The Paynes Go to Zions Nat'l Park

Echo peeking out her carrier

As before mentioned, we bought this awesome baby backpack-carrier thing and this was the weekend to test it out. Chance put a ton of thought into my birthday this year (which was so extremely sweet!), so he decided we'd spend Saturday at Zions and go hiking, and see all the really neat geological beauties there. He knows I love making memories, spending quality time as a family and geology so instead of buying presents that become useless after time, he put all the set-aside birthday money towards our Zions trip. Though, he did buy me a book written by a Geology professor - which was apparently $40 on Amazon but only $20 at a Zions gift store! Crazy.

I was still pretty nervous about doing any intense hiking since ya know, Echo is only 10 weeks... which means my body was/is still pretty out-of-shape and I'm breastfeeding her, and she's still pretty young... so we end up hiking the Emerald Pools 5 mile loop. Yeah. That's apparently taking it easy. I'm glad I did it though, but not so glad a few days later when I developed (here comes some TMI) some really fun plugged milk ducts in ma' boob. That was painful, and... not fun... and Echo didn't like the taste of the milk from that side so she wouldn't drain it which just made matters worse! I now know that clogged ducts are your body's way of saying "hey! Yeah... too much. Just take it easy."Also, a rare side effect (which of course happens to me), is that baby sometimes wont like the milk from the irritated boob because of an increased sodium and chloride content - which makes matters worse since the best way to clear it is to have baby nurse very frequently.

back view of Echo's ride

But that's getting off topic...

Friday afternoon we drove down to Richfield and stayed the night with his Grandparents, then we left early the next morning and drove the rest of the 2 hours down to Zions. Found a parking spot, walked to the closest shuttle (since that's the only way to get from different points in the park, like, you can't drive in unless you have some kind of special pass - we didn't know this...) and took a 10 minute ride to the Emerald Pools stop which was right where Zion's Lodge is. We stopped and ate lunch since it was noon, and began trekking on our way. One of the reasons I love being outdoors so much is the people. I really feel like the people are incredibly nice and just relaxed - and me being the person who constantly struggles with her type A personality, appreciates the counter. I try to be relaxed... but it doesn't come easy. Especially, ohhh my goodness, when it comes to Echo! Major control issues about what I think is the "wrong" way of doing things but it's actually just fine and different... but we're working on that ;)

The Emerald Pools loop isn't as long as 5 miles... I don't think... but we took a detour (because I thought it would shorten the trip. Bah!) and went up the Grotto trail, which added about 1-2 more miles to our originally planned loop.

Upper Emerald Pool

When we arrived at Upper Emerald Pool, we took Echo out and laid her flat on a rock so she could rest and stretch out. She's still pretty young and though we had her all cozy in the backpack, I think holding her head up was tiring her out. While hanging out and enjoying the peaceful and cool oasis, a nice couple asked us how old she was. We told them just barely 2 months. Then we struck up a conversation. I wish I could remember their names... but they asked her name, and we told them. Their next question was ",Oh, are you guys from Oregon (pronounced Or-eh-gone)?", haha... no... California (because no matter how long we live in Utah, I will never say we're 'from Utah'). But really, that was not a question I was expecting. Do people in Oregon name their kids funny names? Hm.

Turns out this couple was from Toronto, and have 4 kids who are all grown now. And, they're Jewish! I can honestly say I've never met a Jewish-Canadian (Canadian-Jewish?) couple! They were pretty cool people. We talked a little about religion, family, babies, nature - they had some pretty neat views and advise on stuff.


Later that evening we went to Oscar's Cafe, which is right outside Zions, and guess who we ran into! It was the couple! Chance and him both walked up at the same time to put their names on the waiting list. They're both like ohhh what a coincidence! We both chose the same place to eat! Then we split up and go window shopping in the nearby stores, they call our name to be seated, then 5 minutes later the same couple gets seated right next to us! Crazy coincidence. Again! They ordered an big nacho appetizer, and when they got it there was apparently waaay too much, so the guy was like hey we're practically friends here, why don't you guys take some of this? And they just gave us like half their plate! It was awesome. And so sweet, considering we were both beyond starving. So that was pretty neat.

