No possible way Getty is 16

2:00 a.m. Kidnappers burst through Getty's bedroom door, stuffed a sock in his mouth, tied his wrists and ankles, wrapped him in a hammock to blind him, threw him in the trunk of a car, and took off. Destination: iHOP.

It could have been worse. Their original plan was to knock down the door, guns blazing (paintball guns filled with CO2). But during the trial run, they decided against it, as it would likely wake up the neighborhood.

Johnny, Stirling, Ashdon, Jake (the kidnappers)

Check out Stirling (far right) haha

 Synchronized back flips

 Cute party crashers :)

Sis Jamison (favorite!) remembered his birthday in Sunday School

This is his plan for his first official date:

Make homemade pizzas
Go bridge jumping
Go off-roading
Go to a movie


Sixteen Things I Love About Getty
1. Capacity for fun is in the stratosphere
2. Huge heart, especially for the underdog, the disabled, or the friendless
3. Unlimited energy
4. Gobs of charisma
5. Gads of charm
6. Respectful and protective of girls
7. Can easily figure out how to fix stuff around the house, his dirtbike, go-kart....
8. Smart with technology
9. Crazy brave (i.e. dangerous)
10. Mostly feels optimistic and that things will work out 
11. Doesn't sweat the small stuff
12. Prefers "nerds" to "jocks"
13. Definitely creative
14. Hops into bed between Rob and I late at night and watches "Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives" or "Law & Order"
15. Can turn any activity into a game
16. Can make any game twice as exciting


And then there are those times when his high energy and sense of adventure go too far, and he gets grounded on a Friday night. Rob and I go on our date, and he duct-tapes Cy and Cam's wrists and ankles together, tickle-tortures them, and locks them out of the house until we get home....

Trek

Getty's 9th grade year had been rough on all of us. Half-kidding I told him, "You owe us, buddy. What are you going to do to make all this up to us?" 

"Um.... I'll go on Trek."

Hold on.

You'll hike across the plains of Wyoming for five-days dressed as a pioneer; pull a handcart; walk for miles in the summer heat, rain, and hail storms; swat at flies as big as a quarter; and participate in devotionals?... wow. Debt paid in full, my man.

Rob wrote Getty a letter for him to read while on Trek:

Getty,

So here’s the deal….. I love you more than you can currently understand and think you are incredibly smart, creative, and funny!  You came to earth with an innate sense of compassion and desire to make people feel loved and accepted. You are a natural leader and people are drawn to you because of your charisma and humor.  When you want to be, you are the best big brother—you make forts, make videos, camp out, draw, play sports, and make up games like “hall ball”.

You are very sensitive, which allows you to be aware of the needs of others, but also means you can be hard on yourself when you feel like you have disappointed or let others down. Remember that if you ever feel bad about something you have done that the scriptures teach us… “And now, my son, I desire that ye should let these things trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance.” In other words, you make a decision to change and then move on—God does not want us to be troubled with the past once we have decided to change.

All I want for you is to find happiness and be fulfilled in life. As you know, I think the best way to do this is by following Jesus Christ. I believe Heavenly Father has sent Mom and I choice spirits who will have great missions to fulfill in the earth. I also believe that no other teaching will be more important than for my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ to pass into the lives of my children. Remember that you are one of those choice spirits and I have a testimony that following Jesus Christ is the path to becoming all that God wants you to be.

I love you—Party Righteously!

Dad

Getty has an awesome dad.

Trek highlights: 

He was denied his fervent wish to walk the trek entirely barefooted, 

and he hosted Fight Night ("In this corner, weighing 146 lbs...") which, of course, was quickly shut down and morphed into an arm wrestling tournament.... 

Fab Reunion, an Orb, and a Ban

***Post edit below

Same ol', same ol'...

3/5, then Kaitlyn and Sara

MK posted this pic for my birthday. See the orb? and jessa's and kenzie's second comments?... :) :)

MK's friend Louis is touchy about Arsenal, his rival soccer team, so Besser coached MK on just what to say to him about Arsenal to harsh his mellow. This was his response:

(Louis and MK pre-ban)

Luis has since contacted me with this statement:

Forgive me, Luis, as I have neglected to prepare myself adequately for depositions on council affairs and am thus unfamiliar with standard procedure as such. I recently perused Chapter 7, section 12, but fell asleep somewhere between pages 34 to 40, resulting in the aforementioned violation. In accordance with penal code 218-4, I would offer you a well-cooked meal, perhaps at Arby's or a hotdog at the gas station? 

Come for dinner anytime, Luis (aka the Main Article)

Getty: Awards, Ordinances, and Inventions

Getty got an "Award of Excellence" from the Technology dept at his middle school (because he's a techno genius)

[Unsigned, so you can't be sure it's legit ;)]

[Back in May] These dirt trails and bike jumps in the green space behind our houses caused a controversy with one older couple who got the police involved several times insisting the dirt trails and mounds were in violation of the city ordinance. 

The kids met with a member of city council in his home to discuss the city ordinance in question. 

This letter in mock legalese from a neighbor of ours to the city councilman sums it right up for me:

“Please let all know that our family cannot understand, sustain, support or agree with any policy or personal inconvenience that should, can or may stand in the way of large groups of adolescents being outside, engineering things, riding bikes, laughing, playing, interacting, and above all having an enormous amount of fun. To do otherwise is saying, 'Hey what are you kids doing outside enjoying your young lives, get back inside to the darkness dimly lit by the glow of your tablets, mobile devices and your computer screens! Get back on the couch with your seemingly endless number of gaming systems, boxes, controllers and waste your life away playing games, because that is what adults and city 'leaders' in [our area] wish for all of you!'"

Turned out, the jumps were not in violation of the ordinance :)

[May] Getty emailed his Foods teacher results of his Oreo shake assignment:

He made this pencil box for Mr. Bass. 

Looks just like him ;)

Getty spent the 4th of July with some of my favorite kids and their families, who all traveled to Gunlock: population 150, most of whom are in their 70's. Which meant ... these young bucks could commandeer the rodeo and light fireworks off the back of their razor blazing down main street. They built a bike ramp and set it at the bottom of a steep mountain to speed down and launch themselves into the lake as they cast the lifejacketed bike aside, and to switch things up, set each other on fire with hand sanitizer before jumping into the lake. 

Testosterone is for real.

Midnight Denny's run, slumber party on the trampoline, boat surfing, and filming scary home movies in an abandoned shack in the woods ...  
booorrrrring.



Ready for church in Gunlock... 

This is what they brought back,...
fixed up,...

 and bombed the neighborhood hill with,

 the "Five Bike"

The "Bike Backpack" was invented out of a necessity to ride the dirtbike but also bring along the dirt jumper bike

 It worked...

 And this contraption is a trampoline bike. Tennis balls are duct-taped to a bike frame and tricks are performed...

This is what remains of the bed frame for their "Bed-sled"

...which busted half-way down the neighborhood hill, so...

they built a more streamlined version...

 Many thanks for the inclusion of a helmet, Boys