Yellowstone Woohoo

Today we went to Yellowstone with Justin's brother Nathan and his wife, April.  We didn't see many animals at all like we were hoping, but we did see some pretty sweet fall colors and got to spend the day with fun little girls, and Nathan and April who're pretty fun too :) We also heard some growling in the woods while Justin and I were taking a walk, I was oblivious and focusing on the pretty trees and water we were walking up to but Justin got pretty nervous.  We weren't too prepared today but will always be prepared with a gun and bear spray from now on. 

Here's some pics of our day...enjoy!

"This is a steamy hot pool, it got pretty steamy by it." -Justin (haha)

Old Faithful...classic

Mmmm...foot

Lesbian River...ask if you must know

Big Stuff!!!

Every time I'm not feeling 100% , whether due to being tired, having headaches, or anything else, I always seem to get the question, "Are you pregnant?!"

The time seems right to let everyone know about the changes and the BIG STUFF going on in our lives.

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      We Bought A House!!                             We Moved!!               I got transferred to Rexburg! 

Our Appliances are almost ALL Here (and installed)!                     

                                      

                                                           Thanks to Justin, almost all our Pictures are Hung!!

        Justin's in school and dreaming of Alaska!!                   I'm a Brunette!! 

  And....WE'RE LOVING IT!!

Okay, so a baby is not in the big stuff we're announcing, but there's still exciting things going on.  Here's some pics of our new home and what's been taking up a lot of our time as of late....

A townhome but still OUR HOME!

Love our big stairwell

Half the living room heading to the kitchen

Our backyard! Yes, shared but still SWEET! (Favorite Aunt and Uncle secured, haha)

My big kitchen!! 1,000 x bigger than our apartment

My big Kitchen #2- see future post of us finishing that table!

It was great to stay with family while we moved, but sooooo nice to have our bed back! Comfy comfy!

Don't feel bad if you don't notice the difference, not too many did but it's way different to me!

Thanks to everyone who were able to help us move out and in, who housed us and fed us while we were homeless or without appliances for cooking food.  All I can say is that we have incredible families! 

Okay Okay, so don't be mad for thinking I was announcing a baby on the way by way of a blog post.  I guess I understand why everyone thinks I'm pregnant, or should be and am really not offended when people ask.  As they say, "my time is ticking." :)  But, I PROMISE we will be more forward in proclaiming that special announcement.  In the meantime, enjoy life and know that you're loved by us!

Just Fishin'

There's a tradition in my family that I don't think we often see as a tradition....fishing.  My brothers and sisters and I grew up hiking down to a river with our Mom and Dad to fish all summer long.  We'd do this on back packing trips, day trips, camping out and any time Dad wanted to get away.  He'll go a lot on his own or with friends, but he often took us kids and that hasn't changed.  Often we'd end up swimming in the water and scaring off the fish, running from the fish or sqeezing them too tight, knotting our lines up really bad or losing our flies so Dad would have to come save us.  But save us he did. 

Mom isn't so much the fishing type, though she will sometimes with a rod and commonly by calling "Hey...Fishy Fishy Fishy!"  Even when she doesn't fish she still comes and either explores the world around, reads on the bank or just enjoys the peace and quiet. 

I heard a song on the radio the other day by Trace Adkins called "Just Fishin'" that really made me think of my parents, and particularly my Dad. 

Some of the best times I know I've had with him, and I could guess my siblings have as well, were as we've been fishing.  Scott's a big fisherman like Dad and they go often and just soak it up, but he's taken us all on trips by ourselves with him, and those trips I cherish.  One particular was the week I left on my mission and I didn't even fish, just sat in the boat all day with him.  Then after I graduated and got my own fishing stuff, had taken a class, and can sometimes hold my own now :) 

The youngest in the family, Cassi, will be leaving for college next week and last night she and Dad took a fishing trip all their own.  Building memories.

There's so many pictures of our whole family fishing over the years, and now a lot with all my nieces as well (though these pictures don't show everyone).  Dad's even teaching Justin how to fly fish and he caught his first fish on a fly rod last weekend!

We enjoy the outdoors.  We enjoy the sport of fishing.  But we're never just fishing.  Spending time together, doing something wholesome, has helped my family to be as close as we are, and our relationships to be as strong. 

It's the little moments when you're not focused on building a relationship that relationships are built, and those little moments are a tradition in my family.  From "Hey fishy fishy fishy" to "Hold your tip up and let your line straighten out." 

I hope to keep this tradition of fishing....but not just fishing. 

Here's the song:  "Just Fishin'" By Trace Adkins

Rrrroooaaadddd Tttrrrriiiiipppp!!!

Somehow simply saying "road trip" it doesn't express the excitement of the experience enough.  Its got to be shouted from the rooftops, chanted in the car, and expressed on faces.  Hopefully with these pictures you get the point. 

Another free digital slideshow by Smilebox We had such a blast with my sister and her family!  Thanks for all the incredible food and fun times!!

Life is Precious

This afternoon while driving back to work from a meeting in Idaho Falls I got a call from my boss, "Hayley, I need you to go take care of things in Rexburg for the rest of the day and maybe through next week." I knew I was going to be taking over things there in a few weeks but hadn't even started getting familiar with how things ran there or the kids and their individual needs.  It turned out the woman who I was supposed to replace, who was due to have a baby in six weeks, had gone to the doctor this morning to find out there wasn't a heartbeat for her baby. 

