Kids Christmas Camp

This year I decided to start a Kid's Christmas Camp for all the Trost grandchildren. We got together at noon on Christmas Eve day and read Christmas stories, played Santa/Santa/Elf aka Duck/Duck/Goose, made star ornaments, and made our own reindeer food. Cami has all the pictures from the camp itself, but here are a few from Christmas Eve when they put out the food for the reindeer.


Lily decided to dump all of her's in one place. From the picture below, it looks like Daddy or someone tried to move it!

California Vacation Day 1

Time to play catch up! In October we took a 10 day vacation through my brother Conner's mission in California. I've been planning this vacay since Conner got his call and I am happy to say that we had a blast! I've never planned a vacation for a large group of people, but everything came together pretty well.

The first day we left bright and early at 4 am. We stopped in Elko for a McDonald's breakfast and time to get the wiggles out in the playland for Aaron and the kiddos. The drive went by much faster than I had anticipated and we made it to Reno in good time. Johnny filled us in with native highlights such as how the Elko-ites use speed limit signs as target practice on the freeway.

In Reno we spent the afternoon at Scheel's, a Cabela-like store that was perfect for us after our long drive. The kiddos enjoyed the giant acquarium, rode the ferris wheel, and played in the miniature play ground. The adults liked the free fudge!

Scheel's even had a hall of presidents.

Lily choose Ada to go on the Ferris Wheel with her.

We had dinner at Beach Hut Deli, another recommendation by Lacey. It was so yummy! Took me 10 minutes to decide which sandwich to get and it definitely didn't disappoint!

Not bad for a travel day on vacation!

Kick the stuffing out of cancer!

I hate cancer.

I really do.

I hate how it strikes when you least expect it.

I hate that my cousin's four year little boy has to have shots three times a week to keep it at bay.

I hate that my good friend's Dad left us much to soon.

I hate that it took my Grandma Kimball from us this year.


I hate that I randomly cry every few days because I miss her so much.

Cancer is an ugly disease and I hate it.

So I am going to do something about it.

I am joining with runner's all across Utah to Kick the Stuffing Out of Cancer on Thanksgiving Day.

The Huntsman Cancer Institute is sponsoring 5Ks across Utah to raise money for cancer research. My dear friend Melissa told me about it and is also running with her own family.

I signed up the same day and can't wait to run in honor of my Grandma Kimball. My entire immediate family is joining me and we are making it a new Thanksgiving tradition.

This is big for me. I am NOT a runner. Neither are most of my family. But my Grandma Kimball was passionate about being active and serving others. It is the least we can do in her honor.

I feel like it is a privilege to give back to the Huntsman Cancer Institute. My Grandma Kimball was diagnosed with cancer two years ago and, at most doctor's appointments, her time left was measured in months. To have her with us for two more years was a blessing.



Because of modern medicine, and the grace of God, she was able to hold my little boy and see him take his first steps.

She was able to spend a precious few weeks with my brother when he returned home from his mission.

She was able to see several grandchildren married.

She was able to whisper words of advice and encouragement into my ear as we sat side by side so many nights.


And so I am going to fight. I am going to fight for myself and those who have lost loved ones to cancer. I am going to run for those still fighting and those who love them and care for them.

If you would like to donate money to this amazing cause and support me as I run to Kick the Stuffing out of Cancer - you can do so at this link.

God saw you getting tired,
When a cure was not to be.
So He wrapped his arms around you,
and whispered, “come to me.”

You didn’t deserve what you went through,
So He gave you rest.
God’s garden must be beautiful,
He only takes the best

And when I saw you sleeping,
So peaceful and free from pain
I could not wish you back
To suffer that again.

(Anonymous)

Changes

Change. Change. Change. We've had lots of that these 7 weeks. I can pinpoint it all back to the Sunday I decided not to be stressed about getting everyone ready on time. Well, this past month and a half has definitely lead to a shift in perspective for me and Sundays morning are perhaps a bit less stressful.

