MEMORIAL HOLIDAY.......Family Reunions, Camping, Riding.....

We had a really fun Memorial Holiday!! We woke up WAY early on Saturday morning and took the motorcycle and Rhino up past Tibble Fork (Paul knows the name of all the trails and stuff but all I know is that we went up quite a bit from the dam.) Brayden rode his motorcycle most of the time unless it got too steep, muddy or we had to cross a river or something, then my dare-devil husband rode it until we got to a safe spot. There were a few times that I couldn't watch because he was slipping and sliding going up the steep rocky mountain.

As soon as we got home, Paul Kaiden and I got ready and went to a family reunion for my mom's side of the family. We ate lunch, which my mom brought for all of our family, (thanks mom) sat around and talked and the kids (and Paul) played catch and played in the park. Mckay came home with us and he and Kaiden played the rest of the day until we went up to my dad's to watch the playoff game.

After church on Sunday, we went out West with my dad and rode some more and camped over night. We got hit by a BIG rain storm but it only lasted about 20 min. Everyone kept getting on me because I had taken one of the MANY books I have been reading, that I haven't gotten around to finishing. I figured that since I didn't have a messy house to worry about, I could sit and read without feeling guilty. I didn't read the whole time we were there but I did decide that the next time we go out camping, we need to pull out some of the games we brought....

Baseball season is here.....

I've probably said it before, but I LOVE baseball season. I'm not sure if it is the warm weather or the excitement at the ballpark, but I love watching Kaiden and the rest of our boys play baseball. Last week, Kaiden was given the game ball by his coaches for pitching in his first REAL game of the season. I was SO nervous for him. I think it is so much pressure on the pitcher that I worry for Kaiden when he is the one pitching. He did really well for his first time.... He walked a few of the boys, struck out two of them and didn't hit any of them (he had hit a few during practice games so this was a big thing) Every year he gets so much better so it is even more fun to watch.

Happy Mother's Day!!

I know I am late on this but I can't skip a Mother's day post. I had a REALLY good Mother's Day, (even though Paul and I had to speak in sacrament.) I was a nervous wreck before church because I didn't think that my talk had come together like I wanted it to ( You would think that with a topic like "Mothers," I would have had an easy time but I really had soooo much I could talk about, that I didn't know what I wanted to say.) There was one point, right before sacrament started, that Paul had to grab my hand so I would stop shaking. (That just shows you how bad I hate talking in front of people but I'm so glad that my cute husband was there to hold my hand) My mom, dad, brother, his girlfriend, my grandma and Paul's mom and dad came to support us. I'm so glad they were there, even if at first I was hoping no one would show up (not even anyone in my ward) We made it through our talks though, and I think they turned out pretty good.......I don't know if mine and Paul's personal stories showed just how imperfect we really are, but we had a lot of people come up to us and tell us that they enjoyed our talks and that they didn't make them feel bad or guilty or like they were being preached to. I guess that's a good thing, right?

After church, Paul, Kaiden and I went to dinner, over to my mom's and dad's and then to Paul's mom's and dad's. It was a really nice day and what a better thing to celebrate than being a mom and having the best mom and mother-in-law. I LOVE being a mom!! I think that it is one of the greatest blessings I have been given. Sometimes I think that being a single mom was even a great blessing for me. Instead of having to focus on a husband and other kids, I was able to focus all my energies on being Kaiden's mom. I'm not saying that it was easy and I don't ever want to go back to being single but I think it was a blessing in disguise and a growing experience that I am thankful for. I am so grateful to be Kaiden's mom and a step mom to Brayden, Akoy and Kove. I am so grateful to have the mom that I have and to have her as my best friend. She has been through A LOT with me, I don't know what I would do without her. I have a great mother-in-law too. Paul's mom is so sweet and such a great example to me. Happy Mother's day to all the great Mother's I know!!

I love Paul because.......

I have decided that I need to be more appreciative of my husband, who he is and all that he does for me and our boys. I hate to admit it but sometimes I have days that I am grumpy with him. Most of the time he hasn't even done anything, it's more of me stressing out about how hard it is blending our family, having to deal with an ex or just plain "being in a bad mood." Paul has been such a blessing in mine and Kaiden's lives and I want to have something to remind me of all that he does for us. So, every once in a while I am going to blog about the reasons I love him. Then, if I am having "one of those days," or just want to look back on all the great things he has done, I have my blog to look back on. I'm sorry if I get mushy or even cheesy but I need to do this.......

So today I have to say that I am SO grateful that he always tells me that he loves me. Sometimes he sends me cute texts during the day or tells me at night or when he is kissing me goodbye in the morning but I don't think there have been very many days that have gone by that he hasn't told me. (I never realized how great it was to have someone love you so much until I now have that someone) AND he always makes sure he kisses me goodbye ,every morning before he goes to work.(even when he is mad at me :) Oh and one more! He loves the Gospel and tries to live it every day. He is ALWAYS willing to serve wherever he is asked to. He is the cute 6 and 7 year old kid's teacher in Primary and he doesn't complain about "just being in Primary" ever. He was even ok with giving a talk on Mother's Day (not that I am too mad that I have to, also) He has been through a lot of crazy things in his life and made a HUGE commitment to the church a few years back and is strengthening his testimony every day. I love that Kaiden has a great example in our home of someone who honors their priesthood and who is so willing to serve in the church.

I love Paul for so many reasons, sometimes I forget how much I love him....It's good to think about this so I don't focus on how crazy our life is...just how great it is.