Pretty much...

It came up in conversation that we're mormon, so they asked what exactly do we believe? I said well, we believe in the organization of the church in the ancient days, so in that sense we're pretty similar to Judaism - predominately that we have Temples, like they did in the old days. That seemed to interest them a bit. Then they said they're religious, but not "orthodox Jewish", I guess meaning they believe in it, but aren't really strict in following all the rules? They're kids learned Hebrew at a young age, and went to Hebrew School, but none of them remember it. Then the lady asked if we believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior, and we said yes, He's the focus of our religion. Then she said, we believe He was a prophet, but not the Savior of the World. Call me silly, but... I don't know, I guess I've never really had anyone say that to me? It kinda threw me off. And I should've expected that seeing how the basis of the Jewish religion and all...

Then the waiter came and the topic changed. Next thing we know, Echo starts having a major meltdown. Like, not just the normal I'm upset crying, but a full on I'm really, really upset and I'm going to scream at the top of my little baby lungs so that everyone from here to The Court of the Patriarchs can hear me. I don't know if anyone that far heard her... but she sure made sure that everyone in the restaurant could. Mission accomplished. Chance took her out and tried to walk around with her, and I could still hear the poor thing down by the street corner! I hurry and get our bill and box up our over-priced, not even half-eaten dinner, and meet Hubby and Baby by the car. 10 minutes down the road and she's still screaming, until finally... silence. Poor little thing was exhausted.

Court of the Patriarchs

It was a crazy exhausting, super-dee-duperdy fun trip and I'm extremely grateful we did it. I'm beyond proud of Echo and amazed at how much of a trooper she was. I'm thinking she really likes the outdoors - like her parents! We definitely need to go back someday soon, and maybe with a few friends so I could use them as baby-helpers. So friends, if we invite you to Zions, know ahead of time... we love you, but we have ulterior motives.

Our Offspring in an Osprey

       A few weeks ago we took our little 7 week old out in nature for the first time! It was... a little stressful (for me, hubby was chill), and a LOT of work! Oh my goodness, who knew such a little baby would come with sooo much gear (though we learned that with her our first trip south for her baby blessing)!
       Our area of choice for Echo's first trip was Rock Canyon in Provo, UT.
      We've been there tons of times last summer and were familiar with it. Plus, I knew the trail wasn't too rough, and I was nervous about doing a strenuous hike so soon postpartum. We experimented with a few ways to get baby up the mountain, and ended up using our stroller... not the best. It's a pretty tough little thing, but this trail did a good one on it. We made it up, then carried her and her car-seat and stroller up the remaining trail to the belay area. So, to be honest it worked - but it wasn't the most convenient or effective way of getting baby up the mountain. As we struggled carrying everything, we watched a couple glide past us with their little 1-year-old girl in this backpack child carrier contraption - we stared longingly as they hiked at a rather vigorous pace up the very trail we were struggling with. When we finally arrived at the wall, there they were! With their little girl just hangin' out in her carrier backpack that had it's own stand and everything, and they were readying to lead the wall. We knew that there were such carriers, but we are such a frugal family that we figured we'd make do with what we had. But, that experience enlightened us - if we were going to continue with our hobby, we were going to need a better way of transporting Echo. After chatting with our next-wall neighbors about their backpack thing, and getting their opinions and feelings on it, Chance and I looked at each other and we knew. There was no way we were doing this again without it.

• Side story: Marcela (one of our awesome rock-climbing buddies), didn't hear the couple right when they said it was an Osprey backpack, so she jumped in and yelled with confusion, "You call your child your offspring?". Thus, the title of this post. 

Anywho's....

