So much I want to share but no time to do it in a cute way...

I wish I had time and energy to upload the pictures of the kids at swim lessons, or of us camping in the backyard and roasting marshmallows, our fun bike rides along the river, or of us all at the drive in movie last weekend or any of that but alas my life is so crazy its not going to happen. But as it stands I do want to remember this chapter of my life which means my recording it here on my blog...so here is goes.

So far we hate residency but we are getting better at dealing with all the stress and strain it has put on our family, our relationship, and our health. Just to capture it Stewart has lost 16 lbs. in three weeks because of the fact that he is so stressed and has basically no time to eat. poor man. I am basically a single mom of four which has been a test of my endurance but I am getting some great strategies to help me cope. This next week is his last week of night float so thank heaven! Yesterday I gave Stewart a hug goodbye after seeing him for a grand total of 40 minuets that day and I started to cry and he even started crying. poor guy. I think we was just so exhausted he couldn't handle me falling apart.

We are gearing up to sell our house. It is so all up in the air but I have realized these past weeks that I and I alone will be moving us and that is so overwhelming. I can barley keep our home running let alone be packing us up and finding a new house and blah blah blah...but the Lord always takes care of us so I have no doubt that it will all work out really well in the end.

We have entered a new phase of poor which is really fun. ;) But its an upgrade...no more help from the government or parents or anything. Yup, we're finally going to be self sufficient. Go us! And of course the Lord is watching out for us. One night last week I was up late trying to get the house put back together and was in the middle of doing the dishes and I felt this overwhelming need to pay my tithing. I was just going to pay it on Sunday but the spirit kept whispering that I needed to pay it now so I could receive the blessings we needed so I found an envelope and then a check book that had checks in it and then an envelope that actually had a tithing slip in it and at 10:30pm I put it in the mail box. I am not sure if that is why but even though I have officially retired from hand prints I had six appointment last week and one lady expressed to me that she wants to be trained. Blessing from heaven!

Bridger is stressing me out. School is starting and I am not sure how he'll do with his sensory issues and I'm sure some learning disabilities, and then with his speech and hyper activity it is a struggle at times to keep my cool. I hope to be able to find the right specialists that can help me get him in a good place so he learns to like school and to think of himself as successful at it. I want him to see who he really is without all his "disabilities". It is a hard thing to deal with because its not like people really understand what I am dealing with and I get all sorts of "help" from people that is not helpful at all. Like telling me that if I would only give him more structure or if I'd only discipline better then he'd be fine...no people its not that simple. If he were an average kid it would be but he really has some special needs so I need some more special help. I had a talk with him the other day after he was in serious timeout for going on a hitting spree. It was really tender...we talked about how hard things were for him and I talked about getting him help so that things would be easier so he could have better control over his behavior and learning how to read could get easier and the Spirit was so strong and he looked at me with so much relief and said he really wanted help. Oh, my sweet boy. I love him to pieces and I know I am being led to get him the help he needs despite how many naysayer there are out there telling me I am wrong.

Genevieve is the the little heart of the family right now. At just barely six months she is chubby little ball of joy! EVERYONE adores her. We all sit and play with her all day long she is a total doll. No one can make her laugh more then her siblings they adore each other...plus when I tell them we have to clean up toys to protect Genevieve from eating stuff and dieing/chocking they are like, "Hurry mom! We have to hurry and save Genevieve!" Love it! ;)

I have just a few finishing touches on our house and then I will be doing a photo shoot for the Realtor to use on our MLS...I am so excited to have all the little things I wanted to do finally come together. I hope our house sells quickly. We just cant afford it anymore (well like we ever could!)....where we will live? hmmmm...that's a good question. My nomad neighbors offered us to live in their house for free...that would be interesting. But I just keep praying that whatever is supposed to happen will happen. Time will tell.

Next month Stewart has a really really easy rotation so we are trying to figure out what we will be doing. We were going to do some vacationing but with our finances so tight I am not sure what we will do. We might just start packing up the house in our spare time... I am not sure. I am leaving that one up to Stewart....I'd like to do San Fransisco before we move but if not its not that big of a deal.

