Trip to Utah Part 1

The last part of June, first part of July we traveled to Utah for Justin's 10 year high school class reunion. We did a lot in 10 days and the reunion was only about 2 hours of it. Enjoy the pictures

Waiting or the world's largest pickup parade to start. (Literally, the town of Vale was trying to set a Guiness World Record)

Seeing our good friends the Maughan's. This was our first time meeting Rowan. These two had a great time playing together.

We splurged and stayed at a hotel two nights while on our trip. I went through some hoops to secure a pack and play for us both nights. Well, we didn't use it. She just slept with us.

Future Aggie! (I hope)

Old Grist Mill, waiting for our food.

Sister's from Justin's mission he served with. They are awesome!

After church in Woodland, UT

She looks so big here!

Justin had to go do work one of the days while we were gone. Here is his second baby.

Justin was so excited to set up and use his saw mill he built as a senior in college. Sadly, we still don't have room for it at our home. Hopefully our next home we will though.

Walking to the river, hoping to not meet a bear or cougar. Some of my irrational fears about where Justin's parents live. Haha.

Grandpa Barry with his grand daughters. He spent so much time with Natalie while we were there. She loved being outside with him. He even insisted on making her a tire swing.

At the Hogle Zoo. It is a really nice Zoo, but I was hot and tired. Good thing I can fake it and smile for the camera right...

Watching the Big Tiger walk.

The second hotel we stayed at in Jerome, ID. Headed back to Oregon.

Weeks in the Summer

We have sure enjoyed having Justin around for the last week. He dilligently worked each night and Saturday to build these shelves for our cluttered garage. We both cannot wait to get all of our stuff on them and have a clean garage!

 Natalie and I have been enjoying the warm sunshine and play time. We live really close to a park with a splash pad and usually end up there at least once a day. Each Wednesday we meet up with some other moms and toddlers for a play group. This week we hosted and made good use of the splash pad once again. I am so grateful I have made friends with these ladies. We are all unique and come from very different walks of life, but really learn alot from one another.

We went to the Washington County Fair last Saturday to see family friend's animal exhibits. We had a good time smelling hay and enjoying some Oregon Dairy Women ice cream. That night I cut Justin's hair for the first time. It was a big confidence booster. I refused to do it when we first got married. He is so patient and like his dad says, "The difference between a good an bad haircut is about 3 days." I think his looks pretty alright for a first timer.

Natalie is signing and communicating more and more. She is definitely changing into an all out toddler. Over the last week she has really gotten into playing with and trying to wear my shoes, necklaces, holding her baby doll, and wearing an apron when in the kitchen with me.

While Western Oregon may not have good sweet corn, they do have amazing berries. Natalie and I went and picked at a U-Pick last week. She isn't really a fan of blueberries and mostly just squishes them and throws them on the floor. Justin and I really like them though, especially in muffins.

Just a few more quick pictures from life with our little 16 month old:

 She was pleasantly surprised to find the mop bucket still full after her nap yesterday.

 

Prior to going to bed last night, she insisted on going outside to sit and read her book.

I think she is getting pretty good at putting off the bedroom routine.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Being Brave

Something that has been rolling around my mind for the last couple years is the debate over redefining the definition of marriage to allow gay couples the “right” to be married. Being LDS, knowing and believing the doctrine, and wanting to follow the prophet, I know that it is possible to love Gay people and be kind, but not to agree with gay marriage. This is my stance on the issue and how I try to live.

While this is a fine opinion, I have always felt like there is so much more to the argument, than just “because God says so.” While searching for more material on the subject, I feel as though it has been hard to find specific reasons of why Gay marriage would be a negative thing for our society. Over and over again I hear, “It is their civil right,” or “If they love each other they deserve it,” and or “How will it hurt you? Just live and let live.” 

These half-truths can be very convincing, but I knew there was much more to this issue. Yesterday, I stumbled across a video from an address given by Ryan T. Anderson at Stanford University. It was a short 4 minute clip. In that four minutes, I felt like the real questions we should be asking and clarifying were finally being addressed and answered. 

This peaked my interest and as soon as N was down for her nap I watched the full hour long presentation and thirty minute Q and A portion. It answered all of the questions and the statements the media keeps feeding and asking the public. It was enlightening, entertaining (he is a great public speaker), and refreshing to finally hear someone address this topic clearly, concisely and address the real issues. What is the true definition of marriage and why is it that? How will this effect society? Why does marriage even matter?

I feel as though everyone could benefit from watching this presentation. I know it is long, but I promise, it is well worth the time. Anderson presents his material purely from the stance of why marriage is important in society. He does not mention religious, tradition, or moral reasons. Those are perfectly fine reasons to be opposed to gay marriage. However, it has been great to see how Sociology supports the teachings of Theology.

