It is funny how quickly time passes when you don't blog...
Here we sit on a cool Presidents Day. Although I think today might have been the highest temp of the year! I am excited for what this year will bring. I think in the month 2013 has been around it has been better than 2012. I do believe it was a crummy year. This year I plan to love higher, better.
A few weeks ago our ward was combined with another, something I have hoped for for a long time. I am excited to meet new friends and know more people in the neighborhood. I often feel on the outs, and it get discouraging. I just keep my little family together by creating experiences for them to grow.
Jacob turned 14 last week and became a Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood. He is excited to advance and all the fun things that come along with it! He is doing better in school with the help of a great teacher.
Cora start her second round of volleyball last week and hung out with a bunch of her friends at the school dance. She said it was the best dance yet! it was just the second one but she had a fun then they all came over for an after party.
Owen is still the trouble maker, teaser of the family, he knows how to push buttons but he is so cute I just can't help loving him to death!
Sadie is almost 7! I just can't believe it!! My baby isn't a baby any more but oh my do I still treat her like one!! ack!! she loves school and has a bunch of friends she loves to have playdates with!
I have a big surprise for my kids this spring and I can hardly wait for it! We are finally going on a family vacation! A real true family vacation, no tents, no trailers. I can't wait to give them this gift!
Monday, February 18, 2013
Saturday, August 11, 2012
While you were away...
found this in my drafts...
So Jacob and Cora have been gone it seems like for months! However, they were only gone last week and then a few days this week. I have tried to do something fun with Owen and Sadie while they were gone so they didn't feel too left out. I know Sadie has missed Cora so much!
Last week while Jacob and Cora were off at camps I decided to take Owen and Sadie to Jungle Jim's It is an indoor amusement park geared toward younger kids. I don't think Sadie has been here at an age to enjoy it. She had a ton of fun!
We also took our weekly hike, to Bell Canyon. We only went to the lower lake. It was beautiful but it was also smelly! Lots of ducks swam around and we saw a few fish close to the bank. We did this hike with My mom, sister-Bridgette and her kids Tommy, Adam, Katrina, Kyle and Caleb, I also had a friends Daughter Lindsay.
Anna, my sister, flew in on Thursday to run a half Marathon with me on Friday night so here is a picture of us at the start line!
Saturday we went crawdad fishing. We took the little girl across the street, M.J. She was fun and loved being with the kids. She didn't like the crawdads at all and she fell asleep in the chair. She is adorable. :) Cora and Jacob were home for this!
Anna flew home on Monday morning. SO sad to see her go. This week seems like a blur. I have spent a lot of my time getting school stuff ready. I am on the parent organization board so I have had a lot to do!
Jacob and Cora left for the Super Activity on Thursday morning to Flaming Gorge. They were so excited, it meant another two days alone with Owen and Sadie though! Thursday we chilled around the house and also did a little shopping. Friday was the funnest day for me. I was volunteering at the school most of the morning and also registered the kids for Junior High!! ACK! Then we were gonna head downtown. I decided last minute to take tracks so I didn't have to worry about parking and road closures. We were going down the Tour of Utah Stage 4 finish line. The Tour of Utah is a 6 day race around northern Utah for elite cyclists! They had a big expo/carnival thing going on! The kids raced banana's:
Then we walked around and got tons of free stuff. Don was volunteering so he was also there and we saw him occasionally. There was a HUGE screen TV that they had a live feed on so we watched them ride through Magna, a small town West of Salt Lake. It was soo cool to see them ride and know exactly where they were. We slowly made our way through all the vendor booths and saw the finish was coming close so we went over to secure some finish lie spots. I noticed a TV across from us and we quickly figured out they were close. I watched the TV. a few pacer cars started to come through and the helicopter (we were watching the live feed through) came past us and started circling. finally watching the TV I saw them turn the corner to the street we were on!! It was soo exciting to se
Oh my goodness this post is full of fun pictures and that is only week 1!!! I am gonna close with that and will post again in a few days! Hopefully time doesn't escape me because the best is yet to come! School starts in 11 days and I still have so much I want to do. How sad huh? My kids are excited to go back! For me, it starts a new chapter. I am looking for employment. I hope I can find something fulfilling but flexible! I want something that is challenging but something I can enjoy and look forward doing. is that even possible?
