a hero remembered TB65TWG

I made this card and ordered a geocaching trackable to surprise Joe for Alyn's birthday. And we had the PERFECT spot to drop it off!

Fall in Southern Arizona is hard to come by. But, on top of Mt. Lemmon there are seasons! I kind of begged Joe to take me there since I absolutely heart fall and have not seen nor felt fall for almost three years. We researched geocaches on top of the mountain, packed up the kiddos, and went for a road trip. 

We saw and felt fall.

I thought we could literally drive right to the geocache so I didn't bother packing a stroller or baby sling. What a mistake! Mackenzie was such a trooper but she started to get REALLY heavy after about an hour of carrying her around in our arms. We walked through the gates to the observatory and was instantly met by some kind of security and asked to leave. Wowza! As we searched a way to the cache we saw glimpses of this security guard following us around.

We couldn't find a path to the geocache at first and almost threw in the towel. We ate some lunch and found an easier geocache and tried again. This time Joe ran to the spot and me and the kids stayed in the car and watched "My Little Ponies".

The view from the geocache.

We sure do miss Alyn and think and talk about him almost every day. We hope this trackable makes its way every where, so Alyn's name will always be remembered.

**NOTE: The title of this post is the name of the trackable. If you go to www.geocaching.com, you can enter the trackable ID (the letters and numbers at the end of the name) and see where the trackable travels. 

potty dance

I hate potty training. I love the end result, but I hate all the accidents and mess and everything else! I told Jovi that when she ran out of diapers THAT. WAS. IT! So, as she used a diaper I would tell her how many were left and then she would excitedly tell me that she was going to wear underpants! Well, at least she got the idea of it all. As luck (or punishment, either way you want to look at it) would have it, she ran out of diapers the day before Halloween. 

And so it began. 

Her first sticker!

I printed out a really basic potty chart and stocked up on stickers. Every six spaces I gave her some kind of reward. In the beginning I gave her a treat i.e. something from her Halloween bucket for staying dry and clean and another treat if she went pee or poo inside the potty.

I failed horribly when I potty trained Corban. There were a lot of accidents, threats, and tears. Not my best mommy moment and not a lot of fun. Potty training Jovi was a COMPLETELY different story. She would have accidents, but we're talking she would pee a drip and then stop, go to the bathroom, and pee the rest in the potty.

Six days after we started, Jovi has filled her ENTIRE chart and earned all of her prizes! She even stopped asking for treats.

Never give up! Never give in!

When "Million Dollar Baby" came out I was 22 years old. I loved the story about an underdog making it big in a tough sport, but I HATED. HATED. HATED. how the story ended! My BIL and I got into a pretty heated argument about the pros and cons of an athlete killing themselves because they got hurt. In my book, killing yourself is NEVER an option. Even if you think your life is hard and you think you're not going to experience a good quality of life, suicide should never be an option.

All this hullabaloo about physician assisted suicide makes my blood boil and makes me sad. One of my aunts shared this article on Facebook that summed up pretty much how I feel about the whole situation.

My mom is one tough cookie. She has the type of arthritis that can't be cured, just maintained among several other health issues. She is in constant pain and you can tell when she moves that her body hurts. But she is a mover! She has more energy that I do! She gardens, she goes for walks, she cleans her house, she parties, she does genealogy, and she is there for all 8 of her kids, our spouses, and their 33 grandkids

My mom reading a story to Jovi. She flew down to help me out when I had Makenzie.

My brother, Jeff, was paralyzed from the waist down when he was in his 20s. His outlook on life in the beginning wasn't one of rainbows and unicorns. Instead of giving up, he gave it his all! He got married, had four kids, played basketball for the Wheelin' Utah Jazz, played basketball in the Athens' Paralympics, won tennis tournaments, raced in half marathons, served handicap people around the world and inspired young adults.

My sister was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago. She went through EVERYTHING and she is still with us today. I know she doesn't want to go through that again. But I also know that she is one of the most happy, sincere, fun people I know.

Celebrating the news that Vickie was cancer free! 

If these family members would have opted for physicians assisted suicide when they were dealt their crappy hands, they would have missed out on all of life's little and big triumphs! The whole reason we are here on this Earth is to gain experience and to PROVE to our Heavenly Father that we can take the muck with the miracles. We can learn. We can grow. We can overcome. We can love. We can forgive.

All this hullabaloo about physician assisted suicide makes me sad. It makes me sad for all those brave people who are fighting their own battles with sicknesses and have to hear the world glorify someone choosing to kill themselves. It makes me sad that someone would kill themselves when there are so many who are murdered everyday who would LOVE one more day with their loved ones; to hold them, to kiss them, to talk to them, to laugh with them.

Never give up! Never give in! Prove it everyday.