Let me use your momentum guest pass. I loved that so much. I could climb whenever I wanted to. Because you worked I never had to pay. You could have given it to other people but you gave it to me.
You climbed Lady Mountain with me. You took me on cool adventures. Lady Mountain was one of my funnest memories. You have no fear of things. You are always down to go in a canyon
You taught me not to smell bad. You always told me that I smell bad and I had to go put on deodorant. I appreciate so much now that I know I smell bad, and I don't want to smell bad. People like you when you don't smell bad.
You showed me musicals. I love musicals. It's such a good thing Hello Dolly, 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, Wicked. Thank you for showing me and instilling that love in me.
You taught me how to rappel. I got to teach friends that and I am confident in that. Such a blessing in my life.
You encouraged me to go to HXP and go on trips. You were such a supporter and told me not to skip out. To go to Young Men's, on HXP, to high adventure. It's always better to go, not just for myself but others, for the leaders who put in so much work. HXP was a life changing experience for me. And I am so grateful you pushed me to do it.
You make me breakfast each morning. Oh, how I miss that. I hope that is something I can do for my kids. It was probably the best thing ever to have hot applesauce or hot cocoa every single morning was the best hting ever.
You drove me to school for so long for so far. When I went to Union, Sandy, Silvermesa, the high school, even when it was super early. You never complained about it before I could drive, there were horrendous mornings.
Loose parenting/curfew (with Dad)- The fact that you didn’t ground me if I was one minute late with curfew. You were very understanding. Even though you set stricter rules. I always knew that everything was within reason.
Another thing was you let me bake/ cook whatever I wanted. I took for granted how nice that was because I never realized until I was here how much those ingredients cost, and I wasn’t the best at cleaning up, and I dont know if the cost of the ingredients was worth eating it but it was worth it and such an incredible thing that you taught me and let me be apart ofcooking and doing whatever I wanted
This one is silly or sounds silly but I love them all, you let me get honor cords, those were so freaking expensive and you didn’t question it at all, or ask if I really needed those, I was actually scared to as you about them buy you never said anything about it and I was so grateful for it, and I thought how stupid they were but I really wanted them. Same thing with the student government jacket.
You are such a peacemaker. You have never fought with us or with dad, I have never heard you fight with anyone. That is an amazing thing. I don't know how you did that.
Holy- I think of this one constantly. You woke up with me at 5:00 am or whenever it was, and went to the church with me and just sat with me for freaking forever, and you were just there with me while I practiced piano and organ. And I am sure you were so tired and I don't even know what you did to be honest. I hope you were productive. That was such a sacrifice, but it paid off and is such a blessing. And I am so grateful for that.
You are so good at making everything so positive. You do this all the time with Abby and her basketball game. They will get crushed, but you tell her how she did so good and tell her it was fun. And an example of this is I remember when we were doing the races at Sundance with rowie and Rowie won the medal and you gave it to me because you said I was the most improved from last week. And I felt so happy because I got a medal even though I didn’t really win the medal but you are always so positive and make experiences be for our benefit.
You also work so hard so we can travel. That has been some of our fondest memories. Going to Costa Rica and going to Iceland were some of my best memories. Especially that I got to go to Iceland was one of the coolest experiences in my whole lifeafter I had been dreaming about it for my whole life. A lot of that was you worked and sacrificed for that.
Another one is you taught me how to budget and save money and be frugal. I am so grateful for that. You taught me how to use food up and I am so grateful for that each and every day, truly.
This one is funny. I wrote on my sticky note, Q-tips, tweezers, and shaving. Because you were always getting on me for not cleaning my ears, or tweezing my eyebrows, or shaving, I am so grateful for that now because it is so much better when you are well groomed and know how to do that. Alot of that is you. Oh and face care. Because all my skin care is because you and your the reason I didn’t have worse acne.
You always quizzed me. With anatomy or math. You do that with all your kids. And I am really grateful for that. You would sit with me and quiz me about the bones in the body and it was such a cherished memories. And it was honestly such a huge help and that is what I passed so many of my things.
