loving him for him

I've been thinking about parenting. And how we have all these expectations and ideals of what our children are supposed to be like as they grow up, and yet, I wonder how many of these so-called "ideals" will really come to pass. Of course there are the important things-- like that my children turn out to be nice, caring, loving souls.

But after that?

Will I be disappointed if my kids make choices that lead them in directions that are different than the ones I have carved out in my head for them?

(When religion gets brought in the mix, things get a little gray for me because it would really be difficult as a parent to watch your child shun things that you hold so precious. Would there always be love and open arms? Of course. Would there also be disappointment? I don't know. It seems like probably.)

But I am more talking about ideals of a child being athletic or a good student or enjoying the same kinds of things that I enjoy. What if my son chooses dance? That is something that I would never imagine up for him in my head, but does that mean I wouldn't be happy for him if that is what made him happy? What if my kids are introverts who don't like to talk or have friends? Sounds like of comical when I put it like that, but seriously! It could happen. And that is so different from what I am like or what I have imagined them to be like, but does that mean that I would be disappointed?

I SO hope not. I really, really hope to always recognize the beauty and goodness that resides within my children and to love them for that, not for anything they do. It doesn't sound so hard, but picture it in your head-- you have a child that doesn't like the same things that you like or that is interested in things that you find weird. Would it be as easy to connect with that child as the one that you have more in common with? What if all of my kids like strange computer games, have fascinations with sword-fighting, and hate college football? All of those things are so foreign to me (especially the hating college football-- I am counting down the days to kick-off), but I would hope that I would still find as much joy and love in parenting then as I would if my kids grew up to be talkative, sports radio lovers who enjoy shopping for baby clothes :).

I guess what I am trying to say is that I really hope to be the kind of mom who allows my children to choose their own paths and then fully, 100% supports them in that. And not only loves them in spite of the differences in actuality versus "ideal," but loves them all the more for those differences because I can recognize that those things are part of what makes them who they are.

In a small sense, I am kind of getting a taste of this. I love, no LOVE amusement parks and thrill rides. This probably has something to do with the fact that I grew up with a father who snuck me on big roller coasters when I was far too small for them by padding my shoes with thick socks. Awesome, right? Well, you can imagine my horror upon learning that I am raising a son who does not, under any circumstances, enjoy thrill rides. And when I use the term "thrill ride," what I actually mean is anything that could possibly go faster than 2 mph, goes in a circle AT ALL (he does not want to "go bizzy," remember?), or goes up and down. He has always been this way-- remember this? I thought as he got older he would learn to like rides more (or at least he would get used to them and tolerate them), but I am realizing that those kinds of things just may not be his thing. My gut reaction is, "Over my dead body! In this family we love rides!" But here's the reality: it doesn't matter if Georgie doesn't like to ride rides. Ideal? Out the window. Do I really care if my little boy doesn't share my love for things that go fast and make you slightly nauseous? No. In fact, one of the things I love most about George is how mild mannered and gentle he is. And part of that package, part of him, is not liking things that go fast and make him "bizzy." So I am over it, and, beyond that, I love him all the more for showing me that there is a different way to be, a way that is perhaps different than I expected, but beautiful in its own right.

How about some photographic proof?

Lagoon, a couple of weeks ago. Daddy tries to put Georgie in the most harmless baby whales ever. That just so happened to go in a circle and move up and down. G wasn't going for it. As quickly as his Daddy had put him in the whale, George had flipped around and lunged back into Daddy's arms. J just laughed and carried him to safe ground where there were no moving whales.

These are the kinds of rides that G can enjoy. No fast movements, no circles. Just cute little boats and cars that move slowly and have steering wheels.

See how happy?

Surely he was the only three-year-old there that thought these teensy, s l o w, baby boats were a riot.

Oddly enough, he also enjoyed the bumper cars. I think because he could control them and didn't have to move if he didn't want to.

He couldn't even stand to watch Rach and me on these swings. WAY too much for him.

He did surprisingly well on Rattlesnake Rapids, and even enjoyed getting soaked at the end. Again, I am sure it was because it didn't move fast or go in circles.

And even though the Skyride goes up pretty high, he loved it because it is slow and steady and he could be next to his dad.

Love those little dangling legs.