I am finally getting used to being in young womens. I really love the girls. It is a really great place to serve in the church. I only have one year to be there with them. Two weeks before I was called I knew I was going to be called to YW and the President said before she had been called the spirit had told her that she was going to be the president and that I was to be her counselor. So I feel this desire to make a difference, that I am there for a specific reason, I want to do all I can to help the girls. It has been a rocky start though since getting to the activities with no babysitter and stuff is a major feat! But I am loving it even though it is stretching me to new limits.

I am already working on Christmas gifts. I want a stress free Christmas as much as possible and with our housing situation being up in the air I am going to get the gifts done super early so when
the season comes around I can just enjoy it and not stress about all the cousin gifts and such. I think I'll thank myself for it when the time comes.

I am trying to lose the baby weight that has not wanted to leave me...I lost almost six pounds these past two weeks so that is encouraging. I have a lot more to lose but I'll get there. I've been running everyday the past two weeks (well except Sundays) and this past week I've done sit ups and stuff and kick boxing four times. So woot woot me! My sister is going to be my little cheer leader and we are going to call each other every Monday and report our progress to each other. So I think that will be really fun. And on the topic of sisters...my sisters and I are sort of planning a sister's weekend in Tahoe/Reno this next spring. I am so excited. We hope to do one every year and take turns hosting it. Oh, I am really looking forward to it!

I've been doing preschool with my three preschoolers and that is pretty great...I wish I had the energy to upload the pictures of us doing our "T" party and our "V"alcano eruption and all that jazz. Its been fun.

My egg allergies are killing me. I have to be super careful that what I eat doesn't have any eggs in it. I made a vegan cake this week and it was not that great. Bummer. I am going to see an allergist this next month to be tested. I am interested to hear what he'll have to say about it. Oh, and I should be able to see a vein specialist this next year too so I am really hoping I can have some work done on my veins! That would be really nice.

....and I think I am finally speechless. Sorry, when I don't get to talk to adults very often I get even more "chatty"! Have a happy Saturday everyone!

My Body Part Two

Ha! thanks for the comments I was thinking about my post after I posted it and thought I would retract it and take it off since it was a bit whinny and I hate when women go on about their weight since its such a complex topic for women especially in our society...but I guess I was too late. :O)

Here are some of my thoughts in response to your great comments. When I was in high school I thought that weighing 120 would be the death of me and I thought the four black heads by my nose were the most awful things to ever happen to me face. So the Lord has had a lot to work on with me since! :O) what a nut right?!?!?!

At eighteen I promptly got acne, my veins started to get worse (yes, even in high school they started to bulge) and I gained 15 pounds making me 130. Gasp! I think he has been doing the same thing to me all over again. I know, with great humility, that I am still a bit of a nut as my sisters are never too shy to point out. The Lord is still having to teach me to CHILL and get a more healthy perspective. I know that in five years I will look back at myself at this time and laugh and shake my head. I think that is why the past months when I would have usually dropped the 20 pounds I like to in an effort to reclaim my body as my own and to reassert that I am a physically capable women after spending the last months of my life waddling around it didn't happen. :O) .

This time with Miss Genevieve I gained a lot more when I was pregnant, my veins got really horrible, and I was hardly able to walk the last couple weeks. The Lord had to humble me even more and teach me to chill after she was born. I knew that from the beginning. I would pray about why I wasn't losing weight even when I was doing everything I sort of felt the Spirit say that it wasn't going to happen because I needed to learn to be happy even if my body was still "out of control". I think so much of what we need to learn in life (well, at least in my life) is to give up the sense of control we want so badly and be content realizing it's all in the Lord's hands.

