Quiet and Real Life

We returned home from the beach a couple of weeks ago and I must admit that it put me into somewhat of a bad mood.  A week of happiness and ease made the reality of life hit hard upon returning home.  My life is wonderful, there are so many good things happening but it's filled with a lot of work and responsibility.  When we crossed the line into Virginia, I felt my blood pressure rise a notch. 

There's something about the beach that just makes me completely relax.  Perhaps it's watching the beautiful view or spending happy time all together.  I always like to go to the beach alone and just watch the waves and listen to my own voice (which sometimes gets lost in all the responsibilities).  It's a time that I can step back from the chaos in my life and see more clearly what needs to happen. 

This trip Amy awoke at 6 and instead of trying to wrestle her back to sleep, we went to the beach and sat and watched.  I wanted to keep that feeling with me, one of contentment and calmness. 

So, it was back to real life and it was hard.  I decided that perhaps being out in nature together might bring back some of that feeling for me.  

I love sitting around a camp fire.  Life is just better there watching the flames, talking, eating good food.  It's more of a challenge here to find fire pits so we haven't, in all the years we've lived here, had a fire.  We went out to Prince William Forest and got ourselves a camp site.  We invited our friends, the Baird's, to join us and we had the more relaxing, lovely afternoon.  The kids frolicked (and I truly mean that word) in the forest and I thought of many afternoons past at my grandparent's cabin in Ophir.  How I miss those days.  Oh, and the delicious dutch oven chicken. 

 

 

We liked it so much that we went back the next Saturday to "hike."  I can't really call it a hike because we weren't going up a mountain, it was really just a walk through trees.  It's the Utah girl in me, I guess.  

We felt relaxed and happy and I thought that maybe these feelings exist outside the beach.  I'm going to keep trying to see. 

Wishes and Lighthouses

I have harbored a secret wish for a while, I have always wanted to see a lighthouse lit up at night.  I love lighthouses with all their history and mystery.

Heb's parents offered to watch the kids for the evening (the best!) and so we went to a movie.  On our ride home down the Dare Trail, we realized that we had overshot the beach house and were just ten minutes away from the lighthouse.  This was our moment, we seized it and went on a little adventure.

There in the distance, we saw the light blinking, dim and distant at first.  In the darkness, we pulled up close to the base and could see it's faint outline before the light came on in its designated pattern.  You know that each lighthouse blinks a different light pattern so boats can differentiate them.

We stood there together and just watched it brightly blink and then return to the darkness, ever consistent and faithful.  It was the most incredible thing I've seen in a long time.

It took me back to back when Heb and I were first dating, we went on a date on Valentines Day.  We drove up to Bear Lake together and ate pizza, something we've done for many subsequent Valentines Days.  We talked and held hands and for the first time felt like there was some real potential for our relationship.  We drove over to Bear Lake and stood on the bank.  In the quiet darkness, we watched to snow fall on the water.   It was a really special night for us. 
  

While we were out watching the lighthouse blink on and off in the darkness, Heb turned to me and said that it felt like Valentines from so long ago.  In our busy, kid filled life, it's hard to find those special moments in our relationship.

This moment almost didn't happen.  I'm not always the best at asking for things but one of the lessons I learned from the beach this year is to make things happen.  I want those special moments in my life.  I walked away knowing that I need to ask more, seek more.  
  

Take Me To the Ocean

A few weeks ago, we got back from our first trip away without the kids.  It was a much needed getaway because it's like the kids forgot how to sleep this fall.   We went to Outer Banks.  We thought about all sorts of other places but I honestly couldn't get myself excited about going anywhere else (I just didn't get enough in May).  I also needed a trip that only required that I book a house and that's it.  I didn't even grocery shop before I left.  We needed this trip folks.

There was one afternoon where we took our lawn chairs and just sat on the beach.  We have often talked about doing this when we had the kids running around.  So, on our quiet trip, we just sat and watched the water and sky change from day to evening.  There is nothing in the world so calming as the ocean.

We went to movies, ate out, shopped, visited a lighthouse.  It was quiet and calm and we all need that in our life occasionally.

We discovered a Parade of Homes and decided to see some of the houses.  I've never seen a home with the kitchen on the top floor but that's how they all were.  We walked inside three million dollar beach houses.  It was beautiful, although I don't know that I'll ever understand really bold wallpaper.  While we were out driving, we saw one of the beach houses that we have rented in years past.  It was right in the line of the recent hurricane and the road in front of it was caved right in.  So crazy!

