Memorial Day Weekend

Logan had to work 4 ten hour days for two weeks in a row for this 4 day weekend, so we thought we should make the best of it.   We borrowed a 4-wheeler and went to my mom's house up in Elsinore.  Then we drove down to Escalante to see my sister and her family and play down there.

The Elsinore section of our trip is mostly undocumented.  Just a couple really bad cell phone pictures, but it was fun.  We asked my brother to draw us maps to see a few of the best pictrographs in the area.  It turned out really hard to find them. We went to find "The Blanket" on our way to clean graves in Junction and were unable to find it.  So we decided to go over the hills the back way into Marysvale. The weather was pretty bad most of our time there.  We went back to look for the blanket and we were able to find it thanks to some old men we found.  But of course we didn't have our camera.

The second part of our trip is where the fun really kicked up a notch.   We took the back way to Escalante through Widtsoe.  My dad drew us this map but it wasn't much better than the ones we got from my brother.  Then we got some bad directions from a man on the road and then we finally found a map.  Haha.  We did get there eventually.

When we got there we all loaded up in my brother-in-laws Bronco and went exploring to the "Double Mocqui" that we'd been hearing about.  It was only 50 miles away so we thought we'd be back by dinner.  But that is some pretty rough terrain and it took about 4 hours round trip (we left around 5:00).  Luckily my sister had grabbed some hamburger buns at a gas station on our way out of town for lunch the next day.  We snacked on hamburger buns and caught tadpoles and finally made it to our destination.  It was AMAZING!  And very much worth the crazy ride and dinner. I just realized that I made it sound like we ate the tadpoles, but we didn't.  We just caught them:)

The next morning we went on another 4-wheeler ride just up around the hills and saw a bunch of petrified wood.   Then after lunch my nephew Jaxon took us down to this cool arch.  Only Chap was asleep in the car so Jaxon and Logan went and then when they came back Jaxon stayed with Chapter in the car so Logan and I could go.  It was so awesome and we will definitely take Chapter back someday when he is awake!

 And our trip was capped off with going to see the "Circle of Friends" just outside Escalante.  Crazy long weekend but it was really really fun!

Big Boy Bed

Chapter has always hated his crib.  He would never go to sleep in it, we always had to hold him or take him into bed with us and then make the transfer when he was deeply asleep.  It was exhausting.  I'd been toying around with the idea of getting him a bed for a while but everyone said that it was a nightmare to transition them into one.  Getting a bed for Chapter was literally the best thing we could have done.  In fact, I wish we had done it months ago.  He has only fell out of it 3 times in the past month.  He sleeps so much better in there and it is amazing for me and Logan to be able to sleep at night.  I think Chapter must have hated the confinement of his crib.  I guess he's just a free spirit:)  And I must admit that my heart melts a little every time I see my boy all snuggled up under the blanket I made for him.

This is Chapter demonstrating the toy holding capabilities of his new bed.  The drawers are amazing!  They hold so many toys and it's really easy to clean them up now.  

I threw this in just to showcase the awesome sign that Santa brought Chap.  And, yes, the crib is still in his room.  And, no, that doesn't mean that I'm pregnant.  We just don't have the desire to disassemble it and take it downstairs to clog up the spare bedroom.  

 I also wanted to highlight the AMAZING print that my friend Katie Gish made for Chap's room.  We're a little obsessed with Seuss at our house.  Plus, I think that no truer words were ever spoken:)

Mother's Day

This year I spent Mother's Day Saturday as I have for all of my actual Mother's Days, working on the Young Women's fundraiser.  This year we made Oreo truffles and chocolate covered strawberries.  It was a huge success as always and pretty delicious if I do say so myself:)  While I was up slaving away at Sherry's house Logan went and bought me two rose bushes and planted them.  They don't have any flowers on them right now, or I would have taken a picture, but I am really excited.  This brings our rose bush count up to 10.  Someday I may have enough to be satisfied.

I must admit though, that having a kid that can make stuff is awesome on Mother's Day.  Chap made me something in nursery that absolutely melted my heart.  It is literally the best present I have ever been given.

Being a mom is something that I think about a lot, and something that I worry about a lot.  Am I loving him enough? Do I hold him, talk to him, tell him I love him enough? Do I truly "nurture" him as God intended? The list is endless.  I have learned so much from being a mom.  

Am I the only one that has deep thoughts before falling asleep and then can't remember them when they wake up in the morning?  One night as I was trying to sleep I started thinking about it, about motherhood, or parenthood really.  And I had profound thoughts that I can't quite remember.  But something along the lines of how parenthood is a gift that was (at least I think so) designed to teach us about our Heavenly Parents, and about their love for us.  Everyone says that you don't understand love until you become a parent.  I believe that is true.  I love Logan, don't get me wrong, but the love I have for Chapter is all encompassing, it's consuming, and it's beautiful. It's incredible to have a love that would make you want to give up your career, and your wants, needs and desires, your very identity to trade it in for a little man who is beautiful in every way.  A little man you would gladly die for, the little man that you  live for his smiles and hugs and kisses.  Being a mother changed me in ways I never expected.  But I'm a better person, I'm more loving and more open, and I'm pretty sure my heart has grown at least a couple of sizes.  

Easter

We didn't do a lot of the "traditional" stuff we normally do for Easter this year.  For instance, dyeing eggs just didn't make it on the schedule, but we did have lots of fun.

The Easter bunny brought Chapter a basket full of goodies including some new shirts and lots of treats.  The bunny even made Chapter a set of animal finger puppets and a hooded "woof woof" towel that Chap loves.  

Logan's work hosted an Easter breakfast and egg hunt Saturday morning which was a blast.

 Chap had a tantrum because I wanted him to unwrap the Rolo before he ate it.  Silly me.

The sod farm was BEAUTIFUL and the perfect place to host an egg hunt.  So much gorgeous grass!  Each kid got 10 eggs and a special prize.  He didn't really "get it" but it was a nice low key hunt for his first time:)