Hmmm... Weird...

So, apparently Snooki follows me on Instagram...

I'm not really sure why that would happen, but whatever.

(I'm not even entirely sure who that is and PLEASE don't tell me!)

Thanks to Hannah, I probably would have never noticed.

I Cannot Wait Until January!

I am hooked on Downton Abbey thanks to my mom. I have probably watched it 2 or 3 dozen times! The first season covers 1912, when the Titanic sunk, through 1914, when Britain declared war on Germany. The second season covers WWI and closes in 1920. This period of time is fascinating to me for a couple of reasons. First, I love history, but unfortunately don't know too much about this time period. Masterpiece does an amazing job with getting the costumes and sets perfect to the time period to really make it feel like you are really there. Lastly, this is the time period of when my Grandpa and Grandma Machen were born and raised in. (Sure they were raised in the United States, but I like seeing what the world was like when they were children.)

I have also been drawn into the lives of all the characters. I feel like I know them so well, almost as though they are my own friends. I love watching it with Jonathan. (Yeah, he even likes it!) I can't wait to see what will happen in season 3!

The Crawley sisters.

I Am Truly Blessed

Lately, I've been feeling so blessed for a decision I made almost two years ago. I honestly feel like I have married the perfect man for me. 

A few weeks ago, I wasn't feeling good and so I had a lazy day with Jonathan. We had a Harry Potter movie marathon. I kept telling him that 13 year old BJ was swooning (yes, I've loved Harry Potter since I was in elementary school and I still love it). Now I am on a Harry Potter kick. I started reading the 5th book. Jonathan read a chapter to me. It was wonderful. 

Jonathan never read the books,

so I will let him read them to our children. 

He will love it.

Sometimes (or most of the time) as we get ready for bed, I get an added boost of energy. It usually leads to a tickle fight and lots of laughing. I think it happens because I just get so excited that we don't have to say good bye every night like we did before we were married.

Jonathan and I are so similar. It is a wonderful thing. It's uncanny with just how much we think alike. There are many times when we predict what the other will say. I've been doing it for awhile now, but lately Jonathan's been doing it more (sometimes it's creepy, but that's to be expected).

Something I've always loved about Jonathan (even before we dated) is how easy it is to talk to him about anything and everything. Our first date was about 15 minutes of eating ice cream and 2 hours of talking.

I am so grateful for my sweet Jonathan. He takes such good care of me and makes me feel so loved. I am so grateful that I get to have eternity with him. It will be so fun!

Some Thoughts

I woke up early on Friday morning, and couldn't fall back to sleep. Jonathan was sound asleep next to me, and I decided to get on my phone. I saw someone refer to a shooting in Colorado and I didn't know what they were referring to. I went ahead and looked for it on the news and there it was.

A shooting in Aurora that happened during a midnight showing of the new Batman movie.

I was stunned by what I was reading. It seemed so unreal to me. That sort of thing doesn't happen in real life. People don't just go around shooting and killing random people doing everyday things.

After the initial shock, I started to think about what I would do in a situation like that. Would I think clearly or would I just freeze? Would I try to stop the person or would I be a shield for the people around me? How would I react if someone I loved had been killed?

I don't know the answers to those questions. All I know is that there is a plan laid out for us, but it is up to us to find it and then stay on it. I read an amazing blog post written by a woman that was in the theater with her two daughters discussing the idea of God being merciful if he allows senseless violence to occur. I would encourage you to read it. Heavenly Father loves us perfectly and He allows us to make decisions, even if they are bad ones. He is there for us and as soon as we turn to Him, He takes us in His arms and assists us back onto the only path that leads to him. I am so grateful that I am loved by our Heavenly Father even though I am imperfect and make dumb decisions. He is always there for us, we just need to turn to Him and work a little harder at being the person He knows we can be.

Seriously, read it!

Garrett and Beebee!

I love spending time with Garrett. He is such a little goofball! I can tell that likes spending time with me too because he gets a sly little smile on his face (unless he just woke up from a nap). He started calling me Bee Day a month or two ago (j is a hard sound to make) but it's evolved into Beebee. (It's rather confusing since he thinks that anything that flies is a bee and yells it so everyone can hear.)

Anyways, we love spending time together. Playing with trucks, trains, rocks, or little apricots that fell off the tree, we can have fun. There are times when I prefer the company of child more than adults. Here are some pictures of us playing around.

