Movin' on...

"Everything will change when your desire to move on

exceeds your desire to hold on."

-- Alan Cohen

This quote could not have made it's way into my life on a better day. While in the midst of dealing with a really hard situation, I came across this gem. Not really knowing whether moving on and doing what was required at my hand to enable moving on was worth it or not, I was posed with the thought, or rather the question, do I desire to hold on to this hurt or do I desire to move on???

Well, that's an easy one. I so totally desire to move on. So, I gathered my bag of M&M's, the laptop, pen and paper, and headed back up to my room, still in jammies (all this after giving my kids very precise instructions for the next few hours time) I probably should have done without the chocolate, but I believe it gave me the strength I needed :)

I propped myself up with pillows and had some quiet pondering time and then took care of the hard business that was just waiting for me.

Now I am ready to move on and let yucky things be in my past! How freeing...why didn't I do this a few weeks ago, why did I choose to hold on (I think maybe I needed time away to do a little soul searching and I definately had that while in Nauvoo) but after returning this little issue has haunted me during my waking and sleeping (or non-sleeping) hours.

So if you are dealing with something unpleasant in your life, you might just take a moment or two and ponder this same thought...
Everything will change when your desire to move on exceeds your desire to hold on.

Now, I'm ready to head out for a fun date night with my hubby and some great friends, along with our daughter and her date :) Hope I don't get lost in the corn maze!

The innocence of a child

"Momma, is it true that if I wish upon a star that all my dreams will come true?"
...pause...
"Cause I just saw a star and said, I wish, I wish, I wish that no one will ever be mean to me."

Oh how I wanted to reply back, "I'm sure your dream will come true,"
instead, I just smiled and gave that little angel of mine a kiss and a hug
and told her that her wish was beautiful.

With that, she smiled and was satisfied...

Wouldn't the world be a better place if wishes like this really could come true?

Palm Trees & Beaches & Castles...Oh My!

I've decided that the best thing about blogging is that I can write down all the adorable things my kids do and say and never forget them...

I've tried writing it all down in notebooks and journals and such, but inevitably I lose those things, and here I can just scroll back through things I've posted and love every moment of it!!!

I've never been great at scrapbooking because I just never seem to make the time to make it happen, and pretty much the same with journaling...blogging is the best of both worlds all bundled up in one sweet little package!!! Someone was thinking of me when they invented this little gem!

So one of those precious moments that I never want to forget (so I'll share it here) was when the girls saw palm trees out the window...

Natalie practically yells out in excitement "Are we in Hawaii?"

Took me a second to understand what on earth she was talking about, but it didn't take Cassie any time at all, she thought the same thing just as soon as she saw the palm trees. ADORABLE!

You can see what we did not too long after spotting them...we had a photo moment cause the girls were soooooo excited!

I just had to laugh...they knew palm trees were in Hawaii, but not in California...we just haven't been out enough (but wow have we been making up for it this past month!)

We spent a little time walking along the pier and beaches in Monterey...beautiful...and the sounds were pretty exciting to hear for the kids -- check out where they were coming from :)

The kids were looking around for a barking dog...but what a pleasant surprise...
A couple shots of the kids walking across the rocks next to the shore. The water was pretty powerful here...Wyatt was standing on a rock and all of a sudden his hair was soaked on one side. Time to move away boys and girls...your Momma loves you and doesn't want the ocean to steal you away!

One little side excursion we decided to make...Hearst Castle...beautiful in the distance.

We had hoped to be able to see it a little closer than this view, but this would just have to suffice. And just below are the grazing animals that cover the mass acreage of the castle...Zebra's were one of the exciting ones for us to see.We all wanted a little closer look...Check out the photo of the swimming pool, since I couldn't actually be there to take a real shot, I faked it and photographed the photo. I know, that was a cheater move, but I just needed to dream about swimming in such a pool.
Palm Trees and Beaches and Castles...Oh My...
What could be any better than these? One might think nothing could be better, but I'm tellin' ya there was even more to enjoy ~

stay tuned -- next stop --THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!!

