Happy 13th Birthday, Bode!

Bode,

This is the first birthday I have spent apart from you, something Dad has become acquainted with because we’re usually in Canada this week while he works. I’m missing you like crazy but I know you’re having a great time on your Scout camp-out at Boulder Mountain. These trips have been a source of joy for you this year as you have conquered fears like the rappel trip to Skull Valley and especially white-water rafting the Green River where you learned you have swimmer’s itch-repellent skin because you were one of the few who wasn’t plagued with it. That’s something to be proud of, Son!

Twelve was a great year for you! As far as Middle School goes, you’re making the best out of some of the most awkward years ever. You have a good group of friends at school, have made the honor roll every term for the last two years, got into student counsel for eighth grade and are enjoying a variety of activities outside of school. Though you stay busy, make no mistake that you enjoy your quiet downtime with video games, Audible, and more video games (rumor has it you’re getting a PS4 for your birthday and you’ve spent your summer trying to prove you’re not addicted to your technology so as to become more addicted with your new unit).

(Antelope Island)

The toughest waters you navigated were in math. You have always been the top of your class but this year, you qualified for Catalyst, an accelerated program that combined 7th and 8th grade math into one year. You fell behind in assignments, did poorly on a few tests and at mid-term, were at risk for being booted down to 7th Grade Honors. We gave you the choice to pray about what to do and to make the decision on your own…and you put your shoulder to the wheel, got caught up on your assignments and ended up doing well in the class. That week where we grounded you from video games so you could get caught up was helpful, too!

Since receiving the priesthood when you were twelve, you take your responsibilities very seriously. You collect Fast Offerings on Fast Sunday, serve as the counselor in your Deacon’s quorum presidency and regularly attend the temple and bear your testimony in Sacrament meeting. You also pass the Sacrament every week. My favorite moment was the first Sunday after it was announced that 11-year-old boys would be bumped up to become Deacons and you were suddenly among the oldest passing the Sacrament, they miscounted and you were running back and forth giving and receiving the bread on the middle row. Other people noticed how calm and composed you were. I just laughed because I knew inwardly you were freaking out.

You have developed the wonderful habit of reading the scriptures before bedtime and listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on your Alexa (“God Be With You ‘Til We Meet Again” is always your final song). You read the entirety of the the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants and have now moved onto reading the Old Testament cover-to-cover, something that even I haven’t done. As a reward for finishing the Book of Mormon, Dad took you on a father-son trip to San Francisco last fall where you had a blast touring the city on foot and on bikes and even ran into a giant pumpkin on the street, thereby proving we’ll never truly be free of them (though you’re still growing and hope to make some cash from selling yours this fall).

Your enthusiasm for piano has been waning (despite doing a fantastic job playing the Missionary Medley duet with me in church) so I let you quit this summer with the promise that you’ll pour your energies into playing the saxophone. You had two lackluster years playing the flute and your sax skills have really taken off. You’ve serenaded me with “O Canada” and I was surprised when you played “Careless Whisper” even after I told you it was a stellar song for wooing women. Maybe your aversion to girls is softening just a bit, too. You can *almost* sit through kissing scenes on TV, have taken more care in your appearance, have had a growth spurt (you’re now in the 68th percentile for height and 64th for weight) and your voice dropped even lower than Dad’s.

You’re living your best life this summer. After your third season Nordic skiing with Kickers and Gliders at Soldier Hollow, you got bumped up to the advanced group, leaving me in your dust…errr…powder?

(Rappeling Skull Valley)

Even though you could have had one more year of class instruction, you decided to take it up to the next level by joining DEVO, the center’s ski team and you have been training twice a week this summer. Hiking, rollerskiing (which you picked up right away!) strength training, yoga (yuck) and your favorite: mountain biking. It has been fun to see you care about your fitness and becoming more careful with your food choices. Most of the time. Until you’re really, really hungry.

You have enjoyed playing with your airsoft guns with neighbors Hunter, Will, Stockton and whoever else is around. You had a blast downhill skiing at Park City with us and your friends this year. It has been awesome to see you start to click on the slopes as skiing becomes a passion. You are still wise and cautious on the slopes but your skill allows you to conquer terrain that I’m now shying away from. And yes, I did use the word “shy” to describe myself.

You are also in your second year of PGA Junior League and are enjoying playing twice a week…and I enjoy watching my two boys enjoy this sport together while I don’t have to lift a club. You were even able to golf with Dad at one of The Broadmoor’s world-famous courses in May! You have been attending free weekly coding (Scratch) classes with friends Eli, Jonas and Brett at the library and kicked it up a notch this summer by completing a three-week-long Python coding class. You’re eager to improve your computer skills and Dad is eager for someone else to teach you so he can hire you for his gruntwork in a few years.

Another end-of-an-era is soccer and Spring 2019 was your final season. Dad has coached your teams since moving here, mostly because their rec league sucks and if he was going to yell at everyone on the sidelines, he may as well make it official as coach. You have been the top scorer on your team since moving here and an especial shout-out for the game when you took a shot on goal, the ball smacked your teammate’s face, and you scored a goal off the deflection.

Timpanogos Summit

You have had some good travels this year. Christmas and summers in Canada. Family reunion at Yellowstone/Henry’s Fork. The Broadmoor. Vail/Beaver Creek (we skied our 28th of 33 Colorado resorts). Monthly Scouting adventures that included winter cabin camping at Tibble Fork, rappelling Skull Valley, exploring Antelope Island and you aren’t too sad to miss their annual Mount Timpanogos climb because you’ll be out-of-town (but you did it for the first time with Dad last summer). Your Scout leader, Rob, calls you a “joy,” which is a nice compliment because I’m sure he encounters lots of boys who are “less-than joyful” on these adventures.

You are kind and a peacemaker. When your dad and I were bickering with Hadley on the chairlift, there was a long, awkward silence before you piped in singing a happy song that had us laughing and forgiving in moments. Thank you for bringing our family together, for being thoughtful and for rarely complaining when you are asked to do something. Really, you mostly parent yourself these days with the exception that you are a slob, can’t cook (though you learned to make crepes this summer) and play way too many video games so I suppose those are the only reasons Dad and I have been put here on the earth. Mostly, you just keep the rest of us in line and are a tremendous example to us every day.

I’m not known for my finger-nail-cutting abilities (I accidentally cut baby Hadley when she was a baby and she had to wear socks on her hands to prevent greeting blood everywhere). When you were little, as I was cutting your nails, in the sweetest little-boy voice, you said, “Be gentlwe.” Dad and I are asking for the same courtesy during your teenage years. ;=)

XOXO

Mom

P.S. For a stroll down memory lane, see birthday letters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12.