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| Mr. Moose |
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| Morning donuts made Bodie VERY happy |
Aug 20, 2013
Mirror Lake Camping
As I referenced in the last post, we took the kids camping Sunday night. After doing a quick unpack/pack turn around from our Snowbird night we headed up to Mirror Lake for the night. On the way up we saw a HUGE moose (rack and all) which was very cool. We found a great little spot surrounded in the trees and very close to the lake. We rented a canoe and went out fishing Sunday night (after the brief rainstorm for which we huddled in the tent) and Monday morning. It was absolutely gorgeous out on the lake and the fish were jumping everywhere. McKayla also made friends with all the dragon flies that were coming right up to us. The kids loved being in the canoe and neither had any fear of being on the water (or any idea that they could tip us over...there were a few times of them moving around that caused at least mom some anxiety). We had a great little campfire, smores and the kiddos played in the dirt. Bodie was especially proud of himself for peeing on his sister's rock collection all by himself...McKayla, not so happy. Seeing him out there made me realize what a "boy" he is now...he had a ball. We went to the Provo river falls on the way back and the kids LOVED getting in the water. This was the first time we had taken Sadie out as well since her surgery and she did great. We all came back exhausted, but it was totally worth it.
Date Night @ Snowbird
On Saturday, Todd and I stayed the night at Snowbird while the kiddos stayed at my parents. Not sure who had more fun, but I do know we all had a good time. We were happy to have some of our friends meet up with us and stay the night too so that made the evening even more enjoyable. We started by lounging by the pool and then went to Oktoberfest for awhile (where we got totally rained on, but they had a huge tent we could hang out in). We went to dinner at one of the restaurants Todd hasn't been to yet and then headed down to the bar where we got to sit outside and enjoy live music. The most entertaining part was "Larry" the porcupine who stopped by to say hello to everyone and pose for pictures. We went to the hot tub after that which was a perfect way to end the evening. After sleeping in and ordering room service we headed down to get the kids and take them camping...story to come. It was really nice enjoying some one-on-one time with TJ and was definitely a long overdue date night.
Aug 13, 2013
Fun weekend
We started off the weekend with a trip to the safety fair. The kids got to play on a firetruck, helicopter, motorcycles and get all sorts of little goodies. McKayla's biggest take away has been that she wants to be a police woman that rides the horse. Bodie's biggest take away has been that he wants a gun (lovely, isn't this opposite of what I was trying to teach them!). From there we went to my parent's house to celebrate my mom's birthday.
On Saturday we met up with Todd's sis and her family for fun and dinner at Snowbird. The kids had SUCH a great time with their cousins (they live in Cali) and it was fun for the family to see Todd's restaurant (I was super proud of McKayla for going on the zip line...even I was nervous to go on that). They spent the night that night and the kids thought having a sleepover was the best thing ever (wow, did it take a lot of effort/time to get them to sleep though). They were so sad to see them leave in the morning :-(. Todd and McKayla went to Solitude for frisbee golf with her friend Raley on Sunday afternoon while Bodie and I took much needed naps. Sunday night we went to a friends house for last minute swimming and BBQ and it was the perfect ending to a packed weekend. Thanks to Matty B for letting the kids run amuck in his house ;-).
On Saturday we met up with Todd's sis and her family for fun and dinner at Snowbird. The kids had SUCH a great time with their cousins (they live in Cali) and it was fun for the family to see Todd's restaurant (I was super proud of McKayla for going on the zip line...even I was nervous to go on that). They spent the night that night and the kids thought having a sleepover was the best thing ever (wow, did it take a lot of effort/time to get them to sleep though). They were so sad to see them leave in the morning :-(. Todd and McKayla went to Solitude for frisbee golf with her friend Raley on Sunday afternoon while Bodie and I took much needed naps. Sunday night we went to a friends house for last minute swimming and BBQ and it was the perfect ending to a packed weekend. Thanks to Matty B for letting the kids run amuck in his house ;-).
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| This is what happens in Todd's restaurant before the doors open ;-) |
Aug 7, 2013
For McKayla
I found this letter online and couldn't have said it better myself. If you ever read this Kayla Bear I hope you take it to heart...beauty is truly not defined by what is on the outside and this is one of the hardest things girls have to deal with growing up. You have always been, always are and always will be beautiful to us for so many reasons.
