Church History Sites

It has taken me a whole week, but I'm finally back! Last week we dropped Mark off to begin his 28 mile pioneer trek with the youth, then my family and I headed to visit Martin's Cove. This is where over 500 Mormon emmigrants found shelter from a winter storm during their migration west. We pulled a handcart for a mile, stopped for lunch, then we hiked another mile into the cove. It was a long, hot day, but we had so much fun and I gained a greater appreciation for the pioneers, especially those who travelled with young children.

Gavin loved riding in the handcart.
Megan was a little trooper!
My sister-in-law Jenny took this picture and I thought it was so beautiful! The pioneers could only bring 17 pounds with them in a handcart this size. I can't even imagine condensing my belongings down to that size!
The pioneers crossed the freezing Sweetwater River at at least 6 times in October 1856. We had the luxury of shoes, plenty of food, and 95 degree weather.

I am so grateful for my early ancestors who sacrificed so much because of their faith in God and their willingness to obey a living prophet.

Family Hike

We have had a very busy couple of days and I have several pictures to share. Mark is the Young Men's President in our ward and he had the opportunity to go on a two day, 28 mile pioneer trek with the youth in our stake, so my parents, my brother Tyler, and my brother Travis and his wife Jenny came to visit and keep us company while Mark was gone.

Before Mark left we all went for a hike to Popo Agie Falls. It was beautiful! Tyler ventured out to get closer to the waterfall so Gavin followed and I was right on their tails. Tyler is leaving on Wednesday for a two year mission in the Dominican Republic. He is so helpful and we will miss him while he is gone, but we are excited for this new adventure in his life!

We borrowed this handy backpack from some friends and it was great! Megan was a little trooper on our hike and she even took a nap toward the end.
Grandma and Gavin took a few breaks in the shade.
We don't get many pictures taken of just Mark and I anymore, so it's nice to have a few every now and then.

It was a hot day, so Mark slid down this natural waterslide to cool off. My brother tyler bravely accompanied him!

Relief Society Retreat

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go on an overnight camping trip with my church women's group. It was so much fun! At first I was hesitant to go because I had heard the sleeping arrangements were a little frightening, but thanks to a wonderful friend who convinced me to go I had a great time!
We slept in nice insulated cabins. Here is my good friend Melissa (the reason I went) and her sweet 2.5 month old baby Celeste.
This was the part of the sleeping arrangement I was concerned about. Several of the beds dipped significantly in the middle and I was slightly worried I would wake up on the ground. I actually slept quite well and no one in our cabin was disturbed by any critters until the next morning when we found a mouse!
We went on a 1 mile hike that was beautiful and so much fun! Here are the women from our ward (except Melissa) who went on the hike.
Yes folks, it is July 19th and I am standing on snow! Pretty crazy! Thank you Melissa for encouraging me to get away and for helping me have a very fun weekend!

Pictures of the kids

I found these outfits on clearance a few days ago and I thought they both looked so cute so I took a few pictures.
I put Gavin's new shirt on him and he said, "mom, I am the most handsome kid in town!" I had to agree!
Gavin is getting so big! I can't believe he's already 3 1/2!
I took some super cute pictures of Megan smiling, but she had a stick in her mouth, and this is the best look she would give me without the stick.

Enter to win...

One of my wonderful sisters-in-law is giving away a $60.00 gift certificate to a website that specializes in modest dresses for adults and children. I am so excited about this opportunity that I wanted to share it with those of you who read our blog. It's so easy to enter the drawing so please do it! Here's what you have to do: 1) Go to mikarose.com and checkout their super cute dresses 2) Choose a favorite dress (or two) 3) Go to brholloway.blogspot.com 4) Scroll down until you see the heading "labels" on the right side of the page. Keep going until you see "Giveaway". Leave Rachel (my sister-in-law) a comment telling her your favorite dress and why. She will then enter your name in the drawing which will end this Friday July 18th at 11:59pm PST. Bonus: Spread the word about this drawing on your blog and your name will be entered twice. Good luck!!!

Note: This same giveaway is being offered on another website. Increase your chances and enter again! It has the same requirements as Rachel's (choose your favorite dress from Mikarose then go to ponytailchallenge.blogspot.com then post which dress is your fav and why. The deadline is Sunday July 20th at 11:59 pst. Good luck again!

Goal Accomplished- A reflective post

A few years ago during a Promoting Wellness class at Idaho State University I was given a class assignment to make a list of goals I wanted to accomplish in my lifetime. I recently pulled out this list to refresh my memory. Some of the goals had an ending point, others are ongoing. I wrote down goals relating to family, travel, talents, and education.

