Vacationing.

We decided kind of last minute, to join our friends, the Swan's on their vacation to Phoenix.  

Dave was Scott's roommate and good friend at BYU-Idaho. 

We hadn't seen him and his wife since they got married, we are so glad we reconnected again.  

Dave has always made both Scott and laugh and we always enjoy a good conversation with Dave.  

Thanks for the invite Swan's! 

We enjoyed it so much and it was just what our family needed!

The drive was a bit long, but the views were beautiful. 

An hour into the drive the kids started asking, 

Are we there yet? 

Scott is always amazing when it comes to long drives. 

I'm so grateful, because I am not a fan of driving for such a long time. 

We made it in good time though and it was non-stop fun from then on...

We did a lot of swimming and just relaxing. 

The weather was amazing, truly, perfect temperatures. 

Brielle and Lilly hit it off and had a blast playing in the pool. 

The resort where we stayed was beautiful.  

Dave has a timeshare there and we were able to stay there with them. 

It was a perfect deal!:) 

The lazy river was a hit with the kids. 

One of the days we were there, we headed to the mall to walk around. 

Somehow, we ended up in this splash pad...the children couldn't resist and got soaking wet! 

I guess, they just couldn't enough of the water. 

Brielle, Brielle...her face cracks me up! 

I had a onesie in my purse, so we changed Brooke and she was loving life. 

Braden was soaked too...later, we went to lunch, took naps and headed to the pool again. 

Brookie was a trooper through this vacation...she missed naps and was in a totally different schedule...but was happy for the most part. 

Later that night, we headed to the fire pit, and roasted hot dogs and s'mores. 

It was a perfect night, the weather couldn't have been more perfect! 

Dave and Scott played a few rounds of air hockey...until we were all ready to call it a night! 

We all decided that we are just getting old...when did this happen?

The next day, was my birthday and we headed to the Arizona State Fair.  

It was such a perfect day, spent with my wonderful family.  

It really couldn't have been a better day! 

I guess, the Arizona State Fair is supposed to be one of the best in the nation...I must say that it was pretty fun...there were so many awesome activities and cool things to see. 

The butterfly pavilion was my favorite. 

Those were pretty awesome butterflies. 

We spent quite a long time in there, we were all so mesmerized by those beautiful insects.  

We couldn't get enough. 

We did some more activities that they had for the kids and we watched this really awesome reptile presentation.

We all got to pet that ugly snake!

Then, we headed to see the flying pigs! ha ha! 

It was so fun to watch them. 

Braden got picked to be the cheerleader for the blue team! 

We cheered so loud our pig won almost every time!!!:) 

The kids rode on a couple of rides and Scott, Brooke and I watched them have the time of their lives. 

Braden kept saying, 

"this is the best day ever!" 

It was such a perfect birthday and so glad I got to spend it with these amazing people I call my family! 

Our last day, came all too quickly and we spent it at pool! 

Brielle and Braden are both such fish.   

The whole crew. 

We had so much fun hanging out with Dave and Hejdi and their kiddos. 

Dave and Hejdi, you are wonderful and so much fun to be around. 

Hejdi, did the girls' hair that night before heading out and I thought they both looked adorable!

Our last dinner there, we headed to Chevy's.

It was delicious and I ate like there was no tomorrow! 

We left Phoenix, bright and early and headed to the Grand Canyon. 

Phoenix was beautiful in its own way.

I loved the palm trees and the warm temperatures.

It was the perfect little vacation for our family. 

Reflections on being 32.

I am 32 years old and I have the life I've always wanted, that is not to say that it is perfect, or that I have not a lot of refinement to do, but it is a good life and I count my blessings every day. 

At 32, I can say that I have learned a lot of lessons, from different circumstances in my life.  

One of the most meaningful lessons I have learned is that I make my own happiness and I can create a happy and productive environment for me and my family no matter where we live or what we have.

