"The earth has its music for those who will listen"

George Santayana

And like a Siren's song, that music kissed our ears and we set sail.

The loud sea started out a little stormy but calmed and quieted. Letting the earth's song fill and refresh our souls.

 

 We decided to head out on an impromptu camping trip in the Uinta mountains. This would actually be the third week in a row we would spend our weekend in this magical place. Those Sirens and their songs, you know. 

We packed our things and headed out early Friday morning. Excited to escape the heat. Just as we passed Morgan, we heard a flapping, clanking noise. Our first panic thought wandered to our kayak (we christened it Aspen Glow). Was she adventuring on the freeway without us? Nope, she was tied, safe and sound. Oh, man it was our tire. A little strip of tire was flapping in the wind. Luckily, we were close to Morgan. We laughed and felt blessed we weren't halfway to the Uinta mountains. We had been putting off getting tires and what better time then now. Unfortunately, Morgan didn't have our tires. So we carefully made our way to Riverdale. They had what we needed, only an hour wait and they had popcorn and soda to pass the time, awesome!

On the road again! It was late in the afternoon, so we decided that maybe we should head up to North Fork to camp instead of the far-off Uinta Mountains. We were right in front of Pineview, laughing about the stressful situation when Evers, from the backseat said, "My tummy hurts." And then proceeded to throw up all her popcorn and soda all over the place. Awesome.

Home again, home again. We headed once again back down the canyon. Holding Everly's throw upy hand and laughing about deja vu. Evers was feeling fine after getting that popcorn out of her system and so we decided to switch car seats (the throw up one is still sitting in the backyard waiting for me to clean it. Yuck!) and headed back up to the mountains. We decided that even though it was now super late we would heed the Siren's call and head all the way back to the Uintas, what did we have to lose?

Definitely worth it! The music was beautiful and refreshing! 

 

Love is in the Air

Valentine's Day gets a bad rap. I'm the first to admit that I'm not the biggest fan of this consumer driven, card manufactured holiday. I've never been a soft and fuzzy feelin', chick flick watchin' kind of gal. But, I do love many people in my life and how fun it is to let them know how much I do love them.

Being a parent is hard. There are so many things I wish for my girlies. The main thing I want my baby girlies to know is how much Chris and I love them and how much Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love them.

Chris and I tell the girlies over and over how much we love them. We tickle, hug, kiss, chase and laugh with our cute gals. I hope they always know how much we love them.

 

The world is loud. It's full of noise. The noise sometimes tries to block out the love of our Heavenly Father and sometimes the noise wins. We are constantly bombarded with degrading music, TV and magazines. It makes it hard to feel loveable and easier to feel not good enough. I want my girls to know where they came from and how much their Heavenly parents loves them and how they will always be there, even when it seems like they aren't. 

It seems a daunting task to teach my little loves this when the world is so loud. So loud in fact that there are times when I feel down and lonely and not good enough. 

A few months ago I was thinking about what I would ask Heavenly father or Jesus Christ if I were to be able to see them that day. I have a million questions because that's how my crazy mind works. I want to know how everything works. I tried to narrow it down to a few questions. Over the course of a few days I finally thought. "I just want to know you care". 

The next day I was reading my scriptures. I usually read them on my phone but this day I pulled out my triple combination and thought where should I look. I decided randomly to turn to 1 Peter. I turned to chapter 5 and then I read verse 7 "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you."  

I found it so interesting that my Heavenly Father loves me so much that he would answer my one question. I want my girls to know with surety, that Heavenly Father "careth" for them. So I will teach them.

For FHE last week we talked about why we celebrate Valentine's Day. We made sure the girls knew and know that we love them and then I asked who loves you the most and without skipping a beat Nory said "Jesus loves me!"

We talked about how Jesus loves us and he want us to love everyone. We then made Valentine's and did a few secret Valentine's service projects (don't want to spoil our secret projects with too many details). As we did these certain secret projects Nora giggled and giggled. Everly joined in the fun. At the end of the night, we were driving home and Nora smiling ear to ear said, "Best night ever!!!" 

 

Over the last couple weeks we've done some other fun Valentine's activities like wreathes

and Valentine's

Chris and I decorated the girls doors with conversation hearts

(In case you're wondering I do let the girls tape art work to their door. It's too cute I can't say no.)

