Kissing Summer Goodbye.

We finally got Scott to come to the pool with us a couple of weekends ago. He started his third year of medical school, 3 days right after he took his boards. It's the end of summer and this poor man has had no breaks. He's been pulling 12 hour shifts at the hospital. Some weeks he's doing the day-shift and others the night-shift. I must admit that the night-shift throws me off so bad because I'm used to having him sleeping next to me and it is just so difficult for me to fall asleep when he's not home during the night...the night shift is HORRIBLE! He leaves at 6pm and comes home at 8 or 9 the next morning!!! He sleeps until 4pm, takes a shower, eats and heads back again!

I am definitely NOT a fan and he is not either.

But aside from the hours, he has been loving it and he's learning so much.

(All of these pictures were taken with my little Canon Powershot, my Nikon is getting fixed, Braden broke the memory card cover a while ago and I finally sent it out to get fixed. I've been missing my Nikon a lot!)

He had 2 free weekends and we definitely took advantage of it.

Can I say how much better our life is when Scott is around?

He just completes us. Cheesy but true.

I've been telling Scott all summer long how his son is a fish. Braden was in heaven with his daddy. He played hard.

This picture is blurry because I took a snapshot of the video. Every time Scott would throw Braden in the air, he would put his arms behind his neck like that. I was laughing so hard, I asked Scott if he had told him to do that, he said no. So I asked Braden where he had learned that and he said, "Shrek does that!"

Later that night, we had some fun visitors over for dinner. Two of my former students, Emily and Seth were in town visiting Seth's sister in Maryland. They were kind enough to come see us and spend a few hours with us. They are both wonderful and it was such a delight to have them over and catch up. We had some yummy dinner, talked and played games. It was so enjoyable and it made me so grateful that I was given the opportunity to teach at BYU-Idaho and create these lasting friendships with students.

There are days, when I miss teaching so much.

The following weekend, we headed to Burke Lake Park. It's only 15 minutes from where we live, it's huge and there's so much to do there. The kids did the carousel, those things always make me sick but the kids loved it!

Then we went on a train ride. It was such a nice day that day. It was a nice break from the hot and humid days we have been having.

This would have been a clear shot with my Nikon! :)

After the carousel and train ride, we headed to the lake. We thought we were going to be able to put everyone in one rowboat but I guess the limit is 3. We stood there deciding what to do, at first we thought, let's just go home but Brielle and Braden were so excited about it, we decided to rent two of them. The thing is that, all I had done before was canoeing and I was frustrated trying to figure out how the heck to row a stinkin' boat! Scott was so patient with me and helped me figure it out. I finally did and we had an enjoyable time out there.

We brought our lunches and it was fun to have them in the boats. The kids thought it was so fun!

It got a little hot with the life-jackets. But the kiddos were good and kept them on, Scott and I were dying, so we took them off.

We brought plenty of water to drink.



This little boy had such a fun time. We all had such a great time as a family. It was fun for me to try something new and for my husband to be proud of me for getting the hang of it! I loved that park, there is so much to do and it's so close to us!

I splurged and got Braden glare-free lenses for his glasses...and oh my heavens! Can I just say it's so good to see my son's eyes!!!

I have been asking him to please, please, please stop growing. In the last few weeks, I feel like he's just not needing me as much anymore. As a matter of fact, he's been telling me, "I don't need your help, I'm a big boy." It makes my heart a bit nostalgic for the time when he was a cuddly little munchkin. He's been cuddling with me less and less. I substituted in nursery on Sunday, and he told me, "I don't want you to come with me, I'm a big boy, I can go by myself!"

When did this happen?

Every once in a while, it hits me.

They grow, and just when you wish you could hold on a little longer, it is too late...because that's just how life is meant to be.

Another summer has come and gone and we are getting ready for school. Both of my kids are going to preschool this year!

What am I going to do with myself?

A Return to Normalcy.

We have been thoroughly enjoying the rest of our summer and it has been great hearing children playing happily in the background (for the most part), saying things like, "I'm Ariel, I protect the galaxy!" or Braden, "I'm buzzlight year to the rescue!"

I have my children back, back to normal.

...and normal doesn't mean perfect...but routines are good for human beings. There's something about it that makes us feel safe...and it makes me feel in control.

One morning, this is what I found after getting out of the shower. They had set this up all by themselves.

Braden was the prince and Brielle was the princess and they had a few guests over.

Pony and Barbie having tea.