Dear Susan,
Right now your biggest concern in life is figuring out how to get around the child-proof locks on the kitchen cabinets, but one day you will deal with much bigger issues. Being a woman, one of these will be the problem of beauty and the emphasis put on it by nearly everyone in the world.
You will soon learn that the world is obsessed with beauty. As a woman, you will be bombarded with magazines, ads and commercials full of beautiful people telling you that you’re not pretty enough as you are. I wish I could tell you to ignore all of that, but it’s naïve of me to think you can go the rest of your life immune to the barrage of “beauty tips” thrown out by complete strangers.
There are lots of clichés out there about beauty. “Beauty is only skin deep,” “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” and so on, but as with most clichés, they say a lot but don’t mean much. So here is some real, practical advice about beauty.
The definition of beauty is intentionally vague. Find your own meaning for it. Don’t let somebody else define it for you.
From the day you were born, your mother and I have tried to tell you how beautiful you are. We have also tried to tell you how kind and caring you are. We value the last two much more than the first one.
One day somebody – it may even be one of your best friends – will tell you that something about you is ugly. Remember that just because one person says something negative about you doesn’t mean everyone in the world feels that way. That works both ways, though. If you think somebody else is ugly, keep your mouth shut. Just because you think so doesn’t mean somebody doesn’t think he or she is the most beautiful person in the world.
Also, whether you tell them to their face or not, calling someone ugly or fat reveals an ugliness in your soul that not even the prettiest smile can erase.
There may come a time when a boy breaks up with you and starts dating a girl you think is prettier than you. Don’t sweat it. People like that are never satisfied with what they have, and there’s no use trying to change them. Let him go chase the next best thing for the rest of his life.
Yes, beauty will get you certain things in life, mostly attention. Sometimes it’s not good attention, and sometimes all it does is call attention to what you glaringly lack in other areas. Like personality.
There has never been a perfect person. NEVER. Everybody has something about their appearance they want to change, and there are lots of people out there who claim to have a way to correct those things. All those people want is your money. Don’t part with your hard-earned cash just to buy a cure for what someone else labels an imperfection.
There’s nothing wrong with throwing on a nice outfit and doing whatever you feel like to make yourself feel pretty. Just make sure that what you see in the mirror is what you like and not what somebody else will like.
When you ask your husband/fiancé/boyfriend the question, “Do I look pretty?” his answer should always be, without hesitation, “Yes” or some form of that. If he says anything else, he probably isn’t right for you.
Do not end or begin a friendship based on that person’s looks or style. Do not think that surrounding yourself with popular, attractive people will make your life any easier. Befriending people of different backgrounds who have a range of outlooks and goals in life, however, will make you a well-rounded person capable of connecting with folks from all walks of life. That’s called a life skill.
Do not choose your role models based on looks, either. Or the fact that they’re on TV all the time. One of your mother’s role models is Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She is an amazing lady. Google her.
If you can get up every morning, look in the mirror and be happy with how you look, you will have achieved something that few people in the world ever will. If you can look at your friends and see what makes each of them beautiful, you will wind up with more friends than you can count.
You should also know that your mother and I are not immune to any of these things. We have both broken several of these rules at some point in our lives, and if you ask, we will tell you how stupid we were and how negatively those decisions affected us. Yes, we have learned and grown from those mistakes, but sometimes the lessons are very hard and have irreparable consequences. I have at least one friendship that ended because I was unable to overlook how that person chose to dress.
Our hope is that you never have to experience that. But remember – no matter what you look like, what clothes you wear, what color your hair is, whether you have the expensive new shoes everyone else does or the cheap imitations, we love you.
And for the record, your mom’s Jack Rogers aren’t real. They’re from Payless.
Love,
Dad
Dear Susan,
Right now your biggest concern in life is figuring out how to get around the child-proof locks on the kitchen cabinets, but one day you will deal with much bigger issues. Being a woman, one of these will be the problem of beauty and the emphasis put on it by nearly everyone in the world.
You will soon learn that the world is obsessed with beauty. As a woman, you will be bombarded with magazines, ads and commercials full of beautiful people telling you that you’re not pretty enough as you are. I wish I could tell you to ignore all of that, but it’s naïve of me to think you can go the rest of your life immune to the barrage of “beauty tips” thrown out by complete strangers.
There are lots of clichés out there about beauty. “Beauty is only skin deep,” “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” and so on, but as with most clichés, they say a lot but don’t mean much. So here is some real, practical advice about beauty.
