Thoughts about the Trek!

I posted this on my Facebook, but thought I would put it here too, even though I haven't had any views in several months.  It's about the Trek I went on about 8 years ago.  Our stake is going on another one in a few weeks and there have been many parents and youth that have been less than excited.  Here is my response to them:

I've heard a lot of comments from lots of different people in my ward and stake about the upcoming Trek.  Lots are good, however some are not as good.  Some are extremely pessimistic.  After talking to Josh about it for awhile, I decided that I was going to post this note with some of the thoughts I had while on the Trek.  

The Trek is not something to take lightly.  Sure we had fun, however, what we were doing was much more than simply pulling handcarts and getting sweaty, tired and hungry.  It put us in a situation that humbled us and, if we had the right attitude, it allowed us to feel the Spirit for 3 days straight.  The feelings that you have and the things that are done while on the Trek are not to be taken lightly.  You will be walking on ground that people gave everything they had to get to the next camp that night.  Lots of times, not even knowing if they were going to have something to eat, water to drink, or a warm place to sleep.  You will be standing on ground where people died trying to give their families a better life somewhere else.  

Preparing for the Trek might be time consuming, labor intensive, and exhausting.  All that considered, it is the best thing that any parent can do for their kids.  Especially those wavering.  I had experiences on the Trek that I still remember today and probably will forever.  I won't go into detail on what they were, but I definitely grew closer to heaven in those 3 short days that we were on the Trek.  

What I remember from the Trek isn't how hard it was or how much we walked each day.  I remember the feelings that we had each day and the friendships that were made.  I don't remember how dirty we got or how much dirt we ate.  I do remember how cold the water felt on my legs while crossing the river in the middle of August and thinking how cold it was in the middle of winter.  I remember how the rocks on Rocky Ridge felt under my feet as we were invited to take our shoes off if we would like.  I remember how hard it was when the girls had to pull the cart by themselves up the steepest hill I've ever seen to symbolize when the men got called to the Mormon Battalion, and also the girls that had already pulled a handcart up a hill coming back down to help the next ones up the hill.  I remember how I felt as we stood in Martin's Cove.  No one had to say a word for us to feel the Spirit and the sacredness of what happened there.

So excuse me if I don't take your comments about the preparation being "too hard" very seriously.  It is the best thing that your kids could be doing this summer.  Don't hinder their spiritual experience by your lack of morale.  Encourage all the young men and young women to go on the Trek.  And if you need help, give me a call!  I'd be more than happy to come share the experiences I had!  Sorry if this note offends any of you, but you need to know that I feel very strongly about the Trek and what happens on it.

MIA

Wow... I've been a little MIA lately!  It's been over a year since I've posted.  Here is a little update on how we are doing!

We now have another little one in our family!  She is pretty awesome and we can't imagine life without her!  Celes is the best big sister and Evie just loves her.  Celes was the first one to get a smile out of Evie and she still makes her happier than any of us.

We have had a lot of fun this last year too!  We have been to Seattle twice and Vegas and Nashville once, Josh became a Master in Taekwondo, and lots of other family fun.  Here is a little bit of what we have been up to:

The 2 pictures above are from my brother's wedding in Nashville.

Josh and I went with some friends to a Blink-182 concert and had SO much fun!

We picked pumpkins at the pumpkin patch in October.

Santa came to visit us at the studio! Celes was a little unsure at first but she warmed up!

We announced that we were going to have another baby!

We went to Seattle for Josh's tkd tournament and went to the zoo. This was Celes' favorite exhbit... Yes those are salmon and trout.

4th of July parade in Albion!!

We loved going golfing this summer

Always supporting those Cougars!

Celes fell off the front stairs and got to go to the Urgent Care.

We once again picked pumpkins and Celes and Benson got a ride from Nana!

Celes' pick for Halloween

Mom's pick for Halloween! They were SO cute!

We took familly pictures and Hazel and Celes weren't done.

Josh stepped on a piece of glass and also got to visit Urgent Care!

We blessed Evie and had a wonderful day with family and friends!

Can you believe?

One year ago, I still looked like this...

And we were patiently waiting for this!

And now she looks more like this...

I can't believe how much has changed in the last year.  I can't even begin to describe how much having Celes has changed our lives!  She is a wild, crazy, funny, smart, gorgeous, loving little girl and we love her very much!  I can't believe that my little girl is going to be 1 in just 11 short days!

I FINALLY WIN!

I can't believe I actually won a giveaway!  I always enter but never win!  To check out what I won, you should click here!  And to help me pick out what I want, go here!

Easter Fun!

So it's been quite awhile since I've posted something!  Sorry about that!  

Here are some of the highlights of our Easter.  

This is our CUTE family picture.  Notice how I'm taller (because of my AMAZING shoes!!!) and Celes isn't even looking... She is easily distracted!

AND THEN!!!!! Nick proposed!  It was awesome and I'm so excited to go to Nashville this Fall to see them get married!  Maybe we can sneak a little vacation in there too!  Here is a picture of her beautimous ring!

Here is the happy couple!  Aren't they perfect for each other?!

Oh AND Celes has officially decided that the butt-scoot that she currently was doing instead of crawling was so last week so she up and walked AND crawled... AN HOUR APART FROM EACH OTHER!!!  Needless to say, I'm not sure how I feel about her walking already...  Hopefully she doesn't grasp the concept of walking lots of steps without holding on to people... She can do up to about 5 before it gets too wobbly for her but it won't be long I'm afraid... 

Sorry...

It has been forever since I have updated this!  We are just too busy now that it makes it hard to update. 
Here are a few quick little updates. 

Josh is still working at Goode and it seems that he is getting more and more things that he's in charge of every day.  Ali is still at First Federal and I am back to my part-time position.  There for awhile, I was covering for everybody else and I hadn't been part time since before Celes was born.  I like being part-time so I get to spend more time with Celes.  Celes has started to crawl backwards but still is refusing to roll over.  She goes to her side but doesn't want to go the rest of the way.  She just alternates left and right until it scoots her close enough to whatever she's trying to reach.  She has started to rock back and forth on her knees so I don't think it will be too much longer and she will be crawling.  She is 15 lbs 12 oz and 26 in.  She is still little for her age but I would rather her be little for longer than huge.  She still wears 3 mos in most of her dresses and onesies and 6 in anything with pants and 9-12 in sleepers because her legs and feet are so long.  She is a fun little girl and we can't wait for her to have another cousin in a few days!  Hopefully tomorrow right Kira?  Sorry for no pictures.  I plan on getting some posted soon because we have our family pictures from November that I still haven't posted yet!

My newest obsession!

In case you haven't heard, I have started to sell Miche Bags! I'm SO excited and I can't wait to have my first party on Saturday! I'm hoping that I can sell all the stuff I currently have so I can get some more stuff! I can also take long distance orders so if any of you want anything, let me know and I'll get it shipped to you! Click here to view the inventory and pricing! If you order with the party I'm doing on Saturday then you will be entered into a drawing to see who gets the hostess benefits since I'm technically the hostess and I can't have the hostess benefits!