Just look

at the disaster in this room.

I see mess. Lots and lots of mess.
But do you know what they see?
A tent for hiding in. A town where the villagers were escaping from something.
They rig up these crazy play scenes where they take out (it seems) every possible toy.
It doesn't matter if they are Alden's toys or Lucy's toys. Boy or girl toys. Every thing gets mixed into a big story. And tons of things take on new roles. I wish I had taken a picture of the polly pocket dresses. All the polly pockets seemed to have lost their heads and instead of throwing them away, Lucy and Alden have started using doll hair brushes and the people and putting the dressed on those. Alden took apart those little foam hair curlers and was using the foam part as logs. They take random objects that I need for something, like the lid to a bottle in the fridge and make it into a wheel on a new car. Or the tie on Lucy's dress that I can't seem to find was turned into the rope that tied down the villagers. They make up stories and adventures and play for HOURS.

This picture was from a Sunday after noon (hence the church clothes) where they, no joke, played together in Alden's room for 5 hours without any problems or leaving. They just play and play and play together. Alden was upset Sunday night about having to go to school. Because it will mean a dent in his play time. These two are serious about their play.

School will be an adjustment.
Thankfully they both came home happy from school today and loved every minute of it.

10 Years Together

means we needed a trip together. Sans kids. So we went to Whitefish. It was lots of fun. We saw some great views on the way down.

I had my foot in a cast (chipped my ankle on my left foot after tripping over Lucy when I was holding Eli) and just had it off this day... so I wasn't much fun for hiking or walking anywhere very far.... which we had planned on doing while down there. But we still had lots of fun and saw lots of beautiful things.


Went to the "Bearz" in the middle of nowhere close to Whitefish and saw them up close and personal from inside our car.

We went to the beach at night and I took some pictures and Reg took some.

The two of us



Every day we drove past this and I LOVED this and wanted to take a picture. Finally last day we stopped and I did. Such lush trees!

We rode the chair lift up to the top of the mountain in Whitefish. It was totally fun. And we saw lots of pretty sights up there too.



And while we were down there we noticed the sign for a race... so Reg decided to run it :)


Prairie fields and looming skies. While driving home it was just so stinking pretty.

It was just so fun to get away. I wish I wasn't a gimp, but it was still fun and Reg was very patient walking me around everywhere :) And he let me go shopping for the kids clothes and school supplies which is a huge present from him in itself. (He HATES shopping!!) It was so much fun and I am so glad we went!

Can't believe school is starting today. Two kids in school for me. CRAZY!!!

Spiritual Sundays

When school starts next week

The ol' blog will be back on schedule and weekly posts Sunday - Thursday.

Since I know you are all just missing me sooooo much in your lives.
hahahahahahahaha
And since a post is no fun without a picture....
here's a few to look at :)



(The Rocky mountains at night. It was pitch black out and I used my tripod to hold still enough to get enough light to take this shot! It was like a 2 minute exposure.)

10 years ago today

I married my best friend.

It's such a cliche thing to say. But I truly did.
We hung out as friends before either one of us realized that we liked each other.
Our relationship is so strong because of the base of a combination of spiritual relationship and a strong friendship.



I've written things about him on here like this and our love story here and our medical school journey. But none of these posts could sum up all of the private moments, the humor and heartache, the first moments of holding a child in our arms, the way the Lord has brought us closer together, the knowing looks to each other, the water fights in the basement apartment, the prayers said together and the the answers to prayers, the callings and service, the date nights at home and out of home, the growth and success of each of us and together. I thought I loved him when we got married. But I love him so much more now. More than I thought I could. And I know that love will continue to grow. As a little girl I always wanted to grow up and be married. To be a mom and be married. I had many thoughts of how it would be. But truly I have it so much better than I had ever thought.

Happy Anniversary Regan.
I love you as much as this room..... ;)

In the kitchen: BBQ Smores

We tried BBQing some smores for an FHE treat. It worked well. The marshmallows soft but not brown. But good.

Alden and Lucy and I enjoyed them. (Reg sometimes skips the treats we have around here. Me not so much.) :)

Surely EVERY summer must include Smores (on more than one occasion.)


