The Park, Park City, and the Cabin

This weekend was full of adventures.  Friday we went to the park and had a picnic.  That night we drove to our condo in Park City where we enjoyed night swimming.  In the morning, we got up and drove to our cabin in the Uinta Mountains to help with cutting down some trees and making some repairs from the long winter.  The extra snow left the rivers overflowing and the mountains lush.  That evening, we drove back to our condo and went swimming and out to dinner.  Sunday we spent the day in nature enjoying the 75 degree weather and calm breeze.  There really is nothing more spiritual for me than being in nature.  What a wonderful weekend with family!

Me and E at the park

Love her green eyes and freckles

Cute sisters

She doesn't like having her picture taken, but boy is she photogenic!

At the cabin for the day--SPECTACULAR.

My precious peanuts

Aspen glow

Friends--for now

Summer snow

My dear, dear Dad

My favorite mountain with the river fuller than
I've ever seen it

Christian chillin' 

Just Perfect

I could so easily live in a house like this.

Park City was in full bloom everywhere!

Saw these old cars and had to take a picture

Simpler times

Picket fences make me happy

Wouldn't you love to know the history of this house?

And this one?

What could be more American than this?  Love it.

E. wanted me to take a picture of these heart flowers

Downtown Park City--looks like San Francisco, huh?

Jazzy thoroughly enjoyed herself

Main Street Park City store front

Climbing old trees

Let's Cut Each Other Some Slack

Our lesson in Relief Society yesterday centered on the eternal family, the forces that were trying to tear the family unit down, and the things we were trying to do in our individual homes to fortify our families against this.  Of course it made me reflect on the things they I do in my family that are contributing to making us stronger, and the ways in which I could improve.  The hard thing about being a mother, is that whatever you are doing right, it never seems like enough--you always feel like you should be doing more and be doing better.  It's also very hard in this day and age to gauge each moral issue and decide where you stand and what you will teach your children because there are so many diverse opinions.  Among LDS society, I tend to fall somewhere in the middle in my views because while I don't agree with the world's perspective of life, I often think LDS people take things to extremes and then impose their stringent views on everyone around them and I don't want to be like that either.  It becomes very difficult though when you hear of other people's views that are stricter than your own, because then you begin second guessing yourself wondering if your kids would be better off if you adopted a more rigorous view on things.  It also doesn't help when people sometimes present their personal opinions as doctrine, when in fact it is not.

For example, I have made it very clear to my girls that they are not allowed (as much as I could enforce this) to get married before they are 21, that they should live away from home for a couple of years before they are married, and that they should seek an education.  As a matter of fact, one of them asked me recently if you had to have a "degree" to be a mom and I said "Yes you do."  There are some that say that marriage as a priority should come first, above education and seeking an identity.  I don't agree, simply because of the growth I gained, living away at college from the ages of 18-21.  Some would think this to be a "worldly" view and one that should be altered to be in alignment with church leaders.  I don't know.  However, if other people around me were to marry younger than 21 and not get a college degree, this would not bother me and would not lessen my view of them.

Here's another example.  Our stake recently made a push for the young women to not wear skirts above the knee with leggings underneath.  I find this to be completely absurd and will not impose this rule on my daughter.  On the other hand, I don't want my girls wearing bikinis, short shorts, or even tank tops, although I don't think that people that do allow their girls to wear these things are in any way less than myself.  I don't see anything wrong with wearing fairly "fitted" clothing and absolutely DO NOT believe the girls to be the "gatekeeper" of a young man's virtue.  In my view, a female should be able to stay mostly contemporary in her dress and not constantly thinking of how a boy may view her apparel.  Am I worldly in my opinion on this?

Politics.  How I wish it wouldn't be intertwined with religion, but it is.  The thing is, I consider myself a very conservative person but because my views don't fall exactly down Republican lines (or Democrat for that matter), I think some may view me as a liberal person.  I like to listen to what everyone has to say, combine it with their background which perhaps contributed to their stance, and then decide for myself what I believe.  If this makes me liberal, then so be it.

Is there room for acceptance in our church if a couple only wants one or two children, or if the mother wants to work full or part time?  Is that bad?  Or worldly?  What about if the husband wants to be a stay at home Dad while the wife works to support the family?  I just can't believe there is a "one size fits all" way of living.  How could there be when every person is so different and their circumstances so diverse?  In my humble opinion, there are MANY ways to live a righteous life and if you are in tune with Heavenly Father and with yourself, you can find what's right for YOU.

Where am I trying to go with this?  Hmmm.  I guess that there definitely exists a Mormon culture which should be independent of the actual religion, but is not.  Especially for mothers, there's a lot of comparing and judging among us because when almost your entire neighborhood is LDS, sometimes you know too much about each other and so comparing is easy to do.  This leads to the temptation to assume everyone should think like you do and have the same guidelines as you do in raising their children.  I certainly hope that people can see that I am trying my DARNDEST to raise my children well, and refrain from judging me, and I hope that I too can be a supporter of those around me--someone who assumes most mothers are trying their best as well.

Jack Handey's "Deep Thoughts"

Jack Handey is an American Humorist who is best known for his "Deep Thoughts" which were featured and made popular on Saturday Night Live for many years.  For some reason, I was thinking about some of them the other day and thought I would share some of my favorites with you.  Note:  these should be read with a calm and soothing voice in your head with peaceful easy listening music playing and soothing pastoral scenes sporadically popping up.  Hopefully, you get sarcasm.

*If you define cowardice as running away at the first sign of danger, screaming and tripping and begging for mercy, then yes, Mr. Brave Man, I guess I’m a coward.

*Time heals all wounds.  But it usually leaves a pretty big scar.

*It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man.

*Is there anything more beautiful than a beautiful, beautiful flamingo, flying across in front of a beautiful sunset? And he's carrying a beautiful rose in his beak, and also he's carrying a very beautiful painting with his feet.

*Maybe in order to understand mankind we have to look at that word itself. MANKIND. Basically, it's made up of two separate words "mank"and "ind." What do these words mean? It's a mystery and that's why, so is mankind.

*Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way, you'll be a mile from them, and you'll have their shoes.

*I can't stand cheap people. It makes me real mad when someone says something like, "Hey, when are you going to pay me that $100 you owe me?" or "Do you have that $50 you borrowed?" Man, quit being so cheap!

*I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it.

*I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people.

*I wish I had a dollar for every time I spent a dollar, because then, yahoo! I'd have all my money back.

*If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think a cute thing to tell him is "God is crying." And if he asks why God is crying, another cute thing to tell him is "Probably because of something you did.

*If I ever get real rich, I hope I'm not real mean to poor people, like I am now.

*If you go flying back through time and you see somebody else flying forward into the future, it's probably best to avoid eye contact.

*If you think a weakness can be turned into a strength, I hate to tell you this, but that's another weakness.

*If you were a pirate, you know what would be the one thing that would really make you mad? Treasure chests with no handles. How the heck are you supposed to carry it?!

*Sometimes I think the world has gone completely mad. And then I think, "Aw, who cares?" And then I think, "Hey, what's for dinner?

*Sometimes I think you have to march right in and demand your rights, even if you don't know what your rights are, or who the person is you're talking to. Then on the way out, slam the door.

*The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face.

*To me, it's a good idea to always carry two sacks of something when you walk around. That way, if anybody says, "Hey, can you give me a hand?", you can say, "Sorry, got these sacks."

*When you're riding in a time machine way far into the future, don't stick your elbow out the window, or it'll turn into a fossil.

*Whenever I see an old lady slip and fall on a wet sidewalk, my first instinct is to laugh. But then I think, what if I was an ant, and she fell on me. Then it wouldn't seem quite so funny.

*If you ever catch on fire, try to avoid seeing yourself in the mirror, because I bet that's what REALLY throws you into a panic.

*It's easy to sit there and say you'd like to have more money. And I guess that's what I like about it. It's easy. Just sitting there, rocking back and forth, wanting that money.

*To me, clowns aren't funny. In fact, they're kinda scary. I've wondered where this started and I think it goes back to the time I went to the circus and a clown killed my dad.

PROBLEMS:  No matter how great and destructive your problems may seem now,  remember, you've probably only seen the tip of them.

VICTORY:  Winners never fly higher than when they're bouncing up and down on the egos of those they defeat.

Flynn Reunion at Bear Lake

Robert is one of 9 children so when they have a reunion, it's HUGE.  The kids have so much fun with their cousins!  There was boating, tons of games--we even had our own Olympic games (which my team won I might add), hot tubbing, a campfire, a graduation celebration for some of the older grandkids, good food, sitting on a very cold beach and lots of fun conversation.  It was especially memorable because Robert's parents will be leaving in September for their 3rd LDS mission to Ireland/Switzerland.

Elisabeth and her very favorite friend and cousin, Sierra

"Mads" and Thai--they are very close

Robert competing in the elephant relay--soooo funny

Madison in the "shake the junk in your trunk"
competition

Elisabeth getting ready to ride her human chariot

I have always loved weeping willow trees.  This was taken right by where
we were staying.  I used some new photo software to get this effect.

A N D . . . ACTION!

Trying to move the cookie from their foreheads to their mouths
using only facial muscles.  Absolutely hilarious!

Hunter and Gavin playing in the sand

Miss Madison being my model

Ashton prepping for the wheelbarrow race

My ultra handsome son Christian (using my new software effects)

Love that dimple in his cheek

Cousins Sierra, E., and Brook

Trying to get as many cotton balls to stick to their noses
using vaseline to pick them up

Cousins Adam, Braden, Oakley, and C.

Madison.  Always running, always having fun.

Even with panty hose on his head, he still has a beautiful smile.

A highly competitive game that may or may not end with
a broken appendage