"The Mountains are Calling, and I Must Go"

I saw this quote at Yosemite this weekend by John Muir and I thought it was very fitting for our own camping adventure this weekend. A few weeks ago I was reading about Yosemite and how its peak waterfall time is now. If you recall, our last trip to Yosemite was beautiful, but very very dry. So, I told Victor we MUST go, and he indulged me, despite having to write a paper the whole drive and first night there.

IT WAS WORTH IT.

All those majestic, powerfully scary waterfalls. It was awe inspiring.

Picture overload!

Tunnel View: with Bridalveil Falls clearly more than the trickle it was in October!

Bridalveil Falls up close and getting wet from the mist! This was J's favorite thing ever.

Ribbon Fall:

 Illilouette Falls:

 Spectacular Vernal Fall. If you recall, I was 7.5 months pregnant last time, so we didn't do any hiking. This time we hiked the Mist Trail up to Vernal Falls and it sure was worth it! It was pretty hard though, incline wise. We gained 1500 feet in just one mile. While we were hiking I was questioning why I enjoy hiking so much when it was not an enjoyable moment. I was short of breath and feeling so out of shape. But as we climbed the stairs along these huge falls that are spraying in our face, I knew that was why. That feeling of accomplishment and the natural high it brings!

 He got sick of being in there ha.

 The mighty river headed down.

 We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the valley floor and the spectacular Yosemite Falls.

 ^^The one time he willingly wanted to pose!^^

As soon as we approached the base of Yosemite Falls, we started getting misted on, and J was grinning ear to ear about it! Poor Dom was sleeping and was upset that that's how he got woken up. 

 Upper and Lower Yosemite:

 Here's some pictures of our little campsite. The first night was rough. But the next night wasn't so bad and even had me thinking we would do it again. Tip: if you go camping with a toddler or baby, you must bring this little clampy high chair thing! Life saver.

I made tin foil dinners on my pink party ball grill I bought in Okinawa!

Anyway, back to the majesty of Yosemite. This was the drive in. Glorious!

 Trying to get a good family photo.

 And one last stop at Valley View, possibly one of my favorite spots because it just photographs so well every time!

^^Right before he tried to drink the water oh man. ^^

The love affair I have with Yosemite has grown so much deeper after this weekend. It truly is an inspiring place that overflows with displays of God's greatness. I can't wait to return. After this trip, I want to return every single May to see these incredible waterfalls at their peak. Whoever wants to join me is welcome :)

Things I'm Loving Lately

I enjoyed doing this post before so I decided to do it again! What little things have been making you happy lately?? Here are a few for me:

Ranunculus. I have bought these several weeks in a row from the farmers market because they have been making me so happy. Each individual bloom is so unique that I get why people frequently arrange them to only one or two in a vase.  

Big Sur River Inn. I have been wanting to check this place out for a long time and now that I have I'm addicted! Especially since during the month of May they do live jazz every Sunday afternoon. I went down last Sunday with my sister Melanie and Dom, and talk about a gorgeous Sunday. They set up their adirondack chairs in the river and it is so enjoyable to sit and soak your feet. I can't wait to take J and let him play in the river. It is a very steady stream so I think he would be ok.

Cold pressed Watermelon Juice. My new addiction from Costco! I drink it when I'm craving Dr. Pepper. It tastes like summer :)

Poke. Have you ever heard of poke?? (pronounced po-kay). Apparently it's big in Hawaii, but it's like a sushi bowl. A place here in Monterey just opened called the Poke Lab and it is DELISH. So yummy and not-heavy. It fills my sushi/japanese food craving. Typing about it is making me want it again!

Snapchat filters. What's not to love?? Man, they are entertaining. It's what J and I do for fun. And if you don't have snapchat you should. I like it. Follow me if you do. Speaking of snapchat, my favorite singer Ingrid Michaelson (who is addicted to snapchat filters also) just released her new single and it's great, but her new video is just her singing with snapchat filters. Check it:

And last but not least, Justin Bieber. Oh Justin, I can't quit you. You seem like such a punk sometimes, you know, like prank posing with my dad and posting on instagram and such haha. But I still love his music! I know his album came out like 6 months ago, but I didn't buy it so when new songs come on the radio, I'm all "oh this is good, who sings this??" and it usually turns out to be Justin...or One Direction. I've had this song in my head lots. It's just so catchy

So that's it for now. Tell me what you have been loving lately!

Motherhood Life Lately: Why I'm not wishing away this stage.

"Have joy in your mothering." --Marjorie Pay Hinckley

I was in my doctor's office last week perusing a parents magazine where I saw a quote from a mormon mommy blogger I know of saying something to the effect of "now that I have a toddler and a baby, I understand when people say these are the trenches of parenting." It kind of made me sad. Because while there are some challenging moments, I would not call them trenches. In fact, I can say I truly am relishing this time in my motherhood journey, for the following reasons (among others):

1. Both of my babies still nap, and at the same time in the afternoon. Nap for me too. Enough said. 

2. I can take them to the store and they aren't begging and screaming for me to get them anything, which makes me want to get them things haha. I know this won't last forever, so I'm making sure to not take it for granted.

