An Honest Post

I realized that all of my posts on my blog are of happy times and fun things and positive things. It may seem like life is easy and I that have no troubles or trials. I know when I look at Facebook or Instagram and see how perfect everyone's families look, I forget that they don't share the moments of their troubles and their kids tantrums or the times when they are having a bad day.

I don't like posting about my bad days or trials. I usually keep those to myself. I can't help but post about my troubles because I want to share the perfect quote I came across tonight.

Let me preface it first.  I have daily trials of all sorts of varieties...microwave breaking, Lynnlee getting cellulitis in her leg twice (in six week span), craziness of working and being a mom to five, James getting a ear infection, two fussy babies, etc. But those are all little difficulties. The hardest thing we have been dealing with is our condo in Bountiful. We felt good about selling it but the sale fell through. So we felt good about renting it again. We felt good about the renter we signed a contract with and ever since then it has been a nightmare. Our renter hasn't paid and I'm learning more as a landlord then I ever thought I could about eviction law. It has been a discouraging last few months and there is no end in sight because the process of evicting a renter is long, slow and painful. So with that said, I have been very discouraged tonight. I believe in the power of prayer and I've been praying a lot about our situation. I was reading an article about Joseph Smith in the July Ensign that spoke to me. It said:

Like Joseph Smith, you need not lead a perfect life in order to be a powerful instrument in God’s hands. Mistakes, failure, and confusion were part of Joseph’s life and mission, and they are going to be part of yours too. But do not despair. Do not be tempted to think that “all is lost.” All is not lost and will never be lost for those who look to the God of mercy and live.

You have a Brother who watches over you, ready to rescue you and advance your service with arms far stronger than your arms—far stronger, in fact, than all other arms of the flesh combined. Those arms are there to sustain and bless you, “in every time of trouble” (D&C 3:8), no matter how alone and discouraged you may feel. Therefore, as you move forward with your life, trust in those arms and “be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid … for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee” (Deuteronomy 31:6).

Swiss Days '15

Our Swiss Days weekend started off Friday with my kids making boo boo bunnies. Boo boo bunnies are the cheapest entertainment and are made out of wash cloths rolled up and shaped like a bunny with a rubberband to keep them in place. You  can put an ice cube in them and put them on your boo boo, hence the name. We have a lot of baby wash cloths so we went to town and made a lot (not all pictured).

I checked James and Lynnlee out of school that afternoon and we went to Heber. They got to play with a real bunny. Ali's family adopted this cute bunny Ivy. My kids loved her, especially Taggart. I recorded a video of him laughing and smiling with her.

That evening we went to Swiss Days and walked around. It wasn't too crowded and it was cooler weather which was so nice! My three older kids each got to pick something out. Lynnlee picked this beautiful blue night gown.

We love sleep overs at grandma's! Even better when cousins are there and our favorite Aunt Betsy! We were definitely sad that grandma was in Chicago but we were glad Papa Kelly was there.

Saturday morning started off early with the 10k and kids races.

Ali and I ran the 10k. I have been looking forward to this race all summer. I was hoping to run a 7:15 mile and I got close enough with a 7:16 mile. I have been scarred by my terrible marathon in May so I was so worried this one wouldn't go well. I was so happy with how it all turned out though.

The kids' races followed the 10k.

Kaden went first. His smile during the race was priceless. He starts soccer next week and I hope he has the same look on his face when he plays.

James and Lynnlee ran next. James was 2nd out of the boys ages 5-8.

Lynnlee finished strong and was 6th place out of the girls ages 5-8. You would never guess she's our heart hero.

Everyone got a stein and a ribbon.

We went to the parade after the race. It was fun to see my dad playing his accordian with the senior citizen band.

Ali and I decided she needs to own a golf cart like this someday so she can take Betsy, Katie and me golfing.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing at my parent's house. The BYU game couldn't have been better and it was the cherry on top to our fantastic weekend.



Kaden Time

We are now into our school schedule. On the days Kaden goes to preschool I spend one on one time with Lynnlee. I get to spend time with Kaden in the afternoons while Lynnlee is at school. It provides a nice balance. I think I'm going to like this school year.

August Birthdays '15

It's fun how traditions evolve. We used to celebrate each birthday in the family separately. But then as the number of nieces and nephew grew it became too hard to keep up with that. Now we have a birthday party for the birthdays in the month. We have at least one birthday in every month so we end up celebrating once a month. I hosted the parties for July and August. I'm not a party planner nor a natural born hostess. However, I do like spending time with family and I love any excuse to have a party. My family is easy going so it was fun having them over.

All of the cousins were entertained playing on the slide and trampoline.

We enjoyed the shade on the side of our house. We have a weird shaped lot with the majority of space being on the east side of our house. It works out well though because the house provides plenty of shade in the afternoon/evening.

Minis and Peaches

When each of my older kids were babies I loved giving them a peach to devour and make a mess with. I gave the minis each a peach. They weren't sure what to think. Sienna liked it and was very clean after. Taggart destroyed it, ate some of it and started throwing the rest on the ground.

Mini BYU Fan

We got this cute little outfit from Katie's family. I'm glad Sienna got to wear it before she out grows it. I just wish I had a cute blue bow to match.

Cowabunga Bay '15

One of my favorite end of summer traditions is going to Cowabunga Bay. It is a good water park for younger kids because they can do pretty much everything there. I also like that you get really wet and cold on the tower with all of the slides but then you can warm up in the pool and lazy river.

The minis really liked the warm water. Sienna was walking all over and Tag was crawling all over. They went down the slide a few times in the kiddie area.

Our favorite auntie came and made it ten times better. This picture doesn't do justice to the fact that Sienna was so happy hanging out with Betsy.

Golf Time=Me Time

I love spending time with my sisters. When Marshall told me he had a tee time for four and then asked if I wanted to bring Ali with, I was so excited. I have a hard time not feeling guilty when I step away from being a mom to do something for me. It makes it easier that my family is happy to step in and babysit. Aunt Pat was excited to watch my kids so I could go. It was beautiful weather. I'm not a very good golfer but it was still fun to go.