Better Late Than Never?

The night is still young for me. It is only 10:20, but I really should be in bed. Why? Because I have a math class at 7:00 am. That's right, I am going back to school! And for the past two weeks I have had Adam Sandler in my head singing, "Oh, back to school, back to school, to prove to dad that I am not a fool!" (That might not be the exact wording, but that's how it goes in my head.)

I am a mix of emotions right now: apprehensive, excited, proud, and a little scared. I wish I had been one of those people who knows exactly what they want to do right out of high school, goes to college for the allotted four years, and then begins their career. But alas, here I am, having graduated 11 years ago, and once again beginning a college journey - for the third time!

To make matters worse, I have to decided to go into a field that I had originally began my schooling for 11 years ago. Oh brother! I guess I did know what I wanted to do right out of high school, I just stunk at the follow through. And I am kicking myself because it really would have been easier when I was single and childless. But, I know that life is just going to continue to get more complicated and I can either put this off for another 11 years and continue kicking myself, or I can take a deep breath and jump in.

I hope the water isn't too cold.

Summer Vacation

We went on our annual family vacation last weekend. The spot of choice this year was Yellowstone National Park. Our family has always loved going to Yellowstone - we have vacationed there more than any other destination. As kids, my parents once gave my siblings and I the option of either going to Disneyland or Yellowstone, and Yellowstone won - go figure? For me, there is just no competing with the beauties and natural wonders of Yellowstone. Sorry Mickey.

This was the one thing I did not enjoy seeing - a never-ending black hole. Brian threw a rock in, and we never heard it land. Freaky.

Vacationing to Yellowstone means that you have to be okay with spending hours and hours driving in the car. Luckily, our kids did extremely well despite being strapped to their car seats for over 1,000 miles. 1,383.5 miles in five days to be exact. Actually, I think the long car rides made Ashlyn and Trent bond. I turned around at one point and saw this:

Too cute! It made my heart melt! Fortunately, the West Yellowstone entrance is only about a 4.5 hour drive. We played the license plate game and saw cars from as far away as Maine - now that would be one long car ride! We counted up a total of 45 states. The only plates we did not see were: Hawaii, Rhode Island, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and Delaware.

This was Ashlyn's reaction to seeing Old Faithful for the first time. She gets excited whenever she sees a man-made water feature, so I figured she would be blown away by the infamous geyser, but I was wrong. There was no big smile, no "WOW", no arms flailing. She just kind of stared. Oh well.

The only downside of the trip was that we just did not see as many animals as we have seen in the past. However, we did see two bears! Too bad they were both wooden.

We did see a bald eagle, coyote, elk, chipmunk, deer, moose, muskrat, antelope, and hundreds of buffalo. Or, as Ashlyn called them, "buffaloafs".

Like all good things, our vacation came to an end. But, it was a fantastic weekend and it definitely won't be our last trip to YNP. Knowing this makes everyone smile!

New Tricks

Trent has learned two new tricks - blowing spit bubbles and clapping. Both of these tricks are so stinkin' cute, but only because he is 9 months old. Let's face it, there comes a certain age when blowing spit bubbles is no longer cute and clapping is no big deal. But right now, in this moment in time, it is simply adorable...

Who's Who? #2

It's official. Trent's thighs are bigger than Ashlyn's. I figured that Trent would someday be bigger than his big sister, I just didn't think it would happen so soon. At this rate, his thighs will soon be bigger than mine! But don't worry, I won't be posting a picture of that ;0)

How Did They Do It?

I'll admit it, I am spoiled. But so are you. You do not fully appreciate your health until after you have been sick. You do not fully appreciate the modern miracle of an epidural until you are in labor. You do not fully appreciate the comfort of your own bed until after you have been away. You do not fully appreciate electricity until after the power has been out. And you do not fully appreciate running water until after your kitchen faucet breaks.

I have become very aware of how much I take running water for granted since Sunday when my kitchen faucet broke. A new faucet would likely cost us around $150. Luckily, it is under warranty. Unluckily, we are waiting for the parts.

We have had to resort to using our bathroom sink for many of our 'kitchen' needs. We have also pulled the hose inside a few times to fill the kitchen sink with water in order to rinse the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher - exactly, I am spoiled. I have a dishwasher, so why am I complaining?

Because of these 'inconveniences', I have hardly cooked at all this week. I mean, I do still have running water in the house, but I have to go clear to the bathroom! The only meal I have made was on Tuesday night, and I only cooked because I was taking dinner to a friend who's son just had surgery.

My parents are on a pioneer trek this week in Martin's Cove. I tried to call them on their cell phones (yet another taken-for-granted modern day convenience) to make sure they were okay - both of their phones were turned off. Boy, are they roughing it! Prior to leaving on their trek, my mom and dad did a lot of research about the Martin Handcart Company and they shared many accounts with me. I could go on and on about how much the pioneers endured, their stories are amazing.

The fact that I am so paralyzed without my kitchen faucet, and the fact that my parents are on a pioneer trek right now, has left me to realize just how spoiled I am. It has also made me wonder just exactly how the pioneers did it? How did they sell ALL their possessions? How did they walk over 1000 miles to reach the Salt Lake valley? How did they keep going with out any rest stops in sight - just miles and miles of open plains in every direction? How did they cope with all the bugs, spiders, mosquitos, snakes, etc.? How did they survive on just 4 oz. flour per day? How did they watch loved ones die, bury them, and then keep on going? How did they handle -10 degree temperatures without even a tent for shelter? How did they stop for one day to give birth and then begin walking again the next? How did they not loose their faith?

How did they do it all without a kitchen faucet? Man, I'm spoiled.

No, I do not beat my children...

This was simply the result of me turning my back for a couple minutes and Ashlyn getting into my makeup. Oops. I gotta keep my 'eye' on this one at ALL times.

Smores Anyone?

As I mentioned, we have been busy having fun, but our summer hasn't been all play. We have been working hard too. Tonight we completed one project on our long to-do list - our new patio!

The back corner of our yard was an eye sore. It had three bushes, two of which had died, and it was full of nasty, ugly lava rock. If you don't think lava rock is nasty and ugly then you are not normal. So, we tore out the dead bushes, removed the lava rock, planted a tree, made everything nice and level and constructed a cobble stone patio.

I absolutely LOVE the way it all turned out. Isn't it wonderful when your "vision" turns out the way you envisioned it! And I am totally taking credit for the "vision". But I can't take credit for the whole thing. It was my idea and I did do a good chunk of work (I am not afraid to get down and dirty!), but Brian did the majority of the manual labor. I also must thank my dad for his advice, the use of his molds, and for getting us started off right. I can't wait to sit at my table during the day and sip lemonade or build a fire at night and roast a hot dog. Anyone is welcome to come on over and sit with me! I have all the fixins for smores!

The only bad part about this whole thing is that we aren't planning on living here forever. This spot will be really nice in about 10 years, when the tree gets big enough to provide more shade. Hopefully future residents will enjoy and appreciate the fruits of our labor!