Spontaneous Over-Nighter

Friday afternoon I received a text from Bradley, asking what the plans for the evening were. I didn't have any and responded with, "Should we aim for a dinner?"

A few minutes later, the next text came in..."Come to a cabin with me and Nathan...we're leaving in a couple hours." After a couple texts to Dustin, I packed up and got ready for an over nighter.

We stopped for Wendy's then headed East towards Kamas. Nathan has been cabin sitting for a friend and it is the perfect distance. Once we got up there, we got situated, got Carter down and then relaxed.

We played several rounds of cards, talked and enjoyed one anothers company. The lightning storm was probably one of the coolest I have seen and the rain came down hard. It was so awesome to stand outside and hear the rain fall on the mountain.



Saturday morning we cleaned up and headed back down the hill. We stopped off at Virgs for breakfast and then went our separate ways. Thanks for the outing guys!

Bear Lake Take 2

This post is taking me forever to create, and I am not quite sure why. So, today I am going to conquer and post. I can't find the second disc, but when I do, I will add a few more pictures.

On August 13, we packed the car and headed north, for one final get away before I was back in school, and what a nice getaway it was. We headed to Bear Lake with the Beazer posse for the weekend. We didn't have reservations, and were kind of winging it, but it turned out to be perfect.

We stopped off at USU, rented a canoe and headed towards the lake. After a few hours of searching for a campsite, we went back up the hill, into a pull off, and found the PERFECT camping getaway. The trees surrounded us, the space was large, and the site was peaceful.

We setup camp, made hotdogs, quickly got the kids ready for bed, and then just relaxed. We spent the evening talking and enjoying one anothers company until the wee hours of the night.


Saturday morning Dustin made breakfast and then we got ready. We headed down into Bear Lake for a day at the beach. There was some mass confusion and lack of communication due to cell phones being dead, but once we figured out where to meet up, we spent a few hours at the lake. It was gorgeous and the kids loved being in the water.



That night we went and had pizza. It was the biggest pizza I have ever seen, and we were not quite able to finish the whole thing. We enjoyed the company and had lots of laughs. Once the pizza was gone, I was pretty adamant about getting a Bear Lake raspberry shake. So, we headed over to get shakes and then headed up the hill.

The campfire was great and conversation enjoyable, but everyone was pretty worn out and one by one we all went down.

Sunday morning we coasted in with breakfast and cinnamon rolls. We slowly packed up and headed home. We played a mean game of 1970-current walky-talky trivia on the way down the hill then stopped off at Angies for dinner. We swung by the Beazer's to drop off the canoe then headed home.




It was the perfect way to end an AMAZING summer!

Tuesday Afternoon

On Tuesday, I had worked 9+ hours and was exhausted. I headed over to Stacy's to pick up my Little Man, and head home for some unwind. As I am at Stacy's she says, "Let's take the kids and go to Thanksgiving Point to the Dinor exhibit." I said, "When, tonight?" And in my head, I am thinking if she says yes, I am not only going to tell her no, but it is going to be a hell no! I am exhausted! Of course it was for tonight, it is $2 Tuesday. I generously pass, she pleads, I still pass...I am not going to go to an exhibit after today! I send my thanks and love and go straight home.

I get home, and as I am reheating last nights spaghetti my phone rings, "Ister" calling. She informs me she is coming to get my child and take him to Dinor land with her. I again, decline three times, and on the fourth one I realize I probably don't have much of an option. Carter is going to dinor land. I feed him, and the guilt starts to rise.

Just because summer is over doesn't mean I should stop activities with Carter during the week....But I am SUPER tired, it was a long work day...But its Carter and I am really going to miss this opportunity to go be with my son, niece, nephew, and sister....as much as I thought I would say OF COURSE I AM!!!...I cannot, so, I grab my purse and when S pulls in, she grins....she knew the guilt would overcome me.

However, the grin quickly died as she learned I needed a quick trip to Costco to drop something off to Dustin. Then due to traffic, lights, and timing, it took longer than usual. We will just say, for about 30 minutes I didn't know if Stacy was going to attempt a homicide to her younger sis.

Once we got to Dinor land, things started to move quickly...and by things, I mean three small children who were so excited they wanted to see it all!



There was a place for the kids to see how much they weigh, and what dinor they would have been comparable to.



There was a place to color a picture and then post it with all of the other little ones who had been there throughout the day.



The majority of the time was spent at the water and sand table. Oh, how all three of them loved being able to get dirty, feel wet, and enjoy each others company.



The kids LOVED Dinor land...and I will admit I did too! It was so fun to see the smiles, the ooohs and aaahs of our babies soaking it all in, and the excitement of all the different Dinor Land options.





As we were walking out of Dinor land, Stacy and I had fun with some pictures of our own. I now see it as, we were holding the world in our hands...on a Tuesday afternoon! Thanks for the outing S, I am glad we went!!!

First Day Jitters

Today was my first day of school with kids. It is so crazy to know my summer has come and gone! This morning, I found myself wide awake before the alarm went off. Of course I didn't get out of bed, but I just laid there thinking about all this new school year may bring!

When the alarm finally went off, I jumped out of bed...which never happens! I ALWAYS hit snooze at least twice! In to the bathroom to make sure my straightener was on, I had to have it super hot.

Then the big decisions...what color eye shadow...pink...curly hair or straight hair...straight...up or down...down, oh....MUST cut my bangs...I think they ended up a little cricket, but we keep going. On to the outfit...I want to look professional, yet young...serious, but cool...denim skirt and white t-shirt! Oh, but don't forget the SPANX, MUST look skinnier then I am! DONE! Ready for work!

