First Day of School

 Oh no! Not yet! Not already!

 Where did the summer go? Why does it have to end so quickly?

School is here and I feel sad. I love having my babies home with me. They are all such good kids and help me so much. In fact, is this sad to admit, but I have always had help with Scarlett since she was born. I am sure you are thinking, really?? But yes REALLY!

I wake up to notes attatched to my door that read something like this

"Mom, Don't panic I have Scarlett downstairs and have fed her a bottle. I wanted you to get your sleeps. Sincerely, Savanah" 

And I wake up to "Mom I made you cream O' Wheat" (or sometimes oatmeal) from Caleb.

And I wake up to smothering kisses and tight hugs with phrases like " I love you so much mom, you re sweet. I hope you have a good day today" from Kennedy.

Don't get me wrong I have normal children. They fight.They make messes. By the end of the day I am exhausted just like any other mom. But oh how I will miss waking up to such sweet kind things almost every morning.

Who will hold the baby while I vacuum? 

Who will say "let us play with her" during the day...

YES...I will be honest...I am gonna miss the extra help.

I wonder if I could teach Lukas to make pancakes? HA!

Funny though...I don't think they are sad to start school.

Idaho Visit { Part 3}

One of the MUST DO'S on my list when we go to Idaho is to go to the Idaho Falls temple.

  It is such a unique temple. It's design is different from other temples. It also is breathtakingly beautiful with the surrounding green belt and falls.

My thoughts have turned a lot to the temple lately. I hope my children always have the temple in their minds as well. I can feel their childhood slipping away. Teenage years are just around the corner and I can't help but wonder if they will hold fast to the teachings of the gospel. 

One of the reasons I blog is for my children. I want them to look back and remember all the fun times we have had, and I have started changing the way I blog so that they can also know of mine and Beau's thoughts and feelings.

I will never forget my first moments in the temple. It was calming. It was so peaceful. 

Those are the feelings that I get time and time again when I go.

So to my dear little children I would say this....

Always keep yourself worthy to go to the House of the Lord.

The world would have you want to fit in, conform to others views, and find happiness in being worldly.

Never be afraid to be yourselves.

You don't have to "fit in" or be someone you are not to be special. You are special because you are sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. The only person you should ever please is Him.

Entering the temple will bring you peace, answers, eternity, and true happiness.

I saw this quote, written across the temple, "If this isn't your castle, you aren't my prince/princess"  and this is exactly true. 

Set your standards high and live a life worthy to enter the Lord's holy house. 

You will never regret it.

 And if life ever gets the best of you and steers you off course, remember repentance is a gift for all of us. 

We can always find our way back!

We can only hope and pray as parents that the temple will always be in your site!

The day when you get to choose a spouse of your own and be sealed to them "for time and all eternity" and not just "death do you part"  is the day we, as your parents, are looking forward to.

We love you and always want the best for you.

And the temple, my sweet little ones, is where true happiness can always be found!

Idaho Visit {Part 2}

Rigby Lake.

We get to do a lot of hiking and site seeing in Southern Utah but never enough swimming. The lakes are a lot farther up the mountain then the ones in Idaho, so taking the kids swimming always proves to be a fun time for them.

Okay, who am I kidding, for ME too. Heck, even Beau had fun.

Hanna and Chris have a lot of fun water toys that they brought with us.

Seriously we had a blast. We had so much fun we went to the lake the next day too!

I could totally pull a "picture overload" but I have narrowed it down to some of our favorite lake shots.

 Scarlett just hung out in her carseat most of the day. She was actually really content.

 Aunt Katie and baby Willow

 I had to take those water toys out for a spin too!

 Finley getting warm from the sand.

 Gabe playing in the sand. Oh man....that hair of his can hold a lot of it.

 Sweet little Willow.

 These two play so well together.

 The dock with the slide is a HUGE hit!

 Oh nothing....just pushing Chris off.

 Caught Caleb and Gabe chatting it up with some random girls. Dang it...does it begin already??

 Aunt Savanah and Hanna tried to tip Beau. That is always fun to watch.

And what is a lake trip without making sure Grandma Patsy goes for a swim.

 Yep....no one can resist the slide...not even Beau who hates cold water.

This trip to Idaho was seriously so much fun! Very relaxed and very memorable. 

Idaho Visit {Part 1}

Oh beautiful Idaho! It is always good to go back home.

We look forward to our Idaho visits every year and try to cram everything we can in a short week.

First stop, Aunt Lori's.

We had to leave pretty late Friday evening so we didn't arrive in Blackfoot until the early morning hours of the next day. Aunt Lori and Uncle Kevin were so accommodating and kind. 

Beau spent his early morning hours watching the sunrise and shared with me how he was overcome with emotions by the generosity of his Aunt and Uncle. 

They had opened their home to him his last 2 years of high school. He pointed out that they were our ages when they decided to take their {in his words} "punk teenage nephew in". For which I know he will ever be grateful. And I will as well!

I only hope that Beau and I can be the kind of Aunt and Uncle that would open our home to our nieces or nephews if ever needed.

Next stop, Grandpa and Grandma Coon.

The kids love to visit Grandpa Jerry's farm. They get to see their great grandparents and hear all kinds of fabulous and far fetched tales. {tehe}

This is the first time that my grandparents got to see Scarlett as well.

 I have so many wonderful memories of my grandparents. I am grateful that our children get to have some too!

We also got to meet up with Beau's Dad and Cindy at a park for lunch.

Which is always great.

We love our families.

 

Oh Idaho, yes, we miss you!