life lately in pictures + pre-thanksgiving celebrations

It's Monday and I'm not entirely sure how that happened. Life has been speeding at alarmingly high miles per hour these days and I'm trying so hard to keep up with it but come on man, slow down already willya!? I know that statistically speaking I'm probably just a bore of a broken record every single year around the holidays with my how is it already (insert "november" "december" "thanksgiving" "christmas" "the year 20-whatnotandwhathaveyou" here)!? And because of that, I know I sound like the mom who cried wolf but I PROMISE this year is going faster than any other year of my entire life so far. I swear it!

So over the weekend we had our first of three annual thanksgiving dinners. Our Novembers are always this beautiful blur of too much turkey and yams and pie, with a hefty side of family and friends and memories made. It's LAHH-valee in all of the ways Thanksgiving should be, you know, the ways that make you just so very thankful. So we spent this past traditional weekend in bear lake with my side of the family doing all of the usual doings like hiking, swimming, eating and playing silly games that make us laugh so hard we cry. Also this year it should be noted that Dan and I didn't get much sleep because our sweet B-man likes to put up a real good fight when it comes to sleeping anywhere that isn't his nursery. And anyway, who needs sleep? (ME, I DO.) But it was so wonderful and I came home five pounds heavier so that's always a sign of a good time.

Also, as if we were straight out of AFV, someone in our group (it wasn't me) fell into the pool with their clothes on. (it was my mom.)

Also, my new yam recipe is THE BOMB DOT COM. So dang delicious while also, sooooo easy to make.

And then! When we got home from bear lake yesterday afternoon the sun was shining and it was a toasty fifty degrees outside, can you believe that? Dan picked up some fresh manure and set to tilling the garden while the boys and I frolicked in the yard. As the sun was hovering over the mountain tops we grabbed a box of hot pizza and ate dinner in the car while we took a leisurely drive in search of some pretty scenery. We drove high up some hills in Paradise (no really, the town) and we found an insane view of the mountains and the setting sun, fully equipped with a gorgeous massive buck meandering slowly along the hillside all by himself.

The thing is, there has been a lot of struggle and pain and hate in the world lately and especially in light of the Paris tragedies, I'm constantly reminded that none of us are promised tomorrow. I'm remembering to love a little more and let the petty things go, while trying my hardest to make the most of everyday. It's not always easy, mind you. But then I sit down here at my computer and I look through the pictures I have captured. I smile at the memories I have made, and I just kind of wallow in how thankful I am for all of the wonderful godsends I have in my life.


Happy Monday friends. Get out there and get you some!


xoxo

on the trails with the kelty + TGIF

Beck is at that age where in even a month's time he is changing and growing significantly. Because of it the boys are just starting to settle into this mutual age gap phenomenon where they will play with and entertain each other more and more. It's pretty much the one thing that will turn me into a sap the quickest, watching them together as brothers. Little things like when they sit at the table and put legos together, which is silly because Beck is only one so how did that happen? We are most definitely finding truth in the differences of a child when they have a big sibling to watch. Or then there is bath time, their favorite time of day, which is when they really party hard. I'm watching them turn into friends before my very eyes and it's drilling a nice little hole into my heart, a perfect tunnel that they fill with their metaphoric patching plaster in all of these moments of brotherhood.

(I'm ridiculous and someone should really ban me from making stupid metaphors anymore!)

Anyway. Beck. This age is a contradiction to me. It is sweet, sweet sugar jars of cuteness. It is chubby chipmunk cheeks that I gobble up for breakfast every morning. He is this delightful, adorable nutterbutter that we can't get enough of. While also, this age is insanely exhausting! Simple tasks like going to the store and grabbing a bite to eat turn into so much work that it's likely not even worth the task in the first place.

The other day I woke up with an itch for the trails while the hubs woke up with an itch for harvesting the garden, so we split ways and split kids. I packed up Beck and our favorite pup and we headed out for a good trail with some pretty views. If there is one task that I can handle, one place that I am okay with taking my active toddler, it's the mountains. Because of all the space, sure, and because he is happiest when he is outside, sure, but also because the kelty is heaven sent. Beck is really making a home in that kelty that he has already been in a hundred times since he was born. This go-around he found it a perfect perch for his morning nap, so he snored softly on my back while Rockie chased squirrels and birds, and I found intense peace and clarity and new resolve in my solidarity beneath the trees while pressing along on this beautiful trail.

^^ Can you even believe these views?  Fuhgeddaboudit!

But listen, since the B-ster was napping, I decided to hike much farther than I had originally anticipated and by the end my poor back gave me quite the lecture. Who do you think you are, Cheryl Strayed?!

So now, TGIF mah'friends! What are your plans this weekend? We are heading out of town and so looking forward to a weekend getaway.

Happy Friday! Get out there and get you some!


xoxo