Fishing for Stars and other Redeaming Moments of Fall Break.

I'm tired of being sick. REALLY REALLY TIRED of having my children sick. This stinks-ALOT. This is even stinkier than the skunk smell that persists to cling to El Guapo. Ohhhh-I havn't blogged about the beginnings of our stinky week yet have I? Well here goes Part I of the stinkiest week EVER!

The week actually started off quite nicely with a trip to Madera Canyon and a birthday dinner to celebrate my mom's 51st birthday. I had fun photographing my parents and the family.

Sunday was nice.

Monday we went to the Desert Museum with Sean and Amy and Tanya. We had a very nice time.

Monday night we headed out to Picacho Peak to begin our staycation desert camping adventure. I'll pause here for a moment to explain why on earth we would do such a thing.

1. Didn't get passports-couldn't go to Mexico. (didn't get passports because I had a moment of resentment towards Mexican government and didn't want to support tourism). Well I'm pretty sure I'm the only one punished...

2. Thought Mount Lemon would be to cold and I hate being cold unless there is snow. (I also hate being hot couped up in a camper in the middle of the desert...)

3. We are planning fun December trips and we need to not spend $$ right now. (Ended up spending $$ eating out every night because we couldn't have a campfire and the grill/picnic table was taken over by a gazillion ants and I didn't want to cook dinner on our little indoor camper stove. )

but let me digress.

So we arrived in Picacho to find that the campground literally overlooked the freeway. No thanks so we drove home. While the kids were wailing with disappointed grief we hit a skunk.

Fast forward to the next day-Camping Trip Round Two.

We arrive in Catalina State Park-I'm trying not to pout and murmur about the fact that there is a Walmart, DSW and Red Lobster right across the street. This is not camping!!! We pay the fee drive by a sign with bold print stating no campfires allowed. This is where I slump in my seat stomp my feet and throw a tantrum. Yep! If you ever see my kids do this please don't think less of them-they learned it from me.

Hannah and Noah exchange looks and begin to plead with me as Jared asks sincerely what I want to do. I look back at their forlorn pleading eyes, clasped hands and realize I alone carry the key to their Fall Break happiness. How can I say let's go home with those big blue eyes welling up with tears. We'll have a great time studying the stars together, taking hikes at the break of dawn. This can be the best camping trip ever! Who needs a camp fire anyway. Way over rated. OKAY! Let's go hang out in the desert! Well -in a parking lot in the desert! Come What May and LOVE IT! Right?

Right.....

We pull in unpack and then realize our parking spot has already been spoken for by a gazillion ants. I'm not exaggerating. I look at other parking spots and yep there are ants everywhere. Must be Fall harvest time. We are all starving so I climb on top of the picnic table and begin preparing lunch. Bailey apparently has already gotten bitten and is tending to his wounded paw.

The kids and I eat lunch and study the ants(which are very fascinating to watch by the way)while Jared finishes preparing our camper. "See", I think, "what other time would have been afforded to me to sit a top a table made island with my children in a sea of ants in the middle of the desert. This is Wild America and we are studying the intricate lives of the Desert Army Ant. How cool is that!"

After lunch and a few board games christened by our growing agitation and drops of sweat, we decide to head out to Red Lobster for an early dinner. I'm pretty much glancing Jareds way and whispering "this is stupid, really stupid"any chance I get. His reassuring smile and perseverance to salvage our camping trip softens my heart and I make a silent promise to change my attitude.

We return to find the late afternoon nice and cool and the setting sun putting on a beautiful display of color. The kids grab their bikes and we head to the ruins. The kids had a great time riding and exploring and Jared and I enjoyed our talk time and taking pictures of the sunset.

We awake the next morning and hiked a portion of the Romero Pools trail. Bradeigh felt warm to me, and was a little fussy the night before. We could only hike a mile or so in with Bailey so we turned back. We returned to the heat, the ants, and my bad attitude then went to Walmart, a Camera shop and returned to the parking spot for lunch and more board games. Jared spent an hour setting up our nice awning and screen only to have it blown and broken an hour later. But still he was smiling. If he can smile I can smile. :) We played Monopoly with the kids until it was time to prepare dinner. That's when we discovered the ants had made there way into our cooler and ruined the rest of our food. GREAT!!!!Off to Chili's for dinner. At this point Bradeigh and Hannah are feverish and I feel like crud as well. We run into the Pauly's at Chili's who under normal circumstances I would have loved to seen. We finish dinner and I tell Jared I want to take the girls and I home for the night. He looked so disappointed. We were supposed to take long exposure pictures of the night sky together tonight. Well, I think, we can be sick at home or here-no matter we still are sick. Okay. We put the kids to bed and go fishing for stars. We sat under the star blanked sky next to the tripod and camera and began fishing. We took about five 15-30 minute exposures of the sky and had so much fun just hanging out together. I'm glad I didn't go home. That night was a restless one and when morning arrived we were happy it finally time to go home. We began loading up, then Hannah threw up. It's so awful when she throws up because she feels so remorseful about it. Apologizing the entire way to the bathrooms. No amount of consoling convinces her her she had no control over it and it's okay. Poor thing. What a way to end our lovely camping trip...