I actually laughed when I saw that one of my Sunday School lessons was on Job in August - because I sure needed it! We had a week, though definitely not as bad as Jobs, that felt like one thing was going wrong after another.

Remember the meal, where Job is eating with his family and one messenger after another comes telling him about a different hardship that has befallen his family (Job 1)?

... and then there was a water leak that caused hidden mold and lead to the retiling and carpeting of our basement apartment ...

... and then Johnny broke a toe in his bone that requires him to be in a boot with limited activity until Halloween ...

... and then my sister got in a car accident (no injuries) ...

... and then my missionary brother got kidney stones ...

... and then one of the fridges went out ...

... followed by a toilet ...

See where this is going? Literally that kind of a month. But it really made me look at all that I am grateful for. We've had a place to stay while the basement is being renovated, I still have a husband, my sister didn't get injured, my brother received an honorable release to come home and be with us before our grandmother passed away. As my grandmother would say, so many silver linings!

My favorite silver lining was being able to go up to Park City with my grandmother, sister, and mom. My Grandma Kimball fought off cancer for a year and a half, but then was diagnosed with a childhood form of leukemia. I am working on a post about her, but for now I wanted to blog about the fantastic time we had in Park City.

We've been talking of a girl's weekend since January. The timing was dependent on all of our different schedules and, most importantly, how Grandma was feeling. Life happens and suddenly it was the end of July with no girl's weekend in sight. I revisited my notes on places to stay in Park City and we set a flexible date in August. As luck would have it, Grandma was cleared for traveling on the Wednesday before the date we were thinking of. We were excited and booked the hotel room just in time. Because of the last minute nature of the trip, we missed Cami, but Aileen was able to come up for one of the nights.




And what a grand weekend it was! We stayed at the Westgate Resort in a spacious luxury sweet with a granite counter topped kitchen, fire place, jetted tub, and programmable steam shower. We loved it! In fact, I think it will be a new tradition! The best part was just sitting and talking with Grandma Kimball. She is the easiest person to talk to and the best listener. I always feel calmer and happier after talking with her.

We let Grandma Kimball set the pace and pick out our activities. She picked the Olympic Park and we enjoyed a Ski Show that was pretty awesome! We also ate at some yummy restaurants, too.
I feel so blessed for getting this weekend with my grandmother. After we returned from our girl's weekend, she went into the doctor and her leukemia numbers were back up. I feel so blessed that we were given that brief weekend to make one last happy memory with her.


And this is the yummy breakfast that my mom made our last morning there!

So that is a brief reacap of the last 7 weeks. Lots of craziness, but lots of blessings, too. I miss my Grandma Kimball terribly, but I am so grateful for the gospel plan. Hopefully I will have lots more fun posts up soon! Look forward to pictures of our new basement, birthday concerts, family gatherings, and other good stuff!

Battle Creek Falls Hike and the Power of Dirt

This post by Simple Mom and this post by Amy at Super Healthy Kids really got me thinking about the importance of outside time for my little ones. For us it has been way too easy to be sucked inside with our air conditioning and electronic traps. The other day, I opened the back door to take the garbage out and these two little adventurers followed me.

My daughter wanted to pour her leftover water in the dirt. After she decided to shovel some dirt onto the concrete, my son decided to join her as well. I think it was his first time in the dirt -as you can see THEY LOVED IT. Besides the shovel - they only played with dirt, water, and rocks.

Lily found several rocks and decided to make a "rock museum."

Amy recommended a book that I am excited to try: Last Child in the Woods, Saving our children from Nature Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv.

I recall reading about this book as well from another blog in the last month. It is sad how far removed even my children are from nature sometime. Too scheduled. Too electronically entertained. Too confined. The joy they felt as they basked in the sunshine, squished in the dirt, discovered rolly pollys, etc. was highly apparent. And they didn't need me to tell them what to do (except I did try to keep as much as possible from Cortland's mouth!)

