Fearless

Saxon has always been my fearless child.

If he says he's too afraid to do something, 

it's usually because he's just trying to get out of doing it,

 not because he's actually afraid of it.

Everything the big boys did at the lake, he wanted to do.

Tubing.

Wakeboarding.

Wake Surfing.

Kneeboarding.

Kneeboarding quickly became his favorite.

It's not that hard, and he feels like he's really doing something cool.

Mostly he would just stay on his tummy on the board and cross back and forth over the wake.

One time, the boys suggested to him that he should try to get up.  They explained how to loosen the straps, get your knees in place, and then velcro yourself it.  I figured that it was too many instructions for a 5 year old and I thought he would just ignore them.

In fact, at one point, he got so sick of everyone shouting advice to him from the back of the boat that he started saying,

"I'm just going to do this however I want!  Don't tell me to do things."

So, after the latest instructions, my little guy was off behind the boat getting ready.

Then he shouts "Hit it!"

And we're off.

At first he just stays on his belly.  Then he holds the rope with one hand as he starts to loosen the strap.  Then we see his little bum go up in the air and he tries to maneuver his knees under him.  And then he had it!  He was up on his knees, in the right spot, knee boarding.  He was really doing it!  He even strapped himself in.  He adjusted the velcro over his knees and got himself all snugged in.  It was the cutest thing ever!  He looked so little out there.

Not only was he knee boarding, but he was doing an amazing job.  

He had great balance and great control.

After a while my little brother asked,

"What will happen when he falls, now that he's all strapped in?  Will he get trapped under water?"

Silence.

What will happen?  Now we were a little nervous.  If he were to have a huge wipe out, it would probably knock him out of the board, but what if he just tipped over?

One of the boys suggested that we start pulling him in so that we can get him close and then stop the boat and just pull him in.  It sounded like a good idea, so the boys started pulling him closer.  While they were pulling him, my mom was slowing the boat.

It seemed to be working until the boat got too slow and he tipped over.

The knee board flipped over and trapped him, all strapped in, underneath.

I think my heart stopped.

My 13 year old brother Kasen immediately jumped in the water and started swimming towards him.  A second later his friend Wyatt jumped in too.  

Saxon some how managed to get his body through the straps and it ended up around his waist.  He could get his head above water just long enough to take a breath and cry out and then the board would push him down again.

It was probably only a minute before Kasen reached him and flipped him over.  The two boys untangled him and towed him in.

When they got him to the swim step, I pulled him in, wrapped him in a towel and hugged him.  He told me how he couldn't breathe and how he was stuck.  We gave him his own Diet Coke to make him feel better (I know, I know...but it was the best I could come up with in the moment...) and then my mom let him help her drive the boat.

After we got back to shore I asked him if he was scared.

I should have known better.

He's not scared...he's mad!  How dare those stupid straps trap him like that...next time, he wants someone to take off those straps and throw them away so he can knee board without getting stuck.

Like I said...

Fearless.

We're Back :)

We just got back into town last night after spending a week at the beautiful Shaver Lake, CA.  It's one of my favorite places in the world and I LOVE taking my kids.

It's the kind of place where I can just take a breath and feel at peace.

I tried out wake surfing for the first time :)

The verdict:  I can't do anything fancy, but I already like it better than wakeboarding.

You're not strapped in, so when you fall, you just fall.

When you're wakeboarding, you don't just fall, you smash into the water.

My mom tore her eardrum a few years ago wakeboarding, just by hitting the water on her side.  I decided a few years ago, after giving it a good try, that I just don't really enjoy it.  I'd rather ski.

Wake surfing however, is a fun and easy alternative and I can't wait to try again.

Even Saxon tried wake surfing on my cousin Dylan's back.

We spent all week on the water and loving every minute of it!

The kids had cousins there to play with so of course, they were in heaven!

Now I'm home and have a thousand things to do.

You know the saying about needing a vacation after your vacation?

Seriously.

I could use a week to clean and organize and regroup.

Has anyone else been camping yet this year?

What I Wore...Sisters

Last week, we took a quick road trip to CA to see my little sister Brooke.

She was home from BYU Hawaii for a few weeks for Christmas break.

