Such Blessings…

Have you ever known a person that affects your life in almost every conceivable way? Someone that makes you so excited that you can hardly keep from messing up the song your playing on the drums when she walks into the room? Someone for whom you would give almost anything if it would make her happy?  Someone that would give everything in return? Someone with whom you can chat for hour after hour about everything and nothing?  Julianna is that person in my life.

I think it is so strange that we grow up, develop, gain knowledge, and experience life without knowing the person that will positively affect us in so many ways.  I am so blessed to have my Julie.  She is the emotional core of our home and the love of my life.  Thank you for everything that you do Julie!  Happy Birthday!

Great 4th of July

It is almost still July right?  Anyway, we had a great time celebrating our country in the company of the Snows.  Breanna and Joseph came down to visit (Poor Gene had to stay home and work – although I’m sure he read some geeky books too).  We all wanted to get out of the house in the morning so we went up to Mueller Park and played in the river.  We didn’t want to worry about photography so we just took our little Coolpix for snapshots and a little video too.  Hope you enjoy the pics and the video

Here we are hanging in the river.

You can see the rest of the photos here.

Later that day we all met for dinner (including my parents and grandparents Williams) at Hires and had a great time.  Julie and Breanna (my sister) went to see a chick flick and the rest of us lit some fireworks at my parents house.  A great 4th.  :)

When I’m Sick

I’ve been sick the last few days and am just starting to feel human again. Tired, but good. Rob has done a fabulous job trying to work and take care of the kids while I’ve been in bed. He’s even done a couple loads of dishes and cleaned the kitchen. So tonight he departed to scouts and I’m at home. The kids are tearing the house apart while I’m sitting on the couch just watching them. Toys and crayons are strewn everywhere, laundry (both clean and dirty) are in baskets in every room of the house, leftover dinner is still on the table, and I can now hear them pulling things out of the pantry. I keep telling myself that I’ll get it all cleaned up after I get them to bed, but I know I’ll just sit in front of the tv watching some lame reality show I have absolutely no interest in and eat ice cream. Oh, well. I’ll be more energetic tomorrow, right? Just don’t come over ;)

And here’s a story I like to call A Touch of Class.

Yesterday we received a client’s birth announcements from the printer in the mail. They live in Herriman and since Rob was taking the kids to Cowabunga Bay in Draper, he decided he’d just drop the announcements off afterward.

For some reason both Rob’s and Nate’s shirt got picked up or stolen so the boys were shirtless. Rob called our clients to inform them he was stopping by but they didn’t answer. So Rob just showed up on their doorstep, unannounced, in a swimming suit, shirtless. Classy. Professional. Not at all white trash.

Hahaha. Sorry, Josh.

I Do…I Don’t

Mommy version:

I DO make my kids try any food they haven’t tried before. I DON’T want them to be afraid of trying new things.

I DON’T make them eat too much of what they don’t like (but some). Rob and I are picky eaters so who am I to force on my kids what I, myself, am not willing to do?

I DO let Nate chose his outfits most of the time. There are so many other important things I have to nag him about.

I DON’T give my kids a bath more than twice a week. I probably should…

I DO make them brush their teeth every day.

I DO give Nate the freedom to play outside without my constant supervision; although, I DO check up on him every so often.

I DON’T let Madeleine play outside as much as I should because she needs constant supervision. She is a wanderer and so I have to follow her around and, quite frankly, I get bored. Especially when it’s just so hot out there. 

I DO apply sunscreen on my kids 80% of the time they’re in the sun. I should do it 100%.

I DON’T let crying get to me.

I DO let whining get to me.

I DON’T play with them very well. I’m not much of a player.

I DO read to them, cook with them, color alongside them, and cuddle them.

I DON’T buy movies. We own maybe 10 and all but 1 were given to us.

I DO take them to the library every week for movie rentals and a big bag of books.

I DON’T talk about Jesus and the Gospel enough in our every day conversation.

I DO have prayers, scripture study, and Family Home Evening with them.

I DON’T worry about Nate being a mean kid to others. He’s a very nice boy.

I DO have a good bedtime schedule for them; 7:15 and 8:30.

I DON’T mind them waking up at 7am (even though I’d prefer 8). I’d rather have the quiet at night when Rob’s home.

I DO clean my house frequently.

I DON’T think you’d be able to tell.

I DO take a nap every day whenever I get a chance, mostly during a cartoon.

I DON’T nap as much as I’d like…which would be 3-4 times a day.

I DO get bored of the routine.

I DON’T get bored of being the mom of two fantastically fun and smarter-than-their-own-good kiddos.

An Open House for Tara

In late March of this year, my cousin Tara married Mike in Green Valley, Arizona.  They held an open house in Logan on the 3rd of July at the family restaurant LeNonne.  I haven’t had a lot of time to hang out with Mike but he comes across as a very warm, kind, and friendly guy.  We’re happy to include him in the family.  He is lucky to have won over my cool cousin Tara.  As you can tell from the images, Tara is a fun-loving and happy woman.  We are so happy for both of you and wish you the best!

The people, the place, the food, the occasion, the details were beautiful!  We spent almost the entire day surrounded by family, fun, and good food.  Thanks to Tara and Mike for getting married so we could have such a great party and to Tara’s family for putting it all together.  It was great!  We hope you like the pictures.  Friends and family can view the rest of the gallery here (you shouldn’t have any trouble with the password).

Southern Expedition – Day 2

The second day of our trip to Southern Utah was just as great as the first. The only problem was that my (Julie) left achilles tendon was really stiff, swollen, and sore from hiking in the sand the day before. It kept giving out on me so we unfortunately had to skip one of the hikes I was most looking forward to, Lower Calf Creek Falls. But we’ll hit it next time.

