Day 2- Sea World!

Surprisingly to me, Sea World turned out to be more than just a glorified aquarium. It was very cool to be able to touch many of the animals and see them up close, we especially loved the polar bear exhibit though it was too dark for good pictures. What really made it all worth it were the shows, we loved Shamu and the Sea Lions!

Dolphins
Touching the velvety soft bat rays
starfish- the only thing we could convince her to touch

Shamu show: we chose NOT to be soaking wet in 60 degrees


40 year old naked walrus
sea lion show
Yes, there are a few rides at sea world
Trey is getting better with the camera

Where's Tay?

California trip, day one-beach and family

The weekend we arrived in California, we stayed in San Diego and played at the beach, ya' know to lay out in the nice warm sun.....not so much, it was only about 60 degrees, we had fun collecting seashells anyway. We also visited Justin's grandparents in El Cajon, not something we get to do very often.


Trey man
holding her disease infested feather...I mean "treasure."
We filled 3 buckets with shells
This is Justin's grandparent's old school Atari table, so cool!
The kids fought over who got to play
The kids with grandpa and grandma price

Treygan turns 7

It's hard to believe that 7 years ago we were living in Moscow, Idaho, still in school and taking on the new adventure of parenthood! Treygan is such a great kid! He is funny (as you can tell above, he can never make a normal face anymore) and excited about pretty much anything that comes his way. He will be receiving the star student award at school for enthusiasm this Friday and that word really describes him well. He is a huge helper at home always asking what he can do for me and always willing to help his sisters. He still enjoys anything involving a ball and he is actually really good at any sport he tries. We simply can't imagine our family without him!

For his birthday, we went to his favorite restaurant Tucanos which he chose because he knew he'd get to stand on his chair with a tambourine and of course get ice cream. After dinner we went to his baseball game and afterward had cupcakes with the team. He was thrilled to get his big bike with a kickstand, but even more thrilled to get a big kid skateboard from Grandma Hardie....it's scary, but he loves it.

We love you Trey!

Happy Mother's Day

As my kids came into my bedroom this morning to serve me breakfast (thanks Justin) and shower me with crafts made with their own two little hands, I paused for a moment as I saw them standing all together beaming and I thought to myself: I love being a mother.

Now, let me back it up a bit. I have not always had that thought. I have always loved my children, but I have had struggles with enjoying motherhood (as I'm sure many have). I don't just mean being bothered every so often with the emotional and physical demands carried by motherhood, I mean I had serious issues with loving, even liking this most divine calling. Part of the problem was not really knowing what I'm doing (I started young), not really understanding how to enjoy it (it's a lot of work ya know). I have also been struggling with depression over the past few years, something I have kept pretty quiet and is another blog post or two or three in itself.

However, without going too much into all of that, as it stands today I am happy. I love being a mom. I love all the drawings just for me. I love being with them. I love observing them. I love hearing them. I love seeing them grow and learn. Don't get me wrong, it's not always roses, but for the most part I am seeing much brighter days. I am feeling so grateful for a very wise, incredibly loving Father in Heaven who never left my side through all the challenges I've faced in the journey of motherhood and who continues to be with me so long as I let Him in. I know that raising these 3 beauties of mine beside my wonderful husband is what life is all about, all the other stuff is just stuff and I am just so grateful.

Early to rise

Amazing things happen when I get up before the kids. Here's the breakdown:

scriptures read
prayers said
yoga makin' me feel all chill
muffins in the oven
bed made
showered
dressed
all before 8 AM

I don't know why I don't do it more often. Wait, yeah I do, I love my bed and I love sleep and right now I am sooo tired. I'm going to reward myself with a nap.

I've been in denial

Mom and dad have been back home for almost a week now and I have been putting off posting about their visit because that would mean it was a thing of the past. We had the best time with them and wish they could have stayed longer, but we're just trying to be thankful we got to have special grandparent time for an entire week!




coloring Easter eggs
Grandma's hands turned purple...at least it's her favorite!
Making resurrection rolls on Easter Sunday
Taylee loves how much grandma spoils her
Of course we had to go bowling



We even squeezed in the dance recital for my classes (mom made 163 cupcakes for the event)
me and Brooklyn in our costumes
Their favorite Idaho grandkids
No visit would be complete without new Michigan apparel
We miss you grandma and grandpa!