A Book Review: Unbroken

Some of you may have heard about this one. I was hearing great things about it, so I added it to my kindle this past week. I could barely put it down for the 3 days it took me to read it. I stayed up until 2:00 this morning / last night finishing it, and decided I had to blog about it right away. I give it 5 stars. In fact, this may have become my new all-time favorite book.  I love stories of human triumph. This one is unsurpassed. In the same spirit as Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning (though in the form of an AMAZING story and less of an analysis), this book shows the depths of human endurance and the POWER of forgiveness and love. It's the story of an American Olympic distance runner, Louis Zamperini, who was easily on track to be the fastest miler in history up to that point, when the world descended into war. His journey and the horrors he and others experienced over the next several years is unbelievable. It's got just about everything: Running, the Olympics, Hitler (up close), air battles, a particularly beautiful "Joe vs. The Volcano" kind of  moment, angels, Japanese POW camps, Billy Graham, skateboarding... I won't spoil anything for you here, in case some of you wanted to read it. But I have to say that my admiration for "the greatest generation" and my own determination to live in gratitude and forgiveness have increased.
The author (of Seabiscuit fame) is an incredible story-teller. Fair warning: the descriptions of violence and degradation in the POW camps is graphic, and really tough to read. But the redemption of a human soul is so beautiful and inspiring I was brought to happy tears. This guy is one of my new heroes.

Life is beautiful

Louie Zamperini, who took up skateboarding in his 70's, here at 81

Crossing the Finish Line

Five years and six races later I am hanging it up as the official race planner / timer of the NPA 5k/1 mile fun run. It's been a lot of fun, and at times a lot of stress. I have gotten to know some great people better, and we've made some awesome memories.

 

**Sigh**

 

But life goes on.  Next year I plan to participate as a private citizen. :)

 

This year the kids put up some great times. Noble decided he was going to see how fast he could run the mile. He ran it in 6 minutes 11 seconds. He didn't beat his previous record of 5 minutes 46 seconds...so he was a little bummed, but he still won by quite a bit. 

 

 

 

The next runner was some awesome 2nd grade girl about a minute behind Noble. Then at around 7 min. 30 sec. this guy who had run the whole way CARRYING his baby, crossed the finish line.  That's hard core.

 

 

Tillman came in with his friend at about 8 minutes, Grace about 10 minutes.

Sully finishing strong with a time of 12:16.

 

Here he is with our old friend Michele Rosqvist who ran the mile with him so I could take care of business at the finish line and Mike could direct traffic out on the 5K route. She saved the day. I am so thankful for good friends.

 

Tillman, Sully and our neighborhood/carpool buddy at the finish line.

 

Jessie finishing strong in the 5k. I don't remember her time, but it's faster than I can run.

 

A good time was had by all.

It's a little sad to step away from something you've been a part of from the beginning. But in other ways, I am happy to let others take it on.

 

 

 

Sully Has Lift Off

 

 

Sully recently took one small step for him, one giant leap in the realm of childhood milestones...he graduated to riding a two wheeler.

 

Like his brother Tillman before him he took to it naturally. Not a lot of fuss and anxiety...just get on and go.

His universe has just expanded. And he is pretty excited. Go Sully! Safe travels.

J. In The Driver's Seat

This has been an exciting month for Jessie.  The end of September found us at the Golden Spike Arena in Ogden for the State 4H Horse Championship. 

She was kind of disappointed with Dolli's performance in show events on the first day. Usually, show events are Dolli's bread and butter, but especially in Halter (a ground work event) she came unglued.

In the warm up arena before show events. Looking sharp!

Jessie lunging Dolli before events on day 1.

Trail

A beautiful pivot in the box

But day 2 - speed events - was a different story all together. Historically, Dolli hasn't displayed lightning speed. She's respectable, but Jessie's always just resigned herself to the fact that Dolli would never be winning any ribbons when it came to speed.