We were watching Cars and Garrett got excited when Lighting McQueen's tire popped. He had to act it out!

Yes, Garrett still thinks the only purpose of my existence is to play with him.

Something's Missing

After finishing up all of the posts from our Idaho trip, I have been missing my playful Seth and sweet Clara! Thankfully, these two will be moving to California at the end of the month!!! I am so excited and can't wait to spend more time with them.

That's also when Taylor, Kenzie, and Mercedes will be getting home from their trip to Utah. The Nelson home isn't the same with them gone, but they will be back in just a few weeks!

Before they get back however, Hannah will be home this weekend!!!!!!! Let the fun begin!

She's almost done with another semester of school!!!

It will be so wonderful to have our family home again!

The Tyster!

I love they way Tyler thinks. He says and does some of the funniest things. While we were on our trip, Ty did some funny things and here are a couple for your enjoyment!

One night while we were still at the farm, Tyler was noisey while getting ready for bed. Amy told him he needed to be quiet because we were right above Lyla's room and she didn't want her to wake up. So, Tyler looked like he was about to stomp on the floor, but instead crouched down and whispered through the floor, "Go to sleep now Lyla." Then he got up and finished getting ready for bed.

Tyler has always loved babies and so after hugging Clara, I asked him why he liked babies so much. He told me, "Because they are cute." I asked him what makes them cute. He said "Because they lick me." So I asked him if I would be cute if I licked him. He said "No, because you're already cute." I told Jonathan that he better watch out because Ty is going to steal my heart just like he did when he was a baby!

A Photo Shoot of the Girls

After Hannah finished up our Patterson family photo shoot, she turned her focus to our two little girls. The girls were adorable and Hannah did an amazing job of capturing them (which is normal for her)!

First up was Lyla girl!

I just love her cute face, especially when she sticks out that lower lip! 

Let's not forget those chubby little legs!

Sweet Clara's turn was next!

Clara was in such a happy and playful mood! 

She is such a beautiful little girl!

The two girls took a few pictures together too. We tried propping them up, but they kept falling down.

Clara loves Lyla!

I love the look in their eyes.

I feel so blessed to have two sweet little nieces and they are so blessed to have each other!

Little girls are so precious!

Our Last Full Day in Idaho

This was our last full day in Idaho, so we spent a lot of time with family! The adults focused on packing, while the kids focused on eating and playing.

A busy bunch of boys.

A very happy Clara!

Chris decided that he wanted to be a ninja like Tyler, so he climbed the pole in the middle of the family room. It was so crazy watching him do it! Ryan was convinced that he could do it too. He wasn't very successful.

Chris hanging around. That's how high Ry got.

Chris managed to squeeze in a morning nap with the girls!

 The original plan for our day was to go back to Yellowstone to see Old Faithful and a few other things before heading back to the farm. Well, it mostly worked out. My siblings and their kids were able to go, but my parents, Jonathan, and I waited for the towels and sheets to be clean. Some people may have found that disappointing, but it was really enjoyable. Jonathan and I are used to lots of quiet time and with 7 children that just doesn't happen. As soon as the laundry was done, we headed out.

Just in case you were worried, Old Faithful still works. (This is Chris's picture of it.)

The four of us went to Big Spring to make up for missing a second day in Yellowstone. It was the clearest water I have ever seen!

Yes, that really is the water and not glass.

The two that made this weekend work!

All of this water fed into a river. This is one of the largest natural springs in country.

Apparently there are seagulls in Idaho.

 There was a really pretty little stream and I wanted to see it, so I hopped over a little fence to get closer to it.

A pretty little waterfall.

I'm almost certain that I shouldn't have been there,
so I ran back to the trail.

After checking out the spring, we climbed back into the car and stopped off for lunch at Big Judd's. That's the place that has one-pound burgers. Yes, they are huge. No, none of us tried to eat one on our own. No, I will absolutely never eat one by myself (but I did pretend to!)

I told you it was HUGE!!!

 The four of us shared the monster and I still couldn't finish my quarter of it. It was just too much and delicious

.

My portion of the burger.

After getting back to the farm, Jonathan and I got back into our car to visit his sister, Hannah, in Rexburg. It was so fun! We had our frozen custard before our Mexican dinner. It was so yummy! We also spent some time on campus and Hannah kept running into people she knew. She is so popular! We even ran into one of my childhood friends while we were in the library too. It was crazy!

A bridge that connects two buildings. A very smart addition especially during the winter months.

