Magic Moments

There are so many times as a mom when I wish that I had my camera ready, or that I could whip it out just a few seconds faster to catch that perfect smile, hilarious face, or some crazy antic of Will's. I try to capture as many as I can, but there are many that will live on only in my mind.

Like on Sunday when Will and three of his cousins were all lined up on top of a flattened Graham, waiting for  their horsey to resurrect and give them another ride.

Or when I caught Will with a car cell phone charger pretending to straighten his hair because he'd been watching me while I was getting ready a few minutes earlier.

Those are the times when I have to just laugh and memorize the joy...because I can't capture all the moments on film, or an SD card or whatever. And, for that matter, sometimes I consciously choose to just experience those moments rather than breaking the magic by scrambling for the camera.

This Monday though, I caught a moment. This one...

For Labor Day, Graham and I decided we wanted to go on a little adventure as a break from all the yard work we (and especially HE) have been doing lately. He had never been to Red Butte Garden (and neither had Will), so we packed up, stopped to pick up some sandwiches for dinner, and headed off on a picnic. Will LOVED the freedom to roam in the garden.

Our last stop of the evening was the children's garden, which has a little splash pad in the entry. Will is usually hesitant at splash pads and mostly prefers to watch other kids get wet rather than get wet himself. Until Monday, that is. He started out the same as always, tentatively touching a gentle stream of water before backing off to a safe distance.

However, he quickly realized how fun it can be to get wet.

Too bad he wasn't really dressed for the occasion, but who needs clothes for the car ride home anyway?

Here is another magic moment from the evening:

Will heading confidently off on an adventure down the oak tunnel, where he became obsessed with acorns.

We even managed to get some shots of Will with his parents. We have hundreds of pictures of Will, but I'm trying to get better about making sure he will have proof he had parents along for the ride on many of his adventures. Here are a couple with Dad:

And even one with Mom, a rarity, since I'm usually taking the pictures:

Oh, and a little friend we made along the way...yep, that's a tarantula...in the wild.



What a day, what an adventure, what a wonderful life!

P.S. - If you've never been to Red Butte Gardens, go now! Oh, and take your camera. 

Summer Fun

The summer has flown by for our little family in a flurry of yard work, car buying, outings to the park, chasing Will around the world, and a last-minute getaway to Park City last weekend. Here's a little overview:

Will continues to get bigger and more independent every day. As of a week ago, he was 33 1/2 inches tall and weighed 25.2 pounds. He also wears a size 6 shoe, which I'm told is pretty big for a 15-month-old. 

He has LOVED digging in the dirt while Graham and I work in the yard...or at least try to while keeping track of Will. He has officially claimed my garden trowel as his own little shovel. In fact, he was thoroughly offended when I tried to use it yesterday.

He loves to have his own plate and spoon, although he still sometimes puts the Cheerios on his spoon with his fingers before lifting the spoon to his mouth. Baby steps though. He's proud of himself for every spoonful that actually makes it to his mouth, and so am I.

He's also discovering the joy of play dough. He thinks it's pretty funny when I roll little balls or snakes for him to play with. I love watching his excitement at new experiences and discoveries.

We've tried to get in as much sunshine as possible this summer (gotta build up a good store before winter), and we've enjoyed trips to Wheeler Farm and multiple parks near our home.

I can hardly believe how big this kid looks strutting down the sidewalk all by himself!

Last weekend, we headed up to Park City to stay with some of my family at a condo my parents rented there. It was so fun to spend a couple of days together uninterrupted--a rarity these days. I'm more committed than ever to making a real family reunion happen next summer. In the meantime, we enjoyed this small weekend trip. 

We did some hiking...

And I had fun trying to capture shots of some of the beauties of nature...

See the bee in this next picture?

Doesn't this just capture the essence of America?

It was all a little much for Will. Good thing the hiking backpack is a comfortable spot to take a nap.

We also spent a fair amount of time lounging around the condo, eating food, and relaxing in the hot tub.

