Freedom from Fear

It's one of the four freedoms expressed by President Roosevelt and while there have been numerous writings on it - whole books in fact, I have never really thought about it.  But for some reason that's what I was thinking as Russ and I went hiking on our little anniversary trip this weekend. 

Freedom from Fear.  This is it.

(See those caves up there, that's where we went)

 

I don't know what it was, but I was thinking how nice it was that we could just go out in nature and find a trail and feel perfectly safe hiking through the wilderness, passing people as we went and just being able to enjoy the beauty of it all.  That sounds simple, but this is not so in many of the countries I have been in.  And maybe it's because I was wearing my HELP International shirt (which someone actually stopped me to ask about, by the way), but I kept thinking about some of the horrible incidents that have happen on beautiful paths just like this one in places that aren't as safe as the US and how the last time I hiked like this is El Salvador, we had to hire an armed guard to go with us. How blessed we are and we take it for granted! 

 

The view, the clean air, getting exercise, being together - it was all wonderful.  What a great thing to be able enjoy this God's creations and to feel so blessed to live in this beautiful, safe country.

It was such a great way to spend time together!  Oh, and I love this man.  Happy 13th, babe!

Which one makes the "Story of the Day"?

So let me set up the scenario and then I'll give you the choices . . .

Ice fishing, mid-March.  Currant Creek Reservoir, surrounded by mountains.

We're chillin' (literally).

Helping Dad.

Makin' snow angels.

Scoopin' ice.

Drawin' maps.

Takin' potty breaks.

And yes, catching fish.

Russ even caught one on his "Barbie" pole.

But on to the real stories:

What once was lost, now is found.
First bite of the day. Russ and I are about 10 feet away from this particular hole.  Corbin is about 2 feet away.  I see it moving, Russ does the "Oh, oh, oh!  Corbin! Corbin!  Quick, grab it!"  Russ runs toward the hole, one foot crunching through the top layer of ice.  Corbin is excited . . . too excited to realize what he's supposed to do.  Russ and I reach the hole just in time to see the pole pop in and dwindle into darkness.
Thirty seconds later, we have a bite on the pole right next to it, which is not uncommon since the fish tend to come in schools.  Russ grabs it and hands it over to Colton to reel it in.  Some thing's a little funny about this one though . . . it's tangled in another line . . . we reel some more . . . same fish that yanked our previous pole comes out of the water and next up . . .

Yep, we got our pole back (this never happens, by the way).  Guess that fish wasn't so smart after all.

The library gets my dough.
So, as normally do when we go fishing, I brought a book so I could get in a little quiet reading time (which didn't really happen).  But finally, when the boys went back up on shore, I sat down to soak up the sun and read a few pages.  Pretty soon though, the wind started blowing and the poles started wiggling.  So then I am staring at them intently, wondering if it is the wind making them move or a fish slowly nibbling at the bait.  And of course I did not want to be the one who lost another pole, so I had to be vigilant.  The moment came and I threw my book in my chair grabbed the pole and reeled in a nice cut-throat trout.  Just as I pull it up onto the ice, another pole 4-5 feet away starts jumping and I dive for it.  Safe!  I start reeling, look over, and the fish I dragged out is almost back to the hole!  And he's still attached to the pole!  Ahhhh!  Of course Russ comes back and just laughs at me as I try to keep one on the line and drag the other one back with my foot.  Turns out I yanked the second one too hard and lost it.  And during this little heart pumper moment, the wind picked up, and so as Russ and I try to gather our stuff and keep things from being carried away across the ice, my chair is blown over and my book takes a dive.  Yep. Right. in. the. hole.  Good thing Russ saw it or it might have been completely gone.  Either way, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to pay for that one.

