It’s been a fun summer so far! In between planning sessions for the new house that we’re building, we’ve managed to fit in some fun with the kids. And now that most of the house planning is done, we should have lots more time to hit the canyons and other activities in our area this summer.

Last week, we went to Lagoon. Bryce’s employer pays for everyone to go and it’s become something that we look forward to every year.

We took all 4 kids this year. Definitely a little crazy, but also a lot of fun.

Best. Picture. Ever.

Pilot Calder.

Cruising on the boats. None of our children tried to jump in the water this year. I count that as a success.

Don’t ask why everything is pink. Bryce?

And this past weekend we headed over to Bridal Veil Falls for a little picnic lunch and some nature time.

Gorgeous.

There’s a fish pond right at the base of the waterfall. This cute little girl had a big container of pond pellets to feed the fish and insisted that we all take some. The kids were in heaven.

Happy Summer!

Today’s prompt:

If you could have 3 wishes, what would you wish for?

This is surprisingly hard for me. I don’t want to sound ungrateful. I have a beautiful healthy family, we have plenty for our needs, and life is good. But this was the prompt, so here are my answers.

1. Money. Isn’t that horrible? But if I could have 3 wishes, I’d probably wish for a bunch of money. This would mean: Bryce could stay home and do all the stuff he wishes he had time to do, we could take the kids and travel around the world, we could buy a great home on a great piece of land somewhere, I could hire a personal trainer for me and a chef for our family, and more. And pay lots of tithing! It’d be great to share the wealth.

2. The Gift of Endless Patience. This would come in very handy as a mother.

3. A Photographic Memory. Because, you know, that would just be awesome. Seems like this would enhance a lot of areas of life.

You’re all probably getting tired of hearing about me. Too bad. I am enjoying writing these and I really do think my kids will get a kick out of these some day. Today’s prompt is:

What are the 5 things that make you the most happy right now?

1. Raising my children. This is a tricky one, because raising children is exhausting and has its frustrating moments. But motherhood has so many moments of joy, too. Some that stick out to me:

• Meeting my children. Those first few minutes and hours after birth are just amazing. There’s nothing like it. Seeing this little person that is such a part of you, of your whole being. It’s overwhelming in a wonderful way.
• Watching my children play together. When they are playing nicely, or helping each other, it brings such happiness to my heart.
• Watching my children grow and learn. What a privilege to witness that day in and day out.
• Laughing with my little ones. They remind me how fantastic life is–the clouds, sprinklers running, how their bodies can run and jump, a tiny bug crawling on the sidewalk. And they’re also just silly sometimes. Easton is at a particularly funny age and I get lots of laughs out of watching him experience life.

2. Being with Bryce. I think I pretty much covered this one in an earlier post. I just adore this man and being with him lightens my heart and makes me smile.

3. My Church responsibilities. I am currently serving as the Relief Society President in our ward. This is a demanding calling in many ways, but it also brings a lot of joy. I love interacting with my sisters, learning alongside them, watching them serve and love each other, and witnessing God’s hand in their lives.

4. Sweets. I admit it. I love dark chocolate. Bryce and I just took a chocolate tasting class with fine artisan chocolate. Oh, my. That stuff is amazing. And I love looking forward to an evening treat with Bryce. I’m not sure if it’s the treat that makes me happy, or the anticipation of spending time with him and eating something sweet.

Amano chocolates–one of the world’s premier artisan chocolates and they’re based in Orem, UT! We’re planning to go tour their facility soon.

5. Anticipating. My mom and Bryce can tell you–I love to anticipate things. I’m much happier if I have something on the horizon to look forward to. A family trip, a date night, our new house. I enjoy the experience of anticipating these kinds of things. I have to watch out, though. There’s a quote I love from Marjorie Hinckley, “Don’t wish away your days waiting for better ones ahead.” And I get that. I’m trying to enjoy the moment more. But I do love me some good anticipation.

Tired of these yet? We still have 26 prompts to go, so just settle in and get comfortable.

List 10 Things You Would Tell Your 16 Year-Old Self 

1. You are a precious daughter of God. Don’t ever forget that.

2. When you start at BYU in the fall as a 16 year-old, you’ll take Intro. to Chemistry in hopes of pursuing a nursing degree. That class will be hard. You will get a B. But don’t give up on yourself so easily. Take it again, or don’t take it again. But don’t throw the whole idea of nursing (and nurse-midwifery) under the bus just because that one class is hard.

