Victor's Tourney in Beautiful Park City

Last Thursday, after playing a terrific round of 75 the previous day in Midway, Victor went to the next round in Park City. I joined that day and walked the course. I soooo enjoyed the walk, as we were in the beautiful mountains and out of the heat of the valley (returning to 97 degrees). The above picture was when the boys were just about ready for the first hole. This was a qualifier to go to Michigan to play, sponsored by the Utah Jr. Golf Association. The kid in red was from St. George w/his dad as caddy (though that was against the rules to have a parent caddy. The kid in the foreground w/the khaki shorts was from British Columbia, some of his relatives living here in Utah. He was a nice kid, and so was his mother. Both of these guys come from money. The kid from BC attends boarding school in Boston.

Victor on the left and his caddy, Devon, on the right.

The resort (brings back memories, as I lived here one winter and skied those slopes). The spots that look like sand traps on the hill are actually mounds of unmelted snow.

Every hole had these beautiful benches, for which I was grateful. Five hours needs a few sits here and there. (When I walked w/Victor a couple weeks in the valley, there was not one bench the whole five hours).

This shot Victor made an amazing shot (was hole 18). He was out of the running and so what do I have to lose, and boy did he ever nail it. Instead of taking the cautious and probably judicious shot of placing shot 2 (was a par 5) before the water, he went for the gusto and smacked it over the water and right on the green. Got a positive reaction from all the players and spectators.

Life Is a Bowl Full of ....

STRAWBERRIES!! They're on and we're enjoying them.

Week Five of MTC

So Tony sent home a memory card and there were tons (amazing how many pictures can be taken with a digital camera) of pictures-- study desk, roommates' study desk, classroom, another view of classroom, classroom ceiling, classroom window, classroom carpet, teacher in classroom, empty classroom...books, room (can I say Tony must feel right at home--really, really messy room), flowers (yes, Tony took pictures of campus flowers), doors, hallway....anyway have no idea who this elder is w/Tony (my Tony is the Ute fan), must be one of the new missionaries who arrived this week and joined the district, but evidently they've bonded because the new guy looks like he's a basketball fan.

and here's the district (Tony=peaking head on back left), all Spanish speaking, some heading to New York, others to Mexico and three to Oklahoma.

An excerpt from T's letter: "After the firesides we have movies in various rooms in various buildings (also known around here as date night). They also rotate which movies they show week by week. So this Sunday we watched the Joseph Smith movie. That movie is awesome. Like I ALMOST!! teared up like 6-7 times, especially when it talked about the message shall be preached in every land and... Ya, that part has a totally new meaning to me now. "

I love knowing where he is right now, safe and sound.

Lake Powell

Just a little earlier this month this teenage boy and the other Priests in the ward went to Lake Powell for their big summer activity. They had a blast. Rafael went with as a leader--left Wednesday morning and got back Saturday night. Bro. Brent Hansen has part ownership in a houseboat and so when he has a son in the quorum (right now Whitaker), he lets the guys use the boat. There were also two speed boats which the boys used for play. Good leaders, a good group of boys.

It's a pin-up boy!!

Summer Colds

Here's a shot of Jared sleeping upstairs (yes, he's still sleeping under the stairs) so that he can have the humidifier by his side. Zoe, his cat, doesn't like to sleep by herself--this was Saturday morning. I was up and Zoe was in the hallway meowing (was afraid she'd wake up Rafael--that wouldn't be good), so I opened the door to Jared's room so that Zoe could have some company. I had just finished a cold that ran for 1-1/2 weeks and gave it to #3 son. Really zapped my energy level, but am glad that I'm back to normal and can get caught up w/life.

Gotta love being able to sleep without coughing.

Gotta love not going to bed at 6 p.m. because of fatigue.

Gotta love being able to swallow without the throat screaming.

Gotta love NyQuil.

State Am Qualifier

The first part of June, Victor participated in his first "big boy" tournament. It was a qualifier for the Utah State Amateur Golf tournament. He was so nervous that he had a hard time sleeping. His friend was supposed to caddie for him, but slept in, so off we went (and no I did not caddie--how embarrassing to have a mother carry one's clubs, although I would have done so). I have never "walked" the course with him and am trying to be a better mother and supporter, although Victor did tell me to make sure I took pictures from a distance and that the flash was off--can't have any distractions from the crowd. It was fun. It was sunny, got into the low 80s and really quite ideal conditions. If I did this more often I'd drop some weight--five hours in the sun w/no breaks. Victor was nervous because he's a 17-year-old kid and only one of two teenagers who had signed up. No need to fear, he definitely did not embarrass himself. He was paired with a 40-something guy who has a son Victor's age who attends San Diego High School, a private Catholic school in Draper which recruits kids for athletics. Anyway, this guy lives in Draper and is a member of the country club in American Fork where this year's state am will be played. After the first couple holes, Victor whispers to me that he's a hacker (not Victor, this guy), puffing away on his cigs and sweating through his shirt. The other guy was a really nice guy, pretty quiet, but some friends showed up to cheer him on. He was in his later 20s. Victor shot a 36 on the first 9 (played great), but slipped on the last 9 (shot a 44), so 80 total. The other two guys shot 82 and 83, so Victor definitely did not embarrass himself. He missed the cut by 4, though. There were 67 men playing at this qualifier and the top 12 qualified. He'll try again next year.

The last picture is at the end of 18 with the guys shaking each others' hands and signing score cards. Victor got a nice compliment from the rich, country club guy saying that he (Victor) showed lots of maturity for a 17-year-old kid. I smiled. That's my boy!!