This is one of my fondest memories, And I am not sure if you were part of it but I am pretty sure you were. It was the one Christmas when you surprised me with the LEGO set with the buildings. You cant imagine my surprise when I walked upstairs and shook all my presents because you know everyone shakes their presents, and I heard legos and I was shook, genuinely shook, because you surprised me and got me what I wanted, and just the fact that you took the time for that, and you said your not a good gift giver but you really are
You always buy good bread and good treats for us. And I swear all the good bread has been with you. You take us out to eat at good restaurants, like having bread pudding at Great Harvest, or going out and getting cinnamon rolls with Isaac after the west slabs of Olympus. And I am so grateful for that
Another one that is huge is that you and Dad paid for me to go to that music camp at USU. That was one of the funnest memories. And that you paid for that.
You sat with me each morning as I practiced. Incredible. And you never let me quit. I don't know if I ever wanted to quit but you wouldn’t have let me and piano is one of the biggest things ever.
I wrote on my sticky note- Put up with me being a butt. I was a butt. I was a difficult child. Especially my sophomore, junior, and senior year. But I remember when Dallin Ormond was talking and said that those years are hard because it's like the mom's divorce. I thought that will never happen. But that totally happened. To this day, I am still so sad about it. I am sorry. But you are a champ and put up with me being a butt. SO when I come home I hope I am less of a butt. Save this voicemail and when I am a butt play it for me and I will remember to now be a butt.
Another thing is you emphasized family dinner. That you always had us together. You put out good standards and told us no phones at the table, and you always put in the extra effort to make it a meal and eat with dad when he got home so we could eat one meal together. And I know how not easy that was. But you were the driving force behind that even when everyone didn’t want to do that but you did that.
And I can't believe I am saying this but you made me do your own laundry. OH my gosh. Another thing you were so right to have me do. Cause now that I am here and don't live with you guys anymore it was so nice to know how to do that. That was incredible that you made do my own laundry even though I hated it in the moment but I almost rioted because you made us do it.
Really cares about how I am doing. You are always the first to ask how I am doing. Maybe that's the mother in you. It's really easy to get caught up in the things you do or the things I did throughout the week, but you always ask how I am doing. Even if I didn’t really tell you how I was doing. I don't know why. I just wasn’t good at talking to my parents, especially in high school.
Another thing I liked secretly even though you probably didn’t think I loved it, that you were actually good about being funny around all my friends. There is a reason why all my friends talk about you all the time. I swear when I have a missionary friend write me and ask how I am doing they also ask how you are doing because you are so funny and easy to be around and good at making friends. You are extroverted even though you think you are becoming more introverted. I am so glad I have that example and it has been such a blessing on my mission and before that.
Another one is you taught me how to be organized. You are so organized and taught me to do that. With your endless to-do lists and perfectly managed finances, your spreadsheets about ski team and everything like that. You probably don't think I notice that BUt I do. And I strive to be like that.
You taught me the value of being grateful for things. And just being happy with what I have. To be content
You are good at having good body image. I didn’t have the best body image as a kid but you would tell me you will grow and I would say ok.
You gave me haircuts. I was a butt for that too. And the fact that you gave me haircuts was amazing. And I was such a diva about it.
Skiing plus ski team plus a job when I get back. Skiing is one of my favorite things and you let me do ski team. You taught me to ski and you let me work for you when I get back, if that is still a thing.
You taught me how to read the room. See people's needs and do it. I use that so much. Now on a mission I can see what needs to get done and I do it. And it's such a skill and I am glad I had parents who taught me that.
This next one goes with the parenting one, you let me have freedom and I could go have sleep over with friends, or hike Timp at 2:00 am, you didn’t bat an eye- or go on a fun adventure, sleep at the salt flats. So much fun. Or if I wanted to go out with friends on a night hike. Amazing.
You made my bed with me. Because I don't know why I was so insistent that you do that with me but
You taught me how to clean things. Whether it was you coming and sitting with me to clean my shower and me being so mad for no reason at all but you just sat there and were patient with me and made me clean and I never realized, or saw the other side of it until I was on a mission. And I took it for granted that you made us clean our bathrooms before we went places. And there were no dishes in the sink
And I must have wrote this twice because it mattered a lot. But you went to the church with me- and practiced with me and sat with me and payed for piano lessons. Piano has been such a blessing for me and my mental health and has hopefully blessed other people. I need that.