3. Take some home economics classes at BYU–cooking, sewing, etc. These skills will come in handy.

4. Be true to yourself and don’t change yourself to make other people happy.

5.  In a year or so, when you’re at BYU, you’ll be accepted to study abroad in London. Go. Your parents will get worried about your safety because of the various wars in the Middle East and will encourage you not to go. Go anyway. You’ll regret it if you don’t.

6. And on that note, nice work getting into BYU! Way to take initiative. Deciding to take the ACT early and apply for early admission to BYU while you were living in Honduras took some guts. I’m proud of you for doing that.

7. Get used to Utah. Turns out, you’ll spend way more time here than you ever thought you would. Like, WAY more time.

8. Take some cash and invest in Apple. Just trust me on this one.

9. You can do hard things. Take some risks and see what happens.

10. Some wonderful things are headed your way. I am so excited for you.

I am really enjoying writing these. I think I might see if I can get Bryce to write the same series. I think the kids should know all these things about him, too!

Today’s prompt:

Describe Your Relationship With Your Spouse

Bryce and I have been married for 9 years now and I count myself among the very lucky. It was never really my plan to get married young. I skipped 12th grade and started at BYU when I was 16. I dated a bit, had a couple of boyfriends, but nothing too serious. And then in the fall of 2002, one year after I started college, I met Bryce. It was time for the annual Preference dance at BYU. This is a Sadie Hawkins kind of dance, where the girls are expected to invite the boys. I asked some of the girls in my dorm for date suggestions and some of them said I should ask Bryce, this really cute guy in their Family Home Evening group. We were in the same ward, but, to be honest, I hadn’t really noticed Bryce yet. He claims he noticed me from the start. I think Bryce was shocked that I asked him, but he said yes and it was set. Being the planner that I am, I suggested that we do lunch together before the big date just to get to know each other a bit before we went out. So, in the glamorous Cougareat Food Court on campus, we had lunch and chatted. Bryce told me later that he was so nervous his jaw was shaking. I didn’t notice. We discovered that we’d both lived in El Salvador (me for almost 7 years as a child and Bryce as a missionary)–small world! From there, we just kept connecting. And when we got to the actual date, it was by far the best first date I’d ever been on. It seemed like we just connected from the very beginning. It was never awkward. We understood each other and had such a fun time together. It was so comfortable and a very pleasant surprise.

I think I definitely took some of the reigns in the beginning. I asked him out, I’m the one that got us holding hands a couple weeks later, and 5 months into our relationship, I convinced him that it was time for our first kiss. Neither one of us had kissed anyone before, so this was a big (big!) deal! I was so impatient to be kissed by him and it wasn’t happening! So, one night on the stoop outside my dorm, I teased him by calling him “chicken.” He quoted Back to the Future and said, “Nobody calls me chicken!” And then we kissed. It wasn’t a great kiss–I mean, we had zero experience–but it was perfect all the same. A little over a year after we started dating, Bryce flew out to North Carolina and proposed to me. On April 24, 2004, we were married and sealed together in the Salt Lake City temple.

And that’s how I ended up getting married at 19.

On our wedding day.

So, how to describe our relationship? Well, I think Bryce and I work very well together. Where I tend to make decisions quickly, sometimes too hastily, Bryce always takes his time. Where he might move too slow, I’m there to encourage him along. We make each other laugh and I think we’re learning that it’s better to laugh than to cry sometimes. We support each other in everything we do. When I decided to pursue my master’s degree, Bryce backed me 100%. When Bryce decided to quit his job and try working from home, I trusted him and encouraged him. When I chose to birth naturally, Bryce never doubted my strength and was there every step (and contraction) of the way. When Bryce wanted to run a marathon, I cheered him on and made it possible for him to train. I could go on and on. Supporting each other is a very important part of our marriage. We are the best of friends. He is my favorite person in the world and I’m pretty sure that I am his. At the end of a hard day, we take comfort in being together. And we know that no matter what life throws at us, we will make it because we have each other. We know that we are in this for the long haul (an eternal long haul, in fact) and that means that we are committed to each other and to our family. We are kind to each other. I think this is so important. We try our best to speak kind words, to forgive each other when we make mistakes, to see the best in our partner. I would say that our relationship is a peaceful one. It is a safe place. It is my glimpse of what heaven will be like and I am so very very glad that I get to walk through this life, and all time and eternity, with Bryce by my side.

One of my favorite pieces of poetry by Yeats sums it up for me:

“Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”

We have spread our dreams and do our best to tread softly and treat each other with love.