Dear Bub,
I can’t believe you’re 17 today! We both agree that compared to birthdays past, this milestone isn’t an exciting one…except that you’re one year away from adulting when everything will change. I can’t begin to process what this year has meant. The good, the hard, the growth. You are a wonderful young man and first and foremost, we are incredibly proud of you for the choices you make and the person you are becoming.

Junior year was supposed to be YOUR year with big goals academically and athletically as you raced on the mountain bike and ski teams. You learned to push your body to extremes with long sessions with the Nordic team and 30+ mile rides with friends. You were posed to move up in the ranking and set the goal to podium…until God had other plans.

You were diagnosed with MALS (median arcuate ligament syndrome) after experiencing extreme stomach pain during your second bike race in Cedar City. Those following months were filled with appointments with our surgeon Dr. Fenton. Imaging. Radiology. Gastroenterology. Behavioral health. Surgery in December and a painful Christmas break as you began your 6-12 month recovery. It has been a lot and you have evolved so much as a person.

By your side the whole time was Pablo who looked up to you as a big brother. Your friendship with him was easy and seamless. You grafted him into your friends, selflessly cheered on his successes and ruled him and all of us at Settlers of Catan until the very end…which

It was a record-breaking snow year which meant a lot of really tough days at the Ranch  clearing snow, chipping ice, navigating collapsed pens and hauling off dead animals. You helped shovel and sandbag our house. You’ve always been a hard worker but you learned to dig really deep this year.

There was lots of play, too. You had some epic powder days at Park City Mountain, learned to catch some air at Woodward and, when you couldn’t race with the comp team at SoHo, coached Kickers and Gliders. I joined in the fun by trailing your classes at the back and loved seeing you in action as a beloved and competent coach. One of my very favorite moments of this year was seeing you and Pablo dress up and race in the end-of-season obstacle race in all its ridiculousness.

Trips included Crested Butte mountain biking last summer and your impressive showing at Glenwood Adventure Park’s Speleobox Cave Simulator, a claustrophobic maze through an 8 x 12-foot box.  We went to Moab for fall break, hiking around Arches National Park and biking everywhere else. We did a Thanksgiving daytrip to Goblin Valley and San Rafael Swell. Campouts with the Priests Quorum. And then Spring Break was in Carmel, Monterey and Big Sur with a quick stop in Vegas before crashing at the Severson’s fancy vacation rental in St. George for pool play, caving and marveling at Gunlock State Park’s insane waterfalls. Trek with Ma and Pa Partridge and an unforgettable 500-mile ATV excursion for High Adventure.

There were a thousand little moments this year. Dressing up as Axl Rose for Halloween. Riding in a private jet after your Cedar City race to take Carley to Homecoming. Etiquette date night at Bishop’s. Hockey nights at the Midway rink. Dancing the choreographed Promenade “Until I Found You” with Kimber at Prom. Sweethearts dance with her and all your buddies…and the coolest photo shoot ever on very frozen Deer Creek Reservoir. Getting called as Bishop Price’s assistant. Teaching a lesson in Priests quorum and having Bishop privately tell us it was one of the best he has ever heard a youth give.

You’re not back to pre-MALS “normal.” Last fall, you went from being insanely motivated kid with the goal to bike 1,000 miles to being so fatigued you didn’t want to work out at all (and yet somehow managed to maintain straight As the entire time).

Dad bought you a secondhand exercise bike to help with recovery that sat unused for a couple of months. After several weeks of doing nothing, your alarm went off before the crack of dawn and I could hear you dragging himself over to that bike. You later told me if you were too tired to ride at the end of his day, you would ride in the mornings.

You did two separate rides that day, riding almost 30 miles. You achieved that 1,000 mile mark and gosh darn it if I don’t get emotional thinking about this incredibly difficult journey you’ve been on.  It’s hard when you can no longer fix things as a parent but you’re figuring it out. You’re learning some really invaluable lessons on resilience, turning to God, and trusting in the process while slowly adapting to this new terrain as you navigate new mountains.

And the views from the top are far more far-reaching than any podium.

We love you, Kid.

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, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16.

