Journey

Happiness is a Journey, not a destination.


Namaste.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Growing up....

My children are growing up. There's no denying it anymore. I've tried and tried to hang on to them...and I'm realizing that I have to let them go, and it's going to be ok.

Kyle decided in June that he wanted a new bike. A mountain bike with hand brakes and gears. A real, grown up bike. Unfortunately, his birthday isn't until December. He decided he would save his money.

I've watched him, all summer long. He's been mowing our lawn and doing a few chores for Grandma(and I know very well that Grandma overpays, but it's her privilege as Grandma :)). He's also saved any "gift money" he's been given. He's had times when he's been tempted to spend some money, and gave in to spending a little bit at Scout Camp, but for the most part he's been driven to save enough to buy his bike before the weather turns cold. We've looked at bikes several times, watching prices, trying to give him an idea of what style/color he wants.

Last week, Cole noticed that the Layton Walmart was clearancing their bikes. He took Kyle down, and even though he hadn't saved quite enough (he was about $20 short) the price was too good to pass up. $80 for a $130 bike is a killer deal. So, we loaned Kyle the rest of the money he needed (he still has to mow the lawn until October, so there's plenty of time to pay us back). My 10 year old bought his own, grownup mountain bike.


I am so proud of him!!! From a very young age, we teach our children that if they want "toys" they have to earn and save their own money. This is the second time Kyle has been able to work towards saving for something "bigger and better", and to a 10 year old, $80 is a LOT of money. I know it was hard for him, especially when Alec would take his own money and buy Bionicles or Bakugans. The learned responsibility shows...I bought a bike lock, so the boys could ride their bikes to school. Kyle wants to use the bike lock in the neighborhood, to make sure his cool, new bike doesn't disappear (we have had bikes and other things stolen before :( ). It's nice to see him taking responsibility for his things.

Speaking of riding to school, I let the boys ride their bikes for the first time today. I didn't think it would be so hard...they're growing up.

I've been hanging on to Alec too hard too. He's always been my more difficult child...he processes information so differently than Kyle, that I worry more about him. He is in his own world, oblivious to the rest of the world. I've babied him, I'll admit...I worry that his different take on the world won't keep him safe. Yesterday, however, I finally let him have a bit more freedom (he is in second grade, after all) and let him do what Kyle has done for several years...take a walkie talkie, and go out into the neighborhood. He did really good, always letting me know where he was, keeping track of the walkie...he's ready. It's so hard for his mommy, though....

On the up side, They both seem to like school so far. Kyle's excited for choir to start next week. I'm liking the routine so far. It's been easier for me to get up at 7 this year....probably because I got used to getting up at 6:30 a couple of times a week to exercise over the past month or so. Our mornings have been pretty good, the kids have done exactly what they were supposed to, and LISTENED when I've been talking...It's been good.

Talia didn't notice the boys being gone as much as I thought she would. On Monday, she seemed to enjoy not having to share the TV or her "space" with the boys....Yesterday, I had to go into a meeting at work, and she came with me, so she didn't have a chance to miss them. This morning she finally seemed to notice that the boys weren't here. She's asked me numerous times "Where's Kyle?" "He's at School." "Where's Alec?" "He's at school." She's not as sad as she was last year when they went back, though. It's been good.

I know they have to grow up, and they're growing up so well...I'm so proud of all of them. I'm a lucky mom.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Bittersweet Endings Bring Bright New Possibilities!

Is summer really over? As excited as I've been to get the boys back in school (between the fighting and the multiple "can I play the playstation 3" questions, they've been driving me CRAZY!), it still doesn't seem like summer should be over. Since the weather stole most of our pool days in June, it really doesn't feel like summer should be over. However, since I love autumn, I'm ready for it!

This last week was full of preparations and fun...

Back to School Night and the Family Fun Fair were great. The boys were excited to meet their teachers, and Alec's excited...Kyle is finally at that age (5th grade) where school is no longer as exciting as it was when he was younger. Ahh, the wonders of growing up ;).

Off to the Family Fun Fair. Talia loved the bounce houses...
From August 2009


The boys and I did the climbing wall...
From August 2009

From August 2009

None of us made it to the top...I was on the "Intermediate" side, and about 3 feet from the top, my arms just weren't long enough to reach the next handhold...Oh well. I even ripped off my little toenail while climbing...which I didn't even notice until a couple of hours later.

Talia was happy just with a balloon to play with...
From August 2009


It was fun.

