Ode to Bear Lake

Bear Lake...
I will miss you my dear friend.
You have been good to us.
You have provided countless hours of laughter, and family togetherness.
You have been the cause of me yelling at my kids "Your-out-too-far. Come-back!!!!"
You have shared your frigid waters to cool our hot selves.
You have blown your fierce wind storms, full of sand, on us.
We have had near hypothermia after getting wet in your waters, then trying to dry off on your windy, sand-filled beaches.
You have shared your beaches full of sand for building castles.
You have let us take your sand home with us, in our food, our shoes, our cars and our shorts!
Thank you Bear Lake for our wonderful love/hate relationship.
I will return again next year, do it all over again...and call it FUN!

Our last trip to Bear Lake for the season was for our annual family LaborDay get-together. Another one of those impromptu traditions. We gather ourselves at Bear Lake, and eat and swim. When there's no food left...we go home!

It was freezing with a never-moving cloud that blocked the sun, and the wind was blowing. We had a canopy that we hung blankets up to block the wind. We crammed in there like sardines to keep warm. Then...we ATE (and ate and ate). And we called it FUN!
These two (my parents) won't be with us next year (sob, sob). It's getting hard to have our "last time" events with our parents for 18 months (I know, it's not forever, but 18 months is a L-O-N-G time, it seems). I had my last 4-wheeling ride with them a couple weeks ago too. That one will be a hard one for me, to go to the mountains that they love, and go 4-wheeling that they love, and not have them there too. I'll definently think of them everytime I go!

And since I am always the one behind the camera, and there is seldom proof that I was actually part of the event, I took this self-portrait of me with my mom.

I loved how Jarin & Kam were playing together in the sand. So sweet!

Family get-togethers = Football!

Jarin and Parker - two peas in a pod (almost scary how much they are alike). Poor Mandi (Parkers mom), I do feel your pain raising that child - but aren't they a hoot?!! ;0)

Nathan, Skyler, Taylor, Tiana

Our very own Mermaids - Rylee, Myah & Emilie

I'm a lucky, lucky (a.k.a. blessed) girl to have married my best friend 16 years ago today.

(16 YEARS! ...wowsers, time flies fast when your havin' fun!)

Then and Now...haven't changed a bit!

(Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha - that is really quite funny.

Those people in the top pictures are almost strangers to who we are today.)

Huuu????

My baby boy (Jarin) went to preschool today...WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?? I know it's not school, school where he's gone ALL day - but it's the beginning of the end. He will never be my toddler who stays home with me all day again - that time of life is past. Seriously... I'm not ready for this. In a couple of years, my youngest baby will be going - then what? Will I have to grow up and decide what I want to be when I'm all grown up??? OK Father Time, let's make a deal of some kind, so that the clock just stops right here, right now.

Jackson Hole

I know it seems like we have vacationed a lot this summer, but we really haven't. We have played a lot with our one dayers, but we haven't really gotten away...until now. (I know, your crying tears of pity for me, right? Not that I'm complaining, I'll take the one dayers - they are fun too). BUT, it was SO great to have THREE days of no phones, computers, work, school, house cleaning, yard work, meetings etc. etc.

We went to Jackson Hole where we "camped", if you call camping in a trailer camping. It is more like camping in style. For several years we have been looking for an affordable, used trailer - but just hadn't found our "home away from home". After our last camping experience where I had a throwing up, fevered girl, screaming baby, we were freezing and wet, and Ira wasn't with me - well...let's just say that a trailer was no longer an extra, but an absolute necessity! :) So, to quote The Grinch "One mans garbage is another mans POTPOURRI!"

It started to rain, and we just went inside and had icecream that stayed frozen in our little freezer (no coolers)- why didn't anyone tell me before, that "camping" could be so enjoyable???

Funny story (at least to us). We were at a campground in Jackson Hole, and we didn't want to deal with the whole sewer thing in the trailer, so we were all taking the walk to the bathrooms. In the morning, Emi must have decided that the walk was just too far, cuz she just couldn't hold it. So she steps out the door, and goes right there. Ira and I looked out the window and were a little surprised that she didn't at least try to hide. Just then, he sees a lady walking by, laughing at our daughter, and Ira ducks, saying, "I know that lady." OF COURSE he does!!! Everywhere we go, Ira knows somebody.