Arches National Park

Youung Men ATV Camp

Axl Rose

BBQ Dads Football Game

Coaching at Solider Hollow

Christmas 2022

Crested Butte, Colorado

Sweethearts at Deer Creek

Homecoming

New Year’s Eve

Private Jet

Prom

Prom

Goblin Valley/San Rafael Swell

San Francisco

Airport Farewell

Trek family

Jordanelle Reservoir

Bode,

I can’t believe you’re 16 today! As I write this, I’m recovering from COVID-19 and even though we’re 2.5 years into the pandemic, the rest of you have been miraculously spared. You have just returned from a week-long backpacking trip in the Uinta Mountains for High Adventure. And this summer has been a high adventure, indeed. You have rafted the Snake River in Jackson Hole with your friend Cameron’s family. You attended FSY (For the Strength of Youth) at Snow College with your best buddies Evan, Eli and Henry. You are a mountain bike coach at Soldier Hollow with Evan and, as I’m told, you are patient and kind with even the most difficult kids. It has also opened your eyes to parenting and after your first exhausting week, you informed me, “I don’t want to have kids until I’m able to pay someone to watch them for me.” Sound parenting strategy, Son.

Evan’s family built a gorgeous new home with a pool so you’ve enjoyed lazy pool days, backyard volleyball and long mountain bike rides. This has been the year of hard things as you’ve learned to physically push yourself to your limits. You backpacked 50 miles with the Scouts last summer in the Uintas and just did it again with your buddies on High Adventure. You took weight lifting and CrossFit classes your sophomore year and you have grown passionate about your fitness. You competed on the Comp Team Nordic at Soldier Hollow and you have become a great downhill skier as well. 

You placed in the second highest group at your mountain biking time trial last month. Instead of feeling overwhelmed that you’re now competing against much faster and more skilled riders, you are stepping it up. You made the goal to bike 100 miles in a week. You ended up biking 124 miles. In another week, you biked 40 miles in a day. You had some ups and downs in your rookie bike season but qualified for the State Championships in St. George. Touted as the longest and most punishing course they had ever created, it was your time to shine because you have been conditioned for the long and the hard.

You are in your second year working at the ranch and I love working side-by-side with you as we tend to our sheep friends. For the most part, it has gone smoothly with the exception of the really cold, frozen days and what we shall only refer to as The Barnyard Massacre when a predator decimated 99% of your chickens and turkeys. And then you had to carry off a dead goat on another day and peel off a dead mouse from your freaked-out mother’s foot. But you never complain and just do what needs to be done. Your generous paycheck may have something to with that as well: Jared pays you $60 for a couple of hours of work a week.

We hosted our Swiss exchange student, Maelle, this year and she fit in seamlessly with you as another sister. In a few weeks, we are welcoming Pablo from Spain into our home. We hadn’t intended to host another student but when we talked about it, you divulged that you have always wanted to be a big brother and that made my heart melt because I didn’t have to give birth to this one. Hopefully, it’s a win-win.

You have a lot of friend groups. Church friends. Mountain bike friends. Neighborhood friends. Friends from my mom circles. Ski team friends. School friends. Scout friends. Band friends. You went to your first dance, Preference, with your friend Brielle and had a great time. You enjoy hanging out on Charlie’s sport quart with him and Charlie. You lost your friend Titus to suicide this year which was a heartbreaking loss for everyone. But I was very touched when you, without provocation, reached out to one of his closest buddies and told him you were a safe place if he ever needed to talk. Men’s mental health matters and I hope you remember it’s OK to not be strong; always be on the lookout for people who are struggling and seek help when you are.

You had an insanely busy year. You traveled for mountain bike and ski races and Scout campouts. You spent fall break in St. George and  Zion National Park with the Mosses where we climbed Angel’s Landing, biked Snow Canyon and played pickleball. You went to Canada for Christmas as we nearly froze to death (it was the 9th coldest place on earth). We went to Sun Valley with the Iversons, Seversons and Bairds for my 50th birthday where you showcased your Nordic skiing prowess at Galena Lodge and we had so much fun playing hockey. We had the best time in San Francisco for Spring Break and a few weeks later, you went on a band trip to Disneyland where you had a blast, barely slept and learned (the hard way) after your day at the beach that you need to RUB IN your spray sunscreen.

All this and you got straight As in school and grew your biggest pumpkin ever at 675 pounds. Sadly, this year’s pumpkin was at war with the neighborhood deer and it lost. Big time.

