Duane is 9!

I'm not sure what happened for the month of April, but it seems like being crazy busy is now a non-stop deal for us. For the day of Duane's birthday, we kept things on the down low. He had his cake, which was the only thing he asked for! He also got some lego sets, a new movie, and some other birthday goodies. For his birthday event, he wanted to go to nicklecade. We usually let our kids pick one thing they want to do, but we had a surprise for Duane.

We took Duane to a grocery named Duane's! haha

Jessica found the store when she was driving through Fillmore. When she told me about it, I knew we had to take Duane! (Thank you Jessica! You are amazing!) So we braved the 2 hours + car ride to find Duane's. It was such a cool thing to see and Duane humored me by letting me take pics. After, we found a pretty good hamburger joint and had dinner. The wind was picking up by then. We wanted to meander around town and see what was there, but it was just getting too stormy, so we headed back north. We'd seen a petting zoo in Scipio and thought we might try stopping there.

The kids lasted the car ride pretty well, all things considered. Jessica has the patience of a saint. She even instigated a game of I Spy. ;) <3 So we got back to Scipio, but the petting zoo was closed!! We were still able to see the animals through the fence, but it would have been soo cool to go in. There was a huge camel, as well as some other more expected petting zoo creatures like emus, llamas, peacocks and peahens, and turkeys.

We saw a lot of animals. The horses were actually from the trip down when we had to make an emergency stop for urine to meet tire. haha We named the white horse Slinky...o.0 Let's just say he earned the name.

But, we saw lots of scenery...

and some military caravans...

We visited the grounds of the Lavender Farms, scoping it out for Lavender Days.

It was a great day spent celebrating my awesome helper! He's always so good to us, so it was good to have a day for him. :D

Wolves' Banquet

Love is in the Air!

I was able to attend Avan's class party for Valentine's Day. It was neat to see him in his natural habitat. lol ;) It was also neat to be able to go without too much of an issue of pain. I was in a little pain. It seems like I can go for long periods of time without pain, but the day I need to go out is the day the pain comes back. Today it wasn't very bad. We even caught up with Duane after school and snagged a pic of him outside his classroom door.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

I actually didn't get many pictures this Christmas. We were all very sick! Thanks to hand foot and mouth virus, we have been through 4 bottles of painkillers in the past 3 days. I've been through so much in such a short amount of time. Poor Adi had it pretty bad. She wasn't eating for a few days and was in so much pain. Still, it was wonderful to spend time together celebrating the birth of our Savior. We have so much to be joyous about.

Happy Birthday to ME

For my birthday, I usually ask to go camping. I really enjoy camping and hiking and things like that. We haven't been to many places around our house to camp, mainly because we didn't know a lot of places. We actually didn't go last year because I was too sick, but the year before that we went to the natural hot springs where our ward had the father/son camp out. Anyway, someone told us about Willard Bay (thank you Sharalee!). I'd never heard of it. Apparently it is the only freshwater bit of the Great Salt Lake. I didn't even know there was a freshwater bit. So we reserved a spot and got our things together. Then we were on our way to Willard Bay.

Actually getting to Willard Bay was a challenge thanks to darn google maps. It took on this back country road and up to a closed cattle gate. I kid you not. We headed down this dirt road. Pastor kept saying, "this can't be right," from the moment we turned off the freeway. We stuck to it because google maps has never lead us astray before. Some time later we found ourselves staring at a green cattle gate. We turned around and asked some locals for directions. Taking their advice, we followed the signs on the freeway (DUH!) and found Willard Bay. We drove another 20-30 minutes to find the entrance. There was this really nice young lady who kindly told us we were at the wrong entrance. For real? Do we need to go back to the cattle gate? She told us to turn around, get back on the freeway, and take the next exit. We did that and followed the signs and finally found ourselves in the right place. By this time we were starving. I didn't cook lunch because...reasons, and we were all feeling it by then. It was almost 5 if I remember right.

We were so hungry that we all kind of just dove into my cake. It was once a beautiful red, white and blue rose cake, but somehow it got smooshed to one side so I just spread the frosting back over the top of it. I have to admit that I was pretty bummed about it. The kids kept telling me it was ok and that the cake still tastes the same. "Don't worry, mama, it's still yummy," is what Adi said. And they were right, it was pretty darn good. Thank you Kent's!

After we warmed up and ate dinner, we did a little bit of everything we could think of. We went to find the bay, which got us lost a few more times, but it was a fun lost because we were just following nice cool trails. When we found the bay, we just waded a bit and threw rocks. It was getting late and too cold to really swim. So we went back to our campsite. It was #16, by the way and we will be requesting it every time we go back. Pastor set up the tent while the kids went down the beach to throw more rocks. They found shells as well.

