Is This Heaven?

Maggie sinking her toes into the warm sand...

Wooooeee!!! The big blue OCEAN!

I have the urge to frame every single picture in the post and scatter them around everywhere to remind me of this night. It was perfect. The only thing missing was our Daddy. 

Maggie wasn't so sure about sand after all. She got this disgusted look on her face and headed for high ground. Sometimes it takes her a while to decide that she likes something. 

Rachel on the other hand headed straight for the water. For Rachel the sand was all well and good, but the water was the icing on the cake.

I think Rachel thought this was heaven too...

Maggie, however, wasn't quite sold on this sandy, salty experience. I thought it was hilarious how she'd hold her hands after getting sand on them. Always spread apart and rigid... funny girl... 

Twirling on the beach... So capivating, I could stare at this picture all day. 

You know when you've been under water for a long time and feeling you get when you make it to the surface for a breath? Or when you finish a long run with a sprint to the finish and finally start to cool down? Or when it's been a long night with your baby and you finally get that baby to sleep? 

That is what this felt like...

I will cherish these photos forever. Thanks Caitlin for taking these! They are incredible!

Heavenly Father loves His children. 
Simple as that.  

Cheesy grin Jess... 
Yep, this is heaven. Well deployment heaven anyway...

There's a picture with Maggie! She preferred eating chips with Aunt Tricia, but came down a played on the beach for a little while...

And the pictures just keep on coming. You wouldn't believe this, but I had to narrow it down.

I love seeing that wavy reflection on the sand...

The beach looks good on her, don't ya think?

She never stopped smiling that night.

Despite some camera difficulties, we got a few pictures of all the Payne girls before it got too dark...

My whole world...

Maggie and those chips! Chips for dinner! Sounds good to me.

Rachel ate 4 hot dogs that night. 4! Since when does that happen?  

Uncle Mark grilling away...

Rachel still talks about going back to Aunt Tricia's house and seeing these two...

Beach+Sunset+Hot Dogs= Best FHE activity ever!

And a few more scenery shots for your viewing pleasure...

Gollllllyyyy, Gee Whiz, Holy Smokes that is pretty! 
I love this planet.

"Is this heaven?"

"No, it's San Diego." 

"San Diego? I could have sworn it was heaven."

San Diego Zoo

Here it is, the world famous SAN DIEGO ZOO! You can't go to San Diego without visiting the zoo, right? Let's check it out...

I'm so glad that Caitlin, Cody, and Jayce came and helped we wrangle up my two whipper-snappers! The zoo is one our favorite places to be!

Hippo, Hippo, Hippo! Maggie just had to find the Hippo...

The hippo was such a hit that we decided to take a picture on it too...

They weren't kidding when they said it was huge! They even had a sky-tram thing to get people across the park. 

Can you tell that Rachel really loves Jayce?
I can.

Old Point Loma Lighthouse

Interested in visiting a lighthouse? Yes, please.

It was a beautiful little sightseeing place with fun sidewalks and spectacular views.   

Other than my crazy wind-blown hair, I like this one of the Payne girls. 

They were so fun to watch at this place. Rachel couldn't wait to see the ocean and as soon as it was in sight she repeated over and over again, "LOOK Mom, the ocean! I see it!".  

There it is! The lighthouse! How'd you like to live in that sucker?

This picture is hilarious! This scenario happened just about 50 times a day. While they were worried about Maggie killing herself, I took pictures. haha! Maggie received many new nicknames on this trip one of them being, Maggie 'Death wish' Payne. I try to explain to people just how crazy Maggie is, but I really don't think they believe me. Let's just say Tricia and Caitlin believe me. haha!

The inner workings of the lighthouse... I believe it's called a Fresnel Lens...

Up the spiral staircase to the top! Maggie's expression: "Woooe, I'm actually allowed to climb these!"

A few iphone pictures... 

Rachel made it all the way to the top!

Stop! Everyone look up and smile! Perfect place for a picture... except the whole Maggie trying to get down and fall down the staircase thing... 

Okay STOP again! Another good spot! Jeez, I'm starting to annoy myself! haha, thanks for putting up with all these pictures guys. Ya'll are such good sports. 

Seriously though, look at that view...

Maggie enjoyed running all over the place. Can't you tell just by looking at these pictures that she's a quick one? Someone catch that baby!

Whatcha see there Rachel?

There's San Diego! I love this picture in black and white...

But I love it in color too! Which one do you like better?

I had such a blast at this place! Outings like these just hit the spot.   

Oh Maggie, I can never get enough of you. That smile makes my heart happy.

Cheers to another beautiful day in San Diego!

To the Ocean!

As soon as we got to San Diego, I was just dying to go and see the ocean. Dying I tell you! I tried to keep my cool knowing that we'd eventually get to the ocean. But one night I couldn't help myself! After putting the kids to bed one evening I came down the stairs and exclaimed, "I want to go see the ocean!". Caitlin and I got in the car and raced to the ocean to catch the sunset. 

On the way to the beach I caught this picture of hot air balloons! Hot air balloons make feel so whimsical and fancy free. How fun it would be to be up in the air like that! 