You tried to pick up a couple of classes this summer but ended up dropping your ACT prep course because who wants to study grammar in the summer but you completed your Lifetime Fitness Class and you’re doing an online Wall Street bootcamp to learn about investing.  Hadley will be studying to become a Master Medical Aesthetician in the fall and in her immortal words, “I will make us beautiful; Bode will make us rich.” No pressure.

You did a beautiful job speaking in church yesterday about hard things, making good choices with our media, and the Parable of the Talents. You called out Bishopric member Brother Studdert for making you speak the day before your birthday but said, “Don’t worry, you can make it up to me tomorrow” and he did with a treat bag of chocolate. Well played.

You have been given so many gifts but as your parents, we most appreciate your kindness and goodness. We heard a quote about successful relationships are when you can freely give 100% and don’t expect anything in return. Dad observed that is how you live your life and is why you’re so beloved by everyone around you. You served as President of your teacher’s Quorum. Your leaders loved you. The boys loved you.

We feel like we’ve barely seen you this summer but you’re filling your life with so many good things that we can’t be sad about it. What a light you are to the world. Continue to magnify those talents you’ve been given and, with the Lord’s help, you’ll be unstoppable.

We love you,

Mom and Dad

P.S. For a stroll down memory lane, see birthday letters 1, 2, 3, 4,  5,  6, and 7, 8,  9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15.

Other Pictures

40 miler with Cameron

Disneyland Band Trip

Snow College FSY

Lagoon

King’s Peak

Moab Boy’s Trip

Sun Valley

With Titus and Spencer

Personal Best Pumpkin

Snow cave campout

Priest campout

High Adventure

San Francisco

Lagoon Western

Spring Skiing

Johnson Junior,

It’s tough to believe that 15 years ago, I had a pretty easy delivery with an easy-going kid. Really, the tough one was your father on your birth-day, whom I had to send home after you were born because he was so so so so sick and was “useless to me.” His mom had to take care of him those early days while I juggled you and Hadley.

(Sacred Grove, NY)

You’re a natural, humble leader. We’ve known this from your preschool days when your teachers said your peers looked up to you and followed your quiet example. You have been the Teacher’s Quorum President for the Fox Den Ward and it has been fun to see you learn how to be a leader as you conduct meetings and befriend each boy. You taught a lesson earlier this year that prompted a standing ovation from them and I’m sure it wasn’t just from your excellent treats. Though I’m sure that was part of it.

You’re without guile, full of loyalty, love, wisdom, calm, thoughtfulness, intelligence and expert gaming skillz (Minecraft still tops your list.) When we were driving back from Lake Powell last summer reflecting upon the chaos of all the kids on the houseboat (and my worry you felt lost in the mix), you insightfully said, “I don’t need to be the center of attention but I don’t want to be forgotten.”

You made the honor roll every term and got almost straight As your freshman year and at WHS (with a noteworthy A- in Band which could be easily remedied if you cared about practicing the saxophone). You were a tremendous help with Dad while we finished the basement and you emerged from quarantine mostly unscathed (it appealed to your introvert tendencies to chill out at home and play video games).

You and Hadley got a dog-walking gig with our beloved Chewy (Golden Retriever) and Zelda (Australian Shepherd) until they moved away. Then, you worked on the Heber Valley Railroad’s Polar Express as a “chef,” spreading delight and joy to boys and girls (or, at least cookies and hot chocolate). You grew your biggest pumpkin ever–635-pounder which you sold to Cornbellies for a nice profit and have started to see dollar signs in your plants!

For the past six months, you have been working a few hours a week at a ranch in Charleston where you get paid $60/week to take care of exotic birds, pygmy goats and sheep. Every day is a new adventure. Getting pecked by geese. Hauling heavy buckets of water and feed. The disappearance of rare ducks. Chipping ice so you can open the chicken coops. Bribing Peanut the goat back into his pen. Dealing with blown circuit breakers and frozen pipes. Working on a ranch is hearty, freezing, hot or mucky drudgery but it has been awesome to see you as a city kid work hard and tackle whatever needs to be done without complaint. Last week, you went to Tractor Supply to buy some feed (with your own VISA debit card) and I chuckled when 1) you commented on the magazine “Trapping 101″ at the check stand, saying you should look into it because you’ll probably have to trap some animals at the ranch and 2) when you signed up for Tractor Supply’s rewards program. Looks like you’re officially a country kid.