Okay, so here is where things get ugly. By ugly I mean itchy. During the night, Dexter refused to sleep. I don't think he likes change very much. I asked him after we were home a few days if we should back camping. He said, "No," very firmly. We got ready for bed and changed into our sleeping clothes. We read a chapter out of Narnia and tried to watch scriptures on our phone. As everyone settled in, Dex wandered aimlessly around the tent. Every so often he would stop and jump on someone's sleeping bag, causing that someone to yell in protest and/or pain. I tried laying with him and counting stars. (We had the tent top cover off because I wanted it off and it was my birthday dang it, haha). We counted airplanes going by. I sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star a billion times. Nothing worked. So I took him outside to sit in the camping chairs and watch the stars. When I went out, I forgot to re-spray myself with bug repellent. If you look at the picture above of Duane and Avan silhouetted against the lake, you can see how many dragonflies are flying around. That should tell you how many darn mosquitos there were. I have 8 bites just on my right foot. I haven't counted the others. The good news is that Dex did eventually fall asleep, but only after Pastor came out and held him. Duane stayed up with us too, not because he couldn't sleep really, just because he could get away with it while Dex was being naughty. Both Avan and Adi were out by then.

Waking up the next morning was nice. I think we slept in past 8. It might have even been 9. We warmed up breakfast and I took the kids back down the beach. They dug up shells and threw rocks. Pastor was putting the tent away during this time. Then it was time for the real fun! We tidied up the camp and made sure to puck up all our litter, then we piled into the car and drove over to the bay. We blew up the floaty devices we'd brought. Dexter really didn't want to try his, but we forced him and he ended up loving it! Stickers even got to swim in the lake, but he really didn't like it one bit. We had so, so much fun that we're already making plans to go back, although we have since heard of a place called Pineview that supposedly has a better beach.

When we thought the kids had soaked up enough sun, we pulled them out. They were reluctant to leave, but they were also extremely tired. We changed in the car or the bathroom and left Willard's Bay. Three of the four kids were out before we even made it to the freeway. Duane eventually fell asleep, but it was after we drove all the way out to Logan for heaven knows why. We're crazy.

I have arrived at two conclusions after this camping trip:

1-camping really makes you see your kids. I mean REALLY see them. You see past the repetitive nature of everyday life. You see them exploring our world. You see how happy and joyous they are. For me, it really reminds me of how much they need my love and patience.

2-Being 30 is awesome. I have been looking forward to turning 30 for a while. I remember 29 was a difficult age to turn for me for whatever weird reason. 28 and 29 were the hardest years of my entire life though, so that may have something to do with it. The main reason I love being 30 is because this is the year I have finally learned to love myself and that really is awesome!

Happy 4th!!!

Our 4th was pretty laid back. Pastor had to work so we ended up just going to the parade. I thought about being brave and taking the kids to see the fireworks on my own, but i really don't like going out after dark with the kids when Pastor isn't there. We still had lots of fun! We went to the scout breakfast at Kent's and had pancakes. Then we marched over to find a place to sit and enjoyed the parade. This was the first year in a few years that Duane actually enjoyed himself. He usually sits on the curb and demands to be taken home. This time it was Adi who wanted to go home. haha All in all, they all had a good time though, especially when they got to pick up candy! There were even ice cream sandwiches handed out. Duane secured some pretty rad glasses for Avan. Dexter "caught" a mini stress ball football. The best part for me was when the soldiers marched by with our wonderful flag.

Amazing!!!!

Today something AMAZING happened. Pastor and I made extremely timid plans to go to the air show on Hill Air Force Base. I say timid, but I really, really wanted to go! I didn't even care which show. It turned out that we could only watch one, but it was the Breitling Jet Team. Let me tell you something, that was a jaw dropping show. Not only that, there were times when the announcer made it so Jacques Bothelin could talk to us (us meaning the watching crowd) over the giant speakers. Before their final maneuver, he said how glad he was to fly in the US. He mentioned how his country is a free country because of the aid of the United States. That made my heart pulse with pride and joy. I even cried. Again. And there were no danged tissues anywhere! haha I will now shamelessly insert a large quantity of photos...

Ok, so it was only five. I snapped so many that it really is shameful. ;)

Do you know what the most amazing thing was though? Can you guess? Can you guess? The most amazing thing to me was the fact that I was there. We waited in line at the gate about an hour. Probably more. Then we waited in line at the metal detector door things (what's their real name?) about an hour. Probably a little less. During this time, we walked, boarded a bus, walked, stood, walked, and I even carried Dex and Adi at different points. All of this is amazing because my pain has seriously subsided. There was a time in my life when going to the air show wouldn't have been possible. It wouldn't even have been an option. Today I did all those things. I think I pushed myself a little too much because my back was stiff by the end of it. Even so, I am so blessed and I am thankful to Heavenly Father for guiding me through so many years of pain. :)

Also, can I make a confession? I think I would like to ride in a jet plane one day. That used to be an idea I was glad to think would never become a reality. Now I really want to try! The kids all enjoyed the air show as well. They were a little confused about why we stood around waiting in line so long, but I think it all added up in the end. Adi said several times she wants to be fighter pilot when she grows up. That makes me feel proud and a tiny bit scared. Mostly proud though. I know she would be an awesome fighter pilot.

I have to mention how much the kids loved riding the buses to and from our parking area. We parked in the red zone and took the red shuttle to the show and back. I think that was almost as exciting as seeing the jets. haha Adi kept saying, "my very first time on a bus!" Which was true, actually. :)

After the show, Pastor picked up some pizza and we had a picnic at the park. That was pretty cool too because the sprinklers were going and the kids saw an impromptu splash pad.

All in all, today was wonderful, amazing and fun. I'm so glad our plans worked out!