Reno and San Francisco

We arrived in Reno in the wee hours of the a.m. -- all the kids were sleeping and we so desperately needed to stretch our legs and have a little potty break,

so after driving under this fun sign, we found our destination to walk around in for a few minutes...

could have walked through this place for hours. Who would have time to gamble????

There's far too much to look at here! I'd never want to waste my time sitting at

some silly ol' table or slot machine throwing my money away...

oh well, guess it takes all types to make the world go round!

Had to share a few of my favorite photos of the area of San Francisco...
Myles and Preston while we were touring the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...there was a very fun fort that we spent quite a bit of time exploring and walking through and around.

There's my two little ones and my little grandbaby...aren't they sweet!

And here's my two big ones! How did they get this big??? I kept asking them to stay little their whole lives, but they just wouldn't listen!

Here I am with all my girls...what a happy day!

Is that just the cutest photo ever???

Okay, maybe this is the cutest...okay it's a tie!!!

Loved this shot of the Golden Gate bridge...there were so many sailboats on the water!

and there's the whole crew standing at the fort just in front of the Golden Gate Bridge

and then sitting on top of the fort...they did have to crawl all the way up there, I think just so they could say they "did it!" :) But it sure made for a great photo moment!

The kids had such a wonderful time playing at the beach..again, I cannot believe that I didn't think to bring towels, or better yet, to have them change out of their clothes. I guess I was just a tad crazy to think they could just get their little feet wet...what a day!

Check out that shot...I'm pretty impressed I got her in the air...Cassie absolutely loved the water! She was so wet when it was time to leave that her hair was actually dripping!

And there's our little Nattie...lovin' every moment of this water!

This little one doesn't belong to me...but I just could not help myself...

how adorable is that little innocent child!!!

I was a little worried though, that I might turn around to find 2 of my own little naked girls running about...thankfully, they were having way too much fun to even notice this naked little bundle.

As we crossed over the Golden Gate, we had such great plans to walk through San Francisco and show the kids some of the sights, but what we found was more than unexpected....traffic that went on forever and ever...it took us hours to just make our way through the city...this amazing number of people and cars were all due to a special week that we were completely unaware of: FLEET WEEK...full of young men running around in uniform...may have been a blessing that we couldn't find a parking spot...I have a daughter whose eyes may have just popped clean out of her head!

Yes, Danielle I am talking about YOU! :)

My Most Embarrasing Moment!!!

So why would I share this with the whole blogging world? I'm not really sure of the answer to that question...my best response would be that we all need a good laugh now and then ~ and this will most definately bring that on. So here goes:

On our way home from Disneyland (which I plan to blog about this weekend for those of you who have been waiting) we were driving in the wee hours of the night and had been driving forever!!! Well, for those who know me all too well, I am an Ice Lover...well, lemme tell ya something, if you, too, are an ice lover, please be smarter than I am and do not fill a huge ice cup and then chow down on it without having any idea of the next potty break that lies in your future.
At around 4 a.m. I am pretty sure I am going to die because there has not been a bathroom for hours and hours and it seems that one may never show itself.
We finally see a sign that says Ely is 40 some miles away, I'm pretty sure I can make it there because I'd really rather not squat next to a sagebrush. But then just a couple minutes later, there is a sign that says REST AREA...I don't remember being quite this excited for some time! We pull in and my body just relaxes because at any moment I am going to enter into a wonderful little room and well, you know...
but the sad thing is that as we pull in, there is no building in sight!
My hubby says, this must just be a "resting area" no restrooms. WHAT?????
But I have to use the restroom and now my body thinks it gets to go and I can't go back on that one, it is way too late for that, so...because I have no other choice, I decide I must brave it outside.
My dear hubby thinks that if I would just squat over the bar that goes from the van to the trailer, that would make life so much easier. I'm questioning this, but I am so exhausted that I really do not want to attempt to do the whole squatting while I pee (mostly because I think I have to go enough to fill a small lake.)

Okay for those of you who feel this may be a little TMI (too much info.) you might want to just close out of this, because I'm just gonna let ya hear how it really happened and it was more than a little humiliating. You've been warned :)

Okay, so back to deciding between squatting on my own or squatting over the bar...I go with the bar (still not sure that this is the wisest choice I've made in my life) but again, I'm soooo tired that I just go for it.

