Sunday Thoughts: Summit Moments

"You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: what is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know." - Rene Daumal

Sometimes you find a quote and it jumps into your heart. I've probably read this one 100 times since I found it at the beginning of the year. Each time it connects and grounds me back to a mindset of perspective. I find myself pondering "summits" in our life as a family and how grateful we have been for every one of those experiences. How impossible they looked when standing at the bottom of the mountain, overwhelmed with even the idea of getting to the top, but simply having enough trust in God to take the first step. And then another. And then another.

Reaching those summit moments came as we often carried fear, doubt, or worry, along with us. But we also carried trust, peace, resiliency and hope. Soaking in the moments to look around - to Be Still and Know. And step by step, little by little, those summit moments have come. They are so beautiful.

June Visitors - Part 1

We were SO grateful to have both sets of grandparents come out for a visit. They arrived the day after the last day of school. On the same red eye flight. Oh those flights are brutal!

We took them to a favorite tree park - and the weather did not disappoint - it was so hot and humid! But they were great sports - weaving through the twists and turns of the path and getting a little lost along the way as our memory turned out a bit different from the actual map! 

The next day we headed west! We split up for the day and the boys went out deep sea fishing in the Gulf. It was a first for all of them, and they were so excited. I was hopeful.

Mostly for Max.

That kid has been out fishing countless times since moving here and hasn't caught a single fish. Not one. Part of me was worried he'd go out there, and everyone would catch fish but him. But the bigger part of me was hopeful - I mean in the big ocean, they'd have to have some luck, right?!

And here it is! His first catch of the day!! They were all thrilled (and relieved that no matter what happened, at least he'd caught one fish!).

They headed out to a shipwreck, and fished around this now coral reef. They said the water was incredibly clear and it was solid ocean in every direction. And then the real fish story comes in - in a matter of :20 minutes they ALL had multiple catches - big fish, a sting ray, colorful fish, spanish mackerels, snappers, blue runners, barracuda, sheepshead, lookdown - it was a constant catch all around the boat. 

This part of the story is in Max's words (since he was the one on the boat seeing it all happen!):

My grandpa (my mom's dad) caught a king fish which was pulled off by TWO black tip sharks! We couldn't believe it! The only thing left on the hook was the head of the king fish. My grandpa was ready to reel it in, but the guide said "drop the line to the bottom and try to catch the sharks!" He did, and re-caught one of the black tip sharks (about 3-4 feet long)! As this shark was pulling away - and he's trying to reel it in - out of nowhere a HUGE bull shark (it had to of been at least 10 feet long) swims in faster than lightning - snatches the shark in one gulp and gets hooked on the line! THEN it jumped out of the water - full body and landed with the biggest splash ever and totally snapped his line like a tin can. This whole thing happened in about :30 seconds. There was blood everywhere and I barely had time to see any of it as I had to put my pole down and get over there! It was the craziest thing I've ever seen! Definitely won't go snorkeling in that water!

Meanwhile...the gals and I all headed to the beach! We LOVE the beaches in Naples! The white sands, the sea shells EVERYWHERE and I love how the water is unbelievably shallow. We spent the whole day playing in the water, I loved swimming in the ocean with the girls, practicing the boogie boards on the little rolling waves, and building sandcastles.

We met up that night for dinner and headed to the hotel for an overnight stay.

The next morning we went to Sanibel Island - another favorite! This beach had been pretty beat up from the tropical storm in May, and it was completely different from what we'd seen in December. It's amazing how much the water/tides/storms will change beaches. We spent most of our time at this beach snorkeling and looking for shells of all types and sizes. It was a blast!

And here's the real reason we were so lucky to have all of the grandparents here! Max was ordained a Deacon in our church and was so excited to begin participating in the service associated with it. I love the realness of this photo. How difficult it can be to get everyone to look at the camera, Abigail holding her "treat bucket" for next week, and the excitement of that 12 year old front and center. There was so much love and light in this moment.

