100 year old windows

Tyson's grandparent's have a 100+ year old cabin on their property up on Kolob that used to be on Zion National Park for people to rent out. This past weekend I was lucky enough to be up on the mountain when they decided to pull these out and get rid of them. Of course the Pinterest side of me kicked in and I saw the wonderful potential in these gorgeous windows and couldn't just let them be thrown away. I was so excited that I took all 8 windows in hopes that my girlfriends would be as thrilled as I was about this G.N.O. (girls night out) project ahead. 

    

This project was so much fun to work on. All we had to do was sand the old green paint off to the original wood and then we added our fresh new coats of paint to finish the different looks we were going for. 

I loved how everyone's turned out.

Now comes the hard part....finding somewhere to hang it and talking Tyson into letting me put big screws in the wall. Wish me luck :)

First campout of the summer

Friday night Tyson and I decided to head up to his grandparents property on the Blue Springs Association. We absolutely LOVE it up there. I could spend every weekend this summer up there. This weekend the weather was so nice. There was a nice breeze during the day and a little bit of a chill in the evenings. The drive up was fun because we could see a storm off in the distance, so I of course had to stop a few times to take some pictures. I was secretly hoping the storm would come our way, unfortunately it went right around us.

First we went to girls camp (also on Kolob) to say hello to our family up there. Then we headed to set up camp. Tyson started the fire while I went and picked out a spot for our tent.

I found the perfect location far enough away so we wouldn't get smoked out.

After we set up our tent, Tyson (without his brace) chopped enough firewood to survive an apocalypse. I think he was having too much fun showing off how strong he was. Not gonna lie, I enjoyed watching him..

That night we cooked tinfoil dinners in the fire and then roasted some s'mores. Oddly enough neither one of us really like them, we just like to make them.

The next morning we were up and going bright and early. Tyson got breakfast going, while I started packing everything up. We had eggs and bacon. I swear, something about the mountains just makes your food taste better.

All in all, it was a quick, but wonderful trip to spend some much needed alone time with my best friend. We may not have any kids, but we do have a very needy cat and live with Tyson's family, so alone time doesn't come around often enough. I can't wait until our next campout.



The Countdown Begins

This last week has been so emotional. From being so excited for Kyson's adventure ahead of him, to being sad knowing how much he will be missed. The one thing that really helps me get by is knowing how amazingly ready he is for a mission. Kyson is one of the most well-prepared 19 year old's I know. When the mission ages changed at conference last year I never once doubted if Kyson would be ready. He's been preparing for this day since he was in primary.

No offense to anyone reading this, but I grew up with the BEST siblings ever. I was so lucky to be in a family that was so close. My husband has even mentioned on several occasions how much we hug and say, "I love you".  At first it was really odd to him, but now he knows better than to leave a family event without hugging my mom goodbye.

We thought it would be fun to recreate this photo from when Skyler left for his mission. I am so proud of both of my brothers for their amazing examples to me and all of those around them. It's crazy to see how much Kyson has grown up. He will ALWAYS be my baby brother no matter how old/big he gets.

Then we decided it would be fun to fill up Kyson's mission camera with as many pictures of us as possible. 

This photo was taken on the day of his farewell.

(Just missing Brayden)

Saying goodbye at the airport was one of the hardest things I have ever done. 

My mom was being so strong by not crying and just being excited for him, which is crazy since she is always the first one to cry. Although, I could tell that it helped Kyson so much to see her happy. He was so concerned leaving her and knowing she'd be crying.

            

Our last family photo for 2 years.

He was so cute and blew a kiss to my nieces and nephews, (which was probably more for my mom), as he finished going through security and about to board the plane. He looked so excited for his adventure ahead.

           

We were so excited to receive this picture on my moms email when we got home. The Elder with Kyson was flying from SLC to Mexico with Kyson (to return home from his mission) and kindly sent it to my mom to put her at ease. He looks so happy so it really helped us all know that he was okay.

The kids had so much fun watching his plane take off on the runway.

 

  

My mom with another missionary mom whose son was on the same flight as Kyson. It was so comforting to know that he wasn't completely alone for his first time on a plane.

The people of Fort Worth Texas as so lucky to get my baby brother for the next two year. I can't wait to hear about all of the amazing experiences he will have.

I love you Elder Spendlove.

One last time

This past weekend was so fun. To start it off right Tyson and I went to a double birthday swim party out in Diamond Valley. Unfortunately the weather wasn't so great to swim, but we still had an amazing view for our BBQ and played lots of fun games inside with great friends. 

Since Kyson leaves for his mission on Wednesday we had to go do something fun one last time as a family. So my parents went and bought two Kayaks and our whole family (minus Ethan) took them out to break them in at Sand Hollow.

It was so fun to be out there with all of my family and just enjoy the day. Tyson even had fun because he could ride in the Kayaks without hurting his knee. We have already planned multiple dates to go back to the lake with these bad boys. 

Kyson is such a good Uncle. I sure hope the kids remember how much they loved him when he gets home in two years. 

Wow, can you say "MODEL SHOT!?" 

I caught my mom tearing up a few times. She was so happy to have her whole family (minus Ethan) together having so much fun. She is such a great grandma and will hopefully stay busy loving on all of her grand kids to keep her busy while Kyson is gone.

 Sunday evening we had Kyson's favorite food, Chicken pillows, for dinner. Then we all went out to Three Falls Elementary to watch Skyler and Kyson fly their remote control airplanes. Those boys LOVE their airplanes, and i'm sure that is one big thing Skyler will miss doing with Kyson when he's gone. Hopefully he can teach his boys how to fly so he will still have some buddies to go fly with.

 

I just LOVE  how easy it is to get these cute kids to smile. They are always so happy and make everyone around them laugh.  

                 

  Not only did we have a nice air show, but we also got to watch a fun boxing match with my dad and the kids. He is such a good grandpa. He used to be so quick to get angry and yell when we were kids, but once the first grand kid came around it's like a switch got flipped and he turned into such a calm, loving, playful grandpa. I can't wait to have kids and see how he acts with them. I have no doubt they will just love him.

Skyler thought he would give Carolee a little boxing practice, since her big brothers pick on her so much. I'm sure one day she'll pay them back. 

I can always count on this cute girl smiling for a picture with me. She LOVES to see herself on the camera. It's hard to believe how much love you can have for a child that's not even yours. She, along with all of my other nieces and nephews are one of my biggest joys in life. 

It was such a great weekend and I am definitely not looking forward to saying our goodbyes on Wednesday. Although, I know Kyson is going to be such a great missionary and will be back before we know it. :)