Blast from the Past- April 2017 Happenings

Moving on to April's happenings!

I feel like these months went by as fast as these blog posts are happening (and that is no joke.  Where does the time go?)

Conference Weekend in St. George

We decided to head to St. George for April's Conference Weekend.  We had a little baby to snuggle, cousins to play with, and beautiful scenery to gaze at.

Little Nova Lin (Novie) was born in January.  We got to see her for a small window, just after she was born, when we were on our way to California.  I had been dying to snuggle with her again.  Fortunately, Dan and Chantelle's babies stay teeny tiny for a long time so she was still just a little peanut.  

We love our little Novie girl!

Conference definitely brings out the nap-taking skills.  Lol.  It's not that we are sleeping, it's just that we are pondering deeply the words that are being said.

We had a wonderful weekend and I learned so much from listening to our prophet, apostles, and other church leaders speak to us.  Conference weekend is always uplifting and give me the boost that I need to press forward.

And one more thing...I am selfie-challenged.  But you already knew that. :)

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend was spent with the Ogden clan this year.  It's a little different now that the grandkids are all growing up, but we still managed to have a fun time hunting for eggs and being together.

Josh was not excited that I made him participate in the egg hunt, but because he is the good boy that he is, he obliged--if only to make his mommy happy.

We also colored eggs and, as usual, ate lots of food.

Easter morning we woke up to some fun surprises in our Easter baskets.  Even Bailey was the lucky recipient of a new toy which she managed to destroy in about one minute flat.

Art supplies, mission supplies, Taki's, and a Cubs shirt.

I call that a pretty solid Easter basket score.

We attended church and I am so thankful that we were able to go to church and feel of the spirit of this glorious Easter holiday.  

We celebrate Easter because our Savior Jesus Christ was resurrected!  Isn't that fantastic?  It's seriously the best news ever and I am so grateful for my Savior.  I love Him with all my heart.

Easter would not be complete without family pictures in our Easter Sunday attire.

Abbie looks goofy and beautiful, as usual.

Ellie looks absolutely adorable, as usual.

And, this bunch of hooligans?

Well, they are my life.

And because of the Savior, they are mine forever, whether they like it or not.

Josh's Senior Pictures

I know, I know.

I keep saying it.

Where did the time go?

My baby boy, my first born child, is a Senior in High School.

He is graduating.

He is growing up.

And I couldn't be more excited about that.

Although there is a little tinge of sadness because I miss his cute little toothless grin, his squeaky little voice, and the way that he would run around in a Batman costume and a tie-dyed cape, I really am so excited for the future that lies ahead of him.

He is ready for the challenge and adventure, and that makes me happy.

Odds and Ends

This post wouldn't be complete without an Ana update.

Still cute.

Still loved.

Still growing.

Josh is getting ready to turn in his mission papers.

(Insert tears of joy and sorrow.)

He is definitely ready to serve the Lord on a mission and we are excited to learn where he will be serving for two years of his life.

 This cute face.

Oh my.

I cannot get enough.

Ellie received a letter from Murray City informing her that her Arbor Day poster was chosen as a winner for her grade!  She was thrilled beyond thrilled.

 These ladies.

My heart.

That is all.

 Josh had the opportunity to play in a production of "The Lamb of God" over Easter weekend.  It was a beautiful oratorio written by Rob Gardner.

All of the musicians involved were amazing and we left feeling uplifted and so grateful for our Savior.

Spring Break 2016

One of the only good things about having a sick day is that it gives me time to be a little lazy and not feel like I have to clean something or organize something or even walk because my joints were too achy. :(  

So I am grateful for the sick day today because it allowed me to finish editing and putting together pictures from our Spring Break Road Trip.

We have been wanting to go to San Francisco and Yosemite for a while now and this Spring Break provided the perfect opportunity for us to do just that.

Can you say Road Trip?

We stayed the first night in Elko, NV.  The girls were thankful to have a pool that they could use their mermaid tails in.  I was grateful for the hot tub. :)  The next day we headed out for San Francisco.  It was a long day of driving, but we are pros at that now since our trip to Texas a couple of years ago.  This time, however, I instituted some 1 hour blocks of "No Technology."  The kids were really great to go along with this and played games, read books, and enjoyed the scenery.

On the way there we stopped for lunch in Reno and found the LDS Temple there.

We love stopping at different temples to take pictures.  It does not matter which temple you go to, there is always a sacred, peaceful feeling on those special grounds.

We were actually staying just outside of San Francisco in a place called Moss Beach, but before we got to the big city, we decided to stop in Walnut Creek for some ice cream and the San Francisco Creamery.  It was a very good choice for us to make.

Although we all decided that our very own Leatherby's has better ice cream.

