My Pie Town Retreat...

A few months ago I was thinking that I just need a little break from normal routine...to be away, meditate and reflect about my life...something that has become so difficult for me to do since becoming a mom. I wanted a place where I knew I would have fun and where I would feel uplifted...a place where I could do some serious introspection. I think we all need that once in a while. That's probably why nuns and monks go into retreats to meditate and do some serious introspection of their lives...and it's probably why in my Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) we have things like Women's Conference, Time Out for Women with Deseret Book, General Conference, Relief Society, etc...I was feeling kind of overwhelmed by the city and the traffic and the super fast paced life-style here in D.C....I thought, where is the remotest place I could go? and who is my one friend who ALWAYS uplifts me? The answers were Pie Town, New Mexico and my best friend Timber. After talking to my husband, he encouraged me go for it! He agreed to stay with Brielle and Braden for a whole week!!!!! I called Timber and she loved the idea! So, I looked for tickets and found one so incredibly cheap that I just closed my eyes and bought it! I think this trip has been definitely life-changing for me. I needed it so much. I LOVED every second of it AND I had so MUCH fun! I missed my two kids and my husband terribly and I knew they all would have LOVED Pie Town, Timber and her family. (I found it interesting that I wanted this time away but at the same time I wished I could have shared it ALL with my family!!!) But my goal is to take them to Pie Town someday so that they can enjoy that beautiful part of the United States, the life-style and the McPhaul's!

I got to Albuquerque on Wednesday July 8th right around lunch time and Timber and Ace wanted to treat me to lunch. They took me to this incredible seafood restaurant called Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen. I got this Cornbread Stuffed Salmon...it is the BEST salmon I have EVER had in my life!!!

The drive from Albuquerque to Pie Town is 2 and a half hours...after some technical difficulties...the transmission in their truck broke and it was dragging on the ground! We were right outside of Albuquerque headed to Pie Town...we made it to Pie Town late Wednesday night...little did I know what awaited me the next day...:)

Pie Town is literally in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico...and when I say literally I mean it!There is no cell phone service, no neighbors for quite a few miles, no internet, no traffic, and lots of open spaces! The perfect place to relax and forget about ALL of the ordinary pressures of a big city and society!

(I guess I should give a little background about how Timber and I became friends. We met in college my very first semester at Ricks College. I was a freshman starting off during the summer term and Timber was a senior in high school taking some college credits. She was 17 and I was 18 years old. Timber is one of those people that you just love from the moment you meet her! She went off to finish her senior year and we kept in touch that whole year and decided that we would be roommates again when she came back to start her freshman year. We were roommates for 2 years and we have kept in touch through the years. We had such an FUN time being roommates and our whole apartment was AWESOME! She got married two years before I did and went to England where her husband did a master's program. She called me almost once a month while she was there...I was engaged to Scott then and was having such a terrible time being away doing my student teaching in Utah and being engaged!!! It was horrible! Timber and Ace had a horrible engagement too and she comforted me so much even being miles and miles away!!! We've seen each other almost every 2 years since we were roommates. I am so blessed to have such an awesome friend like Timber! )

Oh! AND she is a cowgirl...

Timber grew up ranching and when she and Ace met they were the PERFECT match...After England they moved to Pie Town, New Mexico where Ace grew up and they manage a HUGE ranch there...Ace's parents live there too and they have their own ranch...they invited me to join them in the branding process...and I LOVED it!!! I was so nervous, I kept telling Timber not to let go of the calf's leg...they are so strong!!! I tackled 3 with help OF COURSE and then my job was to give the calves shots! I LOVED every second!!!

Look at this poor calf's eye!!! She is terrified!!!!!

Timber and Ace's two beautiful children, Denim Bleu and Blazen Trails...and yes, those are their REAL, LEGAL names!!!!

My first time riding a four-wheeler!

On Friday, we headed to Magdalena, NM. A little town, about an hour drive from Pie Town. They have a yearly rodeo there that they participate in. Denim and Blazen are old enough now that they can do some of the events they have for children. It was so fun to watch them!

Ranching life fascinates me for some reason. It is an amazing life-style. The rodeos are such an integral part of their life-style. Since they live in such a small town and everything is so spread out, this becomes their way of socializing.

Ace is such a great guy...I enjoyed his very conservative insights and we had very insightful conversations!

Smurf and Barbie are Blazen and Denim's horses. They are so old and therefore so gentle...I am also fascinated by horses!!! They are such a beautiful, docile animal!

Watching the events from the bleachers...the barrel racing and the pole racing...some of those little kids are amazing!!! I can't believe they are not scared!

Always having fun with Timber!

On Saturday, we headed to another little rodeo in a beautiful town called Quemado, NM.