Sometimes as a full-time mom I get stuck in a mundane rut doing the same thing over and over day after day. It gets easy to put everyone else's needs before mine, but reviewing my list of goals reminded me that I need to have things to look forward and work towards. It might be as simple as reading a certain book, or it might be as complex as earning a Master's Degree, but whatever it is, goals are so important!

As I contemplated my list I added a few new things to it; one of which was to run 5K (3.2 miles)in under 25 minutes. I am pleased to report that yesterday I completed my goal!!! I was originally going to participate in a race sponsored by the local fire department, but I don't enjoy running, and I just couldn't stand to pay an entrance fee to do something I don't enjoy. So why, you might ask, did I set this goal if I don't enjoy running? Please read on as I explain.

In 2006 Mark and I accepted our first post-college job in the boonies in South Dakota. We made the move and a few weeks later I was diagnosed with Asthma. This is a condition that is very treatable and it should not have been a big deal, but at a time when so many changes were going on in my life, this threw me for a loop. Within a few minutes I was exhausted and could hardly walk without becoming winded. I wondered how in the world I would be able to keep up with my busy little 18 month old. Thanks to medication I got everything under control and went on with life as normal. Eighteen months later we made another move, and after 10 days of being in our new town I made 3 visits to the emergency room and was then admitted to the hospital for 3 days with pneumonia and asthma complications. With my house full of unpacked boxes, a new job for Mark to start, a 2 year old and a 4 month old, and no friends our little family was very humbled! Several wonderful people brought in meals and tended our children while I recovered. I was used to being very active, but once again became winded during very small tasks. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to exercise anymore. I know these are all silly concerns and that I probably made a big deal out of a small incident, but if you have ever gone for 3 days with very little oxygen you will understand the reasons I panicked. This was a life changing experience for me! I learned that medication is helpful, and that it is okay to ask for and accept help from others. That is the very long explanation of why I set a personal goal to run 5k. To prove to myself that I can overcome my weaknesses and accomplish anything I set my mind to.

Another trip to Idaho!!!

Last weekend we made our third trip to Idaho in 3 months! I was worried that this time it would be a long and exhausting trip, but it turned out to be relaxing and very enjoyable! I took a lot of pictures and didn't feel like putting them in any particular order, so here they are randomly organized.

We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa Black's house late Thursday so I was concerned that I would have very grouchy children on the 4th, but they both pleasantly surprised me and were happy little troopers! Here are Megan and I watching Rexburg's 4th of July parade.
Our primary motivation for traveling to Idaho was to visit my oldest brother Jason, his wife Mindi and their two beautiful daughters Cailyn and Jessica. They live in Texas and it was so nice to see them! We spent Saturday at a nearby lake swimming, canoeing, and snacking. Jessica loves grapes!
I am so impressed with this picture (taken by Mark)! Five grandkids aged 13 months to 3 years and not one of them is screaming!!! In fact they all look somewhat pleased. We missed Jenna, Kaden, and Spencer (and their parents too), but loved visiting with them in May.
After the parade Mark took Gavin to the spray park to play with cousins while Megan and I headed to my Aunt Terri's for a nap, BBQ and some visiting. The nap attempt was unsuccessful, but the visiting was wonderful! My grandmother turned 80 in May and I missed her birthday celebration so it was nice to chat with her. She is one of the most amazing women I know. She has had numerous trials in her life and she has learned from each one of them. I am so blessed to be her granddaughter. I also enjoyed visiting with my Aunt and cousins whom I haven't seen for a while.
After the BBQ we headed to the park to meet Mark and Gavin. We hadn't been there very long when we noticed that our sweet Gavin was going potty over one of the fountains in the spray park! Mark quickly intervened and the remainder of the day Gavin kept saying "never pee in the park, only potty in the toilet!" He is a boy through and through! Despite our incident, Jenny still enjoyed the refreshing water!

More family fun pics

Like I mentioned before, these pictures are in very random order. Mark was an impromptu addition to the Rexburg parade. He's grabbing his dad's cell phone out of his truck. I didn't bother putting Megan in her swimming suit because I didn't think she would want to get very wet. She proved me wrong though! She loved the water and was dripping wet within seconds.
One of my favorite memories growing up is of family canoe outings. I wanted to give Gavin some canoe memories, so two of my brothers and I hopped in the canoe with Gavin and Cailyn. The kids loved it and so did I!
Gavin loved the canoe in and out of the water! Thank you to everyone who helped us have a wonderful trip!