Favorite quote today

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen."

Elizabeth Kobler-Ros

Women's Conference

In the end of April, I was lucky enough to go to Women's Conference with all of Mark's sisters and mom at BYU. It was SO AWESOME. You must make this a priority for 2012. I felt the spirit a bunch (which just never happens anymore with kids) and took so many great notes and just enjoyed my time with my cute Cottle fam. These girls know how to have fun. We ate well, laughed hard, talked lots, walked a lot (esp me! I took a scenic tour mistakenly of BYU's campus) and I even fit a few tears in.
It was a great couple of days for sure.





Did I mention that we know how to have fun? It's true.

**Thanks Cal for letting me steal your pics!!
Here is a couple things I heard that I loved the most:

{Keep it small*Keep it Simple*Give it time}
{Prayer is an extension of agency. Expectations change when you pray fervently}
{All relationships change when you pray fervently}
{Simplify your life. Pray. Read the scriptures. Love-Laugh-Enjoy and Everything will work together for your good}
{Be thankful. The art of "Thanksgiving" is "Thanks living"}

It inspired me to make a little gratitude journal. I'm finding things each day that I love or that help me remember that we really aren't here alone. I notice the "little things" more. AND now when I think "Oh, I should really write her a note and thank her for that"...and then never do...I came home and wrote some letters!! YEAH!

Here is a cute quote: "If you only pay attention to all the rocks on the path, you'll miss the flowers and beauty all around you!"

And, I heard this over and over just for me...
"When your life feels insignificant, SERVE someone!"

Here is one more...

"We have a choice to "just get through" life and it's experiences or we can embrace it, we can pray to learn from the people and the experiences that our loving Heavenly Father has personally blessed our lives with"

So many times lately, I'm just not challenged. Let's face it, I do the same things every. single. day. I get boys dressed, wash dishes, put clothes away, make food, clean it up, read a story, put in more laundry, wipe a nose, change a diaper, clean up play dough, make some food, change the laundry, bath time, bed time, clean up toys time, kiss Mark goodnight. And then I repeat.

But if I look at it that way, then that's all I'm doing and that's all I can get out of it too.
I need to change my outlook. Life won't be like this very long...

I learned a lot at Women's Conference. I'm ready to change the world.
Okay, just my world, but that's enough for me.

p.s. my mom has a boyfriend! (she doesn't read this-or she would totally kill me that this news made it to cyber space) I haven't met him yet, but they date and it's just about more than my heart can handle! I don't know what will happen, but I couldn't be happier for her.

Easter 2011

We had a great Easter this year. The celebration started off on Saturday with a shower for Jeff and Ruth. We are so excited for them!! She is down to just a few weeks. And she may be the cutest pregnant lady I've ever seen. Her belly bounces when she laughs! (I wish I had taken some pictures)
Then we headed to my mom's house for the Easter festivities. Here are just a few pictures of the egg hunt....











Sunday, was a little nuts! We hurried to the church for ward choir practice and then they did a beautiful job. I changed the song from the previous Sunday (it just wasn't working) and so we only had 2 practices with the new one. You would have never known. It was perfect. Then our church and then we headed up to Mark's student ward (that goes from 3-6PM!)and I sang. We were tired when we finally got home around 6:30.
Here are some not so great pictures of our Easter together. Conner wanted nothing of it. And he totally won. You'll just love all the construction behind us. I totally do.





And here is my favorite person in the world. He was on a business trip the entire week before Easter and I missed him so much. He left me a love note all around my house every morning for me to find. Can't ask for better than that.

Right at this moment...

Oh, boy! I adore this little four-and-a-half year old boy. He constantly tests my patience, but I love him so much. He keeps us laughing all the time and I just want to bottle him up and not forget anything he does. I know I will look back and think that this time went by so fast.

Here are some cute things our big C says and loves lately:
1-He loves for us to read him stories. Loves them. We go to the library every week and check out a bundle of books. He is starting to read and it's been so fun. Often we are in the car and he'll read words that I didn't know he knew!
2-He says, "At the Beginning and at the BeEnd"
3-The other day he said to me, "Mom, you are the mosquito that I love" ?? what? we just laughed!
4-He loves babysitters and says, "Who is going to babysitter us, Mom?"
5-He is getting more brave with the food we offer him. I'll tell him he's had it before and he liked it. He'll make a face that would make you think he hates it and then finish and say, "oh, I do remember this!"
6-He is a busy boy! He loves to ride his bike.
7-He is very sentimental and gives us hugs and kisses all the time.
8-Speaking of kisses-he wants to kiss my lips all the time! Mark says they are only for him and so now it's a challenge! What a funny kid.
9-He loves his cousin Tyann. She came into town the other day and as soon as he saw her, he put his hands on his hips and said, "Ty, I've been thinking about marrying you!" What a little cutie.
10-He calls Carl's Jr. "Carla's Jr. or Carlos Jr."
What a fun, happy, busy, independent, naughty, loveable little boy!