The other day I was praying and asked the Lord if I had learned that lesson or not. You know when I weighed myself and I weighed my 6 month pregnant weight that I used to freak out about when I was even just pregnant I didn't freak out. It made me sad a little that I was at that point but I was okay with it, the eating disorder from high school past didn't freak out! I knew I was happy and that life was so very blessed despite my weight which in high school I don't think I could have emotionally excepted as well. I think as I prayed this last time I felt like He was actually going to bless me to be successful this time around so I was trying to hype myself into caring more again and to do the crazy exercise that I love to do all over again. I think partly my rally cry for weight loss is because I have been struggling with a little bit of depression since Stewart started residency. He is just gone so much and with my kids (Bridger has been out of control with tantrums and fits and really been rather violent and I am trying to get him evaluated for ADHD and sensory issues) and we are starting the process of short selling our house, I got called to Young Women's presidency, and blah blah so it have been stressful... I knew I needed to start running again since that is my "anti-depression" remedy. So, this week I have gone on a 4 mile run every morning, I am the slowest pace of my life, but I am proud of myself for going. I think by October the little consistent things will make a big difference even if I am not in my favorite outfit. I know if I stick with it I will be proud of myself for being healthy and doing the things that make me feel good with or with out my weight loss. But a girl can dream right?!?! ;)

And Amy, I love your "lectures". :O) You talk the same way my family talks. When I talk to you I feel like I am talking to one of my sisters. I love it. I know it isn't fair to say her weight is fixable...I am a strong believer in how genetics effect our weight. Like when a women built like Olive Oil says she is so thin because she goes on a mile walk every morning...Ha! ya right lady! ;) Sometimes the only way to lose that genetic weight is with extreme, dieting and exercise and to do that would be excessive and unhealthy. I guess we all have different balances that equate to our own happiness...and I think women who are genetically fuller look really good full. I know one might say this is my eating disorder thinking I am not looking good when I am...but I think there is at least some truth to that.

So I'm a nut. I am sorry to share my nuttiness. I blame this hateful world! ;O) I hate when I say stupid things when I know better. May we all set whatever goals make us happy and achieve them if the Lord thinks it our time and season for such things. :O)

And I guess I am now going to have to let you all know how it is going from time to time. Today I ate two chocolate rice crispies dipped in chocolate for a late morning snack and then again as a pre-lunch snack. They were really good. :O) If I don't lose this week we'll all know why.

My Body.

My body and I have had a rocky relationship for most of my life. There are things I love about my body and then there are things that I feel like are curses. My veins being first and foremost on that list. Whenever I discuss my veins people seem to dismiss my feelings about them with things like, "Oh, Emily I am sure they aren't that bad." That is like telling someone who has a genetic defect that its not that bad and to just suck it up. Younger women my age just don't understand...the only people who get it are older women who know all too well what I am talking about and even then my specific condition is one that most women wont talk about and doctors have little idea how to treat. My doctors who look at my legs agree that they look terrible and very painful. When I was in labor with Genevieve every nurse was like "wow, your poor poor legs. How bad do they hurt?!?!?" I have one nurse ask, "how did you get so bruised? Were you some accident or something?" When I told her it was my veins she was shocked. Yes - they are that bad. With each baby they get worse and not only do they look like I have some giant worm parasite out of some third world place in Africa but they hurt terrible too. Since having Genevieve I cant where shorts, and my skirts and dresses have to come down to my ankles to cover them up. I don't spend too much time feeling sorry for myself but in the summer it is extra hard. I was at the pool the other day and found myself bitterly jealous of a 200+ lbs women walking around in her bathing suit. I left in a grumpy mood and when Stewart asked what was making me upset I told him. He was shocked and sure she was curvy to the extreme but her legs were perfect. not a vein in sight! sigh. What she has is completely fixable what I have is not. I have been told by multiple specialists that there really is no cure for my vein problem. The most aggressive thing they can do is give me a hysterectomy and even that fails to work most of the time. sigh again. But I am trying to not let it get me down. Besides the pain I am healthy and so that is something to be really grateful for.