So, I pull my britches down to below my knees, cause that's just what you have to do if you're a girl (boys have it sooo easy!!!) and I proceed to try to manuever my body over this bar. Well, I was not blessed with the longest legs in the world, which can cause problems from time to time, this being one of those times.
But I go ahead and balance myself as best I can over this bar and start my business after telling my hubby that I will be just fine, he doesn't need to hold me up, I am a big girl after all.
Well, that was the first mistake I made, never should have attempted this one on my own, cause just as soon as I started to do my little leakage, I decided I had better shift my feet, so as to protect them, and then before I knew it I could no longer touch the ground that I had been tiptoe touching just seconds before
and then all of a sudden,
my hands are slipping --regardless of the death grip I have on that stupid bar and
SMACK, WHAM,
I am on my back, legs still high in the air as they are trapped on the bar that is above me!
Need I remind you that my jeans are below my knees which only adds to the problem of relieving my stuck legs. I begin screaming, "CHAD, CHAD" and he pokes his head around the corner and looks at me with the most confused, yet somewhat amused look.
I know he wanted to say "what the heck are you doing on your back, I thought you had to pee." But he just stood there looking at me, he must have been in shock or something, I don't know!!! Maybe he's thinking something like, "Oh my gosh, I cannot believe this is my wife and she just fell backwards off a trailer on her back and is now laying in her own puddle and I need to help her up!"
I think he wanted to laugh, but he was probably a little too afraid to, not that I could do anything as I was stuck. What I'd give to know the thoughts that raced through his mind at that moment, but I'm sure he'd never truly share them with me, so I choose to believe that he felt a huge amount of trauma at the situation I was in and desperately wanted to rescue me from my humiliation.

He finally makes his way over to me after I have flopped my body off that darn bar, I can't stand, because again my jeans are in a most inconvenient location and at this point,
the tears just wanna start flowin' but I held it together,
that is until, my daughter Shealyn, yells from the van,
"Hey Mom, are you about done out there? I gotta go, too!"
My response was one of little control, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" at a little higher decibal than I have used in quite some time.
I don't want anyone to know of this horrific experience and most definately do not want another witness, my hubby is more than enough! I hear her just before she shuts the door of the van, "Wow!"

So at this point, I make my way up, pull up my britches, remove my jacket that has a little bit of soilage (not good, in fact, quite disgusting) and it is FREEZING outside, so my dear hubby grabs his sweatshirt for me and I head into the front seat of the van.
Now, I need to remind you,
I barely even began my whole peeing moment when this all happened,
so I still desperatly need to go the bathroom, but I am not about to repeat such a horrible moment, so in my stubborness, I just say,
"No, I will just hold it!"
But then the kids get wind of what happened and everyone is cracking up and then I can't hold it anymore.

So back out into the freezing cold world I go, this time with absolutely no intention of using that stupid bar as any sort of help. (Even though, Chad thinks that if I could just hold still, it should be easy as pie to sit there and do my business) He should be the girl...he has no idea at all...this one takes some serious talent. I guess I just haven't practiced outside peeing enough in my lifetime! I would never have made it as a Pioneer woman!!!
Well, I decide I will just go behind the trailer and revert to squatting...

After this whole experience I wasn't sure if my pride or my backside hurt worse! When we finally arrived home, and I dropped my drawers to check out the damage, there was some serious markage going on back there ~ I was all sorts of cut up with some pretty little bruises happening!

All I can say is it was most definately a MAN who designed the whole road system, because had it been a woman, there would be some seriously nice potties strategically placed all along the drive. Who ever thought that we women would enjoy hangin' it out there for the whole world to see and then suffereing bodily injury while just trying to comfort our little bladder! It's just not right!

So, please tell me I am not the only person in the world who has had such a horrific pee experience...don't be shy, share your story with me, so that I can feel a little better, PLEASE!!!

Yes, I know, I am a crazy lady...but it keeps life exciting!

We made it!!!