We did an awesome science project. Making crystal hearts. I can't wait to see what they look like tomorrow!

 Love is definitely in the air and I hope my girlies never forget how much Chris and I love them and how much their Heavenly Parents love them!

It Still Did

And here we go. A new year is upon us

 I'm ready for the profoundly, intricate jaunt down the halls of 2016. I love this life I have been blessed with. I love the intense climbs, the deep plummets and the gentle hum of the mundane. The extremes of all complimenting each other as they fold and mix together. Creating a life perfectly, imperfect. I embrace and welcome that imperfection. I'm at home in imperfections strong arms.

 

2015 treated us well and even when it didn't, it still did.

Right off the bat, our poor, little Evers got sick. We spent countless hours in different doctor's offices. We went from her pediatrician, to Primary Children's Hospital, to Mckay Dee hospital, to the allergist, back to her pediatrician and then back to Primary's. Test after test, sample after sample. This poor girl saw so many doctors that to this day she gets mad when we pull into the parking lot of her pediatrican. Finally, we decided to take her to a kinesiologist. He did what others couldn't and along with many prayers and blessings, she was soon back to her spunky self.    

 

I didn't get pictures of her getting a barium test done because that was way too traumatic for me, I didn't even think to pull out my camera as I was trying hold back tears. In hindsight, I wish I would have so one day we could have shown her what she had to go through. They had to tie her legs together, pin her down and make her drink a gross drink which she spit back in their faces as she screamed at them.  The nurse thought she was the cutest, strong willed baby. She laughed about how Evers wasn't just crying but that little girl was shouting angry baby babble at them. It seemed unbearable to watch my baby suffer. How grateful we felt to Heavenly Father for helping us through this trial.

 

Around the time we got Babylove's stuff under control My horse, Blue got sick. He dropped so much weight. I thought it was time to send my old buddy to greener pastures. I had him at an acupuncturist, chiropractor, a couple different vets, until finally, we got some answers. We then calorie packed his diet and he was and is, back to his wild self.

We had some major job changes in our household. When Everly got sick, we decided it would be best for me to quit my job and concentrate on getting her feeling 100%. I loved my job. Working with children with special needs was one of the most rewarding things I've done in my life. It was challenging but those challenges paled in comparison to the joy. I was sad to leave but knew it was time.

A few months after I quit, Chris got a new job in Heber City. He was sad to leave the friends he had made but excited for this new adventure. Change is scary but what's life without a sprinkle of scary.

We had an awesome amount of excellent adventures. We love the great outdoors (I'm pretty sure I could do this whole paragraph in movie titles) so we introduced Hiking Saturday into our weekly mix. The hikes filled our Saturdays with dirt, rocks, waterfalls, caves, heat, a few accidental dives into the water and a few not so accidental dives into the water, a few tears and tired feet. We loved every minute of it.

(We hiked all over the place. In no particular order: The Kays Creek walkway, a waterfall in Centerville, Donut Falls, Patsy's Mine, Farmington walkway, Causey Reservoir, Adams Canyon, Fernwood, Cascade Springs, a fairy garden in the Uinta mountains, Antelope Island, Zion National Park, and to petroglyphs in Santa Clara.)

For my Birthday, Chris surprised me with an airplane ride. It was absolutely breathtaking!

 We went to St. George for a week to watch my dad play softball in the Huntsman Senior World game. We were able to see my dad receive a ring for playing in the games for 15 years. It was so neat. We had so much fun. We watched America's favorite pastime, hiked, ate, swam, went to Tuacahn and many more lively happenings.

At the end of the summer, we were lucky enough to spend a few days at our sister in-law's family cabin in Heber City. We went swimming, bowling, hiking, and best of all we were able to relax and enjoy the beauty of Heber City.

Elanora started pre-school. I can't believe my little Babyface is old enough to go to school. She's a smart gal and she loves every minute of it. On the first day of school she said I could just drop her off and then leave. My independent girl. It was so hard to leave her. Even though she only goes twice a week for a few hours, I miss her when she's gone. How am I ever going to handle kindergarten?

