Mini Vacay

Easter weekend we took a much needed mini vacation to Bryce Canyon/Capital Reef. It was strange not being around for Easter with the family, but it was spring break for the kids and me as well as Conference weekend. No finding subs. Plus Bill had Good Friday off so why the heck not? He has been working non-stop on finishing the bathroom before our homestudy and I love how it turned out! It's tiny and perfect. So nice to have such a handy husband!

Friday morning we left fairly early and arrived around 1:00. Our room wasn't ready so we drove around Bryce for a couple of hours. We did a hike and then drove around to the overlooks. None of us had ever been there and I have to say it was quite breath taking! Simply amazing. Just when I thought it couldn't be better we went in the evening for a hike. The contrast of light and dark was beautiful. My pictures didn't come close to capturing how pretty the views were.



Saturday we went to the Visitor Center as we entered the park. Big mistake. Tears. Arguing. Bartering. Ugh. Note to self: Next time give kids cash and then they can't buy more than the amount they have and it will be "fair". I thought traveling with other people was the reason my kids would act out and misbehave on vacations. Now I know I'm wrong. It's all vacations!!! After talking to my friends though I am glad to know it's not just my kids! :)

This set the tone for the remainder of the morning. Stella gave up halfway through the hike and refused to walk on top of the hard snow. I stayed back with her. We drove around for a while, stopped for lunch and since the bickering continued we headed back to the hotel and let them play in the pool.  That helped the overall moral.

In the evening we went for another hike. That was probably the best hike out of all of them. There was one part that Tristan really wished he could ride his go kart because it was downhill switchbacks. They all thought it was funny to play off my anxiety of heights and falling by getting close to the edge and pretending to fall. Not cool.

We were planning on going to the cabin but after forgetting the keys we thought it would be fun to change our plans and go to Capital Reef! My most favorite place. So many good memories there. As cheesy as it sounds being there rejuvenates me. It fills my spiritual reservoir. I always feel close to my grandpa there. After finding a place to stay we headed to the park for some lunch and then over to Kohab for a rigorous hike. It's fun once you get to the top because there are tons of cheese holes to play in.

Monday morning we hiked to Chimney Rock. That hike completely wore the kids out. They fell behind us and the old people that were hiking behind us. I think after 4 days and 6 hikes we successfully exhausted them. I was very proud of how well they kept up and didn't hardly complain at all! One nice thing about kids getting older I have to say. It was a great little getaway and overall everyone enjoyed it! I came home feeling less stressed ready for the next phase of our adoption process.  Hard to believe I've lived in Utah my whole life and never been to Bryce Canyon! I can't wait to go back

 

It's great to be 8!

One big milestone just happened for my little man. The big 8! We are so proud of him for choosing to be baptized! What a big step for any person. When Bill had asked him a few months ago if he wanted to be baptized he acted like Bill was crazy for even asking the question. He replied, "Why wouldn't I?!" We had to laugh. He is such a good kid. Can't believe he's mine! How'd I get so lucky?

We love to go to Antelope Island as a family and thought it would be fun to take his pictures up there. The weather was perfect! Big fluffy clouds and blue skies. It was 65 degrees at the beginning of February. After his last undefeated basketball game of the winter season we headed up there. It was such a fun day! We had a picnic and played around at the farm there. We unfortunately forgot Tristan's change of clothes so we couldn't go hiking.

Tristan's had a blast with his closest friends at Jump & Bounce. After an hour and half they were sweaty and tired and ready to eat some cake and ice cream. He was stoked about all his new presents. Every time he opened a present he'd say, "bring it in" and give each one a hug. He's such a crack up sometimes! After we made them sick on sugar we sent them home. It was a fun day!

The next day was baptism day. As I was ironing his clothes I was telling him how proud I was of him for choosing to be baptized. He just said, "I just know it's the right thing to do." Simple as that. I love his faith! I love that he "just knows". I hope he always has that faith and builds upon it. I know we don't do a lot of things right but once in a while I feel like maybe we do. He was so excited when we got to the church. He was beaming and had such a sweet glow about him. I felt a little sentimental as I watched him on the stand and heard the speaker say that these children were taking a step towards being like Jesus. The primary songs always get to me too.

After the baptism we all headed to Applebee's for lunch. It was lovely not having to stress about cleaning my house and making a ton of food or transporting a bunch of stuff to a church. We are so thankful for all of our family and friends that came out to his baptism to show their love and support. It meant so much to us!

'Tis the Season

Christmas has already come and gone. Hard to believe. December always seems to go by in the blink of an eye! All of the planning and prepping and it's just gone. I feel like it went so much faster simply because we were gone the whole first week. We didn't even get our tree up til the following week! I don't want to admit that it's still up and I'm having Christmas music withdrawals. Don't judge. I'd listen all year long if it were socially acceptable.