So Jacob and Cora have been gone it seems like for months! However, they were only gone last week and then a few days this week. I have tried to do something fun with Owen and Sadie while they were gone so they didn't feel too left out. I know Sadie has missed Cora so much!
Last week while Jacob and Cora were off at camps I decided to take Owen and Sadie to Jungle Jim's It is an indoor amusement park geared toward younger kids. I don't think Sadie has been here at an age to enjoy it. She had a ton of fun!
We also took our weekly hike, to Bell Canyon. We only went to the lower lake. It was beautiful but it was also smelly! Lots of ducks swam around and we saw a few fish close to the bank. We did this hike with My mom, sister-Bridgette and her kids Tommy, Adam, Katrina, Kyle and Caleb, I also had a friends Daughter Lindsay.
Anna, my sister, flew in on Thursday to run a half Marathon with me on Friday night so here is a picture of us at the start line!
Saturday we went crawdad fishing. We took the little girl across the street, M.J. She was fun and loved being with the kids. She didn't like the crawdads at all and she fell asleep in the chair. She is adorable. :) Cora and Jacob were home for this!
Anna flew home on Monday morning. SO sad to see her go. This week seems like a blur. I have spent a lot of my time getting school stuff ready. I am on the parent organization board so I have had a lot to do!
Jacob and Cora left for the Super Activity on Thursday morning to Flaming Gorge. They were so excited, it meant another two days alone with Owen and Sadie though! Thursday we chilled around the house and also did a little shopping. Friday was the funnest day for me. I was volunteering at the school most of the morning and also registered the kids for Junior High!! ACK! Then we were gonna head downtown. I decided last minute to take tracks so I didn't have to worry about parking and road closures. We were going down the Tour of Utah Stage 4 finish line. The Tour of Utah is a 6 day race around northern Utah for elite cyclists! They had a big expo/carnival thing going on! The kids raced banana's:
Then we walked around and got tons of free stuff. Don was volunteering so he was also there and we saw him occasionally. There was a HUGE screen TV that they had a live feed on so we watched them ride through Magna, a small town West of Salt Lake. It was soo cool to see them ride and know exactly where they were. We slowly made our way through all the vendor booths and saw the finish was coming close so we went over to secure some finish lie spots. I noticed a TV across from us and we quickly figured out they were close. I watched the TV. a few pacer cars started to come through and the helicopter (we were watching the live feed through) came past us and started circling. finally watching the TV I saw them turn the corner to the street we were on!! It was soo exciting to se
Oh my goodness this post is full of fun pictures and that is only week 1!!! I am gonna close with that and will post again in a few days! Hopefully time doesn't escape me because the best is yet to come! School starts in 11 days and I still have so much I want to do. How sad huh? My kids are excited to go back! For me, it starts a new chapter. I am looking for employment. I hope I can find something fulfilling but flexible! I want something that is challenging but something I can enjoy and look forward doing. is that even possible?
Monday, August 6, 2012
Sunday Special
I feel an overwhelming desire to make my family strong in the gospel. I always have felt a little something. but now it is huge! The world gets scarier every day! My children need to be prepared!
I decided in the spring to read the Book of Mormon again. It has been a long time since I had. then in June I was issued a challenge to read the Book of Mormon in 40 days. I said no because I was already toward the end of Alma and wanted to finish before I started over. But the challenge issuer said he would set up the reading challenge for me starting where I was. No getting out of it right? It was incredible to read the Book of Mormon so quickly. To spend hours a day in the words of our prophets of old. It comes down to about 7 chapters a day but if you get behind to catch up is extremely hard, but I did it!! I finished! And now I can finish it again and count it for reading it twice in 2012!
Yesterday at church, during Sacrament meeting. Well it was during the opening song, Owen said he wanted to bear is testimony. I told him We could go home and talk about it and he could do it next month but he insisted in doing it. I asked what he wanted to say so he told me. Then I asked if he wanted me to help him. He said no, so I asked if he wanted to write it down and read it and he said yes. I wrote it down for him and told him I would go up with him (part of my challenge was to bear my testimony on the Book of Mormon). As soon as the counselor sat down we went up. He was so good. It just warmed my heart.
So as I was reading about Moroni building walls up around his cities. I likened it to building up walls around my home/my family. but not real walls. I am talking their testimonies. I want to give them every spiritual experience I can. I will go out of my way to do something little. I took Cora to do baptisms for the dead the day after her birthday because she was gone the whole week after. She is so excited to go with her friends too!