All right part 3. I wrote on my sticky note you are hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise because that is a section from the book. you are always really good at complimenting people and seeing things that they do well because it’s people are so much more likely to change and to do what you want if you compliment them and you understand that criticizing gets you nowhere and I’m glad I learned that from you
And going along with books I think a lot of my love for reading is from you and the fact that you like love reading and audiobooks and you taught me how to love those at a young age and that you would have tapes for me and take me to the library and get me a Library card and you’d get a CD player and I could listen to them while I built Legos and in the car, you played audiobooks for us and just just incredible because I love books and I think a lot of that is because of you
OK, you’re really good at seeing things from other people's shoes from other people's perspectives like if I was probably pestering Abby. Let’s be honest, but you were always, even though I was the oldest one and I probably should’ve been more responsible you always saw things from my perspective too. It felt like it felt like you often were the only one who did and I really appreciated that it felt like I could take a lot of slack from the rest of the family and I just was like in my teenage brain like I’m not doing anything wrong. You were the only one who I felt like noticed that and see things for my shoes and that you do that with a lot more things than that, but that’s just one example.
You have a good empathy for everyone obviously goes without saying you are the hardest worker I know probably besides my father - you two tie I think and whether it’s tilling the whole garden by yourself or weeding the whole yard in the morning or digging an entire trench because Dad‘s back is hurt when the house floods or finishing the basement or like literally running all of ski team like you are just the hardest worker and it inspires me so much constantly how you just do what needs to get done and you dont make excuses. I like how you set like your 15 minute timer and I try to do that too and that is all from you
You proofread my emails every week. And you tell me if I do something stupid at least I hope you do. I’m pretty sure you do so I don’t look stupid cause the pridful part of me cares a lot about my selfimage and you definitely help me to keep a good self image like my reputation, when you help read my email and you do a lot of things behind the scenes that really help with that the
Oh, I wrote that twice, Legos at Christmas
And the fact that you let me call you Joe is just a wonderful thing and I never actually asked if you hated that name or not, but hopefully you didn’t because I loved to call you that so yeah
This one it goes without saying, but I’m really grateful that you were very supportive in our things that we did -sorry that’s not a good way to put it- like that you helped us buy clothes and paid for that and I’m sure that’s also Dad partly but but like if we need a new clothes, you would just help us buy them and it made it so we were less stressed about things. I’ve talked to Ella and Abby about that as well. If there’s something we need like you just get it and that’s so nice and you know- the Amazon cart -it just fills up
Another thing I’m really grateful for is your blog. and I didn't take advantage of that when I was home and like how organized all the photos are in the fact that I can literally just read about any point in my life and it’s there and it’s named Tyler and Company. That’s pretty cool
so you’re now at 47 or 46 so the last one last two I wrote is that you taught me how to love people because you are the best example of loving people that I’ve ever met you can love everyone no matter how hard they are to love and just like how much you love someone whether it’s loving people so much that you try and set them up on dates like Sandra and Nolan and then they get married or Greg at our old house like Greg in that one other person I don’t even know or whether you love people by serving them or by kind words all the different languages you’re just so good at it good hugs, everything like that, and so just the fact that you love people and people love you for that and that you know that people need love so you feel that like need.
48 is gonna be really awkward if you’re actually 48 years old, but I’m pretty sure you said 47 so I can’t possibly be expected to keep track of how old you are when you’re this old but I just feel like you are a good example of Jesus and that’s probably the missionary in me but I just feel like I know Jesus Christ better because I know you and his attributes you show those each every day and the fact that my own mom is the best example of Jesus Christ that I could ever ask for is one of the biggest blessings in my life because I never had to look far to notice what Jesus would do in some situation and I’m sure you know this about kids, but we’re always watching you guys you and Dad and especially you and there was never a time where when I was in a situation that was tricky or difficult, hard to navigate I would be watching you and you always handle the Savior and I strive to do that often there are many times in my life, almost daily if not, two or three times a day where I think what would my mother do in the situation. And almost always that is what I end up doing and what gives me the best results- not results but it gives me a good outcome. Saves the situation even in difficult situation so I’m grateful for your example because it is example of Jesus Christ. I think so. I’m really grateful for that, but there’s your.
