Working on that list

Remember this? Well, I'm working on it. That birthday of mine is just a little over 6 months away and I'm almost 100% sure that I won't get any of my top three things I wanted to do before I turned 35 crossed off. Of course, not having Gabriel is the biggest disappointment. I'm not sure what we're going to do in regards to having any more children. I thought Gabriel was our last but the thought of ending our family with such a loss hurts my heart. Anyway, I didn't want to make this a sad post, I wanted to write about the things that I have done on that list. So here goes:

Item #16-Watch a baby be born (not being the one giving birth):
So this was awhile ago, and I meant to blog about it, but summer was crazy busy and then Gabriel died and it was a little painful for me to think about it knowing that my baby boy's birth story was just so different. But, it was a great experience and something I've always, always wanted to do, so I'm blogging. I am so thankful for my friend, Lisa, to feel comfortable enough with me to invite me to see this most wonderful event. The day of, we had gone to Lagoon (the day after we told the kiddos about having a new baby on the way!), and Lisa texted me around 1 pm to tell me she was at the hospital and in labor. I was so bummed! I couldn't just tell my kids that we were leaving Lagoon! They would not have been happy with me at all. So the rest of the time we were at Lagoon, I was just bummed and waiting for the next text to tell me the baby was born. We had to leave Lagoon early so Ben could get to class and so I called Lisa as we left and she said she was still progressing slowly. There was hope! I made a quick call to beg my mom & dad to watch the kids and then after dropping off Ben & the kids, I sped like crazy down to the AF Hospital. I kept thinking that I was going to miss the birth by minutes, but somehow I made it there and Lisa was still in labor! Thanks for waiting for me Lisa!

A few minutes after I arrived, the Dr. showed up and broke Lisa's water and a little while later the action began. Lisa was amazing! She didn't have an epidural or anything for pain. She just breathed through it all with her hubby, Brinton, right by her side. I was put on picture duty and tried my best to take some good and not too graphic shots. Then the moment came, where this little guy entered the world.
It was such an amazing thing to see! It was really fun because they hadn't found out what they were having so everyone was waiting to see what he was. I knew it was a boy-so fun since Brinton & Lisa have one boy who is Skylar's age & then have had three girls since. It was really cool to finally get to see a baby born. Thanks Lisa for letting me be a part of such an amazing experience!!
Item # 85- Hike to the Y
All of my life I've looked up at the Y from my grandparent's home and wanted to someday get up there. Then when Ben & I were dating, our friend would ask us each time we went out if we were hiking to the Y. I guess that's the thing to do on a date when you grow up in Provo. Ha ha. Ben and I have joked about hiking to the Y for many date nights throughout the years. My friend, Abby, told me that when we did it we should go together so we were excited that they could join us for this adventure!

So last Saturday we headed out bright & early for our hike to the Y. The forecast called for rain at noon so we knew we needed to hurry. Ben & Abby loaded the babies on their backs-troopers!-and we headed up the trail. I had no idea how steep it would be! It starts out steep & doesn't really let down through all 12 switchbacks up the mountain. At one point I was questioning my sanity in wanting to do this because honestly, I haven't done much in the form of exercise in awhile, especially since Gabriel died. But I wanted to do it, so I kept on. I was amazed that all of the kids did it with little complaining when my body was screaming at me! In fact, for the most part, the kids were running ahead of us & had to keep waiting for us to catch up. We decided to hike all the way to the top & it was such a great feeling of accomplishment to get up there & look down on the Y and the valley below. It was absolutely beautiful up there!! The leaves were a million different colors and it was just spectacular to see. After a quick snack we headed back down the mountain. About half way down it started to sprinkle a bit but it waited until we hit the bottom to start the downpour that continued for the next few hours. It was perfect! We had such a great time and I loved it...even if my body was pooped for the next two days afterwards! Thanks Mailes for joining us on your special day of remembering-it was sooo fun to go with you!!
I heart this picture the mostest: