Clean House

My friend Brenda and I decided to plan a lake day with our kiddos. I will be leaving soon to Girl's Camp and knew I wanted a day of "no distractions" to spend with the kids to enjoy them. It was a great incentive for the kids as well. I had told them a few days prior that if they worked hard and helped me we would go to the lake with our friends.  And they were awesome all week.

We literally spent ALL day there. Even after 8 coats of sunblock a few of us (errr...okay all of us) got a pretty good suntan   burn.

Oh man- they don't come cuter or sassier!

Scarlett spent the whole time in the water. She was in heaven.

Lukas swam out to the dock and went down the slide. He is so fearless.

Look at that pleased face.

Scarlett is in love with Morgan. She talks about her all the time. Morgan is such a good sport to always help out. 

Caleb got this boat for his birthday. Let's just say that the second he put it down someone would snatch up.

Cooper had a blast sifting sand. He is such a cute lil' guy. He makes me laugh with the adorable things he says.

Savanah and Paige were lil' water babies.

I gave Savanah 3 tasks to do in order to earn a frosty from Wendy's on our way home.

1. Slide down the slide

2. Flip off the dock

3. Do "Mermaid Hair" for me

Slide- check

Flip- check

"Mermaid hair"- check. She totally nailed it! 

Here are a few more fav's from our trip.

Not only did we get to have a blast- we also got to keep our houses totally clean, while getting the kids extremely tired. I would say we are pretty much GENIUS!! 

I love this lady! She truly has taught me more about being Christlike, compassionate, and loving towards others. She is a wonderful mother and an incredible friend. I don't know what I would do without her. 

Post Digging

One of the things we love the very most about where we live is that it is so close to my parents land. It is literally a 30 minute drive to their property and it is the prettiest piece of property too. So many family members have been working hard to get the fence fixed. Beau's grandpa Verl came up with his tractor for the day and helped prep some poles and grate a road to the top of the property. 

I love Beau's grandpa. He was so gracious to help out.

Just a few (ish) of my favortie shots from the day.

Sometimes Things Just Seem Clear

Just a little experience I feel prompted to share-

Today as I was vacuuming I was thinking about all the trials of life that we are faced with. Sadness, divorce, depression, sorrow, job troubles, loss of a loved one, people letting us down, anger, choices, financial troubles--anything really that we are asked to endure and that others we know have to endure. I reflected on some of my own trials. I reflected on some of the trials some of our family members are going through. Life really can just be so hard sometimes.

While I continued vacuuming a thought came clearly to my mind.

"Isn't it funny how in the darkest moments of our life, we can see the most clearly."

I had to stop what I was doing to think about it.

 I knew that thought came from the spirit. It is such a true statement. Through some of my own personal struggles, when things have felt so overwhelming-I still have felt the Hand of the Lord gently helping me to learn, helping me to bend when I feel the most unbendable, and helping me to see more clearly when my vision is filled with fear or doubt.

He, when we listen, will provide us with perfect moments of clarity where we can feel of His love and see ,truly, that we are being molded for greater things. Where we can see just a bit more fully that God's love, grace, and mercy is extended to all of us. Our Heavenly Father loves us so completely that He will allow us to struggle so that he can make us stronger, more able, more in tune, and more Christlike to those around us!

As much as life can be so hard, it can equally be so so good! Thank goodness for the gospel, our families, and our loving Heavenly Father to help us find joy along the way. 

smile emoticon

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Oh my..oh my.

I get so giddy over putting up the tree! It is magical.

I love the ambiance it sets for the home.

I spend hours decorating the tree. I have "TREE OCD" (haha)

Each year after we decorate, Beau gets to light the tree up and place the star on top.

Perfection.

It seems fitting that we keep waking up to these frost crystals.

Jack Frost has definitely come for a visit this year.

It is biting cold, but still magically beautiful.

Halloween

I am pretty sure Caleb's costume is my FAVORITE, by far, of any costume any of our kids have done. I laughed so hard I cried when I saw the braces he made.

In case you weren't sure WHO he is, he is Kip from Napoleon Dynamite.

His costume got so many laughs and compliments from everyone. It made for a fun day!

"Napoleon don't be jealous that I have been chatting online with babes all day"
He had that line down perfectly.

The other kiddos had fun deciding what they wanted to be as well.

 Luke insisted on "Hulk Smash"

 Kennedy chose to be a pretty Devil.

(Super fitting-tehe)

 Savanah a nerd.

(also fitting- haha -j/k)

 And Scarlett was a kitty. She is obsessed with cats so it seemed perfect for her.

Scarlett with her cousin Blaire.

The kids do a parade at school so I got to see some of my nieces and nephews too!

 After a full day of Halloween festivities - parades, school parties, picture taking, and trick or treating- my house is in need of some serious TLC.

But it will have to wait for another day. We were too busy making memories today.

And we love days like today!