This and That...

*WARNING*

This is SERIOUS picture overload.  

Consider yourself warned! :)

Today I am posting whatever I have of this and that...

First up is a classic.  

Kamden came to me like this...

and asked..."Wipe my bum please."

Maybe it's one of those moments that you had to be there, but to see that cute little face, and all that toilet paper...well, it made me laugh.

We had a ward activity of skiing.  As usual, I became the unofficial/official photographer.  I didn't ski, but I walked around the mountain with my camera to get my family, (and the rest of the ward while I was at it.  But no worries, I'm only posting my family!)

Kamden

Jarin

 Ira

 Brayden

 Ira and Jarin

Emilie

We sent my nephew, Taylor, on his way to serve a 2 year LDS Mission to North Carolina.  I will miss him and his really tight hugs and his best smile ever.  But I'm so grateful for the service he's doing, and for the example he is being to all these cousins of his.

Me with my sister, Robin.

Grandpa and Grandma with Tay

Love these guys (nieces, nephews, brothers, my kids) - and this is a very small group of the family.

 Taylor is the baby of his family

HA HA!!!

We'll sure miss this guy.

Spring Break Hike

Brayden and I went on the Crimson Trail hike (Logan Canyon).  I had been on this hike a couple of times - but always at night with a flashlight.  I had heard how beautiful it is, so when Brayden suggested it - I was all for it.  Now that I have done both...I think I prefer the night time.  Mostly because when it's dark, I can't see how close I actually am to the edge, and how very steep and far down those cliffs are.  At night, I'm just naive to the whole thing.

I took this picture to show the trail we were on.  See that patch of snow right along the edge of the cliff?  That's the trail.  We did run into patches of snow, and those patches made me a bit (OK, a lot!) nervous.  Slippery snow and cliffs don't get along well!!

We finally make it safely down the mountain, only to find that the bridge back to the parking lot was NOT THERE!  The Crimson trail is a loop, and I was not about to go all the way back around the mountain when my tired feet were only 1/4 mile from my car.  So we had to find the best place to cross the river.  This picture doesn't do the river justice - there were places that were pretty swift and scary.

Another day off - we took the kids to the park, then went to Crystal Hot Springs.

L.O.V.E spending time with my family!

It's a zoo out there

Ira had a seminar for his continuing education in Salt Lake City.  Since his travel expenses and hotel were work related and a write off, we took the whole family (good smarts, don't cha think? :) ).  While Ira was at the Seminar, I took the kids to the...ZOO.  I have to confess - the zoo is one of my least favorite places to go.  But every few years I feel it is my mommy duty to give the kids some "culture" - ha ha.

Brayden took over 200 pictures of...animals.  Now what to do with those 200+ pictures??

When we got to our first animal - the elephant.  Jarin asked, "Is it real?...no wonder I could smell stinky butts."  Whose child is he anyways?  Surely not mine!!!

ReAl Salt Lake

As part of our "pass of all passes", we get to go to a couple ReAl Soccer games.  None of us are really into soccer, but just the atmosphere is a ton of fun.

We met my brothers family there too.

cousins...cousins everywhere

My family "fell" for the merchandise.  But not me...I'd rather get something useful...like something to do with a camera (hint hint Ira ;) ha ha)

E-I-E-I-O

My cute daddy has a farm...

E-I-E-I-O.

And on that farm he has some tractors...

E-I-E-I-O

With a Grandchild here...and a Grandchild there...Here a helper...there a helper...everywhere an extra helper.

My Cute daddy has a farm...E-I-E-I-O

Happy

The other day Kamden and I were riding in the car, he was full of his million and one questions.  Then the conversation turned to this:

Kam: "I'm so happy."

Mom:  "What makes you happy?"

Kam:  "You do."

Mom:  *happy sigh*

Being a mom is one of the hardest experiences E.V.E.R!  Many days it is hard to find something positive and rewarding in being a mother.  I look around me and see an unkept home, a dinner that no one liked left out from the night before, dirty laundry that stinks, children that argue with each other and with me, never-ending piles of  bills and school papers to sign, children who play video games way too much, and the list could go on and on.  Oh, and one more biggy that I must list - a TEENAGER and one almost teenager (need I say more?).

So ya...some days it is very difficult to find the positive in my chosen profession :).  But ya know what?...most of those days that I can't find the positive, are the days that I am looking for some big grand rainbow with it's pot of gold to be right in my front yard.  Have you ever gone "chasing the rainbow" with your kids?  I have...and when we think we're almost there, the rainbow just keeps getting further away and it's unreachable.

