I'm a little sad to say...

that we went boating for the last time this year.  I'm sad to see the summer go.  I do not look forward to being cooped up in the house for all the super cold months.  My goal is to bundle the kids up and go outside as much as possible and enjoy some fun times in the snow!  I am excited for fall because I love the holidays.  Seriously, we get to start things off with super crazy fun Halloween and finish it off with party time New Years Eve.

I am happy to report that I did the best jump on the wakeboard that I have been able to do since I had kids!  I even grabbed the board.  It was pretty sweet!

We got out the tube. As we were blowing it up I was explaining it to Aleah.  She was so excited to ride in the tube.  So we let the kids sit in it for a minute.  I was afraid that she would get scared since she is still pretty young.  Nope!  Cade even got in.

After a few minutes Cade was done ridding in the tube.  He decided that he wanted to watch from the boat.  He had a lot of fun watching them.  He would copy everything they were doing.  When they were bouncing, he would bounce!

These two cute girls were ready to go!  

I was still afraid that Aleah was going to get scared so we kept them close to the boat and went slow.  They just kept yelling, "Go faster Grandpa!"

We threw my mom out there with them and they yelled, "Hit it!"

They were having so much fun.  They didn't want to stop.  I was so impressed with Aleah.  She loved it and kept yelling, "Faster Grandpa!"  They ended up ridding in the tube all the way across the lake.  From Saratoga Springs to Provo!

Just my thoughts

So this post is on the personal side.  I also use this blog as my journal and I have been feeling like I should post about some thoughts that I have been having about this life here on earth.

I remember when I was a little girl, maybe 5 years old, I was laying in bed one night thinking about earth and heaven.  The thought came to my mind, "If Heavenly Father is my Father then who is His Father and who is His Father..."  I could not sleep, this was blowing my mind!  So I called for my Mom who always has all the answers.  She simply said that there are some things that we just don't know and we won't know until we get to heaven.  What?  Seriously, that is your answer?!

There are many questions like that one that totally blow my mind when I think about them.  While listening to Elder Brimhall, a member of the seventy who spoke at our stake conference a couple of weeks ago, some of these mind blowing questions entered my mind again.  I have been thinking about these questions and really letting my mind be a little consumed by them.

A few days ago Aleah fell asleep during her quiet time and when she woke up she wanted me to hold her.  So I sat down in her rocking chair and she fell back to sleep.  As I sat there, for about 20 minutes, I started thinking about how much I love her and how she is growing up so fast and moments like this are getting fewer and fewer.  Then I started thinking about my life on this earth and all the mind blowing questions that I have.  As I started thinking I remembered that back in the day when I probably knew the answers to my questions I chose this.  I chose to come to this earth!  I knew what life was like before this earth life and I knew what it was going to be like after this life and I chose to come here.

That fact gives me the ability to agree with my Mom.  There are somethings that I don't know.  Somethings that I don't have the ability to understand right now.  But Heavenly Father has given me access to the things that He wants me to know and the things that He knows that I have the ability to understand right now.  I can study the scriptures, listen to the prophet and apostles and other leaders of the church.

I have to do all I can to make this earth life a success because when I understood the things that I don't understand right now, I chose this.  I wanted to be here and I fought to be here!  I am so incredibly thankful for the knowledge that I have that I am a child of God.  I am thankful for the gift of the Holy Ghost to guide me and help me to know which way to go and what to do here on this earth!

Zoo, Zoo, Zoo

A couple of week ago Brad took the day off so that we could go to the zoo.  The day before we went we told Aleah and Cade that we were going to go to the zoo.  We sang the song, We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...  Then I asked Aleah what animals we would see there.  She said, "Elephants, lions, giraffes..." all the animals she named were animals we would see at a zoo.  I was amazed!  I really didn't think that she would know.

They were both really excited to go to the zoo!  Aleah kept asking if we were there yet.  When we finally got there and we were parking the car Aleah was squealing and said, "It's so much fun at the zoo!"

They had to ride these horse like things.  Cade kept making his high pitched horse sound, HEEEEEE!

 We all loved the elephants.  Aleah thought that it was so silly that one of the elephants threw some hay on its back.  She talked about it all day.

Cade was so scared of this big elephant.  It makes sleeping sounds and it also sneezes and sprays water.  He would not even come near it for a family picture.  But any time we talk about elephants he says, "Ah Ah Choooo!"

They also liked looking at the tigers.  I don't know why because they weren't doing anything.  Maybe it was because of the water.

We had such a fun day at the zoo!  I love spending time as a family!  Since then every once in a while Aleah will ask to go to the zoo.  She says, "Let's go to the zoo right now."  She is really in to saying, right now.  Everything needs to be, right now.

Quiet Time

A few weeks ago Aleah started having a really hard time going to sleep at night.  We would put her to bed at her usual time, around 7:30, and then things would get really frustrating.  She would ask me to put her blanket over her arms, then she wanted her arms out, then in, then out.  She wanted her dog in the blanket, no out of the blanket.  Then she wanted to rock in the rocking chair.  Ugh!  After a few minutes of this I would tell her that I was not coming in again and she needed to go to sleep.  Then she would cry and cry forever!  She had NEVER done that before.  Even when she was a baby the longest she would cry was five minutes.  She was staying up until 9:30 or 10 and I was going crazy!

Then I was talking to my friend who's son is only a few days younger than Aleah and she started telling me that she was having a really hard time getting him to go to bed at night.  When she told me what he was doing I had to laugh because it was identical to what Aleah was doing.  She said that they must be ready to drop their naps.  What?  NO!  I had been dreading the day that Aleah would drop her nap and thought that I had at least a few more months.

Well, I didn't want to drop her nap but I did want my evenings back!  So I decided to try having her do quiet time for an hour.  I think it is important for her to have some down time and some time to herself.  I also think that it is important for me to have some time to myself!

So I sat her down and said, "Aleah, we need to have a talk.  Do you know what that means?"  She said, "Yes."  Haha, she is so cute!  Then I told her that she was growing up and that means that some days she doesn't need a nap.  Some days she just needs quiet time.  I explained all the rules of quiet time to her and then told her about all the fun things she gets to do like puzzles, coloring, and reading.  She was so excited!  She ran right into her room and did a really good job.

The next day when I told her that it was time for quiet time she said, "Yay, I'm so excited! Quiet time is so much fun!"  It has been really fun.  I love listening to her read and sing.  I love when I go in to get her and she tells me with a big smile about all the things she did, "All by myself!"

Some days she still falls asleep, but she is doing a great job!  I love that she is growing up, but honestly I did cry a little the first day.

Brad's Birthday

Last month was Brad's birthday.  We celebrated it a little while we were at Bear Lake and then I tried to continue the celebration the rest of the week.  We went out to dinner with the kids one night.  Another night we went to the park and then to Cold Stone to get his free birthday treat!  On Brad's actual birthday my parents watched our kids for us so that we could go out to dinner and a movie.  It was fun to go on a date and spend some time just the two of us!  The Sunday following Brad's birthday we had cake and ice cream at my parents' house to celebrate my Mom's birthday and Brad's birthday.

I guess that we were actually celebrating my new nephew's birthday since he was born that day!  Happy birthday Daxton.

I have to add this picture.  I took it the day after Brad's birthday.  This is a common scene on the weekends, evenings, or just whenever Brad is around.  Aleah and Cade love their Dad!  They usually fight over him and Mom just doesn't do when Dad is around.  Brad is an amazing Dad!