An Afternoon at Silver Lake

A few weeks ago, while scrolling instagram, I saw some posts from Silver Lake, a beautiful spot up in the mountains that was putting on quite the autumnal show. Mr. Boss and I had been up the month before, on an anniversary date, and there were a few signs that fall was coming then, but the pictures I was seeing on ig showed that it had changed a lot. I wanted to see it for myself.

I wasn't sure when I could get up there, but I was feeling desperate. One morning, I shared my feelings with Mr. Boss, and he suggested I go that very day, as soon as the kindergartener was home. So that's what I did! I spent the morning getting myself and the youngest two ready and packing up lunch, so that we could leave as soon as S was off the bus. 

The drive up the canyon was distracting, there was so much color. I wanted to stop so many times, but kept on going until we reached our goal. We had lunch as soon as we arrived, and then started our walk around the lake. I was in heaven, and the kids had a blast, too, climbing on rocks and seeing ducks and fish in the lake. 

We also ended up taking a little detour up one of the more difficult hikes that branches off from the path around the lake. I wanted to show the boys where their dad and I had seen a deer when we were up the month before. We didn't quite make it to where Boss and I had seen the deer, but that was fine because we got to see our own deer! It was pretty awesome. After that, we headed back down to the lakeside path and finished our walk. 

By the end, the kids were done. They had been amazing, walking so much and sitting themselves down from time to time for me to take their picture. Even when their behavior started to deteriorate, I understood and didn't really mind, because of how excellent the general experience had been. 

Now for the pictures:

We got so many comments on her candy corn hat,
which I definitely appreciated!

I shared this one on instagram.
I think it looks like an album cover.
And it's definitely one of my current favorite photos.

The end.

16 Things to Love About Winter

January is a hard month for me. It is generally very dreary here in the Salt Lake Valley, especially because we get this awful inversion. I mean, we get it throughout the winter, but it's the worst in January. The inversion makes it hard to breathe and it traps the cold air underneath this thick, yucky blanket of nasty, smoggy air, and I swear it makes the month last longer. In all our years away from Salt Lake, in all my homesickness and desires to come back, I was always grateful, when January came around, that I didn't have to deal with the inversion.

So, here we are now. It's January. It's cold and dreary. And we live in Salt Lake again. The "fun" part of winter (Christmas) has come and gone, and I feel like it would be too easy to get mopey and let this time of year really get me down. We've made it through the first half of the month, and while the weather has been relatively mild so far, and I know January won't really last forever, I don't want to feel miserable for the rest of the month or the rest of the winter, however long that may be... So, I'm made a list, a list of the things I love about this time of year, the things that make January and the "boring" part of winter bearable.

Real quick, I want to say that I got this idea from a post I saw on Instagram by Lindsay Wilkins, and I loved it so much, I wanted to do something similar. You can see Lindsay's original post here.

Things I love about winter, January onward:

* Watching giant snowflakes gently falling out my window.

* Cuddling under a cozy blanket with a good book.

* The way a fresh blanket of snow makes the world look new and magical.

* All the scarves!

* The muffled crunch when you walk through fresh snow.

* Incredible, vibrant winter sunsets.

* Babies in cozy knit bonnets.

* The mountains covered in white.

* Layers! I'm always wearing multiple layers, during summer it's weird, in the winter it's normal!

* The quiet stillness of a winter night.

* My fingers wrapped around a toasty cup of hot cocoa.

* The random warm days when you can open the windows for a few hours.

* The days getting a little longer, bit by bit.

* So much underrated natural beauty, my photographer-self gets really excited about that.

* Anticipation of what's to come in the year ahead.

* And, of course, the anticipation of Spring!

What do you love about wintertime?

It's 2018?!

I've been pretty absent from this space, for quite a while - I know,
but I wanted to pop in real quick to tell you...

I can't believe it is 2018. We're living in the future! This is crazy.

*all photos by me, using a long exposure and my husband's flashlight, 
edited on my phone with the snapseed app.

birth story part ii // coaxing labor

(In case you missed the first part of my birth story, or want a refresh, click here.)

The truth was, I was glad baby girl hadn't come, as it was my sister's birthday. But it also meant that baby girl only had one more day to show up before the month was over.

I had another visit with the midwives that day, where the plan was to try again for a sweep. I was so nervous that I would go in only to learn I still wasn't dilated, but I was! Only just enough for a little sweep, but it was encouraging nonetheless, this was progress! Things were happening!

Along with the little sweep, I was sent home with a tincture called “Labor Boost” and instructions on how to take it. We also set up a time for me to come in the next morning, pending baby, for another sweep. The plan was to do a sweep every day until either baby arrived or we passed the 42 week deadline and I was sent to the hospital to be induced.

That night I went out for a little girls night. As I drove home later, I noticed that a bit of fog had rolled in, giving the night a crisp, autumn night coziness. It seemed like the kind of adverse weather condition that babies enjoy coming in. I couldn't help as my mind began to envision driving in the dead of night, through the fog, to the birth center. The next morning was “doughnuts with mom” at the kid's school, and I was bummed at the prospect of missing it, but figured it would be okay if it meant I had a baby in my arms.

I woke several times that night to pee, but there were no contractions. When I woke to the light of morning, my hope was not gone. I mean, I was a little bummed, yes, but at least I'd get a doughnut or two. Definitely two.

The fog that morning was so thick, there were areas where there was maybe 5 feet of visibility. It was stunning, though. The thrill of the beauty of the fog quickly faded as I walked into the school to looks of pity from the many familiar faces I saw, and nearly burst into tears as one woman asked, full of surprise, “Still no baby?” I tried to keep it together when I said hi to the mom who'd been due the same day as me, sitting at a table with her precious, nearly two week old baby boy. Then I snagged what seems to have been the very last chocolate iced doughnut, before one of my children could take it. Because, in that moment, I needed the chocolate.