Well to start with you should all have an update...
We have ALL of our kiddos and our two grandbabies with us. The only one missing is our son-in-law. He couldn't get away, so we stole our daughter and her babies! Wish he could be with us, too! The way this happened was kinda funny...

I was talking with Shealyn on the phone Friday morning and she was talking about us leaving and wishing they could go. They couldn't afford to make the trip with us and she had told the little girls that was the reason they wouldn't be joining us. Well our little Natalie piped up with "Mom will pay for you to go!" So I told Chad what our conversation had been and he said well then let's just go pick them up, they can ride with us and we'll make it happen. So that's just exactly what we did. We are always so last minute and what a fabulous last minute treat to have all of our kids with us for this vacation! My dream come true!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This vacation wasn't even supposed to be happening right now and then to have it all come about in two days time and add Shealyn and her kiddos to the party is amazing!!!

So now, I'll share the rundown as I've typed it along the way to arriving here -- drum roll, let the adventure begin....

Just after leaving town, we find out that Uncle Sam's ashes may not be able to be spread this weekend as they now believe that a river is running through the homestead that he was to be spread over...hmmm, this causes a slight problem. Chad's Dad and Uncle Jim spent most of Thursday evening and Friday a.m. into the afternoon searching, ended up lost and came to the conclusion I just shared...so we had to decide what do we do ~ we've already told the kids we're going, we're packed, everyone is loaded in the van, we now have Shealyn and little ones...what to do??? Well, that was a pretty easy one -- start driving -- Disneyland has been waiting a lifetime for us!

Spent the night in the van somewhere in Nevada, not too far out of California…short night with very little rest…with the exception of kiddos ~ they didn’t seem to mind at all (maybe the fact that they are small enough that it’s easy to stretch out just about anywhere, but those of us who are little bit on the larger side find it a tad more difficult to stretch out in a car to get comfy enough to actually sleep. But it did feel good to at least close our eyes for a while. After having enough of trying to flip from one side to the other in a great effort to have feeling back in the lower half of my body, we decided it was time to move on. We made our way in just a short time to Reno, Nevada…still dark out so the lights of the city were fantastic to see! We stopped for a few to stretch our legs…everyone else was snoozin’ away, so we ran into the closest hotel, found the potty and took a few photos. I can’t even imagine wanting to gamble, it was way too much fun just walking around looking at all the décor ~ quite impressive!

After leaving Reno, we headed for San Francisco…I haven’t been here since I was just a little girl. Chad was so excited to show us some great places. We visited Fort Baker and Point Bonita at the Golden Gate National Recreational Area…spent a couple hours there exploring and learning about the Fort. It was a bonus day for us ~ there were people lining each side of the road as we were driving toward the fort, we thought it a bit odd that there would be that many people, but there were some big events happening in San Francisco that day…the Blue Angels were making an appearance over the Bay, we watched them for quite some time, fascinating stunts these crazy people pull, the boys were oohing and aahhing all the while!

