Bracken and I took turns going to the temple today.  I thought a lot about the challenges and trials I have faced and what some of my friends are facing right now. Life can be rough. I'm grateful for the perspective that we have heavenly parents and the strength that provides.

I took the kids to the library while Bracken was at the temple. Hayes is getting a bit old for story time but he still is a good sport. I love reading and it's exciting to me to watch my kids love of reading/books grow. Their (and mine too) favorite book they checked out last time was "Chalk" by Bill Thomson. There are no words but the illustrations are amazing and tell a fun story.  The kids love how the dinosaur is defeated at the end.

Bracken donates blood whenever United Blood asks him too, they have given him free vouchers for ice cream and shows and now movie tickets! (Shh, don't tell that he'd do it for nothing, this has made our date night planning easier & cheaper!) We went to the latest Batman tonight.  After watching the HALF HOUR of movie previews I was already feeling a bit violenced out and the movie was super violent as well.  Here I am supporting more violent films by watching it.. Sometimes my economist head gets in the way of just enjoying something when I think about how consuming this product is a "vote" for more of it. ( in this case, violence) It was fun being with Bracken though! Kamri kept asking all day when the babysitter would get here.  I should be offended, she was way too excited to get us out of the house!

As we were going to bed, I asked Bracken why it seems most people that are for gun control aren't for harder ratings against violent video games/ movies. I know because it is free speech and the argument that watching violence doesn't make you violent but I wanted to hear his perspective. He asked me why I randomly brought that up. I replied "Oh, I was just thinking about Batman". You can imagine that in a dreamy voice and Bracken said that should be my favorite line of the day. In my defense, I was referring to the movie, not the man!

Thanks to all of you that left me your emails. I'll send you invites to my blog when I make it private tomorrow night.

I'm going private in the next couple days, if you'd like to keep reading my updates leave me your email address.

If you're too lazy to log in to view my blog, give me a call, i'd love to chat.

I might not keep it private forever but for the time being that's the way I'm going to roll.

Summit

This past week has been looming ahead for our family and now it is gone and over with.  It seems weird to have something over with so quick that we talked about and Bracken prepared for for so long. Bracken took the bar, climbed Mount Rainier, and I took the kids on a road trip from Las Vegas to Cache Valley.  The kids and I got home last night at midnight and Bracken flew in this morning. Now what we have been looking forward to-- a whole month of playing until he starts work!

Here is Bracken and Jeff Paul at the summit.  (those are clouds behind them!) He said it was well worth the time & money and I'm glad he got home safe. A successful climb!

Church was a bit crazy alone with three kids. They all decided they needed to be on my lap at the same time. Eliciting laughs from the seasoned mother sitting by me and looks of pity from the new mother in front of me as I jostled them on top of each other.  Bracken got home right after church and we were all so excited to see him. We went to Rod (my dad's cousin) & Cindy's for dinner. Hayes & Kamri love playing with their grandkids, I explained to them that they are their third cousin's so now they call Rod & Cindy their third grandparents. We are grateful they let us join their family for Sunday dinner!

The next Steve Erwin

minus the whole getting stabbed through the heart by a sting-ray.

Purple Glue, Mount Rainier & Olympics

Another day spent with cousins. My kids are to the point where they think life is all about fun, getting home tomorrow and back to a routine is going to be rough on them (and let's me honest, rough on me too!)

Bracken flew out after the bar exam last night to climb Mount Rainier.  He started climbing this morning and I won't hear from him until he is off the mountain Saturday night.  I'm excited he got this opportunity but nervous too.  I'll keep praying until I hear from him!

We watched the Olympic opening ceremonies, pretty amazing. I love the Olympics.  I found online a few weeks ago that NBC was streaming all the events live online. It was stoked! Then today I went online to look at the schedule and read that you have to be a cable/satellite subscriber to watch.  Darn. There is no such thing as a free lunch after all.

My favorite line today:  The kids were all laying quietly as I was sitting waiting for them to fall asleep. Suddenly Kamri sat up. "Mom, did you know there is such a thing as purple glue?!?!"  Yes Kamri, I did.  "My preschool has some!"    Then she laid back down, silent and asleep in two minutes.  random.