We even managed to squeeze in one last Lagoon trip...with Cole's parents, his younger brother, and sister in law. We had a nice, relatively low key day at Lagoon...
Cole and his mom take the kids on Kontiki....
From August 2009


Grandpa gets ready to ride the Bat
From August 2009


Taking a little break...we tried to get Talia to fall asleep, but by the time we found a shady spot, she wasn't in the mood anymore...
From August 2009

From August 2009

From August 2009

From August 2009


Me and my boys...
From August 2009

From August 2009

From August 2009

So summer is over.

This morning, I got up (a little early, probably, but I didn't want to be rushed) and made blueberry muffins and sausage for Kyle. Alec, my picky eater, opted for toast with PB and J. We actually had a really, really good morning. Despite the fact that we haven't followed a morning routine all summer, the boys slid back into the school day routine with hardly a problem. We had plenty of time...maybe a little too much, but I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to get "first day of school" pictures!

From August 2009

From August 2009

From August 2009

From August 2009


Of course, we had to get a picture by the Countdown.

Happy New School Year!

Monday, August 17, 2009

Fun times!

So, we've been trying to squeeze every last drop out of the last weeks of summer. Last Monday, we went down to the Childrens Museum at the Gateway. My mom, who is a teacher, had free passes. So, me, my kids, my mom, my sister, and older niece and nephew (my brother's 2 oldest kids) went to play for a few hours. I thought it was really fun, but looking at the prices, I was glad we didn't have to pay for it....I know there's a lot of cool stuff there, but I think it's a bit overpriced.

From August 2009


The "ball area" was first in the lineup...it was really cool, with all these tubes the for the balls to fly through...Talia and Gracie especially were in heaven.
From August 2009

The tubes were air powered...Talia loved opening the hatch, putting the ball in (while having the air blow her face :)) and then watching the balls sail all over and around the system of tubes...
From August 2009


Alec and Gracie make some music....
From August 2009

From August 2009

We spent some time doing "construction" work...
From August 2009

From August 2009


Me and my baby sis...
From August 2009


Driving...
From August 2009


We did some climbing...
From August 2009


Some creative building...
From August 2009

From August 2009


From August 2009
(and destroying, this one was an "earthquake table")
They also had a supermarket, a garden, a farm, a house...I took 40 or so pics, if I ever get caught up scrapbooking, it's going to take forever to scrap...but it was fun.

After a few hours, we took the kids to the food court for lunch. McDonalds, of course. They were all really good. After lunch, we headed back to our cars...but of course, we passed by Build a Bear. Of course, mommy couldn't resist going in "just for a minute". Of course, mommy (do you see the "softie" tattooed on my forehead?) bought all our Build a bear animals new outfits.
From August 2009

So now we have an army monkey, a karate cat, and a sleeping beauty.

We came home, and after naps, headed to Lagoon. It was really busy, and we didn't stay a really long time, but it was fun.

Wednesday I spent the day not feeling great. Dang IBS....I hate it when it flares up.

Friday morning, at 3:30 am, Talia woke up upset...she had thrown up. She also had a high fever. We cleaned her up, put her back to bed...but she persisted at being sick. She had a fever and threw up all day Friday, and part of Saturday...she's cutting molars, and when Kyle spikes a high fever, he always throws up until we get it down, we're hoping that's what it was with Talia too. Still, we didn't feel like we could take her to church Sunday morning, even though she was obviously feeling much better.

One more week...today we're finishing up school shopping, and we're hoping to make it to Lagoon a couple of times this week....

Enjoy the last week of Freedom...

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Product Review - Olay Quench-In shower body Lotion

From Product Review Pics


My friend Christie mentioned in passing a few months back that her husband had bought her some in shower body lotion, and she liked it. It stuck in my brain....

I LOVE having soft skin. Who doesn't? However, I get lazy at putting on lotion. In the summer, it feels heavy and sticky to me, and I have trouble with all the yummy scents available...if I put them on my body, I start to break out in bumps. I did start using Eucerin Daily Replenishing Lotion, and I like it, but then the laziness factor comes back in...I want to jump out of the shower and be done. So, when I saw a coupon for the Quench product, I decided I would try it.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!! It's really easy, just smooth it over your skin at the end of your shower, then rinse it off. You don't have to really rub it in. It leaves my skin soft without being sticky in the heat. It has a little shimmer to it, so in the sun your skin looks amazing.

I have found that you don't need nearly as much of the product as you might think. About a quarter size for each leg, and a quarter size for both arms and the rest of me does just fine.

I'm not sure if it will be enough moisture during the winter...but I intend to find out. For now, however, it's perfect addition to my routine.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Our Story...

