Our BIG Summer Project

We now have a usable, playable, enjoyable backyard! We love it, it was a ton of work but now that it's done it was definitely worth it.  We started working on the backyard the beginning of June and finished it the end of August. Anybody who has been to Las Vegas knows that June-August are the most miserable months we have, and the heat is intense! We got very sweaty! We would start working every night around 5 and stop around 11. We worked pretty much every night except for when we were out of town. When we moved in there was already a retaining wall but we pushed it back about 4 feet to give us more usable space and we added two more rows of bricks to it.  That may not sound like a big deal, but out of everything we did the process of moving the wall back was by far the hardest thing. First we had to take down all of the bricks to get them out of the way, and each one weighs 60 pounds, with a total of 245 bricks that equals 14,700 pounds!  Then the real work began, we spent hour after hour after hour, night after night digging away at all of the extra dirt. Mason and I each had our own pick axe and got very familiar with it, this is the definition of backbreaking work, man was it hard dirt! Mason built a grate that we poured all of the extra dirt through to separate the dirt from the rocks. We kept the dirt to smooth out our lot and hauled away 8 big truckloads of rocks and big boulders to the desert. Once we had that done the rest seemed like a piece of cake and was kind of fun because things started to look good. I'm really happy with how everything turned out.

This is how real boys go #2

Dirt Biking in Undies

This is a picture of the grate that Mason built to sift our dirt. I'm so glad that he is so handy, he did a great job on everything, smoothing out our lot, building a nice straight wall, installing the sprinkling system. He's great!

The boys loved "helping."

Finally...the day for grass has come!

I made Mason take a picture of the tools he made before we got rid of them. The picture above is the ramp Mason made to push the wheelbarrow up into his Dad's truck so that he could just dump the wheelbarrow rather than us having to shovel into the truck. Below is a picture of the grate for sifting dirt and something he made to help smooth out the dirt, I thought it was pretty clever.

My Little Soccer Player

It's official, I am now a Soccer Mom! Cooper had his first Soccer practice yesterday! Cooper's cousin, Parker is on his team, it's going to be a blast. It was so much fun to watch all these 3 year olds running around trying to play soccer. When practice was over Cooper said "Mom, that was so much fun!" When we got home Cooper went right to the backyard and practiced for about 45 minutes, he wanted me to keep blowing the whistle like the coach (one whistle means go, two means stop), and he kept asking Mason to build him a goal. It's fun to see Cooper so excited, but it sure was hard to get him to come inside for the night! 

I Miss You Jalidia!

Wow... I did not anticipate today being so hard! Today when I woke up I knew that it would be a hard day, but I felt strong, now I find myself overcome with emotion.  Today is September 13th, my beautiful little sister Jalidia's birthday, she would have been 16 today.  Today would have been a day filled with excitement for her, finally old enough to date cute boys and get her driver's license. Today would have been such a happy day, but Jalidia is not here with us, today marks six months since the day she left this life.  I can't believe it's been 6 months, it seems like it's been so much longer than that, but at the same time it seems so vivid, like we just lost her yesterday. 

I can quite honestly say that this has been the most difficult and trying time in my entire life. Never has my faith in our loving Savior Jesus Christ been so tested. I have had moments when I feel great peace and comfort and then other moments when it feels impossible to feel anything but deep sorrow and despair. What I have learned is that even in those moments of darkness and loneliness we need to hold onto the times when we have felt the love and strength of our Savior and hold onto that. What I want more than anything right now is to wrap my arms around my sweet little sister and tell her how deeply I love her and miss her, there are many things I don’t understand about this life and why we have to endure the private trials that each one of us face, but one thing I know is that the only way I will be able to be with my sister again is through our loving Savior Jesus Christ. He is the only way; I know that it is through Him that my sister lives on, just as each of us will after we have left this life. Jesus said “I am the resurrection, and the life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live!”

Elder Donald L. Hallstrom of the Presidency of the Seventy said  "Throughout the world and among the membership of the Church, there is great joy and great pain. Both are part of the plan. Without one, we cannot know the other. “Men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi 2:25) and “for it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things” (2 Nephi 2:11) are not contradictory; they are complementary. In describing how he felt when he turned to the Lord, Alma the Younger said, “My soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain” (Alma 36:20).”

I have learned that life is so very good, even when it is so terribly difficult. The challenge is recognizing the good, and being grateful for all of it. It's easier said than done, and it has been a daily struggle for me. But I know that the days when I turn to the Lord for strength, His love helps me get through the pain, and I am able to better recognize how very blessed I am.

I have found great comfort in the book "The GATEWAY We Call Death" by Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Twelve Apostles he says "Each marvelous moment is both a mystery and a miracle. While mourning, may we not take life's wonder for granted." "Those we call dead are not dead at all. They are alive---on the other side of the veil.... The happiness found in this life is only a sample of the everlasting joy that awaits us later. If any of us mourn for lost loved ones today, we can be comforted and know that in due time "God shall wipe away all tears... and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. (Revelation 21:4)"

I am grateful for my life, I am grateful that sweet Jalidia is my sister, that we will all be together again as a family after this life. I love my sister, and I love my Savior Jesus Christ who made it possible for me to be with my sister again. I love my sweet husband who has loved me and strengthened me through these difficult months, I am grateful for my two precious boys who remind me every day how fun life is, I love my amazing Mom and Dad who continue to be wonderful examples of faith and strength to me, and I am so thankful for each and every one of my 12 brothers & sisters and all that they have taught me. Life is hard, but it is so good, and I'm grateful for each day that I am blessed with.

Always tell those whom you love that you love them, you never know when you will see them again. 

Each day is a gift.

Enjoy Life!

Cooper Is Growing Up!

This week Cooper started preschool/joyschool. He has been so excited to start, and he loves it! He goes with a group of kids that he knows from church and the moms take turns teaching it. My Cooper sure is getting big! 

Cooper loves showing off his giant muscles!

I sure love this kid!

Cabin Time

Summertime always means it's time to go play at the cabin that Mason's parents have by Kolob reservoir. We love it and always have a blast. We went last month for a quick little getaway, just the four of us.  It was too quick we only stayed one night, but crammed in as much fun as we could before we had to leave. We sure love that place!

Boys will Boys!

Cooper REALLY wanted a picture with Dane, but Dane wouldn't cooperate.It made Cooper pretty upset.

Cooper always loves finding Horny Toads at the cabin.

We went for a really long ride and Cooper & Mason ran out of gas.

Luckily Mason got it going again and made it back with just enough in the reserve tank.

That sure was fun!!