I think I often chase that unreachable rainbow in motherhood, instead of just enjoying it from where I am.  Every single day there are countless (ok, maybe not countless, but usually more than one a day :) ) little things that my children do and say that make up that rainbow with it's pot of gold right in my own home.  A hug, a kiss, a laugh, a moment or two (if I'm lucky :) ) of them getting along, a single word spoken with respect, an "I love you", a chore being done without being asked, or a sweet comment of "I'm so happy".

coincidentally, speaking of rainbows, I made these rainbow treats for my kids for St. Patricks (that was a first - I've NEVER done anything for St. Patricks)

Feelin' the Love...

These pictures are a whole bunch of randomness. But when I look at these pictures, I am reminded of how much love there is to go around, and how much fun the journey of life is when we have good friends and great family to share it with.

I loved this sweet moment with

my two boys...

And this one...

And even this one. Until...

they dumped all the shampoo and all the conditioner to make a great slippery bathtub that they could spin around in.

After this picture was taken, they put more water in the tub (again), and I left the room to put my camera away. When I went back in, they had put a couple inches of the water and bubbles on the bathroom floor and were sliding all over the floor. *should I laugh or cry?*

Daddy built a snowman with the boys. Not sure what they named him. But if I were to guess, his name was "Frosty". :)

I have this group of friends that we re-live our childhoods together. We started out a couple of years ago with a common interest in hiking. But when it's too cold to hike - we find other ways to "play".

The next pictures are of us "ice blocking" on Old Main Hill on Utah State Campus. The object of the activity??? Sit on a freezing block of ice (aka...freeze our keesters) and slide down the hill and try not to get hurt or killed on the way.

Same group of friends has started a tradition where we go to our friends cabin at Bear Lake sometime in the winter. When we got there, we couldn't get the heat to work, and realized the propane tank was empty. So we used whatever we could to keep warm until our "Mr. Heater" arrived (it's our emergency heater that we keep in our trailer - it worked great).

It was Mel's birthday, so we did a "Mob Dance" for her.

I also had the opportunity to go to "Time Out For Women" with a group of friends. Some of these friends I had never met before this day, others I have loved for a long time. I can't say enough about how wonderful this experience was. I left there remembering that I am a Daughter of God. I definently want to make this one a tradition.

Emilie and I had a girl date with a little shopping and the theatre. We went to the local production of "The Slipper and the Rose" (it's the Cinderella story). It's so fun to get to have our "girl time".

Brayden and Ira had a different way of "showing their love". They decided to see if they could complete the pizza challenge.

I think I can...I think I can...I think I can.

My cheerleading didn't work. This is as far as they got. But their memories of their "boy time" will stay with them forever.

I don't usually do anything very special for Valentines gifts. I do follow my moms tradition that she always did for my dad - and that is to make him his own cheesecake. In addition to the cheesecake, this year I decided to "go all out".

When you aren't used to getting a gift, then even a little something is going all out! :)

Basket full of various nuts for Ira, and candy for the kiddos.

At school, they celebrate each childs birthday, and since Jarins birthday is in the middle of the summer - they celebrated his "half birthday". Cute idea, but caused stress when he got home and realized that we weren't ALL celebrating his half birthday...complete with gifts and cake.

So Emilie and I decided "why not". So we found some of their toys in their room and wrapped them up. Then we made a cake and had a "half birthday" for Jarin and Kamden (both birthdays are in July).

So instead of one day in February being the day of "love" - I prefer to show our love all year long...in the little things we do.

Are we almost there?

Kamden is always very concerned with time. He always wants to know what time it is. He wants to know if it is almost dark or half way dark. He wants to know if we are almost there, or half way there. One day I was holding him on my lap, and we were just chatting when he asked me, "Mommy, are we there yet?" I was a bit baffled because I didn't know we were going anywhere. So I asked him "Are we almost where?" His reply surprised me when he said, "Are we almost to heaven?" I have to admit that I didn't like the question because I have always felt that our children are so close to heaven that they have more spiritual insight than we adults have. They just left there such a short time ago. So I have wondered why he would ask such a question. He has since asked me this same question about once a day. And every time he asks, I get a bit of a nervous feeling.

As I thought about how to answer my little boy, with his trusting eyes looking into mine - I said something to the effect of "Not yet - but someday we will be there if we make good choices". So then he asked if we are half way there yet :).

Since that first time that he asked me this question, I have pondered his question and how to answer him. I hope that my physical self, and especially my childrens physical selves are a long way from being in heaven. But I want to think that my spiritual self is almost there...or at least half way there. And have I taught my children enough that they are "almost there" or "half way there"? I'm not sure about the answers to any of the questions that Kamden has asked or to the questions that I have pondered since then. But I do know that Heavenly Father knows the answers, and that He has asked us to have faith in Him.

So whether we are almost there or half way there, I don't know - But I do know that I feel a little more determined to make sure that Heaven is our final destination on this journey we call life, and that we don't just make it "half way there".