She proved us wrong at State. Jessie was blowing past personal bests all over the place. Quadrangle, Poles, and then Barrels. And at the end of the day, Jessie ended up taking 19th overall, out of about 150, in speed. (We didn't see that coming, so we left before the awards ceremony. Oops. We are still doing penance for that one with Jessie. Another demerit on our parenting record. In our defense though, we had been away from home a LONG time, and were anxious to get back to our other children.  Her friend collected her ribbon for her, and she got it at practice later. Sorry J. )

Sun rise on day 2.  Waiting to run.

Here's the video of her Barrels run. She had quite a fan club, as you will hear.

DSCN5403 from Angie Melton on Vimeo.

Here, at the end of another State Championship with the man of the hour, Grandpa Sullivan.
The memories are priceless.

 (By the way, that horse on the left, another of Grandpa's project horses, took first in State...second year in a row for a Sullivan-trained horse, Megan L. riding. Not too shabby. Congrats, Meg!) 

In other Jessie-related news, the long-awaited day finally arrived when Jessie took the wheel. It was long-awaited because I didn't realize that to get a learner's permit she had have her social security card, which I lost years ago and hadn't taken the time to replace yet (more great parenting). So I spent a day at the social security office (thank goodness I squeaked that one through before the government shut down), and then we had to wait a week for it to arrive in the mail. THEN.....there was the written test to take...and then take again....and then take again. (To tell you the truth, she knew her stuff, so I think that the DMV must have intimidated her. Which I can totally understand.)  

Third time's the charm. On her last attempt she passed with a 95%...so I guess she's qualified.

She is now legal on the roads (with a parent). It's hard to believe, but we have a teenage driver in the house. 

...And suddenly, for some reason, I find myself marking the time until she leaves home (can you believe it?) ...because if the day came when she's old enough to drive a car, the day will inevitably come (sooner than later) when she leaves the nest. It's really happening.

We're trying to enjoy it all.  Love you, Jess!

A Smattering

I usually like to follow a specific theme in a blog post. It keeps me focused and I draw meaning from the experiences of our lives that way. But when I go a month between posts that's kind of hard to do. I don't want to leave stuff out...so let's try a little thematic scatter-shot... stay with me.

#1. Outside Enjoying the Last Warm Days

Sully and Abner taking flight on the swings (in the play area that is STILL a work in progress -- into year 2 of this reno, and it will probably be next year when we finish this up). I love Sully's face. ha ha ha.

 A LOVELY late-summer sunrise.

 And and equally beautiful sunset. 

 Noble getting after it on the soccer field. He is really enjoying soccer even though, by contrast  to last year, his team hasn't won a game yet.

#2. Abner the Master of Cuh-Razy

The award for the busy, busy, busy, busiest Melton EVER goes to.....Abner William. He is wall-to-wall action, all day, every day. He can climb ANYTHING, get into just about any kind of container, get out of his crib, and open doors. He loves my make-up, throwing sand and flour and powdered sugar, drinking out of the toilet, eating gum from....who knows where?, head-butting, biting, tackling, spitting, pouring his own milk (!), NOT napping, helping himself to the fridge and pantry anytime, terrorizing the cat and even Jupiter, and running (away from me) at a VERY impressive pace (if we can channel his abilities, we may have an Olympian on our hands). Now that he can get out of his crib and open doors, nap and bed times have become a tricky business, usually including Ab ransacking the room, wrestling (sometimes beating up on) Sully, escaping,  me chasing him around the house (did I mention how FAST he is?), and finally resulting in him running suddenly out of fuel and crashing somewhere on the floor or at the foot of Sully's bed, after which we scoop him up and deposit him in his crib. (And then collapsing into bed ourselves.)

Doesn't he look angelic when he's asleep? This is my favorite time of the day.

We call this picture "Abner: The Acoustic Version"

(FYI, he loves Jessie's old baby doll and insists on having her with him at bed time. He does have a sweet, tender side.)

