The Beach! And lots of thoughts about marriage.

After a few weeks in AZ last month (and after Michael's huge test - YAAAAY), Michael flew down and we road tripped together to CA! EASILY my second favorite part of the entire month. First fave being Disneyland, obvi. But I love me a good road trip. Mainly because I have a captive audience to listen to all my rambling stories ;). Ha, sorry babe. But really we were so stoked to get to Newport and be with his family! Lydia is OBSESSED with the water. Like we had to bribe her with food to get out of the ocean. How amazing would it be to do residency here?? Sometimes I think California is the dream, other times I miss the AZ heat, and then a lot of the time I think Utah is actually pretty awesome! So who knows where we'll actually end up long term. 

Anyway - BEACH!

Gosh I love these people! It's funny, every book I've read tells you that happiness in marriage decreases with each child. Which kind of freaked me out, because don't get me wrong, the beginnings of marriage were fun, but they weren't exactly blissful. Marriage is HARD! There was a lot of adjusting and getting to know each other.

So it's safe to say I was a little concerned about this looming decrease in happiness when I was pregnant with Lydia. 

Luckily this girl came into our lives and with it came an incredible measure of love, patience and joy. I think we both finally realized that this whole earth life is something bigger than just Michael and Annika. We aren't just here for ourselves, we're here to teach and rear children, to grow together as family units, to make lasting traditions and memories and create eternal bonds! Suddenly we felt this urgency to give our best to Lydia and to each other.

Not that it doesn't still take work! Michael and I have to re-evaluate ourselves personally and as a couple (and as a family!) all the time. What are our goals? What can we improve on? What's something I'm currently doing that's bugging the heck out of you? Hahaha.

And then this little guy came into the picture and just added a whole new level of joy. 

(Well let's be real - not those first few weeks. But now yes!)

So I want to call all those authors and tell them their books are wrong! YES kids bring with them financial stress, daily exhaustion, and a whoooooole lot of messes. But holy cow have we become so much more selfless because of it! 

I heard once that God is efficient; he's not going to make us jump through ten thousand hoops to learn a lesson if there's a way we can learn it in a hundred. (Though obviously sometimes the quickest way IS to jump through ten thousand hoops - we can be slow learners ;).) Well I totally believe that God's plan to put us in families is super efficient! HA. You quickly realize what matters and what doesn't. Aaaand as an aside you quickly learn to NEVER JUDGE ANOTHER PARENT because holy cow all kids are so different and we're doing the best we can.

Also this quote from Marjorie Pay Hinckley about marriage has been my motto the last few months: 

"Early on I realized but would be better if we worked harder at getting accustomed to one another than constantly trying to change each other - which I discovered was impossible... There must be a little give and take, and a great deal of flexibility, to make a happy home."

Isn't that the best? 

Well apparently I just thought like dumping all of that on you today, ha! Go squeeze someone you love!

My Swimsuit: Target

Lydia and Cannon's Suits: Kortni Jeane