Parenting Inspiration

In my daily reading, I stumbled on this article that discussed parenting and families. I was inspired by these words and had to pass it on.

"The sacrifices that fathers and mothers make for their children ultimately will result in the greatest possible happiness for those making the sacrifices. In all of human experience, there are no joys more tender, no love more sweet, no fulfillment higher than that found in the family. Those who honor the calling of righteous parenthood will find their souls refined, their hearts purified, and their minds enlightened by the most important lessons of life. They will rise to far greater heights of happiness than those who engage in the narrow and ultimately unsatisfying pursuit of self."

Dads Day!

(My sweet dad with his grandsons)

(Missionary Grandpa Killian)

(Grandpa "Papa" Blazzard)

(Ri and H)

(Riley and his dad. They're best buds)

(My brothers. The fathers of my kid's cousins. They matter a lot to me)

(Grandpa Hurst. He's the perfect example of a gentle giant)

(One of these cute little lads grew up to be my dad!)

(What a sweet daddy!)

(Papa Killian)

(My biggest brother and his boy)

(My nearest brother the day he became a dad)

(Father-in-Law of the year!)

Happy Father's Day to all the dads who make all the difference!

Mr. Riley Hurst

Father's Day is rapidly approaching, so Hinder and I have been giving some extra thought concerning our Riley.

He's a pretty terrific dad. He's fun and energetic and adventurous. And he never is too tired to play and wrestle.

His fathering is the perfect balance to my mothering.

We really would be lost without him. I realize that more and more as time goes by.

I'm lucky to have him as the father of my children.

That's right...children!

Baby #2 is on the way!

We're expecting this bundle of joy just in time for the holidays.

Excitement, nervousness, anticipation, fear, gratitude...these are all emotions that pass though my brain 82 times a day. We've been praying and hoping for this for a LONG time. After 15 weeks of enduring the ups and downs of pregnancy, we feel like we can finally share the news.

Thanks Riley, for making my dreams of motherhood come true!

A Few of Our Favorite Things

Extreme croquet in our yard...

Make-shift bonfires to roast mallows...

Tree climbing...

Pond fishing...

Cheesy smiles on the swings...

And carousel rides...

These are a few of our favorite things!

Teton Dam Marathon

Riley ran a half marathon yesterday...with very little training.

We're beaming with pride around these parts.

Here's the back story: (warning: shameless bragging is about to take place. Don't say I didn't warn you!)

Riley had no intention of running in the Teton Dam marathon. Or half marathon. Or fun run. Or anything. I was the sucker who signed up. And I trained and trained for this hideous race up until about 3 weeks ago. That's when Doc M pulled the plug on my running dreams a.k.a. nightmares. (that's a post for another day...)

So I felt pretty guilty about spending a small fortune on this race registration, all for nothing. After listening to me cry about the wasted money and time, Riley did what loving husbands do. He found a way to make me stop crying about it.

First, he ordered a new pair of running shoes

Then, he ran for 4 miles.

A few days later he ran for 10.

And then, so the registration wouldn't be wasted...he ran the half marathon in my place.

And we cheered at the finish line.

And I got a little teary-eyed when I saw him coming down the home stretch.

Did I mention this guy has a bum knee?!

And that my friends, is true love.

Last Weekend

This place we live completely changes when the weather is beautiful. All of the sudden, there are dozens of things to do and places to be. And I love it! After a L-O-N-G and boring winter, the Hursts like to pack the summer to full capacity.

We started off our official summer partying this weekend. The old school Drive In theater was our destination. Being the genius first-time parents that we are, Riley and I were baffled that Hinder didn't fall asleep in the backseat after we pumped him full of M&M's and root beer?!

Live and learn, I guess

Other than having a wild two-year old crashing from a sugar high in the backseat, we were in LOVE with the movie.

I'm a total X-Men movie freak. I could discuss who would win between Hank the Beast and Mystique in hand-to-hand combat all day. Hugh Jackman melts me. In the deepest corners of my heart, I feel like I'm a mutant and my powers just haven't manifested yet...

Okay, not really...

(nerd alert!)

(my sweets waiting for the movie to start. Hinder says, "look mom, a rock!")

(Conquerors of our hard core hike!)

The next day, we ditched the kiddo for a little alone time. R Mountain was our destination. It's a little butte, popular to hike here in the summer.

I've been begging Riley to do this with me for about...oh...five years. Finally, he agreed. It was totally worth the wait.

It was a beautiful day. The hike was challenging enough, but not a big deal. And the BEST part- we avoided all animal encounters.

All in all, a lovely weekend and lovely start to summer!