The next issue I have had lately is that ever since having Genevieve I feel like I have been cursed with not being able to lose weight. Those of you who know me know I can work out with the best of them and I get in great shape after having a baby. By six months I am in my high school jeans again. But this time not so much. I have done everything! I trained for a half marathon, I did South Beach twice, Atkins twice, done Pilate's, Turbo Jam,...nothing works and then when I throw in the towel and say "well, if it doesn't work then I wont do it" I gain like 13 pounds in a month....yeah, that is what happened this past month. So I am done with that! It is just so frustrating.

I am rallying myself again. I refuse to be okay with my bigger self. I am not sitting around hating myself, no I think I look really good for my weight. But I want more for myself. I weigh as much as I do when I am six months pregnant. So this is really the reason for my post, I wanted to publicly announce my goal to lose weight to give me a little extra motivation and pressure when my success is tiny and so very slow. I am going to do my old tried and true, portion control and increased focus on fruits and veggies and doing aerobic and strength training everyday -even though that means waking up at 5:30 every morning to make sure it doesn't take away from the rest of my life. I plan on being in my favorite outfit on my birthday in 14 weeks. In 14 weeks I am going to feel great that I set my goal worked daily at it to make it happen. I plan on periodically doing a post to let you know about my progress. I may have the ugliest legs ever but they surely wont be huge on top of their vein issues. If I cant look good in shorts I'll lat least look great in jeans! So take that body! ;)

Summer Vacation: Disneyland

Ha! I forgot to blog about Disneyland...how did I forget that one! Ok it was fun, it was a busy day. We thought about doing a couple day trip but we decided to wait until we are done having kids and they are all old enough to enjoy it then we'll knock ourselves dead doing a huge old trip. But until then a day once every couple years will suit us just fine.

So this time we left the baby with my mother, thank you mom for babysitting! The kids were tall enough to go on some of the bigger rides which was really fun. Space Mountain was Bridger and my favorite, but Matterhorn was pretty great too. I am always surprised at how much we love the parade and the fireworks. So magical! Love them. I teared up at the firework show. sigh. Only at Disneyland.

I will always hate Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin - always skip that ride, even without any line...lame lame. They really should just tare that one down. I thought the new Buzz Lightyear ride was super cute. I got the highest score, go me! We didn't do any characters except Mickey and Minnie. I just didn't want to wait 1:30 to see the princesses. Angeli was sad a little bit so we'll have to do that next time. There are always these crazy little girls in their major princess dresses, that you know they just bought that was like at least $80 dollars and they have their hair done at the princesses salon place and they are all trying to not mess up their ensemble when they are riding rides and it sort of perplexes me but to each their own! The Jedi training was fun even though they didn't get picked to get trained - those Jedi had no sense of taste at all! ;)

Benjamin was cute. He didn't really get the whole "you have to get off the ride thing" at first and so he'd start crying every time the ride ended. I don't blame him...after waiting 45 minuets to ride Dumbo and then getting 2 minuets in the air you do feel a bit sad.

Gadget Go Coaster is still a favorite of mine. The line was so short we went a couple times. It is a fun little thrill. It amazes me that they like the haunted mansion...they are usually so sensitive about stuff like that.

The kids loved it and ask all the time when we are going again. I hope it wont be too long. So much fun! We didn't get very many cute pictures...I just wanted to play and not worry much about pictures so sorry these aren't all that worth seeing. Plus I think I have more on another camera but I am to lazy to check so this is what I'm sharing. :) But the kids love looking at them! Hope you enjoy them too...plus the music so nostalgic.

