Shoshone Falls

A few weeks ago I saw on my friend Marie's blog that she and her family had gone to a pretty neat place called Shoshone falls.  When I looked it up and realized how close it was to us, I couldn't believe I'd never been there before! 

After I talked to Jaron about it, we decided to take an impromptu family day trip to visit the falls and some friends who live close by.

 It may not look like it from these pictures, but the falls are 212 feet high, higher than Niagra falls!

The canyon dug out by the Snake River is absolutely beautiful. 

 Here is a picture of my family at the falls.  And isn't it wonderful how stellarly excited Jaron is to be there?  Yes, please zoom in on the photo if you need to. :-D

 Whenever I'm around something this awesome in nature, I'm always reminded of the power and majesty of God and how lucky we are that He has made such amazing stuff for us to enjoy.

 Despite the cold (49 degrees, YEAH RIGHT weatherman!), we walked along the trails for an hour and a half.  It seemed like water was seeping out everywhere from the canyon walls, forming tiny little "baby" waterfalls that the kids loved.

 Warning - the next few paragraphs will give you a glimpse at the random firing of my mind.

The water coming from seemingly everywhere got me thinking about how much water really is everywhere in our lives.  Our bodies are around 70% water.  We drink it, cook with it, clean with it, manufacture with it, swim in it, play in it, and travel across it.  A whole lot of our everyday lives really does depend on us having water everywhere.

Which got me thinking about the Living Water that Christ spoke of to the woman at the well.  John tells us the story about Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well:

"Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:13-14).

Thinking about the "everywhereness" of water, I was struck with new meaning of the Living Water that Christ spoke of - it hit me that we really do need it to be "everywhere" in order for us to function happily.

I usually record stuff like that in my journal but since it went along with the falls and the pictures, I decided to record it here instead.

 The kids' favorite part was definitely not the falls, it was the water they got to play in everywhere else.  They loved throwing sticks into one side of these pipes and running back to see them come out the other side.  This is a picture of them racing to the falls to "throw their sticks in."  Have I mentioned I have three of the best kids ever?!

Our great friends the Terry's live nearby and they accomodated us for a short notice dinner.  It was so great to catch up with them - it'd been way too long.  The ride home was a little rough with late night crying spells and side-of-the-road potty breaks but we made it home in good time.

Note to self: Road trips make the best memories.

Craft Wall

I'm not exactly sure why, but even before I had kids, I promised myself I would display their art.  I imagined it would be some sort of a self-confidence thing I suppose.  After I actually had kids, I started to imagine fancy thrift-store frames painted fun colors in which I would display my kids's best pieces in the kitchen and change them out frequently.  So far, the idea hasn't materialized.  But we have been busy crafting and this is what we have on our wall at the moment:

 Sorry the picture is blurry - I only think of blogging after my head becomes clear when the kids are in bed. Our bedroom is pretty dim and my camera is pretty not-good at letting in light.

Anyway, one day I started sticky-tack-ing all the kids' artwork up in our bedroom/living room/play room/computer room (yes, we are still at Jaron's parents' house, awaiting a clinicals assignment somewhere in the eastern States come spring).  If you haven't heard of sticky-tac, it is an amazingly wonderful blue putty that costs $1.88 at Wal-mart and I think is officially called another name. Whatever it is called, it holds up anything and everything (up to 1 lb) without making a mess of the wall.  As I started to save the art, I was surprised at how much we actually do.  Please excuse the height recording ginormous "ruler" that we just hung in the middle (that, note, has no children's height measurements recorded yet) - it was the only place we had wall big enough with a stud behind it! :-)

Anyway, not a spectacularly interesting post but I am glad to have my kids' hard work documented!

Exercise Done Right

I do love step aerobics, especially since I own (and use) the old Buns of Steel video tape where everyone is in leopard print spandex and slouch socks with back-combed hair that moves not an inch thanks to I'm sure an entire aerosol bottle of hairspray, but today we found something better to do with my exercise step:

Yes, in case you're confused, that sled/go-kart/riding toy is actually my exercise step turned upside down.  It did serve it's purpose - pushing these three up and down the hallway did make my heart pump!  After we completed our "ride," we flipped it upside down, stacked the risers on top of the lego box and made a slide out of it!  I love multi-functional stuff.

These pictures are posted just simply 'cause she's cute! :-D

We also made crowns this week.  They lasted about 10 minutes before Gracen had all 3 of them ripped apart.  I CAN NOT keep up with this girl - I know toddlers are into everything but neither of the boys made this much trouble getting into everything, non-stop, all day long!  