After quite a day of running around getting to know the kids and their needs, taking care of paperwork and preparing for meetings tomorrow with parents of the kids I didn't know, I drove home, all the while the heartbreak of her situation hanging over my head.  While waiting for my husband to take a break off work for dinner I picked up a children's book that I had in my car (it was a gift for this same woman for her baby shower that was supposed to be that night).  It's a book I grew up with and will always read and sing to my own children.  It's titled "Love You Forever." 

It's the story of a mother who raises her son throughout the book.  As she raises him and throughout her frustrations and joys, as he's a sleeping baby, a crazy 2-year old, a playful 9-year old, a wild teenager and a grown man, no matter his age, size or location she crawls into his room while he's sleeping, picks him up and rocks him back and forth and as she rocks him she sings, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be."  It's such a sweet and simple, short book full of the love of a parent and the child in return (you'll have to read it to find out the ending). 

I sat there thinking about the song the mother sang, how my mom sang it when I was young, and how my neices now sing it because their dad sings it to them as they go to bed.  But my mom and my brother changed the words.  They sing, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, Now and Forever my baby you'll be." 

Life is precious and eternal.  Sometimes in the midst of our plans with our loved ones we find out the Lord has other plans.  Like my friend, we're not always able to physically rock our babies or loved ones and sing to them or express how much we love them.  Sometimes they live far away and sometimes they pass on to the next life and aren't physcially with us anymore.  At these times the version my family sings is very appropriate, "NOW and FOREVER..."  Life is hard, period, and is harder when we can't see our loved ones and hold them tight and keep them safe.  But with the knowledge of the plan of salvation we can have hope that we'll hold them again, or for the first time and forever for my friend. 

I'm grateful for the people in my life.  They have made me who I am, and continue to shape me by their love, support, happiness and personalities.  Even though experiences like these are heartbreaking, I'm grateful for them because they cause me to hold my husband and other loved ones tighter (even though I may not sing to them).  I hope that I never get too busy, distracted or tired to show that their lives are precious to me, as they're here physically and when they're not. 

Love and family is NOW and FOREVER.

Take a Breath

Tonight after taking Justin dinner in the rain I went to fill up my car with gas just as it was stopping.  By the time my car was full the sky was turning blue again, the clouds an array of color, and there was a complete double rainbow streaking across the sky.  They were huge and so close!  I felt like if I drove for just a bit then I could find both ends of it on each side.  I tried to take some pictures but just am not a master at that.  Justin, however, sent me this picture just a little while later.  It's not the complete rainbows, but it's an incredible picture just the same. 

We're surrounded by beauty.  The world we live in may be chaotic and rushed, but moments like today are amazing and help me take a breath, slow down and be grateful for the beauties around.  Take a moment to slow down and enjoy the incredible beauties around you. 

 

Dream the Dream

Since I was a little girl I remember listening, watching and reading about Les Miserables, the incredible book by Victor Hugo and broadway play with AMAZING music.  My sister, Traci, and I would act the play out with barbies in our room, featuring us as the singers for probably every part. 

Well the rule in my family was that in order to see the play you had to read the book.  Les Mis came to Salt Lake when I was probably 10 or so and as much as I'd acted out the play with barbies and knew every song, I hadn't read the 1,500 page book, or the abridged version at 1,000 pages.  As a 10 year old, imagine that.  So, I stayed behind as Traci and Scott went with my parents (they finished the book on the way to dinner before the play).  Their excitement about how amazing it was just motivated me even more to read the book so I could go. 

Years later, after having read both the abridged and unabridged versions a few times each, I still hadn't had the chance to see my beloved Les Mis, though I am no longer acting it out with barbies.  (No, my parents aren't neglectful or bad with promises, Les Mis hasn't been back to Salt Lake and a trip to France isn't always the easiest.)

Well it's obvious what this is leading to.... for years I "dreamed the dream" and finally I got to live it!  Woo hoo!  Les Mis came to Salt Lake and it was practically perfect from my dreams!  From knowing the original music so well I worried that I would be disappointed hearing other people, but it was fabulous!  I could've gone on stage and sung along with them!  My only disappointment was not having the turning stage that Les Mis is famous for, but what do you expect when it's a traveling broadway play in the states now?  Even without it I loved it! 

Justin, who isn't the hugest fan of musicals, came with me and even enjoyed it too!  He didn't know much about Les Mis before me, but has a full knowledge now and has even randomly started singing a song from it every now and then.

We went to Lagoon the day before and had a blast at Lagoon-A-Beach as well as on the rides.  We had a bit of a scare in thinking we lost his wedding ring, but our great landlord checked in our apartment for us and found that Justin had left it in the shower.  After that we were able to really relax and find our inner-kids again, renewing our love for roller coasters and big-time thrills.  Their new roller coaster, "Wicked" is super fun and different, at least for the first half of the ride. 

Whether it's seeing a play, having a family, starting a business, writing a book or whatever, no matter how old you are or how long you've "dreamed the dream" make it happen!  Then move onto the next and enjoy life!