Christmas Tree Adventures

We embarked on another Christmas tree hunt yesterday. I love this tradition. There's always something to laugh about. This year the good times were my fault. There's no snow at our house, so I didn't really think there would be much snow when we got our tree. Silly me. When will I learn? You'd think it was our first year living in this winter wonderland. Anyway, not only did I not take snow pants, etc. I didn't grab mittens for the kids. Yes, I'm awesome. We really didn't have to walk far to get our tree. But we were in snow, pretty deep snow at that. It took one fall for Sage and she was crying so hard I had to take her back to the truck. So, in keeping with tradition, Jake and Zack continued in the quest to find the perfect Christmas tree. They definitely found it. After a year of being made fun of for his tree last year, Jake got the biggest tree he could find. He was so proud of himself. He even used a regular saw, not his chainsaw, truly sticking it to the man. I have to admit, they did well this year. Good times. This is what tradition is all about...stories to tell over and over every year:)

Pictures

I hate to leave that last post there forever. So here are some random halloween photos. I didn't want to give anyone a heart attack by taking really good pictures, so here you go. Good thing my kids are so cute... Obviously Sage was loving the candy. Jake said she tried to take whole bowls of candy rather than just one or two pieces. How embarrassing.

Believe

My heart has been aching lately. I'm not sure why. You'd think its been enough years since Linz and Mom have been gone that it wouldn't hurt so much. There are definitely times where the hurt is less. I'll think "yes, this is finally getting better." But then an unexpected knife goes through my heart and the wound opens wide all over again.

I wish I'd realized how good I had it B.E. (Before Everything). I had no idea. I thought I understood loss and heartache. I had no idea. In my heart of hearts I know that I've learned much I would have never learned otherwise. I'm grateful for this, really I am. But some days I just want to shake my fist at the heavens. Why does God think I can handle this? Why did we have to lose both of them? Why can't it just be like it was before? I would give just about anything to walk into my parents' house and see my mom standing behind the counter, excited to see me. I would love to see my kids play with Linz. These are not big things I want. They're simple really.

So I'm here, A.E. (After Everything) trying to figure things out. It seems that just when I feel I'm making progress I take a step backwords. So I'm going to rally. I must pick myself up, gather my faith, and take a step forward. This is me rallying:

I'm grateful. I'm grateful for compassion. I'm grateful that I know how to cry with someone else in their heartaches and understand a little of what they feel. I'm grateful for perspective, an eternal perspective really. I'm grateful to be a part of a church that teaches that eternal perspective. I'm grateful for family. So grateful for family. Jake and my kids keep me going every day. I'm grateful for how close my siblings and I have gotten through all of this. I'm grateful to now be related to 60 people who I wouldn't even know if Jake and I hadn't lost parents. Most of all I'm grateful for my Savior, who loves me and cries with me. Even though I don't understand, I can still believe. So, to end this uplifting post (sorry, sometimes I have to let it out) here's a scripture that's been helping me a lot lately. Its in the Book of Mormon.
Mosiah 4:9
"Believe in God. Believe that he is and that he created all things both in heaven and in earth. Believe that he has all wisdom and all power, both in heaven and in earth. Believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend."

Fall!!!

I love fall. I love the crisp feel in the air. I love sitting in front of a fire. I love watching football. And I especially love the beautiful fall colors. It doesn't get better than living in Midway in the fall. The leaves are amazing just from our front yard. Then we take a quick drive to the mountains and it's so beautiful I can hardly stand it. Why more people don't live in Midway is beyond me. I hope we live her for forever. These pics are from a Sunday drive a couple of weeks ago. You should all come visit in the fall. Love it!

Just For Fun

This is what Sage does when I'm not paying close enough attention. She's crazy.

Camping!

My posts are so amazing. For all two of you who look at this blog, I'm sure you get great enjoyment. I have way too much going on to figure out how to make these look good. Oh well...

Anyway, we got away for a night of camping. It was so good to get away and spend some good quality time with the kids. We all needed it. We camped at a place just outside of Hanna (an hour from our house). It was beautiful. Its now one of my favorite places we've camped. We'll definitely go back there. The kids loved it. We played in the river, hiked, and played all kinds of games. So much fun and so good to get away.

Birthdays!

We made it through our birthday month. Somehow we outdid ourselves and got less pictures than normal. We're so good. I chalk it up to a couple of highly stressful weeks.

Zack turned 7, Kate turned 5, and Sage turned 2 all in one month. Let's not forget Jake's birthday in the middle of all that. I attempted a Jolly Roger cake for Zack. Not one of my better attempts. Kate wanted a Candy Land cake like her cousin Megan. It was a hit. I was caked out by Sage's birthday, so she got a cupcake from the bakery. Poor youngest child. I can't believe how old they're all getting. Craziness. They're the best kids ever. Now they just have to put up with their mom:)

The O.C.