Bracken finished the bar exam!!! Now to wait until results in October and he's done with law school forever. Wahoo!

The kids spent the day playing with cousins and we drove a lot. That's tiring. I post too much about being tired. I should switch to posting in the morning, maybe that would help.

Good Life

You know you have a good life when the worst part of your day is throwing a fit because you can't ride the tube behind the boat anymore. (see Kamri's pic below)
Kamri had a perma-grin when she rode on the tube.
Hayes loved tubing and jumping off the boat to swim in the dam.
Lyla loved hanging out with Taggert on the boat. Eating twizzlers & cookies was a major plus. (that girl has had more sugar this trip than the rest of her life combined!)
Thanks Telly, Kristin & Kade for taking us boating!
We got to go see a few friends today too. Cache Valley is good to us!

Bracken had 6 hours of multiple choice testing today. I don't think he felt the good life too much today, I felt a bit guilty telling him about the fun we had. He has half a day of essays left tomorrow and then he is D-O-N-E!! :D

Brave

We went to see Brave today with Grandma Niece, Grandpa Paul, Telly, Kristin, Macee, Griffin, & Taggert.

The reviews of the movie:
Lyla: Entranced by the stars in the movie short before Brave. Fell asleep (thankfully) during the bear fight which also happens to be the loudest part of the movie. Go figure. Her favorite part was downing fistfuls of popcorn.

Hayes repeatedly said he was scared during the movie and at one point wanted to leave, afterwards he claimed "Bears are boring and it had a princess in it. I hate princess movies." My bets are on he'd watch it again if he had the chance.

Kamri also announced she was scared throughout the movie but afterwards told me she liked the movie. Probably since it had a Princess in it, because she loves princess movies.

Me: I enjoyed it. Wasn't my favorite Pixar movie...but I guess if you had to pin me down to which one is my favorite I really don't know. They are all pretty good.

Bar Exam Time!!

Bracken takes the bar tomorrow!! I'm so excited to have him done studying and I know he feels the same.

Kamri prayed tonight "Please bless Dad will do good on bar"

Three days of testing and then waiting until October for the results. I know he'll do great!

In other news, Lyla had her first ice cream cone today, huge smiles and ice cream all over her face! We're having ice cream and Bracken is taking a three day test...life just isn't fair. ; )

Today at church was a bit crazy.  I think Lyla needed her Dad but since he wasn't with us, I was the only one she would take. (or maybe it was me that needed to have Bracken there during church to get her to sleep! He is a pro at that.) I ended up walking out of all three meetings because she was crying/screaming.  She wouldn't go to Grandma or Grandpa, or anyone, but me.  She was like that yesterday too.  I got a lot of comments from people that passed by her when she was being quiet saying, oh I'm glad she's happy now!  Frustrating. She's always been a Momma's girl but the past little while has been a bit extreme.  I just had to look at these pictures today to remind myself that she is usually a happy girl.  Hopefully after a good night's sleep tonight she'll be a bit happier tomorrow!

Pioneer Day Celebration

A parade with tons of candy, a fire truck hose down, running around with cousins, face paint, softball game, cotton candy and fireworks. We certainly didn't celebrate like the pioneers would have, but it was a fun day! I tried to explain to the kids about the pioneers walking across the US to reach Utah that had no houses or anything. What Amazing faith, strength and dedication that would have taken!

Logged 500+ miles on our car odometer today but it will Sooo be worth it tomorrow to be at the small town pioneer celebration with extended family. Just wish Bracken could come with...pesky bar exam!

Swim Lessons

Hayes & Kamri's last day of swim lessons was today.  They both improved so much in two weeks. Hayes can swim freestyle now, he starts doing doggie paddle to breathe so we need to work on still kicking when he breathes but he does pretty well.  Kamri got over her fear of dunking her head and now she is jumping in underwater for fun.  She has improved her stroke as well but isn't quite ready to swim on her own.

