Temple...

A few days ago Trav and I went to the temple and it was great to go again. It had been a few months and it was so nice to sit and feel at peace. Peace is hard to find as a Mom and so I;ve tried making a greater effort to find it. I was also praying for a change in my attitude toward service in general. I've always enjoyed helping people, I've always strived to ease people's burdens, but I noticed myself getting irritated, tired and and frustrated with yet another service oppertunity! I didn't like what I was feeling and I know more than anything it stemmed from just being really worn out. I went to my Heavenly Father about a kazillion times and asked for him to help change my heart and to give me the strength to help when I was needed. Hopefully we'll get there!

Trying...

A few days ago I watched the tiny video clip from "Time out for Women" and in it they challenged us to learn something new this month. I honestly thought- yeah right, there is no time for that! But then I really asked Heavenly Father to help me find something. I came up with cooking. I hate to cook but love to eat. It drives me crazy, I don't enjoy it, I get stuck in the same rut with the same meals and I feel like a failure when Trav comes home from a long day and it's grilled cheese or speghetti! I knew I needed to step up my game plan- and I have! Nothing out of the field- but I've been trying new recieps and baking! I've cooked a pot roast with potatoes, carrots and gravy. I tried a new enchalada reciepe which was yummy, I defrosted chicken in time to actually have it ready for dinner- that was huge! I tried a new dessert (brownie, pudding & cool whip), made banana bread/muffins and there was another one I can't remember. Like I said, nothing amazing, but at least I have been looking at new things and actually planning. Olive Garden's Zuppa Tocana soup is on the list, which we love too! I'm seeing a little pattern though- cheese, bacon, butter, mayo, cream cheese & mexican- it just calls my name!!

Random...

The garden...

Well, this year I really tried,and things really grew- but a few of our vegtables never produced anything! I was bummed about my beautiful tomato plants, my peppers, the cucumbers and my brocoli. We did get some beans, which Willow is holding, some pumpkins, carrots and a strawberry from our transplanted plants. Luckily, the rabbits are munching away on what is left!

Carnival...

A local church had a carnival on Saturday so DeArley and I took the kiddos over to have some fun! (Trav had church stuff to do) They had a blast and this year they included a horse ride! The girls were in Heaven! Daisy had JUST asked to ride a horse a day or two before, so they timing was PERFECT! Everyone had a fun time, and the best part? Everything was free to the community, how sweet! Games, treats,food, 3 different bouncy houses, craft projects, horse ride, face painting- it was great!

Part 2- Seattle!

We left Seaside around 5:30PM and got to G-ma's house safe & sound! We were exhausted and ready to get out of the car. We had a good night's sleep and then woke up and: ate waffles, played the marble game, went over to G-ma's house, hit a yard sale, played some more and had fun! The next few days were filled with yummy food, a family gathering, yard saling, 2 sleep overs with the cousin's, relaxing, more yummy food, baking, going to the park, a breakfast with my step sister and Mama, watching a few episodes of Hoarders with Mom, visiting with G-ma & G-pa before they got sick, a football game, a series of Bingo & dime toss games and visiting with family (and seeing my sweet Erin!) It was a wonderful few days and I always wish it could be longer.Thank you Mom for spoiling us, thank you Brent for taking Trav to the game, thank you Jake & April for taking the kiddos overnight to play with their cousins and thanks Erin for making the drive out to Mom's new place to see us! We love you guys and had a great trip. After 1300 miles though, we are tired and now getting back into normal life: 4:00 AM alarm clocks and laundry!

Our trip - Part 1- Seaside!

The second after we heard the Huskies were planning on playing BSU, our trip home was in the works. My step dad, Brent gets season tickets every year and he told Trav he was invited! At one point Trav mentioned flying to Seattle by himself upon where laughter and mean smirks were displayed. "Yeah right, babe!" Was probably my remark. "You're not going to visit my family and leave me home with the kids!" So we started planning a few days at the coast, a visit to see my step G-ma and a visit home to see my family. So, I started saving: I had 2 yard sales, sold items on Craigslist, the kids earned close to 100.00 in odd jobs from friends & people at church, and I had several cleaning jobs! Thank you Lord for oppertunites to earn extra $!! We stopped in Portland first to see G-ma Arthur who recently moved and who we had not seen since my G-pa passed away 3 years ago. Her health has been declining and I knew it was important to visit with her while she was still well enough to remember us. We took lots of pictures, hugged, talked and saw her new place. It was a wonderful visit! After the kids reached their max, we gave hugs goodbye and hopped back in the van for 2 more hours of driving to Seaside. We made it there safe and just in time for some light rain. We put our bags away and went skipping off to enjoy the water before the sun went down. It was actually quite warm, so we played in the water, took pictures and videos and went back to our hotel soaking wet and covered in sand. The kids went swimming with Papa while I stayed in the room coming down with what I thought was Mastitus again. I was almost in tears as I started looking up clinics to get antibiotics. We had waited so long for our trip and I was getting another infection and I has so sad and in pain. I prayed my guts out and just asked that I wouldn't get too sick while we were at the coast since we had cut our stay short anyway. Trav brought the kids back from the pool and then ran off to the store to grab a head of cabbage for me. It was my first time using it and all I have to say is it didn't turn into anything!( Hopefully it was just a clogged duct) I would have bet my entire life on it- as I've been plauged with Mastitus 100 times. I was elated either way and super grateful!!! We played at the coast as much as we could because it POURED like CRAZY for most of the trip. We had fun anyway and just knew we would get wet! We had a great time!!!