Last year, I got all excited, made a bunch of resolutions and goals, worked real hard to make them happen, and ended up crushed with disappointment in myself by the end of the month! That’s not good, right? Goals should make me feel better, not worse!

So this year, I’m going to be gentle on myself. No new goals, just keep working on the same things I’m always working on, and understand that I’m limited by time and energy, and I can only do SO much, and not beat myself up that my same old struggles are STILL a struggle.

Still, I’m feeling inspired. I’ve gathered some of my favorites from my pinterest board to share here. (fyi, the original sources are linked in Pinterest)

Here’s to a new year, a new chance to try again, and to keeping it realistic!

I hope your Christmas/Hannakuah/Kwanzaa/New Year/Festivus or whatever you like to celebrate is/was/will be wonderful!

Now some of you may ask… Aren’t you a photographer? Is that the best picture you have this year? Your boys’ smiles are fake and you had to photoshop Shelby’s face from another image. And everyone is looking at the camera! Don’t you like the more relaxed, natural images?

Well. Yes. But sometimes you just work with what you have and realize that done is better than perfect. This image was from a family vacation this summer and happens to be one of the only images we took together this year. You know what they say about the cobbler’s children! So, for that reason, I love this image. It was from a happy week of our lives. It may not make it to the wall, but it was great for our card! That is going to be my mantra this year: done is better than perfect.

She’s only 2 inches shorter than me. Her feet are the same size. She’s a texting machine. She’s getting really good at the piano. She’s got her own style. She’s a fun and loyal friend. She’s smart as a whip. She’s funny. Like, really and truly. She can do her own hair, showers without being told, and CAN clean her room and make her bed by herself. She cooks us meals and desserts. She is a true JOY to have around. Always has been, really, but it’s so fun to watch her grow and become even more HERSELF as she gains more interests and talents and abilities. I’m in awe of this child. Completely.

I really thought life was nuts with babies. And it was. But there’s something about the last few years that seems even MORE nuts. I just can’t keep up. Is it because I’m missing so much of their time? They go to school for much of the day, they have their own little lives, their own thoughts, their own little networks that I’m not a part of. When they were small, I knew EVERYTHING. I heard almost every word they said. Which, granted, made me nuts sometimes. But still. I knew them in and out and sideways. And now, there are things I don’t know. Hopefully nothing huge, and I really can’t keep up with everything anyways, so that’s ok.

But I just feel like time is slipping through my fingers and I just can’t grab a hold of it anymore. I can’t seem to wrap my fingers around everything and cherish it properly. It seems like life is such a mad dash… sometimes I barely get the chance to put my hands on my knees and pant for a little while before it’s off to something else. I just want to slow it down a bit… maybe even rewind a little?

She starts high school in the fall. I can count on one hand the number of summers we have left before she leaves for college. While I know that a birthday is exciting and fun, there is something about my first and last child that makes me feel a bit weepy on their birthdays. Is that normal?

OK. I’m going to wipe my tears and put my smile back on. I’m going to go buy this girl some presents, plan a dinner and make a cake. I’m going to hang the birthday banner back up (Dave’s bday was Friday, and I just took the banner down yesterday!), and make this a very fun day. She deserves it. I’ve had my mommy moment. The rest of the day is about my BIG GIRL!!

p.s. It’s come to my attention that my Family website is broken. I’m hoping to get it up back up soon.

[Note 2: All images taken on my iPhone with the shake-it app]

[Note 3: sorry for the extreme length of this post. But since I'm not scrapbooking anymore and I want to remember it, so I'm going to have to record it here!]

Last week was our spring break. We decided to make it an adventurous one and head out with the kids on a little backpacking trip. We’ve been camping and hiking a bunch of times, but real “backpacking” was something we hadn’t tried as a family yet. We had most of the gear, because it’s something we’ve always wanted to do, but the last dozen or so years, we’ve always had someone that was too little to go very far. Well… no more excuses! We packed up and headed out for the great unknown. (the unknown being: “How will the kids handle it?” “How will I handle it?” “Will it get too cold?” “Will it be too hard?”)

I needn’t have worried, really. It was too hard. And Sophia did get too cold during our first night. And at least half of us got at least one tick, something I hadn’t thought to worry about. But overall, the kids absolutely loved it. I was ASTOUNDED at how well they did.

Here’s the map of our little adventure.

Henry Coe State Park. I’d never been, even though it’s only about 30 minutes from home. Dave had been, and thought it would be great… we could spend our time being there, not just getting there. The big draw for me was that if it got too hard, or too cold, or it rained, it was close to home, and we could just bail. So we packed up and headed out, getting there around 2:30 pm Thursday.

We made an ambitious plan, signed up for our campsites for the next couple of nights, and started on our way.

The weather was absolutely perfect. The grass was green, the skies were blue, it was a little slice of heaven. We were even hiking during my favorite time of day, when the light starts to get low and everything looks beautiful.

