Bode,
Eighteen years have flown by and what a ride it has been! Even from the beginning, you were self-assured and content with whatever lot you were given. A kind, silly peacemaker who wasn’t afraid to stand up for yourself. Your preschool teacher once told us you were a quiet leader in the class and the kids looked up to you but you weren’t afraid to say, “I don’t wike dat,” if they crossed your boundaries.
P.S. Never forget K-A-R-L-A.
If your junior year was a series of difficult valleys, senior year was one summit after another. After two years of exchange students, you launched into senior year solo, loaded with AP and college classes, including your favorite CAPS (Center for Advanced Placement Studies), a great primer for business school. They granted you two of your three scholarships.
You were inducted into the National Honor Society and a captain for the mountain bike team. There were so many highs, lows and hards in this incredible sport and you learned a lot being bumped to the back after quitting due to surgery last year and slogging your way up. At the State Championship, the senior division had 250 riders. You started in 108th and finished 20th, moving up 88 SPOTS. Other highs: finding your community with this band of brothers, learning to dig deep in the hard, the incredible coaches/volunteers/photographers and the pre-race and race day food. So. Much. Food.
You jumped back into the comp team at Soldier Hollow and had a great time skiing with your friends while juggling school and your job at the ranch. If there’s anything that made you grow the last few years, it’s working at the ranch. You grew in confidence and capability over the years, so much so that your boss Jared offered you a business internship when you get back from your mission and to house you for free on his gorgeous property. Even though he’s not a member of the church, he offered to buy you a suit for your mission. He knows quality when he sees it.
You’ve had some great Park City ski days and fun travels this year. Fall break college tours at USU, BYU Idaho and the family cabin in Island Park. And then the State Championships in St. George with our besties the Iversons, Bairds and Seversons while we juggled hikes, boating and questionable gambling rings. You went on a long weekend trip with the bike team to Palm Springs and somehow did an 80+ mile ride. Spring Break was a memorable backpacking trip with our friends the Sorensons to Devil’s Kitchen in the Needles District where, once again, your Scout leader Rob had you dangling from a 100-foot rappel. Some people never learn.
And, of course, we’re still processing our fabulous European tour as we traveled to Paris and Normandy (Omaha Beach and Mont St. Michel). Next, it was a train ride to Geneva to visit Maelle’s family and most memorable of all: staying at their chalet in Leissigen, the heart of the Swiss Alps. We then flew to Madrid to see Pablo and his mom and we spent a few memorable days in Calpe on the Mediterranean Sea getting slammed by waves, cliff jumping, snorkeling off the boat and climbing the famous Peñon de Ifach and eating Paella. A lot of it. And after Pablo’s Catan triumph his final day in Utah, you solidly secured your victory–twice–when in Spain. He’s probably still reeling from the loss.
There were so many other great times: A Harry Potter Sadie Hawkins with Siena (or Bellatrix), an emotional banquet and Scouting send-off for Rob, a Mexican-themed Christmas Eve after serving a refugee family from Mexico, a T-rex showdown with your mom at Christmas, serving as Bishop Price’s assistant and learning how to become a tremendous leader. He was one of your biggest fans and texted us once that the lessons you taught was one of the best he’d ever heard in Priest’s Quorum. I’m sure it started with hangmen, your signature game.
And then there was your memorable BYU acceptance. You were in Palm Springs with the bike team when it came and Dad and I excitedly called you to open it. “NOW is a bad time,” you complained but we made you do it anyway, later learning you were fixing a flat on the side of the road during your loooooong ride. “Yes, I got in.” It was the least enthusiastic acceptance of all time. But well-earned after a lot of hard work.
Spring was busy with your wisdom teeth removal and besides sounding like Chewbawka when they escorted you out, it was otherwise pretty chill. But then came your mission call opening. You opted to open it with just Dad, Hadley and me with Mochi looking earnestly on. At first, Dad thought you were joking when you announced Toronto–that was HIS mission! The next day, you opened your call in front of lots of friends and family and we were overwhelmed with the love and support. Some missions feel foreign, exciting or maybe even a little bit scary. This one feels just like coming home.
Your final month of school was full to the brim. Seminary graduation. High school graduation. Scholarship night. And not to be forgotten, the Cool2Care assembly where you were plucked out of the audience as a finalist to win a truck. You competed for your sport in a musical chairs competition but were sadly bumped in the final 5 showdown. Clearly, you didn’t learn from your dad’s animalistic prowess in that game.
All these accolades are applaudable but what makes you an extraordinary human is understated humor, your kindness, your faith and your thoughtfulness. It’s the little things. Separating the chicken that was pecked by the other hens. Gently caring for a sick lamb or ailing goat. Setting towels out for Mochi all over the house because you know that’s his favorite place to sit. Always being willing to help Dad and me by asking, “Anything else?”
You’ve made yourself irreplaceable in our home and hearts and while we can’t help but feel sad about the gaping hole you will leave in our family for the next two years, we can’t wait to see all the lives you bless as you fly.
Go get ‘em, Kid.
Love, Mom