3. They aren't in school, and they are too young to want to participate in extracurricular stuff. I can do whatever I want with them, whenever I want. We can lounge in our pjs for a while, eat a slow breakfast, take a long walk, go to the beach, you get the idea. I love the freedom and I love this time where I can enjoy them and not be on a busy restricted schedule where my other job is a chauffeur. Also I'm selfish, and I enjoy doing all the things I just said. I love being able to plan our weekends not thinking about sports games or stuff like that ha. 

4. They just want my love. I'm amazed at little children. With J especially, I see when I get mad at him for doing something and he's upset about it, that's when he wants me to pick him up and love on him the most. It's a good reminder that they are in such a fragile stage where so much of their happiness is solely based on me just giving them love and making sure they still feel loved even after doing something bad. It sounds like lot of pressure, but right now it is so easy to do that, because they are sweet innocent babies who aren't talking back to me or trying to manipulate me. Not taking that for granted either. 

5. They are just so adorable. I never want the baby giggles to go away. 

So no, I would not say I am in the trenches. I am loving life right now and loving the stages both of my babies are in. As you know, we had a rough go with Dom during months one and two, but things have smoothed out. We have found our groove. Obviously there are moments of frustration, but that's what alone time is for. That's still an important part in my mothering. 

I feel so blessed to have these sweet perfect babies. I never thought mothering would bring me such joy but it does, and I'm just trying to soak up all the good moments, since time really is fleeting. 

"Hope ya know, we had a hard time."

I've been thinking a lot of this quote as I've thought back to the week we have had. We had our first experience with our little boy getting ill, and it was a dramatic experience all right. But we are on the other side of it, feeling so grateful that our joyful Joseph is just that again.

He had a fever all day Monday, but never had a crazy high temperature. Tuesday morning came and no more fever, but still feeling a little under the weather. I will never forget hearing him fall in the other room and thinking he tripped but coming in to see him having a seizure. It was awful. I called 911 and then Victor who miraculously picked up--he had the exam in his hands he was supposed to be taking. We woke up Dom and headed to the hospital, hoping the seizure was a one time thing.

While in the ER, he had three more seizures. Every time it just left me in helpless tears. We got admitted to pediatrics, where he had two more seizures. This whole time the doctors were doing tests trying to find out what could be happening, and basically doing a process of elimination. The blood test came back negative of such and such virus. The head scan came back negative for any bleeding or tumors. It was frustrating to keep seeing seizures and not getting any answers. 

After the 6th seizure, they gave him some really strong medicine targeted to seizures. That knocked him out the rest of the afternoon, when they decided to transfer him to Stanford Childrens Hospital in Palo Alto. Transferring him there was a nightmare. He woke up very angry and hard to comfort--and they had to put in a new iv and kept missing, which understandably made him furious.

It was an exhausting night at Stanford. I am so grateful it was only one night. The doctors there: fantastic. The facilities: awful. Only one toilet and one shower for all the families in our wing. No good places to rest. My heart went out to all those families whose poor children had to stay extensively there. A children's hospital is just a very sad place in general, even if they try to make the walls colorful and decor happy. 

When J woke up the next morning, I was so happy to see that he was beginning to have his normal interests again. He wanted a bottle. He wanted to play with his car. And he wanted to watch his favorite movie: Cars. 

They kept monitoring him, and came to the diagnosis that the original ER doctor back in Monterey had predicted: hand foot and mouth disease (he had the rashes) where the fever and virus had affected a nerve to cause the seizures. We hope it will never happen again.

The day before Victor kept saying to J that when he gets better we would go get ice cream and a new toy. J probably wasn't listening and probably didn't remember, but Victor sure did pay up. We went to ikea right by the hospital and got some new toys for him, and some ice cream :)

The whole time this was going on, we were feeling an outpouring of love and support from our families and from our ward family here in Monterey. My wonderful friend who took my baby for 2 days, including overnight which is so giving considering he wakes up still in the night. Friends who came to give a blessing, and my relief society president, who offered her parents home for us to stay near the hospital (one more night and I would have taken her offer). She even offered to come and get my milk I had pumped and take it to the baby. 

One of my favorite quotes is from Spencer W Kimball: "God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom."

Boy did I feel that this week. It's been incredible. It was through all these people that I felt the love and concern of our Savior.

Back to my subject line. A great talk from Quentin L. Cook you should read and it kept coming back to me:                          

"We know from the scriptures that some trials are for our good and are suited for our own personal development. We also know that the rain falls on the just and the unjust. It is also true that every cloud we see doesn’t result in rain. Regardless of the challenges, trials, and hardships we endure, the reassuring doctrine of the Atonement wrought by Jesus Christ includes Alma’s teaching that the Savior would take upon Him our infirmities and 'succor his people according to their infirmities.'"

So yeah, he knows when we had a hard time. He knows and He is there. 

My baby boy is back to normal. Still has some sores, but he is happy and crazy again and when I want to get frustrated that he is going nuts over something, I remember how he was a few days ago and it immediately puts things in perspective and makes so happy he is acting crazy haha. He is my greatest source of joy (along with my other boys) and I am so thankful everything turned out ok, but yeah, we had a hard time.