It's Time to Go Private...

I think it is finally time to take this family scrapbook of ours private. I've resisted it for years. :) But people aren't reading family blogs as much as they used to, with the rise of instagram and all, and this blog contains so much about our family... It's just time.

So if you would like an email invite to access this blog in the future, please let me know! Include your email address if I might not have it.

(You can still keep up with us by following Let Why Lead, too.)

Thanks, dear friends and family!

The Homestead Crater

A couple days after Christmas (see post below this one), we went with Kyle to the Homestead crater hot springs in Midway. This is a must-do in Utah! If there are three things I love, it's being somewhere beautiful, being with people I love, and being warm. So this fit the bill perfectly.

You need a reservation, which is nice because it keeps the water from being crowded. The water temp is consistent and not too hot, and everyone has to wear a life jacket, so it was actually a great place for kids. The only casualty was Trenton's snorkel, which sunk much too deep for any of us to reach, despite Kyle's efforts to catch it after *I* dropped it! (I owe T a snorkel! Sorry, Santa!)

At first Quinn was hilariously stoic, which is unusual for her. (The lifejacket pushed her chubby cheeks up just like a squirrel. :) But after a little while in the water she mellowed out, leaned back, and spent most of the time splashing contentedly with her arms and legs.

T was a PRO, zipping around with his green mask and snorkel from Santa! And Chase was happy trying out the goggles and relaxing with the pool noodle we found.

We were especially glad to have an extra set of adult hands when it came time to get everyone out of the water and dressed again before going back out into the snowy world. :) It was so fun having Kyle there, and we didn't mind trying out his new GoPro either!

Next time we'll just have to plan it so the entire family can come along! 

Christmas in Utah - 2013

It's the little moments of a trip that I love the most, like watching Chase help Julia make the cranberry sauce from scratch and sneaking a photo of Greg offering Quinn a baby doll to entertain her while I gave the boys a bath on Christmas day. 

It's hanging out on the couch with a baby in footy pajamas, having long conversations covering meaningful topics, like gay marriage and faith and relationships. 

It's trying to pose four couples for a picture and realizing there is no way to do it that won't look cheesy, so why not pretend we're a choo-choo train? (See bottom.) 

It's the night when Quinn is randomly awake and giddy-happy in her pack-n-play from 10pm-12am and Trenton is deliriously sleep talking that entire time. (Mom, what is that? Pause. Mom, can I touch it? Pause. Mom, is that Quinn?? Pause. HI QUINN! in his happy, high-pitched voice.)

It's the hour—after Trenton finally throws up at midnight and finally falls into a peaceful sleep—when Quinn suddenly wakes up feverish and inconsolable, but your husband manages to get her to fall asleep on his chest.

It's noticing Quinn's hand on Trenton's mouth while she drinks her bottle—and being reminded how incredibly comfortable they are with each other. 

It's every single conversation you catch Great-Grandpa having with your children, especially the boy who shares his name. It's the peppermints he pulls out of their ears and their belief that it is doing "good things" that puts them there. 

It's the slow-mo video of your family sledding down an icy hill. It's the fact that one of your kids is perfectly content using a discarded piece of plastic to "chisel" away at the ice, while the other goes on ride after ride just for the thrill. 

Yep, those are the moments I love most about vacation. 

And by the way, Trenton is becoming quite the recreational companion for his dad! He's already better on skis than I am! Go T!