Carry On & Backpack

Sienna, Abby and I went to Texas this last weekend for a funeral and somehow we only took a carry on and a backpack. No purse, no stroller, no carseat. Just a backpack and little carry on. We were there for four days and three nights. Still don't know quite how we fit but it worked and we had a great weekend.

Pretty Little Lady

In the Blood

This is a picture of Grandma LaRae in her softball uniform. I love this picture. It made me smile. It made me miss grandma even more than I already do. I have some great pictures of my mom in her softball uniforms too but I have yet to figure out how to work my scanner. Just wait, they're coming!!

Art

My kids love art. Sienna spends at least an hour or two every day coloring different masterpieces for us. In Washington, the girls colored almost three hours every day and our walls were covered in their artwork. I never knew if Tanner would keep his attention long enough to color more than two minutes at a time and I am still not convinced he will but this is what I found this morning when I came upstairs and I thought it was the cutest thing.

Little Hoopsters

We signed Sienna up for a four week course to learn some basic basketball skills and have fun. Unfortunately, we are pretty unimpressed with their approach to teach young children basketball. They assume the kids know what they're doing and haven't done a great job explaining things to them. It makes me sad because Sienna loves shooting around with us at the church but after her second class she told us she was bored. Hopefully with some practice and playing as a family she can enjoy it again. Even with the little hiccups, I am so proud of my little girl getting out there and agreeing to stick it out for the next two weeks. She is the only girl with over twenty little boys and she is so brave and does her very best in the different drills.  She even practiced her shooting form in line while the others were taking their turn. My favorite was watching her practice her defensive moves but I didn't have my camera with me to take pictures.

"One in a Million"

Check out the "One in a Million" videos on LDS.org if you haven't already. I love them. The kids put a smile on my face and a peaceful feeling in my heart. The video that I was talking about in my post below was the video from a young boy named Addison that has spent time living in Vietnam with his family. I loved his testimony and it made me look forward the the chances my kids will have to share their testimonies with others that have possibly never heard of Jesus or His gospel.

My heart has been so heavy lately as I have seen the workings and influence of Satan destroy and hurt many families around me. I have been so worried and scared about raising my children in an increasingly evil world and felt so much pressure to keep them safe and protected and teach them while they're young to have a testimony in our Savior. I feel additional pressure to keep my marriage safe and clean of evil. These thoughts have been overwhelming to me lately and have started to weigh me down but then I pulled up these videos on LDS.org and so much of that weight was lifted as I felt the spirit from these children's testimonies. This was one of my favorite videos that the kids and I watched because it is an experience similar to what my kids will possibly have in the next few years as we move internationally. It's amazing how down and low I can feel so quickly when I let my thoughts be consumed by the evil surrounding us but even more amazing how comforted and at peace I can be in the middle of such sadness by searching out the spirit and finding comfort in the atonement and testimony of our Heavenly Father's love and plan for all of us.

Day 2 in St. George

Our weekend was heavenly. We had such a great time. My favorite part was our hike through the red rocks. We spent Saturday hiking and hanging out at the coolest park I've ever been to (no pictures of the park, sadly). Then we went to dinner and hung out at the Lee's house again. They both went to high school with Matt and have been some of his best friends since. They are some of the easiest going people to be around and so much fun to hang out with. We are all sad that we don't live closer to them. Sunday morning, Matt and Randy hiked the big red mountain before heading home.  It was the perfect weekend and getaway. (Gavin and Tanner look so much alike from behind. Tanner is a year younger so you can tell by size if you pay attention but it made me laugh how similar they were from behind.)

 Yes, the boys carried the kids over this ledge on the rope. Such fun dads. Abby and I stayed behind with Jamee and Tanner though.