First Day of School...but summer's not over yet!!

The boys went back to school yesterday, but that does not bring an end to our vacationing!! We LOVE summer and we LOVE vacations. We have had some awesome trips this summer visiting friends and family from coast to coast!! We spent a week in Kentucky, five days in Disneyland, a week at the Brown Family Ranch in Preston, several weeks with friends and family in Utah and camping & canoeing in Pennsylvania. But that is not all HOORAY!! We are pulling the kids out of school next week to spend a week in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We plan to bike, surf, swim and beach it up with the Z-Naefs!! Let summer go on and on and on!!!!

Four Months, Four States, Four Lakes

This year will go down as the summer of Skiing 101. Between May and August the boys skied in Kentucky, Utah, Idaho and Pennsylvania. Me and Derek were able to do some slaloming and wake boarding too. Derek taught his niece and nephews to ski behind a wave runner in Idaho. We only had the boys trainer skis and the wave runner that trip. We were so desperate to ski that we put on the boys trainer skis. We must have looked like a circus act on those tiny skis behind the wave runner! Hopefully next summer we will have as many awesome boating opportunities and a slalom ski!

Kentucky Vay-K

This trip will definitely go down as one of our favorite family vacations. The eleven hour drive to Vine Grove, Kentucky quickly paid off once we arrived at Steve and Christy's house. The kids were thrilled to meet Rosco (lab pup), and we were thrilled to spend some time with our favorite cousins. We spent a day at Lake Taylorsville teaching the boys to ski (see video clip below), wake boarding, skiing...or at least attempting to ski, swimming and relaxing in the sun! Other highlights were visiting the Louisville Slugger museum, watching horse racing from fancy box seats at Church Hill Downs, staying up late playing Nerts, playing at the park on the Lake, hibachi and sushi, homemade Cafe Rio salads and all the good times in between. Tio Steve and Tia Christy, you ROCK!!!

Damon holding Mickey Mantle's bat




Kids with Churchill Charlie

Damon on Skis

Easter Pictures

Zen Journey

This is the last post of our Zen Journey, we have experienced moments of peace and serenity as well as found areas that need some more zen attention!

This weeks suggestion is: Ask, "Darling, do I understand you enough or am I making you suffer"?

"We really have to understand the person we want to love. If we only think of ourselves, if we know only our own needs and ignore the needs of the other person, we cannot love. We must look deeply in order to see and understand the needs, aspirations, and suffering of the person we love...From time to time, sit close to the one you love, hold his or her hand, and ask, "Darling, do I understand you enough or am I making you suffer? Please tell me so that I can learn to love you properly". With understanding, the one we love will certainly flower." -Thich Nhat Hanh

Blessings as you continue your journey!

Zen Journey

So I haven't posted a new suggestion in a while, because I couldn't find my special little book. But I found it, it was with Derek's pile of church stuff. He gave a talk in Sacrament meeting and quoted Thich Nhat Hanh from the pulpit. It was great, Mormons need more Buddhist teachings!!

This week's suggestion is: Don't Blame the Lettuce

Blaming Never helps! "When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look into the reasons it is not doing well. It may need more fertilizer, or more water, or less sun....Yet if we have problems with our friends or our family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and arguments....If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change". -Thich Nhat Hanh

Our goal this week is to not blame the lettuce, I hope you will join us!