As I am driving to work, I literally giggle out loud. I. AM. NERVOUS! I am now on my seventh year of teaching and here I am with butterflies. I have been out of school for 10+ years, and I realize I have the first day jitters.

I get into my classroom and I realize I am happy to see kids. I am excited to motivate, to teach, to be taught, to love, to forgive, to endure the challenges, and to be the best teacher I can be. I am ready for my 9th graders to grasp concepts, understand challenges, feel comfortable asking for help, succeed in classes, and begin working towards GRADUATION! How exciting is that for them! They have so much to look forward to!

As my day wrapped up, I realized it was a good day. I love a new school year. I love the idea of a clean slate, new ideas, new material, new students, and new school supplies. Oh, how I love thee!!! There are days I am sure I teach JUST so I can buy markers, pens, paper, tape, clips, crayons, etc. I. LOVE. SCHOOL. SUPPLIES.

Tonight I am exhausted. I of course had some more school supply shopping to get done tonight and didn't make it home until 7:00 pm. But there is a part of me that is anxious to get back to school tomorrow, to continue checking off items on my to do list and start to get into the swing of a new school year.

I am so relieved to have this feeling again. For the first time, this was a very hard year for me to go back to work and I feared I was losing the passion to teach. I think I realize it is losing the extra quality time with Carter I was sad to leave, because as soon as the first student walked through my door, it was okay to be back to work.

Today I was excited to be in a school. Today, I remembered I. LOVE. BEING. A. TEACHER!!!!

Little Man

To My Little Man,

I wrote a letter earlier this summer and tonight I feel compelled to write you a letter. I need you to know just how much you mean to me and what this summer has represented for me.

I became a teacher for many reasons, one very BIG one was because when I became a mom, I would have time off with my kids. The first summer I became a mom, what I had left was rough and I was exhausted. Going back to work was easier because I knew how to do that. Last summer, you were fun and I enjoyed you but I was okay going back to work.

However, tonight is no longer a summer evening. Tonight I have to go to bed at a decent hour. Tomorrow, I am going back to work. Tonight. I. Am. Heartbroken!

This summer you have become my buddy. I have loved getting to be your mom this summer. I know we had a few rough days, and I thought it would be lucky if we both ended summer alive, but those, too, have made my summer.

I have loved our adventures, rather it being a day of just you and me or a day where we were off on an adventure. I feel like we did so much and really got to know one another so well. You truly are such a delightful little person and I am so glad I had you to spend my summer with.

Tomorrow I go back to work, and we go back to a routine. I am already counting down the days off, the adventures we can plan throughout the school year, and what continues to be within our future.

I hope you know how much you mean to me. You are everything a mommy would want in a little boy. I. LOVE. YOU! Thank you for being my little buddy that, so willingly and lovingly, went every where with me this summer! I loved every day with you. I loved how close we became. I love that you and I did a lot together. Most of all, I love that you were there with me through it all. This has been the best summer I can ever remember, and so much of that is because I got to enjoy my days with you. What more could a mom ask for?

Thank you for it all! Thank you for being you and such a delightful little man. You are everything I could hope for and more.

I love you always and forever,

Your Mommy

100th Blog Post=Anxiety

First off...this is my 100th blog post for our family blog! Kind of fun.

However, with this 100th post, I find myself a little nervous. I am having surgery tomorrow on my hand. I am not really anxious about the surgery or removal of the cyst itself. I've done that before.

But...I am SO nervous about the anesthesia. I always am. This is my sixth surgery, I have never had a problem, and yet...

Here I sit at 10:40 pm, wide awake. My eye has been physically twitching for 16+ hours with very little ease, and I am here thinking about all surgery entails.

How do they knock you out so hard, you don't feel anything? You don't remember anything? You don't know what in the hell is going on? You go down and when you wake up they have been playing with your innards and you can't recall a single thing...its scary if you think about it.

Then you always hear the horror stories...I woke up in the middle of surgery! I could feel it but was paralyzed and couldn't talk! They had a hard time waking me up! BLAH BLAH BLAH!!! ANXIETY!

Tomorrow will be here and the surgery will be done. It will be quick and I won't remember what happened. I won't have any horror stories, and I will be grateful knowing the pain is temporary...and that I have pain pills! Tomorrow at this time I will be on the flip side of surgery and sleeping it all off.

Here is to a quick recovery with little pain!

Celbrating the BIG 5!

Dustin and I "tied the knot" FIVE years ago today! What a journey it has been. We have been through so much together and have made it! I am so glad we have had the strength and love to fight for our marriage. We have had our downs, but the ups are always enough to get us through.

I am so grateful for everything our marriage represents. He is truly my best friend and the person I rely on daily. We both have worked so hard to be where we are today, and I know it is paying off!

Thanks for believing in us and our family!



Thank you for providing for our family!



Thank you for being my calm!



Thank you for all you are!



Most of all, thank you for being such a good man and an AMAZING father to our son!




So, here's to us Fuzz...the Big 5! Here is to doing that at least ten more times!




I LOVE YOU!

Shopping

Today was more of a lazy day. Carter and I have been playing so hard, and I needed a day to rest, chill, and maybe catch up on some sleep. I think he did too.

Until he woke up from his nap!

Once he was awake he came out and said, "Mom...shopping!"

I said "You want to go shopping?"

"Yeah!"

How weird it is for my little boy to tell me he wants to go shopping. He must have learned that from his father!

So, we loaded up the car and went shopping. We were very adventurous and went to Winco. He loved going up and down the aisles, and held on to the shopping cart on the back.



I LOVE my little man and our little adventures!