What summer means to me...

Last week my oldest daughter started 2nd grade.  Tomorrow my only boy starts Kindergarten.  So tonight, I am a little reflective.  My thoughts are a bit scattered, but I wanted to take a moment and write my feelings. 

First, it is hard to believe my little boy is starting Kindergarten.  I feel like I missed him as a baby.  When he was 2 months old, we moved to Utah from Las Vegas.  He was the most easy-going baby EVER (in our house anyway).  Most of the time he would just hang out and watch what was going on around him.  His face would light up with sheer joy when someone would walk by him.  Other than that, he mostly just hung out.  So since he was easy, and I was busy trying to get our lives and home established in a new state, I don't feel like I got to spend much time with him.  Then when he was 2, the twins were born.  Given the roller-coaster that was, again, I didn't get to spend much time with him.  And now here I am, the night before he leaves for school, on one hand very excited for him, but fighting back tears...(that are now flowing by the way) knowing that from here on out, my time with him will only continue to shrink.  I keep begging him not to leave me, but he assures me that he has to.  I know that he is an independent boy and I don't feel as though he has been neglected in any way.  It's just that I will miss him.  Sorry to be so sappy...just emotional thinking about my boy.  I just love that kid so much.  

On to my next thoughts.  This summer just flew by.  I am not ready for it to end.  I always think that summer is going to be so laid back and we will just spend all our time by the pool and being together.  Every summer I am disappointed at how fast the time goes by.  So given my melancholy mood I thought I would post some pictures of this summer that remind me how much fun we had and that we did in fact, spend lots of time together.  So here's to SUMMER FUN!

   
Thanks for indulging my pity party.  We all need one of those now and then...now off to bed.  Good night.

Family Time

In our Church (LDS), our leaders have counseled us to take a night each week (usually Monday) where we spend time together as a family.  When Trev and I were first married, and even after we had Morgan, I looked at this counsel as a nice suggestion.  I saw it as a way to make sure we were spending time together.  Trev and I always want to be a family that follows the inspired counsel we recieve, so we have always tried to make this a priority.  It has not been until the last couple of years that I have come to realize this is more than just a nice suggestion, it is a necessity for our family!  Life comes at you fast, and often the things that are most important can get overlooked in the rush.  Our adult lives get so crazy/hectic these days, and I have come to realize some of the most therapeutic/rejuvenating moments for me involve spending quality time with my husband and kids.  It buoys me up to be with them.  So now, we look at Family Night as mandatory.  I need this time with my family and they do as well.  I am grateful for that we followed this counsel.
Ok, enough said.  So a couple of weeks ago, I remember feeling particularly drained.  So Trev and I decided to take the kids out on a Friday night to go hike Bridal Veil Falls.  It is located in Provo Canyon, and it is truly stunning.  There is a nice, paved walkway with picnic benches on all sides, that lead up to the falls.  We have visited this place at least once every summer.  We love it here.  So we picked up some pizza, drove down, ate, and walked to the falls to play.  The walkway spans the bottom of the falls and so the kids can play at the base.  It is really great.  For those ready for more adventure, you can also hike up the side of the waterfall closer to the top.  I haven't done it, but one day, when the kids are older I would like to try it with them.  

 As I looked back over the pictures of our night together, it struck me (as it often does) what a wonderful father my children have.  I grew up mostly without a father, so when I was looking for a spouse, one of the top things I looked for was a man who loved children.  I wanted a great father for my kids, and thanks to the guidance of the Spirit, I found him.  Trev truly is a constant answer to my prayers.  I love him dearly and his children adore him.  He is the father to my kids, that I never had growing up.  I love this man tremendously.

 This little family outing was so fun...but the fun didn't stop there!  When we got home, a couple of our neighbors came over for smores in our fire pit, bocci ball tourney for the dads, and lots of playing in the backyard.  It was a great night.  Rejuvenating for everyone.  I love family time!

Colorado Vacation!

This year for our family vacation we went back to my home state of Colorado.  This is where Trev and I both grew up.  Since our youth, most of both of our families have moved to Utah.  But my sweet aunt, uncle, and cousins still live there, and so we decided to go see them (just as much of a vacation for my kids as Disneyland...honestly!).  They live on a beautiful ranch on about 40 acres in Elizabeth, Co.  They have cows, a horse named "Sunny", 2 dogs, 4-wheelers, and our kids wrapped around their fingers. :)  My kids beg me to take them to their house, so we figured this would be perfect.  We also decided to visit Rocky Mountain National Park while we were there as well.

The week started with just hanging out at my aunt and uncle's house.  I felt bad for my poor uncle who had to field CONSTANT requests from my kids (and let's be honest, Trev and I too) for horse and 4-wheeler rides.  We SERIOUSLY love this.  My uncle was even sweet enough to teach me some "horse-whispering" tricks.  It is amazing how intelligent these animals are and how in-tuned to us they are as well.  It was so neat.
When I look back on my childhood, these are the very things my aunt and uncle did with me that I just loved.  It is such a neat thing to see my kids experiencing them.  

