A Sad Goodbye

I am skipping ahead of many posts I am behind on, but I don't want any more time to pass before I write some of my thoughts I have had these past two weeks. 

Little did I know this would be the last picture I'd take with all my girls (still missing a few though). We asked the girls to wear their camp necklaces two Sundays ago so I could send a picture to my friend that made them all for us. Just a few hours after this picture was taken, the bishopric scheduled a visit with Nate to come stop by where the release was given. Although there were days when things were really hard and I secretly begged to be released, more times than not I dreaded this day. Four years of this just doesn't end with a few words telling me I was released. I've spent many hours praying, teaching, serving and loving these girls! It became such a normalcy in my life so to have it taken away rocked my world. I felt the release coming a few months before but it could have never prepared me for what I'd really feel like with it being a reality. I had a week to digest the news and pass on as much as I could to the new president before it was made official in last week's sacrament meeting. It was an emotional week for sure and I still get choked up sometimes when I think of saying goodbye to these girls. I still had my last lesson to teach that same Sunday so rather than teaching our monthly topic I decided it would be best to combine and let the girls have an hour to digest the change themselves. We spent the time testifying to the girls that this change is meant to be and it's ok to to open their hearts to new leaders, but that it is also ok to be sad for a time as well. I knew I would be beyond emotional, and when I get to that point I can't communicate what I need to so I spent the week writing this poem to tell the girls exactly what was in my heart...

I felt it coming so long ago.

Tears of doubts ran high, overwhelmingly so.

Feeling a child myself and wanting someone to follow,

I accepted the call knowing my testimony you girls would borrow.

There have been hard times and drama, I cannot lie.

But we’ve created friendships and memories money couldn't buy.

My life is changed, my testimony grown.

The Title “daughter of God” even more known!

This service of God brought blessings untold.

No doubt I'll miss it, but the next step will soon unfold.

Same mantle, same calling, just changing the leader.

All you have to do is accept and believe her. 

Although Uchtdorf and Hilary and skunks may be,

what years down the road you only remember of me.

Please continue with faith and endure to the end,

Remember your true beauty and your virtue defend.

Your laughs and silly inside jokes will be missed so much.

We had some good times thanks to you crazy bunch!

Whatever chapter you choose to remember of the PJR story, (this was my nickname they gave me)

Seeing you girls enter the temple will be my true glory.

Just like it came, I felt it slipping away.

More tears than the first, just a different reason today.

Many prayers of gratitude I've been sending above,

For giving me 4 years with you girls that I love.

Over the years I have loved serving these girls. This calling was one of my greatest blessings I've ever received through my willingness to serve. I feel like I received more from this calling than these girls ever got from me. Now that two weeks has passed by, every day gets easier, but I still find myself thinking about these girls and their lives...how their day was at school, did they make any new friends, are they hanging out with good friends, are they making good choices and bettering themselves in the things they listen to and read, and how their relationships are with their families. I also find myself reflecting on memories as little things within my day remind me of each one of them and their different personalities, interests and inside jokes. I'm sure the rest of my life will be a sporadic reflection of the many different memories we share, but I'm so excited to see what the future holds for each one of them. I just pray that I have in some way or another fulfilled my calling and touched their testimony somehow so they are better by my service and love given in their behalf. 

Another hard part to say goodbye to this calling is the Ward Council and the amazing leaders I got to serve with. My testimony and faith has been strengthened as I have served along side these men and women. Some of my dearest friends were created through these four years of service and I am grateful everyday that I was blessed to know them and call them friends. I know there is a new chapter ahead and these friendships I have made will continue on but it doesn't make it any easier saying goodbye to the immediate and planned interactions that came from this calling. Man I am going to miss it like crazy and its the hardest goodbye I have ever been through, but its comforting to know they are in good hands and they are loved just as much by new leaders.

Thanks for all the fun years filled with many laughs, tears and jokes... they will never be forgotten!

Love you girls more than you will ever know. Thanks for loving me back as your spiritual leader. You have changed my life for the better. 

