Weekends.

We've been busy the last few weekends doing amazing things.

But before I get to that, I forgot to post these pictures a while back. It was on the day the boys went to Patrick's clinic so they could watch the BYU football game. All three of these boys have my whole heart.

Oh, and on the day Maylie had such a high fever, her little "Baby Whisper" laid with her all day. It was very sweet.

This kitten cracks me up every day. He chases Flashlight around the house and she hisses at him and paws at him then takes off running since she's so scared. But it doesn't faze him...he's off again, chasing after her tail the second she starts running. And one day I even found him here:

Easton's been my handsome boy all grown-up lately:

A few Saturdays ago Patrick had an all-day conference to attend, so the littles and I made a list of all the fun things we were going to do. We had a dance party, played outside, played monsters just like Nana and Papa did with them, played a few rounds of Spot It Jr. and Fairy Tales Tell Tales, and finished the evening watching a movie. I absolutely LOVE being a mother. It is the best job in the whole entire universe!!!

Last weekend we made applesauce all by ourselves for the first time ever. We bottled 2 bushels.

The next morning we traveled down to Grandpa and Grandma's house for a little girl's tea party. Grandma put on such a cute little party for the girls. We had lunch with Colbie's tea set and then we made hair bows and ribbons. After the party Mom helped me make stockings--or should I say she practically made them? Sewing is not my favorite thing to do nor is it my forte. But I love how they turned out! I will post pictures when I finish them.

Then yesterday we had a super spectacular family day.

We went out to lunch at Winger's and our waiter was being so sweet to our kids. When we were leaving all the kids said goodbye and Maylie told him she loved him. I think it made his whole day.

After that we went to "Meet the Mormons." I've already been once with the Young Women's so I really wanted to take my family to see it too. Maylie was a little wiggly, but all in all she was very good. During the missionary mom story, I was crying. I looked over at Easton who was sitting beside me and saw little tears in his eyes. I leaned over and whispered in his ear how much I loved him and how much I will miss him someday when he leaves on his mission. He told me he loves me too and gave me such a sincere smile. In my eyes he is the best 7 year old there ever was. I can't really think about what I will do when he leaves on his mission. These years are just so precious....

After the movie we went to a local corn maze and weaved around and around until we finally found our way. We dropped sunflower seeds just like my family did when we were little--so we could leave a trail of where we'd been.

We finished just before dark. It was a fully and satisfyingly wondrous day. 

I can't even express how much I love my family and how much I cherish the memories we make together. Life couldn't be any sweeter...

Lagoon!

We met at Natalie and Jon's in the morning to eat lunch and have a family home evening lesson. Papa taught us about spiritual gifts and encouraged us to help our children know what spiritual gifts they have as well as nudge them gently in the direction of the spiritual gifts we perceive they could develop. It was a simple but profound lesson and it's been on my mind ever since. I felt very inspired during his lesson, that this is one of the primary objectives of a mother's nurturing. And I felt called to pursue this mission actively while my children are little and all throughout their growing up years. I have far to go as I begin this process, but the journey excites me. It's always been my deepest, most poignant desire to help my children discover who they are, love who they are and those around them, grow their talents and gifts, point them to the temple, and return home to Heavenly Father. And this charge to recognize and encourage the development of spiritual gifts fits right in with what I feel my motherhood purpose is. Thank you Dad.

*****

Easton and Natalie and Nana rode most of the rides together--Easton's favorite was the Tidal Wave, the Swings,  and Bombora. (I think they went on the Swings 5 or 6 times in a row). Tate joined me and Patrick for most of the day--riding all the new rides he's grown into now that he's barely 46". He loved the Wild Mouse, the Turn of the Century, and most of all the Bumper Cars and Wicked. When we watched his face during Wicked the first time, both Patrick and I were scared. He looked like he was going to be sick or pass out. But as soon as the ride stopped, he got the biggest grin on his face and said, "Let's do it again!!!" And we did--4 more times that day. Easton decided very diplomatically that he didn't want to do Wicked this year (even though he'd been talking about how it was his favorite ride all year.) But that's okay. Maybe next year all 4 of us can go on it together. Maylie loved the Bumper Cars too and the Merry-go-Round and the boats. She didn't love the LadyBug Drop--she was so scared. So we didn't go on that one again. It was so much fun to go on rides with my children. It always is. I don't know why, but it always strikes a sense of wonder in me to see the childlike wonder of my children. They are mesmerized by everything and their enthusiasm bubbles over into my heart as well. It's so fun to take them on all the rides I loved growing up. It's always so magical.

As it turned out, rain was forecasted for our Lagoon trip too this year. But our sweet boys prayed in faith again and fully knew the Lord would bless the skies. And he did. Again. The weather was perfect for almost the entire day. And then around 8:00 pm the downpour began. We were drenched and huddling under shelter while Easton ran around with Jason (who had a jacket) and went on as many rides as he could. Easton wanted to stay and ride more until Lagoon closed, but the rest of us decided it was a good time to end our evening and barely made it to the car in-between downpours.

What a special day we had! I only wish that it wouldn't have been raining there at the end so we could have bought bounce back passes! Maybe next year.... :)

Hardware Ranch

On President's Day we bundled up and headed over to Hardware Ranch to see a herd of 400 elk on a sleigh ride. The elk were pretty neat--I've never been so close to a live one before. But the sleigh ride was equally as fun for me and the big Clydesdale horses that pulled the sleighs were more beautiful to me than all the elk put together! (I've always been a horse-lover at heart!)

Picking our Tree {and the Decorating.}

Two days after Thanksgiving we piled into the car and drove to a little farm out in the middle of nowhere (which is exactly where I love to be).

We walked through the rows of trees and finally picked the tallest one we could find--a 9 foot Fraser.

That afternoon we decorated the tree and the boys loved finding all of their ornaments amidst the boxes.  It was a like a treasure hunt.

After the tree was done, Patrick and the three littles retreated upstairs to watch a game and I had an hour to decorate the rest of the house.  It was soothing and calming and something I've missed.  Ever since moving here, I've resisted the urge to decorate much because I've been waiting for my living room to be perfect.  Well, it's not quite perfect, but it's pretty close and I threw myself headlong into the festivity.

And just a few days after the decorating, our family pictures arrived in a huge box.  It was the icing on the cake for me.

Below are the ones we set on our shelf.  I have lots more pictures in my bedroom, just waiting to be hung, but for now these are all I need.

I love you with all my heart Patrick, Easton, Tate, and Maylie!