This is my aunt Vicky.  She is truly special.  She is an incredible person and just loves people whole-heartedly.  I, and now my family has been lucky enough to be happy recipients of her never-ending love and kindness.  I love my aunt so much.

Now on to more fun...4-wheelers!  We spent A LOT of time on these fun toys. 

I have to tell one funny story here.  My uncle Bob, was taking Morgan on a ride and he had to stop to turn off some water for the cows.  He told Morgan to move forward on the 4-wheeler a little.  At first she was nervous because she had never driven the 4-wheeler before, so when she push the accelerator, it just moved slightly.  She pushed it again and it moved a little more.  Then she pushed it a third time and TOOK OFF!  Trev had to chase her down on the other 4-wheeler!  It quite funny...she just left and didn't look back! :)

More memories:  When we arrived in Co., my cousins were still on their Stake Pioneer Trek, so I was able to go with my aunt and uncle to pick them up when they got back.  Before they came back, we (mostly Morgan) decided we should throw them a welcome home party. :)  So the kids painted Welcome Home signs and baked a cake.  It was so cute to see them hard at work. :)  Jordan and Ryan loved it.  This is the kids painting the signs.  Super sweet. :)

This is me on vacation.  Maxin' relaxin'!  I love vacation. :)

Another fun thing we (me, aunt vicky, and morgan) did was take a short little visit to the Denver Temple.  It was so beautiful, and so we had to get a couple pics. :)

Me and Morgan inside the waiting room, next to a beautiful statue of the Savior.  Love these moments.

We also hit a up a fab pool while we were visiting.  It is in Parker, near my aunt's house, and so Trev, me, the kids, and Jordan and Ryan, went.  It was pretty great.  Jordan's friend came and we played hard all afternoon.  The kids loved it!  Seriously, look at this place!  How could you not??? :)

Before we left my aunt and uncle's house, we went to see 17 Miracles (the movie) with Vicky, Jordan, Ryan, and Jordan's friend.  This movie is so well-done and so touching that I pretty much bawled through most of it.  The movie depicts the experience of the Willie and Martin Handcart companies when they crossed the plains.  The Trek my cousins went on, and the one Trev and I went on last year, was a reinactment of these companies.  The miracles depicted in the movie were the same ones that we learned on the Trek.  It was so neat to go see it and feel once again the feelings I experienced on the Trek the previous year.  I also loved the opportunity to have such a spiritual experience with my husband, aunt, and cousins.  Those early pioneers were so strong and faithful that they were willing to endure anything to become closer to God.  I want to be like that.  Not that I am hoping for trials, but I hope to be as faithful in the ones I am in and will face in my life.  Those people were true testaments to faith, determination, and enduring to the end.  I am grateful for their examples from long ago.

There was another spiritual experience that we were blessed to have while staying at my aunt and uncle's.  My cousin, Ryan, was ordained a Priest on the Sunday we spent with them.  We were unaware that this was happening, but it turned out that Trev was able to ordain him.  The blessing associated with the ordination was truly touching.  I can only say that I believe the Lord knew that Ryan needed this experience to be special.  It was.  I get chills just thinking about it.  We were grateful to be there, and I am grateful to see the Priesthood being passed through my family.  Talk about power.

After a great time with my family, we headed up to Estes Park.  For those of you who have never heard of it, Estes Park is a quaint little town in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park.  It is a beautiful mountain town with all the charm associated with it.  It also has a famous hotel, where The Shining was filmed.  I never saw that movie, but I have heard it was pretty scary.  We did not stay at that hotel. :)

We spent two days just touring the park.  The first day, I think we all (everyone minus Trev) were a touch grumpy.  To put it mildly. :)  The kids were whiny, I was annoyed.  Not a pretty sight.  However, we were able to catch a glimpse of arguably some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.  We also saw Tim Allen at one of the scenic stops.  Sorry no pictures of him. :)  Thought we would leave him be.  Here are the pics from the first day.  See if you can get a sense of our moods. :)

I don't know why we were so grumpy.  Maybe too much time in the car.  But looking back at the pictures just makes me smile.  I think they truly describe parenthood and families sometimes.  Some days are better than others. :)

 This picture cracks me up because at one of the scenic spots we stopped at, there were these chipmunks or squirrels (does anyone really know the difference?).  They had obviously become accustomed to people because they kept coming right up to us begging for food!  Notice the larger one?  His cheeks are CHOCK-FULL of nuts from our trail mix.  The kids thought they were hilarious.  I just secretly worried they would bite us and give us rabies, or some other crazy disease. :)

Ok, is this not the COOLEST picture??!!!  I took this at the top of a mountain from our car.  What a stunning thing to behold.  Maybe the first day wasn't so bad after all.

On the second day in the park things went a lot smoother.  Everyone was happy and we found a beautiful little lake nestled in the mountains that we could hike around.  We called it a hike, but really with kids our kids' ages, we just do nature walks. :)  But this one went all around the lake and we loved it.

Well that pretty much rounds out our trip.  It was really fun.  We all had a great time and it was so nice to combine spending time with each other, spending time with extended family, and enjoying the Lord's creations all simultaneously.  I am so grateful we went and think that Colorado vacations might become a tradition in our family.