7-30, Saying Goodbye

Sigh..... this was an emotional day!  It's hard letting your middle schooler travel to China for 2 weeks on a school trip.  It might be even harder letting your high schooler embark on an adventure in the Montana wilderness for 3 weeks with guides you've just met who don't seem much older than your child.  (When will this parenting gig get any easier?!?!)  Nik was beyond excited to start his journey that we'd been planning for months.  I thought I was ready to let him embark on his journey- until it came time to say goodbye.  Oh, how hard that was!  We were so proud to see him off, and then the worrying began.  Emalie may have had it the toughest of all.  Her tears flowed freely and she couldn't bear to see him go.  We were all about to embark on a journey of growth as these three weeks passed.

Em's still happy, but Nik's starting to realize how much he's going to miss Emalie.

Nik's happy but Em is beyond sad at having to say goodbye for so long.

Something about this picture reminds me of having my 5 white t-shirts and 5-white undies all packed and ready to head to KP.
Yes, this photo surely brings that memory alive.

We made it-he's here!  Their gear was all laid out and ready for them.  Pack up and head out!

(It sure was hard putting on a happy face when deep inside I was worried like crazy!!)

7-29, I found him!

For those of you that know him, I found Doug!  For those of you who don't, meet Doug! Doug was one of my best friends in high school.  We had many serious conversations over Pizza Hut pizza with deep talk of whether our glasses were half full or half empty (and no, we weren't referring to a sloppy waitress).  His sarcastic sense of humor carried us through the drama of those teenage years.  We were good about keeping in touch until about 13 years ago.  The last time we saw him, we met for dinner in Hamilton and Nik was only a toddler.  Through a little perseverance, I finally found Doug after all of these years!  We were thrilled to meet him for dinner in Bozeman the night before dropping Nik off at his Montana Wilderness Camp.  You can imagine Doug's surprise at seeing how much Nik has grown and the fact that we had a new addition to our family.   Life's roller coaster can take you up some hills, down some slopes and around the bends.  But in the end, if you can call up a long-lost friend a decade later and pick up the conversation right where you left off, your glass feels pretty darn full.  Thanks, Doug, for taking the time to meet up with us.  We enjoyed the smile and the laughter!  

We still look 17.... right?!

Our kids loved Doug.  Nik appreciates his humor (as I do!) and Emalie was drawn to his warm personality.

Emalie and her new life-long friend.