Their best lives

I urge you to zoom in on their faces. I die. Millie is singing and twirling; James is yelling, "Look at meeeee!"

These two are getting along pretty well.  

We often take walks together in the afternoon. The same route I've been taking with my children at this age for years. And, ever since the neighbors across the street put in a playset, we tend to stop there and play.

And there's a certain neighbor who always has treats, if you knock on her door and say please and thank you.

This was a picture when it was still chilly, of me trying to teach both to pump their legs.

It's still not working very well.

In both pictures of James above, he is wearing a pair of the pants in the picture below.

"Me and the boys are pretty hard on clothes, so there'll be a lot of washin' and mendin'" - Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Now that it is consistently warmer, I finally put away the winter clothes for good up in the attic. But while I was sorting them, Millie tried to put them all on and exit stage left.

And finally, in the theme of living their best lives, James was invited to a birthday party recently at the Natural History Museum. Naturally he roared all the way through it.

Young men

We were surprised by the announcement late last year that young men and young women would move up in the calendar year of their birthday. That meant Benjamin became a deacon almost a full year ahead of time, because of his December birthday.

 

Maxwell also moved up to be a Teacher several months ahead of time. Today both boys were set apart into in new callings in their quorums today in Church.

 

I remember having a similar calling in Young Womens when I was their age, and I don't remember doing much. But I was struck with the thought during the setting apart blessings, that it isn't so much about whether it's this huge calling or responsibility, it is that you do it. That you show up every Sunday, that you say yes to what you are asked to do, no matter how big or small. It's that you are on the right path, even with these small and simple steps.

 

It has been great for Ben to go to the Temple to do Baptisms. JB has taken them a couple times with friends. How lucky are we to live in the Salt Lake Temple district? When it closes soon, we'll venture out to others in the state.

 

 

Last Wednesday was probably one of their most favorite youth activities in a while. They went to drive big big trucks and tractors at one of the guys' workplaces.

Max came back with some mosquito bites. They like his blood I guess. I had to go to bed before they came home, which was a bummer. I like to hear my boys' excitement after something.

The Saints in St Louis

I woke up Monday morning and for the first time in weeks, I was not thinking first of needing to work on my radio documentary. It aired Sunday at noon on KSL Newsradio and went off without a hitch! It's on the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in St. Louis.

I researched for weeks and did two interviews in Salt Lake City before flying to St. Louis about a month ago for more interviews. Then I logged and edited and wrote and re-wrote the story, both in radio form and a print version.

Here is the story, and at the very end is the link to the podcast: https://kslnewsradio.com/1903551/the-saints-in-st-louis-church-history/

It was a challenge and a joy. I have been so pleased to get great feedback so far. It was close to my heart because of my teenage years living in Missouri, but I also felt it important to tell about the Lord's hand in the work of the Church. 

I was so anxious about it at one point, that I said a prayer specifically for help on this project -- and I know I got help. There have been times when prayers are not answered like I would wish for me and my family, but I do know God cares about the things we care about.

Monday at work, my boss suggested another big idea for another piece to air during the next General Conference in 6 months. Here we go again!

Escalante and Capitol Reef

Tuesday morning we left Ruby's Inn, and we drove north and east (winding all around, really) through Escalante/Grand Staircase area on scenic Highway 12. On a map you wouldn't think it's that far, but the road goes up and down and around and over because it is such an incredible landscape of cliffs and rocks and canyons. 

 

JB has been camping and hiking in the area on backpacking guys trips and loved it.

 

 

We stopped by a view point, and I am ashamed to say I got so anxious about the cliff that I burst into tears and almost threw up. I just have covered too many news stories of people falling to their deaths in Southern Utah or other similar areas, and I kept imagining JB and the children falling and dying. Ugh.

(Though, slightly in my defense, it's rarely women and girls who fall - I think we are given anxious natures to keep the human race safe?)

 

 

 

We went on the Lower Calf Creek Falls hike. This is a good one for kids - unless one of those kids is 2 years old. Millie and I made it about 45 minutes in, then turned around to go back out, and the boys and JB kept going. I should have borrowed a hiking backpack or toddler carrier. I ended up carrying her most of the way back out.

 

 

On this day, she was determined to carry a purple shovel she found in the trunk of the van among our pool toys. It was a good thing, too, because the hike is pretty sandy.

 

 

 

Here they are at the falls! Its about 6 miles round trip.

We had a picnic lunch at the parking lot/trailhead. Then it was back in the car to keep going north to Capitol Reef National Park. Sometimes the kids watched movies, and JB and I listened to sports podcasts, but do you know what is a good soundtrack for amazing scenery? Imagine Dragons and Walk the Moon. Once we entered Capitol Reef, we turned off the movie, blasted the music and opened the sunroof so we could see all the beautiful surroundings.

 

 

We didn't have time to do any hikes here, because we had to be back by Tuesday night ( I had to work early Wednesday morning -- we are in the book/ratings season so a full week off was not really allowed). But we drove down Capitol Gorge, which is unpaved and a really really cool place to be. We got out a couple times.

 

 

 

 

JB and I went to Capitol Reef on a singles ward camping trip before we really started dating. And then we went back briefly for my in-laws Bart and Collette's wedding reception 15 years ago. She grew up with these amazing views. We will have to go again!

Bryce Canyon

Sunday after church, we hit the road south to go to Bryce Canyon National Park.

We stayed at Ruby's Inn, which is pretty famous. Their pool is awesome and their breakfast is incredible -- except they limit the number of guests who can eat at once, but we made do.

Many things JB read online said to go to Bryce in March, because there are fewer crowds and the weather is nice. Unfortunately, this winter snowed a lot down there, and they closed all of the below-the-rim trails. But we still got to see incredible views from the rim.

 

JB took the boys from Sunset Point to Sunrise Point, while I drove Millie to meet them.

 

Millie carried a bar of soap from the hotel with her all day. She often has some sort of treasure to carry around, and for some reason, just really liked this citrus scent, I guess.

 

 

He also took Max and Ben down the trail a little on Inspiration Point. But we couldn't drive any farther in to see Natural Bridge, they had closed the road.

 

We did go around on Highway 12 to the Mossy Cave trail. This is a great one with kids. But it was muddy! The snow banks helped the kids wipe off their shoes, but I still had quite some cleaning to do when we got back to the hotel.

 

The boys climbed up to that hole in the rock in the middle with JB and I took this picture below of them climbing. 

 

 

 

 

And he took this picture of them at the top.

 

 

 

 

This is the Mossy Cave at the end. The ice formations were pretty neat. The boys teased Millie that we were in Elsa's castle. Ben could have hiked all day.

 

 

See the mud on my pants on the way back? It's from Millie's shoes. She alternated being carried and walking.

Here are the little boys becoming Junior Rangers at the visitors center. There were people from all over the world there, and Max saw two friends from school.

 The views were just incredible. Even Millie was talking about hoo-doos in her little voice.