best buds: love that Papa.

I absolutely love the relationship our boys have with their Papa. They completely adore him and he's earned it really.
When he walks in that door in the evening he is right there with them, if you know what I mean. And man, do their eyes light up when they hear the garage door open and see him walk in.
He does all those things that this Momma gets exhausted by too quickly for their liking;
wrestling and tumbling,  building and fixing and climbing and jumping.
Papa is just a different kind of fun than me and I am so grateful.

While we were at our family cabin (post here) Papa got to spend some special one on one time with our Lee boy who, despite his generally cautious and fearful reaction to new things (which we are working on), loved riding the jet ski with Papa without a second's hesitation, as fast as it could go.  I could watch Kevin with the boys all day long, seriously.

This time on the lake was one of "those moments" I wondered would ever happen for Kevin and I when we struggled with infertility and wondered if we'd ever get to have children, before our miracle Lee boy came to us.

Did I mention how much I love this place??

Every time they passed me Lee would call out, "hello Momma!"

I get to teach the 14-15 year old girls in our church congregation on Sundays and in preparation for a lesson this past Sunday I read this talk from Jeffrey R. Holland and this quote reminded me of just how beautiful and sacred an opportunity it is to be a parent and how important that becoming a parent happen in the appropriate time and circumstance;

"One aspect of that divinity given to men and women is the use of His power to create a human body, that wonder of all wonders, a genetically and spiritually unique being never before seen in the history of the world and never to be duplicated again in all the ages of eternity.  A child, your child- with eyes and ears and fingers and toes and a future of unspeakable grandeur.

Of all the titles God has chosen for Himself, Father is the one He favors most, and creation is His watchword-especially human creation, creation in His image.  You and I have been given something of that godliness, but under the most serious and sacred of restrictions."

Such a blessing and opportunity to be a parent to our children with their wonderful father by my side. I am so grateful that during the moments of complete insanity and those moments of pure joy that come with parenting that I'm not alone, that Kevin, in my case, and God, in every parent's case, are right there with me through it all.

cabin heaven: a little family escape.

The morning after my sister Annie got home from serving a mission (see post here) we headed up to a family cabin in Island Park, Idaho.  My favorite vacation spot on earth.  As my great-grandfather built it, it's been in the family for quite a while and I've been going during the summer for longer than I can actually remember.

I am SO glad we got away with all my family that was in Utah at the time.  It was great to have some uninterrupted time to be together and having Annie with us again. The cabin involves lots of games, movies, food, laughing, lake time, walks, runs, exploring, swinging, tennis and this year a new tradition of frisbee golf, for the menfolk at least, and some world-class fly fishing for Kevin. (He misses the Idaho/Utah area so much for all the outdoor adventures it affords.) 

Annie seriously couldn't get enough of "her babies", and these pics of her with all the kids that were there with us are so comical to me because they capture the madness so well, they really are a busy bunch. Course Annie looks beautiful in the midst of it all. :)

The cabin was one part of our trip I was looking forward to the very most and it did not disappoint.  I think there is something to be said for getting away from it all (internet connections included, awful reception up there) and just being with the people you love the most.  So grateful that we have a place we can do that every once in a while.
Happy Friday!

catch-up #2: trip to arches.

my favorite arch.

Going to Arches has been on Kevin's bucket list forever and even though I grew up in Utah, I'd never been either.  So, though it made life all the more crazy before the move, we decided we should probably squeeze in a trip down there before we moved so far away. 
We left the Monday after graduation and Lee's birthday and drove the *long* 3 hours to get there from our house. (I can't believe we almost never made the trip.)

bathroom break (and goat ride) at the visitor center when we got to the park.

My mom's family did an Arches trip the beginning of April that we'd really thought about joining them on, but unfortunately it fell right in the few weeks before Kevin was presenting his Thesis and the end of the semester so we opted out.  We decided to go just after graduation since Scott and Jenna (our brother and sister) were going to have some free time then too. 
We decided against camping with four kids under five, two of which were barely one. Oh, and one very pregnant person...
We found a great deal on a big condo just outside of Moab and it turned out to be just the thing for our families; fully furnished with a kitchen and plenty of room and a pool so that we could have some non-hiking time for us and the kids.

The week before we left my doctor put me on "casual bed rest" because for both this and my first pregnancy too much physical activity causes contractions and since I delivered four weeks early with Lee, he told me to "avoid physical activity as much as possible".  Thankfully Arches is full of short and mellow hikes so I was still able to do almost everything. Literally the night before we left my Momma and brother David decided to come with us. (we had an extra bedroom at the condo) It was so fun to have them, we wish our whole family could have been there. 

Me and Jenna at Balanced Rock.

Lee and Dave.

would not stop eating the rocks.

 We had such a great time, it is amazing to me how different parts of the world can look. We couldn't get enough of the views.  Arches really is a great place to take young kids too, since most of the hikes are so manageable and short.  It was pretty hot while we were there but that wasn't as bad as I thought it could be either. 
*side note* Though I'm thrilled that we're having another baby soon, I'm not nearly as thrilled with all the photo documentation of the pregnancy. 

pool time. Lee loved it.

Scott and Jenna family.

our view of delicate arch, the only arch I couldn't hike all the way out to.

my favorite formation. so pretty.

Lee wasn't always chipper...

David (and Lee) slept the entire way home.

Kevin and sleeping Lee at Landscape Arch.

We had such a fun time.  It ended up being such a healthy little break in the midst of madness for us there at the end of our time in Utah.  Woot.