heavy on my mind...

i know that it is not by chance that lds general conference happens twice a year.  for me, it always comes at a time when so many things weigh heavy on my mind and heart.  when i need that extra push, reminder, love, and hope in my life.  this general conference was no different.  in fact, i'm not sure i would be able to keep moving forward if it wasn't for talks that were so direct and perfect for some things that are so personal and deep in my life at this moment.
the unknowns of life have been getting me down.  goals i knew i wanted to meet were being questioned.  things i thought i knew were fuzzy.  i felt down and low, and although nothing in my daily spiritual routine had changed, i felt alone and sorry for myself.
and then i watched the general womens meeting the week before conference.  the love and hope i had been yearning for filled my soul. but i needed more.
and so as i did my saturday chores i listened to the sessions of conference.  and cried.
my heavenly father knows me.  he loves me.  and he knew what i needed at the very time in my life that i needed it most.
i cried in just about every talk.  in every talk there was something meant just for me.  each of them left me feeling loved and with a desire and hope in god's plan for me.
i will never be able to deny that this gospel is true.  too many personal revelations have happened in my life to ever deny what i know.
i will be grateful to my heavenly father forever for restoring his gospel in these latter days, that i may be apart of this marvelous work and dance the dance that he has set forth for me.
i am so grateful to have the family i have, and to have gordon as my eternal companion.  there is no one in this life more precious to me than him.  he is truly the one i was meant to be with forever and i am so grateful we honor each other they way we do.
i have begun listening to the conference talks again.  the strength, hope, courage and zest for life are renewed.  no, my circumstances have not changed, but my outlook has and i am so very grateful for that.

life lately

i recently went to the dentist. at my visit they always give me a new toothbrush.

they usually ask me if i want a specific color. this time they didn't.

i ended up having the same color as gordon.

what use to be such a mindless daily activity isn't that way so much.

and now there's a running morning joke that i used your toothbrush...

which won't be so funny when one of us actually uses the other persons toothbrush...

i have danced with gordon once in all 10+ years of knowing him...

little miss asks him to dance and all of the sudden he's prince charming.

literally, he was her prince as she pretended to be all of the disney princesses.

it was adorable. i love how much he loves the littles in our life.

i usually always travel with our dogs by securing them in their dog kennels.

but i had to pick them up from their hair appointment and realized i didn't have their kennels with me.

abbi loved it!  she the worst kind of back seat driver.

MK HAD HER BABY!! We were so excited to meet little K.

she's perfect. her and her mama are doing so well.

we don't want them to move away for law school.

the mister got a new fancy schmancy mountain.

i'm sure he would have preferred to ride a mountain trail, but those narrow trails scare me a bit so we stuck to the dirt road that runs along the mountain side.  

i just love him.

annual hardcastle easter egg dying contest.

little miss and i made best friends eggs with lots of glitter and sparkles.

it was awesome.

our new across the street neighbors invited us to join them for a double date.

we haven't been on an official double date in what felt like forever.

they invited us to go to an arcade and dinner.

we had a really good time and it was fun to get to know them better.

we live next to some really fantastic people.

our neighborhood is pretty great.

travel diary: Moab, UT

we are no strangers to moab, utah.

we've visited many times...but going with people that have never been makes for a fun adventure.

so off we went with a few of our family members and friends.

gordon and i were very excited when one of our favorite utah county restaurants expanded even further south to spanish fork...a city we pass regularly.

we love introducing people to new, delicious food so we made a dinner stop on our way to moab to cubby's.

everyone was pleased.

it's always fun rolling in to camp late because you never know exactly what your camp will look like in the daylight.  we're always pleasantly surprised when we wake up to the beauty around us.

utah is rad.

we headed to tusher tunnel first thing in the morning.

love a great yoga photo op.

yoga all day every day!

next we headed into arches national park.

our sis in law had never been there before.

we hiked in the park all day.

so many arches...

utah is rad.

i absolutely love this photo...

there's not extraordinary about it...

but we look so happy.

adventures with him anywhere make me happy.

i just love him.

the next day we went on a hike we'd never done before. 

corona arch.

and the following day we explored catacomb rock.

and more yoga was done.

more yoga...

there's just something about nature that makes my mind and body yearn for yoga...

and so poses just come out.

corona arch

gordon had heard rumors of a desert tortoise living in the heart of a moab canyon...

so we went in search and low and behold we got to meet kobe, the desert tortoise.

and take a family photo with him.

at some pictographs there was also a section where Indians used to climb...

so gordon and his friends accepted the challenge and climbed to the top...

and each of them made it.

we also swam in a natural spring and made pit stops to town almost daily.

moab camping is unlike any other camping we normally do.

normally we're off the grid for days...

but the hikes and trails to drive are all throughout moab so you go through town often.

which isn't the worst thing...especially when they have this delicious little cafe called love muffin, 

who happens to have the best breakfast burritos ever. and their muffins are dang good too.

one of my favorite parts of the trip was when gordon's best friend, chris, and his wife, melissa, met up with us the last couple of nights of our trip.

we don't get to see them often because they live in st. george, but when we get together with them it's like we haven't skipped a beat...jokes and laughs follow as if we hung out the weekend before.

even though i came home with a terrible cold, i left this trip feeling so blessed to have such amazing friends in our lives.  and, as always, growing a deeper love for this beautiful state i live in.

life lately...

most mornings, this is how abbi looks as i'm headed off to work.

i am always extremely jealous of her lazy days.

after 6 years of looking, we finally bought a new couch!

skyler turned 19!

our friend jr. bought a flip-pac.  i think we started a club: slow car, fast home.

the cute neighbor kids showing us their new toys: cap gun and wooden sword.

MK got the fanciest car seat and we spent an afternoon trying it in each of our cars.

i now want one.

jade turned 16!

gordon wanted a cute photo with tim...i think he got it!

saw ryan hamilton with my dad, sister, and other family and friends.

he is HILARIOUS!

attended the temple with gordon's sisters, parents, and grandma.

we were able to seal even more of gordon's family together forever.

it was awesome!

i know i've told you how awesome our neighborhood is, but have i ever told you about our ward?

our ward is pretty fantastic, too.

i needed a melchizedek priesthood holder to play the role of king benjamin for my primary lesson.

gordon had just been the guest speaker the week before so he wasn't an option.

a new member named jake to the rescue!

he did amazing and the kids loved it.

i love teaching primary!

while gordon's sister was in town from california we had family photos taken.

we took this one ourselves...thanks justin!

cousin concert in the city!

met this girl who had the matching shirt to my pants...and her name is also Jessica!

uncle gordon playing telephone with tiny (we miss her when they go back home to cali...)

that one time when the waffle truck came to ogden so i got a couple of waffles to go and had a weekday date with my mister.

march madness at work...this is my new office roommate dressed up like moose. 

she's a good time.

and briggs turned 13!! birthday dinners for all in our house.

and we saw the funniest movie that i have seen a very long time.  anything with most of the cast from flight of conchords is bound to be amazing.

sleepover with little miss

can i just tell you how much fun the two of have together?

although she is still in full princess swing, she added playing puppy to the mix.

this puppy isn't your regular dog though...this one likes fashion shows and dance parties.

we also painted nails and tried on every hair accessories i own.

by the end of the afternoon we were both spent.

can't wait to do it again!