Last time I tried to take pictures of Brighton, she refused to look at the camera even one single time. She was just singing, exploring and entertaining herself. When I would ask her to look at me, she would say, “Be patient!”I felt like I was pretty patient, but no matter how long I waited, she just kept insisting that I be patient

I have been sick for the past week and am getting REALLY sick of being sick! It started last Friday with the fever and chills. Then I felt decent on Sunday and even went to church, where I got sustained as 2nd counselor in the Relief Society. I feel really blessed for the opportunity to serve with such amazing women. And, I love enrichment! So, this should be really fun. Well, just when I thought I was on the mend…I started to lose my voice. By Tuesday, I could not make a sound. I had two options. I could either whisper or I could squeak. All day long, Brighton would look me straight in the eyes and forcefully say, “Mom, talk youder!!!” I was just counting my blessings that even though I sounded really sick, I actually felt fine. Well, by that night, I felt yucky. It has just gone from bad to worse. So, all this week, I have been dealing with headaches, earaches, a sore throat, runny nose, etc. I want to be healthy again!!!

Oh, but I am going to pass along a favorite product with you. Sarah introduced me to Wally’s ear oil. I am all about natural remedies and knew that garlic oil is good for ear infections. So, I was happy to give it a try. Well, this is a fabulous product! It contains sweet almond oil, eucalyptus Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Mullein Extract, Echinacea Oil and Garlic Oil. We call it the magic drops. It is miraculous how quickly it works!

Jase is our little love baby! He started crawling about a month ago and it is so funny to watch him move around. He crawls on his left knee and his right foot. Always. He never switches sides and he never uses both knees, though he could probably move faster if he would realize that he is supposed to crawl on both knees. Then, just this week, his first little tooth appeared! His second bottom tooth will pop through any day. I cannot believe how big he is getting!

After my Dad’s surgery, Karli and I had to leave Tucson while he was still waking up from anesthesia. Even though I had talked to him on the phone and knew that he was doing so much better, I still really wanted to see him for myself. So, when Brett and Holly invited our family and my parents up to the cabin in Greer, I was so excited. Not only was it so reassuring to see my Dad, it was also a fabulous vacation in the mountains!

Our first morning there, we all went on a walk. My Dad even joined us! He stopped to rest along the way and we caught up with him on the way back. At the end of the road, the kids all piled on a trailer for a picture:

After our walk, Holly and I sat on the porch with my Dad and just talked.

Then, we packed a picnic lunch and headed out to the lake for some fishing.

Since the fish weren’t biting, BJ and Brett used some bacon as bait and caught some crawfish.

The kids had so much fun watching the dads catch tons and tons of crawdads. Their job was to use their empty soda pop cans to collect water to add to the crawdad bucket.

Once it started raining, we all headed back to the cabin. But, BJ and Brett were not discouraged by the rain. As soon as they found a sturdier net, they headed right back out. Check out their haul…

Later, we went for a drive and saw so many elk and deer. It was amazing! Then, along with our dinner that night, we got to taste some crawfish. That was fun…too bad I didn’t get a picture of the pot full of cooked crawdads.

The next morning, BJ and Brighton went into Springerville to get the flat tire fixed, while the rest of us went down to the Little Colorado River. You would think that the kids would be so happy and playful, but no…they were whining and crying about wanting to go back to the cabin. So, Brett told the kids that every whiner got to start walking back to the cabin with him. Look at this train of whiners…

But, once it was time for ice cream, all the kids were miraculously happy!

The next day was Sunday. After church, we stopped by the tin wall that Holly discovered on a previous trip and took a couple of pictures.

Later that day, we ventured out again to get some pictures in scenic Greer…

As we were getting ready to leave the cabin and make our journey home, Addy said, “I wish we could stay here for a thousand, million years!” Me too, Addy! It sure was fun!