When we got home from Quemado, I was ready for a nap! But Ace had other plans!...there are no naps in Pie Town, except on Sundays!!! It was time to work...The kids went to their grandparents' house for a few hours (but Timber and Ace bring their kids with them when they go out to work, they are amazing!) Timber, Ace and I went on a horse ride to go get a pair of bulls that were a long ways away to bring them where Ace needed them. We took the horses in a trailer there and steered the bulls for about 3 miles. It was such an amazing experience...and a little terrifying at the same time...you can tell I'm a city girl! The bulls were wanting to fight and they would just start wondering off and Timber and Ace had to guide them back into the path...I wish I could have taken pictures of them...but I was too scared of letting go of the reins of my horse to take pictures!!!:)

Getting ready to go...

I got a little gutsy...I was holding onto the reins with one hand and my camera with the other one when I took these two pictures...I have NO words to describe the beauty of this place!!!

Beautiful OPEN spaces!!! I miss that so much!!! I miss the WEST!!! As much as I LOVE Virginia and the amazing experience that we are having here I think my heart is in the west! Its beauty is like none else...

On Sunday, we went to Church...to their little 15 people branch in Pie Town. I LOVED it!!! I felt such a wonderful sense of closeness in that little branch...a closeness that you just don't get when there are 200 or 300 people in a ward...and I taught Sharing Time in Primary! I loved feeling like I was contributing! It was awesome!!! Since moving to such a big city, I've been missing the sense of community that one feels in a small town. I love that feeling!

After our Sunday nap we went out to explore around the ranch house. Timber showed me her chickens and I was able to gather some eggs! It was the BEST!!!

Beside their horses and their 250 head of cattle, they have a little baby antelope:

Goats:

and a pony:

Oh! and they have kittens too...and I'm so sad I didn't take pictures of them because they were so darn cute!!!

Timber showed me her garden and a few other thing around the house! They have a beautiful piece of property! I love the openness of it all and wish my kids had that much space to play! One thing I got out of this trip is that city children are so restricted. I feel like I restrict my children so much, when my home should be their playground, especially since we don't have a yard. I'm often telling them no don't do this in the house, don't do that...don't bounce the ball, don't jump on the bed, etc, etc. I get frustrated and they feel that frustration and it backfires because then they get frustrated. Kids are meant to get dirty, play and run around. Anyway, I have gotten so many insights during this trip about parenting, happiness and life.

Monday morning we went on another horse ride! I love the serenity I feel when I ride a horse. Timber and Blazen took me to see one of the windmills they have on the ranch. It was about a mile ride from the house. It was another beautiful day in Pie Town.

I love the mountains!...and being able to see miles and miles ahead!

I'm so grateful for Timber's friendship...we've seen each other at our worst and our best!!! We can laugh and cry and share ideas and have meaningful conversations, we can argue too and still love each other!!!:) She's a friend who always gives me so much insight. It amazes me how different our backgrounds are and yet how we relate so well in so many different aspects...and I think motherhood is such a link between us...to think that we would talk in college about marriage and children and dreaming what our lives would be like when we had our own families and now we are living the dreams we had when we were so young...not that we are not young now...:) I have learned a lot from Timber through the years and continue to do...she's a wonderful example!

I said goodbye to Pie Town on Monday and headed to Albuquerque that night...spent the night at Timber's sister-in-law's and headed to Red River on Tuesday morning...

On the way to Red River, we stopped in Taos. It's a gorgeous touristy town. I guess a lot of famous people, like Julia Roberts live there...can't blame them for picking such a beautiful place to live!

We got to Red River in the afternoon and just barely made it to ride the ski lift! We were the last ones on the lift!!! I'm so glad we made it because the view was just fantastic! We spent the rest of the day going to the cute little shops in Red River and laughing our heads off at some of the memories we have when we were roommates...and just talking...

and we went to Timber's for dinner!

It was such a fun, insightful, educating, uplifting, relaxing week! Scott is an amazing father to my children and a wonderful husband. He knows what this trip has meant to me and I'm so grateful that he was so willing and brave to stay with our kiddos! They were all alive when I got home!!! Thank goodness!!!!!!!!:) I've most DEFINITELY recharged my batteries!

