Idaho 2019

We had another wonderful time in Idaho with my family! Getting there was a nightmare, but once we were there it was a great trip! We were supposed to fly into Idaho Falls late Saturday night, but there was something wrong at the Denver airport and we couldn't get a straight answer with what the issue was.

Flying past the Circuit of the Americas!

We ended up in a ridiculously long line waited to figure out what could be done because we had zero desire to be stuck in Denver. We changed to a flight that would get us to Jackson Hole because we would get there earlier even adding in the drive than if we waited to go to Idaho Falls. I made sure multiple times that our luggage would be changed to our new flight and I was assured that it would be tagged and moved over.

We had nowhere to go along with a lot of other passengers, so we explored for awhile and then found a secluded, cold place to pretend to sleep for the night. 

This was our spot for the night.

While we struggled to get to Idaho Falls, Chris blessed sweet baby Eli.

I forgot how much snow can still be in the mountains in the summer.

Thankfully, the drive was gorgeous and it finally started feeling like a good trip even though our luggage did not make it to Jackson Hole like we were promised. It was still on the later flight to Idaho Falls...

We had to head back to the airport to get our luggage before we could get up to Island Park with the rest of the family.

The boys got out Apples to Apples and were cracking up as they played.

We finally got to meet sweet little Eli! All the girls wanted to be near him. It was so sweet!

We made everyone watch the Canadian GP.

I finally got my turn with a sleepy Eli!

The first night at the cabin was also my parents 40th wedding anniversary. It was the perfect place to celebrate as a huge family! We got everyone caught up with our plans with our new doctor and everyone was so excited for us.

The next day was a lake day. The water was freezing and for me, the weather was cold so I opted out of the swimming.

Warming up after the icy water.

You can always find Chris in the thick of whatever the activity is. He was the only adult to get into the water and he naturally had to jump in.

Spencer picked all of the "bouwers" he could find and gave them all to Amy. 

Later, he gave one to each of the girls and Aunts.

When the kids and Chris were done swimming, it was time to pull out the old canoe that we used when we were growing up. Once again it was Chris and the kids out on the water.

Eventually, I made my way back into the cabin because I needed more time with Eli.

At every cabin we go to, we have a puzzle going on.

Jonathan and I went out while the kids were getting ready for bed and enjoyed the last of the sunset.

The next day, we rented a real boat and had a great time. Jonathan was in his element out on the water.

Ryan is so photogenic!

Just because it's summer does not mean it's warm!

I'm convinced that Chris is the biggest kid of all!

I have hardly spent time with Spencer compared with the other kids, so I was thrilled any time he wanted to play with me.

Jonathan found this huge book about various military aircraft and he knew he wanted to look through it with Seth in particular. Seth loved drawing pictures of ships and tanks and even designed a double decker tank. The other boys enjoyed looking through it with Jonathan and Seth.

The girls did lots of crafts. Each trip, my mom wants to do crafts and gets all the supplies but it almost never happens. This time the girls did lots of crafts and they loved it!

Jonathan and I took a turn on the ATV around the neighborhood. It was so great! We went through a few puddles and my shoes were so dirty!

More artwork! This time Amy Rosella got in on it.

It was time to pack up and head back to Idaho Falls. This was our first time on the lake in Island Park and it was so nice not having to load up in the cars to go to the water.

The girls ended up dancing on the rain when we got back.

We went up to Heise Hot Springs and it was so much more fun to swim in! I only took a picture of the parking lot as we left because we were having such a a good time.

On the way back, we stopped off at Big Jud's. We split the hamburger between the four of us and it was so good!

Our final big adventure was at the Idaho Falls Zoo. We are a huge crowd wherever we go. This was my first time there and it is a cute zoo. Not to big and not too small.

Grandma and Grandpa wanted a picture with all the kids and they were done! Except for Ry.

Everyone loves Eli!

Chris took us out to a delicious dinner along with Annie's parents and brother and his family. It was an even bigger crowd and it was so fun.