After a few years with Soldier Hollow’s Kickers and Gliders, you joined their Nordic ski team which was a lot of hard work but you have been a fantastic skier. On award day, you won the Team Mentor Award for always helping, teaching and encouraging the younger skiers. Even though it was a weird COVID year, your downhill skiing is better than ever and even though Dad won’t admit it, you’re probably the best in the family.

You recently joined the Wasatch Mountain Bike Team with some of your best buddies Henry, Eli land Evan and paid for your fancy new bike by yourself. You will have four races this summer and fall we and have been enjoying it thus far. Well, except for the 100-degree days. Better luck in the fall. You did summer ski training last summer in a mask so you’ve been well-equipped for weather-related suffering.

You’ve had some great travels this year despite the pandemic. The week before Memorial Day 2020, we met our friends the Hardymans to camp at the Grand Canyon…and were evacuated on Night 1 due to a wildfire (but talk about a memorable story about your first visit to this iconic National Park).  In July, we had our final houseboat adventures at Lake Powell with the Olsens because they sold their boat but those lazy, hot days on the water are some of our favorite memories. Last August, we had an awesome vacation in Crested Butte where we climbed 12,162-foot Mount Crested Butte (stunning) and mountain biked, and we had the time of our lives white-water rafting the Arkansas River and ziplining and scaling the precipitous Via Ferrata at Royal Gorge. The lodge we stayed at overlooking the deep cavern was spectacular and it was a fantastic family trip back to Colorado. For my birthday in February, we took a fun vacation to Bryce Canyon with the Olsens and then for Spring Break we flew out to Sea Island, Georgia for a beautiful beach vacation where you biked on the beach and successfully avoided eating seafood.

(Biking St. Simons Island)

(Crested Butte)

Your summer 2021 has been CRAZY busy.  On June 1st, you and your sister embarked on the trip of a lifetime with Illuminate Youth Tours. Church History sites like the Sacred Grove and Palmyra. Jumping in Lake Michigan in Chicago. A 13-hour day (with blisters to prove it) walking in New York City. A Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays game in Fenway Park. And Niagara Falls and Buffalo wings as a grand finale. You won Illuminate’s “Most Upbeat Attitude” award which is no small feat after traveling 4,000 miles over 17 days across 23 states. Your favorite Church History site was the Sacred Grove where you were reminded that your testimony and growth will be “line upon line.”

(Niagara Falls)

You arrived home at 1:30 a.m. and the very next day, I drove you (late) to High Adventure with the Young Men at Studdert’s cabin for some rafting and R&R in Star Valley, WY. After some male bonding, you were home for a week to try to recoup those NYC blisters (didn’t work) before embarking with the Scouts on a week-long 50-mile backpacking trip to King’s Peak, Utah’s highest mountain. You described it as hard with heat, rain, hail, heavy packs and yes, blisters but you enjoyed the challenge and did a great job.

(Star Valley, WY)

In my opinion, one of the best things to come out of quarantine was deepening your bond with your sister. When you were little, you were inseparable and that shifted when we moved to Utah when she started middle school and you were on different planets. The universe aligned again (or rather, you were forced together 24/7 for almost a year) and though you’ve never fought and have always gotten along, it’s been cool to see you both hanging out again by choice.

On your birthday weekend, you decided in the 11th hour to have your buddies over for a pizza night with our new pizza oven, games in the basement and you watched Captain America: The Tomorrow Soldier. Your actual birthday was on Sunday and you received luggage from Grandma and Grandpa Johnson, spending money for your Illuminate trip from Grandpa B., some clothes, videos games and an Apple watch. The actual day was dedicated to church, steak, cheesecake and learning how to shuffle and play poker….quite the contrast!

Bode, you are such a wonderful addition to our family and the perfect caboose to our crazy clan. You’re a person who doesn’t need much and are grateful for even the smallest gestures. A sense of contentedness abides in you which, I’m more and more convinced is the essence of our happiness. A contentedness that fuels from the inside out. And not from the outside in. Thanks for always leading the way.

Love,

Mom

P.S. For a stroll down memory lane, see birthday letters 1, 2, 3, 4,  5,  6, and 7, 8,  9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14.