Keeping true with his humor/inability to hold still for a photo, this was the best "12 year old" photo I could get of him. But again, I love the realness/fuzziness of it. It reminds me that he simply couldn't hold back his excitement. He has been so excited (and patient - we delayed it a couple weeks to coordinate schedules with grandparents coming out and school ending) for this new chapter to begin. I love that he loves it and while he understands it with incredible faith as a 12 year old, I know that his love and understanding of the service of the priesthood will only continue to grow as he chooses to apply and use it throughout his life.

The next day the weather was a bit spotty, and after the beach days and full sun, the crew was ready for something a bit more indoors. We headed on a new adventure - The Frost Museum in Miami - and LOVED it! It's right next to the ocean and has an incredible three story aquarium where you can view sharks, Mahi mahi, rays and all kinds of fish from underneath, the side and the top. So beautiful! Loads of smaller aquariums are throughout and this crew loved the stingray touch pool! The entire building has an inside-but-outside feeling to it and it's one of my most favorite architectural museums we've ever been to.

Had to get a pic of their hair - they were so excited to go on another outing with grandparents and all picked their hairstyles they wanted for it! Yes there are so many crazy moments and the years of "who took my shirt" have already begun, but at the core, these gals aren't just siblings, they are friends.

We spent oodles of time at the traveling Leonardo exhibit. Oh. My. Goodness. Until going through this exhibit, I had no idea he invented pretty much everything and artwork and composing music and writing poetry were happening in his "spare time." The renderings of the human body are simply incredible. I can't say how many times I paused in that exhibit thinking about this example of man who clearly used his time wisely. There were a few moments I caught my mind thinking "gosh, what am I really doing with my time?" Yet I was reminded of a very clear principle that I am so grateful for: oodles of my time over these last 12 years has been centered in the trenches of motherhood. And while my life story may not have the discoveries of this great individual, creating and developing humans is something I hold near and dear. His work was clearly inspired in Truth and I am so grateful to be a beneficiary of his wisdom through every day life and modern-day conveniences hundreds of years later. It's cool to think how much history truly does pave the way for what and who we are today. He also may or may not have been an inspiration behind me using some of my birthday money to pick up a few watercolor supplies/learn how to watercolor book. While watercolors weren't his medium, I haven't stopped thinking about how much he dedicated his mind to CREATING. Something I'll have to write more about another time.

Some of the quotes I just loved:

Loads more from the museum that we didn't take pics of - a poison exhibit and a cool one all about flying/aerodynamics.

She adores him.

Love the real photo of this one too. Abigail couldn't slow down enough for a group photo with grandparents, and we couldn't seem to get a very good angle with the folks that were all enjoying the view of the bottom of the aquarium, nor does this really show how cool it really was, but we were there. Happy moment.

Gator!

See the alligator in this photo?

What about this one?

Me neither. But there's such a great story behind these photos, I had to write it!

We were driving home from our Saturday night dinner out as a family, and one of our favorite games while we drive this particular road is to count all of the iguanas we spot. They are so colorful and I feel like I'm looking at miniature dinosaurs every time we see them.

But on this night, as we were looking out, Mike said "Look! Gator!!" and sure enough, there was a HUGE alligator on lying on the grassy slope. He had clearly just come up from the canal and head to tail tip was easily 12-13 feet. His width was unbelievable and he was black as black!

Abby missed him, and I wanted to get a photo (yes, those amazing shots above), and you can't really pull over, so Mike made a u-turn and we went back around for a second look.

Just as we made it back around, we were chatting how uncommon it is to see a gator so far from the water, and on a slope that is that steep (gators don't like to work if they don't absolutely have to!). Then we look over and the gator was fully up, walking/moving so quickly up the slope and into the green behind (that area actually goes right into another lake)! We couldn't believe we were seeing him MOVE so quickly and right in front of us!

