Distracting!

The mountains here can be so distracting especially when I am working out or driving. I just can't get enough of these views and I'm so grateful I am surrounded by them!! 

Unexpected

The movers that packed our house here in Texas delivered and unloaded our belongings in Utah. When they pulled up to our house in Utah the first thing they said to Aaron was, "Wow. This is not what we expected." Haha. That makes me laugh! 

A friend of mine posted this photo of the moving truck being unloaded. 

I'm trying hard to look past all the boxes and mess to see the big trees and the fall colors. I'm trying to also look past all the leaves that need to be raked a before the first snowfall. I'm learning to see the good and there is a lot of good in this photo. 

This house will once again be home and that is a beautiful thing even if it is a bit unexpected. 

Surprise!!

AJ's friends through him a surprise going away party tonight! He didn't know anything about it until he was "kidnapped" from the neighborhood gas station. The problem is the kids waiting at the house didn't know he was on his way there until AJ and his "kidnapper" pulled up. They stood there shocked for a minute and then yelled "Surprise!"

They had pizza and played Minute to Win It games. Then they decided to take some photos of all of them holding up AJ. The problem is the girls were in the middle where the heaviest part of his body is so it didn't work out as well as they thought. 

These kids make me laugh. I'm so grateful for all of the wonderful friends that my kids have had here in Texas. I'm grateful that social media will make it easier to stay in touch. 

This Happened Today

A really good friend of ours was on a business trip to Toronto. His corporate offices are just five minutes away from Esteban's apartment so he took him little gift from us and breakfast.

I'm so jealous Rob got to see him today. I miss Esteban so much!!  I just want to hug him and touch his face and know that he is real. Having said that I am so happy about where he is and what he is doing. I would want him anywhere else.

Seminary Squad

I took this photo this morning in Seminary. Whenever I have looked at it throughout the day, I smile. 

This is the best Seminary class in the church!! They are great kids! They come every day, they participate, they ask questions. I hope and pray that they feel it. That they feel the Spirit and know that is is true and that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is very real. I love and pray for them on a daily basis. 

Who knew that teaching from the Old Testament at 6:00 in the morning could be so much fun! 

Done and Done

We received an offer this morning on our house. It was for the full asking price and they are paying for it in cash so we don't have to worry about financing. We will close at the end of September then rent it from them for the month of October. That is the ideal timing for our family!  It is a huge blessing!

The family that bought our house is from India. They moved to the area from Atlanta three months ago but haven't been able to find a house they liked. They fell in love with this house! I took time this morning to take photos of some of the things that I love about this house. I realized it is kind of like loosing a family member. When we leave this home it will feel like I am leaving a piece of me behind.  I realized that a house is not really important. It is just brick and materials. A home is a feeling. It's memories and emotions all wrapped into one. 

For Sale

Our house has been for sale for 24 hours. There have been three people look at it. All three want to buy it. One offer was way too low. Another offer will come tomorrow morning. Now we all know why we are selling this house and moving back to our house in Utah. 

5th Grade

Vanessa started 5th grade today, the top of the elementary school. She is excited to have a male teacher for the first time. She is not excited that she doesn't have any friends from last year in her class. She knows it means she can make new friends but it is hard at first. She rocked , tthat pixie cut!! 

7th Grade

Savanah started 7th grade this year in a brand new middle school. She did great finding all her classes and didn't have any problems with her new locker. She loved the fact that her new principal directed traffic and walked around the lunchroom with a light saber. She is sad she will only be in the new school for a few months. 

Junior Year

AJ's first day of his junior year of high school. As you can see he left early this morning for weight training and returned home late from football practice. Needless to say he was starving! He drove himself to school for the first time ever. He gives me lots of hugs and has stepped nicely into the "oldest child at home" role. Man, I really do love this kid! 

Called to Serve

Today was a hard day! I remember the first Sunday after Este left was hard for me as well. Today I missed Ethan so much! I waited for him to walk through the door after church. I thought about him all day long.  I wondered if his meetings were in English or in Spanish. I wished I could be a fly on the wall and watch him all day every day while he is in the MTC. I cried through the opening hymn in Young Women's. It was the hymn Called to Serve. I tried not to do the "ugly cry" even though I felt like sobbing. Because I was trying not to do the ugly cry it probably became the "uglier" cry. Oh well, I couldn't help it at the time

Later in the evening Elder Langi and Elder Witkowski came over for dinner. They are the missionaries that are serving in our ward. They are some of my favorite missionaries of ALL time! They teach with the Spirit and they are obedient. I know the Lord will bless them as they serve in this area.

Missionaries are amazing! I love the missionaries serving near and far. I know the Lord loves them too. Today was hard but it was also good as I had a chance to understand more fully what it means to be "Called to Serve."

I am Safe

This is the email that Aaron and I received this morning.

I arrived this morning at the Guatemala CCM without any problems or delays.  There were 38 missionaries on board with me for my flight from LAX to Guatemala.  I just wanted to let you know that I am safe and I love you.  This next few weeks in the CCM will be very busy but I look forward to emailing you more on Monday. Guatemala is beautiful, and it is really exciting to be at the CCM. It is really exciting to have the oppurtunity to learn so much from such great teachers.  Just remember that I love you all and tell the rest of the family I say hi. 

Elder Womack  

I am so very grateful that he arrived safely. I feel like I had more anxiety about his getting to Guatemala than I do about the rest of the entire two years. 