Attitude

I'm actually not sure anyone reads my blog anymore since my "move" but I'm still here and writing :)
Do you ever think about the effect a positive attitude can have on things? Well I do.

This morning I looked out my front window to see a large backhoe digging up pavement and then digging a large 5 foot hole. It was totally blocking my driveway. Totally. I didn't need to go anywhere, but I did wish that one of the men had just come to my door and told me what was going on. It made me mad and I called two friends and let them know how I was feeling too. I love good friends that will listen! :)

Anyway, it turned out fine. Mark came and picked me up, so we could go get our car out of the shop. (story for another day!) And I ran some errands and then came home. A nice guy hopped out of the backhoe and asked if I needed to get into my garage. They moved a truck and then told me they were turning my water off for a couple hours. I was fine.
(Until the bathroom was needed! :)

Then, this afternoon, I saw a man on main street in Logan that had a sign that said, "Will work for food" and I just wondered where this man's family was? What has gotten him to this point? And then, I realized that I really have it so great.

Later tonight, our home teachers came. They shared a message about having a positive attitude, and it was just the message I needed to hear today. This project on 10th west is going to happen. If I complain, or get upset, it doesn't really matter. All that does is hurt me. I'm going to choose to be more upbeat about it. And other things in our life that just haven't gone as we had hoped. A lot of things lately. I'm not talking about anything earth shattering, just things like; really expensive car fixes, crowns needed on both of our teeth, work stuff, etc.
They come in waves, don't they?

All is well. Life happens. I really believe that the person that we really are shines through when we can deal with less than great situations well. And there you have it.

House Demolition

House demolition going strong. There is now just a little rubble left of both houses. It's nutso. And loud. Yesterday, we planned a day away from home just so we didn't have to listen to all the big bangs of broken cement hitting the bottom of a metal truck. Trust me, it's loud. We took a ton a pictures...









AND
Tuesday at preschool, my friend "Mrs. Megan" (C's teacher) asked the kid's what words started with the letter U. One kid said, "You!" and she was trying to explain that, that's a tricky one, then Big C said, "You Tube!" How does he know what that is you ask? We don't really know. He is too smart for his own good!

Viva Las Vegas!

I was so excited when Mark let me tag along with him to his CFE conference this year in Vegas! I jumped at the opportunity of getting out of Logan for a few days. (Ironically, when we left if was 50 degrees here. 50!) It was especially perfect that it was over Valentines Day.

The plane ride out might be one of my favorite memories...We were chatting about all kinds of things and then Mark asked me, "Do you have any goals?" It caught me off guard and then I asked him if he knew what he just asked me. We just laughed and laughed. I know you just had to be there, but by the end of our conversation I was seriously laughing so hard I was in tears! Why does it take getting out of Logan without kids to remind us how much fun we have together?

The CEO of Mark's company is a really nice guy. He called Mark to see if he had landed and when he found out that I had come with Mark, he offered to switch us hotel rooms. His room was a suite at the MGM Grand (where our "standard" room was) that he said "he didn't need since his wife wasn't with him" It was so nice of him and it was so fun for us! I didn't take any pictures (duh!) But it was fun. He also sent room service to our room the next day. He totally went over and above for us.


Anyway, the week consisted of Mark in meetings most of the daytime, and me reading, walking up and down the strip, shopping and laying by the pool. At night, we'd find a fun place to eat, walk a lot, and watch the Bellagio fountains and all the crazy people in Vegas. We also met up with one of Mark's friends from high school one night (that now lives in Vegas) and went to a buffet at the Aria Hotel. It was delicious and Ether was great company.


On actual Valentines Day, Mark and I got tickets to Phantom Of the Opera. It was awesome. Way more Vegas style than I've seen before. Fire, gun shots and smoke. The theater was built for this play and the huge chandelier was amazingly huge.

On Tuesday, I went to the "graduation" of all the new CFE's. I snapped this picture of Mark on his phone. We have a laughed a bunch over this picture... (he's standing next to Mr. Bean!)






Can you tell I love the Bellagio fountains?
And here are some of what Mark took on his phone. I'm just kicking myself I didn't have a better picture taken of us on Valentines! Oh well...

We did this 3D movie view in MGM.

Caden freaked out when we showed him this picture!

It was a great, quick trip! Near the end, I was refreshed and ready to be with my boys again and ready to face winter weather again. Those kind of trips make me so thankful for a little break and thankful that I get to come back to my little cuties...and thankful that Mark's parents are so gracious and wonderful to take care of our kids so we don't have to worry for a second about them.