We had to go to Reed's for ice cream and to see all the farm animals.

On the morning before we left Idaho, we met up with Thomas and Morghan. Hannah and Tammy were visiting them while we were in Idaho so we got to see them too!

One more time hanging out with the kids before heading to the airport. It was such a a good time being with (nearly) everyone.

We had another layover in Denver and it tried to butter us up with a rainbow. I still don't like that airport, but we made it home without any delays.

That Was May

It feels like I just posted about our April adventures and it's already now June. May went by in a blur, but here are a few memories.

Jonathan and I have matching hats for our favorite Formula 1 team and we frequently wear them together. So, we decided to step up our game and wore matching outfits with our matching hats. Yeah, we are that couple and we love it!

We took care of our friend Liza's cat a couple of times during May and he actually liked Jonathan more than me! Frequently, Jonathan would be hissed at but now he is the favorite. (I can't say I'm too surprised. Jonathan usually is everyone's favorite.)

A few days later, Jonathan and I went out to dinner at the restaurant just down the street from us. It had been fairly humid all day and as we were eating the wind picked up outside. Unfortunately, we didn't finish dinner in time and we had to walk through the pouring rain to our parking garage for shelter. We joked that we should have asked to leave through their back door since it opens up to our garage. Even though we were wet, we really enjoyed the storm.

Jonathan is slowly but surely getting some much needed dental work done. He's gone through quite a bit, but it wasn't until this latest time that he didn't feel good. Thankfully, he already filled prescriptions for pain killers for previous dental work and so we were able to keep him comfortable. By the next day he was back to normal.

My sweet mom once again sent flowers to me for Mother's Day. They were delivered to our apartment building's office and when I called them to make sure they were there they told me they were delivered but that the flowers were ugly and that I should just leave them there. They were scheming to keep the flowers for themselves! They most certainly were not ugly!

The day before Mother's Day, Jonathan and I decided to go to the temple. There was a lot going on at that time for us from me finishing up the semester to Jonathan needing some guidance with work to strained relationships and more! I love how spending time in the temple helps put our problems into perspective. They don't go away, but there is a clarity that comes.

I loved the Mother's Day messages on the signs along the freeway. Instead of going straight back home, we decided to go through a few smaller towns starting with Kyle.

Unfortunately the pie shop in Kyle was already closed for the day. I guess we will just have to go back another day!

I love driving on the country roads and the beautiful Texas scenery. 

We had a delicious dinner at Kimberly's in Wimberley. Yes, it is in Wimberley, Texas. Yes, it was delicious!

The wildflowers are still amazing. I had Jonathan pull over so I could take some pictures of this massive field covered in firewheels.

It's sights like these that make the hot, humid summers tolerable!

Then we made it back to our city. I love that we can easily be in the country even though we live in such a big city.

On Sunday, my primary kids made little heart notes for their moms. That gave me an idea to make a note for my mom.

I chose green paper because that's one of her favorite colors. I feel so spoiled because I have such a wonderful and selfless mother. She truly is the mother I need!

We frequently have cute little birds landing on our ledge.

I don't have any pictures, but I finished off this semester fairly strong. My astronomy class was the easiest science class I think I've ever taken and Spanish I was crazy hard. I've been wanting to kick start learning Spanish and this helped a lot. I have a better understanding of the grammar structure and how to conjugate verbs. My Spanish profesora was wonderful and very helpful, though I am grateful that it is over!

On the last Sunday in May, we had pizza and popcorn for dinner. When my parents were first married pizza and popcorn was the meal they had every Sunday. That same day, we decided to go to a Memorial Day ceremony. It took a bit of work finding a website that had a list of where they would be held throughout Texas, but I found it. We decided to go to the one held in Georgetown at the Veteran's Memorial Plaza in Sun City.

The program began with a flyover. The men in the color guard were dressed as colonial soldiers. A few even had the big buckled shoes.