We camped at "Signal Mountain", or as Jarin prounounces it, "SICK-O Mountain".

We can't go to Jackson without visiting Bar J Wranglers. Then all the way home, we have to listen to their CD, and then watch their DVD when we get home. I really like Bar J, but I'm a little Bar J'd out right now! I met a great man at Bar J. I don't know his name, and will never see him again. But he left an impression on me that I hope to never forget. He was an older gentleman who took the time to talk to me and my kids for just a second. He said, "Are all these kids yours?" (I'm thinking, "Is four kids really that many?) He said, "That's great". I responded, (thinking I was being a little funny), "It's great, or maybe we're just crazy." He smiled, and said, "No, your not crazy. It is the most honorable, and the most generous thing you could ever do." That one statement left a big impact on me. Most of the time I just think I'm going crazy with being a mom, or already have reached the said destination. Being a mother is usually a thankless job. (don't get me wrong, I love my job, but you have to admit - there's not much in the way of recognition that goes with the title). However, on this day, this man in his own quiet way, gave me a great big thank you, and it felt so nice!

We rented a boat at Jackson Lake for an hour, and we fished and swam from the boat. It was way fun, and so beautiful to get to see the Grand Tetons from the lake.

There ARE advantages to being the picture taker all the time. I have excuses when I don't want to do something, like jumping into lakes!

We hiked a little, ate a lot, and had a great time together. As usual, we try to fit as much into each day as we can, and we came home exhausted. One of these days, we will go on a vacation, and actually RELAX!!

Inspiration

I woke up bright and early today to go be a support to my Sister-In-Law, Mandi, as she ran her first half Marathon....so I thought. As it turns out, I woke up bright and early this morning to go have my Sister be a support and total inspiration to me. I stood near the finish line and watched as runner after runner (about 2000 of them total), came running across the finish line. Some of which had some obvious disabilities, some were pushing loved ones in wheel chairs, some looked like they couldn't take another step but they kept going, others sprinted to the finish, and some even had big smiles.

As I watched these people accomplish something so big, I realized that none of them had just woke up that morning and decided they were going to run for the the first time. Each one of them at one point in their lives had to take that first step and overcome whatever obstacles were in their way. That same concept holds true for whatever goals we have in life - not just running. At some point, we have to set that goal and take that first step towards it.

In January of this last year, some of my extended family decided we were going to have a "Biggest Loser" competition. We set up a blog, set our goals, and reported into each other once a week. It has been a great way of setting goals and supporting each other. When we started the competition, each one of us had our reasons that we didn't think we could exercise or reach goals that seemed unreachable. This "Top of Utah" race was one of Mandi's goals, and to see her work so hard and to see her reach her goal was totally inspiring to me. Thank you Mandi for not giving up when the going got tough! I think Monday I will work just a little harder to reach my goals, and who knows...maybe next year I'll be in that half marathon with you (or maybe I'll just stick to trying another 5K) :)

Since I'm on the subject of Mandi, I have to brag about her other half (my little brother) - who just coached his first game as head football coach of the West Side High Pirates. It was totally cool! Way to go Tyson - your team is off to a great season! (Us Preston Alumni will try to overlook that he's coaching the "other" guys!)

Some of the guys in the family cheering them on.
Reece, Dad, Brayden, Ira

Family Camp

Disclaimer...this post probably won't make a lot of sense to most of you - but will make complete sense to some of you!