We were excited to cross the Bay Bridge and see the city as we drove a little further south to the cottage that we were renting for a few days.  I was excited about this cottage because it was quaint, red, and right next to an area that gets tide pools.

However, the moment we walked into the place, my hopes of enjoying it were dashed.  It smelled like a zoo.  :(  It was cute, but the smell was definitely overwhelming.  Especially for Abbie and Mark who have super smellers.  We all put smiles on our faces and tried to convince each other that we would get used to it.  I don't think we ever did.  But, we still had fun.

After we unpacked the van, we decided to take a stroll down the street to see the tide pools.

It was a little chilly, but it was beautiful and it was fun to look for sea urchins and mussels in the little cracks and crevices.

The next day we headed into San Francisco to see, what else?  The Golden Gate Bridge.  I think everyone else who was visiting San Francisco decided the same thing.  It was super crowded and we opted to not rent the bikes like we had originally planned.  But we took a nice long walk and made it a little over halfway before we turned back.

I was very proud of Abbie and Ellie who were a little nervous because of the height issue.  They were walking very slowly until we turned around to head back.  Then their pace doubled. :)

After the bridge we went to the Walt Disney Family Museum.  I was so intrigued by the displays there that I failed to take very many pictures. :/  Oh well.

When we were done at the museum we met up with one of my FD Family members who lives in San Francisco- Camo.  It was so great to see him again and we did what our family does best...we found another ice cream place and ate ice cream together.  Finding the ice cream place, or rather, finding a place to park to go to the ice cream place was a bit of a challenge.  But after some maneuvering and changing which ice cream place we were going to, everything worked out.

The next day was Sunday- Easter Sunday and it turned out that the LDS ward in our area met in a chapel just down the street from us.  We didn't expect that.  It felt like we were right at home in Utah where there is an LDS Chapel everywhere you turn. :)

I don't know what my problem was that day, but I didn't take our normal "this is us in our Easter clothes" picture.  So...moving on.

After church, we grabbed some lunch and then decided to drive a little further south to Santa Cruz.

What a beautiful place this is.  The kids had fun roaming around on the beach and in the water, discovering new and amazing things.  They were sad to leave when we said it was time to head back to Moss Beach.  No one wanted to go back to the Stinky Cottage. :/

On Monday, we went back into San Francisco so we could go to the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.  I can't even express to you how beautiful everything was.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day and we enjoyed walking around the garden admiring all of it's beauty.

After the park, we went to Pier 39 for some lunch and to be closer to the Pier where Mark and Josh needed to catch the ferry to Alcatraz.

While the boys went to prison, the girls spent all the money. :)

We had fun roaming around Pier 39, eating cotton candy, pretzels, and hot dogs,  riding the carousel, smelling really stinky seal lions, and walking through a mirror maze.  That was a lot of fun.

Plus I found my store!  I am now the proud owner of the "I'm Left Handed, What's Your Superpower?" shirt that was hanging in the window.  I couldn't resist.

The boys had a nice time at the prison and learned a lot of things.

When they made it back, we decided to find somewhere on the way home for dinner and call it a day.

It was our last night in the stinky cottage and we were excited to be moving on the next day, even though there was still a lot of San Francisco that we wanted to see.

I have never had so much help packing up our stuff as I did that morning.

1.  We were ready to leave the stink behind and 

2.  Two of my young ladies could not wait for the next stop on our adventure.

Ah, the American Girl Doll Store.

A place where every little girl dreams to live, and every parent walks away saying, "What just happened?  I walked in with a full wallet and walked out with absolutely nothing?"

But to their credit, these young ladies had been saving every single penny for months so that they could buy something at the store.  With a little help from mom, they were able to buy two new and beautiful dolls...Josefina and Kaya.

Mark had dropped us off at the mall and then took the van to have the front tires checked.  Before we left on the trip, he had noticed that they were looking a little worn.  Fortunately there was a Firestone store not far from the mall.  Unfortunately, we needed two new tires and found out that our van will not longer go into alignment unless we replace a lot of expensive things.  Good times.  Mark said, "Can I make it home?"  The guy said, "Yes, you'll be fine." And we were on our way.  Still haven't decided what to do about the van...but it brought us safely home and we are grateful for that.

When we were safe and snug in the van, we headed on to Yosemite.

We actually stayed in Groveland which is about an hour and a half outside of Yosemite, so we didn't see the park that first day, BUT we were all extremely grateful to pull up to the beautiful place where we would be staying for the next three nights.

No stinky smell.

Beautiful rooms and beds.

No stinky smell.

It was perfect.

