See ya, 2015

So long, 2015. Let's be honest, you were a doozy. Nevertheless, we had some good times too. The Word Of The Year was "DO," and do we did. Here's a little review of the ups and downs of 2015:




The very first day of the year, my brother's roof literally came crashing down from burst water pipes in his ceiling. He and his family stayed at our house for a month or so while his apartment was fixed. We all learned a lot about living with other people, and we enjoyed the company. Plus, I got to cook my first pheasant, compliments of my brother's hunting prowess.

I got to try out my snowshoes, and did some hiking, more hiking, more snowshoeing, and even more hiking!

Taking a leap and turning in a piece of artwork for the LDS International Art Competition was scary! I hadn't focused that hard on a finished piece of artwork in a long time, but it came together with a steady schedule and purpose. That was a lot of work, but I learned a lot about my art process along the way.

I had been really interested in beekeeping and took a class about it. I loved it! Bees are so amazing and I feel like we are kindred spirits. Oh tiny sisters, I love you! Unfortunately, we can't have bees in our current house, so it will need to wait until we have a different home.

I got back into rock climbing! It had been years since I last enjoyed it, but with a trusty friend to show me the ropes again, I took it up again and had some of my best lunch breaks!

For my birthday, we took a trip to Zion National Park with friends and went on some wicked cool hikes. We got to do some light bouldering and also visited the Valley of Fire, which will forever hold a special place in my heart. We stopped by a crazy cool ghost town and of course an old cemetery. We played games and talked without any children interrupting. Yes, it's a thing!

Not too soon after that, Kirk got laid off due to the dip in the oil market. Well, poop. While it was a major bummer, we looked for the silver lining and decided to move forward as a single income family with a stay-at-home parent. What a lucky kid we have! We had to make some major adjustments. It was a palette cleanser and turned out to be the catalyst for many life introspections and realignments in our lifestyle and the direction in which we want our family to go. All good things, but a painful route.

With a clear and free schedule, we were able to attend a wedding in San Diego last minute. The sunshine was just what we needed, the little kid got to go to the beach for the first time, and we got to see family that we hadn't seen in forever. Cousins, guys.

I got up the guts to submit my first piece of art to the Springville Museum of Art's Spring Salon. It was so much work too, but I am proud of the final product and loved the way the piece turned out.

Also, I got up the courage to get my own website up and running. There are a lot of moving parts and every time I would change something, I would discover 10 more things that I needed to do. Gah! So. Much. Work. But also, it's a labor of love that I'm super proud of! And, I got some business cards made, which helped me feel a lot more official. Being a business owner has been so rewarding and I can't believe I waited so long to get started. Once I got through all the worrying in my brain and got things done, it finally came together. I finally found my purpose and style, which was a major win!

I had my first art booth at the Beehive Bazaar last spring! For some reason, it was a super scary step for me to take but I was blown away by all the support from friends and family and was humbled that people liked my art enough to buy it. Thank you, friends! And, I got more comments on my booth than anything else. Kirk made it for me to display my wares. Isn't it amazing?

Our family took part in a fun run.

We were in charge of a large family reunion, and it was full of crazy fun times and crazy fun people. We hiked along a petroglyph ridge, visited our old stomping grounds in Nevada, spent time splashing in the pool, and swapped stories. We also got to spend some time with our little family visiting Zion again, and tricked our daughter into hiking with us there.

Pepper took some swim classes and turned into a little fish and may have proposed to her instructor.

I did some hiking, more hiking, even more hiking, and solo hiking.

Then, there was that one time I had a baby. He arrived a couple hours after one of my favorite woodsy hikes. He just needed a little encouragement but he came with a smile and a sense of humor. We took a couple weeks off of our regular lives while we adjusted and got to learn how we would be as a family of four. We spent those weeks exploring the wilderness, exploring more, and exploring even more.

We planted and cared for and harvested a garden and flower beds this year. We also got some unexpected blessings from our labors and dried, juiced, and froze some of the best food.

Again, we participated in the Beehive Bazaar. Kirk's booth construction was all the rage again, and I added more pieces to the booth. I loved making all the art!

We got to cheer Kirk on in his half marathon through the beautiful fall foliage. He practiced diligently and did a great job!

I submitted my first-ever art piece to the Springville Art Museum's Religious and Spiritual exhibit. Again, it was a ton of work but I love the way the piece turned out. (The post will be up soon!) Plus, I was able to see a vast difference between this piece and my first submission from earlier in the year. Progress, guys!

I read some books.

Pepper's preschool ended, and she said goodbye to her friends there and hello to a full-time life with a great stay-at-home dad. She started a dance class, though, and fell in love with performing on stage!