Summer Vacation: Havasupai

Okay now where to start with this post. Well, I will start eight years ago. When Stewart and I were first dating before we kissed or anything he went on a Rasmussen man hike to Havasupai. That was when I first found out about it. When he told what it is like I was hooked on the idea of going with him someday. I have been talking about it ever since. But with four babies in five years it wasn't seeming like it would be happening anytime soon. When I realized that we would have a month off with the kids out of school and Stewart having no work or school or anything I set to work dreaming about all the things I wanted to do in that precious time. Havasupi was high on the list. We called and made reservations and asked Stewart's mother to babysit the kids for us. We originally wanted it to be a romantic little trip for just Stewart and I but everyone wanted to go too so it became a family event and it turned out really fun that way and gave Stewart and I the excuse to take our little romantic trip to Tucson. Dad Ras, Whitney, Paul and Janine came a long with us. It was so fun to hang out with all of them. Janine is my niece and she is dating Stewart's little brother which is a pretty cute love story...When he met her at Angeli's baby blessing over four years ago he said to us, "She is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen!" He has had a little crush on her since and after his mission he wanted to ask her out for months and finally after six months or so he finally bit the bullet and asked her out. After dating for a while she fell head over heels for him and they are now this super cute happy couple and we are crossing our fingers they will get married sometimes this year. Stewart LOVES that if they do get married his brother will be his brother and his nephew. And I love thinking that I will get my niece as a sister. So fun.

So we woke up at 2:30am and loaded the cars with our packs and drove the three hours to the trail head in Arizona on the outer edges of the grand canyon national park. From there we hiked the 9 mile hike to the Indian village and our campsite. It was really hot by the time we got there and we were ready to hurry and set up our campsite and head to the falls to swim and play. We decided to go to Mooney falls first. You have to climb down the side of the cliff to get to the bottom of the falls. It was fun climbing down there and the water felt so nice. The water there is like swimming pool water, clear and the perfect temperature. We had a great time exploring and playing until Stewart and Paul decided to see how far back they could get into the falls by walking through it. They were having fun until the sand bar they were standing on dropped off into oblivion and they were caught in a whirlwind current that kept sucking them into the falls. Stewart was able to get out and grab his little brother and hold him up to the walls behind the falls until he had recovered enough from the lack of air that he could climb the rocks along the back side of the falls and get to safety....it was pretty scary for all of us. We had no idea where they had gone or if they were ok. They were gone for so long I knew that if they had been caught under the falls they would have been dead and honestly if Stewart wasn't such a good swimmer and if the Lord didn't help him they would have died. Thank goodness he spent his whole childhood and teen years swimming.

But of course the next day they were just as fearless climbing behind the next waterfall Havasu jumping off these huge falls. Those crazy boys couldn't just sit in the perfect water and enjoy the beauty, nope that had be jumping off something or swimming into some sort of scary craziness to be having fun. I don't get it but since having kids my thrill seeking days are long gone so I am sure they felt the same way about me. :O)

Being there was pretty mind blowing. It was so dang pretty it was like being at a world class spa...like now I know what all those spas and resorts are trying to recreate but they cant measure up to the real God created version. So amazing! I felt I had to keep pinching myself to make sure I was really there.

After spending time at havasu we headed to the new falls (they had a major flood in I think 2007 which washed out the old falls and created two new falls) which I don't think they have officially named yet. That was fun to explore...well, we sort of tried to climb up to the main falls through the water and that was super lame so we just walked and it was super pretty. And then we all decided to jump off a 30 foot waterfall...and I literally got spanked. I don't know what I was thinking but I was completely unaware that my legs weren't straight and I hit the glassy surface with my behind and basically thought I might die. It left me feeling like I had just given birth to a ten pound baby. My thighs and behind were black and blue when we got home and I was not surprised one bit. Plus I bruised my tailbone so bad I still have trouble sitting...that was the low of the trip for me. But after taking some time off and eating a super filling dinner I had fun exploring and even jumping off some little rock cliffs and stuff. I don't think it really sank in until that night how badly I was hurt though. I woke up at 1:20 am from the pain. I was so scared because we had to hike out that morning and a 9 mile hike carrying a 40 pound pack is not what you feel up to when you feel like you just gave birth to a beast baby. So I prayed like crazy that I would be able to hike out...It worked! When we woke up at 3:30 am to head out of camp before the sun came up I had literally had no pain. It was a miracle. And then of course when we got home I was dieing again but I was so grateful I could hike out of there without tons of pain, and we made good time too, just 4 hours. phew.