So we headed to Capitol Reef National Park and took the Scenic Drive to Capitol Gorge. We drove up the gorge which is amazingly cool because you wind around on a dirt road surrounded by shear cliffs on either side most of the way. By the time we got to the trailhead at the end my ankle had loosened up enough to walk, so deeper into the gorge we went. It’s pretty neat and you can see a register of names high up on the cliff face.

After this we left the park and ate at a little place on top of a plateau. The food wasn’t that great, but the scenery was. We ate outside and played darts and horseshoes. It was just nice to take our time and not have to be anywhere.

We then stopped in at the Anasazi Museum. Kind of interesting, but it was mostly a place to kill time while my ankle finished healing.

The drive to Kodachrome, along with all of Highway 12, was just beautiful. We made it to the park about 45 minutes before sunset so we were able to get some spectacular light when the clouds decided to part. Hardly anyone else was in the park so it was quiet and serene. We swore we’d bring the kids back to camp in a few months and that plan is still in effect.

We decided we better get on towards the Bryce Canyon area in order to find somewhere to sleep. We ended up getting a little cabin and had a fun time taking goofy pictures before calling it a day.

 

Again, SO MUCH FUN!!! Such a beautiful part of our state where not too many locals go. It boggles my mind as to why. I’ll say it again, GO! You’ll thank me.   

To see more pictures of Day 2, click here and they start on Page 2.

2 Nieces

I (Julie) have many nieces. Let’s count…1,2,3,4,5,6. Yep, 6. They’re all so much fun and I love them all a lot. Here are two of them, Sarah and Brianna.

 

Rob and I were setting up the lighting for my brother’s wedding and asked these two to step in as models. They were happy to oblige and so cute!

 

Family can see a few more shots of Sarah and Brianna here.

Rob: The Master

In honor of Rob being gone for the next few days hiking King’s Peak, I’m posting his graduation pictures taken…uh…almost 3 months ago.

He finished the work for his Master of Science in Engineering degree last August, but commencement wasn’t until May. Man, can I just say how BLESSED we are to have him done?! It’s a long, long, road. I remember sitting with him on the floor of his parent’s house before we were married planning this educational road. 5 years? 5 YEARS?! Well, 6 years, 2 kids, and thousands (and thousands) of dollars later, he did it.

Next up, his Professional Engineering Certification next spring.

Rob has been working for URS in Murray for a couple of years now and loves it. He is a staff geotechnical engineer and specializes in seismicity. He loves the work and he loves the people. We’re very grateful for the stability and ethic this company employs.

I’m very proud of Rob for working incredibly hard. He’s a smart cookie and I’m happy that he is able to have a career that fulfills him, stretches him, and makes him happy.

Congrats, Rob! I love you!

You can see a few more pictures of Rob’s big day here.

Happy Birthday, Brian!

Ugh. This is a hard post. But in keeping with the precedence I’ve (Julie) set to write some memories for each of my siblings’ birthdays, here I go.

Brian would be turning 33 today. I have many great memories together and I’ve already posted quite a few. I’m (still) in the process of writing down each and every memory I have with my big brother. It’s been long and arduous, but I’m getting closer. I’m hoping to have everything written down in the next couple of months. Then I have hopes of turning all those random thoughts into some sort of readable memoir.

So with that in mind, I’m not going to write anything specific today. It’s already been a downer of a week and I don’t want to make it worse. But I love Brian very much. I think about him and miss him quite often. I send my love and prayers to all my family members and other loved ones who may be having a difficult day, too.

The Happiness of Women Declining?

I (Julie) was reading the paper a couple of weeks ago (yes, I’m 80 years old) and came across an article regarding a large study on the happiness of women. Keep in mind that the data was taken from a cross-section of ethnic and socioeconomic groups in several industrialized countries. This study showed (among other things) that women’s happiness has declined steadily since the 1970’s. Huh. Interesting.

There are many theories presented as to the reason for this, including:

• Woman “prefer egalitarian, low-risk societies” that went out during the Reagan era”;
• Overscheduling and overparenting;
• A cultural obsession with physical appearance;
• The feeling of inadequacy for not “having it all.” “If the women’s movement raised women’s expectations faster than society was able to meet them, they would be more likely to be disappointed by their actual experienced lives.”;
• The demands of working mothers, particularly single mothers. Going on to say that the “de-stigmatization of single motherhood threatens the interests and happiness of women.”

I might add a couple of my own theories, including:

• More widespread and greater sin;
• Along with “having it all”, DOING it all and BEING it all.
• Most of the previous theories come with the heavy burden of debt;
• Selfishness. The “ME” syndrome.

Now, I suffer from all of these theories on a regular basis, as I can only assume most of you do also. I think we tend to hide it pretty well, though…at least the breadth and depth of it.

Some of my problems or stresses are situational, a larger portion of it is my personality, but the greatest portion of it is my attitude. I don’t like it when Rob says “you just need to change your attitude” but it’s absolutely true. I’d rather change it myself than be compelled to do so from some catastrophic event or something (gee, that’s a good reason, huh?).

I guess the point is…well…I’m not sure I have a point. It’s not like I’m an expert or anything. But I am a woman and a mother at that. It’s hard. Most days are both mind-numbingly boring and overwhelmingly grueling all at once. But like I said, I probably just need an attitude adjustment. After all, my husband and kids are the best things that have ever happened to me. And there are bursts of ultra-shining moments I wouldn’t give up for the world.  I love my family dearly and hope to get this whole thing figured out someday (I said “hopefully” but it’s not likely).

**Did I expose myself too much in this post??** I like to think of it as honest and although I’m pretty sure other women can totally relate, especially given the data, I’m sorry if you do (even if it does make me feel a little better ;).