Trip to the Cabin

We didn't make it to the cabin as much as I would have liked to this summer.

We decided to take one more trip up before school starts.

Darin took Friday off and we headed up Thursday night.

There is something about being in nature, away from it all, that is so special.

I thought my heart was going to burst about 100 different times.

I cannot express how much I love this family of mine.

As a girl, I always imagined how my husband and kids would be.

I can honestly say, even in my wildest fantasies, I didn't think it could be THIS GOOD.

I love that my kids love each other.

I love that they think our family is the best!

I love how Darin is with our children.

I could not be more grateful for this life.

Darin took us to some fun lakes we had never seen.

Darin took Matt fishing while Lindsay, Andrew, and I cuddled in bed.

As always, the trip was filled with music, yummy food, relaxation, marshmallows and more.

And here is a little video I made of our trip.

Thank You!

 My favorite part of Disneyland...

Handing out "Thank You" notes.

A week before we left, I had an idea to make "Thank You" notes to give to people at Disneyland.

I thought I was so original until I googled it and found I wasn't the first to do it

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At the beginning of the week, I told the kids to look for people doing kind things for us.
By, the end of the week, THEY were the ones initiating it!

Someone held the door for us, and Lindsay said, "They are being kind.  Can we thank them?"

I LOVE seeing the expressions on peoples' faces.  And I LOVED seeing my kids notice service.

Everyone seemed to love the notes!  The kids got lots of hugs, nice comments, and even a few stickers and buttons!

One person said they received a thank you note a while ago, and it was still on their mirror at home.
Another said that Lindsay just made Disneyland magical for him.

Most of our notes were generic notes with a butter mint.
But we also handed out a few of these notes that the kids colored before we left.
Then we added personal messages on the side.

One time, after a parade Lindsay started handing out candies to all the sweepers.  

I didn't realize that their boss was walking right behind us.
He said, "Excuse me," (my stomach dropped and I thought we were going to get into trouble) "my crew works really hard and doesn't get appreciated.  Thank you so much.  Would you mind if I take a picture of your kids with my crew?"

If you go to Disneyland, I HIGHLY suggest doing thank you notes!

It was so fun for our whole family, and it was fun to appreciate some of the less noticed workers!

Ogden Temple Open House

Our family made it up to the open house for the Ogden LDS temple.

It is BEAUTIFUL!!

I loved watching Darin talk to the kids in whispers as they walked from room to room.

I loved holding Andrew as he waved to EVERY volunteer.

But the best was seeing his reaction as we went to the celestial room.

"Ooooooo!!!  Ooooooo!!!" is all he kept saying as he pointed to different things.

I love this family of mine!

If you'd like to learn more about LDS temples, click HERE.

Trip to the Cabin---Music to my ears!

We spent 3 days up at the cabin.

There are so many things I love there.

The scenery, the food (especially dutch oven and tinfoil dinners), the activities, just being with family, and more.

However, one random thing that I love is the cabin music collection.

I don't know what it is, but the music just sounds better there than anywhere else.

The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time. Any fool can do it, there ain't nothing to it. Nobody knows how we got to the top of the hill.  But since we're on our way down, we might as well enjoy the ride.

There is a young cowboy, he lives on the range.  His horse and his cattle are his only companions.  He works in the saddle and he sleeps in the canyons, waiting for summer, his pastures to change.

It all happened so much faster than you could say disaster… And you can either sink or swim, things are looking pretty grim… We're breaking and rebuilding and we're growing.

 The light was leaving. In the west it was blue. 

The children's laughter sang and skipping just like the stones they threw.

I'll find the things they say just can't be found.  I'll share this love I find with everyone.  We'll sing and dance to Mother Nature's songs.  I don't want this feeling to go away. Please don't go away.

 Now he walks in quiet solitude, the forest and the streams, seeking grace in every step he takes.  His sight is turned inside himself, to try and understand the serenity of a clear blue mountain lake.

It was just another night with a sunset and a moon-rise not so far behind to give us just enough light to lay down underneath the stars.  Listen to all the translations of the stories across the sky. We drew our own constellations.