Seminary

In case anyone was wondering, I had my first day of Seminary today and it went swimmingly. The kids were great. Everyone showed up, payed attention (i.e., stayed awake), made comments and even volunteered for prayers! I didn't have to call on anyone. I think we're off to a good start. Only 36 more weeks to go!

Where does the time go?

I've been thinking today how fast time flies with kids and it is almost sad to me. I realize my kids are still young but I wonder that if this relatively short time period has gone by so quickly, how am I going to feel when they are teenagers or adults and 15-20 years have passed? I look at them today and think how quickly they have grown up and how much they have changed since they were born. When I look back at pictures from a few years ago, they are just so little and young! And then the thought hit me that 5 or 10 years from now I will look back on pictures from today with the same thought. I will look at these pictures and memories with the same heart tug that I look at their baby pictures now. They are ever changing. I know they can't stay little forever and that the whole point of life is to grow but some days I just wish I could freeze time and have my babies be babies forever. Maybe it's their innocence or their oblivion to the ways of the world but sometimes I just want to keep them in my little cocoon forever. I remember my mom telling me that every stage of our childhood was her favorite. She would observe us at one stage and think "It doesn't get any better than this!" and then a year later, she would have the same thought about that stage. With each progression she found herself enjoying the moment even more and not seeing how it could get any better but it always did. And then I had a friend call me in a frenzy one day because the realization hit her like a ton of bricks that her 5 month old would never be five months old again. It would never be a moment she could have again with that child. We both lamented that watching your kids grow, no matter how young or old, is bittersweet. Nature must inevitably take it's course. Can you tell I'm a little nostalgic at the moment? I've had some good, quality time with my kids the past couple of days and it tugs at my heart a little to know that someday, these moments will be a thing of the past. So the lesson I've learned from all this is to cherish and enjoy the time that I have with them. They won't be little forever and before I know it, I'll be looking at photos of today thinking "where did the time go?"

The Dreaded Call

So if my posts become even more few and far between, I'll tell you why right now: last week I was called to be the seminary teacher for our branch. Let me rephrase that--the Early Morning Seminary teacher. I know, right--do they know me at all? I am so underqualified and really not prepared to function that early in the morning. But after going through the 7 stages of grieving already, I've reached acceptance and I'm ready to jump in feet first and see how it goes. And if all else fails, it may be time to get pregnant with baby #3 sooner rather than later...

I'm Baa-aack!

I only got a few of my pictures to move where I wanted them and then my blog decided to wig out again and not let me move anything. I've spent too much time messing with it already so I am just leaving it how it is with everything mashed up and out of order!
I'll tell you what we did this summer so that some of these pictures aren't so random. Jon and Kat were fortunate enough to go on a no kid vacation for a week in June and we were fortunate enough to be able to watch their kids, Sevy and Teik, while they were gone. After that, we headed up to Idaho to visit Brent's family. There were 17 people at Ami's house and it was the most chaotic, fun time. We loved having that time with them and are so thankful to Ami and Quinn for putting up with all of us running around their house! After that, my niece, Koda, flew home with us to spend some time in Texas and then Grandma, Grandpa, and Bryer flew in from Seattle to finish out the summer with us. We've had a busy but fun summer and I'm so glad we got to see everyone.


Koda, Avery and Drew

Brent took the Big Texan Challenge to eat the 72 ounce steak meal in under an hour. This is how much he was able to finish. I was pretty impressed.

Outside the Big Texan. Cody, Bryer, Drew, Koda, Grandma, and Avery.

Brent is about to start the meal. You have to eat the entire 72 ounces of steak, plus 3 shrimp cocktails, a salad, a roll, and a baked potato. Brent gave it his best and didn't quite finish but I assure you, he paid for his efforts later. I don't think he'll be trying that ever again!

Koda at the Cadillac Ranch.

Koda, Avery and Drew at Jump-N-Jive.

Bryer at Jump-N-Jive.

Avery at Jump-N-Jive.

Koda at Chuck E. Cheese with her proof of winning over a thousand tickets.

Avery really liked having Grandpa here.

We went to see the outdoor musical "Texas." Brent was so excited to be there. (That's Brent's brother, Cody next to me.)

Avery and me at Cheer Texas.

Of course, my kid is the one eating the sand at the Sand Dunes.

I climbed to the top of the sand dunes and I thought I was going to die--I'm so out of shape. Here's proof that I actually made it.

I even climbed up again with Avery on my shoulders. Again, I'm just proud I did it because I thought my lungs were going to explode--seriously out of shape here, folks.

Ami got her car stuck in the sand. Luckily this yellow jeep was able to pull her car out.

The stuck car.

The warning not to drive where Ami drove.

Drew at the top of the sand dunes.

Grandma and Grandpa at the sand dunes.

All the kids climbing to the top.

Reece, Koda, Quincy, Bryer, and Drew at the Boise Zoo.

Bryer and Quincy in the fort in Ami's living room.

Avery and Trey.

Avery's 2nd Birthday party. The kids enjoyed helping her open her gifts.

Avery showing you she is 2.

4th of July

One of the painting crafts we did while Koda was here.

Avery at the water park
Quincy at the Zoo

Bryer, Reece, Quincy, Koda, Drew and Avery at the Zoo.

Teik--Don't you just want to eat him?! He's so squishy and lovable!This picture pretty much sums up Avery compared to the rest of the world.

Sevy

Drew had swim lessons for the first time this summer. He passed but just barely!

The kids had so much fun together and we were glad to have the time with Teik and Sevy.

I was able to visit a good friend of mine in Utah from college. I always say she was my roommate but looking back I realized we never lived together. It just seemed like it because we were together so much! Traci has the cutest little boy now and I'm glad we've been able to keep in touch all these years because she is a wonderful person and a great friend.

Grandma bought water goggles for all the kids. Drew made sure to pick out matching pairs for him and Avery.

Trey and his water goggles. Drew at the water park.

Whew! OK, that's it. Sorry it was so unorganized and random but that's our summer in a nutshell (yes, that is the condensed version!). We had a blast!

Technical difficulty

I have a long post with tons of pictures waiting to publish but my blog won't let me arrange my pictures for some reason. It's driving me crazy but as soon as I figure it out, I will post an updated blog. Stay tuned..... (I know you are all just on the edge of your seat.)