Payson for the 4th

We ended up in Payson for the Fourth of July.  We had a very relaxing time with no agenda, cable TV, a swimming pool, book stores, nature and did I mention NO schedule.  I love being able to do whatever we want, whenever we want (love home school). 

Fourth of July

 

 Tonto Natural Bridge

(warning do not do this hike alone with four kids 12 and under)

There was a lot of this.......

 Some of this.....

 Nice of them to post the yellow arrows so we can find our way through the endless rocks.

 I love this pictures!  We had to stop often and when we did we all took advantage of it.  I try not to remember that she promised to carry the book herself but as always I ended up with it (it's tuff being mom).

We were visiting Payson because of MY LB's new job, yep he has a new job.

Reunion

Hello friends!  This has been the longest summer of my life and I can't believe it's not over yet.  I have so much to tell you, but not yet.  First, I will catch up on our summer adventures.

Moab, Utah for a Mecham family reunion.
This place is absolutely beautiful!  We were in an adventure wonderland and just begging for adventure.  Our days were free for us to plan and our evenings were packed full of extended family fun.  Planning is what we did; rafting trip, hiking, a drive through the arches and mountain biking, no lack of adventure here.

Rafting

Our guide was wonderful!  She pushed Matthew in, let the kids take turns rowing

and told us our new favorite joke, "I ate Mop who", tee hee hee.

 Hiking



I am partial to finding hikes that cross the water and offer shade.   This was a hike to a natural bridge, do you know the difference between a natural arch and a natural bridge?  A bridge is over water.  It was a long hike and once again our kids were amazing, I can't believe their hiking abilities.  It was one of those hikes where you hike in and then turn around and hike back out. Once the kids got to the bridge they were not anxious to turn around and go back out.  So we played, them in the water and on the rocks and me with my camera.

 

 

 Mountain Biking

MY KIDS ARE AMAZING!!  This was every ones first trip mountain biking (except mine) and they did awesome.  It was a very hard trail and they each crashed at least once and they all made it to the end yelling, "This is totally awesome".  I have to say Maggie surprised me most of all, she fell twice in the beginning and I was sure we were turning back, by the end she was convinced she was better at it then I was and she was going way to fast for my comfort.  I had to stay in front of her so I couldn't see what she was doing, otherwise I was certain that I would have a panic attack before we were finished.  MY LB is convinced that we all need mountain bikes, he had a blast.  I love it when buying things are his idea.

Evenings

The evenings were full of playing with cousins and catching up with family.  There were kids activities, great food, auctions, get to know you games, a gift exchange and lots of gabbing.  I love the Mecham family!

I should have gotten more pictures of family (what a loser).

We had a wonderful time and I have to say....

VISIT MOAB

P.S.  We Moved Again (leaving you hanging)

Baptism Day

Our family has been to several convert and friend baptisms this year, not to mention participating in Temple baptisms.  We have been filled with the spirit of missionary work and the blessings that come from joining The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints.

Nothing compares to the missionary work that MY LB and I do in our own home.  We have been teaching this fabulous girl about the Gospel for eight years.  Baring testimony, living as an example, reading scriptures and praying with her.  She was prepared for her special day.

 I always wonder about their ability to choose at the age of eight, to make a lifetime choice.  My wonders are always put at ease when that special day comes.  Each of my three baptized children reacted differently but all with a complete understanding of their choice.  They knew they were choosing to follow Christ and his example. 

Maggie's reaction "surprised" me, I walked into the restroom to help her get dressed and her little eyes were filled with tears and she said, "I didn't know it would feel this good."   She knew!

Yee-Haw for "8"

My sweet girl turned eight last month.  She was counting down from May 1st.  Since Maggie was three she has loved horses.  Last year we were able to ride horses for a homeschool fieldtrip, this sealed her passion. 

She has professed to me that she is going to marry a man with a horse, NOT a farm just a horse.  She spends all of her reading hours on horse books and knows exactly how to care for one if by some chance she ever happens to get one.

