Timp cave

Two of sisters and I have been planning on hiking to Timp Cave for a year now. Unfortunately, Tiffany, my younger sister, crashed her bike a few days before our planned trip. She is doing well... but not well enough to make the hike. So, Valerie and her kids (Alex, Elisa, and Sabrina), Tom and I made the hike on Wednesday. The kids did such a great job hiking. We were worried we wouldn't be up to the enterance in time for our tour... but we were almost a half hour early! The cave tour is very cool! You actually go thru three caves and learn about the formations. It was fun to see the kids' reactions to the cave. I am glad we actually made it up this year. It is totally worth the sweating, huffing and puffing to see the beauty in the caves. How grateful I am for the chance to spend time in nature. ( Who would ever have thought those words would come from me?!) It is such a wonderful reminder that we have a Father in Heaven who knows us, loves us, and is aware of our triumphs and struggles. I am grateful to have a wonderful husband who patiently teaches me to enjoy more time in the great outdoors.

When life get too tough to stand... kneel

I don't know if I should blog about this but here it goes. Last night Tom and I had to go to the emergency room. We were pregnant for the second time this year. And for the second time we lost the baby. I have wanted to be a Mom for as long as I can remember. So,as you can imagine, it has been heartbreaking to lose two pregnancies within four months. I am not sure what Heavenly Father has for me to learn from this trial but I pray that I can learn from it and be strengthened. I know that when the time is right I will be blessed with a healthy pregnancy. It is so hard to wait. It makes me think of when I was single and wanting to be married. It was so hard to wait for the right time... but boy was it worth the wait. I have felt peace and comfort as I turn to my Father in Heaven at this time. Hope this isn't too much information for anyone... just needed to get it off my chest. I love you all. thanks for the support and love, especially at this time.

What a busy week!

Tom and I have had the craziest week ever... but it turned out it be pretty good. My sister, Valerie, and her husband, Robin, asked us to watch their three children while they went on a vacation to San Francisco. (We were not being selfless here- we are getting a new bed out of the deal.) So we packed up and headed down to Spanish Fork for five days. It was fun to see Tom with the kids because he is not used to being around children. He often doesn't really know how to interact with them. The curse of being the baby boy of the family, I guess. He did great though.
To add to the insanity we had to drive up to Orem for appointments, interviews, meetings, or visits every day of the week. We had a couple of doctor's appointments that made me worry quite a bit... more on that another time. But we got great news on Wednesday when Tom got a job offer from Macey's! He has been out of work for two and a half months. It is a huge relief, even though he will be taking a pay cut. He will be able to go to school and fly in the morning and work 2-10. It will be so hard to be apart for so long. I have loved spending almost every minute of the day with him for the last two months. I am truly blessed to be married to my best friend.
We decided to take the kids on a couple of hikes while we were with them. The first one we went on was to Cascade Springs. It was a beautiful stroll. Not really a hike because it is mostly a boardwalk that crosses small cascading falls. The kids really enjoyed seeing the fish,butterflies,and birds. The second hike we went on will fall into the "what were we thinking" file. The kids actually did great but it really took a toll on them. I found the Fifth Water Trail. It is a two mile hike up to hot springs and cool waterfalls. The hike up took a lot longer than I imagined... having never hiked with three kids before. The reward was well worth it once we got to the top. They loved the hot springs! We made it down in half the time. I was proud of them for making the hike.
On Friday we got to visit with Jessica, Tucker, and Korbin. We haven't seen each other in such a long time... even though we live only like three blocks apart. I am a terrible friend. We had a picnic at Nielsen's Grove park. It is my favorite park (Tom proposed to me there)-it is so beautiful. It was wonderful to catch up with them and spend time together. I am so lucky to have the wonderful friends that I do.
Well... that was a marathon blog. If you made it to the end Congrats. I will try to ramble less in future blogs ;)

A trip to remember

Tom and I have been wanting to get out of Utah for quite awhile now. Nevada doesn't count... that is practically Utah. So even though Tom is out of work we decided to pack up and have a relaxing vacation. We drove up to Portland, Oregon to see our friends, Chrissy, Seth, and Kimmie. My sister, Valerie, and her family were also vacation up there. So we spent a day with them exploring the coast. We had fun going to the Aquarium, the cold and windy beach, and the Tillamook Factory! It is a very, very boring drive up thru Idaho. We did have an adventure in the Blue Mountains just inside of Oregon when we got pounded with a snowstorm complete with thick fog! Snow... in June?!!!! I was a nervous wreck but Tom got us thru safely.
Oregon was so beautiful, so green. Tom and I had so much fun! Chrissy, Seth, and Kimmie took us to Multnomah Falls. We hiked to the top. That is sure not an easy hike. But it is one of the most beautiful places I have seen and well worth the effort! It was wonderful to see the Davenports again. It is fun to see Chrissy as a wife and doting mom! It was a wonderful trip. I will try to include some pictures soon... I am still learning all this high tech stuff.