Back to Glasses

Ethan recently decided to go back to wearing glasses. I think he looks great!!

Reverence

We visited the Nasher Sculpture Center while downtown today. We spent most of our time looking at the outdoor exhibits. Vanessa enjoyed resting for a moment on a stone bench sculpture.

Ethan made me laugh. I enjoy listening to his commentary about art. He would make a great art critic one day if he could be serious enough about it. His is interpretations are quite enjoyable though!

The thing I like about Ethan is that as soon as we stepped into the exhibit called  Melvin Edwards: Five Decades, he became quite somber. The sculptures in this exhibit are part of Edward's Lynch Fragments series.

I loved seeing Ethan show reverence where reverence is due. I think that is what is so great about art. Each piece can evoke such completely different emotions in a person.

Food Trucks!!

I love food trucks!! Something about funky food served out of the back of a van makes me excited!

Today we took the kids to downtown Dallas to eat lunch at the food trucks parked around Klyde Warren Park.  There are so many more choices on the weekend! They close down an entire street so even more trucks can come in and everybody just sits on the curb eating great tasting food!

I chose to visit The Texas Burrito truck. Partially because of the name of the truck, partially because their Sweet Pork Barbacoa Nachos sounded delicious!!

And they were. Who knew that coleslaw would be so good on nachos?

Ethan had Kimchi Fries from the Korean BBQ truck. Vanessa had a deluxe grilled cheese sandwich. We shared cupcakes and cake pops. We also enjoyed some sliders. Not just ordinary sliders. One of these had pulled pork topped with mac and cheese. The other had chicken, gravy, and mashed potatoes. We also tried the slider with a gigantic meatball inside.

In the end, we were not able to visit the make-your-own-ice-cream-sandwich truck nor the taco truck with the yummy churros. We were stuffed and could not physically eat any more.

It was a few hours later that the heartburn set in. It is still so worth it.

Something about eating from food trucks, sitting and watching people at the park, and feeling the sunshine on our faces made the world seem right again. There are days that I look around and just feel so happy to be where I am!

Moments like these are wonderful!! It is so important to make time to enjoy life. #lovewhereyoulive

Spring Break Hates Us

While in southern California for spring break in 2010, we felt an earthquake. It was the worst earthquake in San Diego in the previous 18 years. Two years later, while house hunting in Dallas during spring break we were under a tornado warning. We were evacuated to the stairwells of our hotel. There was a tornado, it just didn't touch down in our area.

This spring break, just as we were ready to leave for the Mexican Riviera, a freak winter storm hit North Texas crippling the entire area. DFW became the airport with the most cancelled flights in the world. One of those flights happened to be ours. The area woke up to record breaking snow fall amounts. 

While this doesn't look like much, we received about 4 inches of snow.

Vanessa posed the question, "Why does Spring Break hate us?" We have experienced earthquakes, tornadoes, and now blizzards all during spring break. At that moment we vowed not to visit any place with volcanoes until the trend is broken.

In all seriousness, I pointed out to our family that there was a fatal car accident the night of the storm and that is something that is truly sad. At least we still get to be together whether at home or on the beach.

It's not all bad though. We were able to reschedule our flight for 4 days later. We had to change reservations where we were staying but I think we are better off at the new hotel after all. Aaron had some matters come up at work that he needed to be here to take care of immediately. The kids will actually miss less school.

I will say, if you ever really need a break, just plan on going out of town and then change your mind at the very last second. I have been able to do what ever I want because I had absolutely nothing scheduled. My agenda was completely clear. It has been rather nice.

Sometimes in life, when a blizzard blows you down, you just simply need to step back and decide to make ice cream. Literally.

A friend from Canada shared this recipe. 12-15 cups freshly fallen snow (Do not use yellow snow!) 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Stir in fruit or other toppings if available. It really is yummy!!

Selfie Sunday

Grandpa Womack wanted to learn how to take a selfie today.

#seniorcitizenselfiesunday

It makes me wonder what my children and grandchildren will be teaching me when I am his age. Props go to him for trying to stay up with modern technology. 

In Love

I'm pretty much in love with this little boy. He makes me smile every day. He calls me "Tolette" which is a little too close to the word "toilet" for my liking but he is just so dang cute when he says it that I forgive him instantaneously. Luckily he is my nephew so I feel safe in my slight obsession but his mom still might be creeped out if she knew how many photos I have of him. Who could resist though? Honestly. 

Happy Valentine's Day!!

This morning Aaron and I cleaned out our garage while the kids did their chores. It was very romantic!

They say everything is bigger in Texas. That does not include garages and backyards. At least where we live.

Here are a few photos of the finished product.

Not that I am trying to show off or brag. I just don't know how long the cleanliness will last so I needed photographic proof that it really did happen. You know how garages are, everything stays in its proper place for about 5 minutes.

The nice thing is that I know my love for my husband does last.  It has lasted for the past twenty Valentine's Days. I am hoping for many more Valentine's Days to come. In fact, I look forward to eternity with my valentine!!

Sick Day

Savanah stayed home from school today. She woke up with a slight fever and a headache. Poor thing. I wouldn't say I was happy she stayed home sick from school, but I will say that I did enjoy sitting on the couch with her while we caught up on American Idol episodes we haven't had time to watch.

It was such a nice day! Except for the slight fever and headache of course.