Vacation Fun

As a kid we went to Yellowstone National Park almost every summer. My Grandpa Wagner would come to visit and we would pile into the car for a week of camping in the Park. I loved the animals, geysers, mudpots, the camping. Well, at least that is how I remember it now. So when Tyler suggested we drive through Yellowstone on our way to Utah, I was excited. The kids loved it and can't wait to go back.

Shayla enoying the mud pots

Hard to see, but there is a brown bear eating a deer carcass in the forrest. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip :)

Garrett posing for a photo

Waiting for Old Faithful in the rain. I was amazed at how punctual Old Faithful was--I could take a few lessons from him

What is it about the buffalo that I love so much? It's like a creature from early american history has just stepped out of a book for us to enjoy up close and personal.

Notice the rainbow in the background--there was actually a double. It made the rain well worth it.

Grant-isms

Grant got a cut on his finger so i got him a band-aid with the above character on it. He opened it and exclaimed, "Yes! Chicken Noodle!!!"

pat-pat-pat

This post is for all of you stay-at-home moms out there. Actually for moms in general, too.

I've been thinking a lot lately about being a stay-at-home mom, and how difficult it is to feel valued in the world's eyes. And that's okay, I don't think I need a medal to keep trying to be the best mom I can be, but hmmmm...it wouldn't hurt :) Who doesn't like to receive sincere praise and feel that what we do is valued and important? Who doesn't enjoy getting a great performance review, a promotion, a raise or a compliment on a job well done? We all do--at least I do. Or i can imagine I would--I haven't had a full-time (paid) job since I was 24, so it has been a good 10 years. I am truly grateful for Tyler and his support and appreciation of my stay-at-home-mom-hood. He lets me know in countless ways that he values what I do for our family and supports me. I am truly blessed.

Miya has a little habit that touches my heart and give me my good performance review that I need. Sometimes when I give her a hug she snuggles in, nestles her face in my neck and reaches her little hand around me and gently pats my back. It is the sweetest gesture. It is as if she is saying thanks for being my mom, for being there for me. Everytime she does it I think to myself, that is the pat on the back that I needed. And I savor the moment.

That is the challenge of the stay-at-home-mom--to find those little moments that give you a pat on the back and savor them. Freeze frame them and reflect on them again and again on the tough days and moments. So that when the world looks down on what we do and thinks we don't have any ambition, or that we aren't smart enough to get a "real" job or that we are wasting our best years, we can get out our golden moments and bask in them. Each day I marvel at how fast my kids are growing up, and try to remind myself not to wish away the little moments, the sticky fingers to wash, noses to wipe, books to read, conversations at bedtime, contagious pure delight little kid laughter, and boo-boos to kiss better. They grow up so fast. I want to soak them all up so I can remember them little forever.

I wanted to put a quote from my mom that really made me think. She wrote this in her weekly e-mail after she had watched our kids for a week--I had meant to post this entry around mother's day, but I'm a bit behind.

"As I was in Wisconsin working on managing the Hacking household, I wondered who sings the praises of the quiet, hard-working mothers and fathers striving everyday to raise righteous families. That is why it is so important to keep yourself close to the Lord by keeping his commandments. It gives you the strength to do the simple things that matter the most. Having the quiet assurance inside your soul, that you are doing what is right, is what carries you along each day. You don’t need the praise of men, because you have the approval of God! I can’t imagine how anyone can raise a family today with all the evil that is so blatant. I’m so grateful for the gospel that can guide us as we raise our children. It gives me hope and peace because I know that, with the Lord all good things are possible."

Enjoy and savor your little moments each day--you are building the future one day at a time. Happy Mother's Day to you all!

Easter Gratitude

I am so full of gratitude. Easter gratitude. Tyler asked me to speak in Sacrament Meeting today, and I was kind of dreading it at first, but then I realized what a blessing it was, as I immersed myself in the Savior's life this week in preparation for my talk. I am so grateful that He fulfilled every bit of his part that he came to earth to do, and I just hope to be able to follow him a little bit better each day.

I loved this Easter video--so short and impactful. He suffered more than I can comprehend, so graciously and with such dignity. And because he fulfilled his mission, I have hope. Light and hope, that I can fulfill my own small mission in life, and return to live again with my Heavenly Father, my Savior and my precious family. Enjoy the video and Happy Easter to you all!!

I tried to take an Easter picture of the kids today, but Garrett had already changed out of his sunday clothes. I just had him put his vest and tie back on over his regular clothes. He said, "You better not show this picture to anyone!" So, being the great mom that I am, here it is for you all to enjoy. And a few from the egg hunt yesterday. Oh, and our camera is on it's last leg. The flash doesn't work, so I have to do pictures with no flash, which means the kids have to hold perfectly still or they'll be blurry. Riiiight, kids hold perfectly still. Funny. So we are in the market for a new camera--any recommendations?

He's home!!!

spring break

So it is spring break here. We opted to stay around here and work on house projects. So I thought I'd post some pictures of our recent trip to the Dominican Republic. Or heaven on earth, as I like to call it.

This is what we are experiencing now with the kids.



The view at Las Galeras beach

Our first meal on the beach. i loved how they served the fish whole--it reminded me of Portugal.