 We tried the door knob covers that we used when Sully was little. That worked for about a week, and then he just figured out how to break it apart to get access to the door knob.

This was plan B...so far so good.

#3. Jessie's Quinsinera (sort of)

Jess recently celebrated her 15th birthday. I agreed to let her have her first (at least since about 1st grade) "integrated" boy/girl party.

We spent the afternoon before the party cleaning the basement. This crew of neighbor kids wasn't necessarily helpful in that effort, but they were pretty awesome in their ninja outfits.

Once the teenagers arrived, things got exciting. The music was loud (they plugged in someone's ipod with lots of Queen and Twisted Sister...? Flash back to 1985. That was weird.), and the kids were louder.

"We're not gonna take it!!!....."

Dancing, games, eating, running amock in the back yard / trampolining, presents and a movie... could a 15 year old ever want for more?

Pizza, Italian sodas and munchies (in our unsightly unfinished basement kitchen).

Jessie reported that the word on the street was that this was the best party they had ever been to.

Booyah! We're popular! ...ha ha ha ha... 

Actually, I was just glad when it was over. So much noise and commotion (and a lot of sweaty teenage boys in my basement...ick) was enough to make me a little tense for those 3 hours. In fact I excused myself for about an hour to take Grace and her friends to the tennis courts -- just to get away.  Mike on the other hand, was loving it. He hung out a lot of the time in the basement keeping an eye on things, but also teasing and laughing....and rocking out I'm sure. ha ha ha.

#4. In the Garden/Kitchen

Oh man, we've got produce coming out of our ears.  I have just totally given up on keeping on top of the cucumbers, squash and chard.  Some weird fungus has taken hold of my tomatoes, so we haven't gotten a lot off of them for the past 3 weeks...just enough make it for eating fresh, which is fine by me since I didn't have plans to can any this year. The beets are gang-busters still, so I need to put borscht into the menu about once a week for the next month. And don't get me started on the piles of peaches falling off the neighbors' tree into our garden. Most years we (and the neighbors) have been on it. Not so this year. Too much going on I guess. I get a guilty feeling every time I look in the direction of the peach trees, knowing that hundreds of them have fallen and are moldering in heaps. I have collected some here and there to use in pies, and just to eat. But today I went out and tried to collect most of the usable fruit from the ground to make into fruit leather. I knew I wouldn't be canning any peaches this year, but I decided to try out the dehydrator my brother Sean gave us for Christmas last year.

A little bit of this and that...

 Humming away on the back deck.

#5. My Little Brother Got Married

Speaking of Sean.... His big day arrived this past Saturday. Unfortunately, so also arrived a nasty virus, making Sean a very sick man. Can you believe it?! We all felt bad but he was awesome. He smiled and toughed it out, even though he was literally ready to pass out by the end of the evening. 

I am so happy for them. I love Kim. Somehow I didn't take any pictures with my own camera during the day of the bride and groom together, and I haven't seen the official photos yet. 

The temple ceremony was awesome. My siblings and I all agreed that we wish we could have a recording of what was said, for our future reference.  It was so happy.

Sean with all his beautiful nieces. 

The boys 

 Mike having a pre-reception chat with my pretty grandma. She looks so young for 87!

I, for one, had a fantastic time! I love weddings! I love seeing old friends and neighbors and beloved family.  I love that a new family has been formed. I love that my brother is loved and is in love. I wish it could have been an easier day for Sean and Kim (with Sean being so sick compounded by the stress of putting on a reception with all its moving parts). They did an awesome job. I am grateful to have Kim as a sister. A new sister! Yay! Welcome to the family, Kim. The eternal family is what it's all about.

Noble's Skillz

It took a while for Mike to convert Noble to skateboarding. I think he bought him a skateboard when Noble was about 6, but Noble wasn't very interested, except insofar as could use the skateboard as a component in his varied inventions. But about a year and a half ago Noble decided he wanted a long board. He took to it and  hasn't looked back. Mike reports that Noble has now far surpassed his abilities... there's nothing more Mike can teach him. It's a pleasure to watch him. 

