Summer Vacay Starts in Utah

We were on our way to St. George to spend the weekend with our Utah Menzies the second school was dismissed for summer break. Kevin was already there from Arizona, so lucky us, we've had some quality Uncle/Brother time in the last few months!

What was my favorite part of the day? Learning to ride Brett's motorcycle solo! Either Brett's a really great teacher or I'm a fast learner... it was great fun except for the quick burn I got by relaxing my leg a little too much. A few weeks after this, Brett totaled his bike in a pretty raunchy accident (he's still healing from his shoulder contusion and wrist injury).

Motorcycle Mama--might be a new hobby

zoom-zoom okay, I was only going like 10 mph

We hiked to Emerald Lakes at Zion. We had an unseasonably cold and rainy afternoon waiting for us... better than the normal Southern Utah 110 degrees! I'm sure the kids loved shoving 12 of us into my car so we could get into the canyon without having to pay buko bucks. Or we're just cheap. Or trying to stretch the dollar. Something like that.

Cousin Jonas & Alexie giggled and played on the forever long tram ride...

...and hugged again and again because they're such silly & cute cuz's.

This boy is partially responsible for my grays and wrinkles. Love him!

Emily is preggers-- can't tell one bit from the back... she puts all pregnant women to shame. Wish I got a whole family photo-- why do we always forget? Brett & Emily's first little girl (3rd child) is due in September!

I know you're thinking 'those are some hefty arms'... who's the pregnant one again? Gheesh. It's not all Relief Society tricepts-- genetics:)

Impossible to get all of them to look at once

You can barely make out the waterfall next to Monson's head

There's really steep drop-offs on this hike, and Vivs was constantly wanting to see what was down there, you know... down the 100+ foot ravine... little dare-devil. Monson was such a protective bro and made sure he walked on the outside on the way down so she was safe so momma wouldn't have a heart attack.

I love my little bros

Look-alikes... and pretty scenery too

Off to Mt. Pleasant.... in the middle of nowhere Central Utah, USA. While we were there visiting Ama and Kelly, our car broke down one day... and so we spent the whole afternoon waiting for AAA to come from Egypt to rescue us. Ends up that we were blessed to have our breakdown when we did because the caliper bolts were never tightened when we had our rear shocks and brakes done several weeks prior. So in Mt. Pleasant, the brakes and wheels all seized up, and good thing it wasn't while we were doing 90 on the highway or we could have easily rolled our giant SUV and it surely would have been a different scene. Angels watching over us??? I think so.

So update... today I finally told the mechanic who didn't 'finish the job' what happened to us-- you know what he said? 'We're all human!' rEaLly? I'm sure that comment wouldn't fly if the car had rolled on the highway and left some children orphans or some grieving parents... a little peeved at his reaction.

Ama always makes our visits special... with homemade treats, sugary breakfast cereal (the kind I never buy ie cocoa puffs & lucky charms). They love shooting pool, spreading out in her gigantic basement playing with their old toys, waking up and seeing the deer grazing in the pasture, and eating ice cream cones whenever they want {'til their hearts are content... as long as they clean up their messes}! And we can't forget the endless cuddles, loves, and bedtime songs. Gotta love it.

Ama had fun horesback riding lessons planned with the kids in Moroni. It's fun for our city kids to visit the beautiful country and get so excited about the deer, horses, cows, smells... well, not so much the smells. Or the bugs. And there's LOTS of them at Ama's house in the country.

Meet beautiful Bandit... each of the kids had to introduce themselves by letting him sniff them. I think he may have winced at a few of the kids, and I don't blame him one bit... sometimes I wince too:)

Monson's riding lesson

Does it mean anything that Bandit stopped to poop 3 times while Monson was riding?

McKenzie

Alexie loves to pose

and apparently so does Curt... in Kenzie's hat???

Brayden's turn

Bray concentrates in a funky way

Alexandra was a natural!

They could be country girls...

Sanpete really is beautiful {to visit}

View from Ama's front yard...

When the kids turn 10, they each get a special trip... Monson chose instead (and so did finances) to have his his bff from Utah {Seth} join us back in California to spend a week of fun! A million pictures to come of our California adventures celebrating Monson's birthday...

Three

The other day we visited with Viviana's new Pediatrician and as briefly as we could... we recounted her story so that she could then be referred on to some specialists for some issues she's been dealing with.

It's truly humbling to recount in our minds, hearts, and out loud, the experiences that brought us to today... the here and now...

three glorious years old. This is late... almost three months late, but our blog book wouldn't be complete without the proper birthday tributes.

A few weeks ago someone asked me when we're going to get those 14 hemangiomas taken care of (meaning, when will she have them surgically removed because they are unsightly, annoying, and bothersome)? I have to say, that it made me think a little, because even though I know they aren't 'normal,' neither is she. She's extraordinary in every way and I think sometimes those physical representations, even the unsightly hemangiomas, leftover from her beginnings... are the only physical reminder left on her that miracles do happen. They tell her story.

I was going to just list the *THREE* things we adore most about you at this stage.... but I couldn't stop, because there are just so many things to love, and we don't want to forget...

*Your larger-than-life smiles and personality.

*You always beg, complete with jumping up & down, "Can I come, can I come?" when someone heads out the front door with keys in hand. You don't ever intend on being left behind!

