Moab 2011

What better way to get back in the swing of blogging than with a BIG vacation post with lots of pictures, right?

RIGHT!!! I knew you were with me :)

So Sam spent months planning this trip to Moab and I sincerely hope that I wasn't too much of a drag for him to enjoy it. We normally camp when we go....well, that was out of the question for me this go-round. So we compromised and stayed in a cabin at a campground. I should've taken a picture of it. For "roughin it", it was AWESOME! Electricity, Heat, A/C, mini fridge, cable TV, firepit, patio, bunk beds and to top it all off, bathrooms on-site and close. I think Sam's idea of camping is forever changed. We had a BLAST!

After an 8.5 hour road trip(Yes, I realize that's WAY longer than it should take) we made it to Moab at 1130pm and snuggled into our little cabin. We slept in the next morning but Sam was chomping at the bit to get on the trails, so we headed to Metal Masher. Sounds relaxing right?

Rocks. YES!!!

Great pic of my handsome hubby in front of Picture Frame Arch.

Climbing Hummer Hill. Seriously, SO STEEP.

At the summit of Hummer Hill. I wasn't even going to attempt it.

Taking a Fruit Snack break on the trail. Seriously, those things are the best bribe ever.

If I'd said, "Fruit Snacks" I could've gotten a smile, I guarantee it.

Our campground had a great playground complete with sandbox, sand toys, and playhouse.

PEEK A BOO!

Our one and only family shot. This rock bench was so awesome.

Doing some cave exploring....

ROCK CHUCKER!!!

Getting up it was super fun for both of us. Me from the sidelines, spotting. Sam in "Bruce" Too bad we didn't realize that we had to come back down until we'd already made it up. SO SCARY!

Don't laugh when you see the video: I'm pregnant.

We wouldn't let the kids out at this point. They didn't understand why and were really upset about it.

On Thursday, Uncle Cris, Patrick, Connor and Daddy went on the Kane Creek Trail.

Saturday was the last day of crawling and this obstacle is called The Wedgy. From the picture it doesn't look like much but that ditch is pretty impressive when you are driving through it.

Storytime ritual at bed time. I've grown such an appreciation for reading with my boys. They learn so much through books. They also have started to love reading articles out of The Friend as their "scripture study." What a JOY!!

We forgot the camera charger so we didn't go crazy with taking tons of pictures. One event that was rather significant and undocumented was that we got to spend some time with Sam's oldest sister, Emily and her family. She has three kids and they all get along really well with our rugrats. We spent a few evenings in the pool and Connor just turned blue having so much fun :) Bear is less of a water lover but still didn't want to get out when the time came.

As we were packing up, Bear decided to skydive out of the back window of the Suburban onto the gravel. An ER visit and 2 stitches later, we were finally on the road home.

We decided we'd brave the shorter, steeper route on the way home and boy! were we glad we did. We left around noon and made it to Gramma and Grampa's house in time for a yummy spaghetti dinner!

Deeper Thoughts

Normally my rants on here are relatively shallow in nature....our comings and goings and such, which is good and normal, I suppose. However, for some reason, well, lots of reasons actually, I've been really reflective lately on what my larger responsibilities are in life.

A talk by Julie B Beck was recommended to me and it really has put a few things into perspective for me so I figured I'd share what I got out of it.

The talk is titled, "A Lioness at the Gate." Intriguing, right? Oh it was given at BYU Womens' Conference, if you want to go find it for yourself, which I highly recommend.

Because I can, in no way say it better than she did, here's a quote that I loved,

"...Women are like lionesses at the gate of the home. Whatever happens in that home and family happens because she cares about it and it matters to her. She guards that gate, and things matter to that family if they matter to her."

She goes on to give examples of getting tithing paid, sacrament meeting attended, temple work completed and missions of children served.

As I was thinking about it, I started realizing that she gave some great examples of things that may or may not be important to women/mothers in each home. And with this I started to think about where my focus has been, and where my focus should be.

She goes on to say,

"Sisters, you are each like the lioness at the gate. This means that there has to be some prioritizing. I was taught years ago that when our priorities are out of order, we lose power. If we need power and influence to carry out our mission, then our priorities have to be straight."

