Cokeville Trip Part II

This last week has been a pretty eventful week.  We decided that Monday we would go to Bear Lake and let Lilli play in the sand and swim.  The water was pretty chilly so she spent most of her time playing in the sand, which is her favorite thing to do.  My sister Breanne drove down from Logan and met us there.  It was a lot of fun to have her there.  We had a great day at the lake.  Some of McKenzie's friends found us and swam with us.  We were there for about 5 or 6 hours.  On our way home we stopped to get shakes and then headed home.  We were all exhausted by the time we got home.  We were planning on going camping the next day, but that didn't happen.  All of us, except Mom, forgot or rather just didn't put on any sunscreen.  Thankfully I had my arms and shoulders covered,  but my legs were bare.  I did put sunscreen on my face.  Anyway, Tuesday I could barely walk my legs were so burned.  I looked like a lobster.  2 days later, Thursday, I was walking a little better and we headed up Pine Creek Canyon and camped for the night.  Well, barely.  We got up to our campsite, set up the camper, then hung around until our tinfoil dinners were ready.  Lilli was running around like she owned the place.  She was having so much fun.  Then it was time to go to bed.  No problems, except for the fact that she had her jelly shoes and her feet were filthy.  So I had to wash them.  There was no way I was going to let her put her gross feet in our bed.  So we all went down pretty good until at around 12:30am, I had to go potty.  So my mom and I went outside, I came back and got in bed and it was all over.  Lilli woke up, disoriented, cold and scared and wouldn't stop crying.  She cried until my dad suggested I take her home.  Then Lilli was happy.  No lie!  She knew!  So I drove the 20 minutes home to find the door locked (My sister Kandyce had gotten home from coaching a vball camp and locked the door).  So I banged on her window for about 5 minutes until she got out of the shower and heard me.  We FINALLY got in the house and I laid Lilli down in her bed.  She was out in no time, but only after she said hi to Kandyce.  The rest of the night was very nice.  Then Lilli and I went back up to the campsite and ate some pancakes and eggs.  Note to self: either don't take Lilli camping OR take Lilli camping MORE so she knows what to expect.  It really was a lot of fun though.  We just stayed for one night, which was plenty.  Then Saturday we headed up to Logan for my other sister McKenzie's 15th birthday, and to see Breanne.  We at Olive Garden, then spent the next 5 hours shopping.  It was a long day, but really fun.  Lilli and I fly back to Georgia this coming Wednesday.  We've had such a good time here it's going to be sad to leave, but I'm ready to get back and await Ben's homecoming.  I'm sooooo excited!  Today, during my nap, I had a dream that Ben was flying out to see us here in Wyoming.  As you can imagine, I was very excited.................then I woke up to realize it was only a dream!  I was very disappointed.  

Well, here is another montage of pictures from our fun happenings.  

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Happy Birthday, America!

Today is Independence Day. Here in DC it was, for the most part, uneventful. Having been here for a few weeks and, having already seen the monuments and the sights, my dorm-mates and I decided to lay low rather than to brave the masses who had come to see them. There were all sorts of displays, and hippie marches, and concerts to enjoy. Unfortunately, it had rained on and off all day. We became a bit skeptic as to whether or not the fireworks would go off as the rain continued on into the evening. It looked as though it would be the fourth time in five years the fireworks would be pushed back due to weather.

Just after nine o'clock, JB, one of my dorm-mates and I were just sort of bummin' around trying to decide what to do for the evening when we were interrupted by the first couple of booms. We looked at each other surprised, scrambled to grab our cameras, jumped in the elevator, and trotted down the street to find a good spot from which to take pictures. We found a decent view right across from the State Department building just down the road from us. The show lasted about thirty minutes-plenty of time for me to play around with the settings on our camera and try some different things and get some good shots. I took nearly three hundred photos in about 20 minutes. These happen to be the best of the bunch.

Pictures

These pictures are from the past week.  My mom, Kandyce (my sister), and my little brother Kennan went to Logan and took Lilli to Willow Park.  They have monkeys and wolves and all sorts of birds and other animals there.  Plus it's free, and they have a playground area.  It's a really cool park, if you're interested.  I was sick (no surprise), but it was nice of them to take Lilli with them.  So the first few pictures are from that.  There are also pictures of Lilli helping my other sister McKenzie feed the lambs.  She's carrying the food for her, and following Kenz around like, what else, a little lamb.  It was cute.  The last pictures were taken yesterday.  I had asked my mom if she would take Lilli's pictures.  We have no recent one's of her and what better opportunity.  Some of the really cute ones turned out kind of blurry, but they were still cute and I like to show off our beautiful little girl.  Can you blame me?  Just kidding.  My mom did Lilli's hair and everything.  I thought Lilli looked adorable.  So enjoy the pics, especially you Ben (sorry, had to do a shout-out to my wonderful hubby who we love and adore and really miss)!