A few Sundays ago, we headed to the National Cathedral to meet up an old friend of mine from Miami. She was my seminary teacher for 2 years. She came to Miami to play her french horn for the New World Symphony. She was wonderful and such a great example to me during those years. It was so much fun to meet up with her and catch up! and I loved that Scott was able to come too...I'm always telling him about all the people that influenced my life when I was a teenager and half the time he has no idea who I'm talking about so it's nice that now he can put a face when I talk about my seminary teacher Kim who plays the french horn!:)

I can 't get enough of this breath-taking building.

Last time I saw Kim was the summer of 1999, right before I headed to Rexburg. You do the math, it had been way too long...and it was almost as if time hadn't passed...except, we have multiplied!:)

Kim has 4 children, 2 of them are twins. Our kids got along so well and played and ran around. It was such a HOT day though and we didn't even think to bring water. Kim had brought one bottle of Gatorade and all of them were partaking from it!

Before we came to this little area, we were at the Cathedral's Gardens. It was beautiful, but we we were all melting...it was much cooler in this area.

Here are the boys, the twins were a hoot! I loved them! They were hilarious! Definite entertainers.

Pretending to be gargoyles.

There is so much detail all around the Cathedral...every where you turn you find detail.

I'm amazed.

Right before we left the kids found that green bug, I don't even know what it is...a grasshopper?

We had such an enjoyable visit with Kim and her kids!

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I have yet to mention in this blog that we have a new addition to our family...a hamster named Squeaky. This was my husband's doing while the kids and I were gone on our trip. Scott has been trying to convince me to get one of these little rodents for the kids for a while...and I of course had been VERY against it, the whole time. Well, a few days before we came home, he sent me a picture on my phone with this little hamster on his hand! My response:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's what happens, when husbands are left alone for too long, they become a little nutty.

The kids, however, LOVE it! and I have to say that he's pretty cute...he's growing on me.

But the moment my house starts smelling like hamster, the moment it's gone...and I'm not cleaning anything!

That is word for word what I told Scott.

It was the main attraction when our summer joy school little friends came over last week. It was perfect though, because our lesson was about the animals of the earth.

Lilly and Brielle...and Squeaky.

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The Heaton's came to stay with us last week. Justin's parents, Bob and Denise stayed with us too and a day later Ryan (Justin's brother) came to surprise everyone! Stacey, Scott and I were the only ones that knew he was coming, well and his wife Stephanie, of course. It was such a fun surprise for Bob, Denise and Justin! It was awesome!:) We had full-house and I loved every second of it!

It was Bob and Ryan's first time in D.C., Denise had been here when she young. It so happened though that, that week was the hottest week D.C. has had in long, long time...it felt like 110 degrees outside...I volunteered to watch Anderson and Jack while they went to the city, since we've seen pretty much everything and going to D.C. with kiddos plus the heat can be crazy sometimes.

It was so much fun to watch those little munchkins and so easy because Brielle, Braden and Jack get along so well and I didn't even have to worry about them that much...and little Anderson just followed me around the house all day while I was doing stuff...he gave me lots of cuddles and I got to squeeze him a lot! He is so cute!

On Sunday, we all headed to the National Cathedral, it's the perfect place to go on a Sunday. It was another hot day. But this time, we spent most of the time inside, which was perfect!

We all did the tour and all the kids were so good for the whole thing.

I loved doing the tour, Scott and I had never done it before. We learned a lot of cool things about the Cathedral.

The outside is amazing, but the inside is just unbelievable!

Amazing architecture.

Brielle walked by that door and said, "look at that cute little door, take a picture, mom, take a picture!"

Jack, Brielle and Braden had the most interesting conversation in front of that mural:

Braden: That's Jesus.

Brielle: He's resurrected!

Jack: He's not dead anymore.

Children are so perceptive.

On Monday, my friend Holly, who is in my ward, who is Stacey's first cousin (I know, such a small world!):) watched Anderson and I took the three older kids to the pool.

They had such a fun time!

Braden is a fish and if it were up to him he'd spend the whole time under the water...Jack was so concerned though, and any time Braden would go under water Jack would come to his rescue and pull him out of the water!!!:)

There were lots of hugs given...those three really do love each other.

I'm so glad these three get along so well...and they were kind to each other, for the most part, and shared some fun times.

Here we are with the Heaton Crew! We love those guys! Too bad Ryan is not in here, but it was so much fun to have them all here for a few days...Scott started the night-shift for his rotation a couple of days after they got here, so he missed some of the fun...but we seriously had so much fun staying up late, talking politics, eating, playing games and laughing so hard!

Thanks for the fun times Heaton's!

You are welcome to our home ANY time, ANY day!

