Landon Built a Computer

With his summer earnings, Landon purchased the components to build himself a gaming PC.

And it works! 

BYU Bound

A little over two weeks ago my dad flew to Texas to help me drive Kaylee to Utah. The decision was finally made, Kaylee was going to BYU. Because we were driving, Chris and I decided I would leave the van with the girls and fly home. On the morning of August 22nd we loaded up the car and headed to Provo. 

We decided to make a small road trip out of our journey with our first pit stop being Roswell, New Mexico. We toured the International UFO Museum and then left for Albuquerque where we planned to stay the night.  

As we left Roswell, the weather started turning. We'd driven through a little rain already, but nothing too bad. Before our trip, I had been watching the weather report religiously because New Mexico and Southern Utah were expecting monsoon rains and flooding. I was hoping we'd make it to Albuquerque without too much incident, but it was not to be. About an hour out of Roswell, we were struck by the forecasted monsoon rains. I was driving and suddenly the puddles in the road were getting deeper and deeper. We finally got to a spot where cars had started stopping in the middle of the road. When I saw an 18 wheeler pulled over I decided we'd better stop. It was good we did. The road in front of us was experiencing a flash flood and water was pouring down and across both sides of the highway. So we sat and we sat some more. After what seemed like forever, the 18 wheeler pulled up along side us. The driver rolled down his window and told us to follow him through the flood. I was skeptical. There was already a car stuck several yards up the road. We briefly discussed what to do and decided to follow the truck into the flood. It was terrifying but the truck driver got us through. He basically parted the floods. I was shaking by the time we got through it. The trucker took off and we realized we didn't get a chance to thank him. But, several miles down the road we did catch up to him and gave him a thankful wave. 

We made it to Albuquerque later that evening (I'd totally move there by the way) hoping our troubles were over, but as we were unloading all of Kaylee's treasures out of the van because there were signs all over the place stating that nothing should be left inside vehicles unattended, I went to close one of the sliding doors, and it wouldn't budge. Upon further inspection, I noticed that a cable on the door that should have been taut was completely loose. My dad worked and worked to figure out how to fix it, but it wouldn't budge. It was Saturday night and we knew there was no way anyone would be available to look at it, so we finally made the decision we needed to make. We shut off the automatic doors for good and cut the cable. After that, we ate dinner and went to bed. 

The next morning, I received a call from a friend who was also heading to Provo. She knew we were making our way to Moab that day and wanted to let me know Moab had completely flooded the night before. I called our hotel to see if they were open. They were, so we left for Moab. It was a beautiful day. Along the way we stopped at the original Route 66 Pit Stop, the Continental Divide, Four Corners National Monument (we got to be in four states at once!), and Wilson's Arch. We had a blast driving and stopping and making jokes about the van falling apart. At one point as we were leaving Four Corners my dad pulled over because he was certain he'd seen a piece of the car fly off. We couldn't figure out what (if anything) had broken off the van, but the new joke was that we were leaving a trail of car parts from Texas to Utah so we could find our way back like Hansel and Gretel. 

On a side note, a large portion of our trip that day was through Indian reservations. Let me just say, the United States really did Native Americans dirty when they chose what land to give to them. It was desolate for the most part and quite humbling to see the living conditions

After 7 or so hours of driving we arrived in Moab. My friend was not joking about the flood. There was red sand everywhere. On the streets, piled on the sides of the road, in the air. Clean up was under way, but downtown Moab had truly been under water the night before. They were calling it a 100 year flood. Our hotel was fine, so we checked in, brought in a few of Kaylee's belongings, and headed to Arches National Park. It was amazing! We stayed until dark, got some dinner, went back to our hotel, cleaned up, went to bed, got up early the next morning, and headed back to Arches. We didn't have to check out of our hotel until noon, so we spend another couple of hours there. I pretty much want to move to Moab and become a park ranger now. 

Once we were back from Arches, we headed out for what our trip was truly about - taking Kaylee to college. Three more hours of driving, and we would be in Provo. Easy peasy. Except it wasn't. As we were driving through the last canyon that would spit us out just south of Provo, something hit our windshield. It was big, and it was loud. It scared us half to death, and it broke the windshield in the weirdest circular break pattern we'd ever seen. At that point I was literally praying we'd make it to Provo in one piece. We joked that we'd be driving into Provo in a car frame if we were lucky. But we were more than lucky. Even though there was a broken windshield, a broken door, a dangling cable, and brakes that were maybe shuttering we made it to Provo more or less in one piece. And so began the move.

