Backpacking Adventure

Jeremy decided to take all four boys backpacking this summer for three days.  I wasn't officially invited until the morning of when Kayden decided he would miss me.  I thought about it for about a half second and decided backpacking in the back country with no bathrooms was not my kind of adventure.  Jeremy gave Kayden his own pocket knife for the trip and suddenly mom was a second thought and they were off.  They had a great weekend and I enjoyed staying home getting things done and spending time with my sister, niece and nephew who were in town from Houston.

 

On the way to the Uintas,  they stopped and took a short walk to the Provo Falls.  

 

On the trail.  Josh and Kayden were surprised to still see snow in June!  (We had a horrible snow pack this year.)

 

Camp life.

 They took a hike up to "The Saddle".  It was a beautiful view.

 A dad and his boys.  They had a great time making memories together.

 They even did some cliff jumping.

 They did some playing around with taking videos of them jumping in slow motion.  They happen to catch Kayden doing a nice face-plant.  They all thought it was quite funny.

All four of the boys jumping in all at once.  McKay's pose was just too good to not include.

When they got home they were glad to see me.  However, they said that they mentioned several times at camp that it was a good thing that I wasn't there and that I would have never let them do several of the things that dad let them do.  I am glad they had a good time together--even doing the things that I would have never allowed!

20 Year Anniversary

Time is a funny thing.  It has been 20 years since our wedding day in 1995:

 
We look like babies.  Not much life experience and definitely not any money.  My Grandpa Culley used to ask us, "What are you going to live on?  Love?"  And that is precisely what has pulled us through these last 20 years.  In the last 20 years we both graduated with our bachelors, moved across the country, Jeremy graduated from dental school, I taught school, we endured miscarriages, opened a business, bought a home, sold a home, built a  home, had four boys, grown through various church callings and who knows what else.  We definitely have more life experience, money sufficient for our needs and a lot more love.

So we decided we needed to celebrate our 20 year anniversary with some zing!  Jeremy decided he would plan the whole thing.  He told me what to pack and even set up babysitting for the weekend with Grandma.  We left after work on a Thursday and came home on Saturday afternoon.

We started out having dinner at one of my favorite restaurants.  Then we drove up to Park City and got in late to our hotel which was right on the base of the Park City Resort.  We slept in the first morning and then went and toured the Olympic Park.  It was fun to see where a lot of the events took place during the 2002 Olympics. Afterwards we spent some time having some fun at the base of Park City Resort.

 We rode the chair lift, went down the Alpine Slide and also rode the Mountain Coaster.  It was an fun afternoon.  We loved just hanging out together.

 

The next morning Jeremy had arranged for us to take a ride on a hot air balloon.  Now talk about an adventure!  We had to get up early to help set up the balloon.  It was neat to see Park City from a bird's eye view.
 

 Ready for lift off!

 Jeremy took a panoramic shot of the valley.

It wasn't scary at all being up high in the balloon.  The only time I felt nervous was when I looked straight down (pictured above on the right--there were a couple of balloons below us).  I felt a little dizzy and decided that looking out and beyond was the best.

We had a great weekend and loved spending time together reminiscing and looking back over the years.  We are so grateful for each other and are looking forward to the years ahead and into the eternities.

Stake Young Women's

My heart is full of love for these women:

I have worked for the past year and a half in the Stake Young Women's program with them.  Left to right: Andrea (1st counselor), me (secretary), Gay (president) and Cathy (2nd counselor)  This photo was taken at the end of our amazing week at Milestones to Christ.  We spent a whole week with 100 of the Laurels in our stake learning about the Savior and His infinite atonement.

While at Milestones to Christ, we did a impromptu service project.  Our group chose to go to a rest home to visit the residents there.  All the residents were in "brain therapy" except for Betty (pictured with the girls above), whom they allowed us to visit.  Betty is an amazing woman.  Her husband died when she was a young mother and she raised 5 kids on her own.  She put herself through school and then taught home economics at the high school in Manti for nearly 30 years. She was full of wisdom.  She counseled the girls that life will be hard and that you have to decide now how strong your testimony is and what you will do when you face adversity.
 

A couple of days after we got home, a sweet laurel anonymously brought me a bouquet of roses with a thoughtful thank you card.  She has no idea how much this means to me.

I am so blessed to have had this opportunity to serve the young women in our stake with the women that I have.  I have learned and grown so much from the people whom I have served and served with.

UPDATE:

About two weeks after Milestones to Christ, we learned that we were being released from our callings.  It was rough as we loved what we did.  We had a dinner get together at Gay's cabin where we talked about all of our experiences and our favorite memories.

 I LOVE these women.  I have learned so much from them and created such a quick bond with them.  They helped strengthen my testimony and to help me realize some of my potential.  They will always hold a special place in my heart.

Our official releasing.  Here we are pictured with the High Councilman that we worked with, Rob Smith.  What a terrific experience that made me grow way outside of my comfort zone and that taught me so much.

Summer Fun

Oh the joys of summer!  We had a spontaneous game of  baseball in the backyard.  It was a game full of fun and laughter.

 Batter up, McKay!

 Kayden on second base with Josh in the outfield.

 Jaxon patiently waiting on first base to be hit home.

McKay showing off his skills--sticking out his rear and all.  He had us all laughing!

These are the days to remember!

End of a Soccer Era

Josh has played on the same soccer team for the past three years.  He has become really good friends with all the boys on his team and with his coaches.  This was their last year playing together.  A couple of the boys on the team have decided to pursue other conflicting sports.  So grateful for the people that have positive influence in my boy's life....

...these are few of the good ones.

Freedom Awards

Both Josh and Kayden received awards at school this year:

Josh received an award for Read Across Utah.  He had to read a book for each county in Utah--a total of 29 books!

Kayden received two awards.  One for 100% attendance and also the Freedom Falcon Award.  He had to memorize two poems, enter the reflections contest, be able to say the Pledge of Allegiance and sing The Star Spangled Banner.

Those are a couple of smart kids that I have that worked hard this year!

Dance Festival 2015

As crazy as May gets, I love the end of the school year festivities.  I was able to see Josh and Kayden dance at the school dance festival this year.  That's right, only two kids to watch at the festival.

Kayden and the 1st grade danced to Dynamite:

 Getting ready to bust out his moves!

Josh and the 4th grade did a dance medley with some square dancing and Eye of the Tiger:

All business waiting for the music to start.  (Josh is middle with the brown cowboy hat and red scarff.)

Josh let me know that many of the boys in his class tried to get him to trade dance partners with him.  He told them all "No, that wouldn't be fair to the others if I traded with you."

I know, a lot of pictures of Josh's dance.  But I couldn't help it--watching him dance with the girls in his class to two different songs--it was too good to pass up!

It was a great day.  It had been raining all week and we had a break in the weather just long enough to watch the kids perform.