My brother got married! In a whirlwind of familial excitement we spent loads of time planning, prepping, doling out unsolicited advice, and participating in general merriment. I took photos of our family with all the new additions before we all went our separate ways and started our own roots.

I got in some delicious autumn hiking, more hiking, and even tried mountain yoga hiking!

We partook in some of our favorite holiday traditions during the fall and Christmas seasons. The last quarter of the year is always one of our favorites! We also started new traditions to make our family life more intentional and to encourage one-on-one time and great family times too.

We cheered Kirk on in another race and got to share in the sugary spoils.

I tried a new thing on Instagram where I posted a different art series every month. I did an alphabet bird series, an autumn leaf watercolor series, and a series of requested wildlife sketches. I love being able to share my art with others!




2015 was indeed a doozy. While we are still trying to figure things out, we are managing to make the best of it and enjoy our precious family time while we can. 2015 was a good lesson in reevaluating constantly, making purposeful decisions, and getting up the courage to do things (because waiting through all the thinking is oftentimes more painful and difficult than actually getting things done!) So, there you have a few of our highlights from last year.

After talking with a friend about how I didn't think 2015 was a really good year, and that I felt I hadn't accomplished much, I was encouraged to write about it. Once I started writing, it opened my eyes to the many positive things we experienced last year, even amid the challenges. It was a great exercise in positivity and looking back I was surprised at what we were able to accomplish during crazy times and despite a definite funk.

So, if you've made it this far, first, you're a dedicated soul (thank you!) and second, I'm passing the advice forward. You don't need to post it publicly, but I encourage you to reflect on your past year if you haven't done so already and write down some of the major events. Looking back on your photos and social media accounts might help you out. So what do you say?

Stewart Falls Hike

Lest you think our family outdoor adventures are all fun and games, do not be deceived:

This is a more realistic picture of what these hikes are sometimes like for us. Can you just hear the groans and statements like, "Noooooo! Not the mountains again!"? We just try to focus on the good, you know?

Wilderness Appreciation- Part III, Mt. Naomi

We hauled our hineys up to the Mt. Naomi Wilderness area too:

This was not such a fun trip. Can you tell? We had a couple diaper incidents, as well as a frustrating time of trying to find access to the nearby Wellsville Wilderness.

If you know how to access the Wellsville Mountains without trespassing on private property, tell me! For reals, though. Tell me if you know! I feel like this is something I must find an answer to before I can rest peacefully in my grave (or urn, or whatever).

Wilderness Appreciation- Part II, Mt. Nebo

The next wilderness area on our list was Mt. Nebo. I think we may have been just outside of the wilderness boundaries, but the glorious mountains we appreciated nonetheless:

Guys. This place is unreal! It feels like the world just goes on forever up there!

Wilderness Appreciation- Part I, Timpanogos

While participating in a federal lands initiative to draw attention to the awesome wilderness areas available, we attempted to visit and appreciate some of the wilderness areas in our state. The first one we visited was the Timpanogos Wilderness:

We studied up on the Leave No Trace guidelines and did our best despite the amazing array of wildflowers begging to be picked. This area is one of my favorite places ever, and it was fun to appreciate it as a family. Consider yourself appreciated, Timpanogos Wilderness!

Bridal Veil Falls Hike

We hauled our buns (and the buns of our extended family too!) up the short trail to Bridal Veil Falls:

There are probably a hundred falls throughout the world that are aptly named after a bridal veil. Ours, though, is only a brief jaunt across some rock slides and takes about ten minutes if you stink at hiking. No big deal. We spent a lot of time as a family this summer stopping by the falls to feed the fish, cool off in the lower pool, explore the rubble of an avalanche from bygone days, and climb up the cold waterfall. It's a staple in our rotation of family activities.

How about you? Do you find a place or activity you find yourself turning to frequently?

Mommy Date

I love spending my life with my dreamguy and one of my favorite adventures with him is being parents together. I think we do a pretty darn good job at this parenting biznezz considering. Although we spend a lot of time together as a whole family, we also make up the ultimate tag team.

That means that when one of us is DONE (with a capital D, folks) and is threatening to move to Mexico without the rest of the family, that the other one of us is pretty good at picking up on the desperation and steps in to save the day (and perhaps some tender lives as well).

However, we've noticed better results if we don't allow ourselves to get to that DONE moment and are more proactive about sharing the attention and love before it is asked from us. Enter mommy dates.

A mommy date just means that I get to spend some one-on-one time with mini me, which is something we all look forward to. It doesn't have to take any money or be entertainment-focused, although it can be. It just needs to take time. I love letting loose and just focusing on doing awesome things together with my little buddy because it helps us strengthen our friendship and teaches us valuable lessons through our experiences. One of our most recent dates was going to a nearby canyon and climbing up the boulders and rock walls:

One valuable lesson our mighty girl learned on this date is that it's usually easier to climb up than it is to climb down. Haha! I feel like there may be some great analogies to life in that!

