Life Speeds On for the Howells

Dear family,
You would think that as your kids get older and more "selfsufficient", that your life would become simpler, but it isn't true. It just means that you need to be more places all at the same time. Thus, our lives are a constant whirlwind.
February brought the State 5A Swim Meet at BYU, for which Nick qualified. He was an alternate in the Butterfly, but didn't end up swimming that. He was also on the 200 meter Freestyle relay team. The coach made a few changes, pulling some people from the relay team to swim elsewhere, so they didn't do quite as well as we'd hoped, but the whole experience was a good one for Nick. He got to take part in the head shaving and body waxing that typically goes with the State Meet. It was all good except for the leg waxing. His leg hair is so thick that he came home bleeding. Ouch!
March - Nick received a plaque for being the Most Improved Swimmer at the team's awards banquet. We also had spring break (yahoo!!). Unfortunately, Whitney's break was the week before all of the rest of ours. She decided to stay in Moscow, rather than come home and sit around while the rest of us were at school and work. When our break came, we decided we'd go camping, and went to Zion Nat'l Park for a few days. It was very crowded, but the weather was perfect. Shirt sleeves were fine, with a jacket for mornings and evenings. Even though there were few flowers blooming, it was still beautiful. We hiked to the Emerald Pools, the River Walk (not the actual Narrows), Hidden Canyon, and Canyon Overlook. Hidden Canyon was my favorite -- there weren't many people, and we had to do some rock climbing and snow sliding to get through some places. When there are things like that, it really makes me feel like I've been adventurous and accomplished something, rather than just plodding along for miles and miles. It somehow makes it better. Nick and Alex discovered a hollowed out niche in the sandstone where we ate our lunch. Maybe next time we can do Angel's Landing. I've heard that it is pretty amazing.
When we got home, Whitney called and exacted her revenge for being left out of the fun by telling us that she was going to get married. It was a hard thing for me to accept. I'd just lost one daughter, and now the second one (only 19, mind you) told me she was going to go, too. I'm now fine with it, though I'll definitely be lonely for my girls. :0(
April - Alex turned 14, and both he and Sharon had interviews. On April 20, Alex was ordained a teacher, and Sharon was set apart as 1st counselor in the bishopric. After Sharon received the call, we met with the bishop. I told him I didn't feel like it was time for me to be released, even though the Stake President had said that would need to happen with Sharon's new calling. I would go by whatever the bishop felt was best, though. He seemed greatly relieved, and said he would like me to continue as the Relief Society President if possible. So that is what we're doing, assessing things each month in my PPI with him. So far we're doing okay, although the busy factor has definitely increased.
May - Finishing up the school year for everyone. Nick played water polo again this year. We went to the State tournament at Park City, where his team, as well as the girls' team took 1st place! Whitney came home for the summer (and turned 20, so she doesn't seem quite so young to be getting married), and we started some wedding plans. She was a huge help in the yard, where there is a lot to do in preparation for a wedding open house in our backyard. Brian, her fiancee, came to visit for a week, and we went to the International Peace Gardens and took some engagement photos. It was good to get to know him, and hopefully he doesn't think we are too weird. In the middle of all this, we had three deaths in the ward, and I, as the RS Pres, get to put together funeral luncheons for each one. I'm getting pretty good at it by now. I finished work for the school year. It always makes me feel good when I walk into a classroom at the end of the year and get mobbed by children who want to hug me goodbye. I love these kids, and I'll get 90 more to learn to love at the end of July. :0)
June - Alex received an award for the Outstanding Science Student at the junior high. Nick graduated from seminary, and then later in the week, we attended his high school graduation. Whew! Since then, there have been camps and activities for most of us every weekend. Whitney got a job with a temp agency, and they found her something that would last through July 25, which would be perfect timing. Unfortunately, the day she started, she was sick, and it just got worse. She didn't return, finally having to tell the agency to replace her. It's been 2 weeks, and she's still got a bad cough and is tired all the time. The doctor told us it's bronchitis, and we just have to wait for it to go away on its own. :0(
July - We'll, there's going to be another funeral. That makes 6 in the year and a half that I've had this calling, 4 of them since mid-May! We're also working to get Nick ready to attend college in the fall. Looks like he'll be going to Salt Lake Community College, but still not sure what he really wants to do. He's been working since June for mosquito abatement, and has decided that getting a paycheck is pretty cool. He and Sharon are out spending a good portion of it as I speak. He's very into guns, and is buying himself a .223 Remington Varminter rifle. We're heading up to Ogden to spend the 4th picnicking with Jamie and Matthew.

Hope to hear from you all soon. Love, Susie :0)
P.S. I'll try to find some pictures and do an additional post with those...

from the road

The Brightons are on the road, have been for 5 weeks, and will be for another one...
We drove through Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Montana, Idaho (hi to Grandma and Grandpa), to Utah.
Then we headed back north by way of Idaho, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and we'll be back home in Alaska next week.
Details on my own blog, along with some pictures (with more details to come) but here's the short synopsis:

• We got rid of 80% of our stuff (massive garage sale, YAY! so nice to get rid of STUFF!)
• Our remaining stuff (just a little) is in storage at my in-laws house, and we'll slowly get it over the next year or two...we have concluded that we'll be staying in Alaska indefinitely, so there was no point in keeping very much because it's so costly to move it up.
  
• We drove 6000 miles in 6 weeks...which is deceptive because first it was 3000 miles in 10 days, and then it was mostly sitting around for 3 weeks...followed by a lot more driving in another short period
• Will got baptized on his birthday--long story involving a very cold lake in Brighton...
• Sam runs fast, loves to help, and learns new words daily. Today he learned 'rain' and 'bird' and set the table. He also loves music and cars.
• We're in Pelican for another year, and Dave is halfway though his master's program (fully grant-funded, oh we love Alaska!) Next year (hopefully) we'll be headed to a larger town in the same region of Alaska. (Note that 'large' probably means 6-8000 people...but hey, after 70, that's a metropolis!)