Typically when it's warm and gorgeous outside, we go rock-climbing with whoever wants to tag along. But things became so busy that after that, that it'd been a few weeks (which worked out well because I wasn't willing to go through the stroller-struggle again) and we still hadn't scrounged up the money for the backpack. One day, for kicks and giggles (and to make sure we really liked it), we went to REI with Echo and tried it out. Needless to say... we had a really hard time not purchasing it right then and there! It. Was. Awesome. It had this little sunshade that pulled up and clipped in front of her, a mini-backpack that zipped off and was small enough for a child, the bottom opened up as a sturdy base for it to sit on the ground, and had lots of storage. We were sold, so hard. Not to mention Echo looked so freaging adorable! And it had this "Almighty Warranty", so no matter what happens to it, they'll fix it for the rest of our life, and if they can't fix it they'll replace the backpack. With the three more kids we're planning on having, we figured yeah it's expensive, but this is a great investment. We're suckers for good buys. The next week REI had their anniversary sale, so we bought it and got the 20% off (whoot whooot, who doesn't love sales?!).
       My 23rd birthday was the following weekend, and Chance had this whole trip to Zions National Park planned - but that's a story for another time, so we decided it was time to take the plunge. We were now those people who have an intense child carrier backpack. You know - the ones you see carrying a baby on the trail and think to yourself 'why would you bring a baby here? You're insane!'. Yeah. That's us. 
      In the end, it was a small price to pay for freedom, and the ability to instil in our child (and future children) the importance of getting out in nature with your family. We never knew we could enjoy the outdoors so much, and we could never have comprehended how much more important it'd become for us when we started bringing babies into the world. So, you live, you learn, and you grow.

Another adventure in the lives of Growing Paynes.

Year's Theme: Simple Moments

Being inspired by the amazing Steph Alston, I think we're going to have a theme this year for our blog too! Who knows, maybe it'll help me stay motivated to keep it up. Our theme is "Simple Moments", and we will be attempting to capture these with pictures!
For New Year's we spent the night down in Richfield, UT with Chance's aunt and uncle. Amazing family. Like really. She was talking to me about hometeaching and how they really have a testimony of it; when they were young and recently married they had amazing hometeachers who really accepted everything about them, and how that is what this church is about. Its a hospital for sinners, not a showroom for saints. So that lead me to think about our lives, and where we are with our testimonies, and I realized that as long as you stay focused on the pure, beautiful simplicity of the gospel, then you're on the right track. So... in a round-a-bout way we came to our New Year's Resolutions!
1. Read together as a family AND separately
I had a bishop tell me that we each have our individual strengths, and to make sure that we nourish those strengths. Through doing things as a family we nourish our relationships we each other, through doing things individually we nourish our own strengths, the Young Women call this Individual Worth.
2. Say prayers together AND individually
3. Focus on our individual relationship with the Lord, the closer we each are to Him the closer we are to each other. Note: I once had a stake president who was "interviewing" his daughter's future fiance, and he asked him,"Who do you love more. My daughter, or the Lord?" The young man said ",The Lord." Right answer!
4. Exercise together. Studies show couples who exercise together are overall more happy than those who don't. It's a win-win! Time with the hubby + get fit!
And last but not least!
5. Savor the simple moments. Life is a compilation of small and simple moments that add up to create one beautiful human life.

Update on the home front:
We have moved into our little home in Orem! It's a cute little basement that's pretty bright. We got some curtains (FINALLY! I've been wanting curtains SO long, but we always knew we were moving so never got them), some IKEA shelves for the kitchen, painted red of course! First day here we had to buy a mattress, since we had to ditch our old one in Cali to make room in the trailer :( Umm, so can I saw moving is expensive! Goodness gracious. But you know it's the right thing when things just fall into place. A few days before we left Chance applied for one job at Carmax, then got called in for an interview the day we moved in! Not only did he get the job, he also has benefits and some pretty awesome perks. In one word "blessing"! And we get to take the train together since he'll be in South Jordan and I'll be going to SLC. Umm... no kitchen table and no couch yet. We've been using these spray painted chairs to sit on. Not uber comfy. Ok, one of my FAVORITE things about our new home is there is actually room for food storage, and then some. We've never had space for that! Whoo! Simple Moments: walking into our new home (that we want to stay in longer than 12 months!), flattening a box that is finally unpacked, Chance putting together those darn IKEA shelves that don't come with tools to fit their weirdo screws, only being able to shower maybe 15 minutes because our waterheater is SO old, turning on the kitchen sink and having it scream like a banshee everytime, having to keep the office light switch to on or else it'll turn off the TV, and we can't have that, turning into an icesicle every time we walk past our front door because it's actually an inside door therefore has no insulation, turning into an icesicle every time we go outside (being like barely 10 degrees and all), and finally getting sick from eating so much Christmas candy because we didn't have any actual food in the house for a few days! Hahaha soo those are our simple moments. No pictures yet but they will come!