So please, if you can. Make the time to watch this. I don’t think you will regret it. I would love to hear everyone’s opinion on it. I know that because I share his point of view, he was basically preaching to the choir. However, I believe each side could gain greater insight by listening to the facts he presents and the civility he uses when discussing the issue.  

The Q&A portion.

 

Thank you for reading and hopefully watching.

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

When I take a shower and get ready for the day while Natalie is awake, 

this is what the bathroom looks like.

She loves going in and out of the sliding doors on our shower.

 

Today was a much needed peaceful Sabbath day.

 It is so important for me to have that time to step back and look at life through the lens God wants me to, and not the way the world would have me.

We attended church, I was able to study the scriptures and do some indexing, had a nap, and played as a family together. We also visited our dear friends and shared an ice cream bar and walk to the park.

I worry and ponder often if I am doing all that I can or not enough, or too much. 

Being a stay at home mother is awesome and a great privilege, but with it comes it's own set of worries and struggles.

One of the things that is hardest for me is that there isn't a set standard of 

what you need to do each to day to be successful. 

That is totally up to you, your own motivation and your priorities as to what you do.

 I don't know if I am making sense to anyone reading this, but not having set boundaries of what to do to be successful can be stressful for me. 

During college I learned in an education class about different kinds of learners. 

One of these types is those who like to have the specifications laid out before them so they know exactly what they need to do to succeed (or get an A). 

That type of learner would be me.....

Tying this all together, there are tons of voices out there telling you what makes you successful and important as a mother, human being, etc

During the week, I feel like these influences pull me in so many different directions.

I could spend all my time trying to do what others value and find important for a family, 

and still not find the success I am looking for as a mother and the nurturer of my children.

While there are many different good things, ultimately I want to be doing 

the right and best things for my family.

The only one who knows that and can guide me is the Holy Ghost.

 Today helped me  be still and regain my focus on what the Lord needs

 me to be doing for the success of my family.

Taking time to slow down and remember God is one of my favorite parts of our life each week.

Walking

So.... I got a new laptop and I think this means I can keep my blog updated! I am excited as I feel it is important to record this life of mine. When I tried to run my old computer it would start up and then randomly crash at different times. It will be nice to have a reliable computer again.

A few experiences from the last day I wanted to record for my memory. In August, I am doing a relay race from Portland to the Coast with a team. Instead of running it is a walking team. It works out well for the stage of life I am in right now. Natalie and I have been walking the last couple of days in preparation for this. We have several hills in this new town we moved to and one in particular is rather steep. As I finished the climb yesterday, a car slowed down next to me and an old man rolled down his window to give me a fist pump congratulation for making it up the hill. It made me laugh and feel very accomplished. What a great guy. He was headed to pick his wife up at the care center on the corner of that hill.

Before leaving for the walk I had put a pair of hand me down crocs from a cousin on Natalie. She was not thrilled about them, but I of course thought they were cute and made her wear them. When we finished our walk I noticed she had one croc in the stroller with her and some how we lost the other along the way. She knows how to take care of her dislikes. (haha) I got in the car and drove our route, thankfully I found the little purple shoe along the way. Maybe she thinks they are ugly, like my good friend Kaci informed me when we made her wear them as a State FFA Officer.

Walking has been such a good practice as a mom. To get outside in the fresh air and be able to think is priceless for my sanity. Natalie is a good little trooper as well, because sometimes our walks get long and right now it is kind of hot here. Nothing compared to where most of you live, but for the acclimatized Western Oregon people it is a bit much. Justin was so kind to get home early from work one night to install our window AC unit. It makes all the difference for sleeping at night. I sure do love summer!

Justin and Ruth Blazzard

Better

See this adorable little girl....

 

She sadly brought back a flu bug from our 10 day escapade to Utah and back.

 

From last Monday to yesterday she threw up every day but one. It got pretty bad on Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning as it became a combination of vomiting and diarrhea. We were lucky to see one of the pediatricians in our office on Saturday. She prescribed an anti nausea medication that really helped and the rest of the weekend was spent hydrating the heck out of her and resting.

 

Thankfully today she is feeling so much better, our house is a mess, she refused to nap (I think she was making up for lost time playing)  and I couldn't get her to hold still for a picture.

 

 

She is such a trooper and was still relatively happy through the whole process. We actually took her to the doctor again yesterday after she continued to throw up her breakfast. They reassured me she was fine and that episode was just the result of having a digestive tract that had been irritated for so long.

 

I learned a lot in the last week about caring for a baby/toddler with a stomach virus. Juice/Gatorade is actually better for an irritated stomach than water, water is ok, but if you have the option go with the first. Sickness like this should be followed up with the B.R.A.T. diet because it is easy to digest and you do a whole lot of laundry when someone this age is sick. Hopefully I am ready for the next time we get the flu bug around here.

 

 

Justin and Ruth Blazzard