The kids had a wonderful Christmas! We all did. Stella got the ipod touch she's been talking about forever and Tristan got the go kart he'd been long awaiting for! They were thrilled! They were adorable this year. They thanked and hugged us after pretty much every single gift they opened. I love that they recognize the thought and money that goes into our gift giving. It's nice to feel appreciated! Stella got a bunch of little things because her ipod was cheaper than the go kart so she had a lot to open. Mostly she got books and speakers/ear phones/ipod cases, etc...Tristan got a book as well (not that he wants to read it!), a light saber, and a new DS game. He was a little disappointed because he couldn't drive his go kart right away since it had to charge for 12 full hours! But once that baby was good to go he didn't waste any time making a race track around our living room/dining room! The baseboards have the marks to prove it! Stella on the other hand decided since she is on her ipod "practically all day" she needed to set some time limits for herself. What a responsible kid!

We did our usual December festivities. We had Christmas with the Carroll's/Higby's which is always wonderful! We went to Bill's work party. Lots of shopping. Ward Christmas party. Stella still won't sit on Santa's lap and Tristan was seriously worried after thinking about whether or not he was good enough. A surprise video from Santa confirmed that he was! Girls night with the Duffin's at Tepanyaki and then to see The Forgotten Carols which totally set the tone and got me in the Christmas spirit. Stella was completely captivated the whole time; laughing hysterically and singing. Loved it! Christmas Eve with my family. Visited Liam's grave - sang some Christmas songs and lit some illegal Chinese lanterns. Shhhh. Followed by dinner. And one of my favorite things - baking gingerbread cookies with Tristan (Stella doesn't do any kind of cooking) for the kids to decorate and leave for Santa.

It was such a fun month! And I really hope that we were able to talk enough about the REAL reason for Christmas and show the kids by giving to others throughout the month. I try to emphasize it's not about the presents, but I'll be the first to admit that even I get caught up on seeing my kids face light up when they see a bunch of presents under the tree on Christmas morning.

New Year

I've been thinking back on my year as I'm sure most do at this time. And I'm thinking about what this coming year will bring and what I want to make of it. These are just a few of my thoughts:

Hi-lights:

* Going to Mexico
* Watching the kiddo's swim, learn guitar, play basketball, football, soccer.
* Spending my birthday in Capitol Reef - my happy place
* Family vacation along with Ron and Becky to Jackson Hole/Yellowstone

Disappointments:

* Having to put my sweet Duke down
* My grandpa passing away
* Stella's 2nd surgery
* Having to deal with health issues still

Game Changers:

* Deciding to adopt again!

What I'd do different:

* Spend less time on stupid things like electronics and more QUALITY time with my 2 favorite little people.
* Be more patient (been really working on this one)
* laugh more and not take things so dang seriously.

Goals for next year

* I don't care for the word "resolution". To me I hear that word and think about how many times people - including myself - make a list of things to change or improve and give up by Feb. 1st. How many times did you go to the gym after Feb. 1st or how many times have you not gotten past 2nd Nephi?! Ummmmm....You catch my drift. So I make GOALS throughout the year. Not all at once. Way too overwhelming. I do want to continually improve myself and my family. Not remain stagnant.
* Get my sorry butt back in shape. I took all of December off due to vacation, Christmas and foster care classes 3 nights a week. Crazy month! I am so ready to start working out again!
* Continue learning patience. I don't want my kids to remember me being stressed and yelling all the time. I find myself doing just that too many times. I feel even more responsibility to change this way knowing that a child coming into our home probably experienced some pretty hostile living environments. I don't want our home to bring up any negative feelings. Only love and safety.
* Eliminate stress as much as possible. This will be hard with work and the kids school/extra-curricular activities. However, after our trip and being off school for the past 2 weeks I've realized that so much of my headaches and dizziness are brought on by stress and sleep deprivation.
* Drink Water.
* Eat better.
* Take a picture everyday. Yes. This is my goal again. I make this goal every year and end up not doing it because of camera difficulties and then I get out of the habit. Last year I didn't take hardly any pictures of everyday stuff. Mostly holidays, birthdays and vacations. The little things are the big things right? I want to capture that so I'm going to do it for reals this year!

I am really looking forward to this coming year. I feel like there will be some exciting changes in store for our family which makes me most excited! I hope 2015 will be just as good if not better than 2014. Last year was amazing! I can't wait to see what the future has in store for me!

Day 6:

Chillin'

Ah, our last day in Mexico. Bitter-sweet. We spent the whole day just relaxing. We hung out at the beach for a bit. Bill did a little snorkeling while I laid out (didn't get a tan of any kind!). We ate lunch at the little bistro by the beach. We relaxed in the "hot" tub and watched a beautiful African wedding. That evening we watched movies and ordered room service. It was a lazy, wonderful day. The best way to end our week in Mexico!

This trip was the perfect trip to celebrate 15 amazing years of marriage! It felt like a second honeymoon. Each day was just what we had wanted it to be! The weather was perfect. The sand and water were gorgeous. The people were friendly. The hotel was gorgeous. We really couldn't have asked for more.