Oh and for fam-bam our new address:
1115 S Main St, Orem Ut, 84058

Fourth Day! Doin' Good So Far....

A couple of weeks ago I made a VERY important life decision. To change my eating habits. I know! It's a big one! ;) Since... I'm not too impressed with my body image right now, like seriously from the hips up I've got the body of a sixteen year old! But... hips down... could use some improvement. Getting married does this to ya! I didn't realize it but soon after we tied the eternal knot I kinda stop being aware of what I ate and let myself just eat whatever I wanted. I figured I deserved a "break" from healthy eating. Bad decision, no one ever think that! That "break" turned into a good year and a half break! And that's plenty of time for things to start losing height (like in my bum!).
My aunt Judy has this really awesome book called "Crack the Fat-Loss Code" by Wendy Chant, MPT, SPN. Here's a pic:

I tried it for like three days and I did notice a difference in my thighs, or at least I thought I did... You know how people can see things that aren't really there?? ;) And she did it and really lost a lot of weight, and it's been... 3 or 4 years and she still looks great. So I believe this book really works... It's just... hard! I couldn't handle the diet. I was too much of nothing for me.
I've been looking around for alternatives and I found this website on Pinterest called BodyRock.Tv. I think it's Brittish and all the trainers on there are totally AWESOME. Basically this site has a ton of really good home workouts you can do, and most of them are about 10-20 minutes long and really make you sweat. I love it because I feel like I got a good workout in less than a half hour. Good for busy schedules.  Here's a link: www.bodyrock.tv. Since it's also part blog she has some pretty neat info on there, like her diet plan (not that she really needs it!). I like it because it's pretty similar to the first week diet in the Fat-Loss Code but has some flexibility. This is straight from her blog:

My plan is very simple:

1) I will eat veggies 5 times a day with every meal (bright coloured veggies, green salads, fresh veggies, steamed veggies, and grilled veggies) and the portion size is about 2 hands cupped together.

2) I will eat complete lean protein 5 tmes a day with every meal (chicken breast, turkey breast, egg whites, fish, low fat dairy like cottage cheese, whey protein, lean red meat) and the portion size is as big as the palm of my hand.

3) I will eat every 3 hours. This will require some pre-planing and logistics, but it is possible.

4) I will eat carbs other than veggies (oats, potatoes, pasta, whole wheat bread,legumes, desserts, etc.) for breakfast and or within 2 hours after my workout.

5) I will drink hot green tea with every meal and I will also drink at least 2 litres of water a day. I don’t really drink coffee anymore but if I have a coffee, it will be only 1 cup a day (black). No pops, sugary drinks, fancy flavored coffees etc. I might have a glass of wine on special occssions. (This part I totally ignored, since I don't drink).

These rules are pretty straight forward and you can be as creative as possible. My concerns are always dinners at restaurants. What if we go to some amazing restaurant and I will want to have a favourite dessert? Let’s say that I did my workout in the morning which means that the 2 hour post-workout window for carbs and desserts is already closed. In this case if I really want to have a desert with my meal I will quickly do the 4 minute workout - boosting my metabolism enough so that I can enjoy a slice of pumpkin pie. I always have a shower before we go out anyways, so why not to take the 4 minutes to do a short workout just before I get ready?  That’s just one example of how to make things work for you.