I totally skipped past blogging about one of my favorite weekends of the whole year - (I think I'm losin' it)!
I don't remember how old I was when this family camp tradition began, but I'm sure it began as most traditions do - just a weekend away that was so much fun it had to be done again the next year. But I do know that we have been doing this for a lot of years, and the group gets bigger each year (45 people - minus Jord & Kims families and one missionary). And every year, we do some of the same stupid (oops, I mean - funny) games, and every year we have someone else to "initiate" with our funny (stupid) games. Poor Josh, Brittany's husband, was the victim this year. Your really missing out if you've never had the opportunity to be initiated with such things as: AHemmm...AHemmm "My Aunt Emma, died last night...", OR sniff..."I LOVE peaches...OH, I LOVE peaches!" I have pictures of my grandparents shakin' their hips years ago - and I treasure those pictures now that they are gone. I bet they are on the other side, teaching our ancestors, just so we can all be initiated into this craziness we call family.
A couple years ago, our traditions started to include games such as "signs" and "Mob & Mafia". This year...we finally relented to let Marc teach us "Dippity, Dippity, Dip...Dip, Dip, Dip". (Don't ask - you'd be better off not knowing). Other parts of this weekend tradition include hiking to Bloomington Lake (which it was raining too much this year, and didn't happen - big bummer!), paint ball wars, 4-wheeling, hike to the Springs, late night scary stories by Derrick, someone throwing up (Emilie had the honors this year), eating too much, having our "talent" show around the campfire ("talent" was put in parenthases for a reason. However, there are a few married-in family members who actually had real talents to share - the rest of us...well, we'll just leave it at that, except to say that Shawns marble eating talent must have taken him all year to work on, and Grandpas "duck song" has taken him 40 years to perfect!).
The best tradition of all is our last night devotional given by Grandma and Grandpa (always my favorite). This year was more somber than most years, cuz we knew that they wouldn't be here next year to share their wisdom and love with us (I mean that sincerely). However, they have started a tradition for us that won't end just cuz they won't be here. I don't think any of us could handle going to the same place and doing the same things without them - it just wouldn't be the same. So next year will be very different - but it will still be the same craziness that we always enjoy.

I dug this old picture out of me with my nieces and nephews at the time. These little people are wives, husbands, and mommies and daddies now, except for the youngest two who are on a mission/college now.

Family Football scrimage


Kam and I are HUNNNNGRY!

Kameron, Rylee, Karlie, Elise, Truman

(a few of my nieces, great nieces and my nephew)

Ira & Brayden going on a ride - it was FREEZING this year!

Right after this picture, Emi started complaining of not feeling well. So this is one of the only pictures of her this whole trip. Probably a trip she'd like to forget. She and her cousin Karlie are singing Kamden to sleep - she has mastered being able to put him to sleep!

Brayden

My silly nieces (and new nephew-in-law) who came all the way from California (and Brittany & Josh from Pennsylvania). They had to stop at Gossners for those very fabulous and stylin' shirts.

Jarin has talked non-stop about his Uncle Todd since we went to his house in California back in February. He hung around Todd the whole time camping, and has since informed us that he and Todd are "Buddies". He has also started calling us all "Foo's" (fools) since camp - I wonder if that was Todd's influence too!

Mom didn't want any pictures of her taken in her hat at camp - but sometimes I still find it necessary to disobey my mom. I really don't think this picture is doing her a disservice at all - I think it shows her beautiful smile so great. Besides, I can't properly document this traditional family camp without the person who started it all.

What a lucky aunt I am! Pictured are a few of my nieces and nephews, along with Brayden and Jarin.

Let the battle begin!

There are certainly advantages to having a chiropractor in the family.

Brayden, Josh, Brittany & Karlie

Marc showing off his remarkable ability at being the champion of "dippity dippity dip"

Taylor, Brittany, Erin, Shayla, & Nathan

This is Tysons remarkable "talent" of impersonating a Velociraptor. I told you...we are a VERY talented family!

Grandpa singing his famous "Duck Song" at his roadshow with Rex Woodward

The Good...The Bad...& The Ugly

I'm going to catagorize school starting today as good, bad & ugly.

Let's start with the good - it's a good thing to start off on the right foot, right?

So the GOOD things of school starting is:

*routine, routine, routine (can't say this one enough)

*End of constant arguing with me and with each other

*End of "Can I have a popsicle?" "Can I have a friend over?" and "Can I get wet" (sprinklers), and my personal favorite, cuz I give them something (jobs) to do when I hear: "I'm bored" (24/7)

*Brayden said "Now you will have to do more work, cuz we're not here to do it all for you!" HAHAHAHA - That was REALLY funny! It is true that I really like their help cleaning up. However, there's not AS MUCH to clean up when said children are gone all day (hmmm...wonder why that is? I'm not good at math, but I can put 2 and 2 together for that one! DUH!!!)

