Justin and Melanie Stephens

Friday, May 13, 2011

Sandhallow Boating 4/23/2011

It is April and the water is insanely cold. The weather here in STG has been crazy. We have had lots of rain. Last weekend at Tim's game in Cedar City it was so cold we had to sit in the car to warm up. So needless to say no one got in the water. We just floated, danced and hung out on the boat. Justin let Tim and Jack drive the boat which made their day. It was cute. I love being at the lake in the sun! It is so nice to actually enjoy myself and my family in a boat. The last 3 years of my life I have associated wakeboarding, boats and the lake with excessive work and pain. I literally have not had the freedom in my mind to relax for years. Well, except for the Hawaii work trip I tagged along with Justin. I am sooo proud of Company but I am realizing the hidden blessings of its unfortunate demise. It has been healing to actually have family time. The blessing of unanswered prayers. I am not trying to trivialize the ripple effect Company has had on so many lives in a negative way. No one knows better than we do the negative effects. Just trying to see the silver lining.

Easter 2011

Easter Sunday. We had the most relaxing and enjoyable Easter this year. We sat down as a family and talked about the meaning of Easter. We drove to the temple and walked through the visitors center. We walked through the incredible artwork depicting the life of Christ. I explained each painting to the kids as we walked through. Before we left we sat below the breathtaking statue of Christ. I have truly never had a more spiritual or emotional Easter in my life. The experience was so sweet and brought us closer together as a family. After that we decided to go for a little scenic hike. We took our cute little pups and they loved it! I am thankful for all the blessings in my life. My family is more than I could ever ask for. So happy.

Sandhallow 4/17/2011

We had a super fun day. The weather was amazing. 90* with a little breeze. Right out of the gate within 5 minutes I flipped the rhino on its side with Tyler in it. Poor Tyler. :( He will probably be traumatized for life. Thankfully we both had our seat belts on. I was literally hanging by my seat belt, not on the seat at all. I looked over at Tyler and his leg was tucked up under him and it looked like the rhino had landed on him! I was freaking out! The amount of fear, pain and guilt that washed through me all at once was so intense. It was less than 5 seconds that I feared his leg had been crushed but that was long enough. I asked him if he was alright and he pulled his leg up and said, yes. What a relief! The rest of the day was just perfect. We played baseball with Brent, Susan and her kids. Then Justin and I took the 4 wheeler out alone for a ride. It was gorgeous! We drove to the top of the dune where it looked like we were on Mars. It was breathtaking. We had a perfect view of Sandhallow. It was so nice to have my arms wrapped tightly around Justin and to feel the wind in my face. I felt myself fall even deeper in love with him. Moments like that will always take precedence in my mind. So to sum it all up. It was a perfect family day beautiful, warm and peaceful. Life doesn't get much better than this.