Birthday Fun

     So, Tuesday has come and gone and I am now officially another year older! And what an amazing year it has been! A year ago, Mom, Dad, and I were up here in WA seeing if maybe we really were as crazy as everyone thought we were. We saw Bellingham for the first time, spent some amazing time with our friends the Jones, the Messegees, and the Bahrts. And...as a result, I entered the blogging world so I could share what a fantastic time we had.

     Now, just twelve short months later, we LIVE in this place, and I am more in love with it than ever. I have found what I consider to be the MOST beautiful place on the planet in San Juan Island. That may have something to do with being raised on an island during my formative years...or it may just be that truly gorgeous. Add in that it's a favorite spot for orcas to play, and I'm pretty much in Heaven. See what you think.

    

     So, after a very "take it easy" kind of day on Tuesday, where Mom cooked all of my favorites and one of my dear friends dropped by with a fun birthday surprise, Mom and Dad treated me to a fun day out on San Juan Island. It was pretty darn cold and we all got too chilled (after four hours out in the northern, Autumn, sea air) to wait for Orcas to come in. But nonetheless, the day and scenery were breathtakingly gorgeous-so we sat on the cliffs and watched the tide rise and boats pass at Lime Kiln Point State Park.

     The only thing missing to make it the most perfect day ever is that we were all too thin-blooded to see any orcas. We all figured that the crazy wind and highly choppy coast-lapping waves kept them out further than we could see. But still, other than the day I was endowed (four years ago-WHOA!), it was perhaps the greatest day in memory. So, of course I had to snap some fun photos to preserve the images we saw. Hope you enjoy.

What a week!

Have you ever had one of those weeks you wish you could just erase? This has been one of those weeks for me. Tuesday night, the most evil Flu hit. Even now, I'm still not up to par yet, but I know I'll get there soon. But, being sick has caused me to have A LOT of time to think...which is not necessarily a good thing. While I won't complain about a viable reason to sleep as much as I want and spend my days in comfy PJs, I'm not so fond of the endless thoughts that pop into my head.

This week's thoughts have revolved a great deal around the people I love most. And, accompanying those thoughts came a great remorse for the stupid things I've let get me down. While some are fully justified, others are not. And I'm sorry for all the inane things I've let come between us. I will admit to being overly emotional a great deal of the time, and that probably freaks people out. Unfortunately, extremely deep feelings are a facet of my personality and I can't apologize for something that makes me, well...me. But, to those of you I've freaked out-or hurt with my over abundance of emotions-I'm sorry about that.

Now you know what happens when I get sick. I get even more emotional. And even I realize that is probably not the greatest thing ever. So, there are a few little things I've turned towards to help me combat those crazy girl emotions. One is a fabulous CD by Lady Antebellum. I've learned all the songs this week, and I really love it. So, if you're not totally opposed to country...go check it out. For the most part, REALLY good music.


















Another comfort I usually turn to is books. There are two that I've been thumbing the pages of this week. When I'm not totally pessimistic about romance and the feelings it evokes, I've been turning to Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South. I'm a succor for the classics, and somehow, old British stories always captivate me. This one is no exception. It's a fabulous piece of literary entertainment, and it makes me realize how blessed my life really is in this day and age.



I'm also a rather huge fan of Stephenie Meyer's The Host. For some reason, it draws me in and I get hooked every time. I don't know what it is about that woman's work, but I like it. I enjoy the simplistic writing style and the entertainment value it provides. And yes, that does include ALL of the Twilight saga. I don't know why I'm so hooked on her books, but I am. And I've learned to accept that adolescent facet of me. And yes, I'm very excited to know that there are now plans to turn The Host into a movie. For a girl who hates vampires and aliens (truth is they both terrify me), it is strange that I'm so enamored with these works. But I am. So...woo-hoo for The Host (book and movie!)


















And because I'm an absolute nerd, I thought I'd include the New Moon movie widget. I'm beyond excited about this. I don't know if I'm more excited for the movie itself or that my sister gets to come up from TX and watch it with me. It is truly going to be a blast.

So, yeah. Just thought I'd blog about my really weird week. It's definitely been interesting. But I'm thankful that tomorrow starts a brand new week and I can leave this one in the dust!

I LOVE the first weekend in October

For those of you who don't know why, I'll tell you. Every six months, I receive one of the HUGEST blessings in my life. The leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints gather together to instruct and edify the WORLD in five two-hour sessions spread throughout the weekend. ALWAYS, there are talks that I feel are just for me, but I know there are others equally touched by these messages.

Two of my absolute favorites this time came from Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Seventy and President Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency of the church. I greatly admire the mere mortals who are called to serve the world and stand as examples for each of us. And I am continually thankful to be a member of such a tremendous faith. It's amazing that God loves us enough to send modern-day prophets to provide guidance and leadership for us. I truly do "stand all amazed at the love" our Heavenly Family continually gives to each of us.

