Farmington Canyon

I have wanted to do this hike up Farmington Canyon for a couple of years but never have. I talked to my dad about it and he got excited and we decided all to go one Monday morning. My kids got so excited waiting for them to pick us up (we only had one car at the time and Tanner was needing it). 

When we got to the trail head the gate was closed!!!! I was so mad. I saw it on instagram like someone had just hiked it and we were so bummed. It took us a little while to decide what to do but ultimately we decided to just go for it. So we walked about a mile up the road to the actual trail head. It was quite lovely still. Nice and quiet and pretty!

We took a little snack break at the actual trail head and rested for a little bit. The trail was really nice. Good for kids. It was really pretty. Lots of exposure and sun so I was glad it wasn't too hot. It was actually perfect weather!

We crossed a couple of streams and walked for another hour or so and then someone told us we probably still had 20 minutes (of adult hiking time) left to get to the cars and the waterfall. My kids were getting pretty whiny and tired and so I wasn't sure we should keep going. We still had to make it all the way back.

We ended up decided to start back and let my dad hike on quick so he could take some pictures of the cars and see the waterfall. I REALLY wanted to get to the waterfall with the kids and Harvey really wanted to see the cars but I was just worried about getting us all back. We needed to not have an extra two miles on the road. We'll go back when the gate is open. So we turned around and crossed the bigger creek and sat and ate the rest of our food and hung our for a bit and then started slowly wandering back. We didn't get very far before my dad caught up to us :) But the kids really did pretty good on the way back. Lottie and Greta got carried lots of the way but Harvey was a stud and they were all happy :)

Spotted a little lizard on the rock that's really hard to see in the picture. Harvey wanted to catch him. 

This girl was especially entertaining. I'm not kidding when I say that basically THE ENTIRE hike she was talking, jabbering or singing. Hiking, being carried, sitting. It was SO funny. Even sans nap she was just a happy entertaining blabber mouth. Haha. I loved it.

The joys and conveniences of being a boy :)

Some of my dads pics...

It was so fun to be outside and spend time with my parents and especially in the mountains! A winning combination!

Easter

We had a fun little Easter decorating time. The kids actually had a lot of fun and there were minimal catastrophe's. (Harvey got mad about how we dyed his last egg...but we got it all worked out...don't worry). Lottie was pretty entertaining. 

We tried to face time my parents while we were doing it and she was being so cute and excited about it all. While we were videoing I took out one of her pink or purple eggs and she made the cutest excited face! My mom said I was missing all the cute pictures and so we hung up and I told Lottie to make the same face and she did it perfectly. Makes me laugh.

Our Easter egg hunt at Mimi's kind of was a bust because of Covid. But Saturday afternoon we wandered up there and hid plastic eggs a couple of times so they could have an egg hunt. Our backyard is still a mess and so we had limited hiding spaces. Millie and Mae and fam were over too so they helped too and it was super cute and fun!

Easter morning. Our kids aren't the greatest finders. Harvey did pretty good. He helped the girls find theirs. The baskets were pretty minimal this year but they all seemed happy and it was a good morning. We tried to do some Christ centered discussion and church stuff too. I love spoiling them and seeing them happy with "things" but hope that I'm doing enough to help them realize that that's not the reason for Easter (Christmas...life...etc) and not be too greedy and materialistic.

They are some pretty cute kids and I love it when they are good to each other. It was a good day.

Can't remember exactly what she was eating here...but she thoroughly enjoyed it...

Something for me to remember...

This is just a little spiritual experience that I wanted to remember. It happened probably a month or two ago and I've thought back on it often enough and it feels significant enough that I don't want to forget it. It just is one of those experiences that feels like a mile marker, if you will. Not really a turning point in my journey, just something that stands out as a checkpoint along the way. A self awareness of my progress maybe.

I used to be a bit of a tantrum thrower. I'd let thoughts and my lack of understanding build up into frustrations over situations which would then open the door for doubts. I'd kind of whine to Heavenly Father about the woes of whatever situation wasn't exactly pleasant. I'd feel picked on or even mad. Luckily, I've grown up a bit and for the most part,  can endure a little more pain and suffering and challenges without throwing too much of a fit. Ha. But, anyway - I don't remember exactly what triggered this thought process/whole experience. I think I was thinking about how I need to teach my kids things and specifically thought about prayer, and helping them know God answers prayers, etc. I started thinking about how we've said prayers with my kids - maybe prompted by me - that didn't seem like they were answered in a way that they could recognize. And that's all it took. All of a sudden I felt the beginnings of frustration. And questions about why God wouldn't answer some of their prayers. And how were they going to develop a testimony of prayer if they didn't get some of those experiences. And then I felt it. Ever so subtly and slightly. "What if God isn't even there to answer prayers?" It was a horrifying thought and I didn't like it at all. I knew in that moment that if I latched onto that thought (which I know where it came from), but it still felt like something I could grab onto and would create a snowball effect that Satan could capitalize on to accumulate more questions, frustrations and doubt. Which had the potential to derail faith and testimony altogether. I know that seems like such a small little tiny thought and event and this maybe sounds dramatic. But I remember really recognizing that feeling, not liking it, and knowing that it could turn into more. That recognition and awareness of the thought process hasn't really happened before. And then I did something I haven't really done before either - I guess just because the initiating event hadn't ever happened quite like that before. But I immediately went and prayed. I acknowledged the feeling to Heavenly Father and asked Him to please help me never lose my faith. I wanted to shed that feeling of doubt. The loss of faith is more scary to me...more than any challenge or anything that could happen to me or my family, etc. I never want to lose the testimony of His reality, presence, listening ear, everything.

He did answer that prayer. And I think that's what makes this experience so significant to me. The very distinct awareness of the feeling leaving me and faith reappearing. Nothing but a heard and answered prayer from Heavenly Father explains that and that is what I don't want to forget. I know that I am not immune to a loss of faith and to Satan's temptations. It does take work and effort to stay close to the spirit. I don't want to take that for granted or to ever become complacent. I know God wants me to stay faithful and it just was really cool to experience all this. And to teach me that I should always go to prayer first whenever I feel faith slip up a little. And to keep holding on. I know I'm not going to understand everything that happens. And why there's not intervention when it seems like it would be so easy and when NOT intervening just doesn't make sense and sometimes just feels rude. Haha. Or when prayers AREN'T answered for whatever reason. God's ways are not our ways nor His thoughts our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8). I hope I will always reach for faith and prayer first, before embracing doubt. (A great quote by Elder Uchtdorf in the October 2013 conference...Come Join with us...Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith!)