back, I wish I'd spent a little less time that afternoon on "reunion details" and a lot more time with my Beck relatives.  It sure was good to see them, though!  And we were very appreciative of Beck family members helping with most of the food since we were travelling the furthest to get there that day.  And kudos to Mom for the amazing family picture booklets she worked so hard to make--they were very well-received that day!

It's a Beck reunion tradition to have a "candy cannon" of sorts for kids.  Since we didn't have access to that this year, Grandma Donna put together a terrific alternative--she glued candy to shirts, and Jordan and Tommy raced around the baseball field, trying to keep away from kids coming after them.  It was hilarious!  They were such good sports!

One final pit stop remained.  And it was the perfect end to our time with family.  We loved seeing Uncle Max, and cousin Raul and his wife Audra there.  Jordan and Amelia and crew were there, too, but had to get on the road before we took this picture.    

I loved walking around the yard, checking old places made new.  What a rush of memories for me and my brothers, especially as we watched our own kids playing around doing the same things we'd done at their age, whether it was playing with dogs or pretend-riding the lawnmower.  What a great afternoon!

We said our goodbyes, sort-of, haha!  After that we went to a Cushing family favorite, Steve-O's, and had a delicious meal with Tom and Lyd and Derrick and Traci and kids.  Then we made our way to Twin Falls where we spent a quiet night before making the return trip the next day, on Father's Day.

For our quiet, mellow family, getting together with relatives can sometimes feel a little overwhelming and loud, haha!  But, boy, are we grateful for the memories and for our time with these people that we love so much.  

Our epic Summer 2017 trip. Part 2: Bear Lake for the Rich and Donna Sheen Reunion!

Our next big item on the summer trip list was Bear Lake.  Boy, what a gorgeous drive.  Our family was the first to arrive at the house and were pleasantly surprised by the amazing view and the house itself.  My favorite part was the huge porch on the second level--so fun to sit out there and watch boats on the lake!  The tiny driveway made things interesting, and there wasn't a backyard, but there was plenty, plenty, plenty of room for our big crew, quick access to the lake and town, and all the amenities we needed, including a key to the neighborhood pool.

Some highlights from Bear Lake were:

Being with Sheens!
Visiting on the porch
Golfing for Jason and Wade
R-A-S-P-B-E-R-R-Y milkshakes, oh my!
Sheens, Beans, and Macaroni t-shirts
TALENT SHOW
Driving the boat at Bear Lake--Uncle Brant let Rhiannon take a turn and she was ecstatic!
UTV experience--thanks, Traci and Derrick, for talking us into it!  And thanks for treating us, Grandpa and Grandma!
So. Much. Good. Food.
Sitting on the porch late at night watching a lightning storm come in--a family favorite moment
Horseback riding--again, thanks to the Houston and Denton Sheens' encouragement!
Field Day games
Bear Lake walk by the house
The house at Bear Lake!
Swimming with Amelia, GPA and kids
Card games and squishing the two big tables together


Again, I took v-e-r-y few pictures, but I'm thankful to family members who took some AMAZING ones to document our time together!  Here are a few (of many) favorites: