To finish up our road trip . . .

Fremont Indian Museum/State Park was on our list. I never went there for a field trip, but it sure brought back 2nd grade memories for Katie. This was located right off I-70 and very easy to get to. We did a small hike to look at the pictographs (different from petroglyphs I learned) and the kids even descended into a traditional Fremont Indian home which was basically a hole in the ground. Tyler and I both found it fascinating that their homes were equipped with a second hole for ventilation. Even that many years ago they were concerned with how to get fresh air into their houses.

Our way home took us through Scipio where we had to stop at the Flying J and visit the petting zoo. That's right. There's a petting zoo at the gas station with it's own zebra, bunnies, goats, horses, cows, ostriches, chickens. By this point you know you've over done the trip planning when none of the kids wanted to get out of the van. We made them anyway and Alex was surprisingly not afraid of the animals that were pretty much bigger than him.

Gymnast hands

This picture says it all.

I really should think about putting Ash into gymnastics. She LOVES the monkey bars both at home and at school and she's such a petite thing that I think she could do rather well. 

Oh, but I cringe every time I look at her hands as she asks for a bandaid. You'd think she'd take a break and let those babies heal. But the bandaid is the cure all and she's right back at it.

Still workin' on that summer bucket list

Nate wanted to visit Arches this summer since this is the last time he was there and doesn't remember much:

It never crossed my mind that my parents live close enough to so many wonderful places in central and southern Utah that we could stay at their house and make it a day trip to most places, places I would go to on field trips. I was planning on taking the kids myself until Tyler was able to get work off at the last minute. And then on our way out of town, Aunt Katie decided to tag along. We are so glad she came, grateful dad could come, and happy we have an 8th seat to take extra stowaways.

It's become tradition for Tyler to put together a road trip booklet for the kids to fill out about our destination. This one came with coupons, mazes, mad libs, crosswords, and much more.

I stole this picture from Katie. It pretty much sums up how excited everyone was for a family getaway.

Pine Tree Arch - The only photo of the whole gang. We did a picture swap thing with another family.

Landscape Arch

One tired boy

Sand Dune Arch - Our favorite and one you have to discover in the middle of all that rock.

I don't think I've ever seen so many people there at one time. When we were there many years previous, we were lucky to have one other family come through and take our picture.

Ash even ran into a friend from school, and Alex finally warmed up to the feel of the sand.

Delicate Arch - We decided to do the 1/2 mile hike to the lookout and Alex was determined to walk the entire way, stopping every few feet to lean over the wooden rail and say "Hi" to whatever happened to be out there.

Balanced Rock - On our way out of the park some of the kids wanted to try holding up the rock. I'd say they did a pretty good job!

The weather will be changing soon. I'm so glad we took advantage of the beautiful weather. October is the PERFECT time to go to Arches. It wasn't too hot and I actually enjoyed working on that end-of-season tan.

Covenant-making warriors and Sheri Dew

Why do we need covenants?

What is the purpose of covenants?

I was preparing my visiting teaching lesson which was about the 2000 young stripling warriors and their mothers and covenants they had made and I wondered about the questions above. While contemplating the whys and whats, a thought by Sheri Dew kept popping into my head. 

We must be more like women of God and not like women of the world.

This brought to my remembrance a talk of hers I had read several years ago. I found it again and as I scanned through it, I was struck by how that talk was exactly what the visiting teaching message for this month was about and answered my question about covenants. A coincidence? Not likely. I quickly printed a copy for each of my ladies and flew out the door.

COVENANTS let us declare whose "camp" we are in.

COVENANTS allow us access to a power in our fight against all that is unholy.

COVENANTS are the means to prove to the Lord that we can be trusted. He wants to bless us with all that he has, but we need to know that we can be trusted with all powers and principalities.

Here are just some excerpts from her talk. To read the entire talk go to speeches.byu.edu.

Why do we need covenants:

• Before the sons of Helaman began their campaign, they entered into a covenant "that they never would give up their liberty, but they would fight in all cases to protect the Nephites and themselves from bondage" (Alma 53:17). It is the same with us. The first step toward consecration and total commitment to the Lord is making covenants with Him. That is what we do at baptism. That is what we do again, later, with powerful spiritual ramifications, when we enter the house of the Lord.

What is the purpose of covenants:

• There is power in making covenants. Weekly, as we renew our covenants and promise to take upon ourselves the name of the Son, to always remember Him, and to keep His commandments, we receive in return a transcendent promise, one filled with heavenly power: that we "may always have his Spirit to be with [us]" (Moroni 4:3). Having the Holy Ghost with us--and learning to hear His voice--is a key, perhaps the single most profound key, to remaining steadfast and immovable on the Lord's side of the line. And it all begins by making a covenant.