We had done so much in just two days that if felt like a dream and also a vacation. Once we got to Provo, reality hit. Kaylee was staying, and I was not. It was a hard pill to swallow. We stayed the night in an Airbnb and headed to Heritage Halls the next morning. Ainsley met us there, and we started the move. The next few days were filled with organizing, shopping, and orientation. We also got our windshield replaced and "fixed" the car door in a very unorthodox way. After much research we decided the cable had to completely go. It was going to be really expensive to fix otherwise. The girls were going to have to keep the automatic doors off and man handle the heavy doors. We bought a pair of wire cutters, and on our last day there my dad went to work. Except he cut the cable on the wrong door, so we now had two broken doors! At first we were in shock, but now that I think about it I pretty much die laughing. Of course that would happen! Turns out, it was the right thing to do though. For some reason cutting both cables made the doors a lot lighter, and they open and close like regular manual sliders now. Who would've guessed?

One week after our adventure began it came to an end for my dad and I. It's just beginning for Kaylee. We said some tearful goodbyes, and Ainsley took us to the airport. My dad and I hung out for awhile, said our own tearful goodbyes and went our separate ways. I love the love our family has for each other. It is wonderful, and it is big, but it's also hard sometimes. Just thinking about the people I love living so far away makes me cry and the thought of both of my girls living 1500 miles away has not been easy. They are my friends, and I adore them both. We have the best times together. I miss them so much, but I am also so happy they are following their dreams and hope there are many good times ahead. Kaylee has finished her first week of classes and seems to be doing well. I am trying to give her some space right now to adjust and get into a routine. Ainsley is giving me some glimpses into Kaylee's days and Kaylee is sending tidbits here and there. This is hard for her, but I think it is going to be a great adventure too. And, I know Kaylee can do hard things.

Landon

This summer came and went in the blink of an eye. I always feel like summer goes by way too fast, but this year it went by crazy fast. Landon got his first job at Culver's. He liked it a lot in the beginning, but by the end of the summer he was ready for a break. He ate a lot of Culver's and ended almost every shift with custard. 

At the end of July Landon celebrated his 16th birthday with a trip to an arcade with his friend Zoe. That evening we ate fried chicken for dinner with pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. There were also presents and video games. It was a pretty chill day. Just how Landon likes it. 

At the beginning of August Landon took a solo trip to California where he got to visit with family and meet his baby cousin Thea for the first time. He fell in love with San Francisco and realized he's more of a California guy than he thought.

A week and a half after he returned from California, Landon started his junior year of high school. He is taking three college courses this semester and loves his schedule so far.

Finally, after countless hours of driver's training over the past year, Landon took his drive test two days ago and is now a licensed driver. He celebrated by taking his first unaccompanied drive to Andy's to buy himself a custard concrete. 

Landon has grown up so much the last couple of years. He has become incredibly independent and is learning to navigate life without much help from his parents. He is making plans for his future and is well on his way to success. There have been a few bumps in the road and there will probably be a few more, but Landon has a bright future ahead of him. I fully expect to see him do some amazing things. We love and adore you Landon!

Graduation!

We have ourselves another high school graduate! Kaylee graduated on May 28th and never has to go back to Gateway again! Both sets of grandparents flew in, and so did Ainsley. We had a full house! Poor Grandpa Gadd has been having some pretty severe back trouble lately and unfortunately had a flare up the day of graduation. He sadly was unable to attend. Fortunately it was being live streamed, so he could at least watch it. We took LOTS of photos, ate Salt Lick BBQ after graduation, and sent Kaylee on her way to grad night late that evening where she totally won a Ninja smoothie blender! 

This summer Kaylee is working as an intern at a local art school and is still deciding what she is going to do in the fall. It's looking more and more like she is going to be BYU bound, but we'll see. It's so crazy that Kaylee has graduated and is ready to move on to bigger and better things. Her future is bright, and I am excited to see what is headed her way. Congratulations Kaylee! We love you so so very much!