SWIM.BIKE.RUN THIRD EDITION

This year I got talked into doing another triathlon! Ever year I tell myself it was fun, but I am ok not to do it again... that obviously didn't last long. This was the third time doing the Woman of Steel TRI, second triathlon with Nikki and my first with Tina and Jill. I knew what to expect for the race so I didn't spend much (or any!) time really training. I had good intentions in the beginning and Nikki and I ran a couple times around the neighborhood and spent a couple trips to the rec center to swim laps but I felt like I was going out on this cold for sure. I knew I could get through it so I wasn't worried, I was just along for the ride and to have fun with the girls. It was totally different this year for me and I actually enjoyed it more. I didn't have the anxiety and nervous stomach the night and morning before like normal and my body didn't hurt like it normally does either. The only thing I can contribute that to is my lack of training! I wasn't feeling pressured to beat scores, I didn't push my body in training to be tired, so over all I felt more accomplished getting through it all. 

Seems like this race always bring some sort of uncomfortable weather. This year it was the wind and rain!! Swimming is my favorite part of the whole thing so I was just grateful there was no lightning to force them to cancel that part and add more running (like they did the first year!). Once I was finished with my swim and done with my first lap on the bike the wind and rain picked up and my face and hands were freezing as we were riding head on. Because of how they alphabetize the transition area Tina and I were right next to each other.  As I was finishing with my bike and coming back into the transition area, Tina was finishing her swim. It was fun to see her and cheer her on as she was starting her bike and I was starting the run. But what makes it more fun is to see my cute little family fighting the cold just to give me the few seconds of cheers as I lap by them throughout the bike and run. This year we even had our good friend Rachel cheering us all on which added to the support. What a good friend she is! Through serving in young womens Nikki, Rachel and I have become really close friends so sharing little memories like this together just makes things that much sweeter. Friends like them don't come around very often! I remember my second year doing this TRI, but my first year with Nikki, I was having a hard time with the run at the end. She was just shortly behind me as I was finishing my last mile. She was able to catch up to me and we ran the whole way in together. What a sweet moment we shared as we crossed the finish line together. So this year, we were hoping for the same thing. I looked back so many times hoping I would see her close, only to keep plugging away on my run alone. As I got closer I gave up on the idea of finishing together and just ran it in.... only to have Nikki just seconds behind me. I was so bummed! Luckily I was still right by the finish line to giver her a big sweaty hug!

Now that its over again, I am glad its over and it was lots of fun, but again, I am ok not to do it again.... we'll see how long that lasts though. Good job girlies... Thanks for encouraging my lazy butt to do this again!

Once the times were listed I quickly made a graph of my scores throughout the years. The first year times are off because the canceled the swim, so rather than swim, they added a mile run and then finished the race like normal with bike and run. Considering my overall times are only minutes apart I came to the conclusion that training for me isn't worth it! I will definitely take the 3 minutes slower.

Silverlodge Hotel

Nate had a work training all week in Park City at the Silverlodge hotel a few months ago, so rather than spending another night alone without him home, we took a quick drive to visit him. We enjoyed some Cafe Rio on his balcony from his room and then later played in the pool. It was FREEZING outside still but they had the water heated pretty good, so it made for some nice swimming water. Maelyn even enjoyed herself, even though she only had a diaper that weighed more than her by the time we were done. They boys were having so much fun that the begged to sleepover with Daddy. They didn't want to leave him and they cried, especially Jackson, when it was time to leave. Good thing a 711 was right around the corner to cheer them up! Thanks for letting us crash your evening of meetings Incontact!

Neighborhood bike gang

With the weather finally starting to warm up the boys started asking to ride their bikes to and from school. Its hard to let these little kindergartners ride alone, so many mornings I'd pack up the kids in our bike trailer and follow them over with the other moms. Unfortunately one morning didn't go so well as I about crashed us all with my bike pedal falling off. Good thing I had already made it up the hill so going home I was just able to coast all the way in. I love this picture of most of Jacks neighborhood buddies all on bikes. We are so lucky to have so many kids around us for Jackson to play and go to school with. Another reason I love these pictures is because I see such a great quality Jackson has... he is one clean boy!! The first thing he did when he got home from school was wash his bike. He said he had gotten it dirty, so he grabbed the hose, sprayed it down and later came inside to grab a towel to dry it off. We are loving that we live so close to the school, because they spent the rest of the school riding to and from school which saved us mom's from doing carpool. Eventually we started letting the boys ride by themselves to school as long as the promised to stay together. I quizzed Jackson so many times on his phone number and what to do if he gets hurt or there was a stranger talking to him. So hard letting go, but he loves being treated like he is so grown up, so this was one of those things that gave him a little freedom to feel big!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day just gets sweeter as my kids get older! Of course Nate knows how to make it special but I love school and primary teachers that help teach my kids how to write cute notes that mean so much to us parents. This is a card Jackson brought home from Kindergarten that I wanted to remember. I love how the little things we do for our children end up being the biggest things they remember... definitely a reminder to me that my littles are always watching and looking to me and Nate as examples. I just hope I pass the test!

