insta-Q2

{4.19.22}

Busy season is not my favorite season, but one thing that is helping pull us through is a great bedtime readaloud. I've found a good routine of getting Lucy to bed (in her big-girl-toddler bed, after two books and as many songs as she can convince me to sing, including Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the Utah Song) then coming to the boys room to read a chapter to the other three kids. The first book in this series is "The Dragon in the Sock Drawer" and it's a simple, upbeat, and delightful book. The kids love it and it keeps my interest, too. It motivates them to get ready for bed quickly and I love reading to them. After tucking the boys in, Lydia has a few minutes to read while I do the dishes, or sometimes we will watch an episode of a show together before David gets home. We are at a really good stage right now and I'm loving the evolution from the baby-trenches to this new young-childhood phase.

{4.20.22}

I've been listening to the audiobook "The Power of Fun" and keep wanting to talk to everyone/anyone about it. I love the idea of cultivating fun as a tool for a healthier, happier, and more well rounded life. Things that spark true fun for me? Spontaneity. Exploring/going somewhere I've never been before. Being outdoors. Being present in the moment. And also @davidpeaden - he's like a walking fun magnet.
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Also, I love having fun with my kids. That's been a key happiness factor in my motherhood and marriage. I'm not waiting for my kids to grow up or for David to be less busy at work. We find fun in our everyday AND I find things that fill my cup and make the effort to make them happen on a regular basis, even if it's just me and the kids. (a.k.a. Field Trip Friday!)

{6.5.22}

June 5th is my favorite day. The day when "I" forever became "us". He's my best friend and biggest supporter. We make a good team.
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Behind every photo in front of a beautifully scenic background there are also less than perfect things. Poor navigational skills, broken cars, busy schedules, and other things. But maybe those things make this journey together all the sweeter. I'm glad to be doing this life with him by my side, bad and good, down and up, tricky to find trailheads AND delicious fried chicken. Happy 13years @davidpeaden

{6.24.22}

If you're in Lehi District 2 (that's most of West Lehi, including Holbrook Farms, Cranberry Farms, Sunset Hollow, and Thanksgiving Village) ...

VOTE Wendy Rencher - Alpine School Board! She's experienced, balanced, smart, caring, and capable. She is a great choice for your vote. (election ends June 28)
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The kids and I handed out flyers (a little civics lesson and service activity) for Wendy today and I was so proud of their determination to do a good job even though it was hot.

 

Garden Box Project

Our backyard has turned into a bit of a disaster. A few years ago our neighbors sprayed some weed killer along the fence line and it killed some of our grass. Some wild grass moved in and has been slowly taking over the backyard since then. It has been really terrible. One section has become so bad we decided we needed to do something. Around that time Shantel found someone that makes beautiful garden boxes. We've also wanted more space for garden stuff, so we decided to get replace some of the grass with garden boxes. 

First step was to remove the grass. We were fortunate that we found a pretty cool day to do this. We were also really fortunate to have Scott come and help us get all the grass out. It took an entire morning, but it went faster than I actually thought it would. 

Shantel and Scott went and picked up the garden boxes in his truck which was really nice. 


While they were gone, I got the rest of the grass out and then we evened out the ground and got the boxes placed. 


Overall it looked really good for our first day working on it and we were happy. We were also really happy with the way the boxes turned out. 

Scott and Jake came back a few weeks later and helped fix the sprinklers. They had to replace the old sprinkler heads and run water to where the garden boxes go. Shantel worked with them and it took a long time, but they got all the sprinkler stuff done. 

They also moved our drain from the house and ran it down to the rock wall. It was a ton of work and I am so grateful that they helped. 

A few days later we got rocks delivered and moved those back to cover the dirt area. I think it looks pretty good. This project is technically still not totally done. We filled one of the boxes with dirt to see how to do it best, but we still need to order compost/dirt to fill the boxes, but that will probably be something we do next spring. 

Q2 Dates

Although we aren't perfect, we are trying to do dates with the kids on a regular basis. Here are some pictures from our Q.2 dates. We have a whole spreadsheet with our years dates planned out (each child gets six dates, every other month - alternating mom and dad). It's important to us to spend time with our kids individually as well as with our whole family and so we are making the effort. Plus, it gives us an additional excuse to do fun things! 

Austin & Mom: Bowling

Lydia & Dad: Parade of Homes

Mom & Caleb: Hike to Grotto Falls

Lydia & Mom: Parade of Homes

Austin & Mom: Parade of Homes

Fam Pics

We had family pictures taken in a local studio, Camera Shy, and they turned out lovely. I adore this family of mine and these family pictures are precious to me - they capture each child right now, the way they are in this moment. I will treasure being able to look back at them when they are bigger. (I know this already because that is how I feel about the pictures when they were younger.) 

Our Family

Austin 

Caleb

Lucy

Lydia

The Kids

Us

We love this sweet family of ours.