Sumer of Exploration August 2019

Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge

I had seen a friend post about the Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge and wanted to go but I didn't know where it was so I was nervous. When I saw Somer post about going there I texted her and asked if she wanted to go. I was sad Ikaikah was at camp and couldn't join us, but I was happy to enjoy time visiting with Somer and seeing new sights!

Rose Canyon Horse Ride

Kent took me on a beautiful ride up Rose Canyon. 

I enjoyed a lot of beautiful scenery and wish I had 

taken a picture with Kent and I in the scenery.

 Sunday Drive up Butterfield Canyon

After our nice ride Kent and I decided to take the kids for a beautiful drive up 

Butterfield Canyon and down through Tooele.

Hike Up Rose Canyon

I enjoyed the area so much that I decided to take the kids for a hike up Rose Canyon.

The enjoyed playing in the teepee someone had made and being in nature.  

We also enjoyed flowers, butterflies, and these unique hummingbird moths.

Marshal enjoyed posing for the camera when it was his idea. ha ha

We even saw a dragonfly by the river.

7th Ward Camp Out

There is nothing more memorable than going to a camp out and getting rained out. I will never forget the group finally deciding to run to our cars for cover and literally running through a stream of water where there had been a path before. While most of our stuff was soaked and we spent the night at home trying to dry it out for the following night we did enjoy some beautiful skies on our drive back home. Thank goodness we weren't camping too far from home.

There is nothing more beautiful than the beauty of nature...unless it's kids enjoying one another while playing in nature. We had a glorious time!

The one positive and negative thing we discovered was that our tent was no longer waterproof. We decided to give it up on FB since it still stood up just fine. We figured someone would be happy to have a free tent. We plan to get another tent in the near future. 

P.S. You might be a bearded dragon owner if you see a large cricket on the bathroom wall and you are tempted to take it home with you.

Full moon

After some struggles photographing the moon at the camp out I decided to play around with taking pictures of the full moon. Thankfully I was able to remember how to get the setting right to get a decent shot or two.

Back to School

Marshal actually started his second year of preschool at the first of the month which this flighty mom completely forgot about on the very first day...oops! He loves going to Miss Donna's preschool and he asks almost every day if it is a preschool day. Cort is in 3rd grade which truthfully I keep forgetting. I want to keep saying he's in 2nd because I can't believe he is that old now. Braxton is in 8th grade and he's enjoying being in middle school.

Playing in the mud

Marshal decided to make a lake for the dog, Dusty, in the garden area. He didn't seem to mind the mud until I told him I was going to hose it off of him.

Ute Fans for the day!

We have so much fun with the playful banter between us and the Rojas family. When a friend of Kent's provided him with this giant Utah Gymnastics poster we had to put it to good use. We may not have topped Ozzie posting that we had tickets online, but I thought it was a good effort!

Chalk The Walk at the Viridian Library 

Cort has a flare for art so I decided to take him to the library for the chalk the walk event. It was amazing the talent some of these people shared. We were not disappointed! Cort's favorite was the hummingbird and mine was the poison dart frog.

Before the finished product on the top 

After the finished product on the bottom

We even got to join in the fun. I drew the tree and the sun on the bottom right and Cort added the white dragonfly just beneath the tree limbs.

When we went back that night to see the finished products 

we were blessed with these amazingly beautiful views!

Life in August

We were able to enjoy watching Kamiry play volleyball this weekend and Cort and Marshal started soccer. Braxton was happy to get a new Utah Utes shirt and I was able to lead Auburn to a win by changing my shirt. ha ha I ejoyed taking the boys on a trip to the temple one Sunday while Kent took a nap. The bottom right hand picture was when Tyson and Braxton took over my family room with Legos.

I decided to take a few selfies and thought they were cute. Bottom left is a picture of Marshal's excessive napkin usage. lol The middle right pictures are where Marshal found a good hiding spot for all the toys seen on the floor. It turns out Marshal wanted to take a few selfies of his own. The middle picture on the far right is of the sod they laid in our neighborhood green spot. I was so excited to see that!  

This month we enjoyed a few photos of the bearded dragons being funny. I particularly liked the photo of Blaze hanging from the new enclosure netting.

We had Elder Gary E. Stevenson come for stake conference. There was a lot of great things said in the meeting and this is one of the things I took away and even made a wallpaper out of it.

Beautiful August

As usual we live in an amazing and beautiful world!

I'm thankful for beautiful skies!

Opposition in all things

You know those neighbors who took such good care of their home and yard? The ones who moved and the new owners just couldn't keep up as well? How about the owners of the scary house in the neighborhood who moved out and the new owners completely transformed that house? Think of that beautiful building that burned down and they rebuilt it to be even more lovely than it had been before.

Do you have those pictures in your mind? That's how our lives are. Sometimes we are going through those times when we are feeling like a demolition project. Maybe we feel like we've been burned to the ground. We often go through those times, but forget to look back and see the progress that we've made along the way.

In 2 Nephi 2:11 it says, "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things." For so many years I never realized just how nice that house with the well kept yard looked. When the opposite was presented I had a greater appreciation for what had previously been there. Without that opposition I would still be taking that well groomed yard for granted. 

Right now I feel like I am in some kind of transition mode. I don't know what I am being remodeled to be. It's like when you are on a long trip and you've been patiently traveling along your journey but you are about an hour from your destination and you just can't wait to finally arrive. That is what I am feeling. I can feel it being so close but I don't actually know where the destination is going to be. I know I want to get there and I believe that I can, but how and when exactly am I going to arrive? It's so hard to feel like someone is knocking out walls within you or tearing down the siding and you don't know what they are going to replace it with.

I know that the Lord is in charge. I trust that he has a plan for me. I need to trust Him even more. It's just hard when you are waiting to arrive at the final destination but that last hour feels more like three. I wish I could see the beginning from the end. I would love to see how it is all going to be fine and work out. It would be so comforting to know why the timing is what it is. For now I just keep going. I keep hoping that when this destination is reached or my remodel is done that it will be as glorious as I imagine. For now I just wait and trust in my Father to get me there. Wherever it is that He is wanting me to be.