Freshman Football

It wasn't until Brook and I were sitting in his truck last Saturday morning in the parking lot that it hit me. We had just handed over Zach's football gear: his washed jerseys, cleaned pads and disinfected helmet, and were getting ready to drive away. The football season had been over for two weeks, but not until that precice moment did it truly feel like it. Wow, I thought, football's over. It's strange how such a looooooong season (we've been committed to this sport since June), can end so quickly, leaving us wondering what we're going to do with our time.

Zach was able to play football again this year which we were all so happy about, Zach most of all. Bar none, football is his favorite sport. Almost like clockwork in the late spring, Zach announces that he's finished with baseball (it's never mattered how great of a team he's on at the moment; it was high school freshman baseball this past spring) and he's ready for football. We've almost had to bribe him to finish out the baseball season, at least. By that time, however, it's too late. His heart isn't in it anymore because he can sense football just around the corner. This year Zach played freshman football for Lone Peak High School. They played in the Cougar Conference freshmand football league and played all the other Utah county high schools south to Payson. His team had a truly incredible season, going 10-1. He had so much fun and enjoyed almost every minute of it. He learned SO MUCH and had such great coaching. For instance, who knew he could RUN the ball as well as throw? Evidently, a new head coach did. Freshman year begins the year of we're-serious-about-this-now-boys. It's definitely not the good old days of little league. Brook was all set to step aside and watch from the stands until he was asked to help out again. He's never sought after the whole coaching job like some dads do, but he was able to contribute and I'm so glad. Zach got one more year of father-son time every day. I hope Zach appreciates the time Brook spent on his behalf (heavens - we're happy Brook still has a job with all the time he had to take off early from work). I know Zach will have fond memories of this time in his life. I also know that he appreciates the "fans" he had at every single game. His grandparents and family were there to cheer on number 1 and the rest of the team.

I don't know why Zach loves the sport so much. I don't know if it's the hitting or throwing or running or competing or whatever. I do think, however, that "brothership" plays a large part in it for him (yes, brothership is a word - I looked it up). He trully feels he has brothers when he plays football and he'll do anything not to let them down. It goes along with that whole sports-can-teach-you-life-lessons-and-such.
Zach and his team went all the way to the championship game and ended up losing 13-14 to a team we'd slaughtered before. It was a disappointment, for sure. But rather than focus on one particular game, we've chosen to look at the season as a whole. It was awesome! It was great! We beat every team we played and we WON in more ways than one. Congratulations on a great year, Zach!

Happy (Late) Halloween

Better late than never, everyone. I would just hate to read our family book years from now and think that we just skipped right on over Halloween 2010. To the contrary, the Buhrleys DID celebrate and have a good time at it.
Highlights of All Hallow's Eve 2010: A trip to This Is The Place State Park's Haunted Village with Brook, Brynn and her friend Cierra. Can I just explain myself on this one? Everyone who's been to This Is The Place in Salt Lake City knows that it's a replica of a pioneer village, complete with a school, hospital, city hall, mill, pioneer cabins, etc. Soooooooo....... my thinking was that it would be a FUN place to take Brynn and her friend. I thought there'd be pioneer-dressed people telling ghost stories and such and that it'd be a good family activity. That's what I get for thinking. Not until we'd paid our money and stood in line for a half hour did we realize that it was, instead, a spook alley type gig with people who jump out of nowhere to scare the holy helen out of you. After 45 minutes of walking through the foothills of Salt Lake and being scared by weirdos, I was ready to have it over. It was fun only after the point. Another highlight: Brynn's Halloween parade at school, of course. Unfortunately, she refused to let Brook take her picture. And our last highlight: Halloween night, obviously. As per tradition, we enjoyed our chili and trick-or-treating. It was fun to spend even a little bit of time with each of the kids before they ventured off to more exciting venues.

Homecoming

Caitlyn was asked to her high school's homecoming dance. What a fun time for girls to get all gussied up! She was asked by the nicest boy named Zach and they had an absolute blast. They actually met two years ago at EFY in Logan of all places and then figured out they would both attend Lone Peak.
I'm still trying to figure out dance protocal nowdays, though. They're all day affairs. Eegad. There's a day date and the dinner/dance date. A boy better like the girl's company or it can make for a very long day. I'm so glad Caitlyn enjoyed herself and had such a fun boy who asked her.
She loved it :)

Priesthood Session

Zach has had football games almost every Saturday since August. We love it because 1) we get to watch him do something he loves, and 2) he has fans (a.k.a grandparents) who come and watch. This past Saturday's game coincided with General Conference and was the perfect excuse for the men in the Buhrley family to attend Priesthood Session together. Uncle Nate, Brook, Zach and Grandpa Max all went to Priesthood Session together while the rest of us just visited and puttered around. I'm so grateful that Zach doesn't have to look far in his life for examples of men who honor and uphold their priesthood.