Someone recently told me that there are no guarantee's when it comes to marriage. That statement left me feeling powerless and downright yucky.
 All this talk got me thinking. Dangerous I know. Can we just talk about the pretty pictures and ignore these thoughts? No matter how poorly written the blogpost turns out to be, I feel the need to to talk it out. When you feel it, you feel it.
Could this really be? No guarantee's? It's true that sometimes for one reason or another, things don't work out. It's true that there are things outside of my control. To me, it's like a wrestling match (I'm pretty sure that I could compare just about anything to a wrestling match, haha). Really though, in wrestling it's all about you. That's one of the things I loved most about the sport. There were no snobby girls or political coaches there to limit what you could do. Coming from a 5A school in Texas- it was all about politics and many kids did nothing but breathe, eat, and sleep one sport to make varsity. However, I learned many tough lessons in the sport of wrestling and one of them was this- that no matter how hard you work, no matter how you dieted, sweated, bled, prayed, and fought, sometimes there are things that you can't control. One of them being decisions made by referee's. One of the worst feelings in the world is when the other person's hand was raised and you know that there were points missing from your side of the scoreboard. 
 That's one of the tough things about marriage- you just can't control what the other person is going to do. But there IS a guarantee. There IS a promise. And your referee will never cheat you. The Atonement is real and can heal all things. That is the promise, but we both have to do our part. It ain't a cake walk. So, when I look into my husbands eyes I feel like I can say- We will make it.  The Lord is on our side. Let's get to work. 
Now that is a much better feeling. 
Are you all still there? I hope so. This picture should help... pretty huh? Stay with me now...

I know I'm young. I know I ain't seen nothing yet. And I know that when Tyler comes home it will become apparent to me once again just how difficult marriage can be. It's been a long time. That being said, I can't wait. Because despite the difficulties, it is the wildest, craziest, most thrilling ride of them all. Sometimes I miss that man so much it hurts. 
When I look out into that vast ocean this scripture comes to mind:
"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." - 1 Corinthians 2:9
Don't you just love that? With a view like this I can't help but think that there must be something amazing in store! It is one of the prettiest sights I have ever seen.
 The ocean and I finally got acquainted. I'll be seeing you again real soon. 

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Take a look at who the Padres are playing... yep the Astros! Looks like we've got ourselves a little family feud! As you all know, I'm a Houston girl and a Astros fan. This is going to be a fun game!   

We had AWESOME seats. 
How did they know I've been dying to go to a ballgame? I'm used to the nosebleed section, so for me this was seriously cool. 

Cody and Jayce... Padre fans to the core...

We got a babysitter for the night and headed to the game. There were many moments during the game where I just sat there thinking, "I am in California. (pause) My kids have a babysitter. (pause) And I am at the ballpark with my family. (pause)" Just taking it all in.
 I just don't know how to explain it, and I don't think the Sutherland family will ever know what they did for the girls and I during those two and a half weeks. Whatever worries I may have had before, seemed to have disappeared altogether during that ballgame.

Guess who won? 
The Astros. 
Sorry guys, I had to rub it in just a little. ;)

The Mormon Battalion

Was of the first things we did was make a huge list of all the things we wanted to do and see in San Diego. Believe me, that list was long! So lets start checking the check shall we?  One of our first outings was going to this cool place. Being a Latter-Day Saint myself, I had no idea about this place or the story. I was immediately excited learn about the Mormon Battalion!

Covered wagon picture! Maybe if I had moved to a different angle the bar wouldn't be across ya'lls faces. Oh well, makes for a funny picture though!    

What in the world happened to Maggie when we walked inside I will never know. Can you tell she's getting closer to being two years old? If looks could kill, she'd be the most sought after weapon in the world. Forget about nuclear weapons! hahaha... what a stinker...

After the Saints were discharged from the Army, many of them went looking for gold in the California gold rush. And we got to too! Rachel was an expert gold panner. 

Found one!

Good thinking Tricia! Let's teach these girls how to work!

The look-out tower gave us all a great view of Old Town San Diego...

The 2,000 mile long march was grueling to say least. Although the men didn't see combat, many died on the journey. Their example of sacrifice and service not only showed America of the loyalty members of our faith have for our country, but was instrumental in helping the U.S secure the lands of the southwest. After their time was served, some stayed behind looking for gold, but most went back to rejoin their families in the Salt Lake Valley. Look at this place! Can you imagine leaving such a beautiful area after having traveled so far to get there?

Oh my goodness this picture!!! We died laughing as soon as we saw it! Heck, I still do! Maggie was being such a grump, so naturally Tricia thought maybe she'd want a drink. Obviously, the camera girl wasn't waiting for anything-  not even a sippy cup. I don't think Vanna White herself could have pulled off that pose!

Good Morning California!

I had been planning this trip for long time. Quite frankly, trips are what the girls and I do. I crave the open road, adventure, something outside the normal day-to-day, and something to make the time go a little faster. The closer our trip got, the more wishy-washy I became wondering if it would be as grand as I thought it would be. Let me tell you something- it was.  My Aunt Tricia, since I can remember, as always lived in San Diego. Far from the rest of the Barrow family. Which means that we saw their family mostly for the occasional holiday trip and family reunions. I was a little worried how our families would mix and how much my two crazy kids would disrupt their routines. However, as soon as I got off the plane I knew it was going to be great. How did I know? Let me show you...  
 I mean, look at this look on Cody's face...priceless...

Rachel and Maggie were so excited to play with Cody and Jayce! I think it surprised Cody how much my little girls loved him. Some of my girls favorite people in the world are their uncles Joseph and Teancum. I knew Cody wouldn't be any different...

They loved playing in their beautiful little backyard. Oh my goodness people it was 75 degrees outside, all.day.long.
It was heaven.

Look at these two cuties playing...

Rachel and Maggie sure were soaking up every little bit of attention! They would play out on the trampoline all day if it meant Cody and Jayce were out there too!

hahaha... She did this often. 
Yes darlin', the net will all of you in- even your mouth!

Our first morning in San Diego, Jayce and Rachel went to the backyard and gathered a beautiful little California bouquet together. 
Good morning California, I think we're going to be good friends.