So, I have a son who doesn't like thrill rides. Maybe my girl will love them. This time she was pretty content to either hang out in Daddy's arms facing out or in Mama's arms facing in :).

george was worried there were actual bears in the lake

A few weeks ago we were able to go to Bear Lake for a family reunion with my dad's side of the family (ie: his mom, siblings, and all the accompanying kids and grandkids). It was so much fun. The only bad thing about it was that it was too short and I didn't get to spend time with all the people that I wanted to. It is such a blessing to not only have these people as family, but also consider them my dearest friends. I love Ashleigh, Sandi, and their family for planning such an incredibly fun reunion for us and I can't wait until the next one!

I basically only had my camera out at three separate occasions throughout the whole weekend: frosting cookies the first night, on the boat the first time I went out, and for a little bit on the beach. I missed taking pictures of many of the fun things that we did, and feel bad that not everyone is represented in these photos, but here is what I got.

Cookie Decorating:

My smiling boy and Rae Rae

Alaura and Abram

Kate the Great

Xander and Georgie

After she ate her cookies, Rach kept herself entertained by doing handstands.

Heather almost always had baby Adam (as opposed to grown-up Adam) attached to her in some way.

See? Look at how cute they are.

And Ben and John (and lil' Miss Pea) overlooked the lake while discussing very important things like Phil Hendry's latest show.

We spent all day Saturday out on the lake. We boated, rode wave runners, played in the sand, and chatted on the beach. Aside from a near-death experience with a freaky piece of metal slicing a foot open, it was a picture perfect day :).

On the boat:

I love everything about boating. I love being in the water, wakeboarding and tubing etc., but I also really love just riding on the boat, warm wind blowing through my hair, feeling the occasional spray of water. That is why I like these first two pictures-- I can almost feel boating by looking at them.

Georgie is into giving "thumbs up" lately, so he encouraged the others to join him. They were happy to be on the boat.

We stopped at the marina for a second and Adam grossed everyone out by sticking fish food between his toes to get the nasty carp to suck it out. Get a girlfriend or something, Ad.

Sick, right?

We eased George into the boating scene by letting him float around the marina on the water weenie (which he totally calls a "weenie roaster") with my sisters.

While G enjoyed himself in the water, Ben held the little Pea on the boat. She liked driving around, but did NOT like the life jacket. Maybe we broke the rules and didn't make her wear it the whole time.

Since G enjoyed the water weenie experience, we amped it up a bit and I hopped on with him for his first legitimate water weenie ride.

He was a fan. Unless we "went bizzy," ie: got dizzy, ie: went in circles. Can you believe that blue water?

Mady and Rae Rae enjoyed the weenie as well. Perhaps their ride was a little more intense and involved more "getting bizzy" than mine and Georgie's did.

G happily enjoyed his job of waiting patiently for someone to tip over and then he'd hold up the flag as high as he could.

Then we busted out the tube. Madeline and Rach held on at first.

And then they didn't.

Josh and I proudly held on the entire time.

Even when it got intense.

All the while, Daddy held our sleepy, squishy girl.

Ben and Josh got some nice air.

While Kate and Jim opted for a bit more mellow of a ride.

Abram and Jill thought they were getting a mellow ride.

Until the tube submarined upon take off and they fell in.

Abram was a good sport though, and even gave us a thumbs up once he got back on the tube for a ride. Little cutie.

Kate and Bram were proud, looking windblown and showing off muscles, respectively.

Then the boys busted out the big guns, so Pea girl and I chilled and watched.

Jim got up on the Sky Ski right away.

And then he went down. How dangerous does that blade look?

I love Ben's face in this first picture, and I love how the blade it totally out of the water in the second one.

Then people wakeboarded.

People like my husband,

and Josh, (Sorry that the best picture I have of you is where you are about to eat it, Joshie. But not really that sorry, because I love this picture.)

and the show-off Ben, doing a backflip.

Playing on the beach

We took turns going out on the water, and while others were out, we played in the dark, coarse sand on the beach.

The white stripes on G's swimming suit will forever be dingy and brownish because of this. Nevermind that my little sister is so tan that she looks African.

Who needs water when you have the weenie on the beach? Not Brax. But he did enjoy a little walk out in the water with his daddy.

I love this photo of Dallin and his boys.

Leyna took her sand scooping very seriously.

Mika and Pearlie hung out in the shade and tried to devour each other's hands. These girls are about 6 weeks apart and I am pretty sure Pearl has her by at least 4 pounds.

For some reason George really loved chasing Zack with this bucket and trying to dump it on him. It was highly entertaining to watch.

We took a big family photo the last morning, but I don't have a copy of that yet. This was the closest thing I got. Lots of people were out on the Lake, but here are those of us that were hanging out on the beach.

I love all these people so much and am so grateful for the time we spent together. Yay for family reunions!