After swim lessons we went to the pool with some friends to practice their skills.  Lyla was loving being able to crawl around in the water.  I didn't get any pictures besides this one during our graham cracker break. Kamri kept trying to swim in the shallow end, it is so fun to see my kids gain confidence in swimming. I love seeing their faces light up as they conquer their fears & gain skills. 

Peek-a-Boo

Walking

My favorite line today was Kamri's: "Lyla walked during the prayer!!...I peeked"
Lyla walked on her own about four feet. The most steps she has taken. While nobody was suppose to be looking but I confess I was peeking too.

My favorite line today was Kamri explaining to her friend what it meant when I said Bracken was studying. "My dad just sits in his bedroom and stares at books all day. You can go see if you want." She said it in an offhand way like she had a pet giraffe in the backyard but didn't want to make a big deal about it..

Lyla loves to do walk laps around the dining room table with her push stroller. It's cute. She also likes to scream when the wheel gets stuck or she foresees the wheel getting stuck, even when it doesn't happen. Not so cute.

When we were reporting our high part of the day and low part of the day, Hayes couldn't come up with a low part. It was a great day for him: swim lessons, playing with friends, & a doughnut from the store. Bracken's low part of the day was studying, his high part was stopping studying...I guess Kamri's earlier comment wasn't too far from the truth!

After dinner, for Family Home Evening we rode our bikes up to a part a couple blocks away from our house. Kamri is getting faster on her bike, Hayes is fast & acts like he always knows where he is going.. Lyla fell asleep in the trailer. At the park we played freeze tag. Bracken mentioned getting a huge group of adults together to play full-blown tag. I think that would be entertaining and an amazing workout if you found competitive enough people. Any takers?
We'll be the spectators. :)

Thunderstorms

Across the street there were three garage doors in a row open watching this amazing thunder/lightening/rain storm going on tonight. Bracken and I mocked them a little, like you've never seen rain before?! Then we went to the back door and sat and watched it pour. Hypocrites. I know. Nature is amazing. I'm grateful God created so much diversity in weather to enjoy. I'm also grateful for a house to be nice and comfortable in to watch.

Sharing time in Primary went well. I only teach about twice a year when enough of the presidency is gone that they ask me to do it. I enjoy it, especially when kids fill the gaps between transitions with comments like, "We lock the door at home so the pirates don't get us!" or "I chose the right by being nice to my little brother" followed by a rebuttle from little brother "Nuh-uh! She's always rough & tough to me!" At dinner, Hayes & Kamri could each tell me one thing they had learned...with a little prodding..so I'll call it a success.

On my date with Bracken Saturday night we saw a bumper sticker that said "I'll always want a little more than I'll ever have." We commented that we felt bad for their spouse! Then Saturday morning I was feeling a bit frustrated with myself and in trying to explain my thoughts to Bracken we came to the conclusion that I was feeling just like that statement on the bumper sticker, but about myself. "I'll always be short of what I know I can become." I'm over comparing myself to others, (okay I'm not fooling anyone--I'm Mostly over that) but I still have this ideal in my head of who I want to be and it always seems just out of grasp. I just need to realize how far I have come in being who I want to be, but some days I just let myself down. Then I focus on the negative of how I am not quite there yet and that just gets discouraging. After our talk, I was resolved once again to focus on the positive ways I am progressing into what I want to become. Today I came across this quote which tied into my thoughts well:

"In reality, there aren't very many things in a day that are totally without significance. Even the mundane and repetitious can be tiny but significant building blocks that in time establish the discipline and character and order needed to realize our plans and dream. Therefore, as you ask in prayer for your daily bread, consider thoughtfully your needs--both what you may lack and what you must protect against. As you retire to bed, think about the successes and failures of the day and what will make the next day a little better...

Your reflections will increase your faith in Him as you see His hand helping you to endure some things and to change others. You will be able to rejoice in one more day, one more step toward eternal life.