Watching them make queso fresco. The cheese was delicious, I just had to not think about the rough conditions it was made in and then I was fine.

The closest church was in Nagua, an hour and 50 minutes away. We didn't have the address of the church so we just headed to Nagua and hoped we could find it. Once we got there we had no idea where to go, so when we saw a guy in a white shirt and tie riding a motorcycle we asked where a mormon church was. "I'm Mormon," he said, "I'll take you there." And with that miracle we followed him through the winding streets straight to the chapel. And we were so glad we did. It was one of the highlights of the trip, hearing the testimonies of the members there and realizing once again how blessed we are to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives, and how it is the same all over the world.

Sunday must be laundry day in the Dominican. The people are lucky if they have a small washing machine and no one has dryers, so this view was everywhere as we drove to and from church.

I plan to frame my "laundry" pictures and put them in my laundry room. Then when I feel like complaining about all of the laundry I do, I'll remember to count my blessings. Because really my washing machine and dryer do most of the work.

This is the view from the condo. You can't really see but i am sitting on a chair reading a book, enjoying the beautiful ocean. Such peace and beauty. I've really got to live by an ocean someday.

This was an area where they do cliff diving. Tyler thinks since he has good life insurance that he can dive off of 500 foot cliffs into crashing waves below and I should be okay with it. Lucky for me the water was too rough the day we visited or he would have dived. Yikes!

This is the view looking down on the "stairs" to the water below

Tyler on the diving cliff. I am taking the picture from an open-air restaurant built on the edge of the neighboring cliff. A family from Holland built the restaurant and live and work in the dominican now. We were seriously considering options of how we could stay and live there too.
We came back to the restaurant later and had dinner. You can't see the view, but it was breathtaking. When we were getting ready to leave the owner hung a hammock in the restaurant so he could tuck his son in for bed. What a sweet life!

Walking along the rocks by the condo

I love the boats on the beach. I think the fishermen are really brave to go out in the ocean in these little boats. Notice the huge cruise ship in the background.

It is a sure sign of a dangerous animal if they have to saw the horns off. Beware of cow.

Coco, our friend and worker at the Condo. I wish you could see that he has a machete on his lap as he rides his motorcycle. The machete goes everyone with him.

This is a cave Coco took us to explore. It is behind his house on the hillside. His father-in-law has prayer meetings here, hence the need for the benches.

The inside of the cave was amazing. It was really dark, but the flash on the camera lit up the whole place. The only downside was the bats that were swooping around. I had a bad image in my mind of a bat swooping down and getting caught in my hair. Luckily we escaped with no bat attacks. Whew!

Us in the cave

These were some of the houses on Coco's property. i don't know how many families lived on this piece of land. When we went to visit there must have been 15 people there, some playing baseball, others cleaning, cooking and sweeping the dirt walkways and taking care of the kids running around. The Dominican is a land of contrast. People would live in the rudest of shelters, with no running water or indoor plumbing but have a TV and cable.

This was a really nice motorcycle. Most of them are pretty basic and run down looking, so I guess that is why this one got a fancy garage to park in.

Playa Madama. This beach was snorkel-heaven. The coral was so colorful and the fish were everywhere. Brightly colored electric blue fish, striped yellow, even a flat fish that blended into the ocean floor and swam like a sting-ray. We could have stayed all day at this beach. It was a rocky drive up to it, and then a 1/2 hour hike to get there, but well worth it.

This was on the hike out from Playa Madama. Do you like Tyler's pink camoflauge backpack? Cute. (Okay, it's really mine, but he carried it for me. What a gentleman). Actually the hike through the underbrush was a bit scary at times and I found myself thinking through emergency scenarios in my mind as I hiked. What if Tyler fell and broke his leg? How would I get him out of the forest and back to the car? And where would I go for medical treatment from there? Do you ever do that? I think when I'm nervous I try to think through every possible bad situation so I can be prepared so i won't be as scared. The best plan I came up with was to use our towels and a few fallen branches and lash together a stretcher and drag him out. When I told Tyler about my plan later he said I should just leave him there, go get help and come back. I thought about that, but knew with my sense of direction if I left him there I'd never find him again. And since I created the perfect plan nothing happened. Whew!

The condo

Tyler with Coco. Coco is such a great person and saved us a few times. When we first arrived at the condo at 2am, we discovered that we brought the wrong key and couldn't get in. Once again I was planning what I would do (sleep on the beach, etc.), when Tyler called Coco to see if he could come and let us in. Tyler's phone died 5 seconds after he got Coco on the line. Luckily it was enough for Coco to hear "keys don't work" and he and his girlfriend arrived on his motorcycle 10 minutes later and saved the day.

It was such a fantastic trip--a huge thank you to my mom for coming out to watch the kids and to my in-laws for sharing their condo.

ANOTHER birthday boy!

Ty's 10!!! Hard to believe...


His breakfast in bed--orange rolls and bacon

Ty's lemon cake

Nice shirt, Grandma!

Ty is celebrating with a friend party at the end of the month, so we get a little break to our "birthday season" to catch our breath and prepare.

Ty is such a great oldest son, so quick to help out and set a great example for his younger siblings to follow. Happy Birthday, Ty!

(And happy birthday to McKay, Devan and Dr. Seuss who all share the same birthday :)