• The stripling warriors not only kept their covenants, but they performed "every word of command with exactness" (Alma 57:21). In other words, they kept their covenants with precision. A half-hearted effort to keep the Sabbath day holy or be morally clean or tell the truth or dress modestly is really no effort at all. Joseph Smith didn't say that we sort of believe in being "honest, true, chaste, benevolent, [and] virtuous" (Articles of Faith 1:13). On Mount Sinai the Lord didn't declare, "Thou shalt not steal--unless you're in a real bind." He didn't say, "Thou shalt rarely covet." He didn't say, "Thou shalt not commit adultery--very often." He said, "Thou shalt not," clearly delineating lines we are not to cross--lines that represent breaches in integrity or morality or virtue so serious that they drive the Spirit away and lead ultimately to the destruction of our souls; lines to stay away from lest we lose control of our thoughts, our motives, or our actions and step into Lucifer's territory where we come under his control.

• Men and women who sell their birthright for a mess of pottage will tell you that their demise began with something small, with some seemingly insignificant breach of integrity that escalated. The little things do matter. It is not possible to profess righteousness while flirting with sin.

• The stripling warriors were believers. Their faith in Christ was active and dynamic. They believed that He could move mountains--not to mention battalions of bloodthirsty Lamanites bent on their destruction--if they had faith in Him. Thus, when asked to put their lives on the line, they responded without hesitation, "Our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; [so] let us go forth." They believed that "if they did not doubt, God would deliver them" (Alma 56:46–47).

• [W]e must first believe, as did the sons of Helaman, who hadn't been trained in warfare but who had been taught the things of the Spirit. Consequently, they "fought as if with the strength of God; yea, never were men known to have fought with such miraculous strength; and with such mighty power" (Alma 56:56).

• Not only was their faith in the Lord strong at the beginning of their march, but it remained strong throughout their ordeal. Every one of these young men was wounded, and at one point they nearly starved to death (see Alma 57:25, 58:7). Yet instead of wavering, they turned to the Lord and pled for strength--which they received (see Alma 58:10–12). Having faith didn't make their challenges disappear. It didn't make marching in Helaman's army easy. It didn't disqualify them from pain. But their faith did enable them to draw upon the power of God, which sustained them through their test and ultimately delivered them.

"The Climb"

Several weeks after my half marathon I was heading into Salt Lake when the song "The Climb" (sung by Miley Cyrus) came on. Listening to her sing about hills and not giving up, my thoughts drifted to my half marathon and those hard hills I had to climb at the end and not caring whether I finished that last mile or not. I thought about having the opportunity run it with my sisters Katie and Angie, and I teared up as I had a powerful feeling of love come over me for them. We had done something hard together and when you accomplish hard things with other people it introduces a bond that is hard to break.

Katie, this song is dedicated to you.

Happy birthday on this gorgeous day.

So glad to have you as my sister, my friend, my running buddy.

The Climb

Jessi Alexander and Jon Mabe

I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"

Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I'm not breaking

I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on

'Cause there's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Somebody's gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!

Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa

Twins, perhaps?

Sorting through photos I came across this picture of Alex

and it reminded me of this photo of Nathan (in red).

Holy cow, I don't think I would be able to tell them apart. I've always thought Alex looked a lot like Nate. In Nate's picture you can see the cleft he had in his uvula before he had surgery to stitch it up. That little hole has caused more problems for his hearing and speech than anything.

The other day Erik and he were discussing something and Nate said, "I don't want to do that. Everyone will laugh at me." I knew after overhearing that comment he needed a lunch date with mom.

I pulled him out of school one day. I asked him if anyone made fun of him and he spilled the beans. Apparently last year he said something to his teacher that his teacher misheard and repeated back incorrectly. The class heard it and one girl in particular made fun of whatever it was Nathan said for quite awhile. She is also in his class this year but hasn't said anything.

I told Nate to not let other people bother him (easier said than done) and to just be his own person (again, not so easy for a 4th grader). We discussed how I'm helping him improve his R sound when I have him repeat words/phrases back to me, correctly.

I love lunch dates with my kids. For some reason they are more chatty when they're sitting in front of food. And for a mom that can only be a good thing as they open up their lives a little bit.

Love, Erik

I found this collage on my computer screen before shutting down for the night. I think Erik loves his little brother Alex.

These photos bring me joy.

Alex brings me joy.

Alex brings joy to our entire family.

Can we just freeze frame this age?

A few random things about Alex:

Barks when I say dog

Hears the train whistle and toddles to the window all excited

Likes sharing his food, sometimes tasting it first before handing it over

Starting to enjoy bananas, and I've forgotten what a mess they are to clean up

Discovered his love for strawberries

A little attached to his blankie and binky

Tries to escape out any open door

Loves to open my spice rack and pull out the bottles

Will sing when looking at a song book