A Touch Of Tyrell

We were supposed to go camping with Raven and Lance again in the White Mountains over Labor Day. We had it planned for a while.  The Smith's also invited us camping in Payson but we already had plans.  But then I got sick.  I had to cancel with Raven. We were both bummed.  Then I had this great idea that Jake could just take the kids and meet up with the Smith's (since they have kids our kids' ages and it would be easy for him) and I'd stay home sick. I mustered up just enough energy to pack the kids bedding and clothes and Jake packed everything else, including grocery shopping and food.  But by the time everything was packed, it was dark already and too late to leave. I convinced him to just sleep the night at home and leave first thing in the morning.  The kids were SUPER bummed I wasn't going. They were nervous to camp with just Dad (he's much less patient...).  Saturday morning I woke up feeling a lot better...

Most days I have at least two extra girls at my house.  They keep me extra, extra busy.  Painting, making slime, coloring, doing make up, painting nails, doing my hair, making giant messes, building forts, jumping off ladders onto mattresses....    They even come with us to grocery shop and I took them to the library for their first time.  They LOVE to help me make dinner.  And swim. Even if they don't have swimsuits on.  When they discovered that my phone was waterproof... it was pretty much all out war over who had the phone.  In the past I have wondered if I was a good mom or not, but having these girls over confirms that I am an excellent mom. My kids have no idea how awesome I am.  Someday they'll find out and love me even more for it :)

For the past three Friday mornings, Jake has gone out to ride dirt bikes in the mountains.  They get up at 4:30 and drive an hour to the mountains and ride before it's "too hot". It's still about 75 degrees when they start 😅 It's been fun for him. Trail riding is new for him and he enjoys the challenge and the newness of it. One of the times he almost crashed because of "whisky throttle". It's when your forearms get way too tired and starts twisting your throttle involuntarily. I wish I could have been there to see it :) Kevin (his dirt bike BFF) has taught him lots about trail riding.  Ironically one Friday evening (after a morning of riding) one of my brother's friends that lives in the valley texted Jake and asked if he wanted to go riding in the morning.  He said it was way fun but he was WAY tired riding two days in a row.  It's a beautiful picture though!

Roxy is such a hoot. I have enjoyed watching her little self grow up. She is so much like me in so many ways. For one, if she gets hurt and starts crying, it's best to just ignore it and walk away. If you ask her if she's "ok" she gets super mad and tells you to go away... lol, just like me. I still do that 😅 She is also our most brave and daring child... like yells "cannon ball" and jumps into the bathtub! More fun facts about Roxy: She is excellent at getting her boogers out of her nose, doesn't like when you draw attention to her, she's super independent, says "it's night o'clock" at night and "it's up time" in the morning.  The other morning after a bath, she put on some random socks, filled a little purse with Q-tips, and used Jake's shoe horn as her "camping stick" and she did her make up (basically drew a unibrow). A few days later she was dressed in nothing but a giant necklace, ...

I got my blood results back.  I am as healthy as a healthy person can be. All of my numbers are perfect and there is nothing wrong with my thyroid and I don't have diabetes or any other condition.  As my doctor was going over the results she said,  "you look like you're just waiting for a bomb to drop" Because I was. There was something very clearly wrong with me and that test didn't give me any answers.  Then she went over the genetic testing. It was a very expensive test but it's where we got some answers.  But first, I must back up. I'll have to give a little personal and family history for this to mean as much as it does.  I have struggled with depression and anxiety all of my life. I literally can't ever remember a time when I wasn't anxious and I clearly remember the depression starting when I was about 8 year old. Mental illness runs deep in my family history. My dad struggled with my same struggles and so did hi...

Jake and I didn't plan anything big for our anniversary. We felt like our trip to Switzerland could suffice :) But one of Jake's clients owns a super cute townhouse in Flagstaff and offered it to us for our anniversary. How cool is that?! It's 3 bedrooms so we brought the kids.  I was EXTRA EXTRA excited to stop by the Goodwill Outlet while we were there to see if I could find any old books. They are only $.50 there (but $3.99+ in the valley)! I found a really good load. I am so excited.  I also found this old folder of old pictures and letters... I think antiques and history is a little too cool sometimes :) We spend Friday and Saturday night there. It was so nice to get out of the truck and NOT be boiling hot Friday night! It was about 78 degrees on Saturday which was a real treat. The funny thing is that it was magically only 98 degrees in the valley (a solid 10 degrees cooler than it has been) but we were still happy to get out of town.  ...