I Miss Them

Sterling and I left for Florida on Tuesday morning and got home tonight. It wasn’t quite four full days, and it wasn’t long enough. Every time I leave Shanna, my heart is heavy. I’m sad, I’m quiet, I cry. Most of all, I’m grateful for the chance to spend time with her and her adorable twins.

It’s incredible to watch Shanna juggle her life as a single mom. She’s courageous, determined, patient, and loving. And although Liam and Abigail are a handful, they’re happy, sensitive, helpful, and good kids!

All three blew kisses as we drove away, and Abbie said, “But I miss them.” I miss them too!

Birthday Traditions

Ashton celebrates most of his birthdays at Lake Powell, a tradition in and of itself. But Ashton has a few traditions on his birthday: a simple party in bathing suits with family, some sort of birthday dessert (this year it was an Oreo-stacked cake topped with a birthday candle), and fishing with his dad.

Ashton's gifts are few at the lake, but he doesn't seem to care. Having fun with family is enough! And our gift is anything but exciting, but because Ashton loves to build things in his dad’s shop, this packaging was appropriate for him.

Tanner's Weekend

With Tanner entering the Mission Training Center only weeks away, this was his big weekend. He was ordained an elder Saturday morning; we went to the temple together later in the day; and yesterday he gave his “farewell” address in church. Family meals were sprinkled in between events, of course, which was a great chance to visit with extended family we seldom see. It was a spiritual and fun weekend filled with family time in support and honor of Tanner, our oldest grandson and first to serve a two-year mission for our church. We’re so proud of him!

Feelings of Guilt

I didn’t plan ahead for Jon and Sean’s birthdays, which happened to be right after the cruise, so we decided to just give them cash without packaging. They’re guys; they won’t notice or care, right? Wrong!

They both mentioned they appreciated their gift, but they look forward to the packaging as well. So, these two ideas are the result of my feelings of guilt. The apron is for Sean, a new stay-at-home dad, and the camera is for Jon, my favorite photographer. I hope they like their empty packages and that you do too (along with the semi-instructions)!

Unique Strawberry Ride

Sterling packed the trailer, and after I pulled an all-nighter on Wednesday (I had a few deadlines that needed to be met before we left), the horses were loaded, and we headed out of town to a very unique Strawberry Fields Endurance Ride.

When we arrived at camp and got set up, we’d planned to go on a short ride, but Sterling insisted that I take a nap first. “It’s pretty sad when your wife tries to help set up while she wobbles around, looks at you cross-eyed, and can’t put her words into a sentence.” His words, not mine! I took an unheard of three-hour nap, and we walked the horses up and down hills and through the trees and foliage in place of the short ride.

The unique thing about this ride is that we camped alongside the other 70 plus riders, but chose not to compete. Our friends Angie and Izzy, who camped next to us, did compete yesterday while Sterling and I rode what we call a joy ride—a nice and easy ride.

Because we haven’t been on horseback much since returning home from our mission (and haven’t camped for almost two years) our goal was to just enjoy the beautiful scenery and ride as we wished. The weather was warm during the day, but not too warm—just right for riding and sitting under the canopy, visiting, reading, and looking at the expansive meadows and mountains. And the nights were chilly enough to make you want to snuggle in the bedroll. It was lovely! As usual, the photos don’t do justice.

We ended our two-day trip with an absolutely beautiful ten-mile joy ride this morning with our friends, had a quick lunch, and packed up for home. The next ride and camping can’t come soon enough!