(Pandemic bread and puzzles)

(Bryce Canyon)

(Fenway Park)

(SH Mentor Award)

(Sun Valley, Idaho)

(Polar Express chef)

(Pandemic wontons)

(Royal Gorge Via Ferrata)

(Jekyll Island)

Dear Bode,

I can’t believe you turn 14 today and will be a freshman next month!  There are lot of great things happening in your life and you’re moving in a wonderful direction.  Finishing middle school (hurray!). Not even one visit to the counselor’s office (double hurray!). Honor roll every term (triple hurray!).

Overall, you describe middle school as an awkward time in your life but you survived the best you could and really, talking to girls is highly overrated. You quit the piano but took up the saxophone, were part of the Student Government, made a great group of friends with whom you’d hang out and play board games every weekend…until COVID hit. The pandemic was an excuse for a consummate introvert to thrive. You’d finish your schoolwork in a few hours…and spend the rest of your time playing video games or watching insipid YouTube videos and memes.  Yep, you’re definitely a teenage boy!

You have started taking more care in your appearance. You have a cool new haircut with buzzed sides and longer hair on top and cool clothes. You have been on the Solider Hollow ski team the past year and all that training has chiseled your body.  You surpassed me in height this year (I’m now the shortest), you have the same size of shoes as Hadley (for now) and I’m not sure you’ll be as tall as Dad because, well you know, Borowski genes. Hadley quit pumpkin growing but you have dutifully soldiered on. You took first place last year with your 299-pound pumpkin which won’t give you bragging rights with the ladies but it sure delights your dad.

You were devastated to lose Fat Kitty a few months ago. Since moving to Utah, he has been your best bud, frequently curling up to you at bedtime. It was a great blessing shortly thereafter to pick up a dog-walking gig with Chewy (a Golden Retriever) and Zelda (an Australian shepherd). You’re so endearingly patient with them, especially Zelda and her “Fris”bee. You’ll make a great dog dad someday if your dad ever gives in and lets us get another pet. After the basement is finished. And the backyard. And the fence. So, pretty much we’ll get a dog when you’ve graduated from college.

You are becoming a great Nordic and downhill skier and had a lot of fun ski days with friends and family at Park City Mountain this year. Favorite trips included Canada last summer, the Grand Canyon (well, before it caught on fire), Brian Head where we had one of our favorite ski days ever, Lake Powell with the Olsens, Anderson and Calderwoods, and plenty of Scout trips. The Church disbanded the Scouting program last year but fortunately, your awesome Scout Leader Rob Sorensen has kept it going with weekly meetings and monthly backcountry adventures.  I have no doubt these will be some of your most treasured childhood memories.

You have always been a strong, quiet leader who leads by example. When you taught a lesson on the Plan of Salvation in your Teacher’s Quorum, your instructors Brother Studdert and Frisby repeatedly texted Dad and me about what a tremendous job you were doing and how engaged the boys were. They even gave you a standing ovation at the end which is a pretty amazing thing considering your audience.

Following our recent trip to Lake Powell where you were a bit ill-at-ease as the cute Aubrey and Maddie taught you to dive, you later admitted but you’re not really one who likes the spotlight….but also don’t want to be forgotten.  There are plenty of flashy people out there but the world definitely needs more substance and you’ve got it, Kid. You’re a thinker, deeply connected to the Spirit, read your scriptures nightly (you’ve read the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, started on the Old Testament and fall asleep every night to the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square). The world needs more men who are good, kind, connected and empathetic.

You are a tremendous helper, too. You have helped finish the basement and with the landscaping without complaint and, though you’re every bit as miserable doing it as the rest of us, you frequently ask, “What else?” You will be a tremendous blessing to the world, just as you have been in our lives and I can’t wait to see the many ways that you will never be forgotten.

Thank you for being such a tremendous example to us all.

Love,

Mom

P.S. For a stroll down memory lane, see birthday letters 1, 2, 3, 4,  5,  6, and 7, 8,  9, 10, 11, 12 and 13.

(Teacher’s Quorum)

(Luminaria at Thanksgiving Point)

(DEVO Ski Practice, Solider Hollow)

Playing hooky with the Kuches

(First place pumpkin)

(Backpacking with the Scouts)

(Lake Powell 2020)