*No more late nights - that means I might have a quiet moment to myself after everyones gone to bed, BEFORE I collapse of exhaustion. (As is, I collapse when they do which means no quiet time for me)

Bad:

*My babysitting son is gone - now what do I do when I have to go somewhere? Take them with me you say? Are you kidding me???

*Spending money on school clothes (this should technically go under "ugly", but my kids think it is "good", so a compromise is "bad").

*Back to Brayden's comment about jobs - I will miss when they get into trouble, and their consequences are an "extra" job (deep cleaning task). I like it when they get in trouble around here - I'm such a mean mom! ;0)

*School is starting TOO early!!

*Jarin & Kamden will really miss their play mates - which means that I will really miss their playmates too (cuz now it will be ME doing the entertaining).

*I really LIKE having my kids around in the summer, and doing all the fun summer activities together - I will really miss that (OK, let's be honest - I will SORT OF miss them)

Ugly:

*Homework - it is a constant source of contention at our home with one of our children (it would be rude to mention HIS name, or what almost teenage year HE is approaching, cuz then you'd know which child I'm talking about - so I won't be so rude! :) )

*Goodbye warm weather

*Not many more Bear Lake or Camping or 4-wheeling days left this year

*Goodbye lazy daze of summer - I will miss you! Next time you visit, stay a little longer.

Emi & I

Our farewell to summer activity. We went to First Dam in Logan, and played in the water and fed the ducks.

Brayden & Jarin

Emi feeding the ducks bread...Kamden ate the duck food before we could feed the ducks!

Emi & Kam




Brayden & Jarin

First Day of School

Some Call This Fun????

I set myself a goal a couple months ago to run a 5K race in our area. This last Saturday was the big day. I woke up still tired from an extra long week, and hearing the rain pour down. Well, I can't let a little rain or exhaustion stop me from my goal. So off I went to register for my race. Saying that I felt a little "out of place" was an understatement. I don't consider myself a "runner" by any stretch of the imagination. These people there looked like "real" runners, and they were out for their morning stroll! Three months ago, I went to the track to see what I could do with running. I ran one lap, and walked one lap (trying to recover from the running lap). I did that until I ran a full mile, and walked a mile. I was really pretty proud of myself, considering that less than a year earlier, I couldn't have even walked that far. Ever so slowly I have worked my way up in distance with running, but still not anything extraordinary. I currently run 4 miles (if I'm running a slight downhill the whole way), or I can run about 3.5 if I have some ups and downs. AND, my running is more like walking speed with a lot of bounce (I'm not too speedy). So back to the 5K race (3.2 miles). I figured this would be good for me to run with other people, maybe challenge me to run a little harder and faster. WRONGO!!! It was just plain torture. As soon as they said "GO", everyone (except yours truly and a maybe 3-4 others who I think were walking) was down the block and around the corner in the amount of time that I had taken maybe 3 steps (not much exaggeration there either). I tried to keep up to their pace, knowing that my family may have to give me an early burial, OR I could swallow my pride and slowly bounce my way through the race. I opted for the latter, since it is less expensive and more convenient than a funeral. The first half of the race, keeping at my own bouncing pace, was not too bad. Sure I was only a quarter of the way through when the first guy passed me going back the other way towards the finish line - but I was still all livin', and still runnin' - so no complaints! The torture came when I got to the half way mark and had to make my way back. Remember how I said it was raining? Well, the wind was blowing too. It wasn't a terrible wind, but when I was tired and running, it felt like a hurricane. So I had a hurricane in my face, and was running UP hill on the second half of the run. OUCH!!! When I finally got to the finish line, I decided then and there I would never do one of those again. Today...I still don't ever WANT to do one again, but I think I SHOULD do another one, just so I can either prove to myself that they really are THAT bad, or I can be proved wrong - that it was just a bad morning for me.

Yesterday a friend asked me if it was fun. I had to be honest and say "NO". I can't, for the life of me figure out why some of you call this "FUN". I guess I'll have to keep signing up for these things until I have the answer to that. So stay tuned, I'll report on this subject again later...much, much later! But you know, when all is said and done, I do feel a sense of accomplishment...and THAT is FUN!