I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but I have previously found it extremely easy to sit down and in one or two sittings start and finish a novel but found it very difficult to find 10 minutes to sit down and read my scriptures....especially since I became a mom.

She commented on the way that she outlines her priorities and also notes that it will vary for everyone. But she breaks her priorities down like this: The Essential Things, The Necessary Things, The Nice-To-Do Things.

Essential Things as she outlines are things that MUST be taken care of, and if they are not taken care of by me then the blessings of eternal life won't be mine nor will they be my family's.

-Reading the Scriptures

-Prayer

-Sacrament Meeting

-Repentence

-Going to the Temple

-Sharing the Gospel

-Sharing my testimony

-Service

Necessary Things are things that are necessary to create an environment or climate where the Spirit of the Lord would be.

-Homemaking(cleaning, organizing)

-Cooking meals and having them together as a family

-Becoming Self-Reliant

-Getting out of Debt

-Be Happy

-Spending undistracted(word?) time with my children

Nice-To-Do Things are obviously things that are recreational in nature and won't guide us back to our Heavenly Father.

-Quilting

-Crocheting

-Cross-stitching

-Reading

-Facebooking

-Games

Now, this is just my list. Obviously, yours may be different.

The last challenge that she gave REALLY REALLY touched me.

Because I struggle with scripture study, I've been looking for some kind of manual to read along with so that I could really study what I was reading rather than just reading it and waiting for something to jump off the pages at me. You are probably thinking, hello? what about Sunday school manuals? Well, I wanted something a little bit more than that, I guess I can't explain what exactly I wanted.

Anyway, I feel like the Lord was speaking directly to me when she says this,

"I have a little exercise for those of you who want something specific to do in your scripture study. Get a new little copy of the Book of Mormon. In the front of it, open to a blank page and write three questions: Who am I? What are my responsibilities in the house of Israel? How do I fulfill my responsibilities? As you read and study, you will find some blank pages in the back. You can add Post-It notes if you like. Start writing your answers in the back as you read, and you will have a journey of discovery about who you are. It doesn't matter how long this study takes. Take one month, take ten years, and discover who you are. When you finish studying those questions in the Book of Mormon, study them in the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Old Testament. The Lord knows who you are. He knows what your responsibilities are and how you can fulfill them. Power and strength will come to you as you understand who you are in the Lord's kingdom."

I'm filled with gratitude for the things I'm beginning to learn as I start my scripture study with this focus. And I'm grateful for a Heavenly Father who knows my struggles and my strengths, who can guide me when I feel like I'm floundering, and who can humble me when my priorities become misaligned.

I don't know if this made sense to anyone but it feels good to get it out. So thanks for being patient.....or just skipping this entry entirely:)

Finished!

I was kind of debating whether or not I was going to post finished pictures of the quilt because, honestly, all of the pictures so far pretty much look the same.

I mean, it's hard to see the details of what was actually done with each progression....I'm going to have to work on that.

However, when my sweet hubby told me he wanted to take my quilt to work, to show it off to his co-workers, and then, took pictures of where it's being displayed in his office, I just couldn't resist.

Why would it matter that he took it to work, you may ask?

Well, Sam works at the largest quilting machine manufacturer in the country. And his co-workers are some of the best quilters in the country. And his office is decorated with quilts from all over the country.

So he's seen some AMAZING quilts and I'm really flattered that he thinks mine is worth bringing in to work and showing them....even with all it's imperfections.

Thanks hunnie! You gave me the warm fuzzies!

Quilted!

Here it is! I decided to quilt in swirls because there are swirls in the main brown fabric in the border. All that is left to do now is the binding! So exciting!

Connor's ABC's

This is the second time he did it. The first was a little better but I didn't have my camera ready. And I'm actually really shocked that he let me record it at all. Tres cool!

My Big Boy is growing up so fast!

Quilt with Border

It's not perfect but I really like it. I did just a slightly puffed border so that it pops out a little bit more but not the same thickness as the puffed squares. Next comes the backing, batting and quilting.

Jell-O

Funny video of Bear.....

I'm not exactly sure what he's doing to it at the end. Blowing it? Kissing it?