I love these guys!!

Uncle Gordy

With his gravelly voice and unpredictable behavior, my uncle Gordon used to scare me. Growing up, I spent many an afternoon at my grandmother's house in Brigham City. It was a gathering place for my mother's family and it's where we visited and got our news as to the goings-on of different family members. And while I can honestly say I dearly loved all my aunts and uncles, Uncle Gordon made me the most nervous. Gordy was just Gordy. He was somewhat of a no-nonsense, say-it-how-it-is kind of guy. He was an avid hunter,fisherman and sometimes-drinker who always smelled of dirt, Elsha cologne and cigarette smoke. He was so very different from my dad and other men in my life that I didn't know what to make of him. I didn't know what to think of him. So I did what most children do: I stayed away from him and feared him.
It surprised me to find myself thinking of him last Saturday morning. I was in Caitlyn's car, waiting to pull it into the driveway before we left for Bear Lake. If you've read my earlier posts, you realize that there's a "situation" with her car and the fact that it's a stick and the fact that she's refusing to learn to drive it. Anyway, as I was waiting for Brook to finish up things and pull out of the driveway I had a few minutes to sit and think. As I waited, a memory came to me of a time when I, myself, was 16 and driving my first car. It was a stick shift as well. I worked in Brigham City and would go to my grandma's often before or after work. I remember Gordon out in the car with me giving me advice on driving it. Apparently I was doing something wrong and blah, blah, blah (insert car talk lingo here such as riding the clutch, belt, motor, whatever). Obviously, it was all lost on me and he could have been speaking Russian for all I knew. But the memory was there of him patiently trying to help me and I appreciated it. The thought came to me that he did try in his own way to help people and show love. I appreciated that memory out of nowhere because later that day Gordon was killed when a dump truck ran a red light and hit Gordon's car, killing him instantly.
In the days that followed, happier memories began to surface.
I am so thankful for them.
Good memories are replacing the unpleasant ones. I'm remembering him as a man who did as good as he knew how. I'm remembering deer hanging in the carport, pheasants buried in the backyard and fish frying in the kitchen. I'm remembering his constant companion Jasper, an ugly little dog who followed him everywhere. I'm remembering Gordon seated at my wedding breakfast and coming to the hospital years later when Caitlyn was born so early. I'm remembering the clarity in his eyes when I ran into him out shopping and the pleasant conversation which followed. I'm remembering him as a true individual and one-of-a-kind. I'm realizing he was someone I should have feared less and tried harder to love in life. I love you and will miss you Gordy!!!

Raspberry Jam

Bear Lake is famous for its raspberries. It has the most delicious fresh raspberries which, in turn, make delicious raspberry shakes, raspberry syrup, raspberry jams. I LOVE raspberry jam, especially homemade raspberry jam made with love. My parents have always had freezer jams ready to share with family and friends. Brook and my children have inherited my love of the sweet goodness and our yearly supply never quite lasts us through the year.

Before school began this year, Brynn and I headed to my mother's, aprons in hand, to carry on the tradition. It was cute to see Brynn help and participate in the small ways she could. It was her job to mash the raspberries (she was a pro at it),

to put the lids on the jars once they were filled, and to entertain us with her stories. I don't know how much she enjoyed it, but I know I loved having her there as the 3rd generation. I hope we're set for another year (or at least until March).