I hope you will take the time to listen to these talks when you can, for they truly are inspired words that can make each of our lives better, not just as members of the church, but members of a world-wide family. We are each a child of a loving Heavenly Father and I KNOW that he wants us all to live a happy and productive life. I am touched by all the ways EACH of you, my dear friends and family members, have impacted my life and made it better. Thank you for continually, and often unknowingly, making me realize just how precious we all are in the eyes of our Heavenly Father.

Hope you can enjoy these messages as much as I do.

Summertime

Hello Friends and Family. Yes, I really am alive, just immersed in the wonderful world of Institute, school, and church callings! Life has truly been crazy, stressful, chaotic, and...AMAZING. And I'm sad I didn't take the time to blog it when it all happened, because I know I've probably forgotten quite a bit. And now, since it has been two months since I've entered this realm, it is time to play some SERIOUS catchup.

Some of our FAVORITE summer memories:

1.) Having three adorable boys spend a fantastic month with us here in our beautiful Pacific NW home and experiencing snow in shorts and t-shirts, among so many other precious moments.

2.) Heading out to San Juan Island, not once but twice.

3.) Seeing my long-cherished ORCAS, not on one visit, but BOTH!

4.) Camping trip in UT with five-sevenths of our super fun family.

5.) Having Granny come spend a month with us and no longer thinking we're crazy for leaving NASTY TX.

6.) Remembering that there are many joys in life...but recognizing that MOST revolve around our eternal family!

So, enjoy the slide-shows. I know there are a TON of pictures, but you don't want to miss ANY.

At home + 3!

So, after what seemed like FOREVER on the road (it was literally an ENTIRE month), we FINALLY arrived back home. Overall, we travelled a grand total of 5,600 miles-and nearly half of those miles were with three boys-6,7,&9. Can we say that the fact that we arrived back home in one piece is a MIRACLE! Thank you dear little men for being such angels on our LOOOOOOONG road trip. We don't have any pictures in transit, but here are some from our first adventure.

We took our little men to the beach. And, being the crazy auntie I am, dared them to stick their feet in the ocean to see just how cold it was. And here is their cute response. THEY ACCEPTED the silly goons. But this experience gave me a few of my favorite moments while Rylan, Trevan, and Brayden were here. Have fun along with them!

And P.S. PLEASE pardon the poor phone photography. We'd just discovered my camera was broken. :( But, these are still pretty cute!

"This is the ocean???? It's not cold!"


And about one minute later...














"It's freakin' FREEZIN'! And my toes are gonna fall off!" (My favorite Braydenism of the ENTIRE trip)

We love where we live!

Return to UT-finale

Okay, so this post is just a bunch of fun random things that happened while we were in UT. And just so you know, the soccer video you will see...well that is the last photographic/cinematic clip my camera ever took. :( But at least I got it in right?? And now, while we will try to fix my blue baby (outcome looks grim-as the 8 ball would say), Dad's camera is the sole operator in our household. Isn't that just sad???? My conclusion is-I need a new super hyped up Kim camera wanna be. But anyway...enough of that tangent. While we were in UT, Kim's boys got to sport a handsome new look. Wanna see? Well, I'm glad you do-because here are three of the cutest boys EVER! And, here are six of the twenty (almost twenty-two...aren't I a lucky auntie?) cutest kids EVER! Poor Lani is our lone girl...but you know, I don't think she minded one bit. It was so cute. Okay, among other things, most of what was done was play, Play, and PLAY. It was fun to be woken up EVERY morning by happy kiddoes. Don't get me wrong, I don't much care for being woken up, but if I must be, this is the way to do it. Happy morning kids = smiling morning Auntie...most of the time.
And last, but not least, since we got to practice Baseball with Uncle Aaron, we absolutely HAD to play soccer with Auntie Liza in the back yard. I even joined in on this one, but mercifully you don't have to see THAT. Hope you enjoy!

Return to UT, Part II...with LOTS of pictures!

Our trip in UT the second time was so much fun that it takes multiple posts to describe. One of the boys' favorite times there was thanks to Eliza's tremendously sweet cousins, Sasha, Paul, Lexi,Clairee, and Emme. Clairee, I think I remember correctly, had a birthda party, which she invited all of us to. Quite unexpectedly, the Gomez Family had a whole clan of extra guests. They were so sweet in making sure the boys were included as if it had always been a part of the plan. And let me tell you, they had a FABULOUS time playing bandits and taking their turn at roping, riding, and the whole nine yards. Little Alana was quite the natural! Thanks Gomez Family for making us feel special. And thanks to the Cothrans again and again. We won't be able to say it enough for all you did for us! We love you guys LOTS! Enjoy our pics...and even a video or two!