We spent the day on Venice Beach (one of our favorite spots) enjoying the amazingly warm weather.

I took advantage of having Brooke around to get some "What I Wore" shots:

What Brooke Wore:

Dress - Downeast

Cardigan - Target

Shoes - Urban Outfitters sale

Sunglasses - Thrifted

What I Wore:

Shirt- borrowed from Brooke (Urban sale again)

Undershirt - Downeast

Leggings - Target

I was experimenting with "leggings as pants".

I usually wear leggings under a dress or a very long shirt.

I don't usually consider them to be real pants.

But...I have been seeing a lot of people pull it off lately and it always looks so cute.

I thought I'd give it a try...

Good thing I had Brooke around to loan me a shirt to go with the leggings.

Doesn't everyone need a Brookie in their lives?

Impromptu Road Trip

Every since my sister Brooke went away to BYUH, I've been trying to figure out when I can see her next.  I really want to fly to Hawaii and spend a week with her (who wouldn't?)...but we don't really have the money for any major vacations...much less a trip to Hawaii.

I wanted to spend Christmas with my family in CA, but Nate works for Walgreens, and they can't take any time off during the holiday months.

So, as soon as all of the holidays were over, we decided to take a last minute weekend road trip to CA to see Brooke before she had to fly back.

Since we drove all the way there, my mom took us to DISNEYLAND for the day!

It was magical!

I'm from CA, but we've never taken or kids to Disneyland because it is so expensive.

My mom found some discount tickets and we packed a lunch, and had the time of our lives!

I had a talk with my kids on the way down there, explaining that our special treat was that we get to go to Disneyland.  We are not asking for anything while we are there!  They were SO GOOD!  They didn't ask for one single thing.  They just enjoyed the magic of being at Disneyland.

The day after Disneyland, we spent the day at Venice Beach.

My mom grew up in Venice, and it just doesn't feel like a trip home without a trip to Venice Beach.  The weather was beautiful!

Did everyone else have unseasonably warm weather last week?

Then we had to hit up our favorite Mexican Food place...Titos.  :)

After a few wonderful days of family and sunshine, we headed home to Utah.

What did you do this weekend?

Thrift Store Shopping

On Saturday morning, I went with my mom, my sister Brooke, and her friend Kayla to the thrift stores in Ventura.  I've been wanting to branch out in fashion a little but don't have money to buy a whole new wardrobe.  So, Brooke and Kayla helped me out and I have some really interesting finds to show you that I'll be posting over the next few days...

We ate lunch at the most amazing little restaurant, RICE.

Every table had fresh red roses and the food was to die for.

I got massaman curry with brown rice.

My sweet baby was such a trooper in and out of thrift stores all day.

It was a little chilly out there by the beach so we got him his own little "Edward Cullen" jacket for 95 cents.

And finally, bags and bags of clothes!

I think I spent $30 on all of this.

I have to admit, I bought a lot of ugly Grandma dresses, but Brooke said she knows exactly how we're going to make it work, so I'm trusting her :)

Brooke's guide to fashion:

Hey guys! Okay so I have taken quite an interest in thrift store shopping within the past couple years and let me just tell you how life saving it has been to my wallet! I didn't grow up in a wealthy family, my mom was never one to buy me true religion jeans or even abercrombie and fitch clothes because it was always too expensive! But I learned to manage on my own. Once I started getting a paycheck I realized why my parents never bought me pricey "brand name" things because money is gold! Especially in today's economy. So, I learned how to thrift store shop and decided I would pass along some of my ideas to my sister Cait :) 

First of all when you walk into a thrift store it is always overwhelming, things are disorganized and it always has the funky smell of used clothing. This is where you pick a rack and start searching. Just dig and dig and dig. 

My number one rule is to look for something I would NEVER wear and try it on. This way, if you like it then you have something new! And if you don't then oh well, no harm done! 

Number two, find a pattern you like because you can always alter it to how you want and then you still have a cool pattern! 

Third, never look at sizes, because chances are you can throw a belt on it and vwa-la! Good as new. I convinced my sister to get a size 30-something shirt but once she put it on, belted it and rolled the sleeves it was super cute on her! These are my tips for thrift store shopping, hope you enjoy! :)