The library had some really neat things. There was a picture with an image of Christ and the entire text of the Book of Mormon. There was a little magnifying glass so you could read it better.

You can't tell, but the words are all there.

A little further down the hall was a room that had a printing press similar to the one that was used when the Book of Mormon was first published. There was also a case that had a first edition Book of Mormon in it. I am so grateful for the sacrifices of those who printed and distributed that book. It was so difficult at that time and now it is in over 100 languages and there are millions of copies world wide. Their work help to make it possible.

A well worn copy of the Book of Mormon.

After our tour, it was time to say goodbye and head back to the farm.

Rexburg treated us to our last Idaho sunset.

By the time we got there, most of the playing was done for the day and we all made it to bed before waking up for the drive home.

I truly love Idaho. I love how generous Annie's parents were with allowing us to take over their home and feeding us such good food. Whenever I go to Idaho, it almost feels like I'm going home. I feel a closer connection to my grandpa Machen because I am visiting the place where he grew up. I look forward to taking my own children to Idaho in the summers, just like my grandpa did with his children.

This trip was so much fun because my family was finally all together. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family. It's crazy and chaotic when we're all together, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Yellowstone

Our next big stop on our trip was spending the day in Yellowstone! We travel as a herd now, with 4 cars, 7 children, and 10 adults. It's definitely a lot more to deal with, but it is so worth it to be together! (Warning: there are a ton of pictures.)

The morning started off with loud playing with the cousins, then we packed up and headed out!

The boys LOVED running around this poll.

 So, one of my life goals is to make it to all 50 states and this trip got me just a little bit closer! I made it to my seventh state! (I still have a very, very long way to go.)

Proof I was in Montana!

Our first stop in the park was to check out the buffalo.

We piled out of our cars and took lots of pictures.

Kyle was nice enough to feed Garrett a few of his fruit snacks.

Chris was the only one who thought it felt nice outside. The rest of us were freezing!

I was surprised to see all of the logs still laying around from the fire in the '80s.

All of the people trying to get closer to the antelope.

On the other side of the road, there was a small group of buffalo.

The next stop we made was to check out the hot springs. 

Yes, pay phones still exist!

The first we saw was Emerald Spring. Beautiful, but stinky!

Here we are watching Steamboat Geyser!

Both Jonathan and Garrett enjoyed wearing grandpa's hat.

Looking at all the gorgeous scenery and animals sure gave us an appetite! We found a nice grassy spot and piled out of our cars and ate our lunch. Garrett and Seth were probably the funniest. Seth would take off running and Garrett would chase him. Eventually, Seth would fall down and Garrett would fall right on top of him so they could wrestle. (As much as 2 year olds can wrestle!)

Our big and busy gang!

After lunch, we started splitting up. Two cars headed back to the cabin, while the other two pushed forward. My dad really wanted to see the north entrance of the park. (It used to be the only entrance to the park.) 

This is the little town that is just outside of the park.

Here's Amy taking Mom and Dad's picture under the old entrance.

 When you're driving around the park, every so often people stop their cars and pull over. That's when you know something good is around. We hit one of those slow downs, and Mom was the one to spot a little bear cub rolling around in the shade.

It's hard to see, but it is there!

 After driving through the valley, Amy and Mike decided to take their own path as we headed to the canyon. I am so glad that we went to the canyon. It is simply amazing how beautiful it is. I really don't know what else I can say about it.

The colors were amazing!

On one of the lookout points, there was a sign talking about a nest. I can't remember what bird it was talking about, but there was definitely something in it!

I used my dad's binoculars to zoom in on the nest.

 On our way out of the park, we saw some more animals.

Hey Andy! I found a buffalo for you!

A group of buffalo decided to walk across a parking lot, so we followed them to get really close.

A large group of antelope getting ready for the night.

We all made it back safely to the cabin and eventually all of the children made it to bed.

Jonathan almost made it through the trip without giving either girl a bottle.

Lyla loves her silly dad!

Two tired babies and two tired adults!

We made s'mores again! It was amazing!!!!

After all the kids were down (& Amy and Mike), the rest of the adults stayed up and played games. After getting really silly and tired, Andy showed us the funniest YouTube video EVER! Search Guy on a Buffalo when you are in a really silly mood and get ready to laugh! We were all laughing so hard, but Andy was laughing so much that he started crying! He almost hyperventilated! It was such a great end to a fun family day.