We finally made it to the Oregon Coast! It was so much fun! My kids got to see the ocean for their first time and loved it. My siblings and I were all together on vacation for the first time in like 15 years. It was great times. We ate lots of icecream at the Tilamook Creamery, played on the beach for hours and hours, had lots of pirate adventures, and all kinds of other fun. The kids explored all day with their cousins in the campground. They were endlessly entertained and super happy. Every night they would collapse exhausted to bed. Perfect. I caught my first wave on a boogie board, and all was well. We even survived the drive. There were so many cute pics that I couldn't choose, so hopefully I can get the slide show to work. Enjoy!

Festival Days!

We love Farmington Festival Days. So much fun every year. Unfortunately this year I have no pics. Why? Because our camera lens is broken. Not to worry though, a new one is on the way. So I might just have to copy a couple of pics from my sister.

Every year at least a couple of us run in one of the races. This year Toby and I did a new race to Flag Rock. And oh what a race it was. A 10K (actually it was 7.5 miles not 6) straight up the mountain. The route actually took us up the hill my dad lives on. That's right, I ran all the way up that hill. Feel free to be impressed. It didn't end there though. Once we got on the mountain we ran (walked) up switchbacks that were pretty much straight up. I thought I was going to die. Running down was super fun though. We were still running on switchbacks though and a couple times I almost ran off the trail because I couldn't slow down enough to turn. You might wonder why I'm telling you about this race. Well, it's because I got first place. Well, really second place technically. But the girl who got first place took a short cut. So I like to think that I got first place. Not just first place in my age group, but first place for all the girls. That's right. I've gotten second place, third place, and everything else before. But never first. Toby (my brother-in-law) took first place overall. That's right, the Spjutes rocked the house! By the way, when we plotted the route on our GPS it said there was 2000 feet of elevation gain. That's right folks, 2000 feet up in 3 miles. And it was a lot of fun I might add. I'm really loving trail running. Love it!

Anyway, back to the parade. I'm sure you're sick of the race by now. The kids loved the parade as usual. Sage was a little timid with the candy at the beginning. By the end she was grabbing huge amounts of candy. It was all I could do to keep her from shoving them all in her mouth. She's pretty much our bottomless pit. Apparently she ate like 6 hot dogs Friday night. I apologize to Kathy for that diaper:)

After the parade we had my dad's famous breakfast casseroles. So good. Then we decided to hike to the mine with the older kids. For some reason we decided to do this in the middle of a super hot summer day. I thought I was going to die. I was impressed with the kids. They did awesome. Then we topped the night off with a BBQ, fun in the rain, and a birthday celebration for Jake and Zack. It doesn't get better than festival days. Well, maybe next week it will when we're on the Oregon Coast:)

I'm Back

It's been a while. I guess I've been on a blogging vacation, or something like that. We've been busy finishing school, and playing hard. We go to Seven Peaks once a week, so we can practice jumping over waves for our trip to Oregon. One of the kids' chores is weeding every day. They love it, let me tell you. Just keeping my dad's tradition of child labor through weeding alive.

So, I've finally been organizing all of our pictures so I can put them into books and print them out. I know, will miracles never cease. In doing so, I've realized how much Kate and Sage look alike. Apparently we only make one kind of girl. Poor things have to look like their mom. Anyway, I thought I'd post a picture of Kate and Sage at the same age to see what you think. See if you can tell who is who. Yes, they're wearing the same coat. Got to love hand-me-downs. Good luck, and happy summer fun!

Three Years

Missing you tons Linz. I can't believe its been three years. It feels like forever, and we still have so much longer. I wish my kids knew their Aunt Linz. I wish they could play and have fun with you. I wish I could run another race with you. I wish lots of things and I know some day they'll happen. Sending my love up to Linz today! "It will never be Zion without you!" Or something like that. From the Legacy movie. Linz was always way better at quoting movies than I am:)

Mother's Day

I think Mother's Day will always be bitter sweet. I hope one day it's more sweet than bitter, but right now it feels more bitter than sweet. Jake and the kids do a great job making part of the day sweet. Jake understands that its a hard day for me. I feel bad not just enjoying the day, but it's hard.

I miss my mom. I miss her all the time. I miss her when something great happens and I want to share it with someone. I miss her when something hard happens and I want to cry with someone. Life has been hard lately. A little harder than normal, and boy have I missed Mom. I want to go visit her on Mother's Day, just like everyone else. I want to take flowers to her house, not to the cemetery. I know I'll see her again. I know she knows what's going on in my life and helps me as much as she can from the other side. But I'm selfish and I want her here. So, on this Mother's Day, and this week of my mom's birthday, my heart will be with my mom even more than normal.

To all of those who have been without their mom for a while, I feel for you. Its hard. I can do hard things. I can do hard things. I am so blessed:)

Easter and Stuff

I haven't written for a long time. Life has been crazy busy. I've been working tons to help pay the bills while Jake's business is slow. I'm so grateful for my job and the income it brings. But I have a new respect for working mom's. Its so hard. I miss my kids. Suddenly I'm supposed to work and do everything I usually do, all in a lot less time. Some things have to go, and blogging has definitely been one of those things (not that I was super good at it before).

