This is a fun hike we did above Weber State University. We found it by accident a few years back and this year we went on purpose. My kids love fitness trails, even if they are old and in great need of repair.

We also finished up Junior Jazz. I was actually the coach for Peter’s team. Last year his coach didn’t seem to care that much, and because he likes basketball so much I know he needed a coach that did a decent job. And the only way you can ensure such a thing is volunteering.

We had a 5-2 record. Some games were complete blowouts, and the two losses were very close. The last game was a very disappointing loss by two points. It’s why some of the kids appear so sad in the pictures below.

I did not expect to absolutely love coaching the kids. Every kid scored at least once in a game and most of them made a lot of progress and improvement. It was fun to get to know all the kids and I loved teaching them how to play basketball.

Peter is an awesome basketball player too. His dream of NBA just might happen. This year I was pleased to see that when they were losing he didn’t get anxious and upset: he just kept playing hard.

What follows is the system I currently use to improve my life, divided into seven steps. And because everything is better in graphic form, here it is:

Step 1: Inventory

I take stock of who I am and where I am in life. This includes writing down some basic personality traits, talents, my roles, what I identify with.

Step 2: Vision

I write down who I want to be. I divide this into four categories: spirit, mind, heart, and body. You can use phrases that have a lot of motivation and meaning to you, as well as pictures. With this step, don’t write down things you want to do: write down who you want to be and the lifestyle you want to live. For instance, I don’t write down, “I want to get a graduate degree and get a job at a top landscape architecture firm.’ (That comes later.) I would write down, “I want to continue to learn throughout my life and have meaningful work.”

Step 3: Habits

Habits are drawn directly from your vision. They are things you do on a daily or weekly basis that create the lifestyle you want. Habits are things that you anticipating doing indefinitely and many of the resolutions and goals we make should be considered habits. Habits include things like: go to bed early, exercise, and read scripture daily, etc.

Step 4: Repair

This step is about overcoming and eliminating or reducing our weaknesses and problems.

Step 5: Design

During this step, I write down everything I want to accomplish in my life. Some people refer to it as a “bucket list.”

Step 6: Goals

I divide my goals into four categories that are focused on accomplishment and related to my vision: church or ministry for spirit, career for mind, family/social for heart, and home/environment for body. If you ever heard of SMART goals, this is where you make them. I like to make goals on a season basis every three months.

Step 7: Advance

This step encourages you to reflect on all the other steps and explore other ways you want to live your life and help others.

***

This is an updated version of this resource I wrote out. You are welcome to check out the old one, but I think the updates make more sense. If there’s interest I can expand further, just comment below. Also, this was inspired in part by Allan Savory’s work which I recommend. If you don’t care about livestock, this version is more focused on life goals.

We had a free Saturday, and I took the two little children sledding.

Curtis finished up his basketball season. He had a great team, and loved playing

Life is full of beautiful things if you are paying attention. And don’t mind taking freezing walks.

We decided to take a trip up to Hardware Ranch and see the Elk. Besides long lines we had a good time.

Peter wanted a picture of smiling Zack. I didn’t have a good one, so we attempted to take some. It turned out to be not a simple task.

Zack is growing up. He squeals and screams more than laughs.He started to play with toys and puts everything in his mouth. His favorite things are anything crinkly.

We had some fun times in January. On Martin Luther King Day, we drove down to Salt Lake. First, we went to the Discovery Children’s Museum. Then we hopped on Trax and went downtown where we wandered around City Creek and had lunch at the Lion House. We finished up the day at The Leonardo.

1)It was a bit of an expensive day. Especially when you add on an extra stop at Fanzz for basketball jerseys. We did get the kids in free to the museums which is why we went. Oh, and we rode Trax in the free zone. I am a very frugal person and I don’t think that’s going to change ever. I am in no way poor, and yet I still hate spending money.

2)I loved riding the train. So did the kids. Yes, it would have been faster to drive. But riding the train is fun. I don’t think Joe agrees with us

Another adventure involved a Junior Jazz party at Vivant.

1)We went early so the kids could be in this random video. We were there for a long time. And I’m not into waiting in line for random things and prizes.

2)Mike Conley was there (not in any official way, just with his kids). My Peter was able to get his Conley jersey signed by him. Epic.

 

I think the key to surviving winter is to still go outside and do things.

On the very first day of the year, I wanted to take the family on a hike. Last time we were up at Mantua, I thought it would be a lot of fun to walk all the way across the frozen lake. I suggested this to the boys, and they were actually enthusiastic. Peter never wants to go hiking, and he thought it sounded fun. So, off we went.

It was a bit snowy, but we weren’t too concerned. It is only a half-mile across the lake, and the journey out there was rather fun. We made it across no problem.

Then the snow started to pick up. And we had to hike back into the wind, instead of having the wind at our backs. What started out quite pleasant turned into what felt like a course in winter survival. We were pelted with snow and could no longer see across to the other side of the lake.

There were no other options, so we started the miserable walk back. Because we couldn’t see very well, we were often going the wrong way and had to correct course, forming a zig-zag back instead of a straight line. I was so proud of the children for not complaining and just putting down their heads and hiking. (Zack slept through the whole thing. He was very bundled next to Mom.)

We made it back a bit soggily. The kids went down a hill sledding, and then we went home and had hot chocolate. And in all actuality, the whole hike only took an hour. A very memorable hour.

 

Zack: I’m staring out with Zack, because he was the biggest news of our family in 2019. Our year started out with learning he was coming this year, and then he surprised us some more by coming five weeks early and spending almost three weeks in the NICU learning to eat. We love having him and seeing him grow, three thumbs and all.

Henry: Henry started the year in daycare, and switched to preschool when the school year started. He played soccer, and loves cuddle time, art, and is actively learning to read.

Curtis: Curtis finished first grade and started second. He’s in Spanish immersion and is tolerating school. He did football, soccer, and basketball, and also did some piano. He loves playing with friends and most of all video games.

Peter: Peter finished third grade and started fourth. He loves school. He played football, soccer, and continues to improve on the piano. His favorite thing is of course basketball. He loves the NBA and shoots hoops every day.

Liz: Liz is over halfway through her masters in landscape architecture program, but then decided to add a second degree in instructional technology because she loves school. The children, home and garden keep her life busy.

Joe: Joe continued his employment at Pioneer Care Center, but did switch employers halfway through the year when the company he works for was bought out. He started working at Maple Springs occasionally to add some variety. He continues to love woodturning in his spare time, which isn’t very much.

We went on lots of small vacations to Moab, St. George, Capitol Reef, City of Rocks, Twin Falls, and Grandma’s house. We took a big vacation to Las Vegas, Sequoia and Yosemite. We grew a big garden in our new raised beds we built this year. Liz still drags everyone out hiking all the time, and we went swimming and found lots of opportunities to have fun.

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