Green River Trip

I love my job! Some days it is hard and I feel very underpaid. Some days I feel like I just suck. Some days I feel heartbroken for girls and the families I work with. Most days though, I feel accomplished and like I'm doing something that actually matters. Most days I have pride in the progress my girls are making, the work that my team puts into the girls, and how far I have come in being a mini-therapist! And sometimes I just love my job because we get paid to do fun things- like go on a 3 day camping and river run adventure! 

The second night that we were at Green River, all the therapists put on a "spirit guide ceremony". It was so cool! There's no way describing it could do it justice. The location of the ceremony was so serene... the sun setting, the wide and calm river, the tiki torches, the circles of people, God's architecture in the background. The ceremony was based off traditions of Native Americans who once lived in the area. Therapists picked a spirit animal guide for each of their girls and their parents and presented the girls with a charm of their animal and a 30 second explanation of why it's fitting. 

After the girls and families went to bed, staff got to go back to the ceremony ground and in a much more casual way, be presented with their spirit animal. 

The spirit animal guide I was given is the beaver.

• "Beaver qualities include being a do-er- willing to do what it takes to get the job done. The work you do contributes to the greater good. You'll stick with a task until it's completed, no matter what obstacles may appear. You are very loyal, resourceful, organized, and focused."
• "Learn from the beaver when you want to bring your ideas and goals into reality, when you want to resolve conflicts with people around you, or when there is a job to be done."
• "When the beaver shows up, it means this is a time for purposeful and directed activity. Don't be busy for busy's sake; let your actions be focused and intentional. It's time to change your environment in a way that makes you feel more secure and comfortable."

Also, speaking of work, I'm a little stressed with how short-staffed we are right now! Let me know if you know of anyone looking for a part-time job! 

One Day Two Hikes

We made an impulse buy on Friday morning. It was so comfortable and handy and Owen loved it, so we had to leave REI with a new baby carrier. And since we had a new baby carrier, we had to go on as many short hikes as we could fit in one day. Between car repairs, chores, and Owen's nap, the number of short hikes we could fit in one day was 2. But that's 2 more than zero!
P.S. We're LOVING this neither of us work on Fridays thing!

Rocky Mouth Falls: http://intermountainhealthcare.org/live-well/move-well

 Look at Owen's face... not mine!

Some things are a little more difficult carrying a kid on your back.

Lisa falls: http://www.yourhikeguide.com/lisa-falls/

 He was singing and clicking his tongue the whole time! We were constantly laughing at him!

 With a tripod made of rocks.

Half Birthday

Here's our nightly routine:

• Between 8 & 8:30 we change O's clothes, change his diaper, rub him down in lavender lotion, put him in his sleeper, feed him, and lay him in his crib to fall asleep.
• Between 8:30 & 9 we catch up on chores around the house and get ourselves ready for bed. 
• Then around 10:30 every night, this happens:
• Me: I'm going to go look at Owen
• Gavin: No! Wait for me!
• *Sneak into his room and freeze if Owen flinches*
• Me: I just want to squish him
• Gavin: I just want to put him in my pocket
• *Each give him a long kiss on the cheeks and make a comment about how his cheeks feel like little balloons*
• *Sneak out*

With Heaven's help we've somehow been able to keep this child healthy for 6 months. He's such a good baby and we love him more than he'll ever know! (At least until he has his own kid).

Hidden Falls

A quarter mile still counts as a hike, right? 

I like to think that Owen loved it.

 Check out this link if you want to have the same mini-adventure: 

http://www.yourhikeguide.com/hidden-falls/

Unlucky

I must have burned out my luck winning in March Madness. Since then I have sent two automobiles to the shop, broken a stroller, a bluetooth speaker, an iPhone, and left my wallet at work. I'd post pictures but they are all on my phone. 

Count your blessings Madi, count your blessings.

4 Months

I'm a little late on this post but that's ok! 

• At his 4 month appointment this week he weighed 16 lbs, 5 oz, and was 26 inches long. I didn't cry when he got shots this time, I only got a little choked up. 
• As you can tell, he hates eating. That was a joke. 
• I love his blue blue eyes and his thunder thighs. 
• He screams and screams and screams. He screams when he is happy, mad, sad, bored, tired. He just screams. Very loudly. I'm sure our upstairs neighbors love it. 
• When Gavin and I are both home, we have to go in to his room together to get him out of bed in the mornings because we love it so much when he sees you from his crib and does his huge bashful smile. 
• Every night before bed he takes about 10 minutes and just wiggles his little heart out. It's probably my favorite 10 minutes of every day. 
• He likes to grab his feet and do the happy baby pose, which is adorable. Lately this has led to him trying to stick his toes in his mouth, which is not so adorable.
• He still hates tummy time. He's never going to crawl or roll over because, as parents, we can only stand about 20 seconds a day of him screaming while on his stomach. He can roll from front to back if we put his arms underneath him. He'll never roll back to front because he has no desire to!
• When I complained about being pregnant, I frequently got "If you think being pregnant is hard, wait until your baby gets here." That's a lie. Being pregnant sucks but this little guy rocks and I could just squish him and kiss him all day! 

Up

Gavin had never seen the movie Up. Go big or go home. The Up house replica is all but 2 miles away from us so we drove by to get a visual. Then Gavin put his creative abilities to the test so that we could watch the movie in theater style after Little O went to sleep.

 13222 Herriman Rose Boulevard

 Gavin borrowed the projector from his mom, and set up this contraption...

He nailed a couple holes in our bed sheet but I think it was worth it. He keeps saying how excited he is to watch March Madness on this!