 *comment: And if I'm in a hurry then a protein shake it always a good "go-to" meal.

I've been eating like this, or at least close since Monday and so far I'm doing pretty dang good! In addition to this I'm working out every day for at least 20 minutes. Being sore sucks but at the same time isn't it kinda gratifying??? I feel more confident and lets be honest, sexier(!), when I workout. And I've noticed that after a few days I kinda stop craving bad food. There's still my "must-haves" like brownies, but I don't gorge like I would before! Oh! And the Six Sister's have an AMAZING recipe for Skinny Chunky Monkey Cookies that are delicious! And make the transition easier. This recipe calls for peanut butter, but being a Nutella fan... well all I can say it I tried both and definitely love the Nutella version!

There hasn't been any noticeable changes, but its a start. Maybe I'll try the Fat-Loss Code thing again. Healthy lifestyle = happier life ;)

Busy Life? Yes, Please

To tell the truth, I'm procrastinating homework right now. Meh... homework. We're finally getting into the swing of things with school and all... it's only taken us like a month! I'm just counting down the days to the end of the semester. But then I'm conflicted! When the semester ends we'll have a break from school... only to pack up and move to Provo, UT for some more awesome (and vastly more expensive) school. Yay. In case it's not evident, this whole move to another state thing is constantly on my mind, or at least near the back of it! I'm a planner and I have to have every piece of the puzzle in place before I can breathe, unfortunately life says 'ohhh yeah? Well guess what? NO!' and things become not-so-organized. My greatest anxiety is finding somewhere to live! Not only that but that somewhere is hopefully going to be our home for the next 6 years while there, b/c we love moving! :/ So I'm feeling some pressure. In our price range I've realized that swamp coolers or an actual AC might have to be necessary (which I wasn't even aware that people even used swamp coolers any more...), and that not having a W/D nearby might have to happen... meaning I will most likely hand wash everything. I REFUSE to PAY to use a washer and dryer! Like come on. No. I'll do it myself.
Anywhose... We submitted our applications to BYU this past week, and we'll know November 1st if we get in. I don't really think I'll get in, which is why I applied to LDSBC, but I'm confident that Chance will. He's not so sure because he kinda feels like he's like every other returned missionary trying to get into BYU, but he's not. We're hoping since it's winter semester we'll have better odds... but   we wont know till next month! I'll let everyone know the verdict.
Tuesdays are rough days. Chance has tons of class plus work, and I have 6 hours of classes with a 2 hour break in between. Luckily my Psych teacher let us out at the half way mark so I got to go home and work out, do homework and eat! But I have another 3 hour class tonight that I need to leave for. It's my favorite, except the teacher is... monotonous and very repetitive... but I love Geology so I sorta power through that.

Too Long its Been...