There was even an extra mattress for the girls' dolls.  No, we did not buy more than two.  Yes, the girls brought all of the other dolls they owned so that they could meet their new friends.  :)

We slept very well that night and woke up ready to go hiking in some beautiful country!  Well, four of us were excited to go hiking, but the deal was, if we stop at the American Girl store then there would be no complaining about hiking.  A promise is a promise.

I have lived in Utah my whole life and have seen a lot of the gorgeous landscape that surrounds me here.  Yosemite was equally as beautiful as any park here and the waterfalls were incredible.  We felt so small and just stared in awe at the majesty that surrounded us.

Because it was still a little early in the season, some of the trails and roads were still closed, but we still were able to see a lot of great things.

Yosemite Falls...amazing.

Completely breathtaking.

Half Dome, Mirror Lake, and El Capitan...amazing.

We walked a little over 8 miles that day and poor little Ellie's legs were definitely feeling it by the end of the day.  But she and Abbie were troopers and it was a really fun day for all of us.

Because we walked so much and saw everything that we could and wanted to, we decided not to make the hour and a half drive back to Yosemite the next day.  We were in a cozy little town in a beautiful town home and decided to take the day for a little relaxation before the long drive back home the next day.

Mark and Josh did some golfing at the golf course that was just around the corner.

The girls and I found a place where we could go horseback riding and went for an hour long ride through some beautiful trails.

It was very peaceful and I just spent some time thanking God for this beautiful family and for the time that we were able to spend together.

Before I close this post, I just want to leave you with two of my favorite pictures that Mark took.

This was near Moss Beach at the spot where the "Mavericks" are.  The Mavericks are some really big waves that are popular in the surfing scene.  It was the wrong time of year to see the really big waves, but the view from the top of the hill...totally worth the walk up there.

On Friday we drove all 12 hours back to Utah and home.  It was a long day in the car, and again, we instituted the 1 hour blocks with no technology and we made it.  All in one piece.  All still smiling.

I call that success.

Easter 2014

We have had a very busy few weeks and still have a lot of busyness ahead of us, but I have to take some time and catch up with all that has been going on, or I will forget details.

I will start with Easter weekend.

We have a tradition with Mark's family of going bowling on Easter Saturday.  We had a much smaller group than usual and I forgot my camera, but we still had fun and I took some pics with my phone.

Grandpa actually bowled with us this year.  I don't think that has ever happened before.  It was fun to watch and it really made me mad that I forgot my camera.  Everyone did well, except for me.  I think I was the loser of the day.  I barely made it over 60.  Not my best bowling day.

After bowling, we headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a late lunch and some egg hunting fun.  Mark cooked some pulled pork in our Big Green Egg and it was delicious.  Lots of laughter, lots of candy, lots of fun.

 I love Easter morning and I love going to church on Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I am nothing without Him.

He makes it possible for me to make up for my mistakes and short-comings.

He has also made it possible for me to live with these guys forever and ever.

I Believe 16

On this beautiful Easter Sunday, I am excited to share with you my thoughts on the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Before I begin, I want to share this beautiful video.

(Just a side note about it.  I noticed that it was originally published on April 12 and has already had over 3,000,000 views.  Pretty incredible and wonderful.)

Because of Him, I can be with these hooligans forever and ever.

 Even if I have to leave them before I feel I am ready.

I was married to the Love of my Life in a holy temple of our God by sacred priesthood power and that means that we will be married for time AND all eternity.

That thought gives me so much comfort when my brain starts to take off on tangents...which brings me to another reason I am so grateful for what my Savior has done for me.

Do you like Bailey's photobomb? Lol.

Because of Him, I can truly be healed, inside and out.

And boy do I need it now more than ever.

Since my last post, I have had the opportunity to have an actual therapy session with a professional counselor.  My wonderful husband in his role as my husband and as my Bishop, suggested that maybe talking to a professional would help me to convince my brain of the things that my heart already knows.  He thought that I might be suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), which actually made total sense to me and would explain my recent and frequent anxiety.

So last Thursday, I found myself sitting across from a lovely woman who did confirm that I am indeed suffering from PTSD.

I felt as though the clouds lifted for a moment and I could see clearly some of the things that I need to do in order to help my mind be healthy.

One of those things is truly allowing my Savior to help me carry this burden. 

Why is it as humans that we are so stubborn and think that we can handle everything by ourselves?

I thought of a great analogy today that has helped me even more and that I realized was an answer to my prayers.

Sometimes the girls and I walk home from school.  

One or more of them is usually tired from their long day at school and so I end up carrying a backpack or two.

Do you think they have an inner struggle or wrestle with the thought of handing their backpacks over to me?

Absolutely not. 

They are more than happy to get rid of that heavy thing that is weighing them down.

