Love'm. Love'm all - Part 1

This is my awesome family

I never thought I'd say this, but I have way too many pictures of our Utah/Yellowstone vacation. If I posted them all (don't worry, I won't) you would probably feel like you had been there to experience it all for yourselves!

I think this says something about the vacation, though.

Like most of you, I pick up my camera when I see something I want to be reminded of later. I can't bear the thought of not remembering Carson's shy smile, or Miles's weird hand greetings, or McKenzie's my-teeth-are-all-falling-out grin. Likewise, I can't bear the thought of not remembering the details of this vacation!

For the past month or two, my life has felt like it's been spinning in the winds of a strong tornado. I have felt my strength draining from me bit by bit (and sometimes chunk by chunk) as the tornado has fought to tear me away from my comfort zone. I don't doubt that the tornado itself has been generated by God, designed to make me stronger, but Satan has been riding on the wings of the winds, whispering words of discouragement and self-depreciation that my ears can't help but hear. He has been using the strong winds as a tool to distance me, emotionally, from my friends and family. It's taken all my energy to hang on and pull my children and my husband back down to stable ground...away from all the changes that are swirling around us...just to have us swept up again in another gust of wind. I've been exhausted. And days before we left for Utah, as another strong gust whipped us around, I felt I was operating on the strength of God alone.

I guess, given this background, I shouldn't have been surprised when I felt a tightened lump in my throat as I made the right-hand turn up the road to my parents' house in the beautiful, summery-green mountains of Midway. But I was surprised. I was even more surprised that when I caught first sight of my dad, watering his lawn in his purple and black striped shirt, the tears actually stung my eyes. Everything is still the same. Safe. Familiar. Loving. Stable. "There's Poppy!" I said to my kids. And once I threw the car into park, I did nothing more than power-unlock the doors before I jumped out and ran for a good old fashioned dad-hug. One by one, the rest of my family came out the front door and I was surprised again at how intensely happy I was to see them. Of course, I knew I would be happy, but I wasn't expecting happy-tears to flow.

I felt like I was plugged in to an emotional battery charger the whole time I was out there. I came back to North Carolina physically exhausted from all the fun, but emotionally recharged. I'm ready to face the changes happening in my life now, and I'm pretty sure I can do so with a smile on my face again. Ahhhh - - - it feels good to be back to a better me. :)

So what made our vacation so wonderful? Well, here's a start....

Day 1
The kids and I spent the first day in Farmington with Brian's great, great family.

*Playing with cousins, and trying to get enough of Grandma

My kids only have three cousins...and they all live in Sweden. Makes play-dates a little difficult! I totally love how quickly kids fall into play with each other...and after this Candy Land adventure with grandma on the first day, these four had a great time together.

*Grandma bought a swing-set

One sure way to a child's heart: own a swing-set. And put a pool down by the end of the slide. That should do it.

*After a short adjustment phase, Miles was so sweet and happy

Day 2

We headed out to Midway in the morning to spend a few days with my family.

*Making a lot of noise with the band

*Having a silly-string war with Poppy



Lounging around in the hammock



Spending the entire day switching out which dress-up to wear from the big yellow dress-up bin.

Day 3

*Slip-slip-slip 'n' sliding!






*Playing marbles at Great-Grandpa-Arvid's house.


My grandpa is 94 years old, and the morning after we left his house, he suffered a stroke. After two and a half weeks, he's still in the hospital with a grim prognosis. Whatever happens, I'm so glad I was able to spend some time with him that night.

Stay tuned for more fun...