Umm... I feel like 9 months is far too long of a gap since my last blog! Some of you may or may not know... We're moving to Utah at the end of this year! Yay. I'm so ecstatic I can't contain myself. I mean three words: moving, middle of winter, and Utah. What could be more AMAZING! I checked Provo, UT's weather track record and... it's not doin' it for me. I feel like... 25degrees is not an acceptable average temperature. Like, at all. For me. Because I hate the cold, I feel like it's sooo inconvenient! If you want to go outside you've got to put on layers upon layers upon layers of clothes! And then once you get back inside, you're basically stripping off everything you just put on! Ehhh... not worth it to me. One thing is for sure, I'm going to miss CA every time I go outside. Aside from the whole "uber cold" thing that I'm slowing coming to accept, it's a whole new world out there. Really. All I'll say on this is the Church is true, but the people may not be. In reality, people there may not be all that insane. Chance's fam-bam in southern Utah are all awesome people! The kind that are amazing in all they do. However, Provo UT isn't Richfield or Joseph UT. Provoites are probably pretty normal (but I've heard mixed reviews), and probably really good people. However someone could be sugar, and spice and everything nice - with a dash of crazy, real easy. I figure that if I set myself up to expect some crazy culture, then when we get there I'll be pleasantly surprised! What do you guys think? I'd love some opinions on this. I have a countdown widget on my phone, and with out move-out date being December 27th (which is up for changing ), we've got like 109 days left here in Cali. 109! That actually kinda sounds like a lot, so we'll go with about 3.5 months, which sounds less. I feel like time has flown by this year. I remember at the start of the year we were all excited and gung-ho about this big adventure we had coming at the end of the year, but now.. it's almost here! And... We're leaning closer to the "holy crap, holy crap we're gonna be big kids now" side of the spectrum. Neither of us have ever lived out of state before, Chance lived out of country... but that's different... and we're scared. A bit. At this point we're thinking ok... applications for Winter semester due in a few weeks, umm... we're moving in a few months but have no jobs and no where to live... This is definitely a "leap of faith" situation. We both know it's what we're supposed to do, so we're doing it. Last night we had a wonderful family home evening over at Rich & Steph Hodges' home, where Steph talked about Amy's (her twin sisters) decision to go on a mission. She kept going back and forth, yes and no, when finally she realized she had to make the decision and take that leap of faith. Now she's at the MTC learning whatever language they speak in the Philipines. She did it. So that got me thinking about out decision. They asked us if we've recieved confirmation. Chance struggles to get answers sometimes, so he sorta leans on me for those things. But I struggle with scripture study, it balances out. My point, is that sometimes when we're faced with a hard decision, we just have to weigh out the facts and make it ourselves. We always want that dramatic confirmation that we're on the right track, but if that always happened then how would we learn? Heavenly Father lets us make our own decisions. (I started writing this a week ago... so it may not be uber up to date!)

New Years!

So I've put myself on a type of diet/excersize regimen, and have been on it about... 5 days. Basically I watch my fat and sugar intake, drink water everytime I want juice, and do some home workouts. The only parts of my body that are my "trouble" areas are my butt and my belly. Ideally it'd be nice to do a total body work out... but baby steps. I started with 20 reps for each and have added 10 each day. I'm at 70! Goodness I never thought I could do that much! Plus I've never stuck with a regimen before! So yay me! Just trying to get a head start on the New Year ;) It's going good. I haven't seen much change, but I feel it when I walk up the steps to my apartment each day! Hahaha.

Chance is doing well. We're both a little worried/stressed about the business and the upcoming split. The accounting is going to be all me, bank statements, billing and invoicing, pay roll, sales taxes, payroll taxes! Ahhhh goodness. I've been helping with billing etc, but all the other things I've no clue! Laurie is more than happy to help me, and she's going to be there every step of the way until we get our feet on the ground, but goodness. We'll be ok though. The only thing that's stressing us (mainly me), is school is starting next semester, I'll be hopefully working 20 hrs a week plus accounting, plus full-time school, and Chance full-time work with part-time school, plus our wonderful callings with the youth, and a regular attendance of the Temple each week. Ok, I'm changing the subject. My brain is cramping up just thinking about it.

Last night we went to Kayla and Russel Sprague's reception! Ohhh it was so fun and beautiful! The whole thing was classy and neat and just awesome! Kayla was beautiful! She looks sooo young! Goodness, I'm not sure how old she is, but she'll look young forever. I got to catch up with a few friends I haven't seen in a while, like Aubry McCain. It was fun to gossip (only of the good kind) about our friends from school and to learn of their accomplishments and plans. On the way home, Chance and I were talking about old friends, and we realized his first high school reunion is next year! Crazy. He's an old man! Haha, and yesterday I realized that my 21st birthday is next year too! I remember thinking 21 is soooo... mature and grown-up! When my birthday comes around I'll tell you if I've felt mature and grown-up yet!

Anyways, it's New Years! And we're sitting at home! I have My Fair Lady on in the background as I'm typing so I feel my thoughts are a bit scattered, and Chance is playing Skyrim in the other room. Since my movie's almost over, it's almost time for Monopoly!!!

Happy New Year!

The Paynes