Miles at the MTC

Well Miles spent a little over 5 weeks at the MTC in Provo, Utah. We got to FaceTime almost every Friday. He seemed to really love it and love his district! Towards the end of their time in the MTC, almost all the missionaries in Miles' district got a "temporary reassignment" area because of their Visas not coming in yet. . . And Miles got just where he didn't want to go, haha. California - San Jose, to be more exact. But it probably took him less than an hour to get over not wanting to go to Cali and in turn being excited about it. :)

Here are just a bunch of pictures he has sent from the MTC these past five weeks . . . 

Oh yes, Melody, Miles' "special friend" was at the MTC the same time as Miles. Miles said they ran into each other pretty often. Fun. :)

Miles arrived at the San Jose, California mission this past Friday - September 22nd. Here he is with the Mission President and his wife (the Larsons) and his companion (no idea who he is, ha).

Ahhhh, he's now "in the field." Here we go . . . 

My Dad Makes It to 80!

Well you only turn 80 once (just as any other number, ha), but 80 is a pretty big deal. So we three children of James Galbraith decided to surprise him and come out to celebrate him getting so old! Derek and Erin both flew in on Friday evening and so I headed out from my house that morning and drove to the airport to get them. Derek's girlfriend, Lee, hadn't met Erin nor I and so she wanted to come out, too. All three of them arrived fairly close together that Friday night and once all loaded in my car, we headed up to Midway.

My dad had no idea we were coming - but we had to let my mom know just for planning reasons. My mom told my dad that some friends were coming over that Friday evening so my dad wouldn't change into his bathrobe at 6pm. Haha. We have all - including Lee - seen my dad in his bathrobe so it wasn't a big deal to us, but whatever! Derek and Lee's flight was a little late and so we ended up not getting to Midway until around 9pm. 

We rang the door and my mom opened it up to us - and my dad seemed happily surprised. :) We then spent a great weekend together and just had a really wonderful time. 

Saturday morning Erin and I headed out early for a hike. We ended up doing Stewart Falls and it was lovely. A bit cool starting out - so pretty much perfect. 

Derek and Lee had a good day exploring some trails on the one-wheels. Lee got her one-wheeling groove back on and so that was fun for them. Erin and I came home and got some birthday cakes and treats prepped for the upcoming days. My dad and mom actually had a funeral to attend. My dad's best-friend and best-man at their wedding had passed away earlier that week. My mom read the obituary and my dad spoke for a few minutes on Mike. They had a nice time.

Erin and I also spent some time at Swiss Days and it was really fun just walking around and looking at everything. Derek and Lee actually came and spent a few minutes walking around with us, too. We all got lunch there and then after eating, Derek and Lee headed out to one-wheel and Erin and I stayed and walked around some more.

Saturday night we enjoyed some delicious caught-by-Derek salmon - which both Derek and Lee helped grill. It was so good, along with everything else my mom cooked up. 

We enjoyed some yummy chocolate cake that night as well.

On Sunday, four of us went to church. It was packed due to the holiday weekend and post-Swiss days. People went all the way to the stage - with about a dozen people on the stage. Crazy stuff.

After church Erin went on a nice ride with my dad on the Ranger. I am sure my dad was thrilled to take Erin! (I, ummmm, had already gone on a long ride the last time I was there and so I already had paid my dues, haha.) While Erin and dad were out, my mom and I started prepping for dinner and doing some birthday decorating. Around five, my dad's two brothers and their wives (his other brother and wife are currently serving a mission in Europe) came over for a typical and yummy Kalua dinner. We had such a great night visiting with each other - it was a lot of fun and I know my dad and his brothers really enjoyed getting together. It was a really great night.

We found an old photo of the same group (brother Bruce, who wasn't that night also hadn't moved him and his family to Utah yet and so was missing in the original as well) and decided to recreate it. How adorable! We are guessing about a 35-year time-span between the two photos. So awesome.

My Aunt Bonnie made some adorable and delicious cookies - to go along with Oreo Pie. :)

Monday was my dad's actual birthday. I headed out real early that morning (out the door by 5am) to do a triathlon in Bountiful. I am going to be out of town for the local one we like to participate in here (the Black Canyon Triathlon, BCT), so I thought I would see if Utah had one. And they did on Labor Day! Fun! That night/morning there was insane rain and lightning and thunder at my parents' home. I had been checking the weather for my race and it wasn't looking ideal. Rain for sure. As I headed out that morning in the dark, it seemed to clear up . . . until I got into the Salt Lake valley. Then the rain started coming down really hard! As I was setting up my transition area, it was just pouring and thundering and lightning. I was like, "Are we really doing this?" But as everyone else was going about and setting up their areas, I was like, "Okay, then, we are doing this." 