Great weekend, and a nice break from all the yard work we've been doing lately. There's still a lot more to do, but our yard is finally starting to take shape. I'll post pictures once we've made some more visible progress.

Finding and Winding My Way

In my family we have a favorite movie. It's one that we can all quote ad nauseum and have watched more times than I can count. Most people I mention it to haven't even seen it, and those who have often don't get it. Granted, it's quirky and often a bit hokey, but Joe vs. the Volcano also taught me a valuable lesson: the path of life is a crooked one. Still, it's worth traversing despite the difficulty. 

In the movie, the symbol of a crooked road appears over and over again. It's Joe's walk to work, a crack in the wall of his apartment, the shape of a lightning bolt striking a ship, and so on. At the end of the movie, Joe tells his leading lady, "Been a long time coming here to meet you - a long time, on a crooked road."

I love the imagery of the crooked road. People often talk about the straight and narrow path that leads to salvation, but did you know that in the scriptures it's actually spelled as "strait" not "straight"? The slight spelling change totally changes the meaning of the word. While "straight" means "without curve", "strait" means "narrow" or "difficult". So the strait and narrow path is really the narrow and narrow path. Why the redundancy? In ancient texts, the repetition was meant to add emphasis (hence, "verily verily, I say unto you" means "REALLY listen up; I'm telling you something important). This tells me that it's a REALLY narrow path (this makes sense since God cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance), but it does NOT mean that it's straight.

And, let's be honest, anyone who has spent any time on this earth will tell you it's not a straight shot to the finish line. There are problems, disappointments, trials, and all manner of obstacles that get in our way and make us change course, or sometimes chart a new course all together. 

However, I have come to know that all the twists and turns along life's crooked road serve a purpose.

One of my favorite talks of all time is a BYU-Idaho devotional (which I never attended) called For God Did Send Me. It changed my life, and it got me through one of those I-didn't-know-life-was-supposed-to-be-this-hard-how-can-I-keep-going times that we all experience. Over the years, the truths of this address have come back to me over and over and have reassured me that the Lord has a plan for my life, mysterious though it may seem at times.

In the talk, the speaker, Casey Hurley, recounts the story of Joseph in Egypt: how Jospeh was told at a young age through dreams that someday his brothers would bow at his feet. However, before this prophecy was fulfilled, his brothers sold him into slavery, he became a servant to Potiphar, and finally he was thrown in prison because he wouldn't commit sin. 

If I was in his shoes, I'm pretty sure I would have started questioning those "dreams" that foretold my wonderful destiny. I would have wondered how being in prison was supposed to fulfill God's plan for me. 

But, I'm not Joseph. He stayed faithful during that time in prison, and he was eventually released. He led Egypt to prosperity, and his brothers did come bow to him as they sought relief from the drought and famine.

Sister Hurley says of this moment:

"When Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, he tells them, 'be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve life…And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God.' (Gen. 45:5,7-8) 

What strikes me most about this story is that the trials Joseph faced were not just the result of men being allowed to exercise their agency, not just tests of Joseph’s faith and obedience, and not just learning opportunities for Joseph. What looked at the time like obstacles in Joseph’s life turned out to be key events leading to fulfillment of Joseph’s special calling." 

The trials Joseph faced were more than just test of his will and faith. He needed to be in Egypt, so the Lord allowed his brothers to sell him, he needed to be in prison so that he could make contact with the servant who told Pharaoh of his gift for interpreting dreams. It was a crooked road, but it was bent in the direction of experiences that led him to the greatness God had in store for him.

I've often said that I don't like my trials, but I like the person they are making me become. And, as I look back on my past "trials", I have often been able to see WHY they happened. 

My path is not straight, but I know where it's leading me, so I'll keep walking...trudging...and sometimes even crawling along to make it to my goal. It's worth it. Besides, all the twists and turns mean I get to see more of this beautiful earth...and the scenic route can be pretty fun when I let it be.  

My Life in a Whirlwind

Okay, I don't know what happened to this post. It disappeared from my blog and when I pulled it up in my drafts all the text was gone. So...enjoy the pictures while I figure out what happened.

