Beautiful days of spring that are full of bipolar weather, and time for outdoor fun. We visited Red Butte Gardens and tried fishing out on Utah Lake (no fish were caught). And I hiked to Horsetail Falls with my sister.

Easter week was nice. I did activities throughout the week, like dying eggs, flying kites, stopping by the Lindon temple open house, and learning about Jesus. We ended with a family Easter egg hunt and General Conference. On Easter, we also took off and traveled down to Mesquite for a mini-vacation. We swam at the hotel, ate fast food, played at an arcade, and watched TV. There was a good amount of chill time for a few days.

But I never plan that much chill time. Monday, we visited the Valley of Fire. Gorgeous park, especially if you get out on the trails. The kids weren’t enthusiastic about it because of how hot it was. (Mid 80’s for the high, which isn’t that hot, but I think we are still used to winter.)

The next day, we hiked Kanarra Falls. It requires a permit and some fore-planning because you walk through water through a good portion of the trail. Neoprene socks kept the feet from freezing, and I did carry Evie for the back half of the trail. All that said, Peter called it the best hike he’d ever been on, and it’s definitely in my top handful of hikes I’ve done as well. Beautiful slot canyons, multiple waterfalls, and at four miles round trip, it wasn’t too long. The pictures don’t do it justice: there are four separate waterfalls, and huge towering slot canyons.

The rest of spring break was spent doing smaller activities around home, like the park, library, and a short trip to Lagoon at the end.

I was a bit buried in March. My business started up a bit. I’m mostly waiting for my landscape contractor license to go through so I can do some installs this spring. I did have a couple of projects to keep me busy, though, and started on garden maintenance. The flowers came out, and we had record-breaking hot temperatures. There’s been track, kids play, and basketball. And annoying things like chores, check-ups. For fun, a bike ride, a fishing trip, a jet lag game in Daybreak, and going out to Thanksgiving Point occasionally. We’ve been working on preparing for Trek, which is two months away (I’m basically in charge…). And finally, a trip to the opening day of Lagoon, where we did lose a kid, but not for long. We have season tickets there this year, so we’ll go back and try not to lose anyone next time.

I didn’t get to go snowshoeing all winter. There was never enough snow. We went out to Utah Lake. Henry did not want to go, but by the end, he was enjoying himself immensely. Going on adventures is often like that. It was a good hike: with tree climbing, birdwatching, hide-and-seek, and throwing rocks in the water.

Later, we went up into the mountains and found a small bit of snow to sled and make a snowman. It was a bit lackluster compared to other times I’ve been to this location due to the lack of snow. The final hike of the winter was to a waterfall up Provo Canyon. It was a beautiful hike. But also, no snow. I quite enjoyed spending time outside, but next year I’m hoping to enjoy a winterwonderland every once in a while.

We had a good Valentine’s Day. I always make Valentine’s for the kids and Joe, and we’ll do something fun for breakfast. This year was coffee cake muffins and donuts. Basketball season has wrapped up, Peter’s really done well, and Curtis has improved a lot. We went up to the Olympic Park, which is a fun thing to do during the Winter Olympics.

January went quickly. No snow the whole month, which is odd. I spent so much time going to basketball games: between Curtis and Peter, there were at least four games a week. They are both doing well. Curtis is scoring more, and Peter has worked his way up to play in the JV games consistently. We also did a two-week karate stint with Zack, which he enjoyed.

Adventure-wise, we went to Brigham City to visit Grandpa and attend the temple there with the three oldest boys. Henry wanted to go back there: we lived two blocks from the temple for years, and now that he was old enough, he wanted to go inside. We also stopped by the local museum and a park.

I went on a hike with my sister and parents up by Donut Falls. It was a beautiful winter hike, unfortunately, a little too long for Evie, who was cold and hungry and not happy on the way back. A dish of mac and cheese cheered her up.

We also went to the local high school for a Chinese New Year celebration. The kids loved it: a performance with Chinese yo-you, aerials, dances, and music, followed by some food and booths with Chinese-themed activities.

Lately, I’ve been going through a bit of a shift in my thinking patterns. Maybe it was the free mindful course I went through, years of various dives into meaningful non-fiction, growing up a bit, or the various goals and intentions I set for myself. Whatever it was, I’ve felt more content in life.

So we’ve had the winter with the least amount of snow ever: It’s okay, I’ll enjoy warm days and never having to shovel snow. My to-do list always seems to get longer: That’s not a problem, I’ll do what I can and try to prioritize. My business isn’t really progressing: I’ll pivot to something that will more closely match what people need instead of what I want to do. Children can be frustrating: I’ll focus on being patient and firm and not controlling their behavior when I really can’t anyway.

Acceptance of life’s disappointments is very hard to learn. Serenity seems so out of reach sometimes. But I find that if I focus on living the best I can and not worrying over everything that isn’t important, to truly give myself grace, it is possible.