Next we made our way down to spend some fun time on the ocean beaches, we were just going to put our feet in..you would think by now, after being a mom forever that I might have “known” feet cannot be the only thing to get wet, by the time we left most of my kiddos were soaked all the way to their shoulders, but the laughter was worth every moment of inconvenience of trying to re-dress in the van without any towels. Another one you would think I would have thought about before going to the ocean. Water, beaches, sand, kids…TOWELS!!! Oh well, we managed, and I am quite sure that the next time I head for any beach, towels will be readily on hand!
After our time of playing on the beach, we were on our way over the Golden Gate Bridge and so excited to spend some time in San Francisco, so hopeful of riding on a trolley car, walking through Fisherman’s Wharf, checking out Alcatraz…all the touristy types of things, BUT what we actually did was wade through the other 2 million people who had the same idea we had. We were never even able to find a parking spot, and we went through the entire city, one end to the other. It was unbelievable…so for entertainment we just watched people and sat in complete astonishment at the audacity of people on motorcycles…pretty sure some of these people had death wishes, they were insane! Maybe the funniest, or possibly the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen was the skateboarder making his way between the cars going down a very steep hill! Oh my, I’m pretty sure I’ve now seen it all and it was all right in San Francisco. Cannot even imagine why anyone in their right mind would ever want to live in a place like that…way too busy for me…
So we finally made our way out of this insanely crazy place and back across another bridge and on our way to find a hotel to rest our weary heads and bodies in. I was so tired, I didn’t even eat dinner. Fed all the kids nachos made in the microwave in our room and then I was off to the shower and never so happy to lay down (well, except for the first night on our way to Nauvoo) Our stay was in San Jose, or somewhere relatively close to there…I’ve been feeling a little lost over here!
This morning we were up and on our way, just a little indecisive about just what and where we wanted to spend our day. So many things to see, so little time to see them all in. Choices, choices, choices. My sweet hubby has always wanted to take us to Monterey Bay, he’d been there years ago, long before we were married and said one of the best aquariums ever was there. We spent some time on the beach, walked along the pier, watched all the seagulls and off in the distance
we could hear this peculiar “barking” sound…what was that?
The kids were all trying to check it out, a dog in the ocean?
No, not a dog, but a whole bunch of sea lions.
They were big and as cute as could be!
They were up on all the buoy’s out in the water and just below us in a little cove type of thing. They were quite playful and so fun to watch.
Along the beach, the boys saw a jelly fish, one of them was just reaching down to touch it when one of their older sisters yelled out, “Hey, that could paralyze you!” There was some serious backing away at that point.
After our playing and walking by the bay, we loaded back up in the car to go over to the Monterey Aquarium.
Oh my word…where do they get off charging such outrageous prices??? I’m tellin’ ya, I was quite irritated and my poor hubby was soooo disappointed, but we just could not pay over $250 for our family to walk in that door for a couple of hours, no matter how wonderful it may have been. Bummer! Once again, can I tell you how much I hate money!

Back on the road again and then another detour….I love that my husband is so willing to go anywhere to show us exciting things. He saw the sign for the Hearst Castle and wanted to show it to me.
We drove off the main road about 35 miles or so, arrived,
went in and guess what,
the tour was closed!
That’s just the way it is for us sometimes.
But, we walked through the Visitors Center and looked from afar at the beautiful castle. There were large photos of all of the rooms inside and the pools, this was one amazing place. It sat on some crazy amount of acreage, don’t recall the size at this point, but it was a beautiful grazing area for many animals, one of the most interesting for us to see were the Zebras…yes, that is right, Zebra’s and lots of ‘em.
The man who built this castle for his “retreat” was W. R. Hearst.
Still not entirely sure who this man was, I just know he was loaded!

We are driving toward Anaheim…
next stop DISNEYLAND
…at least right after sleeping in our motel for the night
…sure hope my excited little ones sleep and don’t stay awake half of the night in anticipation!
I tried telling them to hurry and go to sleep as we are driving because when we wake up we’re going right over to Disneyland,
probably should have just kept that one to myself,
cause the excitement is something right now.
Natalie just cannot stop talking…here’s just a little snipet of what she is saying:

“Mommy, when you went to Disneyland with your friends who are mommies, did you see Ariel? Was her hair made like how it looks on the movie, I want my hair to look like her hair tomorrow. Does she know I am coming? I need to tell her that she is my most favorite princess ever. Oh I just can’t wait to see her, do you think her hair is doing that swish over to the side, what do you think she’ll be wearing? Do you think she’s asleep right now?”

OH MY WORD…all I can say at this point is that ARIEL had better be there and be very ready for my little redhead to see her and want to talk her ear off. I better go searching for her first thing to make this one happen. Wish me luck!

We have officially arrived, insanely late and I am dying to be there when the gate opens at 8 a.m. So, why am I doing this tonight??? Great question -- m!ybe I am the MOST EXCITED ONE HERE!!! Okay probably not, but I cannot wait to enter gates with all my kids and to see the joy on their little faces! It may be a few days before I get back to this wonderful blogging world - or who knows - maybe I can add some more soon, never can tell what life will throw your way ~ just smile and catch it and move on with a little joy and all will be well!