Fourth of July in Boston

We decided to go visit our friends Jonathan and Daija in Boston for the Fourth of July this year. The morning we left, however, my poor little Brielle had to go get her little bone reset. They had to put her out for it while the doctor did the manipulation, it wasn't a surgery but he had to manipulate her little arm to align the bone since it was starting to heal crooked. Both Scott and I took her into the hospital very early that morning. Scott went in with her to help put her out while they put her out. He said that watching Brielle go out was terrible!!! It broke his heart because they had to force her to breathe into the mask and then he just watched her little eyes rolled into her head and she was out! I'm so glad I didn't go because I think I would have cried! It took about 20 minutes and then the nurse came out to get us. Brielle was NOT a happy camper! She was extremely upset when she woke up, I think it's the most upset I have EVER seen her! It was so sad and hard to see her that way! The whole ordeal took about 3 hours between signing papers, waiting and the actual procedure. By the time we got home Brielle was so tired! She took a nap and then we headed to our 12 hour drive to Boston...what was supposed to be a 7 or 8 hour drive turned into a 12 hour drive!!!!! It was crazy!!!! We kind of felt bad dragging our poor little girl on such a long trip after she had had such an eventful morning. But she is such a tough little cookie! She did so amazing during the whole trip!!!!...and Braden did awesome too. We left D.C. at noon and got to Boston around midnight...we were glad to see Jon and Daija and make it alive!!!:)

We hit NYC right during rush hour! It was NOT fun!

The next morning, Jon and Daija took us to Downtown Boston. Boston is such a charming city! Both Scott and I loved it! We had lunch at Quincy Market, it's a place with a bunch of food vendors and it had a beautiful food court on the top floor. We had the best Greek food we have ever had!

The food court at Quincy Market.

I thought the ceiling was so cool there!

One of the things that impressed me the most about Boston is the amazing arquitecture!

Boston is a very lively place and full of charm!

The silver woman was cool to watch, she'd hold perfectly still like a statue and then when people put money in her bucket she moved like a robot and was really good at it...and of course we saw countless people wearing Red Sox's t-shirts and baseball caps...I saw this poster on a window near Jonathan and Daija's place...

Cute little Bridger.

Daija did a great job getting everything together for our big 4th of July barbeque. Everything was delicious! Sadly I didn't take any pictures of our barbeque but we had a great time eating it and spending time with the Heaton's.

There are so many churches everywhere in Boston and the buildings are just amazingly beautiful!

We took the kids on a little walk and found this cute little cemetery near Jon and Daija's house. It may seem weird to walk around a cemetery but it was such a beautiful day and the kids needed to run around. Scott and I had such a fun time trying to find the oldest headstone! We even found Abraham Lincoln's grave!!!...

...not THE Abraham Lincoln but AN Abraham Lincoln...ha ha!!! But it was still cool to see it!

On Sunday, we went on a drive through Mt. Auburn Cemetery! Both Scott and I were left speechless by how immense this cemetery is!!! ...and beatiful doesn't quite describe the beauty of this place!!! It was amazing!

We had such a great time visiting Boston and visiting with the Heaton's!

Thanks for everything!

5 Years...

Scott and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary on the 18th.  We didn't go on any fancy vacation, or got anything fancy for each other...but we did do this for our family so that our kids can see what our little family looked like "back in the day"!!!...when mom and dad were still looking young and somewhat skinny...ha ha ha!!! My friend Amy took these for us, she is so incredibly talented and we had such a fun time with her on Saturday! This is sneak peek of some of the photos she took...I can't wait to see the rest! 

Check out Amy's website:

Amy Celeste Photography

I can't believe Scott and I have been married 5 years! This year has been full of changes for our family...with Scott starting medical school and trying to balance family life, Church and school...and me staying at home with my two wonderful kids full-time and not working anymore...there has been a lot of changes in our family this year.  But we have grown closer together and we have fortified our belief that the only thing that truly brings joy is our little family and our relationship! There is no one else in this world I rather be giving my time and energy to than to these 3 people who I love with all of my heart! Sometimes that is difficult to realize...sometimes I wonder if there's more I need to be giving the world...like volunteering at places and may be keep going with my teaching career or pursue more degrees like a master's or a PhD...I think... may be then I'll feel like I'm contributing more to society than "just" staying home all day with my kids, supporting my husband through medical school and being a wife and a mom...but then this subtle realization comes to me...that this is what I NEED to be doing! There's no greater contribution I can give to the world than a strong, happy family! 

Life has its happy times and its challenges, these 5 years of marriage have given Scott and I so much joy and so much perspective than we otherwise would have NEVER gotten.  I think marriage is about growth and learning new lessons, acquiring experience, finding new ways to solve problems together and finding new ways to love each other better.  I hope every year of our marriage I can say I learned this and that this year...we have learned to be more selfless and we have learned, especially this year, that to find success in a marriage we MUST take time to nurture it.  I know that sounds so cliche but sometimes we forget and we get so "busy" with kids, school, cleaning, bills, etc. and we forget to give to the most important person, the one who is going to be with you when you are wrinkly, achy and saggy!!!!:) 

Here's to giving MORE to my BEST FRIEND and here's to many "back in the day" moments, when our kids will say, "remember back in the day when mom and dad were still young and they'd kiss in the kitchen...they were in love and they still are and now they are 90!!!!!" 