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Traveling fools!

I know.....I'm FINALLY posting a blog.  I actually am feeling okay right now, so here goes.  It might be short, but at least it's something.  So we left last Wednesday and flew 12 hours (plus layovers) to SLC.  I know that my prayers were answered because I didn't start feeling really sick until we got to my aunt Laurel's house in Pleasant Grove.  It was a long day, but we had made it.  Than we turned around the next day and flew up to Spokane, WA where Ben's awesome sisters, Ramona and Brittney (sorry if I spelled your names wrong) came and picked us up to head to West Richland where he's from.  Again, I felt pretty good.  It was a last minute decision to go up there but I'm so glad that we did.  It was well worth it!  We were able to surprise Ben's mom, Vicki.  It was her birthday and the fam had planned a surprise birthday party for her.  She was definitely surprised!!  It was so much fun!!!  Paula flew in from Cali so we were all there, except for Ben but he was feeling really left out!!  Anyway, I would say that Lilli got spoiled, but we BOTH got spoiled!!  It was so good to see everybody and just be there.  You don't realize how much you miss your family until you come back after being away for a while (a year for us) and see them again.  Lilli got to spend time with her cousins Hope, Kyra, Levi, and Harmony.  They all played nicely together, except for the occasional cry of, "That's my toy and you can't have it (mostly------all from Lilli)."  She also got to see all of her aunts and uncle.  And of course her Grammy and Pampa.  Lilli really loved the family and warmed up to them quickly.  Here are some pictures from the trip.  We went to a really cool park that Lilli just loved.  She didn't want to leave.  Thank you to everybody for making our trip so wonderful!!  We miss you and love you all!!!!

So after our trip to Washington, we flew in to SLC (1 1/2 hr flight, not bad) and traveled the 3 hours home.  Oh, but I forgot the best part, or worst rather, when we got to the ticket counter the lady at the desk asked me for Lilli's shot records (I wish so badly now that I had said I didn't have it).  Well, needless to say, because Lilli had been 2 for 3 days now, I had to pay almost $200 for a ticket for her.  I had no idea, because I was thinking I had already paid for a roundtrip ticket and didn't need to pay for her.  Anyway, plus I was sad that we were leaving everybody and I wasn't feeling too hot, I was a mess.  I just started crying and was not happy.  But we made it and that's that.  We're here in Cokeville now, enjoying our time here.  I'm so glad I came.  My parents and siblings have been great with Lilli and I've been able to rest, though I've been sicker here than I ever have been.  The last 3 or 4 days have been awful, waking up barely making it to the bathroom to throw up (sorry, not a pretty picture I know).  I think I'm having a boy, little stinker!!!!  The time change has totally thrown Lilli's schedule out the window, but hopefully when we get back to Georgia we can get back to a somewhat normal schedule.  We miss Ben terribly and wish he were here with us!  We talk to him everyday and it just makes me realize how much I depend on him and love him!  He's a wonderful husband and father!!!!!!!  

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Going back to Cokeville!

So I'm going back to my roots for a month to live.  I'm very excited!  I know the Lord totally answered my prayers.  I had been looking for tickets and any time I would look for different dates and stuff, the price of the tickets would go up $100.  They were up to $700 when I last looked, then I looked on Saturday and found a ticket for almost $150 less than that.  Yea!!!  I was so excited!  We kept praying that we would find reasonable prices and we did.  My parents offered to pay for half so that was nice.  I'm hoping to have a lot of fun (assuming I'm feeling better by then).  I'm glad Lilli will have her Nana and Papa and aunts and uncle to play with her.  I hope to go to Bear lake several times and go camping or atleast have a cook out up Pine Creek.  I'm actually really excited.  Plus, I'll be missing the hot hot summer here (It's almost 100 degrees right now and it's 9pm, not to mention that with the heat index it's probably hotter).  Cokeville has mild summers compared to here.  But I'm excited to Lilli to have the experiences I had growing up.  Plus, I'll have someone there to take care of me too. :)   I just hope that we make it on the flights.  We fly out on the 18th of June at 5:50 am from Augusta, get into Charlotte, SC. Then have a 5 hour flight from Charlotte to San Diego.  Now why we fly to San Diego, I do not know, but not to excited about that.  Then it's a 2 hour flight to SLC.  I think we get in at around 2pm.   I told my mom that I probably won't be up for driving another 3 hours to Cokeville, so we're most likely going to stay at my aunt Laurel's that night.  I really hope we make it.  Be praying for us, please!    Anyway, I'm really excited and I know it'll be a lot of fun!  I know Lilli will have a good time!