-Elder D. Todd Christofferson

CES fireside address on January 9, 2011

And a random thing I want to remember so I can tell Hayes when he is older that he can read through the whole Book of Mormon because today he read on his own the whole illustrated Book of Mormon stories book. He told us his favorite story was about the people of Ammon burying their weapons and covenanting not to fight anymore.

Great Intentions

Small Actions are worth more than Great Intentions.  That quote (that I'm sure I'm misquoting) is in my head as I pulled up my blog.  I had great intentions to blog some thoughts today, then I remembered I am teaching sharing time in primary at church tomorrow so I spent my time doing that instead.  My new years resolution of not procrastinating is obviously not going well. Unless you want to conclude I was thinking ahead by doing the lesson tonight instead of tomorrow morning before 9a.m. church.  There ya go, I'm doing great at that resolution....ahem.

For now I'm full of great intentions, hopefully my small actions will show up and I'll have something better to report on here tomorrow. 

We have got to see our friends the Browns the past two days. They moved away nine months ago and are here visiting family. Its fun to catch up! We went bowling with a group of friends, 14 kids total with the oldest being seven...it was a bit chaotic but entertaining nonetheless. Bracken and I went on a date to Yassou Greek Grill which is delicious and has a groupon now deal. I got my Greek gyro fix. I do believe that is going to be my next restaurant obsession. Panda Express, Del Taco...old news, now it's Yassou. (yes I know those restaurants are not gourmet but thats why they could be an obsession because they are cheap(ish)! We didn't have anything else planned so we decided to be spontaneous and get a pet We strolled through the pet store and must have come to our senses because we walked out empty handed. Although the mini tortoises were pretty awesome, the $125 price tag was not. We wandered around R.E.I for awhile and them got gelato to eat while we discussed the pros and cons of mountain climbing as a family hobby. Then came home. We're old. The end.

Abstract Embriodery

While the kids were watching the movie Beethoven I got out my yarn and crochet hook to make a dishcloth. That reminded Kamri that she wanted to "sew with the circle thing and fabric."  Here is what they worked on  while I attempted to work on mine but ended up threading tapestry needles and tying knots for them.

Kamri's

Hayes's

(he said it was flowers in a vase, I can see it!)

here is my work in progress

My FLT was Lyla making a barking noise when she saw the dog on the TV. First time she has made a certain noise without me trying to get her to do it!

Slurpees & a dead Mouse

Swim Lessons. Free Slurpee Day. Puppet Show.

Three times today I dumped a quart of water with a little bleach down the air intakes by the windshield of my car. What the mechanic told me to do to get rid of the dead mouse smell.  Thankfully he dealt with the actual dead mouse that was just looking to hitch a ride from Kanerra Mtn to Las Vegas. Even if I knew how to get to the air conditioning unit in my car, it was worth the 96 bucks to have someone else deal with the deceased rodent.  We went two days without A/C in the car because it smelt SO bad, it was 110 and the heat was more tolerable than the smell. Today we dealt with the half bleach-half decay smell.  Hopefully a few more bleach pouring sessions will cure it. I should look on the bright side though, the mouse had worst end of the deal.

Going to bed. Lame I know, but I like sleep.

Calling it

We went on the bike ride, Hayes and Kamri started swim lessons, Lyla took one step on her own, I did laundry and made homemade pizza for dinner. I'm calling it a productive day. And Bracken mediated a divorce. Maybe that shouldn't be construed as productive but we'll say it is. Just don't come look at all the things I didn't get done. We're thinking positive here folks.

Give Said The Little Stream

Stump hunting

I've been dreaming of getting these for a year and a half. Thanks to my brother-in-law Mac and his chainsaw skills I finally got them!  Bracken, Mac, Brooke, Foster, Neve & I set out on the Ranger to find a tree that had fallen over but hadn't started decaying yet.  Brooke took pictures of the process so I'll have to steal them from her at some point. I know they don't look like much sitting in my garage but they are going to be pretty amazing end tables, or I might make them nightstands...haven't decided yet.  Now that I've posted it on here, hopefully I'll finish this project a bit faster. They made our car smell like an aspen forest on the way home. Love that smell.