As soon as I take it from them, they are happy once again.  The complaining about their tiredness stops and they can focus on a pleasant conversation with me about what happened at school that day.

Our trials, troubles, and sorrows are exactly like a backpack.

Sometimes they weigh us down, to the point where we cannot focus on anything else but the weight of that backpack on our shoulders.

In my analogy, I represent our Savior who is there, ready and willing to help us with our load.

But unlike my girlies, who are so ready and willing to hand their loads over to me, we sometimes struggle with handing our burdens over to the Lord.  Or at least giving Him a thing or two from our "backpacks" to lighten that load.

For some reason, we hold on to those loads and think that we have to carry them all by ourselves.

Such is not the case.

We have a loving Savior, Jesus Christ, who suffered for every sin, sorrow, pain and trial that we will ever go through.  He did that for every...single...one of us.

Photo courtesy of altusfineart.com

He is there, ready and waiting, to help us carry our heavy burdens and we can, hand them over to Him without any second thought.

We don't need to have that inner struggle or wonder if this trial is "big enough" to have help with.

He is there to help us with anything...with everything because He loves us.

Does this mean that all of our trials and sorrows will be taken completely away and we can just skip off into the sunset?

No, it does not.  And I am glad that my trials are not completely taken away because I have learned so much from each heartache, each tear. 

I will end this post with one of my favorite scripture passages from the Book of Mormon.

It is found in Mosiah 24:13-15.  The prophet, Alma, and his people were in bondage to the Lamanite people.  They were having a really rough time and they were "pouring out their hearts" to our Father in heaven, pleading for help.

"And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying:  Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.

And I will ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.

And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord."

I testify that this is true for us today.

I know it is true, because it has happened to me.

My burden of cancer has not been completely taken away.

It is something that I continue to struggle with, even though I am not going through active treatments.

But, as I turn to the Lord, He strengthens me so that I can "bear this burden with ease".

Happy Easter everyone!  May you all feel the love of our Savior and Father in Heaven this beautiful Easter day and beyond.  They truly do love each of us and are there waiting to help us, we just need to ask.

Thankful Thursday 32

Whew!  I am totally so thankful to be done going through all of our spring break photos!

Now I can share them before I forget about everything we did...:)

We started out the Spring Break/Easter Weekend with a little volleyball.  The Ogden family loves volleyball!

 Next up on the agenda?  Our annual Ogden Family Easter Weekend Bowling Trip.  Say that 3 times fast.  ;)

We always have a great time.  Lots of laughter and trips to the vending machine thanks to Grandma O's never-ending supply of quarters.

This post is going to be very picture heavy and lengthy, but I have to include this pic I snapped of my adorable great nephew...

Look at those cheeks!  I want to give them a million kisses right now!

After bowling, we headed back to our place for an Easter egg hunt and more volleyball.  I told you we really love volleyball.  We could play it all...day...long.  We even broke out the old bounce house.  That was one of the best purchases I ever made.

 (Apparently Abbie was concentrating very hard on her jumping.)

I already posted all of our Easter pics so we will move on to the AFTER Easter celebrations.  

Even though it is starting to warm up around here, it was not warm enough for us to truly celebrate Spring Break so we took the party South.

Vegas Baby!

My mom and dad had a condo for the week so we moved ourselves right in.

 The kids have such a fun time when we go to a hotel or condo.  It's a mad dash for about the first 20 minutes as they run from room to room and bed to bed trying to scope the best places.  We spent one evening in the Fun Dungeon at Excalibur.  I have so many great memories of that place and Circus Circus.  We went there quite a few times when I was a kid.

We spent most of our time lounging around the pools.  There were 3 to choose from and the kids were in heaven.

 Some of my favorite snapshots of our pool time...

Josh with my dad.  Yep, he's almost as tall as him.  *Sigh*  I miss my little Joshua Squashua.

Well, the apples did not fall far from the tree.  These gals love to soak up some rays just like their mama.

We have to work on their patience though.  They got bored of it a little too quickly for my liking.

Love this picture.  The best part is my little Ellie chillin' in the background. :)

We completed our Vegas adventure with a stop at the Hoover Dam.  They recently completed this amazing new bridge so the traffic does not have to go over the dam anymore. It was incredible!

And no, we did not take the dam tour...but we did stop for some rootbeer floats afterwards!  

After Vegas we spent another night at my parents house and partied some more with aunts, uncles, and cousins there. It was really the perfect way to end such a great vacation, because we were able to enjoy General Conference as well.  There were some really wonderful words spoken and as always, I felt like there were talks written specifically for me.  Click here if you would like to listen to some of them.

After such a great vacation, there are only two things left to do.

Be completely exhausted and totally ready for summer!

How about you?