And yes, we have daddy dates too. It totally works both ways. (I'm looking forward to when the tiny baby bumpkins is also old enough to enjoy some quality one-on-one time with each parent as well. It's going to be grand!)

Do you do such things? What do you do to keep the bond strong among each member of your family?

Zion Adventures

On our way to the Great Reunion of 2015, we dragged our daughter to Zion National Park because by golly, we were going to go hiking there while we were in the area. We talked her into the thought of going hiking yet again by telling her that we were driving to the mountains to see a great tunnel. 'Twas not a lie. There is a mile-long tunnel that was dug through the mountain with the sole purpose of blowing the minds of toddlers, I swear.

Tunnels are super exciting things in our family, and we made the experience even better by rolling down our windows and listening to our yells echo. We screamed to scare the bats away and hollered as best we could. We knew we had struck gold when she was yelling at the top of her lungs, "This is the best tunnel everrrrrr!" as we drove through. She said it a lot. It is a very long tunnel. Then we drove through a smaller less-impressive tunnel and flipped around to find a spot to park at a trailhead. It was all part of the plans.

However, by the time we had turned the car around, our lovely girl had had enough. To heck with our plans. She did not want to go hiking, but she did need a snack. So, we suggested parking so we could get out of the car for a little bit...and she agreed. Then, since we were already outside, we suggested putting on sunscreen while we were eating a snack...and she agreed. Then we suggested walking toward the tunnel so we could see it up close...and she agreed. Then we suggested climbing some stairs, walking on rocks, looking over fences to crevasses below, and running across a bridge...all to which she agreed. She even made sure to hold our hands so that we wouldn't slip and fall along the scary parts of the trail because she is very brave. Soon we were back in the car driving through the tunnel again and eating fruit snacks. Kirk and I exchanged victory smiles with each other because our mighty girl hadn't even realized she had indeed just been on an enjoyable and challenging hike.

Parenting tricks. Boom.

Rock Canyon Hike

The munchkin and I took my brother on a so-called hike up a popular nearby canyon. We managed to turn a normally 10-minute hike into an hour-and-a-half adventure, moseying along at a snail's pace, getting distracted by every sound and movement in the brush, and climbing up and down every boulder within range many, many times:

With a kid in tow, we've learned that sometimes, the hiking isn't about reaching a destination or viewpoint, it's solely about enjoying the amazing things along the way. There's an incredible feeling of accomplishment from reaching a desired destination, but on the other hand, there is a sense of awe that is fully fed from taking the time to appreciate details like bright flowers, awesome climbing rocks, or weird bugs.

Also, mom win: when we were driving home, the wee one declared, "I think I did a really really great job climbing all those rocks. I am just a climbing girl now!" Makes my heart proud to hear that.

Reservoir Walk

We took ourselves on an adventure in the mountains during a magical break in the clouds. We spent some time exploring and ended up walking around the reservoir over rushing rivers, up and down slippery slopes, and through muddy puddles. We held hands while we carefully made our way over washed-out trails along precipices, but the views were totally worth it:

The most surprising part was realizing Queen Elsa's sparkly dress didn't get any mud on it considering the slickery nature of our escapade. After we made it all around the gorgeous bowl of turquoise water, we spent a fair amount of time watching the ducks and throwing rocks in the cold water. It was a great family activity, one which I'm sure we'll repeat.

Canyon Picnic

Oh, those mountains of ours! Our little family had had several weeks of high-stress on all fronts, all with looming deadlines in quick succession. Our schedules didn't really have any room, but we were all starting to burn out and get grumpy with one another. So, that usually means that we need to put on the brakes in a major way and take a freaking breather. So, we did:

We took an impromptu picnic up the canyon and ended up staying there for hours and hours, exploring, chasing and catching insects, picking flowers, reading, relaxing, breathing in the fresh air, and spending time together. It was the best thing we could have done, and all of us came away happy, rejuvenated, and with more patience. I'm so glad we live close enough to put our feet on mountain soil within a matter of minutes, if we want.

Hike to the G

This is one of my most frequented trails because it is pretty close to my place of employment. Every time I kick it on this trail, the lighting is different and I notice something new from my mountainside perch:

This time, there was some gross haze that actually made the evening light quite heavenly. Just trying to see the good in all that mucky muck.

What have you done lately to find the good through the haze? Do tell.

Battlecreek Falls

We took a little jaunt to Battlecreek Falls, which turned out to be just right for a curious little monkey:

The world is putting on a splendid show for us right now, don't you think? Which begs the question: what the heck are you doing reading things online when the weather outside is so perfect for autumn hikes?!