Well we have been home for a few days-and so grateful o be home despite still dealing with being sick. Fevers on and off-luckily no more vomiting. I hope Noah and Jared don't get it. Jared thinks they already had it a couple weeks ago. I'm tired, and just want us all to feel normal again. Being tired has made me grumpy -I hate being grumpy.

Blessings and Faith

I received a phone call last week about my cousins baby, Baby Dave. Their pediatrician told them he was most likely blind. Our family went to visit them that evening. I held the baby in my arms and looked into his eyes. He wasn't tracking or engaging, and I could understand why the doctor had said what she said. Jared checked his eyes and they seemed to dilate just as they should. Jared gave the baby a blessing. Moments later while my aunt was holding the baby I kneeled beside them with Bradeigh. Baby Dave looked at her then turned and looked at my aunt and smiled, then did it again. I got up and embraced Mike and Tanya trying not to cry and told them he was going to be fine.

Then I felt like an idiot.

Then I felt like an idiot for feeling like an idiot....

Then I didn't know how to feel.

While I knew what I witnessed, and I felt the spirit so strong, I couldn't help but feel like I should not have jumped up and embraced those two young parents and told them their baby was going to be okay. How could I be sure?

I thought back to the other blessings Jared had given-specifically to our daughter Hannah. Once when she was in the hospital after a bad fall and the MRI showed a brain bleed. After Jared gave her a blessing she began to progress. Another time that comes to mind is when she was a baby and so sick. She had been throwing up and coughing-Jared and I were about to take her to the hospital and he gave her a blessing in the car. Instantly her demeanor changed and she was fine. We got out of the car and took her back inside.

I know Jared holds the priesthood, and I know that priesthood is real-a gift from the Lord restored to the earth. I have witnessed these miracles and yet still feel a little crazy talking about them. How can I feel reverence and gratitude for the priesthood and these miracles and still feel self conscious declaring them.

On the way home Jared and I shared a few tears over the events that had taken place that evening. I shared with him my thoughts and I told him he was a gift-an amazing gift not just to me but to my entire family.

I have a testimony of the Holy Spirit and the blessings that come from following his promptings. I have a testimony of the Priesthood and am so grateful my husband honors it and is worthy to hold it.

I hope someday to have the confidence and faith to shout it from roof tops, and share it with anyone who will listen.

We went out to Sanctuary Cove and took some pics. I have a vision for a family portrait that I just can't seem to materialize. I also wish I was better at photoshop then I could reposition my self post production. Oh well. :) Funny thing about pictures-they can be so honest.

Note to self...highlights and a hair cut really can't be put off any longer.

Hannah's Nine! She's a little older and I'm a little wiser.

My sweet Hannah! I love my girl. I'm proud of the young lady she is. I wanted to blog about all the uniquely wonderful things my daughter is-but have had such a silly day that has brought much wisdom my way, and have decided to share that tonight. I will say we had a great time on Thursday having family over to help celebrate Hannah's birthday. Hannah loves her family-her aunts and uncles, grand parents and cousins. We are blessed to have so many wonderful family members. Both my side of the family and Jareds shows us so much love. I hope they all feel how much we love and appreciate them.

Today-we had an interesting day-it began great with conference. We watched the morning session together. Afterward Hannah's two BFF's arrived and we left for a special birthday lunch at the Chantilly Tea Room. First bit of wisdom learned- What I thought would be a lady like lunch and a memorable occasion turned into an expensive uneaten lunch(except for Hannah's)and an unhappy baby to boot.(Though Bradeigh seemed to enjoy the davenshire cream I offered her in hopes of quieting her down-lets hope she doesn't develop a dairy allergy...) I kept thinking the whole time that I could have thrown a better "tea party" luncheon and used our pretty china at a fraction of the cost-and would have been better prepared for finicky eaters. Lesson learned. Oh well. The girls did have fun.

Then off to the play-Ramona Quimbly...Started out well-then all of a sudden the Dad loses his job starts smoking again, the mom "unshackles" herself from the stove and gets a job while the aunt has a shot gun wedding and the narrator asks if it's fair that some people have money while others do not. Really....Really!!!!!! Did I mention they all go out to eat at Whopperland because they needed a "break" and were sick of eating tongue. Second bit of wisdom-* Note to self -make sure you know what the play will be like before subjecting impressionable minds to it...

