Spending Time with the Kiddos

This past weekend I had many opportunities to get in touch with my motherly side. I was able to help my dear friend Sarah with her children again this weekend. Jacob is 2 and has the best smile ever and Eliana is 3 months and also has a dang cute smile complete with dimples. I played with Jacob at the pool on Friday and while at times it was a little stressful knowing Sarah might not like it if I injured her child in some way, more often it was great fun. Jacob took a liking to jumping into the pool from the side and I would hold his hand and help him jump in or he would jump to me. His laughter was contagious and I really didn't mind helping him jump in again and again and again.

Most of the weekend I helped out by holding Eliana while Sarah kept track of Jacob. He loves his momma so much and gets the biggest grin every time he sees her, even if he had been crying about something 2 seconds before! So it was a hard life holding a sweet baby, but I muddled through. She started smiling for me and it was adorable. I loved making her smile and laugh in a newborn kind of way. If I was a really excellent friend I would have helped change diapers and such too, but really I am more the I will play with your kids kind of friend, the dirty stuff is up to you.

I rounded out my weekend of kids by attending our ward Primary Activity on Saturday morning. I am the Sunbeam teacher now so I helped them rotate through the different Pioneer activities. I adore my Sunbeams and am probably biased but think we have the best primary class. These kids are smart, super cute, and we can keep them entertained for quite some time by playing Reverent Ball. (I can teach you this very popular game if you would like.) They had a blast shaking a jar to make butter, playing Stick Pull with Joseph Smith, and just generally running around the field.

So a weekend with children aged 3 and under took me out of my comfort zone a bit since I tend to enjoy children who can read and tie their own shoes a little more, but dang little kids sure know how to love and I love to be loved!


Three cute sunbeams equals one big smile for me!



Jacob was playing hide and seek with his mum(she is Canadian so I have to say mum). The best part was she didn't know about the game, but he was being a great hider!


I know you are all jealous that I spent time with this adorable lady all weekend! You can't see the dimples too well, but they are there.


I know, I know.

A Summer Guilty Pleasure

Ah...it's summertime, a time to play outside, eat yummy BBQ outside, frolic in the pool outside, you know, be outside! Well I have had an excellent view of the outside from the window of my room as I have been in there most of the summer so far watching (hold your breath) a silly tv series called, Bones. Now, I feel the need to point out my friend, Sarah, is the one who introduced me to this series which I always thought seemed too yucky to enjoy. But after watching a few episodes with her, I was hooked. Once I watched all the epidsodes I could find for free online, I needed to get my fix from somewhere else. This is where I can blame my roommate, Cami, who suggested I become a member of Netflix where I could get all 5 Seasons streamed directly to my computer. And this is where my summer fun went from outside to inside. I go to work, come home, watch some episodes of Bones, eat dinner, go to the gym, watch some episodes of Bones, sleep, go to work, watch some episodes of Bones... you get the idea. While you may be disgusted at the thought of me wasting away in my room watching tv, you know who to blame and on the upside, if I ever find some bones in a stranded field or crammed in a closet somewhere, I will know exactly how to identify the remains and begin the search for the killer. See I am having a learning experience this summer! I am on Season 4, almost done! What should I learn about next?

Fishin' and Frolickin'

Well I have to admit I probably did more frolickin' than fishin' this weekend, but my first camping trip of the season was highly enjoyable. Saturday was free fishing day in Utah and my friend, Chris took this opportunity to make a camping trip out of a fishing trip with all his closest friends. We headed up Friday afternoon to Blawkhawk campground on the Nebo Loop. Green trees, snow-topped mountain peaks, and happy sun made for the perfect weekend getaway. After carefully choosing just the right spot with a meadow and big trees to shade our tents, we set up camp and waited for the rest of the group to arrive later that evening. Sitting around the campfire with 20 other people I caught up with old friends, made new friends, enjoyed a yummy foil dinner and a Smore or two, and nearly died of smoke inhalation. Okay the last part was a bit dramatic but the fire was very smoky and I found myself choking and dabbing away tears after being attacked by the smoke monster more than once.(Fortunately it was not the Smoke Monster from Lost, though had the same appearance at times.) The temperature was perfect, even the evening chill was very mild. There was a bit of a feisty wind that would make itself known at times, but it soon subsided making for a wonderful evening.

The next morning we awoke to birds chirping and another gorgeous sunny day. We got ready and headed to Payson Lakes to do some fishin'. This is where I admit I was merely a bystander in the fishing process. I brought a good book, enjoyed watching my friends fish, and took in some rays. I would have fished if I really wanted to. :) After a few hours with no real bites, we headed back to clean up camp and head home. On the way home we stopped to enjoy a small hike on the Nebo Loop called the Grotto. It took us to a quaint waterfall where we dipped our feet in the ice cold water then headed back to our cars. We parted with all our friends, then it was time to go home and enjoy a much awaited shower. I have washed my hair four times and still don't have the smoke smell out of my hair. I guess that smoke monster did more damage than I thought. It was a delightful weekend and I hope to post of many more campouts I will enjoy this summer. I do love Utah's mountains in the summer!


The view from our campsite. Pretty nice eh?


Kathryn, Suzanne, Me, and Kim enjoying our yummy tinfoil dinners.


The gang enjoying the campfire. This would be one of the rare moments the Smoke Monster was not attacking me.


The view of the lake, serene and peaceful. Good thing you can't hear the kids to the side of us yelling, "I got one! I got a fish!" So much for peaceful day at the lake.