So it was great to have my dream of going to havasupi come true. I was bummed that I got injured and that we didn't spend more time just relaxing and soaking it up but next time we go I will make sure we get to do more of that and if I jump off any major falls my legs will be straight! It was a trip I will never forget and I will forever be grateful I got to witness such amazing natural beauty. I LOVED just being able to see such a beautiful beautiful place.

If you want to go yourself this is my advice. Make time to go off the main paths (we found these quite awesome places the last hours we were there that we really wished we had more time to play in), don't eat at the restaurant in the Indian village, do eat dehydrated meals, do drink the yummy spring water, wear sun screen, don't go behind a new waterfall without talking to the locals first, wear tight fitting water shoes, pace yourself on the switch backs, bring waterproof mascara, and take lots of pictures!!!

Summer Vacation: Tucson

We headed to Arizona to visit my sister and Tucson. It was really great to be with my sister and her family. She has a beautiful home and lives right by a mountain preserve so it was fun to go running in the hills by her home. The kids loved being with their cousins. Nothing is better then when the cousins get to play play play together. Plus seeing my sisters is pretty much the best thing ever. Especially when they take you to fancy smanshy spa for a facial and feeds you some of the best food ever. sigh. It was good. Really good.

But I liked it more the I thought after being prepared to not just fall head over heels over it. I liked the overall vibe more then anything. The people there seemed really nice, easy going, but also smart and cultured. They come across as educated and cool in a ranchers setting. i like that. smart but not stuffy. I like to think I would fit in that vibe well.

So one of the days we were there Stewart and I and Genevieve headed to Tucson to check it out. The morning before we left I went for a little run and I decided to listen to some Ensign articles on my phone. I listened to this one. Which is all about an Elder on his mission who was sent to this crusty prison town and was feeling so sorry for himself when he got a letter from home saying, "blossom where you are planted". Then it turned into his very favorite place and he loved the people so very much and so on and so forth. When the article was over I felt the spirit say not very whispery, "Remember this while you go to Tucson today." Then I knew it, I was not going to love Tucson. :O)

What I didn't like was the housing. I have a hard time imagining us living there in one of their houses. Maybe I dramatizing this but seriously like the houses are so spread out with the ranchy vibe with unkempt desert everywhere....its a pretty desert much prettier then Vegas and Reno desert but desert all the same. There were no fences to be found and no grass and no lets go out back and play ball in the grassness. More like lets jump in the pool and when we get out we can hunt scorpions and rattlesnakes. ;) Okay that might be a bit much but maybe not.

We stayed in this really nice hotel that night and ate at a really yummy burger place and bought some goodies at one of the fifty million Trader Joes there.

These are not my pictures but I thought they capture Tucson how I see it and envisioned it.

Summer Vacation: Malibu Beach

The beach was so much fun. After Yosemite we were really tired and not really feeling up to the beach but we packed up and went anyways and we were so glad we did. The kids had been talking about how we were going to go to the beach for the past four months and were so excited. Which is funny because they are so afraid of the ocean...but they seem to love it anyways. :O) We saw a bunch of dolphins and a seal swimming in the surf and that was pretty cool. . It was sunny and beautiful. Stew and the kids built a sandcastle and a wave came and crashed it to pieces and the wave grabbed all their sand toys and pulled out into the water so we had fun retrieving all the toys we could find. The seagulls were not shy at all and we come up to our cooler and steal food out of it so Benjamin became our seagull chaser. He was not going to let those mean birds steal our food! :O) It was a wonderful day in the sun. I am already wishing we could go back.

Summer Vacation: Grandma & Grandpa Smith's

Being at my parents house is one of my favorite things to do to get all revamped and tuned up again. Its good for my soul. After Yosemite we headed to my parents home in Burbank. It was so nice to be home. I got to see my sister Shayla, my sister Anj and her sweet family, my brother Charles, and my Niece Christie and her cute little boy as well as spending time with my parents.