We dropped the girls off, and came home in time to see the boys off to priesthood session. Hannah and I curled up with Bradeigh on the bed and watched the afternoon session of conference that we missed. This was my favorite part of the day. I loved the talks so much and felt so uplifted. Which brings me to my third bit of wisdom-don't plan any other activities on conference weekend. They will be a waste of time and money.

The boys returned home and we all had a great time discussing conference. I love my family so much. I love the gospel. I am grateful the Lord has given us a prophet, I am grateful for the restored gospel. I am grateful for the lessons learned despite wishing I hadn't needed to learn them in the first place.

Revisiting The Angst...

So we have had a many movie nights, since Jared got his projector, and lap top. We have a great wall in our room that is perfect for projecting. We joined Netflixx which now has an instant download option. One night Jared was browsing movies and TV shows to download and he came upon the movie Say Anything-and said he had never seen it before. WHAT! WHAT! How could he have not seen Say Anything. Only THE best teenage angsty movie ever. What with lines like "don't be a guy...be a man." or something like that. :) It has a really great soundtrack-this is one of the songs I used to really like. Boy is it angsty-but I still love that guitar. Glad I'm not a teenager anymore.

What I have been up to...

It's frustrating when I get behind on my journal/blog writing. Facebook is partly to blame for this. Hmmm FACEBOOK. I was a hater...but...it has been interesting and even a little fun. Weird revisiting characters from my past and in some strange cyber dimension having them co-exist in my present.

Currently I am planning Hannah's 9th birthday-I'm taking she and two friends to the Chantily Tea room then to see a play at PCC "Romona Quimbly" more to come next week.:)

I am training for a 5k or half marathon-(I'm thinking 5k) that is in CA in January. Part of my training is running three days a week and walking Sabino Canyon two days. Sabino Canyon is my reward for getting up super early and running. I'm really looking forward to CA. I miss Malea and her family and am ready for some "culture". Plans include The Getty, The Grove and Griffith Park. WOW all G's.

I just finished preparing sharing time for tomorrow. I really like teaching, and Bradeigh has been a great sport in Primary.

Everyone except me,(not sick) has just gotten over a bad cold that plagued our family for the last two weeks.

I have a domestic goddess for a daughter. She is eight and can sew and bake. I am eating her latest creation as I type this. Peanut butter cookies, with melted chocolate over the top and sprinkled with powdered sugar. YUM! They are Delish(as Noah puts it). I opened the stove for her put the cookies in and took them out. That's it. She had a peanut butter cookie recipe she followed then came up with the rest on her own. Oh-I also helped her microwave the choc. chips-burnt chocolate is no good. While I'm bragging I would like to add that she get's straight A's in school and plays the piano beautifully.

Which brings me to my next what I have been up to turn brag report blog post. I just had school conferences and Noah is at a 6th grade reading level and excels at everything but handwriting,(which bothers me more than the teacher apparently..."next year they move to cursive then after that they type everything." He is becoming a great guitarist and can make Bradeigh laugh like no other. Video of this to come.

We have been camping and are planning more camping in the next two weeks. We love our little pop up camper and getting back to one of our loves-spending time together outdoors.

I've been taking lots of pictures. I turned a couple jobs down in September. I'm learning that it's better to do that than resent a hobby that I really enjoy. October is already filled with shoots-the pre holiday rush. I'm looking forward to these. Lot's of Madera Canyon shoots. :) I picked the dates and offered the time available. I think I like this approach better than random scheduling whenever time allows.

Bradeigh is adorable as ever-she happily accompanies me everywhere, only asks to be home by 7:00pm. Loves cuddling, scooting, rolling, rocking on her hands and knees. She laughs primarily at Noah and yells out for him to entertain her. It's hilarious.

I have to say I love this stage in life. So much to stand amazed at.

4 months already!!!!!

Well Miss Bradeigh is just full of personality-especially in the morning. She rolls herself all over the place, gives us an occasional giggle-(but really makes us work for it :)) She is happy as can be unless she's in her car seat after 7:00 pm. That is her getting ready for bed time-which is great if we are home but no so great if we are still out and about... As cliche as it is to say-I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW FAST SHE IS GROWING. I have to admit I postponed tummy time as long as possible-but it didn't matter she learned to roll and scoot despite my efforts in stunting her progress. I remember when Hannah and Noah were babies-I'd hear women talking about trying to sabotage their babies progress-pushing them down when they began to walk. I thought they were crazy- first of all why would you try and sabotage your baby's development-second of all it's so exciting to watch them learn and grow-not to mention personally gratifying. Well now I find myself pulling Bradeigh up to a sitting position watching her balance exclaiming "good job baby" only to push her over and think, wait not yet. All I can is that I'm so so grateful I get to stay home and not miss a minute.