To the Ranch. {Day 1}

I've put this off for a week--hoping I'd feel more in the mood to write about our family vacation. And even though I still feel too tender and unready to write this, I know I must. The whole experience had such a profound effect on me that it filled my heart to the brim and within those 5 short days a thousand memories were made. It was all so grand and spectacular and simple and tender. And here I'm left trying to put words to emotions and tell stories of the memories that played out. I'm feeling thoroughly inadequate--as I always do when I sit down to write. I just hope I can do this justice....

To begin, I can't really talk about this trip without saying that I have been researching a suitable family vacation for our family for over a year. And it took me util January to find the perfect place. One not too far away for a toddler to travel to, one within our budget, a place where we had never been before with beauty and quiet and solitude. And when I finally stumbled upon the "Island Ranch Retreat" I knew I had found our ticket.

While ideas circulated in the back of my mind through the long winter months, I didn't start officially planning until July. I had to get June out of the way. It was just too busy. So after the 4th, I diligently set to work planning and researching and preparing every last detail. I was more thorough than I have ever been planning everything from travel journal smash books, to road trip activities, to our food menu and grocery list, to bags and bags of carefully organized treasure hunts and special things to do at the ranch. I left nothing to chance---well, almost nothing. After planning sufficient activities to supply our vacation days and evenings, I left the exact timing and itinerary of how the days would play out to chance. I knew that as long as I had plenty of "items in the bag" so to speak, we could go with the flow of the days and meander through the days at a slow and steady pace. After all, this is exactly why I wanted to take my family to a 700 acre ranch...to get away from it all, to connect on a deep level, and make lasting memories. And I can honestly say we did just that.

{The first message in a bottle found before we left}

We left at 10:00 am on Monday morning--only one hour behind schedule. Our 5+ hour trip turned into 8 hours with frequent stops (since Maylie was potty trained literally the week before).
We stopped in Boise for "Linner" and then stocked up on groceries at Winco before heading up to Cascade.

As we started the trip, I hung up a green yarn timeline that we added to every hour of the trip with a hand drawn milestone of something we could see. And all during the trip I had my "Mary Poppins" bag well stocked with new activities for the children to do to prevent the fighting and crying we usually experience on road trips.

After all was said and done and we finally pulled into the ranch, I realized we had not even had to pull out my backup plan--a portable DVD player--borrowed from my parents. It was a miracle!

Pulling into the Ranch took my breath away. It was magnificent and even better than I had dreamed.

The sweet hosts had left us a snack basket, banana bread, and fresh fruit, along with a map of the property, and a description of all the trails around their acreage.

 I spent the remainder of the evening taking a tour of the Ranch house and settling in...

 I was in love with this little desk!

 The kitchen was beautiful (it even had granite countertops!)

 The view of the Ranch from one of the picture windows.

 The boys quickly got comfortable building all sorts of creative things with the blocks that the hostess lent us.

Each bedroom had it's own sink. See those pink flowers there? They were real. There were others in nearly every room. It was the little personal touches like this that made our stay so homey.

As I sat looking out over the Ranch on that first evening, I was in awe. All these creations of Heavenly Father right before my eyes and little me right in the middle of them. I felt so small and yet so connected to heaven. So blessed to be standing on the threshold of a never-to-be-forgotten vacation, and so eager for the days that lay ahead.

Welcome Conference!

This weekend is one of my top two favorites of the whole year...General Conference Weekend!!!!

A few days ago I put together little Conference Kits for my Beehives and the ladies I visit teach. They turned out adorable! And we made a road trip that night out of delivering these kits to 16 houses!

I hope my sweet Beehives will love Conference this year and "Make the Most" out of every talk!

To find the link for this darling idea, visit this site.

General Conference starts in 45 minutes--I'm so excited!! I've been looking forward for so long.

Here are the cute little activities I picked up for my sweeties the other day. (There's an activity for each session of conference and then cute little notebooks for them to record the questions they have and the answers they receive through words and pictures.)

My sweet little darlings writing down their questions...

Welcome Conference!!!!!

Today.

Nana and Papa came on their way down South. They brought us a whole huge box of books...all mine from when I was little. They also brought huge pixie sticks for the sweeties (which soon turned into fencing instruments) and lots of little candy legos...

We talked and laughed. It was so nice to see them. With all of us being sick off and on for the last 3 months, we haven't been able to get together at all (minus the girls' princess trip we had a few weeks back).

They walked around our home and admired all the decorating projects I've been up to. We scanned the basement and talked over possible plans for finishing it. Then we gazed out over the backyard at all the rocks we've lined for flower beds. We talked about the summer plans for our yard and about how this perfect little home and this soon-to-be-perfect yard is my children's whole universe. And the hills surrounding us--though not as picturesque as wheat fields and cornfields, are perfect for long walks and exploring. And with the coming of our fence in just a few weeks, and our grass in just a few weeks after that, it will be such a perfect world for my little children.

And so I've set aside this home-on-a-farm dream that I've held so long. Maybe I'll pick it up again when the nest is empty and Patrick and I are ready for a new adventure. Or maybe not. Maybe this home will weave itself so tightly into my heart that I won't be able to let it go...not for all the cornfields in the country. Time will only tell.

But regardless of where we will live in 25 years, whether it is here, or a new home, or an existing home remodeled in the country, my home will be the perfect place to invite family and friends and new mothers and little grandchildren to come take a few days and relax. It will be a place of retreat for any who need to chat, rest, and rejuvenate. This will be my purpose then. And I'm so extremely grateful that the Lord gave me this vision last night of the next season of my life. Because it made me realize that not all of my dreams have to come true right now. When I'm 50, I'll enter another glorious stage with nearly half of my life still ahead of me. And if it is right to take my farmhouse dream off the shelf, then I will. And if not, I won't. I will know then. But either way, my purpose of offering a safe haven of love to my family will be the same.

And as for this season....it's supremely GLORIOUS! I was given a vision of that last night as well. This perfect little Sun Haven Cottage is to become--today--an MTC for my children....a Missionary Training Center and a Motherhood Training Center. And my purpose continues to be to nurture my little ones in love and righteousness...to help them discover their testimonies, teach them the truths of the gospel and practical life skills; to help them discover and refine their talents; to play with them in childlike wonder; to bring a love of music into their hearts; to bind us together through meaningful, simple family traditions; and to bring us Home together--back to the presence of our Father.

But I've rambled off on a tangent....

Back to Nana and Papa...

When it was time for them to go, we walked outside to say goodbye. But then we heard the ice cream truck's melody, and so Papa gave us $5 and we ran down the sidewalk in our bare feet to buy some ice cream. The boys have long been wanting to do this but we always seem to miss it when it comes around!

And as we walked back to our home in the warm April sunshine, I smiled to myself with all the happiness that's deep inside of me...This small-town life of mine, it's mine...and it's oh so good.

Scratch that, it's oh so perfect--perfectly perfect in every way.

And I wouldn't change a single thing.