Whenever I go home I like to pick little things to do to sort of share my growing up years with my own little family. So we went to Porto's bakery, my childhood home where I grew up and the park I played at nearly everyday of my life as a kid, and showed them my elementary school, and high school. I went running on a bunch of my old cross country runs and I thought I would feel all nostalgic but really I just felt so grateful I never have to go through high school again. Man I hated high school! :) I just felt super grateful for my life now...that I left Burbank the day after I graduated high school and never looked back was the best thing I ever did. It's not that its a bad place, on the contrary it is wonderful, it was just a bad place for me. Besides my family, my ward family, and a few sweet souls at school that time of my life was hellish for me. My runs and bumping into my old coach left me feeling so grateful for my wonderful life with a husband i adore and kids that make my world go round. Oh, in high school I never thought such happiness existed. sigh. sorry for gushing.


anyways... we also went down to Hollywood. That was fun we showed the kids the studios in Burbank (they were excited to see where all the "Disney movies were actually made!") and then the main Hollywood drag with the sign and the stars and stuff. We went to "soul daddy's" that restaurant that won America's next best restaurant chain show or something like that. I liked it, the kids not so much and it was a bit pricey...but still it was cool to go to their place after watching the whole season. There were like a million tourists down there and there was a group of Asian girls that were so taken with Genevieve that they asked if they could take pictures with her. Ha! that was cute.
While we were there we also went to the beach and to disneyland but those are posts of there own. Stay tunned...:O)

Summer Vacation: Yosemite

So we went on an almost month long vacation and although I am so busy I am forcing myself to blog it all because I know I might forget the details and lose all drive to blog about it if I I don't do it now and I DON'T want to forget...So our first stop was Yosemite.

So on our drive it started snowing! Yes it was June 1st and it was snowing. The mountain pass we were supposed to take was closed do to heavy snow. So we took another road, it was the scenic route and it was snowy too but not too bad. It was so pretty though. I think just that drive was really one of my vacation high lights. It was a breathtaking drive, plus we were just so excited to get out of town.

We got to Yosemite later then we had hoped but it was so pretty. We rented this super cute yurt..totally recommend them, had a great dinner and then drove down to the valley floor. Well, first we stopped at the sequoia grove at the entrance to the park and started the hike but it started snowing and we were freezing and under dressed and so after a ways I made us turn back.

I have never been to Yosemite before so it was so exciting for me. We did the loop around the valley floor and then headed to the yurt for the night. The kids thought the yurt was the coolest thing ever. The next day we did a full day of adventuring. We did some little hikes with the kids which I can tell you is no small feat! The kids were tired by the end of the day and so were Stewart and I. But it was worth it. For me, being out in nature is pretty much my favorite thing...LOVED IT! We took a bunch of pictures and LOVED the scenery, if I were a really good photographer and if I had a really fancy camera these pictures would take your breath away! Honestly everywhere you looked you wanted to take a picture because the beauty was so picturesque and so strikingly beautiful. I can see how Yosemite inspired the National Forest program. The falls were huge because of the late snows that they had this year. The falls were awesome! You cant tell very well in the pictures but you couldn't get very close at all without the spray just covering you in mist. It was super fun.

We left late that evening and then drove to my parents house in Visalia and spent the night there with my dad who was there doing work in the central valley. I love their little Visalia house. It is their sanctuary from L.A. and its were they have their small orchard (24+ fruit trees) and my mom decorates to her hearts content in whites, yellows, and blues without the fear of it all getting stained and dirty from everyday life. :O)

After a good nights sleep and really long showers we headed to Burbank...which will be my next post. Enjoy some of our pictures! :O)

Three Little Cousins

Two of my sisters and I had little girls all within a three month period of each other. It was a sweet experience for us to go through that all together especially with it being the fourth and third children and all girls. Genevieve was grandchild number 40, Sabrina was number 41, and Liliana was number 42! My parents are so blessed! I wish we could all get together and take a picture of our babies together...they don't look related at all. All us five sisters hardly look related ourselves and then when you mix in the hubby's genetics our kids don't look much related! I get a kick out of it. All of them are the sweetest little girls ever.