Anyway, Easter was great. I love celebrating the resurrection. Sometimes it seems as though half of my family is on the other side, waiting for that day. I can't wait. I'm so grateful for a loving Savior who made it all possible.

So we did the usual easter egg hunts, and yummy food. The kids actually looked cute thanks to Tracy. They loved their new Easter clothes. Kate was excited the next week when I told her she could wear her new dress on other days besides just Easter. Poor girl thought she could only wear it once a year:)

Zack had his first grade program. It was so great. He worked hard all year to learn all the songs. He even did a dance with a girl. Too bad he never learned the girl's name:) I was so proud of him. I can't believe I'm about to have a second grader. Crazy! How is that possible when I'm only 26?:)

Hope

Jake and I were able to go to the Carl Bloch exhibit at BYU. Amazing. Definitely an inspired man. My favorite painting was this one entitled 'The Daughter of Jairus'. So beautiful. Its been on my mind ever since I saw it. So I thought I'd share my thoughts. Lucky people:)

The detail in the painting is beautiful. I wish you could see the full size. The mother is weeping over her daughter who just died. This comes, I would imagine, after a long night of struggling and praying. I'm sure at this moment the mother feels grief and despair at having lost her daughter. But then you look to the right corner of the picture and see Hope. The Savior and a disciple walking into the house, the morning sunlight shining behind them. So beautiful.

This is what I think of when I'm having a rough day. When the night seems so dark. When it seems as if morning will never come. Just when you think you can't take it anymore, the Savior is there to lift us. I admit that I lose sight of this often. Its hard to remember when I'm in the middle of it all. Sometimes it seems as if the clouds have gathered above me and the light will never come. But it does. It always does. I like to think that if I have faith, one day, just when I think I can't take it anymore and all is lost, the Savior will arrive. The Light will come. There is always Hope.

Happy Birthday Linz!!

Wish you were here to celebrate!

Winter Fun

Winter is not my favorite time of the year, but doing some winter activities definitely makes it more enjoyable. In fact, I've decided it's necessary to do some kind of winter sport to keep your sanity through our long winters.

Jake and I used our Warren Miller passes to ski at the Canyons on Monday. Tracy was super nice to come watch our kids so we could play. It was so much fun. Pretty much my favorite ski day ever. The snow wasn't awesome, but the sun was shining. For me a sunny ski day is a perfect ski day. Jake and I have both transitioned from snow boarding to skiing. I'm really liking skiing. Two feet facing forward is a good thing I think. I'm a solid blue skier, and totally happy with that. I'm pretty sure I don't care to ever do any blacks. That might change when my kids and husband take off on the blacks and leave me alone. Zack's been taking ski lessons this year and loving it. Best thing we ever did. He's totally in control now and really enjoying it. Love it. Hopefully all of our kids will grow up skiing. How can they not when we live so close to like 5 different ski resorts?

We also took the kids out to the lake to walk on the ice. They thought it was pretty cool. So did I. Very cold though. I don't understand fishing on a beautiful sunny day. Ice fishing I'll never understand.

How many of you can drive 5 minutes and walk on top of a lake? Yet another reason to live in Midway. If you come visit maybe we'll take you out too:)

The Bingham-Spjutes!

Our family keeps growing and growing. Its great. The more the merrier right? My dad got remarried to Kathy Bingham last Saturday. I'm so excited for him to not come home to an empty house with hot dogs for dinner every night. This will be a good thing.

Jake's mom is also remarried. The grand total between Jake and I is: 2 parents, 2 step-parents (they're not evil as portrayed in movies by the way), 9 siblings and siblings-in-law, 20 step-siblings and siblings-in-law, 8 nieces and nephews, and something like 25 step-nieces and nephews. I think that totals like 66 in all. Holy cow. I'm still figuring out names. I'm kind of old so my brain doesn't work like it used to. Our poor kids I think just figure they're related to about everyone. They don't question us when we tell them they're related to someone, they just nod and smile.

Anyway, the wedding was great. They were married for time in the Salt Lake Temple, and the sealer did a great job. Then we did pictures and had some yummy food. It was a good day. Somewhat bitter sweet, but mostly sweet. My dad and Kathy have been in Hawaii for the last week. I'm hoping my dad will like it so much that he'll want to take us all some day. Well, that would have to be after he wins on Minute to Win It (I was going to say the lottery but there is zero chance of that happening...and it made me smile to picture my dad on minute to win it).

Here are some pictures of the grand event. Ok, mostly they're pictures of us waiting for Dad and Kathy. I dropped the ball on getting actual pictures of the happy couple... Maybe I'll steal some from Mel's blog:)

PS At the dinner Kate told me that she thinks our new grandma is really nice. So my kids give her two thumbs up!