Happy 11 birthday, Bode!

It has been quite the year and I think our move has been the very hardest on you. When asked what your favorite place in the world was, you’d always respond “Home,” and you were deeply rooted to our family, your many friends and our Colorado adventures.

You were the Big Man on Campus at Vanderhoof Elementary. You’d grown up with everyone and were beloved by all as they voted you to the Student Council. You prided yourself on being obedient, smart and kind and had some of the most wonderful friends whom we miss every day.

You’re slowly rebuilding and finding your place here. You had the short stick in the draw–entering fifth grade in an alternate universe of a 5-6 Intermediate School which closed down this summer. You’ll be bumped up to middle school, which means you’ll have to start over yet again as the youngest in the school. But like most things you try to make the best of it and rarely complain, even on the really hard days.

You quickly rose to the top of your class and your teacher divulged that the kids came to you for help in math before her. All the students were given laptops during the school year and this was just an excuse to read silly memes and obsessively check your online grades.  One day as you dramatically read each itemized grade to me, Hadley interrupted. I told her, “Hadley, can you hold on? I’m listening to Bode,” which prompted you to reply, “Nevermind. They’re all straight A’s again.”

I spent a lot of the school year worrying you hadn’t yet found your Tribe until I chaperoned a field trip in May and was relieved to see you with a group of fun, respectful, athletic boys who radiated goodness. At church, you’ve made some good friends with the Seversons and Jonas. You had a blast doing the Kids Adventure Games with your ski buddy,  Porter, despite the fact he was like the Energizer Bunny. When his bike chain kept slipping off because he was incorrectly changing gears, you confessed, “I was glad when it kept happening because he never wanted to stop and rest.”

You’ve been a part of Webelos this year and earned your rank. You (and, let’s be honest, your dad) won the Pinewood Derby, a great way to leave Cub Scouts with a bang. You and your fellow technology geeks took free coding classes at the library and learned such monumental skills like learning to hack a website. In the spring, you once again dominated rec soccer despite having your dad as the coach (which we’ll both agree isn’t always super fun). We were relieved when you opted to do rec soccer again this fall despite the fact that many boys your age are competing in competitive, which is akin to selling your soul (and free time) to the Devil.

This summer, you attended a week-long adventure camp at Keystone Science School, a golf camp last week at the Homestead and took a weekly fishing clinic at Wasatch Mountain State Park. Our travels have been  minimal this year due to our tight finances but you’ve enjoyed returning to Colorado a couple of times to see your friends and our favorite place on earth: The Broadmoor.

You and I had quite the winter together. You agreed to try Nordic Ski lessons at Olympic venue Soldier Hollow so twice a week I volunteered in your class for the sole purpose of skiing for free.  You took six weeks of ski lessons at Sundance Ski Resort where you fine-tuned your skills. You and I were also the only two in the family with free passes to Park City Ski Area so our accumulative total number of ski days this year was 30+. I’m not sure if it was all the cross-country skiing you did, but something clicked for you and your downhill skiing is better than ever. You attempted double-black diamond McConkey’s Bowl and have become a solid, excellent skier who wants to ski more challenging terrain than your decrepit mother wants to ski. We made the financial sacrifice to buy everyone season passes next year because what’s the point of living in the mountains if we can’t enjoy them? Eating is highly overrated anyway.

Though you’re still as snuggly and kind as ever (but only in private; you can’t lose face in front of your friends), I’ve seen little signs of distancing yourself away from us and the occasional pre-teen moodiness. You’ve been a complete ray of sunshine for many years so it’s to be expected that some dark clouds of teenage-dom should loom but here’s for hoping they aren’t here to stay.

You’re a pleaser and even when you don’t want to do something you’re asked, you do it quickly so you can get back to the fun stuff. Like video games. Lots of them. If I didn’t have any kind of monitoring system, you would play 24-7 so I’m hoping you’ll grow out of this technology addiction that is your Achilles heal and the source of your occasional moodiness. We have the most beautiful sunsets in our backyard and one day I told you, “Bode, look outside at the gorgeous sunset.” You quickly glanced up and then down. “On Minecraft there’s a beautiful sunset, too.”

You only tolerate the piano but to your credit, you’ve stayed with it. However, you really like listening to popular music and your favorite artists include Imagine Dragons and Daughtry. You and Fat Kitty have finally become besties. For years, you were his least favorite person in the family because you wanted to maul him with love. You’ve always been patient.  First, there were Hadley’s beloved stuffed animals, Tabby and Lolly, whom you loved in secret while she was in preschool and you were thrilled to pounce on them when she moved on. Fat Kitty has proven the same. Though she still adores him, he doesn’t have the same appeal as make-up and boys so you have become his caretaker, feeding and taking care of his every need. You have been rewarded with his long-anticipated affections. Your brother from another mother now goes to your bed to sleep with you first, the ultimate badge of honor for everyone in the family except your father who doesn’t understand The Grandeur That Is Fat Kitty.

For your “friend” birthday this year, you invited Jonas, Porter, Eli and Charlie to the Aqua X Zone obstacle course on Jordanelle Reservoir where your inconsiderate sister proceeded to break her arm. Undaunted, you all bravely carried on as she was rushed to the ER. 🙂 We are currently in Calgary for your “real” birthday. We generally have a big family celebration that has been bumped to Thursday night and you’ll have to share the spotlight with Uncle Jade for your family dinner the night before his wedding. Something tells me that you won’t mind so long as you get to celebrate with Timbits and video games on your big day.

If you remember anything about your first year in Utah, I hope that you remember that you are loved–both by your Colorado friends and family–and by your new ones here. You can do hard things and I have no doubt that as you continue to climb to the top that the summit views will be spectacular.  Just know that we will be cheering and loving you no matter where we are on that mountain. Always.

Love,

Mom

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