We bid farewell to Cali this morning and headed to St. George.
California was great to us! We had beautiful weather, gorgeous sunsets, perfect waves, and great memories.
It is always good to let go of the things that concern us in our daily lives. The things that fight for our attention. Sometimes we just need to put those on hold and just soak up life.
I feel like we did a little of that this week.
The soaking up part.
I will always treasure watching A.J., with his little sisters, playing with them like only a big brother can.
I will never forget the feeling in my heart as I watched each of Easton's sisters cheer him on as he learned to surf!
I love the closeness I feel to Heavenly Father as I stare out at the ocean.
I loved seeing the kids fight over who gets to hold the slugs first, race to the top of the Hollywood sign, and devour all the yummy food California had to offer.
But, I do believe, seeing them shoulder-to-shoulder on the steps of the Newport Beach temple and the green grass of the St.George Temple will be a couple scenes that will engrave on my heart!
This picture may be completely gross and inappropriate, but I think this is the thing that we laughed about the hardest the entire trip. (A.J. and Annie, however, were not laughing at all!)
Here is the story:
We stopped for a potty break, and when we got back in the car, Annie DID NOT want to crawl to the back and buckle-up.
She began to have a little bit of a meltdown.
She had snot running out of her nose, and she actually began foaming at the mouth.
John informed her that we were not going to go until she was buckled, and when we turned around this is what we saw.
Snot and foaming!
A.J. was trying to convince her sweetly, but when he saw her face, he freaked out.
You probably had to be there, but it was hilarious!
Annie foaming, and A.J. squealing!
The rest of us were laughing so hard that we almost needed another potty break!
I always forget how beautiful all the rock formations are in Utah. Just beautiful!
This is John trying to calculate just how long it will take us to get home.
For the record, it was a long drive, and we decided we are too old to pull in at 2am, so a hotel stay will be in order next time. :)
The sun was a little bright for Tym Tym!
I love the St.George temple.
Beautiful windows, Gorgeous setting, One-of-a-kind!
This is one way to make me love it even more...put my forever right there on the lawn!
Annie~Madison~Easton~Ellie~Tymber~Brooke~A.J.
Brooke kissing our family vacation good-bye!
I love this shot of Annie.
So symbolic in so many ways.
The stairs to the temple are steep, but they are straight.
We can all make it if we just climb our way to the top.
It doesn't symbolize perfection, just effort.
I love that Annie's feet are dirty.
Sometimes our feet get dirty in the process, but we know where to turn and what to do.
I love my life.
I love my family.
I am so grateful to be a mother.
This is the last scene from our vacation:
Annie hogging the backseat.
Annie was on meltdown again, and wanted the backseat all to herself.
Kids moved over and squeezed together in seat belts, but that wasn't good enough.
She wanted the entire seat to her pretty little self.
The crying stopped.
I couldn't believe it.
I turned around, and this is what I saw.
Easton sitting up in the window, while Annie had the whole seat to her pretty little self!
We let it stay that way for about 10 minutes before John and I decided that listening to Annie cry was better than losing our Easton forever in an accident!
Ten minutes later, everyone was buckled, Annie went to sleep, and John and I enjoyed the silence of our drive with still FOUR hours to go!
