Miracles

I'm a firm believer in believing. Sometimes you are going to get that awesome miracle, sometimes you won't. It's a crap shoot but God knows what is best and I trust Him.

1. The blanket Miracle: Maria has had her blanket since she was a little girl and of course she forgot it at the house. Stiners was so great and texted me exactly what I needed to do to get it. Unfortunately, it wasn't working. 10 times. Then we say a prayer. And it works. God is good and He listens. I told her she had to be fine with the outcome no matter what and know that God loves us no matter what. And then, the miracle.... we got in and got the blanket. And didn't lose the cat. Thank you Jesus.

2.The empty tank miracle: I have been on empty for awhile now. I don't know what is left of me, only that it is all gone. In Beatty. NV the gages said we had 100 miles left of fuel. Tonopah was coming up in 70 miles so I thought we had plenty. Plus there was a small town in half way. As we continue to drive, the gage decreases significantly. So much that 10 miles to the half way town we only have 10 miles left. Well, we get to Goldfield and there are no gas stations. How are we going to make 30 miles to Tonopah on complete empty? My only option is to drive and pray we get as close as we can get. Then we start walking. It would have been an epically horrible walk, I can tell you that much. We were all super quiet and stressed. (Although, Eli didn't seem to be very bothered. He said he needed to stretch his legs and thought walking would be great.) Mile after mile passed, and still the car went. Empty yet sustained by a higher power. I'm not into making deals with God, because I have nothing to barter. However, I knew that if we made it to the gas station, we would all be kneeling in thanks by the pumps.

And sure enough. We made it. Empty, but at the destination and safe.
I know Heavenly Father carried us there and that He did it to show us He loved us. We go through hard things, but this was a tender mercy and I am beyond thankful for it.

We kneeled at the gas pumps and said prayer!!!

Visiting Friends

Our whole reason for going south was to visit a sister of mine. She somehow ended up a part of my soul, a true friend... and she shares her birthday with my son!

We had such a blast with them. I'm not posting pictures of her kiddos for privacy reasons, but truth be told, pictures couldn't even do justice to how beautiful and wonderful they are.

She has a home. A home that is comfortable, filled with happiness and order, and one that is peaceful. It was truly such a blessing to be able to stay with her and do all the fun stuff we did. 

Fun stuff included:

polygamist spottings

park time

library time

games

minecraft

staying up until 2am doing who knows what?? lots of giggles involved though

aquatic center magic

Aquaman & laser tag

laser gun time at home

hiking in Zions

yummmmmy foooooood

talking and more talking

Love you my Stiners. You are such an inspiration and hero to me.

(The face you make when you see upwards of 20 polygamist women at the Walmart)

This hike was one of my favorite parts! Absolutely glorious! And just right for all the kiddos. 1 mile with great views.

Such a great trip!! THANK YOU STINERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!

Spring Break: Swim Time!! And Sweet Tomatoes. Again.

First thing in the morning... SWIM TIME!!!

It wasn't particularly warm out, but the pools were HEATED TO PERFECTION!!!!!

Thunder thighs. FOREVER.

They had a lazy river, lame wave pool that was pretty, multiple pools, multiple hot tubs.... it was AWESOME!!! And not too crowded at all!!!

I forgot her water wings though!! That meant lots of jumping into mommy's arms which I did not mind one bit!!

There was sand too!!!

We always loved to guess which one would be our elevator!!

I wanted a picture for the littles to recreate when they are older. I hope with all my heart that they will do this one below.

I promise I feed them.

I love Eli's art. And of course before we left Vegas we somehow ended up here again.

 Ha!!

Spring Break: Mandalay Bay

We started off the day by Joe graciously taking us to the car rental place. On the way however, he needed to use the bathroom. Desperately. 5 minutes after we left the house.

While he was in the Jackson's bathroom, Eli was banished from the car and had to stand by the ice box.

Soon after though, we were all set to go. 6 hours of car bonding!!!

Truly, they are the best travelers.

And having DVD players helps... a bit.

At gas stations we got treats!! Because everyone is just so amazing!!!

When we arrived in Vegas we dined at...

hahahahahah

SWEET TOMATOES!!!!

My salad was phenomenal. Although we all agreed the one in Arizona was better quality for other items. 

I don't know how I got our room for so cheap, but the front desk guy was totally into me. It was blatant. Even Maria commented on how creepy he was. He got us floor 56 (out of 62) and gave us $100 credit towards food because, "A lady like you has her hands full and shouldn't have had to wait in line so long."

Thanks tall white dude. He repeatedly asked me if there was anything else I needed.

Xanax brother. Xanax. Because you're stressing me out creepo.

It was a gorgeous room and super comfortable. The view was amazing and thrilling.

Since the pool was closed we headed to the aquarium inside. It was really nice. Simple, yet plenty to do and look at.

I loved this man that dressed as a woman. I was really happy we were staying at a casino that hired him and let him be who he was. He was so annoyed with a man who tried to stick his hand in the piranha exhibit. It was magic. Bitch mode flipped on and I was just amazed by the whole experience. Like really? Really dude you want to put your hand in there??

Eli and Ella were absolutely in 7th heaven with all the sharks. But even more so with the manta rays!! They pet them for at least 40 minutes. Ella was enthralled!! I am never at a loss when it comes to the wonder children have. Their discovery, excitement, and love of learning is joy to me. Complete joy. I could watch them always and never tire.

After I was trying to get Maria to get a shot of the picture they took of us so we wouldn't have to pay $25.

She was so freaked out. I loved her!!

In the morning we used our comps and enjoyed a simple overpriced breakfast that I was glad we didn't have to pay for.