The swim was just fine - but it's a "serpentine" style. Meaning you go up one lane and then over and down the next, etc. Which also means there are anywhere from 5-8 people in a lane. It's the worst. I hate that style. It's just chaotic. I had trouble getting my rhythm of going under the ropes for the first few laps and was swallowing water, etc. I got passed by a few men and passed a couple myself. But I finished and my time was decent for me. It was 350 yards (as opposed to my usual 500-yard triathlon) and so that was kind of nice, ha.

After that I headed to my transition area, put on my soaking wet soaks and shoes, and headed out on the bike section. It was now pouring like crazy! I am pretty sure I got more wet on my bike ride than on my swim! It was cold and crazy, but also kind of fun. It just seemed ridiculous, really, to be doing this, but there we were. I actually passed quite a few people (2 dozen?) on the bike ride. So that felt pretty great. This bike course was 12+ miles, a little under the 14+ mile we do at the BCT. Again, nice to have it a bit shorter, ha, but 2 miles on a bike isn't a big deal really.

Then it was off the bike and on to my run. I was not looking forward to running in sloshy shoes, but maybe the impact of running squeezed the water all out, or I just didn't notice it - but it wasn't bad at all. The run went well and I felt really good. I ended up passing people on the run, too - maybe about a dozen. But everyone starts at different times and so who knows really. The run was almost 3.4 miles, so this time a bit longer than the usual 3.1. But I finished and was so excited to change out of my soaking wet clothing! It was still a bit cool and so it just felt great - sometimes if it's hot and sunny I don't feel the best after an exerting race. Luckily we were able to hang out under a sheltered picnic area and so that was nice. I got a terribly painful post-race massage (oh she hurt so bad!) and then just waited for awards. I ended getting 3rd place in my division - out of 12. I was super pleased with that. I wasn't super-pleased for the lame award ceremony (names just read out and then you went up to grab your award) nor the lame award - work gloves. Size large. I gave them to Ben, ha. I was really happy with my times and results. I ended up getting 10th out of 77 females. And 55th out of 216 total competitors. With the weather, it was quite the memorable triathlon!

I then headed back up to Midway and enjoyed the rest of the day hanging out, including taking a nap. :) For my mom's birthday coming up, Erin and I took her to see Barbie. My mom had really been wanting to see it and so it was fun to go together! Erin had seen it a couple of times already and it was my first time as well. It was actually a great movie and just funny and witty. After the movie, we met the other three (Dad, Derek, and Lee) at Ruth's Chris restaurant for an amazing dinner. Horrible name. Incredible food. I have never had a more tender and melt-in-you-mouth steak as I did that night. Everything we had was just delicious and it was a fun dinner for sure. My mom and dad both got birthday candles and it was just a wonderful evening.

And that was just about it for the fun weekend! My dad took my brother, Lee, and Erin to the airport on Tuesday morning and I headed out back home. 

Can't wait to do it again in another two years . . . 

Jonas' Army Basic Training Graduation

Well the four of us, plus friend Abby (one of Emmy's best-friends and a sort of girlfriend of Jonas' - although only thru this weekend's homecoming dance....), went to South Carolina to celebrate Jonas' graduation from Basic Training, i.e., boot camp.

Since we were sort of in their neck of the woods, Erin and Everett and Oliver joined us! It was awesome having them all there - even if our kids our awkward teens.... It was super great to see them and have a few days together.

We Coloradans arrived Tuesday night/Wednesday morning - like 1am or something. We got our rental car, dropped off Kolter's mom (Kandace) at her hotel, and then checked in to our hotel in Columbia, SC. We didn't get much sleep as we had to get up and out by like 6am Wednesday morning (4am our time!).

We met my sister and kids at the breakfast at the hotel and it was fun to see them! We then drove to the Fort Jackson base and really had no trouble or lines getting in - which meant we were quite early and had a lot of time to wait. . . 

