lotsa news.

Last Thursday (8th) I had the awesome opportunity to travel to Dallas, Texas, for a Take Shape for Life convention.  It was completely amazing and I came away feeling edified, inspired, more knowledgeable, and better prepared to help people change their lives for the better.  Admittedly, I was a bit nervous about the trip.  It was the first time I would be flying anywhere by myself and I was leaving the boys with Zac for the first time {for longer than a day}.  I know he's totally capable-he helps me all the time when I'm home-but I just knew I'd miss them...all three of them.  We left the boys with Zac's mom & Morgan Thursday morning early so he could run me to the airport.  Said our goodbyes {after he reassured me about 30 times that everything would be great and to go & have fun!} and I waited for my flight.  I flew from Boise to Vegas first, had an hour layover in Vegas, switched planes, flew to Midland Texas, had a 45 minute delay there, chilled on the plane for a while, and finally flew into Dallas around 5 PM.  I don't know what I was expecting, but it was much different than anything I'd thought.  I guess first thoughts of Texas brought sunshine & pools to my eyes, but when we flew in it was raining like crazy & super hot & humid.  It actually looked & reminded me a lot of home.  (other than the extreme humidity).  My spirits weren't dampened though, and I was proud of myself for hailing my first cab & making friends with the cabbie...especially because I had no idea whether he would get me to the resort alive.  He could speak little English, was snacking the whole time, messing with the radio, and spitting chew into a water bottle.  He was friendly though, and knew his way around Dallas, so I was grateful.  Got to the awesome Gaylord Texan Resort where I would be staying and it was beautiful.  So posh & amazing.  My mentors & friends, Tony & Brenda, were gracious enough to let me stay in their hotel room with them and it was such a treat!  We became great friends over the course of the next few days and stayed up well into each night talking and laughing.  I learned so much!  Each day was packed with awesome classes & workshops, as well as inspirational & informational sessions.  Yummy food & the unveiling of new products were great too.  My cousin Sabra was there {she's also a coach} and I hung out with her, her daughter Shalyn, & her friend Kristin a bit too.  We were kept super busy each day and I took three notebooks worth of notes!  I missed the boys but was assured everything was fine each time I called.  Zac had a lot of help from our families-and especially Morgan who stayed at the house with him during the nights & helped with the morning routine.  By Saturday night I was feeling major information overload, lack of sleep, and anxiety because I missed my three guys.  We traveled home Sunday & Brenda and I chatted the whole time.  Zac met us in Meridian and it was so great to see him.  I was so grateful for Tony & Brenda and mostly the opportunity for getting to know them better and feeling such a great bond with them.  We got home to the boys who were both napping & I laid by Grayson on the couch for a quick rest of my own.  He was super cute when he woke up and they both seemed excited to see me.  So grateful for a husband who is supportive of the things I'm attempting to do and that he was so great about keeping the boys.  Thankful for the family members who helped him and for great friends & an awesome company & program in TSFL.  Good times! {pictures to be added tomorrow}

Adjusting to being home was a little bit of a challenge for me.  I was on such a high & had so much great information in my head, but few ideas on how to process everything without exploding!  The next four days were spent catching up on work stuff, house stuff, clients stuff, playing with the boys, having a dinner meeting at Matt & Jen's house (both boys were amazing while there-and so grateful for this awesome couple!), watching SYTYCD, doctor's appointments for both boys, chiropractor for me, aunt Doll & Jaeger hanging out here for one evening, trying to get back into real life, processing all the information I'd gotten, visiting with friends on the phone, going visiting teaching, cuddling with Zac, and enjoying the hot weather...

Friday (16th) arrived quickly & I spent the morning getting stuff done around the house.  Dropped Gray off at Becca's and Bex off at Grandma Cleaver's and I headed to Amber's house.  We left Ella with Todd & headed out on a photo/girls night. In BIG news for Amber, she's expecting baby #2!  We could not be happier for her, Todd, & Ella.  Yay for their sweet & growing family!  Kinda crazy for this weekend because she hasn't been feeling great, but I drove while she ate a little bit and we both felt excited to spend some time together & enjoy the chance to chat uninterrupted.  We headed to Sumpter & checked into our Inn.  We both napped for about half an hour and got ready to head out to the rehearsal/dinner for the bride & groom.  The wedding location was actually about an hour past Sumpter, but it's beauitful there and the conversation never stopped between us, so it was super enjoyable.  We took lots of pictures, ate a yummy dinner, and headed back.  Spent some time enjoying Baker City and headed back to the Inn.  We talked, watched tv, and slept.  Saturday was hot hot hot!  We spent all day documenting the bride/groom's special day and being at their sides all day.  It was exhausting and we both got super sunburned, but the couple & both their families were so sweet & Amber and I had a lot of laughs and made good memories despite the heat.  We headed back home Saturday evening and I came home to my three boys-Zac had kept them at home overnight again and then was home with them Saturday and said they all did great.  What a good husband!  However he did say, "We want Mommy to stay home with us for a really long time!" (:  I want to too.  It was great to get away with Amber, but two weekends away in a row from my boys was hard.  So glad to be home and getting back into the swing of real & crazy life.

And the crazy just gets crazier...Yesterday I got sustained to be the new Primary President in our ward.  I've known about the calling for two weeks now and have been spending a little bit of time in the state of denial because until today it really didn't feel real.  Thankfully three amazing women accepted the calls of being my counselors/secretary, and I know with their help, everything will run smoothly and go great.  I am getting more excited as the day goes by and appreciated the blessing from the Bishop after church when I got set apart.  I love the kids & am anxious to see what the Lord has in store for me through this calling.

So that's us right now...busy days ahead & my blog sees more neglect & more catch up posts as the days go by...my camera also gets taken out less & less.  But, I'm still trying to document when I can and don't want this part of our lives to go unrecorded, so I'll keep stopping in when I can & taking pictures when I remember.  I love the stages our boys are in and the stage that we're at & am more grateful than I can express for Zac and his ever-constant support.  Praying for balance & the ability to wear all the hats that are necessary & important in my life right now.