 We went to carnivals, fairs, festivals. We celebrated holidays and birthdays. We played at the park and watched super blood moon eclipses. We played in the rain, the snow, and in the sprinklers. Attended church and visited temples and we swam every week in between. How truly blessed and grateful we are for the memories made within the pages of 2015.

Oh yes, 2015 treated us well, and even when it didn't

It still did.
 

 

 

 

 



Birthday Girl!

This spunky, little gal turned 2 On November 5. I cannot express how blessed we feel to have this babylove in our lives. She brings so much happiness and joy to our family. She is the cherry on top, she is the bow on the present, and the icing on the cake.

Everly is an independent girlie. She knows what she wants. She fought to get here and boy are we glad she got here! 

This little smarty pants loves to learn and picks up things so fast. She already has some of her numbers and letters memorized. She loves animals and is forever chasing the kitty to pet her 

When the house gets quiet and we don't know where Evers slipped off to, we can usually find her reading a book (if she isn't getting into mischief). She loves to paint and draw. She always wants us to draw a picture and then she traces the lines we draw perfectly.

Oh boy, do we love this beautiful baby girl. what a wonderful gift we have been blessed with. We love this perfectly wild, sassy, smart, curious, funny, intense and sometimes stubborn girl. Happy Birthday Everly!

Recap and Moving on: September/October

And just like that two months were smashed into one. Fall colors cascading from the sky as they collided. Months filled with blood moons and planets aligning in the morning sky, hiking, a vacation and of course, CANDY!!! 

 Books I read this month:

* "A Greater Tomorrow: My Journey Beyond the Veil" by Julie Rowe (Interesting enough to inspire my curiosity to learn more about the subject matter, although it was not written very well).

* "Visions of Glory: One Man's Astonishing Account of the Last Days"  as told to John Pontius (I just had to read more and more).

* "A Change is Coming "By Hector Sosa Jr. (A very short but straightforward, to the point account).

* ...As A Thief In The Night : A resource/ reference book to assist in identifying kingdoms and events of the last years before the second coming of Jesus Christ" (I've always had a desire to study the Second Coming. My high school seminary teacher taught from this book, I loved the information so much that that year for Christmas I asked Santa to bring me the book. I dug it out and read it again).

* I also scoured over countless scriptures in the Book of Mormon and Bible. I also studied quotes from The Journal of Discourses and past and present Conference talks on the second coming and revelation.

 

You may be thinking this is a little excessive. But this is how Heavenly Father created me :) He gave me a deep passion for learning. Not only was I created this way but I have been admonished to learn and study. I take that responsibility very serious. It is who I am. The Second Coming just happens to be my subject of choice at the moment :)

 

This month's playlist:

* I have mostly been listening to talk radio.

 

Things Elanora has been up to: 

* Loving Preschool.

* Playing dolls.

* Playing "I Spy" and, "What animal make that noise?".

* Going to "Inside Out" at the movies.

* Trick or Treating.

* Avoiding scary decorations.

* Candy, candy, candy.

 

Things Everly has been up to:

* Looking at but not touching lizards.
* Reading books.
* Playing "chase" and "Tickle monster"
* Seeing "Inside Out" at the movies.
* Trick or Treating.
* Avoiding eye contact with scary decorations.
* Candy, candy, candy...candy with no peanuts.

 



Recap And Moving On: August

And then just like that September is crashing in on our summer. We hiked and bike and swam and twirled and ran and swung, but now a warm September breeze is slowly shutting our heavy, wooden door on summer. Bringing with it a backpack full of schedules and early sunsets. I guess we're ready to switch jumping in pools for flying kites.

 Books I read this month:
     I started but have yet to finish "A Man's Search For Meaning" by Viktor E Frankl. Boy it's been a long time since I read a whole book.

This month's playlist:
     Anything loud and fast paced on my ipod. I've been running on the treadmill(I use the term running loosely).