As I drove home through the fog that was beginning to clear, I tried to focus on the beauty of the sight I was getting to see and photograph, thanks to the tardiness of my little girl, instead of the discouragement I was again feeling.

A few hours later, I was back at the birth center. More progress had been made, which meant a more vigorous sweep was possible. The two little boys were so full of energy that morning, it would have been good for them if I'd taken them to a park, but I was so uncomfortable afterward. The thought of going to a park was completely intimidating and undesirable. Instead, as we drove, my eyes were drawn to the trees filled with vibrantly colored leaves against the now completely clear blue sky. Whether on her own or due to an induction, baby girl was coming soon, I might not get another chance like this to get pictures of the autumn leaves (which, if you know me, you understand that this realization was very important.) So I drove around town, stopping to pull out my camera here and there, when I saw a sight so beautiful I just couldn't pass it by. It wasn't long, though, before my discomfort was too great and I had to head for home.

Once home, I got the little boys settled in with a movie, and then I went to bed. It was a Friday, a short day, so the big kids were home soon after. It made resting a bit more difficult, but I was too uncomfortable to do much else. I started tracking contractions at about 1 pm, but wasn't really paying attention to their frequency. The discomfort carried through the afternoon and into evening, but when I noticed the colors in the sky as the sun was setting I couldn’t resist, and managed to hobble myself out there for a moment, to capture the sunset. 

The last sunset before baby girl

I wasn't sure yet, if it was the beginning, but couldn't help hoping that it was, and that – somehow – baby girl would come before midnight.

The very last pregnancy photos, taken by my 9 year old.

(Part iii) 

morning treasures

There's a bossling birthday today, but before I get to that, I had to share this. 

Mr. Boss had just walked out the door with our babes to head down to the bus stop. I was trying to work up the energy to get started on birthday pancakes when I heard him calling for me. I hurried out to the porch to see what was up, and he pointed out a spider that, from my perspective, looked as though it was floating between a tree and the antenna on his truck. He told me it was a better view from the other side of his truck, so I grabbed my camera, slipped on my flip flops, and went for a closer inspection. From the different angle, I could see sunlight catching the web. It was stunning. After a few shots, I ran inside for a squirt bottle to wet the web and maybe help it show up on camera a little better. A few squirts too many frightened the spider away, so I stopped, but gosh! It was gorgeous. 

grati-tuesday // 1

Weekends aren't usually my favorite. Mr. Boss works most Saturdays, so normally we don't do much. Plus, even after almost a month into the new school year, I'm not  feeling recovered from summer break, so weekends are mostly hard. This weekend, though? It was pretty spectacular. It was very full and busy and so fun.

I want to tell you about our fun weekend, and I want to do that by sharing what I'm grateful for. Actually, I want to  start a new, regular gratitude feature, where I share the things I've been feeling thankful for recently. This idea was inspired by the {gratitude lately} feature on Today's Letters, and kind of goes along with last week's post, as I try to incorporate expressing gratitude in my life a bit more.

I'm so grateful for a sweet friend from church who threw me a baby shower on Saturday. And that my mother in law sneakily surprised me by coming up for it. (Also grateful to her for watching our kiddos Friday night so we could go out for our 10th anniversary. We were only a week late.) ♡

Grateful for temples, that we were able to stop and admire the (tiny) Snowflake, AZ temple on our way to visit my cousin and his family on Sunday. I'm grateful for the time we were able to spend with my cousin. Our kids had so much fun together. ♡

I'm grateful for the time we got to spend as a family on Monday, thanks to the holiday. Mr. Boss wasn't feeling very well, but the fresh air did us all some good. ♡

I'm grateful for the sweet vendor we met at Art in the Park who, after we had moved on, ran over with a little gift for our family. A handmade, wooden "peanut butter" knife. ♡

I'm grateful for the beauty that can be found everywhere, if you just look. (Like the shadows cast on the side of our van as we were loading up to leave the playground). I'm also forever grateful for our van, that made all our adventures this weekend a possibility. ♡

What have you been thankful for lately? 

real life talk & pretty pictures

August 1st was a frustrating day. We were so close to the first day of school, but still far enough out that I was just feeling the general stress of summer break. As we approached the witching hour, I felt I was at my wits end. So, I did the only thing I could think of to regain my sanity. I piled everyone in the van to go on a photo safari. That way they bosslings would all be stuck in one place, limiting the amount of trouble they could get into, and I could enjoy the stress relief that comes when I pull out my camera and capture tiny, pretty things.

It had been rainy in town that day, so everything looked fresh and rejuvenated. Also, there are mosquitos in town and, after living here for about 15 months, I got my first bites that day. But it was still worth it. 

Around 6 we drove over to Mr. Boss, who was getting off work, and I traded cars with him. He took our circus home, took care of dinner and bed, and I got to drive around some more and enjoy peace and quiet and pretty things. 

Sometimes, as a mom, you just need an hour or two all to yourself. I didn't know that when I first became a mom, but I have learned quite well in the past couple of years that I really do need opportunities to be by myself, away from the kids and the responsibilities and the chaos. A couple of hours, every now and then, when I can just be me. 

Early signs of fall -- always makes me giddy.
(I ♡♡♡ autumn.)

The prettiest mailbox. 

I'm not sure what it is about
sunflowers and pine trees,
but it's pretty much my favorite. 

What have you done to take care of yourself lately?