The hike started flat and beautiful and perfect, and then headed for a long, but very scenic downhill. We met up with a stream and followed it for a while, crossing it probably a dozen times. I was amazed that we all managed to get across so many times without anyone falling in and getting soaked.

This picture was taken on what we later called “tick log,” since the majority of us spent the next little while flicking ticks off our clothing.

Apparently the ticks like hanging out by the water. After a little while following the stream, Sophie complained of an itch near her armpit, and we discovered and removed a tick. (she was a bit traumatized for a while at the thought of it). As it was nearing dark, we found our campsite… on the other side of a river. We had to do a fairly major crossing there… it was shallow, but we had to take our shoes off and the water was COLD! We were happy to stop and have dinner and set up camp. We figured we hiked a little over 5 miles the first day.

Franklin started bragging that he hadn’t seen any ticks on himself… that prompted me to look under his shirt, where I found three ticks enjoying a tasty snack of my youngest child. Dave also found a couple ticks on himself. The kids thought it was hilarious when we all stripped to our underwear to search for more.

After dinner, Franklin asked Dave if there was something on his tooth. But there WAS no tooth… he’d lost his first tooth! He must’ve swallowed it without even knowing.

I’m not sure how he didn’t freeze that night. He didn’t have a jacket, just two sweatshirts. And one got soaked by a leaky water bottle. But he slept well and didn’t complain. The sound of the rushing river and the chirping frogs was the perfect lullaby. Unfortunately, one of us (I’m not going to name names) had to get up to use the bathroom about 5 times that night, and one time even pooped about 4 feet from the door of the tent then stepped in it, leading to a rather unpleasant breeze through the tent for the rest of the night! (tmi, right?)

The next morning, we ate breakfast and took down camp. We crossed the river again to start back on the trail. This time it was so cold I almost cried. Little did I know, I’d end the day wanting to cry as well.

When we started out, an older gentleman asked Dave where we were staying. After his reply (China Hole), the guy warned us that it’s a pretty steep climb starting out. But Dave, the optimist, said we’d be fine and didn’t change his plans. The guy was right. Pretty much uphill the entire time. There were little straightaways and a couple of downhills, but the majority of the day we spent climbing. We hiked straight up one mountain, then across and down a little, then straight up another one. But the top of the second mountain was so pretty, it felt worth it.

After six hours of hiking and about 7 miles of mostly uphill, we were so excited to come to Frog Lake, which was our destination for the second night.

(yes, the water is a deep, dark brown)

We climbed the last uphill to the campsite, and to our dismay, discovered someone had already taken it. (even though we’d signed up for it!) It was a great little spot… we were disappointed to see that there really wasn’t room for us. Besides, we didn’t want to camp right next to someone else… it was the backcountry after all! After a little powwow, we decided to just head back to headquarters and get a spot at the regular campground. What’s another couple miles?

Ha.

Enter Hobbs Road.

(this pic is the deceiving first several hundred yards, when we thought it would be a simple walk back to headquarters)

If you’ve read “The Road” by Cormac McCarthy, you might have an idea of how this felt (minus the whole apocalypse thing, and bad people hiding out and all…ok, not so much like The Road, I guess).

Hobbs road was straight uphill. Crazy uphill.  Unbelievably unending. I think it would’ve been hard in a car, let alone walking with a backpack after 7 hours of beatings on other, more scenic uphill treks. Add to that the fact that we were out of water, and my legs were seriously cramping, and I could feel blisters forming on my feet, and you have one sad mama who was about to sit on the side of stinky old Hobbs Road and have a good cry. But I didn’t want to deal with anyone else crying, so I had to keep it in. Again, the kids did great. No crying, no begging to stop, just some wonderment at how unbelievably uphill these last couple miles were, and some complaints about people stealing our spot. At times, we just broke out in laughter at how ridiculous this road was. We’d think we reached the top, just to see that it was only a bump, a false summit, and another straight long hill loomed ahead. Repeat about 20 times.

The last quarter mile was heavenly. First, it was wonderful because we could see downhill to the visitors’ center. Next, it was heavenly because we left stupid Hobbs Road and finished on a scenic trail with beautiful evening light. My spirits were instantly lifted.

I’ve never been so happy to reach a parking lot. We reached our car, found a campsite, and had some dinner. As tired as I was, I was darn proud of my little family for making that crazy trek. It felt like a big accomplishment for us to power through something hard and prove how strong we were. My kids absolutely loved the experience and are excited to try again, even though I was sure an experience like that would sour them on the whole backpacking idea. I think we’ve found our “thing”, judging by how much they enjoyed the experience. And after that hike, I’m pretty sure they can handle anything we throw at them from now on.

That night, we were treated to a beautiful sunset.

And the next morning was bright and clear and warm and perfect. Looking out toward the valley from our mountaintop perch, we could see the clouds filling up the valley floor.

We decided to skip the planned campsite oatmeal breakfast and head to Denny’s for a post-backpacking feast. It was the best breakfast I’ve ever eaten.

go check it out!