I am grateful to know who I am, I am happy to define myself as a wife and a mother, a daughter and a sister and friend...I don't wish to be defined by the material things I have (i.e. I don't ever want to be known as the woman with the huge house or the woman who drives a BMW or the woman who dresses in fancy clothes).  I don't want to be defined by what I could accomplish professionally (i.e. how many articles I have published in a fancy professional journal.) 

I want to be the woman who has a smile on her face and is happy with whatever the circumstance.

I want to be the woman who is happy mothering children and 

making a house a home that is a refuge from the world. 

I am okay being that woman. 

A few weeks before moving from Virginia, I was walking to throw away the garbage.  Two of my neighbors, were sitting in front of their building, I said hi and one of them said to me, 

'Why are you always happy? Every time I see you, you are always happy.' 

Her remarks, frankly, caught me by surprise.  

Hadn't they seen me being short with my children in the parking lot, telling them, not very nicely, to get in the car quickly because we're going to be late?; hadn't they seen my grouchy ways, when I had to drag groceries up three flights of stairs almost every week?; hadn't they seen my ornery and exhausted face day in and day out? 

I was honestly caught by surprise...

I named a few things to her, like the gospel and healthy children and a good, loving, hard working husband... my other neighbor said, isn't it obvious? it's her Church that makes her happy!

I reflected on this exchange...and especially how others perceive us and who we are, but most importantly how I truly and honestly feel inside. 

What I didn't tell my neighbor, is that I know that there is God up in heaven who loves me and that I know my life here on this earth is meaningful to Him and to my family...

I realized, that aside from the exhaustion of raising a young family and all of my shortcomings (oh so many!), I often do feel joy inside...I often do feel grateful and happy.

When I look at the big picture and not the menial every day tasks, my heart is full of gratitude. 

A week before my birthday, my family came to celebrate, since we were going to be in Phoenix on my birthday.  

I really wanted to eat empanadas and decided that I would make them.  

Penny and my mom were my helpers and they turned out delicious. 

Looking at these pictures is making me hungry! 

It was tedious work, but the final product was so worth it!

We had a yummy dinner of rice and lentils (my favorite), cucumber salad and of course empanadas, and I can't forget the Inca Kola.  

My mom, Nya and Rob bought me a coconut pie.  

Braden was very eagerly waiting to blow the candle with me!

What a funny boy! 

Thank you for making me feel special family! 

and thanks to all of my dear friends who remembered me on the 18th...thanks for the emails, the cards, the texts and phone calls...it always means so much. 

I am genuinely grateful.  

Hogle Zoo.

One of the first weeks in October, we met up with Jana and her kiddos at the zoo.  

Scott had the day off, so it made it even more fun. 

The weather was perfect.  

It was a beautiful fall day, the leaves were in full fall colors. 

We got a year pass to the Hogle Zoo and I'm so glad we did. 

We are definitely going to be going there a lot.

Right by the entrance there is this awesome black marble ball (I think that's what it's made of?), the ball turns and the kids could have played there the whole time.  They loved it and they were so entertained.

Brooke is in such a fun and busy stage right now.  This is also a learning stage and she LOVED watching the animals.  I don't quite understand what it is about watching animals, but it is so entertaining and I'm so intrigued by them.  I don't think they are as intrigued by us, humans, though.  

Brooke has completely mastered walking.  

She thinks she's such a big girl. 

The Hogle Zoo is so interactive.  

I thought it was much more interactive than the National Zoo in D.C.

There were all sorts of cool things that kept the kids entertained. 

One of my favorite things was being able to watch the sea lions and seals under the water through that big window.  It was pretty cool. 

The giraffes were beautiful and the baby one was adorable. 

This snow leopard was amazing.  

He was totally looking at me when I snapped this photo. 

Braden and Parker are such good buddies.  

Brielle was in school again and Macie was a bit disappointed.

It's a good thing we get to hang out with those guys often when Brielle is home!

The zoo always seems to be a hit and you can't beat an outing with perfect weather.