Wednesday was Family Day. That meant we got to see Jonas and hang out with him for the day - all on base. It was actually a really cool presentation when the soldiers came out. They were hiding behind the field in the trees (for 2 hours we later found out from Jonas). At 9am they had these green and yellow smoke bombs and the soldiers all came out of the trees, through the smoke, and lined up. It was awesome and kind of emotional. Emmy was in tears. :) Then words were spoken, etc. It was a total Where's Waldo scenario, but Lucy found Jonas among the 600+ graduates! I wasn't sure at first when she pointed him out, but when he started smirking/smiling (he can't hold a serious face for long!), I totally knew it was Jonas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iedBJqpges&ab_channel=EmilyMaxwell (link to video of the new soldiers coming out of the trees)

We finally got to go down to the field and "tap him out," meaning we got to release him or something. It was good to finally see him and he looked really good and happy - even though he quickly told us he was "dying to get out of there." Haha.

We didn't know exactly what to do on base, but we did go to the mini golf course there and it was super fun. We grabbed lunch from some food trucks, drove around the base and Jonas showed us some things, met up with Kandace and Kolter at a park and had a good chat, etc. It was a good day and fun seeing Jonas and his home for those 10+ weeks of his summer.

That night, we had to return Jonas by about 5:30, we met back up with my sister and her boys (they spent most of the day with us, but left after lunch to chill at the hotel) for a tasty dinner at Tacos Nayarit and then went to the movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Weirdly (or not, ha) we were the only ones in the theater.

Thursday was the official graduation day. The soldiers all marched out and chants, songs, and honors were all done. Then it was over! Jonas was finally done! He was thrilled. We parked while Jonas and Ben grabbed all of Jonas' stuff and then we left Fort Jackson - freedom for Jonas!

 

Cute group of new Army Soldiers! On Jonas' right is Kolter and on his left is one of the boys Jonas baptized. Cool.

We drove to Charleston - about a two-hour drive. Erin and her boys were a bit behind us (they stopped at a state park/national park on their way). Charleston was such an adorable town! I loved it. The homes were gorgeous and I always adore me a cute cobblestone street. :) We split up from the kids and let them walk around by themselves. Ben and I walked to the ocean and then up the famous "Rainbow Row" street. We came to some museum and they had a tour, of course. As it would have been torture for me, I let Ben go alone and I just walked up and down the pretty town. Besides the heat and humidity, it was lovely. I caught up with Erin and crew and we walked around for a bit together. 

After everyone was done, we went and checked in to our AirBnB. We enjoyed some downtime and then met up with my sister for dinner later that evening. We had a good and fun dinner, enjoyed a walk on the beach (Folly Beach) at sunset, and then back to our places for the night. 

On Friday morning Ben and I got up early and went for a run. We decided to do a unique but must-do run for the area: up and over and then back again on the Arthur Ravenel Bridge. It was awesome and awful all at the same time! The bridge is 2.5 miles long - so it made for a good 5-mile run. But it was just so hard! It started off with some good incline, but really it was just the humidity, I think, that made it so difficult. I was ready to get that amazing feeling of running at zero altitude, but the humidity crushed that feeling for me, ha. But it was still fun to do and to do with Ben.

Afterwards, we got ready for our beach day at Folly Beach. I had signed up Ben and Jonas for surf lessons . . . because I thought Jonas would like it. He totally did not want to do it! Mostly (solely?) because he was afraid of us (but probably just Abby) watching him and him doing poorly. I told him we wouldn't watch him and that the girls would just be enjoying boogie-boarding, etc. He ended up having a good time and both he and Ben did great - the instructor was super-impressed with how many rides they each got up on. She said she usually has to spend the full 2-hour lesson just helping the rider get up once. Both Jonas and Ben got up, I would say, about 8 times . . . Not that I was watching or anything. . .

Erin and her boys seemed to have a lot of fun in the water - mostly wave-jumping. We got to use their boogie-boards and the AirBnB's boards and my girls had a blast in the water as well. Abby was super awesome at boggie-boarding! It was a hot day and so that made it perfect for the beach, I guess! We took a lunch break and walked into the town of Folly Beach and enjoyed some lunch. Erin and her boys headed out at that point. Our kids plus Abby walked around and went in to a few shops. Then we met them back up at the beach and Emmy and Lucy and Ben enjoyed some more water-time in the warm beach, plus some sand football tossing. It was a really great day.

That night we just ordered pizza and had everyone over at our place for dinner. We talked and had a good time and then were pretty tired and had to get up at like 4am (2am our time!) to get to the airport the next day. . . So we said goodbye to our Huband family (Chuck started work that week and so he was unable to come - we missed him!) and went to bed. We got up not-bright (still super-dark) & early and headed to the airport. We got out of Charleston just fine, but man was it a mess at the Dallas airport. Four airplanes and four terminals later and 6-hours later than planned, we made it back home to Montrose. 

Home Sweet Home for Jonas for sure!