Marjorie Stewart Baxter

I'm sure you were thinking of a grandma when you read the title of the post. Maybe, instead, you were thinking I was writing a tribute to someone who had passed away. Perhaps you thought I may be introducing you to newborn baby with dark hair. The truth, however, is less sentimental and in exactly the opposite direction of those things. I'm actually writing about a car of all things. After a few weeks of shopping around, Brook found what he thought to be the perfect car for our 16-year-old, Caitlyn. He called me one afternoon and asked me to meet him at a home in Salt Lake. "Wouldn't she just love this?" he asked excitedly. As I looked at the car, I had to agree. Caitlyn would, in fact, love it. What's there not to love about a little red convertible, especially for a high school girl? It was in great condition and priced extremely well, and within an hour we found ourselves the owners of a new little car. Brook drove it home and secretly parked it in the garage while I took Caitlyn to the store. When Caitlyn and I arrived back home, Caitlyn opened the garage, glanced over and said, "That's a cute little car," and walked on by. Back story: Brook is always driving home different cars from work and we're quite used to not recognizing whatever is parked in the driveway. Zach had, in fact, walked past it earlier and thought to himself, Why the heck is Dad driving a dumb chick car around? I hope he doesn't drive me to football in it. "Do you like it?" Brook asked. "Yah, it's cute," Caitlyn agreed. "Well then, take it for a drive," he said, and handed her the keys. It took her a couple seconds to process what was happening, but it wasn't long before, "Are you KIDDING ME?!!" and , "Shut UP!" were yelled. She fell in love immediately and promptly named her car......you guessed it........ Marjorie Stewart Baxter.
Marjorie is a great car but for one humongous flaw. Marjorie is a stick-shift. On more than one occasion, Caitlyn had told me she knew how to drive a stick. Aunt Trisha had supposedly taught her in cousin Breanne's car. I believed her. Well, learning to drive a stick-shift one time is not really knowing how to drive one. It was obvious that she needed some good old-fashioned driving lessons. I took her to the church parking lot and sat with her for a few seconds. The sun was beating down on us and as Caitlyn began asking questions my mind quietly wandered back to my own lessons of driving a stick. My dad had taken me to the dirt canal road close by my house and had sat in the passenger seat as I gunned, lunged, and killed the Chevette a million times (yes, I drove a Chevette, no snickering). It was an exercise of patience for my dad and a completely frustrating experience for me. I don't have fond memories of that experience... quite the opposite to be truthful. It was pure misery. I'm sure you can empathize: INSERT YOUR OWN MEMORY HERE. Well, sitting there with Caitlyn in her new car, I had a moment of clarity and realized that Brook would be the better parent to teach her. I know myself. I know that I'd say the wrong things or make the wrong face or use the wrong voice. And since her first choice, Grandpa Buhrley, wasn't available, Brook would have to do. So off to the parking lot we went that night. Truly, I felt kind of bad for her. A first car is supposed to be fun. I know that she just wanted to jump in it and drive off into the sunset, her freedom flapping in the wind. Instead, she was panicked to the core and stressed and miserable as Brook worked with her. She's still not comfortable with it, yet. She's even decided that stick-shifts are too hard and that she'll never be able to feel ok about it. I promise her that it will become second nature. She's still skeptical,though. We'll see how long Marjorie lives with us.

Welcome to the World Baby Bode

Exciting times!! We woke up this morning to see a picture of a new addition to the Buhrley family sent to our phones. Brook's youngest sister, Kara, and her husband, Chuck, are parents to a new bundle of joy. Baby Bode was born on August 11, weighing in at 7 lbs. 6 oz., 22 inches and is "the most perfect baby in the world." Kara says when she's rich she's going to build a children's park and call it "Epidural Park" because she can't think of a lovelier thing. We immediately fell in love with him and are sending love to them in Illinois. We can't wait to meet him and plant a kiss on that cute face!!!!! We love you guys!

California Getaway

Yay us. We finally got away, thank goodness. Life can get so busy and complicated and it was so nice to be able to spend an entire week together as a family... no interuptions, no excuses, no commitments, no anything but hanging out with those we love the most. Brook and I realize that our time is getting shorter and shorter with our kids, and we were so appreciative that we got to spend some one-on-one time with them. They grow too fast!!!!
We just returned from a wonderful family vacation to Newport Beach, CA and had an amazing week together. We were lucky to spend some time with Brook's sister Angie and her kids as well. We did the usual California things and enjoyed every minute of it. We spent a few days and nights at Brynn's happy place, Disneyland. The fact that it was incredibly crowded and high season did not take away any of the fun we had. We've gotten pretty good at knowing the Buhrley in's and out's of that place. We just let Brook and his red backpack lead the way and find our favorite things to do and see there. We also spent an afternoon at Balboa Island. Totally fun! We had never been there and the kids really liked it. We rented a Duffy Boat and Brook drove us around the harbor for an hour. We found sea lions lounging on boats and the most amazing homes and yachts, one right after another. Seriously, what do people do for money? Holy Moly. We did a little shopping, grabbed a frozen banana, and enjoyed the sightseeing.