Updates Updates Updates

I know it's been a while since I've last blogged, but it's hard to when I don't feel very good.  This week has actually been okay as far as being sick.  Yesterday I felt pretty good, so I took advantage and cleaned the house, had some friends over, and let Lilli play in the pool.  I think the hardest part of being sick is that I can't do things with Lilli and keep her entertained.  We do a lot of sitting in bed while she watches her Playhouse Disney, and Dora while I'm trying not to throw up.  I swear I have every episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse memorized.  Today I felt okay, so I pulled out the finger paints and let Lilli go to town.  She had a blast.  She was jumping on the table and was so excited.  It was fun for me to see.  We've been swimming a lot and playing in the water.  It's easier for me to let her play in the pool so I can just sit and relax.  But she's getting so big.  She's learning so much.  She knows how to count to ten.  Today she turned around to us and said, "Triangle."  Sure enough, she was holding a triangle shaped sticker.  I was so amazed!  It's also been fun to hear her have actual conversations with my parents and family over the phone.  She answers questions and tells them what she's doing.  It's so cute!  Today she talked to her Aunt Paula.  It was fun to hear her talk.  

Ben just finished a really hard class called Political Geography.  It was really hard and he was really stressed out about doing well in it.  Tonight he called me from work and said that he missed getting a full A by 3/4 a percent (he's been waiting for his professor to grade his final paper).  I was so proud of him!  He now has an overall GPA of 3.93 or somewhere around there.  He's so smart and I'm so proud of him.  I can't imagine having a family, finishing your school, AND working.  He's leaving for Washington D.C.  on the 15th (Father's Day) and will be gone for 6 weeks.  I'm not looking forward to being away from him for that long.  I've been trying to find a good price on tickets for Lilli and I to fly back to Wyoming for a month.  I really want to go.  There's nothing like Mommy taking care of you when your sick (when your husband can't), plus Lilli will have her aunts and uncle (and Papa) to play with her.  That will ease my mind knowing she's having fun.  I guess we'll see.  It's a little frustrating.  Haven't found tickets and an affordable (and AVAILABLE) price.  

That's about it for us here.  I do have pictures but I haven't downloaded them yet.  Someday.  We're just trying to survive.  

Look for the sunshine through the clouds

I think in our times of trial, we are so focused on those hard times that we forget about the many blessings we have.  Lately I have been having a really hard time with being sick (yes, morning sickness has been worse this go around), feeling so tired all the time, crying all the time and feeling hungry all the time.  I was telling Ben last night that my emotions are out of control.  I just feel out of control!!  But I've been thinking a lot about a Relief Society lesson our R.S. President shared about looking for the sunshine through the clouds.  It was such a good lesson, and obviously I needed to hear it.  So I'm going to list 10 things I've been blessed with.  Here goes, in no particular order:

1.  I have been blessed with a very loving, supportive, patient, intelligent, willing husband (I could go on).  He has helped me so much, even as simple as getting me toast in the morning so I don't throw up.  What a sweetheart!  I don't know what I'd do without him!

2.  I have a beautiful, healthy, happy little girl who brings such joy in my life.

3.  I am a member of the only true church, and feel the blessings as I live my life the way I'm supposed to.

4.  I have a wonderful family (both mine and Ben's) who are supportive and I know who pray for us everyday.

5.  I have all that I could ever need.  A beautiful home, a running car, food, clean running water, etc.

6.  I have wonderful friends who are concerned and worried about me, and who seem to know just when I need them.

7.  I have been blessed with the simple things, like the Disney movies to keep Lilli entertained while I'm sick in bed (she watches them in our room so I can lay down).

8.  I have a healthy body.  

9.  I have one beautiful baby, and now have one on the way!

10.  I have a loving Heavenly Father who is aware of my trials, afflictions, and sicknesses and has blessed me with the comfort I need to get through each day!

Remember, look for the sunshine through the clouds.