july

sunshine, water, laughter, endless days outdoors, family, music and fireworks. 

we had our first Ric Medley reunion this month of july. unforgettable. swarms of little children and even more little voices screaming with joy and equally with offense. it's difficult to share things which the possession of seems unquestionably a matter of life or death. i don't believe any of us will forget the trade of kittens going between the young girl cousins. 

i have made a conscious effort and decision to withdraw from my various social media outlets. or inlets, i suppose; they release you "out" of your present moment or they suck you "in" to their world. i have found that the human mind seeks incessantly for escape. though i have eliminated my escape into the screen, i do find my to-do list, books, projects, stresses, worries, etc. all eager to fill the void. it takes a concerted effort to stop and really see those beautiful, amazing, inspiring little faces that stalk my every move. in my attempt to really see them, i often leave my camera behind in the cupboard and try to capture them with my hands and heart instead. the prolific amount of photographs has admittedly dwindled, but i hope the sweetness of life's undulation grows exponential. 

home

family reunion july 2013. bayside, california

i've never been so emotional going home. i couldn't hug my grandma without tearing up thinking of how fragile life is, how quickly it goes by and how frivolously i take my agile body for granted.
i took this journey, just me and my wee ones; two long days of driving there and a long train ride on the way home. i can't explain the way family permeates my existence. though i'm often fooled into believing the contrary, no man is an island; i may traverse the life of young motherhood alone in some way but there isn't one fraction of my body, mind and spirit that isn't powered, buoyed and sustained by  those i deeply love. the tears of my mother, the laughter of my father, the soft fortitude of my grandmother, the vibrance of my sisters; words and photos don't wrap their arms around you, whisk you off on grand adventures or whisper words of comfort through wet eyes. but family does and i thank god for that.

easter 2013

i've been pacing the house, distracted by the next messy pile of junk before i'm done attending the first. i'm trying to get as much done during this week off of teaching. problem is, it's not a week off of parenting... i take comfort in the fact that most of my day is spent attending my little babes. that's a worthwhile reason to 'get nothing done' all day. 

easter was a hit. the kids had a wild time in the back yard and the eggs were so abundant we had to coax the older ones to finish picking all of them up. 

i love this second shot. there are a few photographers, a number of directly-involved-ers and then there's the observers on the sidelines. 

no glamour shots this week. my life has been pretty un-glamorous lately and i've been okay with that. 

back in action

stinky beach 

limited singing at the walmart grand opening. bethany and isaac are far right in the chior. 

bethany and isaac singing at graduation. 

 

aunt nennie! the awesome baby sitter.

making sushi

early morning garden picking with grandpa. a daily ritual:)

her new bff.

after a long 6 month hiatus from any record keeping and not much picture taking(regretfully), i return to the regiment. 

jade and i spent the last 5 weeks back home in eureka, ca. it was a priceless life-break, spending the most memorable time with 'dampa and damma', 'aunt nennie' and 'idite'. the 5 weeks included the eureka walmart grand opening (no protestors! i was disappointed by the hippie's empty threats) bethany's high school graduation, a plethora of insightful conversations with dad, weeding and chatting with grandma jeannie, philosophizing with grandpa dee, stinky beach, rearranging mom's house with the teenagers, finding nemo and tangled multiple times a day for jade while i slept on the couch making up for staying up late with the family, learning to make sushi, and the times with mom need their own list; fruit orders, eureka natural foods, sitting at the kitchen table, making lists, putting her on bed rest, the survivor-challenge-planning-saga-of-a-life-time, and so many talks about so many things. despite the priceless time i spent growing closer to everyone and harassing isaac, it was undoubtedly jade who brought the tears on and broke hearts as our departure approached. 

after four weeks of blissful vacation, it was brightened by the fact that aaron was going to have the time off from work to drive out and spend the final week with us. four hours into the trip the car completely died, threatening a blown head gasket (not what you want to have happen to your car). 36 hours later, after many tears on my part, much frustration and not much sleep on his part, he finally arrived in eureka in a car lent to us by his grandpa; the hero had landed. we spent the week in bayside loving the time with cousins and second cousins and who knows how some of these people are related anymore. time has brought so many wonderful people into the medley family and it is never a dull moment spent with them.

i regret not having captured every moment with my camera, but i caught them all with my heart and am eternally grateful for everything that was this experience. 

especially thanks to mom and dad for putting us up with such grace and willingness, bethany for being so helpful with jade, and isaac for still loving me despite how easy it is to give you a hard time:) love you all.

early christmas

we gave in and opened a few presents early. we're getting jade ready for the grandparents' house. or, lets be honest, we just couldn't wait to share a few of our gifts. jade caught on so quick she found more presents hidden deep under the tree and started opening. christmas is full of family this year and we wouldn't have it any other way. 

happy holidays

i'm feeling the unnecessary craziness of christmas. it's coming fast. the window for ordering and sending gifts is quickly closing in on us. 

holiday plans and expectations can easily dominate the real reason we celebrate the season of christmas. though presents, parties and adorable christmas dresses are a source great fun and joy, i'm making commitments to my Savior and taking this opportunity to reflect on how i can resolve to be more like Him and thus show my gratitude and deep testimony i have of His gift to each of us. i love my Savior and hope we all can grow in our relationship with Him as we turn our hearts toward Him this christmas year. 

merry christmas to all :)

happy halloween

day of independence

i was humbled this sunday when in relief society i confessed i had never participated in a political vote in my long 26 years. i confessed with the profession that i had made a goal to vote in the next presidential election and that in order to do so, i realized the importance of being involved, informed, doing my part and trying to look for the positive. there are many people who do not take pride in our country but we have a rich heritage and there is plenty of which we can be proud.

afterward an elderly sister approached me and schooled me on the importance of being informed and doing the best we can to support our country. she was raised in a political family and knew how important it was to vote. she ended with "i've always liked you and thought you were a cute girl." that is, until i had admitted my failure to my country!!

the fourth for us was full of fun and family. we took a drive through American Fork Canyon to the Cascade Springs and on through to Midway on a dirt road. (we love our subaru!) ate pizza where aaron first met hannah and sean (we had been dating only a few weeks and sean was grilling us for a marriage date. oh sean). then spent the evening at the johnson's with lots of friends and neighbors.

i'm grateful for our country and every human being that has sweat blood and tears to make it what it is today. politics or military service is not my calling in life but i greatly revere those that choose to make sacrifices in the name of all our country stands for. happy independence day!