I wouldn't want to go through this life with anyone but you sweetie! Thank you for our life together! Thank you for being my best friend! I love you!!! 

A broken arm.

Yesterday, we decided to go on an outing with the kids. We found this really cute park with a jungle gym, a nice spacious grass area and a little trail into the woods. It was beautiful. We were probably there about an hour and a half and about ready to head home.

The kids were having such a great time...they played...

...we went on this BEAUTIFUL trail into the woods...it was kind of muddy but it was sure gorgeous...

...we even brought snacks and sat on the grass for a while enjoying the day...well...actually...the mosquitoes were eating us alive...but no, we really were having a great time...

When we were about to head home...the kids ran back to play at the jungle gym...Scott and I headed with them and let them play a little longer...they were going down the slides and climbing, etc. I was keeping my eye on them the whole time, making sure they were playing safe, etc. Then, Brielle started climbing on one of the slides on the wrong side, so instead of sliding down the slide, she was climbing it...I always remind them that it's not a good idea to do that. We were so engaged in conversation with this nice guy who was there with his twin girls, that it didn't really register to tell Brielle to stop doing that. Braden was on the other side blocking the entrance of the slide and they both had this little confrontation, I think Brielle might have told him to get out of the way and Braden didn't agree with what Brielle was telling him and he started to push her, (it wasn't a big push, it was a "semi-gentle" push) but it was enough of a push for Brielle to lose her balance and fall off the slide. It was about a 3 feet fall and she landed on top of her left arm/wrist area. We were 10 feet away from them! 10 feet! I didn't make it in time to catch my little girl!!!!! Brielle is a really tough cookie. When she falls she cries for 2 seconds, we comfort her and she gets back up and starts playing right away. This time, it was a DIFFERENT story! She fell pretty hard! She cried uncontrollably, she went pale and kept guarding her arm. It was so sad. I'm so grateful Scott was with me. I was torn between comforting Brielle and being upset with Mr. Braden for pushing! We said goodbye to the twins and the dad and started driving home...

While we were driving, Brielle was still pretty shaken up in the car and kept guarding her little arm. Scott and I debated whether to wait until the next day or take her to the ER right away. We decided to take her to the ER, especially because Brielle herself, said that she needed a doctor. :) It is so not like herself to be so shaken up about falling. Like I said she's a pretty tough little girl. After about an hour and a half wait we finally got in and they took an X-ray of her little arm and sure enough it is fractured right above her wrist. I kept HOPING that it was nothing but it was BAD news. :(

My poor little girl waiting for the doctor to come confirm the x-ray...

This is the copy of Brielle's x-ray they took of her cute little arm...you can kind of see it where it's fractured...it's hard to see on the scanned copy but it's there right next to the arrows...she fractured her radius and ulna...they call it a buckle fracture...according to the radiologist that is the fracture you want to get!!! I rather NOT fracture my arm AT ALL if you ask me!!!

Brielle and Braden were glued to the TV, watching the naughty show I don't like them to watch Spongebob Square Pants...but since Brielle was being such a little trooper and Braden was so good the whole time we let them watch! Look at their faces!!! They are hypnotized!!!:)

She and Braden have made up since...she was pretty upset with him for a while. We were walking out of the hospital after this whole ordeal (by the way, we spent almost 3 HOURS there!). Brielle DEMANDED Braden to give her a hug. She said, "BRADEN, I FORGIVE YOU! GIVE ME A HUG!!!" Braden said to her in a really quiet voice, "I'm sorry Bri-bri" It was one of the most tender moments I have EVER witnessed! Throughout that whole time, of course, I shed quite a few tears!!! It is so hard to see a child hurt, especially when it's your child! She was such a trooper! She kept asking if the nurses were going to give her a present!...ha ha!!! So after the whole thing, we went to get her a Barbie and she requested a Happy Meal for dinner (we very seldom go to McDonald's) so this was a real treat for her!

Today, was a hard day for her...she was really sensitive all day...but she still wanted to go out and play, so we went to the playground behind our place twice! (now that the pool is out of the list of things to do for the next 6 weeks...) :( She keeps asking how much longer she has to wear her cast...and we keep telling her that it has to stay there a LONG, LONG time...6 LONG weeks...that's when she reminds Braden, "Bwaden, no pushing! you broke my arm!!!" I'm afraid Braden will NEVER live down pushing Brielle off the slide!!! We have an appointment tomorrow morning and she's getting a permanent cast...hopefully, it will heal great and we will be MUCH MORE careful from now on...