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.