Oh! and I think it's substraction not subtraction!!!:) ha ha!:)

Trip out West Part 1│Utah

Our trip out west was an adventure. A 5-week adventure that I think will only happen ONCE during my lifetime...this is the first time that the kids and I have been away from Scott for that long...and let me tell you, if there is ONE thing I learned from this trip is that my children need their daddy and I need my husband. It truly made me appreciate how much Scott does for me and for the kids...not just in things like helping me get the kids ready for bed and disciplining, etc...but how much of his love we feel. All sentimentalities aside, the 3 of us have realized that a life without Scott is just not the same...although of course we managed to have some amazing moments with our families and we felt loved during those 5 weeks.

Our trip started crazy, although I had planned and planned and spent time packing for everything we were going to need. We thought we had plenty of time, but somehow we ended up BARELY making it to our flight, we were actually the very last passengers to get on the airplane. Then, I get a phone call from Scott when I'm sitting down in the airplane telling me that we had TOTALLY forgotten to take the car seats. Grreat...

We started our trip in Provo, Utah where my mom and sister live and where my brother is currently living too (he will be moving back to DC in August, he will start a master's in public health at GWU...we are so excited for his return!) :) His girlfriend Misty and my sister Nya came to pick us from the airport and I had to do what I had to do and just put the kids in the car without car seats.

The next day I called Scott's cousin Jana (a.k.a my life-saver) and in a matter of minutes she had two car seats available for me to use for the next 5 weeks! She was kind enough to come drop them off all the way from Salt Lake. (I owe you big Jana! Thanks for everything!)

We had 15 days FULL of non-stop fun! We did so much and I learned to appreciate Utah. It is a BEAUTIFUL state with endless things to do, especially in the outdoors. My brother lived there for 5 years when he was going to BYU, so he knows how to have fun there.

The first day we headed to BYU campus to walk around, it was a hot day and the kids had a blast getting themselves wet on the sprinklers...no humidity meant they were dry in no time! It was nice. I forgot what dry weather felt like.

BYU campus is beautiful and there is so much space every where.

My sister Nya, the kiddos and I. Brielle and Braden wanted to get in that fountain so bad.

These two kids are blessed with wonderful aunts and uncles...except for sometimes Braden and Nya don't get along very well...that might be why I love that picture of them on the left...because they are getting along!:)

I've said this before but Brielle and Braden LOVE their tío Kemchu. He's so much fun!

Here Kem is showing them how to roll down the hill...

After our walk around campus, we headed to J-Dawg's. J-Dawg's is this hot dog place in Provo and it is sooooo gooooood! They were giving free ice cream that day...so the kids were in heaven.

The next day we headed to Squaw Peak. I've always loved going there and looking out at the beautiful scenery.

It was a windy day...Brielle was cold, so she got in the car. Braden was loving life. We brought some kites but it was way too windy to fly them.

Just being silly!:)

The three of us. My poor sister didn't have sunglasses and it was so windy the dirt was getting in her eyes!:)

The next day we headed to the L. Bean Museum. The kids LOVED looking at all the animals and Brielle was especially excited to see all the butterflies and moths. There was a fun discovery room for the kids, we spent a while there playing with all the fun stuff they had there.

Kemchu and us.

Another day, we headed to Thanksgiving Point to the Dinosaur Museum. It was a rip off, if you ask me, but we really did enjoy ourselves and the 4-D movie was fun! We've just been so spoiled here in D.C. where most of all the museums are free...but it was a fun day spent with the family.

The family...minus Scottie.

After dinner on our first Sunday there, we all headed headed to Provo Lake for a quick walk. It was beautiful and we all had such a fun time together. I got to know Misty (my brother's girlfriend) better. She's a wonderful, talented girl and I'm happy that we got spend time with her.

This is one of my favorite pictures of our whole trip! Brielle and Braden love their abuelita and I'm so happy that they got to see her again...it had been a year since we had seen her.

When we got home after Provo Lake, my brother put up his tent in the living room for the kids to sleep in that night...they had a blast and thought their tío Kem was the coolest guy on earth for doing that!

On Monday, Scott's amazing cousin Jana came to pick us up to go hang out with her and her two cute kids, Parker and Macie. Jana's husband is a firefighter and we were lucky enough to go see him at one of the fire stations where he works.

Rob was so kind and my kids thought it was so cool to meet a real firefighter. We had such a fun afternoon in the Fire Station.

We played hide-and-seek. Parker found the perfect place to hide under the stairs and Brielle, Rob and Macie hid by the fire truck while Braden was counting. They all had turns and they had a blast!