We did go up to Tibble Fork again this year. So little snow, but we did get some play time in.

What do you do when winter break has no snow? It’s been the warmest winter, so plans to play out in the snow haven’t happened. But there is still a lot to do.

We planned a day trip. The plans underwent many iterations, and what we ended up doing was going out to the West Desert. We haven’t explored that area much, and it isn’t too far away. Our first stop was to Paul Bunyon’s Woodpile, which is a short hike to an amazing rock formation. It takes some scrambling to get into it, but it’s well worth it.

Next, we went to the Little Sahara to play in the sand dunes. My kids like sand, and we were even able to get a little sledding in. What is not pictured is the fact that it is still winter, even if it’s warm and quite windy. The wind made our stay rather short.

The next stop was probably our family’s favorite and the best for the weather, Baker Hot Springs. The trick about going to hot springs in the cold is to stay in long enough to get your body temperature up so you don’t feel that cold when you exit. We stopped at the Topaz museum, which was excellent, and ended with dinner in Delta. Great little day trip.

Other places we went over the break included a game of Jet Lag with cousins, an indoor playground with the three littlest, the park, a trampoline park with everyone, Costco, which is way fun if you think of games like find the most expensive item, the butterfly and dino museums at Thanksgiving Point, the Zoo (go when it’s cold, the animals are more active), a New Year’s overnight party at my sister’s, a short hike, more time with cousins, a double date with my sister to make chocolates, and a train ride to the Planetarium. We fit a lot in! And I loved it.

When we were on our way home from the Planetarium, we were running to catch a tram car and missed it. Except for Henry. Henry got on by himself. Luckily, the tram was only two stops away from the train stop, where the tram car sat for 15 minutes before turning around. The train stop was a short walking distance away, so we took off in search of Henry. He’d gotten off at the next stop, we met up, and all got on the train together and successfully got home. There was mild panic, but it all worked out.

Family:

• Christmas Card
• Peter is in 10th grade. He played basketball for Lehi Junior High and now the Skyridge Sophomore team, where he is the starting center. He also played flag football and continued his job officiating sports.
• Curtis is in 8th grade. He played tackle football as a lineman and played basketball. He is pretty good at ceramics and plays a lot of video games. He also likes to work out and occasionally read.
• Henry is in 5th grade and is doing well in the A.L.L. gifted class. He performed in a few plays, and garden club with Mom. He’s learning to play piano.
• Zack is now in first grade. It’s been a struggle, but he is picking up reading and doing well. He participated in flag football, basketball, and swimming. He invites friends over all the time.
• Evelina started preschool. It keeps her adventurous spirit busy. She sings, loves cats, and pink.
• Joe: He continues to work at Lone Peak Hospital, mentored a student there, and loves to work in his shop, wood turning.
• For traveling this year, we went to the Grand Canyon, Capitol Reef, Black Hills, Island Park, Bear Lake, Goblin Valley, and the West Desert.
• There were also lots of local adventures, hikes, park visits, and fun times at home.

My Career:

• My full-time career is my family, so see above.
• For my side business, I had a few design clients and started more than I finished. But there is a newsletter now, and some articles have been published. I wrote a handbook to the first draft stage, then abandoned it to work on design articles.

Home:

• We were able to remodel the last part of our home that needed updating: the bathroom. And it already needs some repairs from doing the floor incorrectly, and we never did finish the shower portion.
• We painted our bedroom and finally got a bed (we had a mattress on the floor for years).
• Otherwise, things have gone into more maintenance mode. We did add a small pond in the front yard, plants here and there, and a new couch. The bedrooms were rearranged too, when my Grandpa passed away.

Ministry:

• The boys were active participants with Young Men’s at church and Joe was one of their leaders. He was released halfway through the year and is now in Sunday School.
• I switched from a counselor to a secretary in Relief Society. I like being the secretary. Joe and I were also called as Trek leaders for next year.
• I volunteered at the school for the garden club, the take-home library, and occasionally with the PTA.
• I continued a personal goal program with my sisters we dubbed Mountain Club. I also did a session with the Proper Mountain Women’s Club.

Merry Christmas! A season full of Christmas lights, Santa, Nativities, families, and presents. I’m immensely grateful I have an awesome family to share it with.

For Thanksgiving this year, my husband’s family came over. We had a great meal, lots of good company…but my meal looked a little different. I headed into my Grandpa’s room and ate with him. He’s 94, and we’ve lived with him for the past three years. Recently, he’s declined a lot, and I don’t expect him to be around much longer. It was a privilege to spend a quiet meal with just him.

There have been more beautiful moments recently: we went to the hot springs with cousins, set up Christmas decorations, and did a scavenger hunt that ended with playing hide and seek in a furniture store (highly recommend, but try to find a store without a lot of salesmen). And even some quiet time for walks in the woods. There is a lot of beauty in the world: the wild beauty that we don’t create but is waiting for us if we stop to pay attention.