They love their daddy.

If you told Darius 7 years ago where he'd be right now, I'm certain he would have shook his head in total disbelief. I'm also certain that he wouldn't trade his current situation for anything in the world. Darius loves his boys so much, and there isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't tell them that a number of times.

We were fortunate to be able to spend Father's Day with Darius, but unfortunately it was because he was sick and called out for the first time since being with Delta...very unlike him. Regardless of feeling cruddy and laying up most of the day, he still had as good of a day as he could. The boys surprised him, truly surprised him, with cups they painted more than a week ago. I'm still amazed they kept their project a secret for that long. Ben gave Darius lots of cards he made, and they both wished him Happy Father's Day many times and repeatedly told him how much they loved him. They were very sweet all day. The final round of the U.S. Open was on and gave Darius a good distraction for most of the day, and we all enjoyed a nice dinner together.

Darius and I are far from being expert parents, but we're learning as we go, and as long as our boys keep telling us how much they love us we know we're doing something right. Being a parent is the most stressful yet equally rewarding job there is. I appreciate how hard Darius works and for the job he does when he's at work. It's because of him that I'm able to stay home with our boys, and that's a priceless gift and worth whatever we temporarily go without.

Thanks for being the great man and dad that you are, Darius. We all love and appreciate you!

Happy Campers

Yesterday afternoon when I opened the pantry door, I could still detect the aroma of campfire smoke on the leftover food we brought home from our overnight camping trip. I love it!

We had plans to camp out the week prior, but unfortunately most of us came down with a 24-hour bug the day we were planning on leaving. Lucky for us, Darius had a window in his work schedule and we were able to make up for it.

Tuesday we headed up to Pineview Reservoir, 10 miles east of Ogden, to the Anderson Cove Campground. Darius had been to the reservoir and campground a couple weeks prior with the boys and was looking forward to a return trip to try out the campground and of course do some fishing.

We were fortunate to get an awesome site with lots of shade, so despite the hot day, we were comfortable. Our site was right next to the reservoir, and we had a very short walk down to the water's edge. After setting up camp and relaxing for a bit, we headed down to the water. Darius got his poles in the water, and the boys promptly started their work at scaring the fish away by launching handfuls of rocks in the water. Typical boy behavior.

There were several nicer beach type areas around the reservoir, but we were content to have a spot to ourselves. The boys and I found some trash to pick up along the shore, hunted for cool rocks, and they sat in the water and dug in the sand.

We left Darius to fish a while longer and headed back up to our site to get dinner started. I got a nice fire going and definitely should have waited for it to burn down some before lowering the grate. The wind shifted on me, and now the eyelashes on my left eye are a little shorter than on my right! Lucky for me that was the worst of it.

The boys were excited to roast their hot dogs for all of the minute that they had the patience to hold their roasting sticks, and promptly declared that they wouldn't eat their dogs because they had brown on them. Hopefully they'll learn to appreciate the flavor a little bit of charring gives food when they get older. Good thing Darius knows his boys so well and had the presence of mind to pack stuff for sandwiches.

I wish I would have taken the time to research the area a little better before our trip and planned out an evening activity, but Darius was more than content to fish more, and the boys were happy watching a movie before bed, so I kicked up my feet next to the fire and enjoyed my beer and the peace and quiet.

So now that we had the opportunity to try out our gear and figure out what to bring/leave home the next time, we're excited to plan our next camping trip. Our plan will be to research camping spots within a 2-hr drive and hit as many as we can this summer. I'm going to start rating each area we visit. The things I'll take into consideration will include: value, amenities, campground/site conditions, surrounding area & available activities, noise, and location.

We'd rate the Anderson Cove Campground in the upper middle range. It was easy to get to, and we had two options to get there. We ended up coming home a different way than we came due to the closure of the Ogden Canyon. It took us less than an hour each way. The campground itself is right off of the highway, and the area is developed around the reservoir, so it loses some appeal as far as being less remote. We could definitely hear traffic noise, and I think there may have been a flight path overhead too, because I did hear quite a few airplanes.

The campground amenities were decent. There were vault toilets, toilet paper, and running water outside of them. There was a small general store at the entrance that Darius was impressed with. They offered bait (very important to D), ice, firewood, and groceries for prices that he said were very reasonable. Since the campground is right next to the reservoir, there were definitely a lot of water related amenities available such as boating, canoeing, kayaking, water skiing, fishing, and swimming. If we had really sweet water toys...a boat, tubes, canoe :) we'd be coming back here more often.

The campground itself was very clean and well maintained. There was a noticeable presence of campground hosts that drove by regularly and checked with us upon our arrival to make sure our site was clean when we arrived. Our site was awesome and probably the best part of our experience. We stayed in site #78, and it offered lots of shade, plenty of level ground which is always good for tent sleeping, a paved pad equipped with a very large picnic table, a grill for charcoal, a deep fire pit with cooking grate, and plenty of parking. The site was a great size and it didn't feel like we were too close to campers in other sites near us. The value was very good considering what we paid for our stay, $14.

Since I didn't research before our trip, I can't comment on the surrounding area beyond the reservoir, but it was a beautiful area, and I'm sure there were more activities within a reasonable distance from our campground. In another year or so when Darius is able to get a boat, I'm sure this will be a spot we revisit often.