This interest of hers turned into a birthday theme.  No horses came to the party but lots of cowgirls!

 These cowgirls had a boot kicking, boogie woogie, ho down of a time!

The Piano Kids

We are still hard at play with the piano.  This was actually one of the kids favorite parts about the move (I said was, details to come).  They loved their new piano teacher and so did I.  She was fantastic with the kids and helped them to enjoy piano, something Matthew hasn't done for some time.  They played Music-opoly and picked their own music to play and enjoy.  The boys even printed some Zelda off the Internet to play and borrowed Halo music from Mrs. Leavitt's son.  Maggie spent most of her time in simplified Primary songs and even picked one of her favorites to play at her baptism.  Spencer perfected his favorite hymn, Praise To The Man and played it at the recital.  Matthew and Mrs. Leavitt worked for months on a duet they played together at the recital and it was simply amazing.  Big hugs and kisses to Mrs. Leavitt, we will miss her.

Their Music-opoly awards!

This is a picture of Maggie at her baptism playing her duet with her dad, Choose The Right Way.  After the  baptism Mrs. Leavitt told her she could keep the primary simplified song book.  Maggie was so excited, just that morning she said, "I am really going to miss this book".  Thanks Mrs. Leavitt!

P.S.  This little girl cried happy tears after her baptism and after her confirmation, hence the read eyes.

Man Do I EVER Need to Unload

My title makes it sound like I am about to have a total Bit, whine session.  Oh poor me, what shall I ever do.  Please hear me out and feel sorry for me.  NOPE, just way behind on this.....

MUST UNLOAD

If you have ever read my blog before then you know how much I LOVE bulk posts.  I can get an entire month in one post, that does not mean we are boring, it just means that I am good.  Or to lazy to post on a regular basis, see it how you will.

However, looking through our memories I have decided instead of doing a bulk post I am going to go on a blog-athon.  Or maybe just a blog-K, they're easier. 

First up.....

So many wonderful things have happened in our new ward in the way of missionary work,our family feels extremely blessed and our testimonies of God's plan for our family and our trust in Him has grown tremendously.  God is mindful of our family and we know this. 

In our new ward we met Brother Rex, wonderful man so full of Family History information and enthusiasm that he has more than enough to share.  That is what he did, he shared his knowledge with our family and specifically expressed his desire to teach the kids how to do Family History.  Did you know that the church has a specific website for youth interested in Family History?  Matthew's inbox on his email is always full of fun videos and stories that he enjoys looking at and reading.  Spencer especially took a liking to Family History and is now convinced that we are royalty because we are related to a Prince.  LOVE IT!!

We got busy right away and have been finding grandparents, great grandparents, great uncles and aunts and other relatives to share the gospel with.  We even found that my great grandma and one of my great uncles were baptized before they passed.  My great grandma married a Mormon man and the missionaries found my uncle.  Awesome! 

This is Matthew he is a Deacon now and has a Temple recommend.  He has been to the Temple three times already.  Twice with his youth group and once with his mom and dad.  Twice he brought family names that he helped prepare.  He is an amazing youth!

MY LB and I were so happy to be at the temple with him.  It was a beautiful, peaceful feeling that I could never put into words.

 On a lighter note (or heavier depending on what we ate), he was in shock that MY LB and I ate such good food when we went on dates without him.  This picture is of him loving the good eats and one on two attention.

More Temple work...

This past month I also found myself in the Salt Lake Temple doing family work.  This is a picture of the temple from the penthouse my fellow homeschool moms and I were staying at.

We went twice and they helped me with my family names. 

This last picture I may have thrown in to bulk this post a little.  This is my fantastic youth and his mommy at a Mother's Day dinner the youth of our church put on.  MY LB and I are so amazed at how well this boy is growing into a man (and how fast), he is on his second go around of reading Seven Habits of a Highly Effective Teen and never ceases to amaze us with his confidence, leadership skills, love for others and desire to serve.  Getting older definitely has its perks (I am not just talking about FREE babysitting).