Ice Fishing and the Messiest Eater Ever

On Saturday Jaron took the day off from studying for the USMLE to take Alden on his first ice fishing trip.  Alden had a blast with Daddy and Grandpa Brunson, despite the freezing temperatures and windchill.  Poor kid looks like a sausage wrapped up in all his many layers but at least he was warm(ish)! 

 He came home claiming he caught all the fish.

In other news,  Gracen seems to be growing in leaps and bounds.  She is as busy as can be getting into everything within reach (and that which she can climb to reach).  She has learned how to furrow her brow and likes to scowl at everyone who looks her way.  She loves to sing, especially "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."  Her favorite toys are dolls and stuffed animals and loves to "feed" them and push them around in the stroller. However, as innately ladylike as she may be, I think Gracen is the messiest eater ever.

Just think, I get to clean that up at least 3 times a day!

How To Be Happy

On Tuesday Alden and Eli started preschool.  After I dropped them each to their respective classes, I had 2 1/2 glorious, uninterrupted hours to sit in the observation booth and read/watch Eli cry (he is still very attached to his mommy).  Fortunately Eli's crying only lasted the first hour and after that I was really able to focus on what I was reading which was awesome because I was reading our church's October conference report.

Our church is unique in that we believe in the same church organization that existed when Christ was on the earth.  That means we believe we have a prophet and apostles.  Every 6 months the worldwide membership of our church gathers together to listen to the prophet, Thomas S. Monson, his counselors and the quorum of the twelve apostles.  Conference weekends are probably my favorite weekends of the year because it is such an uplifting experience. 

It often isn't until I read the published talks that I can incorporate solid answers that apply to my life, though.  On that preschool morning I was reading Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk titled "Of Things That Matter Most" and I fell in love with his simple recipe of how to be happy.  His talk focuses on simplicity in today's complicated world and he quotes Leonardo da Vinci as saying "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."  The quote that really got my attention, though, was when President Uchtdorf said
"There is beauty and clarity that comes from simplicity that we sometimes do not appreciate in our thirst for intricate solutions." 
Um, holy cow that speaks to me.  I am one who has a "thirst for intricate solutions."  I always think things can't have easy answers and I'm afraid I therefore complicate my life, much to my husband's vexation!

President Uchtdorf's recipe for simplifying our lives, and therefore happiness, says we need to focus on four relationships: our relationships "with our God, with our families, with our fellowmen and with ourselves."

1. With our God:
"As we seek Him, as we learn of His Son, Jesus Christ, as we open our hearts to the influence of the Holy Spirit, our lives become more stable and secure."
"To strengthen our relationship with God, we need some meaningful time alone with Him."

2. With our families:
"We build deep and loving family relationships by doing simple things together."
"Taking time for each other is the key for harmony at home.  We talk with, rather than about, each other."

3. With our fellowman:
"We build this relationship one person at a time- by being sensitive to the needs of others, serving them, and giving of our time and talents."

4. With ourselves:
"Take a little extra time to get to know yourself better.  Walk in nature, watch a sunrise, enjoy God's creations, ponder the truths of the restored gospel, and find out what they mean for you personally."

President Uchtdorf says that if we strengthen these four relationshps, we will find ourselves on "the path that leads always toward a life of meaning, gladness, and peace."

Man, I love conference.  Is it April yet?

Trains

I took all these pictures this week but stopped when my camera battery was dead for a few days.

I think I'm earning "real life work experience" that would equal a minor in structural engineering. :-D  Eternal gratitude to Genny for scoring most of these tracks at a garage sale!

On Motherhood

I know, I know, I have quite the motherhood soapbox.  But I was writing some things in my journal last night that I want my kids to read one day, especially my daughter(s?) when they're mothers themselves.  I figure they'll be more likely to read my full-of-pictures and not-so-full-of-mom's-craziness blog before they try to sort through the deep thoughts and ramblings that make up my journal.  So here's an excerpt of what I wrote:

"Man I love being a mom.  I have a lot of moments when I am frustrated and pulling my hair out (far too many, actually) but the sweet tenderness of motherhood overwhelms me.  I am SO THANKFUL every day that I get to be a mother in this lifetime.  The things I experience as a mom change me and it seems that with every child I have and with each new stage we enter, I become more like the person I want to be.  Motherhood is definitely found in the snuggles and hugs and kisses and smiles and laughter.  But I am coming to understand more and more how motherhood is found just as much in the laundry and diapers and dishes and constant messes.  The sum of these two sides of life make up our experience as a family.  It is incredible how going through everything that we do in family life binds us together.  I am so blessed to get to be a stay at home mom because it means I get to develop this family "binding" almost every moment of every day."

I sure love my kiddos!  And I'm trying to do my best to make sure they don't only remember the "pulling my hair out" moments. :-D