Must try to get some sleep now...DISNEYLAND AND ARIEL ARE WAITING FOR US...

On the road again...

We have been a family that has never and I do mean never, with the exception of a long weekend of maybe camping, traveled. We are heading out again for Caliente, Nevada to spread the ashes of my husband's uncle. He was very close to him, in fact, I often felt that Uncle Sam treated Chad more as his son, than a nephew. If Sam ever needed anything or wanted to share any news, it was Chad that he would call, not even his own sons.
So...we are off to do this work for him. He requested that his ashes be spread over their old homestead. I'm excited to go and let our kiddos see where Grandpa and his brothers grew up and spend a little time there and then participate in doing our last service for Uncle Sam.

Not quite ready to be in the car again and packing seems just a little cruel to have to experience, since we just finished unpacking! This will be a year we won't soon forget. But what a silly thing to complain about...so for the record -- I am not complaining, just commenting. :)

I'll let you in on a little secret, since we are all the way to Caliente, which isn't too far from Las Vegas, which isn't too far from Anaheim, which is the location of an incredible dream destination, and we just happen to have free tickets for our entire family to go...since we participated in the "Give a Day, Get A Day" promotion that was put on earlier this year...have you guessed where I am referring to??? Most of you have, I am sure...but for those of you, like me, who've only ventured away a time or two, and aren't quite sure of this Magical Place...I'll tell you! DISNEYLAND awaits the Lytle Family!!! I have been waiting for what feels like a lifetime to take our children there. Well it has been over half of my lifetime!!! Ever since becoming a momma 25 years ago...cannot believe it's been that long...where does time go? I can't be getting this old already, can I???

Anyway, I have dreamed about going to Disneyland with our kids forever! We've had the Disneyland bucket that we've saved over and over and over. It's become the fix the car bucket, the buy diapers bucket, the out of food bucket, the replace parts on the carpet cleaner bucket, the bucket to take care of any needs bucket...but until now has never served its original destiny...becoming a REAL DISNEYLAND BUCKET!!! We had a little competition yesterday as I removed the bucket from it's safe little place deep in the closet and brought it downstairs to put on display. I let everyone take a few moments to look it over, size it up and make their best guess as to just how much money lay in the bottom of this bucket that would finally reach its true destiny.
I distributed little pieces of paper, they wrote their best guess, I went to the bank, handed over the giant bucket (which was only a small portion filled) and walked away from the bank with cash in hand. As I returned home, we layed out each little piece of paper in order...
Dad - $125
Myles - $145
Wyatt - $180
Natalie - $200
Mom - $347.92
Danielle - 349.67
Bryce - $648.56
Cassie - $50,000
I told Bryce and Cassie that I sure hoped they were the "winners" in our little contest...bummer for us that they weren't!!!
We had a little drum roll (just to build to the excitement) and before their eyes, I counted out the cash, nice and slow (again just to build on the excitement!) our total came to a whoppin' $297.99... Natalie starts jumpin' up and down...I'm the winner, I'm the winner, I'm the winner!!!

Adorable moment, especially since there wasn't a thing to actually "win". I guess we all win as we head out the door again. This will be a quick trip for us, with coolers on hand for all of our meals and extra blankets and pillows to snuggle into in the car for our driving time.

And you guessed it, I will have so many more photos to share!!! The Princesses await us in Disneyland and I am tellin' ya I have a couple of little ones who are ecstatic at the thought of actually meeting their favorites!!! I should put out a warning for any other families visiting Disneyland the same day we are there...My little ones think they have waited their "WHOLE LIVES" to be here and they just might push and shove their way to Cinderella, Tinkerbell and Ariel...I'll do my best to control them...but you've now been warned. :)
I will actually make them stand like little ladies and wait their turn, but you gotta know that they would be willing to crawl over or under anyone to make it there just to see them in person.

I cannot wait to be there with all my kids (just wish Shealyn and her family were joining us) Man it would be great to be rich, then I could just load up everyone I love and take 'em all along. And I would so totally do that. We'd have the greatest party on earth, cause I love alot of people in this world... and I'm sure you are one of 'em!!! Love ya! ;)