Like I said when I started this the desire to keep my family strong in the gospel is so strong I can almost feel it. It makes me want to cry. Where is the boundary that I don't force it though? In the Lord's hands I can do anything! Whew!
Each step, each day of my journey should move me progressively closer to Him. He doesn't expect or even want me to "run faster" than I am able. In fact, there may be days when I can't run at all. I may just be able to walk, crawl, or scoot, but my job is to be diligent or faithful as I move forward—no matter how small my progression.
-Kris Belcher
I decided in the spring to read the Book of Mormon again. It has been a long time since I had. then in June I was issued a challenge to read the Book of Mormon in 40 days. I said no because I was already toward the end of Alma and wanted to finish before I started over. But the challenge issuer said he would set up the reading challenge for me starting where I was. No getting out of it right? It was incredible to read the Book of Mormon so quickly. To spend hours a day in the words of our prophets of old. It comes down to about 7 chapters a day but if you get behind to catch up is extremely hard, but I did it!! I finished! And now I can finish it again and count it for reading it twice in 2012!
Yesterday at church, during Sacrament meeting. Well it was during the opening song, Owen said he wanted to bear is testimony. I told him We could go home and talk about it and he could do it next month but he insisted in doing it. I asked what he wanted to say so he told me. Then I asked if he wanted me to help him. He said no, so I asked if he wanted to write it down and read it and he said yes. I wrote it down for him and told him I would go up with him (part of my challenge was to bear my testimony on the Book of Mormon). As soon as the counselor sat down we went up. He was so good. It just warmed my heart.
So as I was reading about Moroni building walls up around his cities. I likened it to building up walls around my home/my family. but not real walls. I am talking their testimonies. I want to give them every spiritual experience I can. I will go out of my way to do something little. I took Cora to do baptisms for the dead the day after her birthday because she was gone the whole week after. She is so excited to go with her friends too!
Like I said when I started this the desire to keep my family strong in the gospel is so strong I can almost feel it. It makes me want to cry. Where is the boundary that I don't force it though? In the Lord's hands I can do anything! Whew!
Each step, each day of my journey should move me progressively closer to Him. He doesn't expect or even want me to "run faster" than I am able. In fact, there may be days when I can't run at all. I may just be able to walk, crawl, or scoot, but my job is to be diligent or faithful as I move forward—no matter how small my progression.
-Kris Belcher
Thursday, July 26, 2012
A walk through the wild flowers!
Had to head back up to Cecret Lake for the wild flowers. They were soo beautiful! I wished I had a good camera!! AGG!! I really thought fairies and unicorns were gonna come out! It was so magical and mystical!! I can't even describe the beauty!! There was one part (where I swear there would be fairies) the pine trees the big black boulders, the cloudy black sky, the greenery speckled with red, orange, purple, pink and yellow flowers. It was amazing! I wanted to stay there and take it all in!
Forget me not!
When we came out of the meadows there was a few people stopped on the trail. and we hear a whispering of moose, there were in fact two bull moose!! and a cow came by a few minutes later. Aren't the mountains amazing??
what majestic animals they are!!
Well we had a smaller group yesterday! We ended up hiking just under 5 miles and it was all pretty hard. Mom, Dad and Justin did not come up to the lake. It is a pretty steep hike up! The snow was gone and the lake had more water it was so peaceful!
Beautiful lake!!
Cora-last day as an 11 year old!
I'm not sure where we are going next week but I don't think it will be in the deep forest like we have been going!
Forget me not!
When we came out of the meadows there was a few people stopped on the trail. and we hear a whispering of moose, there were in fact two bull moose!! and a cow came by a few minutes later. Aren't the mountains amazing??
what majestic animals they are!!
Well we had a smaller group yesterday! We ended up hiking just under 5 miles and it was all pretty hard. Mom, Dad and Justin did not come up to the lake. It is a pretty steep hike up! The snow was gone and the lake had more water it was so peaceful!
Beautiful lake!!
Cora-last day as an 11 year old!
I'm not sure where we are going next week but I don't think it will be in the deep forest like we have been going!