“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity...”    ~ John Muir

Hello Summer.

Technically the calendar hasn't declared it to be Summer yet, but I think it's safe to greet it early. It's hot, school is out, road construction is in full swing, and BBQs are a plenty! This past week/weekend we did our part to welcome in Summer with a picnic in the park and back-to-back BBQs.

Late in the week the boys and I joined Carrie, Archer, and Joy for some top secret Dad's Day gift making which we followed up with a picnic lunch at Sugarhouse Park. Despite the hot temps, we found a nice shady spot under a tree and enjoyed some face time with each other.



Ben has been trying his had at picture taking lately. The only photos from our picnic were the ones he took.

I love Ben's shot of the coolest picnic blanket ever! I so need to make one of these.

The boys and I headed to the Bruhn backyard the following evening for some tasty kebobs and a fruit-tastic pitcher of Sangria. Yum! Joy came over with Courtney, Josh, and a recovering Ulli. It was just a super chill, relaxing evening with some of my favorite people.

There are not enough words to describe how stinkin' cut I think this boy is! Love him!

The following day Zach did some cute harassing and scored us an invite to Jonas' house for dinner. There are very few days when I don't hear frequent requests from Ben and Zach to visit Jonas. It doesn't even matter if we just visited him the day before. They'll ask, and ask, and ask when we're going back. I'm so glad that they have as good of a friend in Jonas as I do in his mom!  Brandi prepared us a delicious meal, which was followed up by a water balloon fight amongst the boys, and some pie later on. It was a treat that Darius was off from work that night and was able to join us.

I knew during the hour + time I spent filling water balloons that they would be gone in minutes...about 2-1/2. It was all worth it! Ben handed me balloons and kept telling me that he loved me as I filled them, and it was lots of fun to watch the boys launch them at each other.

We're very grateful and extremely happy to have family and friends with grills...especially when they're nice enough to have us over!

Thank you BBQ hosts, we love you!

Mishmash

The past few weeks have been a good mix of some fun stuff. Now I know why my dear friend will publish "This week in pictures" posts every so often. Time has a way of sneaking off, and this past month has gone by pretty quick...so I guess instead of a week's worth of photos, I'll cover most of May instead. :)

Darius, Ben, Zach and I joined Clair's family for a swim party to celebrate Makenna's recent birthday. I had lots of fun making cute little fondant owls to top her cupcakes, and we got to watch Makenna jump off the diving board for the first time!

I made several cakes this month...this one was for my cousin, Anthony's, lovely wife for Mother's Day. They enjoyed Grandma's birthday cake so much that they had to have another, so Anthony got in touch with me and surprised his wife.

I love that Clair and I love the same baseball team! Most of the family was able to get together for a BBQ at Carrie & Bobby's place to celebrate Clair's birthday. We feasted on some good eats...Sanpete Turkey, homemade rolls, yummy salads, and pudding cake. There were some really happy tummies. :)

My lovely and extremely talented niece, Karissa, graduated from high school. I put together this cake as a nod to her talents as an artist. We joined her family for some lunch and cake and enjoyed a good visit with them.

This sweet little soul just turned 1! The boys and I drove up to James and Brooke's home in Idaho to celebrate Madison's birthday. I brought some pizza dough and sauce and we cooked up some pizza the night before, and enjoyed a little family BBQ the following day. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed a great party!



 

We've been wanting to get a dog, but it's just not in the cards for us right now. Lucky for us, we can get our puppy fix from Joy's sweet new friend, Ulli. The boys and I got to dog sit for him while Joy was at work. The boys love him (so long as he not chewing on them).

It's been a good month! I love my family, and it feels really good to live close to everyone again. There's a bunch of us, and there's always something going on, and I love that I'm not missing out on so much of it anymore. 





93 Years Young

This has to be one of the sweetest sights, and I believe it's why my Grandma Ruth is still with us. I think she wonders why she's still around and what's left for her to do in life, but holding one more great grandchild (a deliciously cute one at that) seems as good a reason as any for her to stick around.

Yesterday Grandma was surrounded by a good deal of her family and celebrated her 93rd birthday. She told me only a few days earlier that she thought she would be alone for her birthday....fat chance. Even I was surprised by how good a turnout there was. I think the last time I saw so many of my cousins was three years earlier at Grandma's 90th birthday party. As my dad mentioned to me later that night, it's always good for family to be able to come together for something other than a funeral.

Usually for Grandma's birthday, my parents would take her to lunch and plant flowers. Since they couldn't be with us, I thought it would be nice for us to do the same for Grandma. We had a little potluck lunch her house, and later several of us pitched in and filled the flowerbeds with what will hopefully be some beautiful flowers in a couple of weeks. Grandma's face lit up when she found out they were all planted.

Even though Grandma has a difficult time hearing anything in a group setting, I could see the happiness on her face as she was greeted by family and watched the celebration. These past few birthdays of hers have been especially sweet, and I'm grateful for each one. I know Grandma's time is running out, as she often likes to remind me, and her birthday is a great opportunity for her family to let her know how much she's loved in a big way.

My heart lifts each time I walk in the door and find Grandma there to greet me with the most loving and genuine smile, and it sinks whenever it's time to leave her. Life at her age is precious, and I'm reminded of that during each of our visits.

I love this woman so very much!