Things Elanora has been up to:

    # Making up puppet shows
   # Blending phonic sounds to make words
   # Making cakes and licking the beaters
   # Playing with the blue hippo on the Hungry, Hungry Hippos game
   # Diving for rings in the swimming pool
   # Holding huge snakes around her neck



   # Doing riding exercises on Blue
  # Bowling for the first time
  # Shooting BB guns (with lots of help)

Things Everly has been up to:

   # Throwing puppets over the couch

   # Reading/sleeping with/driving in the car with princess books

   # Making cakes and licking the beaters

   # Throwing the berries from the Hungry, Hungry Hippo game

   # Writing her name (with lots of help)

   # Riding Blue

   # Giving Random kisses

   # Using the potty (sometimes :))

   # Riding her bike

Marking Our Territory

First of all, I think I should say, "It was worth it!"

I mean, just look at us. We're having so much fun in that awesome mine. Patsy's Mine was so nice and cool inside...and by cool I mean in the way of temperature and experience. Definitely one of the best end results of our Saturday hikes that we have had.

But getting there...now that was a different story. Yikes! 

I found this little gem of a hike on pinterest. The pin lead me to this blog. The blog is a fun one! But I think I should have done a little more research beforehand. She said it was a short hike and 'kid doable'. I'm not sure 'kid doable' meant a 1 1/2 year old and a 4 year old(although she had a couple of those with her). She did say it would be hot, man was it hot! 

 We made the mistake of starting late. We fed the horses on Saturday and also we've been doing the Lowe's Build 'n' Grow projects every other Saturday. It set us back a little. The girl's got to build the Hulk's tank, which they loved, so it was definitely worth the late start. Luckily we had lots of water because we went through all of it.

 The hike was about .7 miles with an optional extra .25/.5 miles depending if you parked on the dirt road or not. Our intentions were to not hike the optional part but when we got to the dirt road it was fenced off. We were involuntarily coerced to hike the "optional" part. 

This lovely hike seemed a lot longer than .7 miles, plus optional .25/.5 miles and was pretty much straight up. Once we got home and took baths and naps, I did a little more research and found out that there are different ways to get to the mine. You can    zig-zag your way up switchbacks or you can head straight up the mountain, which is steep and not recommended. I wonder if it would be recommended if you had a 1 1/2 yr old or a 4 yr old on your shoulders because I'm pretty sure we picked the latter of the two options. 

 The majority of the time, the cute hiking girls were on our shoulders. There were a few places the trail evened out and the girls could walk.

 It was hot and hard and long but we made it. Barely. I'd be lying if I said we didn't contemplate turning around, but we didn't and it was worth it!

We were relieved to make it to the mine. It felt so nice inside after baking on the side of the mountain for an hour. We couldn't wait to explore. The girls busted out their flashlights and ran right in.

It was dark

and wet. So bring flashlights and shoes that you don't care if they get muddy because they will. There were puddles throughout and a deep one at the end of the tunnel.

There are different rooms off the main tunnel and we had fun running through them. 

I little fun fact about me is that I'm a little claustrophobic but I definitely didn't want a little claustrophobia to stop me from enjoying this adventure so with visions of walls closing in on me and ceilings caving in on me I hiked on. I tried not to picture myself trapped inside. But poor little Evie must have had those same images in that blonde little head of hers. We explored 3 rooms and then she got really nervous and so I volunteered to take her back to the entrance while Chris and Nory explored some more.

 It was pretty wild. We couldn't see or hear Chris and Nory until they were pretty close. Nory came running out of the cave like a shot yelling, "I have to go to the bathroom" She jumped into some leaves and pulled her pants down and unfortunately she forgot to squat, throughouly soaking her shorts. Luckily for me Chris was the one that packed her on his shoulders on the tricky, steep parts of the trail. After exploring the mine, we enjoyed some snacks and the view before heading back down.

The hike went much faster on the way down. It was a lot easier and the girls were able to hike more than they had on the way up. When we got to the car we were exhausted and covered in dirt. Everly fell asleep almost immediately. The girls did so good so we decided to stop for ice cream and Slurpee's on the way home.

If you want instructions on how to get to Patsy's Mine in Farmington, look them up because I don't want to be responsible for you rolling down the hill or getting you lost before you even start the hike :)

*Do a little research beforehand

*Bring a flashlight, sunscreen and a lot of water

*Wear shoes you don't mind getting muddy

*There are no bathrooms so if you happen to be doing the "gallon of water a day" challenge like I happen to be doing, you might have to mark you territory on the way up the trail. 

Happy Trails!