Saturday, July 21, 2012
2000 Stripling Warriors!
So on Sunday Cora came home from Primary and and was telling me about a Parade the following Friday. She said there were gonna be a bunch of boys dressed as Helaman's Army. I got chills and knew we had to go. I know my mom loves parades so I invited her along. I talked to my neighbor about it and got all the info. She said she would save us a place, they were going up in the morning to save spots. Yesterday we spent most of the day with some school friends then headed up to the parade. It was so fun! And I haven't been to such a packed parade before!!
This picture was one of the first entries in the parade. As the band walked by I noticed the clarinet player was my cousin Mickey. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and tried to snap a picture, well I got the back of him!! lol
Awesome V-dub Bus!!
Kids loved the "origami" dragon out of money!
after many many floats, band and other things there was nothing. Like the parade was finished but the last cop cars didn't come by. For about 5 minutes the parade stopped. There was silence. Then, in the distance you could hear a soft pounding.
In the Book of Mormon the Nephites fought the Lamanites. Then the Nephites made a covenant with God that they would not shed blood any more and the buried their weapons of war. Years later the Lamanites came upon them to fight again but because of the covenant they had made, they wouldn't fight. The sons of the Nephites stood up and said they didn't make the covenant with God and that they would fight. Helaman took charge of this army. They fought a long time and after the war, not one of the sons had been killed. They are known as the Stripling Warriors or the Army of Helaman. (Alma 53)
So years ago a stake president who often dressed as Helaman and told the story thought it would be awesome to gather 2000 young men and dress them like warriors and do a march. His vision was coming to life. Every time I have thought about this event or told people about it this week I would get goosebumps! The moment was here. around the corner we saw Helaman and a few warriors, then came the Army! It was sooo neat!! There is a primary song call the Army of Helaman, I could not for the life of me think of how it started but I wanted to sing it and yell "my Hero!!" I sang the chorus over and over in my head. Honestly it has got to be my favorite primary song!
I had to wipe tears from my eyes as they walked by.
It was so sweet to see young men both strong and weak. There were a few in wheelchairs and others being helped along the way.
The last couple rows of young men were missionaries. It was so neat!!
I am so thankful I had this moment to look across the faces of these young boys and think about the other boys who thousands of years ago set off on their walk to war. They must have been so scared but the Lord protected them. He is an amazing God!
"We Will Not Doubt!"
This picture was one of the first entries in the parade. As the band walked by I noticed the clarinet player was my cousin Mickey. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and tried to snap a picture, well I got the back of him!! lol
Awesome V-dub Bus!!
Kids loved the "origami" dragon out of money!
after many many floats, band and other things there was nothing. Like the parade was finished but the last cop cars didn't come by. For about 5 minutes the parade stopped. There was silence. Then, in the distance you could hear a soft pounding.
In the Book of Mormon the Nephites fought the Lamanites. Then the Nephites made a covenant with God that they would not shed blood any more and the buried their weapons of war. Years later the Lamanites came upon them to fight again but because of the covenant they had made, they wouldn't fight. The sons of the Nephites stood up and said they didn't make the covenant with God and that they would fight. Helaman took charge of this army. They fought a long time and after the war, not one of the sons had been killed. They are known as the Stripling Warriors or the Army of Helaman. (Alma 53)
So years ago a stake president who often dressed as Helaman and told the story thought it would be awesome to gather 2000 young men and dress them like warriors and do a march. His vision was coming to life. Every time I have thought about this event or told people about it this week I would get goosebumps! The moment was here. around the corner we saw Helaman and a few warriors, then came the Army! It was sooo neat!! There is a primary song call the Army of Helaman, I could not for the life of me think of how it started but I wanted to sing it and yell "my Hero!!" I sang the chorus over and over in my head. Honestly it has got to be my favorite primary song!
I had to wipe tears from my eyes as they walked by.
It was so sweet to see young men both strong and weak. There were a few in wheelchairs and others being helped along the way.
The last couple rows of young men were missionaries. It was so neat!!
I am so thankful I had this moment to look across the faces of these young boys and think about the other boys who thousands of years ago set off on their walk to war. They must have been so scared but the Lord protected them. He is an amazing God!
"We Will Not Doubt!"
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Lake Mary, Martha and Dog
Oh How I love this trail! The first time I went I was snow shoeing when I was about 16 and thought it the most miserable thing in the world. BUT I have been dying to go back ever since, but I never knew where it was till a few years ago. we actually went up last year, in the summer. I just loved it!! It was definitely on my to do list for this summer. So today was the chosen day. We planned on going to Lake Mary but I kind of wanted to go on to Lake Martha and possibly Lake Catherine. So I said before we headed out if anyone was interested I would love to go on.