He's smooth like buttuh'.

Here he is this morning, sporting his homemade sliding glove, demonstrating his slide techniques. 

Girls only like guys who have great skills. (**Napoleon Dynamite**)

In which case, Noble's got it covered... ha ha ha...

And Now On to August

...actually, August is almost passed. I always feel a little sad as the summer comes to a close. Sad, but relieved. Sad because I will be homesick for the kids when they go back to school. Sad because I am reminded that they are another year older in school. (I cried this morning thinking about Sully starting kindergarten.) Relieved because having 6 active kids in the house all day, along with a multitude of friends (and I do mean a MULTITUDE) is really tiring and chaotic. Relieved because I am all worn out from spearheading the outings, adventures and projects. Relieved because I might actually be able to get the kitchen clean for more than 10 minutes. And I just need that...psychologically.

We've had some magic moments (and some not-so-magical) this month.

Here are some photos from the hike we took at Noblett's Trail a few weekends back. It's a little bit of a drive (near Kamas), but SO beautiful. It's a shady hike (for most of the day), next to a bubbling stream, lots of moss, flowers, wild raspberries for the kids to snack on along the way, and butterflies. It was absolutely lovely. I always feel so refreshed when we get out into nature...but this hike was especially rejuvenating. Thanks Helen for the recommendation.

I love Sully's expression in this picture.

Raspberry picking

Jupiter was a happy hiker

Mike stealing kisses

Sully on the hunt with his butterfly net in the wild flowers. 

Oh...sweet Sully... 

The annual end-of-summer-guy-trip to Strawberry

Crawdadding before the big crawdad boil at lunch.

They had a blast...as usual.

Some of Mike's Teachers' Quorum members came over one night and were goofing around in the driveway. This stunt ended spectacularly. We left the scooter there as a reminder. 

 Jess competed at County Fair. She had a pretty good show, and qualified for state again. That will happen the end of Sept. She loves this horse. They are making some great memories together. Thanks again, Grandpa...for everything.

On a more sad note, Mike sold his Tacoma last week. The first vehicle he's ever owned that he chose just for himself.  It was nothing fancy (his parents' old Camry that he's driving now is more comfortable), but he loved it. I keep telling him he is just making room for something even better to come.

Then yesterday we heard the news that my Dad's beloved horse, Rojo, had to be put down. He was getting old and in a lot of pain. It was time.

My dad loved that horse more than any other he's ever known. He likes to tell one story in particular about that horse. On one Unitah trip, years ago Mike, his brother Tim, and my brother-in-law Derek got separated from the rest of the group on their horses, and had been missing for hours. My dad went out searching for them on Rojo for a long time without any luck. But, as my dad says, as soon as  Rojo could sense what he needed, he turned his head and lead the way right to them.  For that act alone, that horse has been forever endeared to my dad. And to me too.

***

And then today the kids started back to school. The first day of school is always a little hard on me. It is a reminder of how OLD my children are getting...in a hurry.  Here they are, leaving at all hours today: 

Jess ready for early-morning seminary at 6 AM...

These three waiting for the carpool (Grace 6th, Noble 7th / middle school!, Tillman 4th)...

 Sully ready to leave for afternoon kindergarten (he was a champ when I dropped him off...I wasn't.)...

...and Abner wanting in on the school action (notice the back pack he's holding behind him)

Changes are sometimes hard, I try to remind myself that change leads us to better things to come. One season ends and another begins. Summer fun comes to a close. Mike hands the keys of the Tacoma over and moves on.  A beloved animal gets old and dies.  My babies go to school...and grow up (Jess gets her learner's driving permit next month). 

It is all leading us to greater things. Remember that (speaking to myself).

Opening the next door.