just a moment

I was going to say, just a moment while I get back up do date. 

I am months behind. 

Good thing for post dating. 

Then I was going to point out that I say "just a moment" a lot.

It's my stage in life.

I still feel like I can do ANYTHING,

but...

in... 

just a moment....

Thee reality:  here is just a moment in time that I don't ever want to forget. Eli is his usual jovial self. He's lying on the bed chuckling non stop at the ceiling fan. It IS pretty funny. Mason is his usual intense and creative self. He's running around the room, half dressed, and yelling "All units! We need back up!". 

What else matters?

my nekkid wrestle lovin boys

Guess what we got?!

This trail is right by our house. They just finished it. We're so excited!

I spy Ry, Mason, and evidence of Eli :)

love thy neighbor

We love love love our neighbors. These three little kids are just delightful. I'm not sure they realize Jason and I are adults. Mason is always begging to go play with them. The other day he asked me if Miss D and Miss S were his sisters.

Pictures (clockwise from upper left):
Mister R fixing my mailbox.
Miss S helping in our garden.
Mister R posing with my nephews.
Miss D and Master Mason dressing up.
Mason helping fix the mailbox...or attacking me, can't remember which.
Miss D giving Mason a ride. She's so good at sharing.

#21 and #22: Scenic drive and Oak Grove

We checked another two off of our summer list on Saturday. We were packing to go spend the day at the Lake on the Hills (still a stupid name by the way) which is also on the list. Jason got a text from Ryan and Lindy saying they were headed to Oak Grove and anyone that could should come along. We haven't been there before so we traded the fishing poles for dirt bikes and decided to join them. 

#21: Take a scenic drive
#22: Adventure into the great outdoors

The drive certainly was scenic and I love the chance to find a new favorite place. Jase was patient and stopped along the way to let me take pictures.

Ryan

Jason

Shorty shorts & tall socks

The Gunn girls

#3: Play at the Cedar Canyon Park

My friend Krystal and I took our kids to the lovely Canyon Park. This was one of the main places I played growing up in the area. Coal Creek divides the East and West sides of the park. There is a little stream that goes through the west side and the kids really loved dipping their toes into the cold runoff water. It was fun to get the boys together, I can't believe how old they seem. She has three boys now! Seems like just a few months ago we were both pregnant for the first time!

Thunderbird Gardens

I have a feeling we'll be doing a lot of #22 (adventure into the great outdoors) from the summer list so I think I'll just write about the location and fun so that I don't have a million entries with the title "#22".

We went with Nate, his kids, The Kaylees, and a few other friends to Thunderbird Gardens to go rappelling. It was a beautiful day! This was Mason's first time on the ropes and I couldn't have been more proud. Eli was a champ and dozed in his carseat in the shade of a tree almost the whole time.

#17: Visit the SUU Observatory

The next things we've lopped off the summer list is visiting the observatory. It's free every Monday night. We left Eli with my parents but seeing as Mason fell asleep when we got there we probably should have dropped him off too! It was a fun family home evening gazing at the stars and moon. We also got to see Saturn and we could see the rings even though it was still pretty far away. Probably the best part was going with our friends Beau and Bonnie and their brilliant kiddos. Even little brother Jeff popped in to say hi for a minute.



I took this pic with my little camera through the telescope without a tripod. I want to go back and take more pictures.

Deployment

The Triple Deuce and the 213 National Guard Units were deployed today. They flew out of the Cedar and St. George airports. I was scheduled to work and considered getting someone to cover for me. I'm a sympathetic crier... and nothing is worse than someone crying who has no right to be.

I was glad not to be loading bags for these flights:



I had front row seats while the families where back in the parking area. These two little boys with their flags were so darling.

Here's our little plane off to the side of the operating area. It was a little tricky coordinating the departures but in the end it all worked out... and ultimately really didn't matter considering the grand scheme of things.

Each soldier walked to the plane one by one. They'd wave to their families in the distance, or walk together and talk to each other, or just look at the ground with an expression that made my heart ache. I wanted to yell out "THANK YOU" to each one but couldn't get the words passed my throat.

I felt like a real punk for taking this picture of the families. But I was so proud of our community. So many people showed up to support these men. The parents looked so proudworried. The wives had the "just come back" look as they held onto their kids. The girlfriends were the ones weeping and weeping.