*Your sweet and simple prayers... and the fact that you insist on saying the family prayer every night.

*The way you take charge and boss your older sisters around... because you CAN.

*The amount of loves and cuddles that flow from you.

* The bond you have with your family... unique, special, and different bonds with each one of us.

*The key you have to your daddy's heart... you adore him just as much as he adores you.

*Your excitement and love of music, and of your nursery class at church.

*You're an independent little soul.
*The way you say, "o-tay"
*The way you tell us something, followed by:  "I killing" (translation:  I'm kidding)

*Your favorites are: Dora cuddling sweets opening the car door by yourself going potty all by yourself singing & dancing with your sisters getting dressed and re-dressed 10x a day your 'spot' on the sofa Dad's i-touch mom's i-pod Wubbzy stealing Dad's diet coke booking it down the hallway still half-asleep to cuddle with mom & dad... at 3am.

* And like momma, you MUST wear bling.

You are a true joy

{even if you do drive me nuts sometimes with all your energy}.

xo forever,

Eight Months...

I'm not thankful to be unemployed; I am not thankful for the feelings of desperation and moments of despair and hopelessness. I'm not thankful that nearly EIGHT months has gone by and we don't have even a foggy ballpark idea of what direction we're headed which makes planning any inkling of a future immensely difficult no matter how many little people are affected. I'm not thankful for an empty bank account or the lame Escalade we have that needs MUCH work before something blows... the check engine light itself it gonna burn out any day, or the front bald tires will shred... along with the front shocks that have already given way...not sure which will come first. And I'm not thankful that we feel just STUCK in 'park' and there's no 'pass go and collect $200' (or a get out of jail free card :) Because sometimes this trial just feels like jail.... only I wish we could make all that monopoly money useful for something!

But.... I am ever thankful for the tender mercies that have come as a result of this sucky unemployment trial... the little notes and gift certificates that were left on our doorstep a few days ago along with a giant multiple-family-size bottle of bubbles. I'm thankful for the prayers offered in our behalf and the notes I've received over the past weeks and months from friends who truly are a God-send. I'm thankful the the most basic needs that are being fulfilled. I'm grateful that I feel one with Curt and that our marriage is as strong as ever. I'm thankful for the extra time we get to spend and that we can run away together every day if we want...because we DO have one car that works even if it's not perfect. I'm thankful for the opportunities to teach our children about sacrifice... selflessness, and service... the endless lessons at our fingertips. We can have a generally good perspective, yet still acknowledge how awful it can feel at times. I think it is MUCH worse for Curt.... I am thankful that he's also going to school and keeping his mind focused and sharp, that he's moving forward in some direction even if there can be no fruits yet from that labor.

These last few days have been particularly difficult for some reason. We're not without hope, not without faith... but some things just seem to feel heavier and more burdensome at times. And right now is one of those times. I know it's going to be fine.... and I know it's not the end of the world and that many others are going through much worse right now. But it's just okay to declare how sucky life can be once in a while, right?

The last few days as Curt and I have reflected on our current awful crazy and we are at a loss for words to express just how it feels. We look back and see that everything we have worked so hard to build has sunk so fast over the last couple years even though we're doing all the right things and being honest, truthful, good people trying to raise good and valiant contributing citizens.

I know I can be poor as poor can be and live happily in a shack on the side of the road eating homemade bread and water if need be as long as I can run to a quiet place once in a while and I have the important things like my faith, family, love, etc.

I learned quickly that the trial of losing a home and having to be a 'renter' is not NEARLY as awful as I thought it would be... in fact, it's not awful at all. It's just different. And it's temporary. One of my favorite scriptures is Proverbs 3:5-6. I know that as we turn to the Lord and give away these feelings of despair and hopelessness, continue to press on and just trust... that something grand will happen not only to our hearts, but to the path we find ourselves trodding down.


And even though today it seems impossible.... I've learned that the unemployment trial is what you make of it too. Much of it is about attitude and the choice to remain positive and hopeful. There are obvious temporal needs that need to be satisfied someway and somehow, but the major needful things have all been taken care of. I am thankful that our children are healthy for the most part (except for the 12 cavities and 4 root canals that one of our kids needs), but I'm grateful that we now have medical/dental insurance to look after those needs (thank you, medi-cal). I'm grateful we'll be able to get Viviana's obstructive sleep apnea taken care of so she can finally breathe at night, as well as learn from all the blood work if Alexandra's going through precocious puberty at six (not fun) or just has smelly 13-year-old boy pits and zits (lovely).

The kids are happy even though they bicker and fight, and we are all learning to appreciate the simple things and how being creative with our time and energies is just as fulfilling and lovely as it was eight months ago when we had a bank account, a job, and a future plan. I love love love the quote from a book I'm just finishing called The Shack.. the book is definitely different and isn't exactly the imagery and whole religious perspective I believe in, but there's some great lessons in it and I love this:

"pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly. And if it's left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were ever created to fly in the first place."

So even though I'm not in 'pain' and I haven't any bitterness or anger to let go of, I have to remember that with this small trial, my perspective and attitude is everything. If I choose to be negative and give into self-pity too often, then those 'wings' could be clipped to the point that we're not moving forward and upward and forget our purpose altogether. I don't have to understand the why's... I just have to have the kind of crazy rock solid faith I had when we were going through the Vivie trial, and perhaps that's when the path will be made a little more clear.