Learning the Hard Way

This was a day I hope Andersen will never forget! One night I had to take a quick trip to Walmart to get a couple of things. I had all the kids in tow and was trying to get in and out real fast. Just minutes after being there I went through the self check out and started my exit out of the store. As I was walking fast out of the store, I noticed the boys were lagging behind, so I yelled to them to hurry it up. Andersen being obedient to my request starts skipping out of the store only to allow me to hear something clinky in his pocket. At this point I am in the parking lot asking to see what's in his pockets. He denies there is anything in there at first and then as I go to check for myself he pulls out this container of tic tacs... that have already been open!! AHH, the last thing I needed when I was in hurry. I knew I could have easily packed the kids in the car and drove off with no one knowing that even happened, but I knew I wouldn't teach Andersen anything from it other than it was totally ok to do. So I loaded up the groceries in the car and lugged the kids back into the store to the customer service desk to pay for the tic tacs my son had just stolen. Thank goodness for a smart employee who gave Andersen the business (the nice version, just enough for a 3 year old to learn) and how naughty it is to steal. Even though we had to pay for them, Andersen knew he wasn't getting those tic tacs anymore and you could tell he felt a little remorse for his actions. I know he is young but it starts somewhere, so I just hope the lesson was taught now when there isn't any hard consequences other than Mom and Dad being disappointed and the tic tacs being taken away. Rather than anyone eating these or just throwing them away I have kept them just the way we bought them... I am sure it will come in handy for some object lesson one day!

USU Baby Days

Thanks to my friend Megan and her adventurous and always up for fun self, she got me up to the Utah State University extension baby animals days held in Kaysville. I have always remembered her sharing how fun this was, so I finally decided to make the trip... and the boys loved that we did! They had so much fun holding and touching all sorts of baby animals...rabbits, turtles, snakes, and chickens. They also enjoyed seeing the bigger animals like the goats and watching the sheep get sheared right in front of them. Andersen liked it so much that he gave up his horse ride to stay and watch while Jackson took two laps on the pony ride. My favorite moment was while we were standing in line waiting to ride the horses. (Note to reader we had only been home from Disneyland for a week or so where they enjoyed the hotel pool better than the Disney parks) The line probably had 20 people in front of us and it was hot and a long wait for excited kids. Jackson pipes up and asks "Mom, is there a fast pass to this line?" I laughed so hard!! I thought it was hilarious especially because I didn't realize he understood our fast pass conversations at Disneyland. We were probably only here for a couple hours but it definitely was worth the drive just to see Megan and her cute family. Always a good time with the Whitesides! Just wished they lived closer so we could see them more often.

1428 South 750 East

A little while ago I met a friend in Kaysville for USU baby animal days. I wasn't sure how long it would take me to get there so I left early. Knowing I had a few minutes until I had to meet for the animals and wanting to let the kids nap a little bit longer, I took a quick drive by my old house I grew up in until 4th grade when we moved down to South Jordan.  Even though I was really young when we lived there, I still have many fond memories with my family and friends. This definitely was a quick trip down memory lane... I thought of the many friends and neighbors we had growing up...Krista Vandozer, Kory Swenson, Brooke and Nicole Leary, and Chelsea Bennett.  I thought of the time I ran into the stop sign waiting for the bus only to run home with the worst bloody nose I have ever had. I thought of the many memories making forts downstairs with my brothers and all the sleepovers my sister let me have in her bed. I thought of the Christmas mornings we shared as young siblings anxiously waiting on the stairs before Mom and Dad would let us go get our presents. Man, it all went through my mind so fast, so I snapped a picture and sent it to my family. I think it took us all back to the simpler days for sure. Even though the look of the house has changed, it didn't erase all the memories that were created all those years ago.

Kicked Cancer's Butt!

I have known this girl since 4th grade! We grew up just houses (and a pasture) away from each other. Shortly after graduation she was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer and instantly went through surgery to remove the lump she found. Quickly from there she started chemo and radiation. Even though we were graduated we all were too young to realize what she really had to go through. What a strong girl Lindy is and we are all so glad she is still here with us today. To celebrate her making it 10 years cancer free her husband invited us to join their family for some ice cream at Thanksgiving Point. What a simple night it was, but such a fun night celebrating Lindy still in our lives. Love you Lind! Way to kick Hodgkins butt!!