It's been almost 16 years since Our Story began. Cole and I were introduced our junior year of high school. He was casually dating one of my friends, and I had a boyfriend. Then, when one of my closest friends wanted to date him, I told her not to, because at the time, he was kind of a scary guy. (He really was, I promise Jude! :))

Fast forward to our senior year. I no longer had a boyfriend, and had been hurt by a different boy who I had greatly respected and trusted. I had spent half my sophmore and junior years with a boyfriend, who was a good boy and very nice. Our relationship had run its course, however, and in the mean time my group of friends from early high school had fractured. Another group of girls I was friendly with "took me in", so to speak, but I was still a little lonely. Cole and I had AP Psychology together. He was visibly different than the scary guy he had been just the previous spring. I later found out that he had exited the bad stuff he was into, and had been praying for the Lord to send him someone to help him along. We became friendly. I developed a raging crush on him, helped along by the fact that one of his good friends and one of my good friends were a couple. They pushed us together. However, I had been hurt and betrayed over the summer, and I wasn't in any hurry to jump into another serious relationship. Cole was very patient, however, and came to my defense when [jerky, betraying, boy] was even more cruel. I started to fall hard for him. He was my friend first, but I could TALK to him...when we finally got around to actually going on a date (November of 1993), I knew on our first date that I was going to marry him. That he was my soulmate. We dated through high school, I went to Weber State, and he got a good job with good insurance so we could get married. On August 10, 1995, we married in the Bountiful Temple. We were 19 years old, which for some would be very young, but we had both always been old for our age. I have NEVER, NEVER, NEVER had one moment of regret that we married young. We have had our ups and downs, as all couples do, but we are a perfect match, and I am blessed to have him as my partner in everthing. Love you, babe!

So, it's our 14th Anniversary tomorrow. I decided we would take a little trip. We have both always been into music and plays...in fact, one of the first conversations I remember having with Cole, in our psychology class, was about the fact that I was going to Cats when it came to Capitol Theater. My grandparents had 4 tickets, and were taking my mom and me with them. He was envious, and we talked at length that day about the play, other plays, etc. Last summer, my mom and I had tickets to 2 plays at the Utah Opera Festival (again, courtesy of my grandparents...they are the best!) We had a great time, but it made me want to take my husband with me. I bought tickets back in March for Camelot and for Carmen. We've been really excited....

So, Thursday after Cole got home we set off. It was windy and the air was icky dirty, but it did make the sun look all cool and red/orangy
From Our Anniversary 2009

We drove up Sardine Canyon, and Cole was in a picture mood, so we got plenty of scenery pictures...
From Our Anniversary 2009

It's too bad this isn't the prettiest time of year, I love Sardine canyon but especially in the spring and fall...
We arrived in Logan, checked into our hotel, and then headed over to the Ellen Eccles Theater for the performance of Camelot. We had great seats, first row Mezzanine, right in the center.
From Our Anniversary 2009

While we were waiting for showtime, we noticed a lot of people standing up and looking over the edge. Shortly, the reason was divulged...
From Our Anniversary 2009

President Thomas S. Monson was there for the performance. How Cool is that? He is a close family friend of the actress who played Guinevere. Cole teased me a bit for being a little "starstruck", but I couldn't help but try to get a picture...and I could feel the strong spirit of being in the presence of a prophet of God. Way cool.
The performance was great...but I'd forgotton how terribly sad Camelot really is. The cast did a spectacular job.
From Our Anniversary 2009

After the performance, we picked up a late dinner, and went back to our hotel. In the morning, my early rising husband was very kind to let me sleep in. He went out wandering, taking pictures all over Logan. After I woke up and got ready, we had some time to kill before the performance of Carmen. We decided to drive up Logan Canyon for awhile.
We have always loved Logan Canyon. It's a beautiful drive at all times of the year.
From Our Anniversary 2009

We made it up to Rick's Spring.
From Our Anniversary 2009

We have always wanted to stop there, but have never had the opportunity. We had the time, so we stopped. The water was FREEZING...just a few steps in and my feet were painfully cold.
From Our Anniversary 2009

Cole waded all the way to the back,
From Our Anniversary 2009

and got a couple of cool pics of the blue, blue bottom of the spring...it was a lot deeper than it looked, it went almost up to his knees...
From Our Anniversary 2009

Us...
From Our Anniversary 2009

From Our Anniversary 2009

We drove back to town, had an amazing lunch at the Bluebird, and headed to Carmen.
From Our Anniversary 2009

From Our Anniversary 2009

On our way home, I had to take a pic of this barn...
From Our Anniversary 2009

This has always cracked me up...when I worked doing pediatric homecare, I drove to Logan 3 days a week. This barn never failed to make me smile. The paint was really faded at first, but someone started keeping it up...for nostalgic purposes I guess. I think it's great, though...
We stopped for dinner on the way home, a great little Indian place in downtown Ogden. Yummy...
We had a great time, but we were glad to be home.

