Love this quote!!!

"May I say to mothers collectively, in the name of the Lord, you are magnificent. You are doing terrifically well. The very fact that you have been given such a responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your Father in Heaven has in you. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even—no, especially—when your days and your nights may be the most challenging. Rely on Him. Rely on Him heavily. Rely on Him forever. And “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.”

Jeffery R. Holland

A gorgeous Sunday afternoon drive

Alpine Loop

Gifts of the heart

Every year the community comes together to donate clothes, toys and books to poor college kids. Since the MBA spouse association is in charge of it we get the first pick of the stuff. It was amazing how organized everything was and how much stuff there was. I got some things for Stella, a t shirt for Jorge and a little back massage tool for me. 

View from inside

As I was leaving this was line outside and I couldn't even capture how far it went.

If you know Stella you know about her mild obsession w/ the TV show Yo Gabba Gabba. I got the sweatshirt and the foofa doll there and was pumped. It was so fun to see her so excited. She did everything w/ foofa today, including putting her in a time out :) as I write she is sleeping along side her. 

Trying out the back massager, notice bottom right corner something pink ;)

Vivian Park

Stella hasn't been taking naps lately, well at least in her bed (the minute she gets in the car she's asleep). I thought that it was just something that was happening at grandmas house because that's when it started but no, it's carried on at our house too. Man I rely miss those couple of hours of alone time in the afternoon. It was a mental and a physical break. She is SO busy and into everything as a two year old is but when you are trying to get your home together after just moving it can be frustrating. Lately when I feel frustrated w/ the fact that I can't get as much accomplished as I would like I go do something fun with her. We walk to the park, I play w/ her or we go somewhere. It makes such a difference, she loves it, I stop forcing something that isn't working and we are all happier because of it. Tonight I was looking at a friends blog and observed how grown up her kids are, sometimes it's easier to see other kids growth than your own. I remember when her kids were babies and now her oldest is in high school. Life flies by and I want Stella to have an amazing, wonderful childhood, one that she can look back on and smile. Today we left to run errands in the afternoon and she fell asleep so I decided to just take a drive and let her sleep and not be frustrated about the fact that I would have to wake her up and carry her into the store and that she would be grumpy. I drove up Provo canyon and while I was enjoying the scenery I noticed a sign for Vivian park. This is the place that President Monson's family had a cabin and he grew up going there every summer. It's a tiny little community tucked in at the base of the mountains and adjacent to the Provo River. It's really quiet and peaceful there. When Pres. Monson's talks about it it's with so much fondness, I love that. Stella won't remember that she nearly killed her mom by stopping to take naps at an early age but she will remember the fun times we spend together. 

Enjoying the last days of summer

Fresh raspberries from the garden. Stella w/ her cousin Chloe. They both love raspberries.

Random

Jorge totally read my mind because on my drive home I was thinking how great it would be if I walked in the door and their were flowers for me. #itsthelittlethings

On our walk this morning at the Provo River.

Tonight I attended the MBA spouse association Opening Social. These guys don't joke around. We had to dress in Sunday Best and the speaker was on of the Marriotts, she was very down to earth and inspirational. 

These are my friends from Brazil and Mexico. 2 of them are also in my ward, they are all super nice!

The long road home

We made it back to Provo tonight. Saying goodby to grandparents/parents is always hard but it's especially hard when they aren't 100% well as is the case w/ my mom. Her arm is still in a sling so she is limited in what she can do but she is recovering nicely and she's getting close to being able to take the sling off. I was comforted that before I even left today the Relief Society president came to visit and now that the first almost four weeks of pure family help is over they will step in and help as needed. We made a quick visit to my brothers house on the way home and had fun catching up and playing in their awesome backyard. We left w/ tons of vegetables from the garden which I'm super excited about. You can't beat the taste of something homegrown.