When my sister Treva was pregnant they realized that her daughter had a serious heart defect and would need open heart surgery after she was born. We were all praying and fasting for her. Every two weeks they had to go two hours away to the major hospital in Tennessee and it was a struggle. When she was born they realized that she has Downs Syndrome. She was not thriving and with her heart defect and other issues they had to keep her in the hospital for over a month being two hours away from home for that long was really hard. The night she was born was when the major tornadoes swept through Alabama where they live...needless to say the past couple months have been a whirlwind...I admire my sister so much. She has always been such a strong kind person.

Liliana and Sabrina both have special places in my heart. I cant help but think they were all up in heaven together waiting their turns to come down encouraging each other and I like to think they are kindred spirits. I think it is interesting that up to the last month we were going to name Genevieve "Airianna Joy" but then we changed it to Genevieve and then my sister named her daughter Liliana Joy without knowing I was considering those names. This next month Liliana will have her open heart surgery. She has and will continue to be in our prayers. My sister had these beautiful pictures taken of her family and I couldn't help but show them off. She has such a lovely family.

http://agreenfieldphotography.com/blog/?p=12611

Genevieve Celeste at 5 months Old

Our little Genevieve Celeste is now five months old. She sure has been growing up fast. It is very clear now that she is going to be a busy little girl and that she is a outgoing, happy, energetic, sweet heart. She is content and super easy to take care of. She warms up to strangers easily but she is still a mommy's girl. She is chubby and healthy. She loves to eat and will hold her own bottle and everything. She is getting around really well with all her rolling and scooting. Her hair is growing in blond so I am interested to see if her hair will stay light brown or go all blond. She has really beautiful eyes and a very pretty little nose. Her eye lashes are long and curl up so lady like. She sparkles when you smile at her and lights up like a firefly. When you hold her she is always trying to move and crawl up you or turn outward or get you to go faster...she is going to be so busy! I love that she gives hugs and kisses. She reaches out for me and grabs me and then plants her mouth right on my face...cutest thing ever. Last night as I was typing on our laptop in bed she scooted in close to me and fell fast asleep right next to me. Oh, pure mommy heaven. We adore her and with such a sweet baby I am constantly telling Stewart I want at least 10 more babies! Bridger always tells me he wants us to have ten, fourteen, or sixteen babies. That wont happen but with all the joy she gives us we sure wish it could.

There will be a corner of heaven that is patterned after Nevada

Realizing that we only have one more year here in Nevada we have started to do some of the "Nevada" things we have always wanted to do but never have. First on our list was visiting Pyramid Lake. When people talked about pyramid lake they seemed to only talk of tubing and skiing and such so I only thought of it in that light. But when I looked it up online in preparing to go I was surprised to find that it was owned by a native american tribe and that there were many Native American legends that go along with the lake. When we got there it was so interesting to me how strongly that came across. It did have this spirit/vibe that was exotic and dramatic and it seemed so ancient. The vastness of the endless sky and the great expanse of water was so striking. It was a wonderful day letting the kids play on the beach, gathering treasures of many fun colored rocks, shells and feathers, taking pictures, having a picnic and taking in nature. It is just an hour away from home and it was really fun. I hope we can make it out there again before me move. I hope to go earlier next spring to get tours of the fisheries when the fish are spawning and to see the thousands of pelicans that migrate there every year to nest - we missed them by about a month this time. It was so aw-inspiring I decided that this is what I will miss most about Nevada's scenery; the giant sky against the dry earth and the blue water all set in this majestic raw balance that is uniquely Nevadan. Oh, it makes me sad just thinking about it. Soon we'll just have dry earth and huge skys. ;) Anyways, here are some beautiful pictures - if I were a real photographer they would be good enough to take your breath away.

This picture was so telling to me of Nevada. The tummble weed blown up on the beach like that. So Nevadaish. So much like home for me.