Braden even got to wear Rob's cool firefighter hat. He was in heaven!

After the fire station we headed to beautiful Wheeler Farm. We got some yummy Cafe Rio and ate there and then walked around for a while. I loved watching Parker, Brielle, Braden and Macie interact. Parker is just a hoot! He is hilarious and says the cutest things! They all got along so well and had such a fun time together. I love that picture on the top right, where Parker is giving Brielle a hug, it looks like he's eating her arm!

My kids didn't want to be in the picture with me, so I grabbed cute little Macie to be with me in the picture. She seriously is so squeezable and those cheeks are just the cutest!

We had so much fun that day, we got home and my kids crashed. It was so fun to spend time with the Friel Family. Thanks for driving so much, Jana and thanks to Rob for letting us come to the fire station! You guys are an amazing family!:)

We continued to have a great time. The kids loved the park.

Braden loved finding rolly pollies and naming all of them "batman".

Scott's Aunt Penny came to hang out with us for an afternoon. My kids just LOVE Penny. She is an amazing great-aunt to my kids and we all feel so loved by her. She spent quality time with my children and that just meant so much to us. She brought the cutest tiaras for Brielle and made some cute skirts for her. She danced with them, talked with them, laughed with them and was even blowing bubbles with them...and I of course had a great time talking with her...she's just awesome and I hope so badly that my kids will remember the moments we spent with her that afternoon...

We love you Penny!:)

The next day, we headed to the cutest park up in the mountain somewhere in Provo, I don't remember the name. There was this cute creek...we all had a great time putting our feet in the water and sitting enjoying perfect weather. I really can't describe with words, the sweet moments we spent together with my family. Pictures do somewhat justice...but we really had such an enjoyable time together...

...and what is Brielle doing in that picture in the middle right? I have no idea, but I laugh every time I look at that picture!!!:)

After the park with the creek, we headed to Payson Lake for a barbecue with some of my brother's co-workers...it was seriously like a dream going up there...

The beauty of that place is just not describable! It's like picture from National Geographic.

Simply AMAZING!

We had such a fun time there, eating yummy food and talking to some fun people.

It was a great afternoon...

...no words...:)

Our last Sunday there, we went to see our dear friend Heather. Heather served her mission in Miami and I used to go on splits with her all the time...She was one of the BEST missionaries

Miami has ever seen! She worked hard...I had a powerful experience with her one time I went on splits with her...I was 16, I think, and I can say that, that experience really strengthened my testimony of the gospel! We have kept in touch with her through the years and have gotten to know her parents, siblings and husband Ben (who also served his mission there) They are the coolest people you will ever meet!

Brielle and Hailey (Heather's daughter)...Heather, cute little Jessica (Heather's other daughter) and I.

The next day, we met up with my old roommate Betsy for lunch at Arby's and then headed to the park. My kids absolutely LOVE her! Braden wasn't wasting any time and had to give her a big kiss on the cheek!!! ha ha!!! I would be thrilled if Braden found a girl like Betsy one day...she's as good as they come...and she is still available!!!:)

After the park, we headed to her house for some ice cream. It was so fun to spend time with her. It was like the good old days...except I now have two munchkins I have to take with me every where I go!

I loved spending one-on-one with you Bets!!! Love your guts!:)

Man! Now that I'm blogging about our trip, I realize that we did soooo much!!!:)

The next day, Aunt Penny came to pick us up and we headed to visit Aunt Darleen (Scott's great-aunt who then is Brielle and Braden's great-great aunt) isn't that so cool? who is 94 years old!!! and her mind is still as sharp as as 25 year old! Seriously! We had the most enjoyable time with her...she's a mother of 8 (I believe that's what she said), so I couldn't pass the opportunity to ask a mother of 8 and not only that, but a woman who has lived for almost 100 years, what advice she would give a young mother? Her answer wasn't anything elaborate but nonetheless it touched me deeply. She said: "Love them and enjoy them!" Little did she know, how much I was going to need that advice in the next few weeks left of my trip! :)

Later that week, we headed to the Bridal Veil Falls! It's a beautiful walk up there...the weather was so perfect!

Braden was making me laugh so hard that day...I can't even remember what he was saying to make me laugh but he is sure cute.

After the falls, we headed to the BYU Creamery and I have to say that their ice cream is probably the BEST ice cream I have had in a long, long, long time! WOW! It was just amazing!:)

I feel so blessed to have been able to spend that time with my family and especially for my children to create relationships with their abuelita, tío Kem and tía Nya and the rest of our extended family. We spent 15 days of fun!