Saturday we were anxious to get home. We took one last walk on the beach and headed off to the airport. We got there at 10:45 and found out after checking our baggage in that our flight had been delayed due to mechanical difficulties. We were suppose to leave at 12:55 and then 2:40 and didn't actually leave until after 4:00. It was a long, long day. We still didn't get to go home after that. They put us up in a 1976 Quality Inn in Ft. Worth, TX and gave us dinner at Denny's. We both woke up around 5:30 ready to go. We finally flew into SL around 11:45. Hallelujah!!!

The kids excitement to see us again was indescribable. Tristan hugged us before we could even get out of the door. And Stella ran into our arms screaming "Mommy! Mommy!" "Daddy! Daddy!" It felt good to know we had been missed! They both had written us beautiful welcome home notes. Tristan was super talkative and told us probably 30 times that day he was glad we were home and how much he had missed us. It was good to be home!!!! I missed my kids so much! We came home and finally decorated the rest of our house for Christmas. There really is no place like home!

Day 5:

Xcaret

Thursday we spent the day in Xcaret. We had so much fun! It reminds me of Sea World but more to do and with the price of Disneyland. The tickets to get in itself are expensive, but once in you can schedule your activities. This costs more. I have always wanted to swim with the dolphins. Totally something on my bucket list. I was fortunate enough to do just that! Bill has always wanted to go snorkeling so we signed up to do that as well. This was going to be fun!!!

First stop was the dolphins! I was so excited! There were about 10 in our group. Bill didn't care to go so he sat out and took pictures. Being in the water with the dolphin, Melissa, was by far one of the coolest experiences of my life. She was smaller than I thought she'd be. She was 24 years old. We got to feel her as she'd swim by us. I even got to touch her tongue! We formed a circle and she swam around us. Then we separated and she'd swim in between us. We each got a turn to have the dolphin do a trick for us. She sang for me. Then she gave me a kiss on the cheek, I got to kiss her mouth, and she stood up and touched my hand in the air. Bill said I didn't stop smiling once. I told him you can not be in a pool with a dolphin and not smile! It was amazing!!!

Next we were off to scuba. Bill was giddy! He couldn't wait. I of course was nervous. I don't care for water or anything covering my nose and mouth. I wanted to be brave and face my fears. Once out Bill was just fine. I however, was struggling with having a scuba mask on and trying to fight pulling it off my face and breathing with oxygen. Bill went down with our instructor while I tried to compose myself. Once I got the breathing down I started to go further down. When I couldn't make my ears pop I started to panic and could't catch my breath. I went up, calmed down, and tried again. I didn't make it 20 feet before I freaked out again. I decided it was best to just snorkel on top and watch Bill. He went all the way to the bottom and was able to touch coral and have little fish swim around him. He loved it! Both of our ears were clogged for days after, but dreams were achieved that day! So cheesy I know.

After being in the ocean for an hour we were both starving! We had a big buffet lunch there and it was fun to listen to the live music. Even an audience member got on stage and it was fun to listen to the two of them.

Then we floated down the underground river. It goes for a mile or two. The water was freezing for how not hot it was. It was pretty cool being able to just float for that long. After we had to wait for a while to get our clothes brought to the end of the river run so we didn't really get any time to see the animals in Xcaret. We quickly changed and headed over to watch the show about Mexico. That was really cool to see how the Mayans played their games and the progression of Mexico. The costumes and music were fun. It was everything we had heard it would be! The end of another perfect day in Mexico.

Day 4:

Isla Murjer:

On this day we needed a more laid back day. We took our time getting ready in the morning went and had a big breakfast and then worked out. The concierge suggested we take a boat to an island across they way. We took a boat over which took about half an hour. The ocean was beautiful! There are so many shades of blue and green. This was the first day we really were able to enjoy it and take everything in.

When we got to Isla Murjer we first found an ATM to get more cash. It's ridiculous how much you have to tip everyone. We ran out of cash very quickly. With money in hand once again we rented a golf cart and began our tour of that little island. We felt brave driving around somewhere we'd never been before with no sense of direction. It didn't take long to go around the whole thing. I loved the different colors of the houses. It was strange to see kids piled on a motorcycle with no helmets. Everything there was so different than how things are here! The poverty level is something that I never pictured while looking at the beautiful pictures of Cancun. There were stray dogs everywhere and make-shift houses that have dirt floors.

We seemed to always miss the rain. It rained on the opposite of the island and had stopped before we got to that side again. After we returned the cart we found a little restaurant. Bill had small yet delicious - according to him - crab. I actually ordered fish tacos. I was feeling adventurous ;) I actually really liked them! Didn't taste fishy. As we were eating at a table on the beach we saw a gorgeous sunset. It was a perfect addition to our day!

After dinner we relaxed on the beach until the ocean got us and our towels wet and sandy! Way to ruin a romantic moment! With our bag being even heavier now thanks to our wet towels we had to take the long walk to the ferry boat that would take us back to the resort. It was a pretty perfect day in my book! Loved it all.