DISNEYLAND on the DOC

Working for Dr. Elison 8 1/2 years now, this is a tradition all of us girls look forward to. Every once in awhile our boss sends us all (including our spouses and our kids if we wanted to pay for their flights) on a trip somewhere fun. This year it was to California! Nate and I weren't super excited about the Disneyland part of the vacation so we took the first couple days to ourselves. We left later afternoon on a Sunday while my mom watched our kids.

We spent Monday just hanging out and enjoying our time to relax and spend time together. We slept in, worked out, and then went to lay out by the pool. Later we got ready and shopped around downtown Disney until it was time to meet up with the office for dinner at the ESPN zone. Such a fun group of girls I get to work with. Unfortunately Dr. Elison has to always put up with us! 

Tuesday, Nate had to take a couple work phone calls that morning, but after he was done we took a drive along the coast to visit the San Diego Temple. I have always wanted to see this Temple and since we were so close to it I thought it was a perfect time to check it off my bucket list. Because of the timing we got there we had just missed the endowment session, so to pass time until the next one we we did initiatories. Then we were able to do the next endowment session where we were asked to stay for a little bit longer to help with some sealings. This ended up being the only day it was stormy and overcast so to me it was the perfect day spent together in the Temple doing service. 

Since the Temple took most of our day, we headed back to towards the airport so we could meet Tina and the boys because they were joining us for the rest of the time. It was so fun picking them up and seeing how excited they were to be in California! We took them back to the hotel and got them all settled in before the real fun started in the morning.

Wednesday was the beginning of our Disney adventures. We started at California Adventure the whole day. We let the Elison family and Keela show us how its done and followed them around most of the day. We made sure we hit the Cars ride early and then all the the other big rides right off the bat to avoid the long lines. The boys weren't too sure what to think of it all. After we had ridden all the big rides they were begging for the pool to beat the heat and to get off their feet.

Before we started Thursday at Disneyland park, Nana took us all out to breakfast with the characters. The boys loved this and it was a quick way to check off the characters from our to do list at Disneyland. 

Disneyland was a lot of fun too! Nate and I don't get the Disney magic but it is a lot of fun to watch your kids enjoy the Disney fun. I loved that the boys enjoyed the big rides with us rather than having to spend hours on the kiddy rides and chasing characters. Some of our favorite rides were both the Toy story rides, splash mountain, and Star Tours where Jackson was the rebel spy in the video. Jackson's favorite ride was the California screamin' and probably rode that 3 times. And Andersen surprised us all with his favorite ride being the Tower of Terror! He went on this twice and was so brave! Before we left on Saturday morning we told the boys they could each pick a favorite ride before we left for our flight... of course Jack's picked California Screamin and Andersen picked the Tower of Terror! But just like the day at California Adventure the boys were begging to go swimming after only 5 or 6 hours a day at the park so we always cut the days short so we could head back to the hotel for some swimming. Good thing we were just within walking distant of our hotel!

Friday, the last full day we had before it was time to leave, we took the family to Newport Beach. Who would have thought the boys could have more fun in the sand and water than two days at the Disney parks? Crazy, I know, but they did! They loved the beach. We had lunch at Charlie's chili and spent the afternoon playing in the water and building in the sand. 

Its amazing how the littlest things can make these boys happy! Of course the hotel pool was their highlight of the vacation, but the Lego store took a close second. Jackson LOVES Legos and had heard of Lego Land from his friends so he really wanted to go. After seeing this Lego store and telling him we'd buy him a set from the store if we didn't have to take him to all the way to Lego Land (we heard is was kind of lame and not worth the money!) we had totally changed his mind. They only thing he was worried about now was which set he was going to pick out. He finally decided upon this giant Star Wars ship. It was so big he had to carry it on the plane. Whether is was the beach, the Disney parks or swimming these boys were exhausted EVERY night and crashed before we even had to tell them to go to bed.

What a perfect get away! A little time to ourselves, but then a lot of time and fun with Nana and the boys. So glad she was able to join us! The only thing we were missing was Maelyn, but she was at home in good hands with Grandma Kay. Thanks Doc for another fun trip and an unforgettable family vacation!