Thanks, SMP!! (which also stands for Shannon Montez Photography… cool!)

I think it took so long to post this because I knew I would be pining to go back! But I’m strong enough now. I’m ready to just revel in the fun we had.

Not only was Japan amazing and beautiful and exotic (but not exotic enough to feel scary to me), having a week and a half with no responsibilities and no agenda was so refreshing! Every day was wide open with possible adventures and things to see and things to eat, all the while spending time with my very best friend and favorite person in the world. It definitely made the stressful weeks leading up to the trip worth it, in fact it probably helped make the experience so great! That contrast between stress and responsibility and the sudden disappearance of it was so much fun.

More pics to come, from the “good” camera, but I love my iphone pics too. Especially with the shakeit app.

There’s a certain freedom in NOT being able to control the outcome and settings as much. I’ve added captions to the images I felt needed some explanation or had something about it I wanted to be sure I remembered.

(you can click on each image you’d like to see, or start with one and click through them on the right hand side.)

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Love those mediums! Can I say that? Like I’m an artist working with a medium? Well, I did, and I like it. The last few years, I’ve been working so hard on creating and running my business that I’ve let some of my craftiness go by the wayside. Back in the day, I was quite the scrapbooker… I haven’t done a page in a couple years, but I think I may do it again. Soon.

I have been working on one project, though. Some time last fall, I saw this quilt by Sandra Juto. I was immediately smitten and obsessed. Something about fall weather makes me crave a yarn project, and this was absolute perfection. I couldn’t afford to buy it, so I had to figure out how to make it. I hope I’m doing it right! I’ve got nearly a hundred squares now: I love that each square is it’s own project. I can complete one while watching my evening TV and not feel like I’m wasting time. I bought really nice yarn, it’s so fun to play with. Granted, I probably could’ve bought the quilt that inspired it by the time I’m done, but it’ll be a family heirloom. I hope.

Also feeding my crafty fever is my tumblr. I’ve also been playing with it now and then for a year or so, saving stuff that I love or that inspires me.

Recently I was introduced to Pinterest. I think I’m in love. I just started playing with it, but it’s got all the things I love about my tumblr (a place to save the pretty things I encounter on my journey through the internet, as well as following what friends are pinning), but with the added bonus of organizing my pretty things into separate folders! Organized *and* pretty? I’m sold! Look HERE to see what I’ve got so far. I think I just may have to move all my tumblr favorites over there so I can look through my folders and sigh with happiness.

All this talk has me itching to pick up that crochet hook again. I show you when I’m done!

We finally found a small section of a department store with a decent collection of shoes. Bingo! By the end of that, we realized we were too tired for sightseeing and got on the train to Osaka.

We haven’t been able to stay awake past 8pm yet. The time difference (16 hrs) is an adjustment!

Today we took a train to the city of Himeji. It has an ancient castle. It was pretty cool, but was undergoing some renovations that hid most of the castle from view. But the best part was free bike rentals to tourists!! Everyone here rides bikes, and I was dying to ride around (not to mention giving my aching feet a break), and the town of Himeji was beautiful and perfect for a nice little ride. I can’t post pics here from my phone, but I’ll post some on Twitter.

Tomorrow: the reason we came… Hiromi and James’ wedding! I’m really looking forward to seeing them and capturing their day!

Today Dave and I spent the day walking around Kyoto. Last week, we ate at a restaurant near home called Kyoto Palace. Nothing near the same. But both delightful, I must say. At this moment, it is 6:55 pm, but my body thinks it’s 2:55 am. I want sleep, but must stay awake if we’re going to have fun the rest of this trip. Free wifi in the hotel lobby means I get to post!

I’m taking lots of pictures, mostly with my good camera, so I can’t share. I did post what I have to twitter (www.twitter.com/shannonmontez) also linked in the nav bar above.

We had lunch at the cutest traditional restaurant (sat on the floor, overlooking a garden) with some fairly scary food, but I did well! I actually enjoyed the octopus tentacle and fish eggs, but the dessert I couldn’t stomach. Backward, huh? Our waitress was a surprising and delightful Aussie who helped a lot.

We accidentally spent $30 on a taxi to get to a temple our new Aussie friend suggested, miscalculating the exchange and distance. Oh well, it was a cool golden temple and a long ride, which was a nice break from walking.

Tomorrow, we’ll probably rent bikes and see some more temples. We’re going to Osaka tomorrow evening. Maybe I’ll post again (if we get a connection!)

Here are a few images I took at the hospital while I was in Utah a month ago…

My brother Steve… I love the contrast… this 3-time Ironman and his tiny baby…

And sweet Mindy, one of the most amazing moms I know…

Love! I’m so happy they’re getting plenty of snuggles from their four other siblings and parents and that their family is finally all together under one roof! I can’t wait to get some more snuggle time with them… I’m feeling sad I live so far away…