The White House

As we made our way back to Utah to pick up our three parcels, we spent a few days in Utah before heading back to our regular life. Of course that meant we were having a White Family reunion as well.

Back with my babies. It was a bit hard being away from this little one especially - since I've never left my little babies for longer than half a day before!

Playing in sandboxes with cousins is the best!

This little guy likes being outside :)

This is Princess Ruby's outfit of choice when at Grandpa and Grandma White's house. We like the bangles skirt - it's like a cowbell for her, letting us know where she is in the house. :) This is her "get married" outfit. :)

A video I got while we were gone from Uncle Young:

We played a bunch outside, since it was still warm we had a little pool to play, we had a game night, and some family pictures taken by our wonderful adoptive brother Young. :)

Bum shot!

Ross got really in to the idea of a water fight...

And so did his daddy.

And this little cutie was loving the grass.

He's pretty good at holding himself up now.

That face is just dying to be kissed ALL the time - so I must comply! His angel's kiss on his forehead isn't going anywhere fast either. :)

Cute girl in a cute polka dot swimsuit.

That is one face full of mischievously pure joy.

And he proceeded to get grandpa after.

Still lovin' the grass and me lovin' this face. :)

And grandpa got gotten. ;)

Cousin Alex - a must have at White family functions. He Ross and Ruby have a grand ol' time whenever they're together.

Me and this kid stayin' out of the way of the water fight.

LOVE him.

Steve and Megs had a showdown...

My beautiful Maple Mountain with the colors changing. I LOVE fall with the mountains!

I think we look pretty dang good!

Pictures are a serious deal.

I LOVE this picture. It shows so much of each of their personalities. Ross is the protective (police-type) brother, looking out for his sister. Ruby adores her brother, and is also looking for something fun to get in to (you can totally see that in her eyes) - as Ross is trying to "maintain" her before she gets in trouble. ;)

Uncle Young who took our pictures, may or may not have a special place in his heart for this girl. :) And vice versa.

Love this cousin picture! It was a miracle getting them to sit together at one time.

And my kids together :)

Feeding the neighbors horses some apples.

Rowly getting some Uncle Michael time in.

Banana Bread time!

Get in!

YUM

We also went out of the semiannual Conference dinner to Joe Vera's. While Steve and I didn't really get to participate in much of the conversation due to taking three children with us to the restaurant (you understand how that goes), Steve and I shared our favorite talks with each other. Mine was from Elder Holland from a story he told of two brothers hiking around and getting stuck:

Without safety ropes, harnesses, or climbing gear of any kind, two brothers—Jimmy, age 14, and John, age 19 (though those aren’t their real names)—attempted to scale a sheer canyon wall in Snow Canyon State Park in my native southern Utah. Near the top of their laborious climb, they discovered that a protruding ledge denied them their final few feet of ascent. They could not get over it, but neither could they now retreat from it. They were stranded. After careful maneuvering, John found enough footing to boost his younger brother to safety on top of the ledge. But there was no way to lift himself. The more he strained to find finger or foot leverage, the more his muscles began to cramp. Panic started to sweep over him, and he began to fear for his life.

Unable to hold on much longer, John decided his only option was to try to jump vertically in an effort to grab the top of the overhanging ledge. If successful, he might, by his considerable arm strength, pull himself to safety.

In his own words, he said:

“Prior to my jump I told Jimmy to go search for a tree branch strong enough to extend down to me, although I knew there was nothing of the kind on this rocky summit. It was only a desperate ruse. If my jump failed, the least I could do was make certain my little brother did not see me falling to my death.

“Giving him enough time to be out of sight, I said my last prayer—that I wanted my family to know I loved them and that Jimmy could make it home safely on his own—then I leapt. There was enough adrenaline in my spring that the jump extended my arms above the ledge almost to my elbows. But as I slapped my hands down on the surface, I felt nothing but loose sand on flat stone. I can still remember the gritty sensation of hanging there with nothing to hold on to—no lip, no ridge, nothing to grab or grasp. I felt my fingers begin to recede slowly over the sandy surface. I knew my life was over.

“But then suddenly, like a lightning strike in a summer storm, two hands shot out from somewhere above the edge of the cliff, grabbing my wrists with a strength and determination that belied their size. My faithful little brother had not gone looking for any fictitious tree branch. Guessing exactly what I was planning to do, he had never moved an inch. He had simply waited—silently, almost breathlessly—knowing full well I would be foolish enough to try to make that jump. When I did, he grabbed me, held me, and refused to let me fall. Those strong brotherly arms saved my life that day as I dangled helplessly above what would surely have been certain death.”

He proceeds to use this story to illustrate how justice, love, and mercy meet together. It made me think that the boy who was jumping as the person who finally is humbled enough and desperate for change in his/her life and is truly ready for repentance. As we allow ourselves to be completely vulnerable to the Savior, THEN He can come and utilize that beautiful Atonement in our lives. As we leap out with all that we have, He will be there to catch us and make the difference, because there is no way we could ever do this on our own, no matter how hard we've worked or tried. We ALL need the Savior.

Anyway - I do enjoy doing these Conference dinners - and especially if I get to hear everyone's favorites. :)

Ruby saying bye to Uncle Young. BFFs

Rowly and Grandma time.

Got some piano playing in as well.

Saying bye to cousin Alex as well.

We also got to sneak in a temple trip to the Payson temple during our trip which was nice - though they don't rent out the temple clothing there just FYI.

Steve and I also did some shopping (when you're in civilization - you have to) and bought ourselves a deep freezer for a good deal. Woot Woot! We even hauled it home ourselves due to Steve's mad tetris packing skills. :)

OH and we also checked out the cool Springville Reservoir. We went on a good day when there was a Homecoming dance and everyone was busy doing other things so the crowd wasn't so bad.

On the way home we stopped in Grand Junction to check out their Dinosaur Museum. It was pretty sweet and the kids loved it. It included mechanical dinosaurs as well which was pretty awesome.