Some of the benefits Simple Mom cited for children playing the dirt are:
1. Dirt can actually make you feel happy - apparently there are types of bacteria that are naturally found in soil which activate the neurons that produce serotonin – a key chemical in many bodily functions, as well as a natural anti-depressant.
2. Dirt is great for kiddos' immune systems.
3. More playtime outside = less childhood obesity.

Check out her post for more benefits and ideas for what to do with your children outside!

As part of more outside time, we've hiked to Battle Creek Falls in Pleasant Grove twice - it's easy even for Lily and very pretty!

Lily saw the boys fishing and asked me if she could fish, too. I told her that she needed a fishing rod like they did. No problem for her - she spent a few minutes searching the trail for the perfect long stick and went and stood right next to them to fish. When they lifted up their rods and tapped the water, she did, too. Toddlers are so observant!

I am loving our Sherpana Rumbi Lightweight. It was perfect for us. Cort loves just chilling in it.

We spent about 45 minutes just sitting and enjoying the two falls and playing in the shallow water.We packed simple snacks for the kids as well.

Lily decided to pretend she was a bird. Cort also mimicked the water fall and kept raising his hands in the air and pushing them down.


They both loved getting wet, muddy, and dirty. This was a hands on hike!

About halfway through the hike, you come to a smaller waterfall and a stream. There was a nice section that we stopped at and played for awhile.

Here are the details of the hike if anyone else is interested in doing it :)

1.8 miles round trip

Description: There is a scenic waterfall on Battle Creek, a short distance up a canyon on the east side of the town of Pleasant Grove. The water falls in two ribbons.

It is easy to hike to the top of the waterfall. Some people rappel down the waterfall, enjoying the cool spray on a hot summer day. We saw a youth group doing this the first time we went and it looked like lots of fun!

Trailhead
The trailhead is easy to find. From the town of Pleasant Grove, just follow 200 S to the east side of town. The street is also known as Battle Creek Drive and it dead-ends at the trailhead.

Battle Creek Falls
From the trailhead, just follow the obvious hiker trail into the canyon. The trail stays in the bottom of the canyon, along the stream, for most of the way, but it climbs up onto the bench as you approach the waterfall. You can easily hike down to the base of the waterfall, or continue up the canyon for several more miles. You return the way you came in.

What are some of your favorite hikes in Utah and Salt Lake County?

Happy Birthday to the Parker Toddlers!

It is so strange to me to think that I have two toddlers now! Cort started taking his first steps about a week before his birthday. He looks so tiny next to Lily, but he is catching up fast. Lily turned 3 on June 16th and Cortland turned 1 on July 21st we did two combined birthday parties - one with the Trosts and one with the Parkers. Both were so much fun and we are thankful to have so many family members nearby to celebrate.

For the Parker side, we went to Scera Pool and had a BBQ at the house. The cousins have been wanting to go to the pool for awhile so we thought it would be a good fit!

Lily with Kennedy and Macie. You can tell she'd rather be in the water! We are so glad that Macie has moved to Utah from Madagascar so that Lily has a girl cousin her age to play with. Kennedy is always so sweet with her younger cousins, too!

We had Lily's first birthday party at the Scera Pool, too.
Here is what she looked like two years ago!

So tiny! I think she looks a lot like Cort.

Our camera was being weird so we weren't able to get many more pictures of the Parker Party. But here is one of Cort getting ready for his cupcake!



Tired boy after all the party fun.

Get ready for the next post and the Trostie party! For a preview, you can check out my sister's blog post about it

Lily the Photographer

Lily is obsessed with cameras and they have to be REAL cameras. She wants to see the pictures on the screen after she is done taking it. The Disney princess camera was fun for our vacation, but now it is back to the real deal for her. Once we explained to her how to keep her finger away from the lense, she has actually done pretty good. Poor Cort is typically her subject. Here are a few she has taken lately.

One of the happier pictures of Cort before he gets tired of the flash.

Cort the crib monster. Lily is Cort's interpreter. She often comes and gets me when he is done with his nap. She says, "Cort told me he wants to get up." Why of course he did. Before or after you poked him?

Self toe portrait. Makes it easy to figure out it wasn't Johnny taking the pictures.