 Well, ten years is a pretty big deal. 

Outer Banks 2015

I have been in beach mourning ever since we got home from our trip to Outer Banks last weekend. I think I just want to live at the beach forever.

 

  Life is so much more relaxed at the beach.  There is always going to be sand everywhere so I have no expectation that it's going to be any other way.  No one worries about makeup, I don't blow dry my hair and I just let it be for a bit.  Maybe this is a lesson I need to take home into my regular life.  

Amy didn't sleep much the first night and was up very early the next morning.  I gathered her up and we walked down to the water together.  I stood in the sand and just thought about life.  There is something about the water, the waves that is the most calming thing to me.  In my life, there is very little calm so I steal these little moments.

 

The happiest part of the trip for me was watching the kids discover and play in the water.  Leo has always loved the beach and Amy had no fear.  We spent a truly blissful afternoon playing and laughing.  I'm going to tuck it away as one of my happiest memories.

 

 

 

  We rented the most beautiful beach house.  It was the nicest one we've stayed in, by far (lets not talk about the one with the half bath on the porch).  I admired all the little beach touches.

I think I have two little beach bums.  Leo hasn't stopped talking about being at the beach.  I printed up some pictures and Leo had to have all of the beach ones hung on his door.  I never thought I'd want to return to the same place over and over, I like adventure in my life but now I want to come back to the same place again and again.  I can't get enough of being there.  This trip, we were able to share it with my parents.  I have been talking about it for years so it was so fun to share it with them too.  I think they loved it as much as we did. 

 

Bear Lake

This week some friends invited us up to Bear Lake.  It was a quick trip but we all had a great time.  You know how Leo feels about beaches.

When we moved back in November, I was so welcomed by these girls.  They came to my door and brought us treats and invited us out when we were new.   They have filled our days with play dates, invites and good times.  I am going to be a better friend because of these girls. 

 

 

Hyrum Reservoir

Last week, Leo and I went out to Hyrum Reservoir with the cousins.  In the 9 years that I have collectively lived in Logan, I have only been one other time.  I can't believe that we haven't spent so much more time there.  It was great, 15 minutes from my house and so easy.  If you live in the area, go there.  Today. 

Leo has a long history of loving beaches.  The first time we went to Outer Banks, he was about 11 months old and he crawled and dug in the sand and was the happiest that I've ever seen him.  It was the same at our last trip back in September.

Ever since our trip to the reservoir, Leo has been asking to go back with Ryder Jude (his cousin).  In fact, on the ride home, he said, "let's go back to the beach, want to?"  Seeing him so happy makes me forget about the sand and hassle of a beach trip.  It was so fun!

Outer Banks, Vol. 2

 

We just got back from our second (hopefully) annual Outer Banks trip yesterday.  There is nothing like being by the ocean.  I bask in being there by the waves. We've spent the last year dreaming about being back there and it did not disappoint. 

We rented a beach house with our buddies, the Blakes, and spent five days spending as much time as possible on the beach (which wasn't too hard because it was our house, a dune and then the beach), relaxing and playing games together, visiting lighthouses and enjoying the scenery. 

Our old friends from Logan, the Kudin's were also able to join us for a day.  We were quite the crowd with 3 babies under two and a doggie.

 

Leo loved the beach and several times a day would ask to go on a "walka" to the "beach."  He was in heaven digging in the sand. 

We ate way too much junk food.  We bought our traditional bin of cheese balls.  Man, it's a good thing we only buy those once a year when we go to the beach.  Those things are addicting. 
 

Our fresh donuts from Duck Donuts.

One of the highlights of the trip was a special experience for Heber.  For his 30th birthday, I put together a hang gliding trip up 2,000 feet.  You have to do something big, something memorable.

There he is, up there.

Do you see the huge smile on his face?  He loved it.

From our house, you could hear the beach and I spent several evenings listening.  I have to admit that I spent a lot of our trip thinking.  How could I not, there is so much change coming our way.  So many things to think about, so much to prepare for. 

 

Oh yes, remember that I'm having a baby? 

Hopefully we'll be able to come back next year.  There is nothing like spending a few days on the beach.