So of course, I thought, I want to get this on video! But we were driving, and my fumbling excitement of enjoying the moment turned into me taking to photos nowhere near the gator, and not even switching it over to video!

Oh well.

It was still awesome.

Bedtime

Max has always been a light switch. He's either all the way on, or all the way off. Sometimes, I'm ready to turn the off switch a bit sooner than he has in mind. On these occasions, he'll typically hang out in his room and then we'll come in later to see something like this:

The next morning I followed up to find out the details of this new contraption.

"Oh, mom. That's their ship. The Hero guys (also on the bed) didn't have a ship to fly around to the different planets, so I had to build one."

Then, as if he collapsed with exhaustion as soon as he'd snapped the last piece.

Last week, Mike and I had the kids down and were watching some TV. Then we heard a sound similar to Darth Vader breathing. We turned around and found this:




I wish I could take credit for giving him the idea to turn his backpack, music container, scuba goggles and orange tube into scuba diving equipment, but it's all him. He even managed to fill his backpack with various explorer tools - to clean animals teeth, to hear animals from a distance, to vacuum the ocean floor, and to take a closer look at some of the animals as he was swimming.

The Park

I feel like we've gained new appreciation for Spring. Minnesotans told us over and over last summer how they really appreciate their time outdoors, because they all know it won't last forever. And, while I understood their explanations, I don't think I really felt what they meant until I went through a winter for myself. I can't describe the energy and excitement you feel stepping outdoors knowing that it is spring. People want to stop and visit, and just seem refreshed and rejuvenated from the cold winter. Looking back, I can't say that I hated winter. Picking up a new winter sport, and spending time indoors was actually pretty fun. Would I want to do it year-round? Nope. But, I think it's the change of season that I appreciate, and the opportunity to feel some gratitude for how amazingly beautiful this world is.

We've spent everyday this past week outside on bike rides, or at the park. The kids can't get enough. While at the park, Max saw some of the older kids crossing the monkey bars and was determined to try it for himself. I held his legs for round one, and he took off on his own for round two. I think he had a bit of adrenaline pumping because some of the older kids were cheering him on. So he crossed them about 5 more times.

I was actually pretty surprised that he picked it up so quick. So, on the way home, we had this conversation:

"Hey bud, how did you figure that out so quick?"
"Oh, it was easy. My brain just sent signals to my body and told me how to do it. Just like signals for a cell phone."
Oh. Right.

He was still pumped that night and we had to take dad back. The next day he awoke pretty sore (he thought his arm was broken until I helped him discover it was good ol' muscles that had been hard at work!). So, the monkey bars have been at rest. Plans to document on camera for the grandparents once those muscles are ready.

Bird Watching

Being sneaky with the camera is one of my biggest challenges. I love the real-life images, but struggle to capture them on camera as my kids seem to jump for the attention of an on camera-cheesy-smile shot. On my list of life, I've always wanted to practice and learn photography so I could capture what I see in my mind on the camera. And while the lighting is a bit off, I was glad to snag this photo, as Max began setting up for bird watching. He loves to look out our back window, spot birds, learn the names, and then watch for when they will come back.
With the entrance of SPRING, there have been plenty of new bird faces out there to check out. It's been fun seeing the Canada Geese come back at just the right time, and earlier this week, we heard our first frogs who've dug themselves out of hibernation.


Showing Alexis how to use the binoculars. I'm glad he's so patient with her!


Checking for birds in the bird book grandma gave him.

Costumes

Surviving the last chunk of winter took some creativity. Max is full of it, and seemed to always find ways to make more projects. Alexis is content doing anything he's doing, and has managed to test drive some of his costumes. The girl loves to be tickled and often can be found running, collapsing, and then just waiting for you to come get her.



Delving through our recycle bin, Max created the above costume. A strap on jet pack with night vision binoculars. Or, an empty wheat thins box, yellow paper, and toilet paper rolls.