Last year, Morgan, my sister, Jessica, and I took a super fun trip to St. George with a big group of gals in our Traverse Mountain neighborhood.
We had so much fun that we decided to do again...even though the rest of the St. George group didn't.
It was just us three for a little weekend away. And oh it was so, so fun!
We drove down on a Friday morning after waving goodbye to Trev and the rest of the kiddos...including Eliza! She was only 4 months old! :0
But not nursing sooo...yeah. He could handle it. :)
I don't know if I will ever forget the look on both Trev and Eliza's faces as I pulled out of the driveway to be GONE for 3 whole days!
Wish I had a picture of that!! It was if they were both saying "ummm...where is she going??!!!"
Priceless.
As we headed South we just did what girls do best. Talked, laughed, and took selfies.
Oh and we also teased Jess about getting dates on Tinder. :) She loved that exposed to the Instagram world that night! :)
Once we hit St. George we got settled, dressed, and headed to dinner at the Pizza Factory. Mainly for these little babies...
Aren't they beautiful?! The rest of the food there is okay, but these just seem to keep me coming back for more!
After dinner we had to do a mini-photo shoot because the place right next door was just too adorable...plus we looked cute. :)
And the reason we looked so darn cute was because we were headed to the Tuachan Theater to see Beauty and the Beast. An absolute highlight of the trip.
Since we went on Pioneer Day (Utah holiday), we were treated to THE BEST fireworks show I have ever seen!! No lie. It was incredible and our seats were shaking we were so close to them! See that backdrop of the stage? Yeah...that's where they were fired from! It was undescribable. Truly!
Oh I LOVE Tuachan!
The next morning we got up and headed out to Zion's National Park to hike the Narrows trail. It is basically a canyon where the river runs through. You hike through the river and the views are just spectacular. The red cliffs pierce my heart every time!
Poor Jess had her allergies flare up so she had to head back shortly after we started our hike.
We miss her but sure had a ton of fun just exploring together. We also had a great chat about what good friends are and how you know if you have a testimony. Oh how I loved this time with her!
After our big hike we hit our favorite little restaurant right outside of the park. Oscar's...mmmmm!!!
We asked our waiter to take a picture of us. After he left I looked through the pictures and found this little gem...
He totally took a selfie on my phone!!! It was HILARIOUS!
We laughed so hard, and I have now added that little trick into those moments when others ask me to take pictures of them. ;)
It always get a laugh! Give it a try. :)
The next morning was Sunday and so we went to church and then stopped at the St. George Temple on our way out of town.
This is the temple where my Grandma and Grandpa Moores were sealed. I love how it just bursts that bright white off the deep red cliffs behind it.
Perfect send off to our little trip.
As we drove back we chatted some more and Morgan made a little video of something she likes best...
And she is not the only one who loves those. ;)
What a super fun trip! Until next year...
And this time Abby and Claire are invited. :)
Here she is.
Eliza Jill Lighten. Born March 31, 2015.
An angel straight from heaven and all those that love her there, to our family - who love and adore her here.
She is sweet. Tender. Pure.
And so curious about this place she has been waiting so long to come to.
From the moment she arrived those big eyes have been watching, scanning, focusing, and taking everything in. She is just constantly learning.
Oh how I wish she could talk and share her thoughts of what she is experiencing.
A few things we have learned about her so far.
1. She is so so sweet. We are all smitten with her.
2. She also has some spice. When she is unhappy, we all feel it.
But mostly she is snuggly and happy.
She did have a little bout with colic at the beginning, which made a lot of nights pretty long. Especially for me because I seemed to be the only one that could comfort her. And sometimes not.
Thankfully it didn't last too long.
Even those rough moments, however, just bonded us even more.
Oh how we love this little precious little one.
Our little caboosey baby.
And seriously, get a load of those lips!
Heartmelter, right?!
Perfection.
I say "I think..." because that is how I really feel.
"I think" we are done. Pretty sure.
But we haven't consulted Heavenly Father on that yet - so when that time comes that I actually ask, I will know for sure. But for now...we are done; with 5 great kids to show for it. :)
As per feeling done; I approached this pregnancy differently than I had with my others.
I wanted to do this "really well." In fact, that was my mantra - "do this well."
In my mind, this meant a couple of things:
1. Eat, sleep, and exercise as best I could to help my body and growing baby thrive. I actually went off treats (except for on holidays) throughout my pregnancy - knowing that if I did that I would consistently feel better.
2. No complaining or whining. I have been pregnant before and knew full well what to expect. When the tough times came, as I knew they would, I was going to chin-up and be positive instead of complaining or feeling sorry for myself. I was going to be strong and work on being cheerful and grateful - no matter what.
3. Enjoy the experience. Being pregnant is truly a remarkable thing. I mean, seriously, you have a precious baby growing inside you. There are so many tender moments that come along with that and I wanted to notice and treasure them.
These were a few of the facets of my approach to this pregnancy and I can't even describe how much each of these affected me over the last 9 months. Suffice it to say that this pregnancy was seriously my best! I wish I had approached my other pregnancies so deliberately. I felt amazing the entire time and was able to keep up with my family and life the same way I had before. It was truly astounding and after my pregnancy was over I felt such a sense of accomplishment! I had done what I set out to do...I had "done it well."
In addition to these few facets, I also wanted to actually take some pregnancy pictures of me. I hadn't done this before but felt that one day I would want to see myself as a pregnant, young mom.
I would want the flood of memories I would have looking at my former self. I would want the pull on my heart as I reminisced these early years.
So my sweet sister, Jessica, came down with her new fancy camera and helped me capture this phase of my life.
To my future self: This is you carrying Eliza at 8 months along - 5th and final baby. We also called her Baby Peanut for the first 6 months. You rocked this! Great job! Be proud of yourself. :)
This is going to be a big week in our house.
It started yesterday as we began prepping for Easter 2015. We got all gussied up in our Easter clothes and went to church.
We go to church every Sunday. It is truly the highlight of my week. Trev and I teach the Marriage and Family Relations class together and he also works with the Priests (young men ages 16-18) in our ward.
We truly love serving in these capacities!
I love going to church. I always come away from it feeling so uplifted, edified, and strengthened.
I get to be with others that are constantly trying to improve and be better disciples of Jesus Christ.
I love taking my kids and seeing their faith growing and understanding expanding.
I feel closer to my Savior and those I love when I go to church.
What a perfect way to start out each week...especially this one as we approach Easter and the reminder it is of the Atonement and Resurrection of our Savior.
It makes me better. Makes me want to be better.
But before we headed in, I had to snap a few pictures of my kids in their adorable Easter clothes.
Oh how I love these kids of mine.
Crazy to think that this will be our last Sunday together before Baby Eliza comes! Our last family picture as a family of 6!
So strange, yet so exciting! It's going to be a good week. :)
