Smith and Morehouse Lake

This lake is in Oakley, UT and it's just a few minutes from the cabin we were staying in. It was gorgeous and the water wasn't too cold either. We spent quite a few days here swimming, kayaking and fishing.


Skipping rocks


Kym, Mia, and Mallory


Colby and Megan


My mom, Megan and me


Man overboard

Megan, Connor and Papa








Connor and Papa discussing lures


All the kids fishing. Megan was the only one to catch a fish.

We need to get out more

I took the kids to IKEA to get some small tables and chairs for preschool. While we were there we went up to the restaurant for lunch. As we're sitting down to eat Connor says, "Wow, Mom! This is the fanciest restaurant we've ever been to."

Really?

Happy Birthday Daniel!

Happy 38 old man! You're a better husband and father every single year! Love ya!

Why I go to church every Sunday

There are actually lots of reasons I go to church but lately I've been feeling particularly grateful for the feeling of peace that I get at church every week. Throughout the week I get impatient, frustrated, stressed, etc, etc. As much as I try to stay focused I still get bogged down with the little troubles in my life. I lose perspective. And then Sunday rolls around and we get ready to go to church because that's what we do. My kids usually squirm through sacrament meeting and start whispering in my ear just when I really wanted to hear something but there's always that moment when I'm filled with the Spirit.

It can be a specific scripture, a certain song, or a comment from a lesson. And I know that the Lord is whispering to me. My priorities come quickly back into focus. I'm inspired to be more patient, more loving, more righteous. The Lord gently reminds me that I can't do it on my own. He will help me with my trials but I have to ask. I am reminded of the parable of the ten virgins. I don't know yet if I'm the wise virgin or the foolish virgin, probably somewhere in between but I do know that every time I go to church my lamp is being filled.

Visiting cousins

In Utah we were able to visit all the cousins on my mom's side. We haven't seen each other in a long time so it was really fun to get together. These are all our kids. Tragically, Kadan (the boy in the red shirt) died early Wednesday morning from a seizure. I'm so filled with sorrow for their family. To Nan'l, Brandi, and all my Mitchell family my heart goes out to you. I'm thankful that I got to see him so recently. What a sweet spirit he has.

AZ to UT

We hit a couple of 80 MPH test sections. Woo-hoo! Put the pedal to the metal!

Torture

I thought it would be a good idea to take the kids to the store to buy a toy for our 12 hour drive to Utah. I was hoping the new toys would interest them for at least a couple of hours during the drive. And it worked. There was just one flaw. I took them to pick out the toys on Saturday and we weren't leaving until Tuesday morning. They knew before hand that the toys were not to be opened until the drive but boy oh boy was it hard to keep those boxes closed for 3 days. They begged, pleaded and cried. They slept and ate next to the boxes. I did not relent. The boxes stayed closed but it was hard. And the cherry on top? They were so excited to finally open their toys that at 5am Tuesday morning they were bright eyed and ready to play and not a nap was had.

Singing in the Rain

Monsoon season is upon us. The first big rainstorm of the year had all the kids running outside. Since it's 100+ degrees outside I definitely don't have to worry about anyone catching cold.

Life is Peachy

I had a bunch of ripe peaches that I didn't know what to do with so we decided to make jam. Last time we made jam I followed the directions and added 8 cups of sugar :O!!! I couldn't do it again. My mom found a low-sugar peach jam recipe and I only added 1 cup of sugar. Wow! And it tasted wonderful!

Here's the link: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/peach_jam.html





My slave labor: Megan and her friend, Katherine





I had to have it for dinner...mmmmm.

When life hands you limes...

My parents have a lemon tree and one of Connor's favorite things to do when we visit is to make fresh squeezed lemonade. Well, we don't have a lemon tree but we got a bunch of limes in our Bountiful Basket so we decided to make limeade. It didn't have Grammy's special touch but it turned out pretty good.