The definition of beauty is intentionally vague. Find your own meaning for it. Don’t let somebody else define it for you.
From the day you were born, your mother and I have tried to tell you how beautiful you are. We have also tried to tell you how kind and caring you are. We value the last two much more than the first one.
One day somebody – it may even be one of your best friends – will tell you that something about you is ugly. Remember that just because one person says something negative about you doesn’t mean everyone in the world feels that way. That works both ways, though. If you think somebody else is ugly, keep your mouth shut. Just because you think so doesn’t mean somebody doesn’t think he or she is the most beautiful person in the world.
Also, whether you tell them to their face or not, calling someone ugly or fat reveals an ugliness in your soul that not even the prettiest smile can erase.
There may come a time when a boy breaks up with you and starts dating a girl you think is prettier than you. Don’t sweat it. People like that are never satisfied with what they have, and there’s no use trying to change them. Let him go chase the next best thing for the rest of his life.
Yes, beauty will get you certain things in life, mostly attention. Sometimes it’s not good attention, and sometimes all it does is call attention to what you glaringly lack in other areas. Like personality.
There has never been a perfect person. NEVER. Everybody has something about their appearance they want to change, and there are lots of people out there who claim to have a way to correct those things. All those people want is your money. Don’t part with your hard-earned cash just to buy a cure for what someone else labels an imperfection.
There’s nothing wrong with throwing on a nice outfit and doing whatever you feel like to make yourself feel pretty. Just make sure that what you see in the mirror is what you like and not what somebody else will like.
When you ask your husband/fiancé/boyfriend the question, “Do I look pretty?” his answer should always be, without hesitation, “Yes” or some form of that. If he says anything else, he probably isn’t right for you.
Do not end or begin a friendship based on that person’s looks or style. Do not think that surrounding yourself with popular, attractive people will make your life any easier. Befriending people of different backgrounds who have a range of outlooks and goals in life, however, will make you a well-rounded person capable of connecting with folks from all walks of life. That’s called a life skill.
Do not choose your role models based on looks, either. Or the fact that they’re on TV all the time. One of your mother’s role models is Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She is an amazing lady. Google her.
If you can get up every morning, look in the mirror and be happy with how you look, you will have achieved something that few people in the world ever will. If you can look at your friends and see what makes each of them beautiful, you will wind up with more friends than you can count.
You should also know that your mother and I are not immune to any of these things. We have both broken several of these rules at some point in our lives, and if you ask, we will tell you how stupid we were and how negatively those decisions affected us. Yes, we have learned and grown from those mistakes, but sometimes the lessons are very hard and have irreparable consequences. I have at least one friendship that ended because I was unable to overlook how that person chose to dress.
Our hope is that you never have to experience that. But remember – no matter what you look like, what clothes you wear, what color your hair is, whether you have the expensive new shoes everyone else does or the cheap imitations, we love you.
And for the record, your mom’s Jack Rogers aren’t real. They’re from Payless.
Love,
Dad
Fulltime
For those of you who don't know, I work 2 days from home most of the year, but Aug-Oct I have to work from the office more. Can I just tell you how hard it is to get ready EVERY SINGLE DAY. I know, I know...many people do it, but I'm only a week in and I'm really missing my pjs and maxi dresses :-(. There is just nothing right about having to get up before your kids every day of the week....didn't we all learn from "baby training" you sleep when they sleep?! I can't even tell you how lazy I was on Sunday after a full week of working from the office, cleaning, laundry, more laundry, more cleaning and a Saturday full of activities. I'm not trying to complain...really, if we could all just come to work a couple days a week in our sweats/hair up/no makeup then I would be just fine. After seeing a wife that might go clinically insane Todd did tell me I could get a house cleaner every week during busy season...now if I could just get him, the kids and the animals to keep it clean ;-).
Much love to all you Mom's out there...working or stay-at-home...you all juggle better than any clown I've seen :-). MWAH!
Much love to all you Mom's out there...working or stay-at-home...you all juggle better than any clown I've seen :-). MWAH!
Chocolate and fur babies
Bodie found a candybar....pretty sure the kids addicted to chocolate. I took the fur babies in for their vet visit and both are healthy & lost weight (all but the $550 teeth cleaning Beamer needs...ugh). On a great note, Sadie's leg looked really good to the doctor so she's definitely healing well from her spring surgery.
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