Beautiful Lake Mary
Me!
Owen
Cora
Jacob
Sadie
So after we had made it to Lake Mary we had our snacks/lunches and I asked if anyone wanted to go on. I had a few that did so we went on to Lake Martha. The hike was just beautiful and very easy. It said it was about a half a mile but I'm not sure it was really that far.
As we came upon it Wendy said "there's a moose!!" YAY!!! I love moose!! I think think they are so majestic!! I think it was a young bull or cow because it had no antlers and it wasn't very big, It was by itself unless mama was hiding.
Lake Martha with the awesome moose!
No one wanted to go on to Lake Catherine so we headed back to Lake Mary and caught up with our group that was just leaving. We started walking back and took a little detour to Dog Lake which was a tiny little thing!
Dog Lake
Sadie, Ian, Justin, Owen, Daniel and Katrina
I just love our weekly hikes!! I love to be out and take advantage of this beautiful place we have so close to us!! I think I say that every post don't I? I'm gonna look for snowshoes this winter. I really want to go back in the winter!!
I am so proud of my mom for making this hike!! She has been on a few of our easy hikes and although this is categorized as easy it really isn't it is an almost 800 foot elevation climb in 1 mile. She made it!!! We had a good sized group today!! My mom, dad, My sister Wendy and her boys, Wesley, Daniel and Justin, my sister Bridgette and her kids, Tommy, Adam, Katrina, Kyle and Caleb, My friend Debbie and two of her kids, Ellie and Ian and then me and my four kids.
Beautiful Lake Mary
Me!
Owen
Cora
Jacob
Sadie
So after we had made it to Lake Mary we had our snacks/lunches and I asked if anyone wanted to go on. I had a few that did so we went on to Lake Martha. The hike was just beautiful and very easy. It said it was about a half a mile but I'm not sure it was really that far.
As we came upon it Wendy said "there's a moose!!" YAY!!! I love moose!! I think think they are so majestic!! I think it was a young bull or cow because it had no antlers and it wasn't very big, It was by itself unless mama was hiding.
Lake Martha with the awesome moose!
No one wanted to go on to Lake Catherine so we headed back to Lake Mary and caught up with our group that was just leaving. We started walking back and took a little detour to Dog Lake which was a tiny little thing!
Dog Lake
Sadie, Ian, Justin, Owen, Daniel and Katrina
I just love our weekly hikes!! I love to be out and take advantage of this beautiful place we have so close to us!! I think I say that every post don't I? I'm gonna look for snowshoes this winter. I really want to go back in the winter!!
I am so proud of my mom for making this hike!! She has been on a few of our easy hikes and although this is categorized as easy it really isn't it is an almost 800 foot elevation climb in 1 mile. She made it!!! We had a good sized group today!! My mom, dad, My sister Wendy and her boys, Wesley, Daniel and Justin, my sister Bridgette and her kids, Tommy, Adam, Katrina, Kyle and Caleb, My friend Debbie and two of her kids, Ellie and Ian and then me and my four kids.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Hidden Falls
So I started a hiking group on Facebook. This was our first official hike! It was by far the easiest and shortest!! haha! It was so pretty though!! It was about 100 feet off the road. It is crazy how many times I have drove past that spot and had no idea the beauty hiding behind the trees!!
Hidden Falls:
I have been trying to read my scriptures more and become closer to God this year and think it put me in a different mind set when I am with my family in the mountains. I just feel the love of God!
Melanie, Mary, Jacob
Sadie
My Mom Mary, Michelle an Jacob
Owen was with us also but I didn't get any pictures of him!! CRAZY!! We stayed for about an hour and played in the water. On our first trip I cut up cheese and meat and brought crackers. My mom now brings that and the kids love the yummy snacks!!
Hidden Falls:
I have been trying to read my scriptures more and become closer to God this year and think it put me in a different mind set when I am with my family in the mountains. I just feel the love of God!
Melanie, Mary, Jacob
Sadie
My Mom Mary, Michelle an Jacob
Owen was with us also but I didn't get any pictures of him!! CRAZY!! We stayed for about an hour and played in the water. On our first trip I cut up cheese and meat and brought crackers. My mom now brings that and the kids love the yummy snacks!!
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