Colton goes swimming.
Yes, really.  No pictures, sorry, but I was about 50 yards away.  See the thing about ice fishing this late in the season is that while it is nice and sunny and we can take off our coats, it also starts to melt the ice.  Now, before my mother has a panic attack - I'm not talking about melting the 20+ inches of ice that we are fishing through, no, just a good 8-12 inches off the top.  It's kind of hard to describe, but picture it being nice and warm the day before we get there, so there gets to be a few inches of slush on top of this frozen mass of ice which is one top of the rest of the lake that didn't freeze (where the fish are swimming around).  Then during the cold night, a layer of ice reforms on the top of the slush, which is on top of the big ice layer, which is on top of the water.
So . . . after a few hours of fishing in the warm sun, Colton decides he really has to go to the bathroom now, so Russ and Corbin start to walk with him back up to the latrine thing by the parking area.  About 10 yards from shore, it becomes quite clear that this top layer is melting again.  So with each step it is a precarious dance of balance and luck as to whether or not it will hold or whether your foot will slip through.  And about 2 feet from hard pack snow, it happens - to Colton.  What for us is the dip of our boot and shin, is half of his body.  And since the ice keeps breaking all around him, soon he is on his side swimming in this layer of water, slush and breaking ice.  From my vantage point, half a football field away, I'm like, "Russ!  grab him!" and in my mind I am screaming!  Russ can't get near him because the ice would just continue to break.  --Let me just interject at this point that there is no real danger of him drowning or anything like that, just picture him swimming in the kiddie pool, but full of snow and ice and in his snow clothes.--  So Corbin is the closest and he is doing that holy crap kind of laughing like "is this really happening, and it's kinda scary, but kinda funny that my brother is floundering around in the water like a wounded duck."  So Russ hollers at Corbin to grab him, and then the adrenaline takes over and Corbin uses his super-human strength to hoist him up by the suspenders on the back of his snow bibs and propel him onto the snow-packed shore.

Yep, that was the end of our fishing trip.  It was good though.  Really good.

Why We Love Daddy

He takes us fishing - every season and any kind of weather.  And we even get to eat it!  Yummy!

He makes cookies with us (AND all the cousins!).

He lets us spray the fire hose, slide down the fire pole and play on the fire engine.

He builds the best forts ever!

He has cool work parties!  We don't like that he has to work at the hospital on his days "off", but we sure like the perks!

AND . . .

He makes the best crepes with no effort at all.
He plays "Transformers" with us.
He plays video games with us way more than mom does.
He always buys us gum at the gas station.

He takes us camping and has taught us to love the outdoors.
He lets us ride his horse.
He drives the boat round and round while we tube and kneeboard.
He taught us how to play Lord of the Rings Risk.
He helps us with homework, teaches us how to tie our shoes and how to ride a bike.

We love you, Daddy!  Happy Birthday!

One Dozen

A dozen eggs

A dozen roses

 A dozen donuts

Dozens of Memories in a DOZEN YEARS

Happy Anniversary, babe.  Thanks for holding on. 

Here's to a dozen more.

A proud day for mom

You try to teach your children how to be good, how to be nice and how to make good choices.  And even at a young age, you wonder if any of it is sinking in.  But, for now, I am happy that my eight year old has made one important decision that I can be very proud of (although, with Corbin, I have little doubt that he will almost always make good choices). 
Corbin was recently baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and has taken upon himself the name of Jesus Christ.  He will now be held accountable for all of his choices.  I hope I have taught him well.  :)

Corbin is genuinely kind-hearted and has the sweetest spirit.  He is obedient, is always giving compliments to his mom, and tries to help his brothers.  He understands things far beyond his age and is an eager learner of things temporal and spiritual.  We are so blessed to have him in our home!  Corbin was anxious and excited for his baptism and so happy to have his dad perform this ordinance and share this day with him.

And so many people were there to support him! 

I know he felt very loved.

Best primary teacher ever:

Best Buds:

Awesomest Bishop (who has helped us in so many ways):

And family from near and far:

 Corbin is so blessed to have so many great priesthood holders as examples to follow!

We are so proud of you, Corbin!  We love you!

To find out more about what we believe about baptism, go here (and make sure you click the "view more"), or about Jesus Christ, click here.



Showing off Dad

Every now and then, the boys get to show off their firefighter dad.  And let me tell you, it is cool to have a dad who is a firefighter when you're in second grade (and preschool and kindergarten and first - I wonder when it wears off?)

Corbin introducing his dad.

Russ giving the rundown on what he wears and why.  He also talked about his day at the firestation, what to do if you or you house is on fire, and when to call 911.

This is Russ reminding them that he is still their friend, even though he sounds like Darth Vader.  They always like this part.