Across the street from our hotel was Crystal Cove State Park, 3.2 miles of beach and 2,400 acres of undeveloped woodland. We went there twice and loved it. Not only was it "right there," but it was absolutely beautiful. The kids developed a love for boogy boarding and laughed and splashed around for hours. I've never thought of myself as a water person, having not grown up around the ocean or boating or anything, but I could get used to living by the ocean pretty easily. So relaxing and enjoyable!!!
I have to add the picture of cousin Breanne with the shark getup. While we were there, Breanne turned 18 (which is impossible for us believe), and we took her to lunch at Joe's Crab Shack. They sang her "Happy Birthday" and made her bus the tables in a shark hat and and apron. We had so much dang fun hanging out with her! Caitlyn and Zach look up to her so much and we all love her dearly. It was so fun to spend time with her!!!!

This is us before we got in the car to drive away. We were so sad to go!!!!We'll miss the view, the fun, and the time together, but will keep the memories.

Retirement

I can't say that we weren't expecting my parents' retirements. One can't work forever, you know. I suppose, though, that we just got used to hearing, "one more year, one more year," so many times that we never thought it would actually happen. Well folks, it's actually happening. Both my parents........ Keith and Cheryl Allred, decided that it was finally time. They're RETIRING! Woo Hoo!!! I come from a family of educators, there's no doubt about it. My dad began his teaching career at Weber High School (go Warriors!) and then moved to Weber State University (go Wildcats!) when I was in 4th grade. My mom did the SAHM thing and then went back to college when I was about 10. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for her being a full-time student, being a full-time mom and wife, and staying involved in church. She's amazing though, and somehow she managed. She taught Family and Consumer Science (Home Ec. to the over-40 crowd) at Bonneville High School (go Lakers!) before going into administration. She'll be finishing off her career as an Assistant Principal at Roy High School (go Royals!). Together, they've been in education for almost 70 years. Wow.
I'm SO PROUD of both of them! I love them more than words can begin to express. They have lived, and continue to live their lives in such honorable, upstanding fashion. They are the best parents and grandparents that one could hope for. We're so excited for this wonderful and exciting time of theirs. I hope they get to do EVERYTHING they've been looking forward to. :)
We were more than happy to help celebrate with them recently at a lovely family dinner. We're always looking for a good reason to get the whole crew together. If this isn't a good reason, I can't think of what is! Congrats Mom and Dad; we love you very much.

Field Trip Texts

So, for the past 10 years, field trips were always MY thing. Volunteering for field trips, as painful as they sometimes were, were always things my kids enjoyed, so I did it. I saw butterfly cities, pioneer villages, dinosaur parks, etc. I loved being able to do this for my kids. I knew, however, that going back to work this year would end those types of things. Let's face it, though: Neither Caitlyn nor Zach could give a whoop. But Brynn, well, that's a horse of a different color.

Did it surprise me that Brynn roped her dad into going on her 3rd grade field trip? Hardly. Was I the least bit fazed when Mrs. Hjorth emailed me, thanking Brook for volunteering and to "just come to school with Brynn?" Not in the least. Was I happy that he got to go? You betcha. And I'm sure Brynn is too. The two of them are quite a pair.

Our text exchanges on April 23rd:
9:32 a.m. One word..... Chaos!
10:41 am Gotta love field trips.
10:42 a.m. I have only lost two of Team Pink Ponies
11:17 am Take pictures!
11:39 am Where is the field trip to anyway?
12:42 pm. Hansen Planetarium at Gateway
1:02 pm Oh fun. When are you leaving there anyway?
1:04 pm Eating lunch now and then heading back
2:13 pm. We are home! I have Miss B.
2:24. Awesome. Did you have fun?
2:36. Tired!

Grandpa B's Birthday

Grandpa Buhrley's birthday had special visitors this year. Trisha and her cute little family flew in from North Carolina to spend a few weeks visiting. I'm SURE she planned it so that she could be here for Mad Max's birthday. It was so much fun to see her. Her children, Mia and Truman, are getting SO BIG!! And they WON"T stand still for pictures. They wanted to PLAY with their cousins. As you can tell from the photos, there was a LOT of cousin-playing going on when we SHOULD have been concentrating more on Grandpa Buhrley. It WAS his birthday after all.