Happy 14th, Love...it just keeps getting better and better!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Did you miss us?

***** Warning ***** Long, picture intense post *****

I missed blogging. Last week was just so busy, I barely got on the computer to do the necessary, grown up stuff.

So, we started out last week by heading to Lagoon on Monday night. We like going on Mondays, typically there's not as many people there. This time, for the first time since Alec was very small, we walked through the circus museum (scary...very disturbing clowns) and building with the carriages.
From July 2009

Tuesday, Kyle went to scout camp. He had a really good time. I was so proud of him...he's very fair skinned like me. We put sunscreen on him, and I told him to put more on at lunch time. He did what he was asked, and didn't have one trace of sunburn...it's nice when they get old enough to take care of themselves a bit.
We swam at my parent's on Tuesday night...it was very relaxing.

Wednesday morning, bright and early, I took the kids out school shopping. JC Penney was having a sale, and I had a coupon for an extra 15% off all merchandise, no exclusions. They boys are all set....
From August 2009


I also finally got around to unpacking some passed along clothes for Talia from a good friend (Thanks, Michele!) Talia now has a bunch of stuff for fall(notice the clothes stacked on the arm of the couch), a bunch of new shoes, and boots...she couldn't wait to put the rainboots on and dance around the house....
From August 2009

Thursday and Friday I worked. While at daycare, Talia discovered a new passion.
From August 2009

Apparently, she LOVES to paint...with a brush. Not so much with her fingers, but give her a brush, and all's well. She seems to like stormy colors....not that I blame her, because thunderstorms are one of the most beautiful things in nature IMHO.

Friday was emotionally draining for me, and I felt like I spent the entire weekend recovering. Saturday was relaxing at the pool,

From August 2009

(my 1 year old nephew Hunter jumping to my brother)

and getting ahead of my clutter. I try to keep a clean house, but I tend to have a few spots where clutter collects. Papers, bags, books, toys...all these books were either stacked on my night table, the floor by my bed, or the top of my dresser. There are 23 of them (yes, I counted).
From August 2009

And yes, I'm aware I have a problem. It's not enough to read...I LOVE to be surrounded by books. I love to be able to just grab one at random and flip through to my favorite parts. All that isn't including the small stack of magazines (really, there's only 5 or 6 :)), or the cubby I stuff my beading idea magazines into (after all, I spent the money on them...and I do utilize the ideas when I'm crafting). Clutter conquered, both in my bedroom and the kitchen, at least for a week or two. It's funny...I can live in certain amount of clutter induced chaos for awhile...even a month or two at times. Then it starts to drive me crazy and I have to get ahead of it.

Sunday was typical, church in the morning, naps in the afternoon, and walking with my parents in the evening. We walked to my brother's house. My niece Gracie (she just turned 5) was gracious enough to use some of her new nail polish (birthday gifts) to give all us girls manicures....It really was so much fun, I am excited for when it will be Talia giving me a manicure.
From August 2009

Gracie pampers Nana
From August 2009

Gracie painting my nails
From August 2009

Talia's turn..
From August 2009

My nails...finished!
From August 2009

Talia's done!
Unfortunately, ;) the nail polish pretty much dissolves in water, so it was gone when I washed my hands a little bit later. I guess we enjoyed the process so much, that it doesn't matter.
From August 2009

My dad is so talented...he can balance a golf tee on his nose!!! ;)


Yesterday (another Monday) got up early to work out (the multiple vinyasa's killed my shoulders, girls, just so you know :)) PX09 yoga...we only got in about 40 minutes, but it was pretty intense. We swam for awhile at mom's, and then headed off to Lagoon. Cole invited his mom to go with us. We had a really great time. It was really hot, but not extremely busy, so it wasn't bad. We got our family picture taken at pioneer village...the kids were really good and it was really fun.
From August 2009

(trying to pull a Mindy, with the red wall as a background...the kids weren't really cooperative by this point, though)
From August 2009

Everyone else (including Cole's Mom) rode Rattlesnake Rapids...
From August 2009

(I got this printed in Sepia, but the pics on the disk are in color, and I don't have editing software that will let me fix it...perhaps I'll have to download the free photoshop trial...)
From August 2009


That's been our week....