{She's leaving on a jet plane}

What an honor and privilege it is to be Marissa's mom. Words cannot express how much I love my family. Let me assure you that there are no words to express how awesome it is to have such amazing kids. Here is Marissa and her Eclipse group. These are her friends she worked with last summer and this is the group she is going with to Seattle (minus Derek Gosman - middle front row - he has been her manager-and friend - but in January Derek was in a horrible snow boarding accident that changed his entire life in just a spilt second) I am so thankful for Derek and the example he has set for my daughter and all that he has taught her this last year. I know she (and everyone else) will truly miss him this summer in Seattle. (I think I need to write Derek a note and let him know how much I appreciate him) Marissa has only been able to spend a limited amount of time with Derek since his accident and really misses him. So it was fun for her to arrive at the SLC airport on Thursday night and see that Derek was on her flight to Phoenix, so she got to spend some good quality time with him. He is an amazing guy and we are all praying for a full recovery for him. So back to Marissa - she flew home this weekend so everyone would be able to see her and spend time with her before she left for Seattle. She had to go to the doctor and get up to date on her shots for the Ukraine. She flew back this morning and has finals - today, tomorrow and Wednesday and then Thursday she will be packing up and heading to Provo for training with the International Language Program - this is who Marissa will be traveling with to the Ukraine for fall semester. She has training on Friday and Saturday. Then Sunday morning she will be heading to Seattle. She is carpooling with 3 people. Her friend Jen (the other cute girl in the above picture) will be riding with her and then there is another car that will be following them. More happy news is that Boise is half way between Salt Lake City and Seattle and so they will be stopping at my grandmas house for a break. My grandparents will be so happy to see Marissa !!!! Then she will be off to Seattle for the summer where she will be working as one of the office managers for their group this summer. Then in August she will fly back to Seattle (where I will meet her) and she will board a plane for the Ukraine where she will reside until right before Christmas. She still has 4 months before leaving for the Ukraine and I just sobbed this morning as I drove away from the airport. I miss her so much and I miss spending time with her. I think I am going to have to start a mom and daughter vacation. Where I can spend solid quality time with my girls. Everyone loved having Marissa home. Karleigh stayed home from school on Friday just to spend the day with her and the boys just LOVE their big sister more than anything. They are really kinda sad this morning. In Dylan's exact teenage words "it really sucks that she has to leave" I hate that "s" word and I don't like it used in my home. But in this situation I couldn't agree with him more. I love my daughter. I love my kids. I love being a mom.