The Hills are Alive...

...with the sounds of William, that is.

I actually sang those words out loud this morning as we were blazing a trail through the mountains near Bell Canyon. Don't worry, nobody could hear my singing over Will's happy yelling.

I love the mountains. I love the rolling hills. Okay, sorry, I'll stop the song references. Really though, the mountains have always held a certain magic for me. Ever since I was a little girl watching my dad drum on the steering wheel to John Denver's greatest hits as our old blue station wagon wound it's way deeper and deeper into the Sierra Nevadas, I've been a bit giddy about visiting "the wild".

My heart always thrills a bit as I step off of pavement onto a dusty trail. Despite my heart feeling like it's about to burst in the middle of a steep grade, I always go back for more hikes. Why? Because I feel like I'm part of a beautiful secret whenever I emerge from a clump of trees into view of a sparkling, pure lake. At that moment all the work and sweat of getting there is worth it.

And now, I get to pass that love on to my son.

Riding in style on Daddy's back. He loved the view from his comfy seat!

Today we took Will on his first real hike. I loved watching him take in this new world from his lofty perch (his hiking backpack on daddy's shoulders). He was perfectly content to enjoy the ride and watch everything around him. He hardly complained at all (and who can blame him for complaining about branches that were hitting him in the face...oops) and absolutely loved playing in the dirt with all the rocks and sticks. Heaven for this little boy.



It was an empowering day, too. It helped me to realize that Graham and I can still get out and do a lot of activities that we enjoyed before Will joined our family. It was so fun, in fact, that I want to go camping this summer. We'll see how that turns out. Hopefully I don't regret my new-found enthusiasm.

Anybody up for a hike this summer?

One Year Old and Going Strong

Will had his one year check up a couple of weeks ago. He is now 22.1 pounds (50th percentile) and 31.5 inches long (95th percentile). So he's still destined to be a basketball player (Graham is proud), and he's finally packing on some weight to go with his height. Hooray!

The doctor also commented on how long his feet are. Apparently, size 5 shoes (which are almost too small) are not average for his age.

I had to laugh when the doctor, after watching Will cruise around the examination room and squirm out of my arms repeatedly while we talked, commented how busy Will is. I get that a lot, but when the doctor who sees countless babies every week singles yours out as being "really active", you know you're in trouble. Although, I guess it's kind of normal to me now. I don't know what it's like to have a child who will sit quietly on my lap and play with a toy. Or who will snuggle up with me in the rocking chair and let me read him books. Or who will play on the floor with toys, even with me, for more than 30 seconds before he decides to go off exploring the world a bit more. I'm not complaining. I love my little Magellan. I just think it's interesting that I can see his personality so strongly. I wonder how those tendencies will manifest themselves as he gets older.

At one year, here are some of Will's favorite activities:

Flipping light switches: He has figured out that when you flip them up and down, the lights go on and off, which is fascinating to him. Except, that sometimes he forgets that you have to switch between up and down, and he'll just keep trying to push it the same direction over and over and can't see why nothing is happening.

Moving things from one bucket to another: Up until recently, Will just loved to dump everything out onto the floor and make as big a mess as possible, but he has recently developed the skill of putting things IN rather than just taking them OUT. He loves to throw blocks into their storage bucket (I think he likes the sound it makes), and he also regularly puts them into the bed of his new dump truck before pushing it around the room. Hooray for baby steps toward learning to clean up!

Making friends: Will LOVES other kids. Whenever we're on walks or out shopping, if he sees another young child, he starts trying to get their attention by yelling. He's not angry; they're just short bursts of sound, like he's saying, "Hey! Look over here! Wanna be friends?" It's really cute.

Waving: He's finally getting more consistent at waving to people. I love watching him flap his hand around with that little grin on his face.

Playing outside, especially when dirt, sticks, and/or bark chips are involved: We've gotten outside and gone to the park recently, and Will is LOVING exploring a whole new part of the world. What is it that compels children to throw bark chips though? In any case, he doesn't seem to mind that we don't have grass yet at our house. In fact, grass kind of freaks him out. He's much happier sitting and digging in the dirt, tasting rocks.