So seems blog land has been pretty slow on a lot of blogs. Wondering who's still checking often and what you've all been doing lately. (and eating)

Early Morning Banff

Eli's been on an early morning stretch lately. As in 530-6 am every day. While on vacation last week..... still in it. So I got up with him and we went out on photo walks. (That photo a couple posts down of the lone dirt road was from an early morning in Mountain View)

While out on our drive on one of the early mornings (yep we are still both in our pjs and jackets), we stopped at the lovely Falls. And I asked Eli if we could do a picture together. I set the camera on some drift wood and pressed the timer and ran back to him at the shore. He was laughing so hard. And kept saying "again, again, again". So I took many many of the two of us.

I've realized that I need to be grateful that I get this time in the morning with him. Getting up at 530 - 630 am is not something I would choose to do. But Eli is happy in the morning. He is delightful and energetic and happy to see the sun come up. I am not. And I need to be. It's all in my head. I can imagine that it is good. I can choose to be happy no matter how early we get up. Then I can see the good part of this. The positive. How lucky am I to get one on one time with the third child?!
So instead of being crabby that he got me up on holidays, we went out and spent time together. And it was magical.

Does that mean I am ACHING to get up at 5:45 am? NO. But it does mean that I am working on enjoying the moments we get together if we do have to get up then and sleeping in more if Reg gets up with him :) (you know, lemons into lemonade kind of deal).

And to see some of the mmmmmmaaaaaannnnnnnnnyyyyyyyy pictures I took in banff you can look at some here at rhondasteed.com.

In the kitchen: Cornmeal Pancakes with Blueberry Maple Syrup

This is the time of year for fresh fruit.


Actually that's one of my favorite parts about this time of year. The majority of our diets is fruit and veggies. So it's a whole lot cheaper in the summer. And they taste better too!!

Blueberries are one of my kids favorites. And I got a flat from BC of them. Soooo I was in Blueberry food central. So I've got a yummy recipe to share.



Cornmeal Pancakes with Blueberry Maple Syrup
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
3 Tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 large eggs, separated
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla

Whisk flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda and nutmeg in a bowl. Whisk egg yolks with buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla in a large glass measuring cup. Whisk buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture to make a thick batter - take care not to over mix or the pancakes will be dense. In another bowl ship the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Use a rubber spatula to fold the egg whites into the batter.

Heat a large pan over medium heat and cook your pancakes. Keep the cooked ones warm until all are ready. Serve with Blueberry Maple Syrup.

Blueberry Maple Syrup
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cinnamon stick
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp lemon juice

Toss blueberries with maple syrup in a small saucepan. Add the cinnamon stick and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture boils and the blueberries just start to pop, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, discard cinnamon stick, and stir in the butter and lemon juice. Serve warm.

Spiritual Sundays

"This week is one that always makes me pause and reflect and take stock of my life. This year even more than usual as, ten years ago Kelly had her accident. So, ten years ago we spent the week wondering if we were going to be able to keep her or if we’d have to let her go. TEN YEARS AGO!

My thoughts have been about “What have I accomplished in the last ten years to bring me closer to being worthy to be able to be reunited with Kelly some time in the future?” Am I more the person God wants me to be? I’ve thought about what has happened during that time—the ups, the downs, the trials, the blessings and my response to them. Have I shown faith and trust in God? Have I been teachable? Have I repented quickly when I’ve made mistakes? Have I LISTENED to the Spirit and been directed by Him? Have I loved and served my family and those around me? Have I been forgiving of others? Have I followed the counsel of the prophet? Have I lived up to my baptismal and temple covenants? If called Home today, how would I feel about facing God and reporting to Him on how I lived my life?

It’s a very sobering experience to spend significant time and effort answering those questions. Doing this has once again made me SO grateful for a loving and patient Heavenly Father who is mindful of each of us, willing and anxious to accept our sincere efforts to day by day become better people. I’m SO grateful that He’s so willing to forgive us when we make mistakes. I’m SO grateful that our Savior made this forgiveness possible.

I’m SO grateful for the support system that Heavenly Father created in our families and in the organization of the church. He knew that we couldn’t get through all the tests, trials and temptations of this life without a good strong support system. That’s why we have each other to lean on. We were never intended to get through the challenges of this life alone. It’s just TOO DARN HARD!!

We are SO blessed to have each other. We’re SO blessed to be members of the church and have access to all the blessings that come with it. We’re SO blessed to have a prophet to guide us. We are SO blessed to live in this beautiful free country with so many advantages. We are SO blessed! Please take a few moments to remember……. "
- My mom

Perhaps you haven't lost someone you love, but these are still good questions to ask.

We are off

enjoying the summer for a few family vacations.

Will be back next week!