There were probably around 1,000 people there and when the band played the National Anthem the crowd was quietly singing along. It was spontaneous and I got emotional. So much of what we are exposed to is divisive and spewing with anger and this was the exact opposite. It was powerful and unifying.

The main speaker just so happened to be United States Senator Ted Cruz. His speech was very powerful. He explained the origin of the common phrase there are no atheists in foxholes. It started with the Four Immortal Chaplains. I don't believe I had ever heard this story before. There was a transport ship going across the Atlantic Ocean that was hit with a torpedo in the middle of the night. There were four chaplains aboard the ship: one Catholic priest, one Jewish rabbi, and two Protestant preachers. As the ship was sinking, they were on the top deck helping hand out life jackets and eventually each giving their own to others. All four of them were calm in the face of so much chaos  and fear surrounded them. It is said that they were last seen circled together praying as the ship went down. This story has stayed on my mind. These men embodied their religious beliefs as they focused on serving others even at the cost of their own lives. They didn't care if the men believed everything they did. They simply helped those around them.

You can see Ted Cruz in the middle of the crowd.

We are planning on taking the time to either attend a Memorial Day ceremony or do something special to mark this day. It isn't just an excuse to not go to work and go shopping for some good discounts. The man who gave the benediction talked about how we honor those that died by living a joyful life and are actively involved in using the freedoms that these men and women died in an effort to preserve them. I am so grateful we took the time to remember what the true cost of freedom is and the necessity of continuing to preserve it. 

After the ceremony, Jonathan and I got a little pot to plant cilantro in. Jonathan loves making tacos and now wants to grow our own cilantro. Fingers crossed that the birds don't eat it!

The next day, we got some very exciting mail! At the beginning of the month, we ordered a full family portrait from an etsy shop called Dreamy Daffodil. Unfortunately, the envelope was a little bent so I stacked a bunch of book on top of it to help straiten it out. I waited until Jonathan came home from work to open it and it is PERFECT!!!

Here's what I wrote about it.

I am so grateful for all the love and support we've received especially as we've slowly started sharing more and more about our children. My life is not complete without them and they still have a significant portion of my heart with them. There are still plenty of days where the grief of living without them here is overpowering, but there are even more days that I have a grateful heart for the memories that we've made with them. I love having a visual reminder that they are part of our family and that it is only through Jesus Christ that I have the hope of being with them again.

May was a good month and gave us an excellent jumping off point for this summer!

Don't You Quit

Well, we finally made it to our long awaited appointment with a reproductive endocrinologist. We had the impression that we needed more information before proceeding with another pregnancy. I didn't want to be strung along for a year with an OB, so we went straight to a specialist. This quote from Elder Holland is giving me courage to go forward into the unknown.

We feel good having a plan and feel like our new doctor will be straight with us as we move forward.

We left we a huge bag of prenatal vitamin samples and orders for lots and lots of blood tests for me. The next day we went for the tests and thankfully our insurance covered all of them. It's rare for these tests to be covered. Jonathan was in the waiting room while I had my turn. I didn't take long for me to get lightheaded and nearly pass out. Jonathan heard the commotion and was quickly by my side. The nurse was so kind and I felt so bad for her.

Jonathan worked from home just to keep an eye on me. Unfortunately, I still need another blood draw to complete the rest of the tests.

It's a Date

Jonathan had Friday off, so we went on a date! We went to the Texas State Surplus Store. It has the old surplus from various government offices as well as all the items confiscated by TSA at the airport. Jonathan likes getting his utility knives here for a crazy good deal.

They also have relic from the 1900s like camcorders and corded phones.

It's overwhelming how much stuff they have, but you can definitely get a good deal on it!

From there, we went to an outdoor shooting range. It's one of the few, so it was a bit of a drive. 

Even though it's not really summer yet, it was plenty hot enough.

It did feel legit because we had to drive on a dirt road to get there.

All in all, it was a fun day.