Teasing his parents about walking: He's SO close! In the last two weeks he's made HUGE strides (couldn't resist) in taking steps. He WANTS to walk now, which is progress, as he was completely uninterested for awhile. He can totally walk, albeit awkwardly, but he's not confident enough to really go for it. He'll walk a few steps, sometimes as much as halfway across the room, and then he'll decide it's too slow and go back to crawling. He does, however, like to push chairs around the house now and use them as a makeshift walker. Any day, this kid is going to take off running, and I bet he'll never look back.

Playing in his favorite spot: Will has a favorite spot. It's completely random, but he plays there multiple times a day. It's the window ledge behind the back of the couch (See his spot in the picture above? It's right behind him). He often will climb up on the couch, crawl into his spot, bang some toys around and look out the window, and then kamikaze-style roll/slide down the couch cushions to get back down. It's pretty entertaining.

One is so much fun!

The Birthday Boy

(Disclaimer: This post is full of pictures and sentiment about my adorable son. He's cute though, so I think they're worth looking at. Just thought I'd warn you.)

Happy Birthday William!

When did I go from brand new mom to having a one-year-old who is on the brink of walking? I can hardly keep up with this boy. I've been meaning to post pictures from his birthday for a week now, but I'm just now getting around to it. Somebody's been keeping me busy.

I wanted to make Will's birthday special (I mean, you only turn one once), but I realize that he doesn't even get what birthdays are even about. I was trying to think of a party theme that would reflect something he's actually interested in, but he's so young that he hasn't really developed a LOVE of cars or trains or animals yet. But, I asked myself, "What DOES Will love?" One thing kept coming to mind: FOOD.

Will LOVES food, and he's a really intense eater. He shoves food into his mouth faster than I can put it on his tray, and he eats a ton! It's a wonder he isn't twice as heavy as he is. Anyway, at first, I thought "food" was kind of a weird theme for a party, but then I was noticed his copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar on the floor of his room. And it hit me...Will is my own very hungry caterpillar. So the party's theme was set.

The week before his birthday, my parents were in town, so we did a party that Saturday afternoon with my side of the family. We had a great time, even if, I was scrambling to get everything together at the last minute. 

My mom helped me make an awesome cake, which I based off of ideas from Pinterest.



Oma helped me prepare food to mirror the foods the caterpillar eats in the book. We had sandwiches with salami, Swiss cheese, and pickles; olives; watermelon; and a fruit salad with all the fruits he eats during the week.

Graham picked up some helium balloons that we turned into a caterpillar. (Those are the balloons in the background of the pic below). I had planned to make a face to put on the red balloon, but, you know, that just didn't happen. :)

P.S. - Will really likes his Grandpa Wright. I think the feeling is mutual.

I also made Will a onesie with a caterpillar (I happened across the fabric at a quilt store that week...serendipitous!) and a number one that had a bite taken out of it.

After a kamikaze attempt to grab the flame of the candle, and being VERY sad when I pulled his hand back, Will got his first taste of birthday cake.

Will wasn't quite sure what to do with his cake at first, but he got the hang of it pretty quickly and enjoyed dumping large quantities of it on the floor...and was sent straight to the tub afterward.



It was a fun time, and he got some great gifts that he's thoroughly been enjoying since then.

The following week, we had another party for him with Graham's side of the family. This time I was on my own for making the cake, and I almost collapsed on the floor in frustration a couple of times during the process of decorating it, but I think it turned out well in the end. The benefit of having two parties with the same theme is that I was able to use all the same decorations the second time around. That meant they got more use, and I had less effort to put into party #2 (which was good because the cake basically took me ALL day). Win, win!

Will still didn't really get what was going on, but he really enjoyed ripping the wrapping paper off of the presents, and he ate a lot more of his cake the second time around (though he still threw a decent amount on the floor).

Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with us!