Hayes as a 2nd generation gate opener. He was begging to be the gate opener. As a teenager,

 he'll fight with his siblings over not being it. Same as when I was growing up.

I love escaping to the mountains.

My Dad, aka Grandpa Dane,  who has instilled a love of Kanerra Mountain in his children and now his grandchildren.

Only downside is I think a small mountain animal got stuck in our car air conditioning unit.  At least that's my best guess as to the culprit of a loud popping noise and sudden dead animal reek-age coming from the a/c as I was driving home from church today. Driving home without A/C in 110 degree weather was unpleasant but not as unpleasant as that smell! Hopefully we can get it fixed tomorrow!

I'm blogging everyday and I'm still getting behind! We got home from our family cabin tonight. The highlight of my day was successful stump hunting. What is that you say? Well you'll have to wait and see...

Games

Playing the worlds longest phase 10 game with my mom, sister Heather, her husband Hunter and sister-in-law Christine. I love them dearly but I wish they would stop skipping me so I could finish and win this game. I mean that in the nicest way possible.

I have lots of pictures to download on my computer but that will have to wait for another day.

Mountain air, Fishing, horny toad hunting, four-wheeling and a whole lot of watermelon. Life is good and even better when this game ends!

Another picture from my phone since I can't download from my camera. We are having fun up on the mountain, more later!

Happy 4th!

I'm grateful to Iive in America and love to celebrate it's founding!

We went to the parade and fair in Cedar. Hayes loved being able to go do laser tag with Xander. Kamri loved the bounce houses, and Lyla took a nap in the shade. Bracken missed out on the fair and started studying again after the parade.

Tonight we had family pictures taken with all my side of the family minus EJ who is in Brazil.

Then dinner and fireworks!

Here is some pictures I got on my phone while we were waiting for our turn to get our family picture taken.

My favorite line today was from Kamri, "Where's Mister Dad?!"
Bracken had left to get our dinner without Kamri's knowledge.

She also counted to 80 in the car today. I had never heard her go past 20 before so it was a random surprise.

Hanging out with Cousins

Hygiene

On our bike ride this morning Hayes was holding a long pointy stick as he rode. I had gone ahead with Kamri so when I went to the back of the group and saw him I told him he couldn't ride while holding a sharp stick. Not wanting to part with it, he stuck the stick in my bike trailer.

Seemingly unrelated, while we were eating lunch Hayes announced that he had brushed his teeth twice today. Knowing the likelihood of that was small and considering the randomness of the comment I just replied 'oh really?'
He responded, "I read today in a book that caveman didn't have toothbrushes so they used sticks to clean their teeth. While I brushed twice on the bike ride!!"

Pfff and I was worried he'd poke his eye out...

Baby Steps

Lyla has mastered couch walking and has been practicing letting go and standing on her own for little bits of time.  It has been fun watching her slowly gain confidence to let go for longer amounts of time. She is stable enough now to take a step on her own but hasn't gained the confidence to lift her foot without any support. 

Tonight as we finished the last half of The Rookie, Lyla was climbing on the kids rocking chair and standing up, letting go and "surfing" as Hayes called it.  We were all having a good laugh at how crazy she was being. I was thinking about what to blog tonight and thought I would post the video of her.  I was skimming pages of a book as I thought and came across this quote from Marion G. Romney:

 "No Latter-day Saint should be content to stand day after day in the same place on the way to eternal life."

I thought back to Lyla, in just over a year she has gone from struggling to breathe on her own to climbing over furniture.  I know those are easier milestone to quantify but the quote made me think about what am I deliberately doing now to grow spiritually. (or physically or mentally for that matter) What milestones in my own personal growth am I trying to reach? What are things I am lacking confidence in that I need to practice?  Lyla has made huge progress in the past week because of her intense focus on learning to walk.  Adult life gives you  many more choices and opportunities, plenty of them good but I know focusing on one single great aspect for a time could bring growth that would otherwise be untapped in the routine of everyday life.


Now to decide what I should work on, what I need to just "let go of the couch" and  DO.