Bear Lake

Wow, it took forever to get my pictures organized. Here we are 2 1/2 weeks after the fact. I guess I do have a good excuse. ;)

This was a much needed vacation, our first one this year! Didn't seem long enough though. We were freezing our buns off half the time, I don't what's up with this crazy weather! And of course I didn't follow my hunch to bring any sweaters....bah.

Mikkie getting herself all wet with water bottle on the drive. When we got her out we thought she peed her pants. Tim's parents let the kids play on this big bouncy playground. Once Faith went down the slide once, there was no stopping her after that. Mikkie was too small to climb up to the slide, but she had so much fun boppin' and bouncin' around in there;

Our talented cousin, Jen, did our toes. When I saw hers and she said she painted the flowers, I thought she was joking cuz they totally looked liked stickers! She painted almost every girl's toenails. I'm still enjoying my gorgeous nails! :)

A tradition that's been going on for several years is what we call the 'Jammie walk'. Tim's parents and all their grandkids get dressed in their jammies and go on a walk. They always get them some sort of fun glowy thing. The kids loved them. I had to borrow one the kids' to play with too...:) Tim's parents had one new one left and put it in Mikkie's casket.

More fun, our sweet girls, and some minute-to-win-it games that Tim's aunt came up with. They were so fun!

Bike rides and fun. The part with Tim was the opposite of fun.

A bunch of us were out playing Ghost in the Graveyard one night and not too far into it, we run off and we hear Tim scream/grunt...we weren't quite sure what to think. He comes slowly walking out of the dark and we see his chin all dripping with blood, it was like a horror movie. I rushed him up to the condo and everyone there rushed to help. He was completely white and almost passed out. I noticed a dark spot on his pant leg, I lifted it up and there's a big puncture wound. His face was all banged up, I was for sure he was going to have a nice black eye, but nope. His whole body was sore and in pain. I thought what the heck did you do out there?!

Tim's brother was kind enough to drive us to the hospital in Montpelier, ID. First time I've been there, and it will def. be a memorable trip. He got 7 stitches, 3 inside and 4 out.

Doctor told him he would've been able to just wade in the lake, but because of his leg he couldn't. No sand, no water. No fun. hah we still had 6 days left. Poor guy. I lived it up at the beach for him.

We went back to the park when it was daylight so we could see just exactly what he ran in to. It was that blue spongey bench. Except it's not so spongey when you hit it full force. We're still confused as to how he hot that hole in his leg and it didn't even put a hole in his pants.

Fun day at the beach! This was the only day we got to go; we went the day before but right when we got there a big storm came. Hay and I went jet skiing. Her and her sisters were so good to all the kids! I'm glad Mikkie got to know them better.

Helping Faith launch a balloon to the other group. That's always fun!

That picture of Mikkie running to me is Priceless! I wish I could see her face, but I love it!! And the one of Tim's cousin feeding her pudding...picture perfect.

Tradition of the "Old Ephraim Pizza". A bunch of us go out to conquer this yummy and HUGE pizza.....except Tim, he had to get his own little cheeseless pizza. :)

Random fun pictures.

Bear lake's famous raspberry shakes! I love getting the raspberry with cheesecake chunks in it.....oh yummy goodness!

My SIL's were totally inspired and asked Tim's brother, Ryan Harper, to take family pictures while we were up there. They turned out fantastic!!

Girl grandkids. All but one. So precious.

All of Tim's family and extended(minus a few missing cousins). Good looking bunch! I love them all!

A goofy pic of course, you have to get at least one of these! Love it! I have no idea what face I was making, don't ask. haha

Tim's immediate family.

My sweet family. This is why the pictures were inspired. This is our last family picture with Mikkie. Who cares if she's not smiling, at least she's in it. :) We weren't gonna get pictures done until October, so I'm SOOOO grateful for these, and will cherish it forever!

I'm glad I got all the pix of Mikkie that I did, but I'm still wishing I took even more...preferably ones with that smile I love so much. Even though I didn't get to play with her much that week (which I'm still kicking myself for), I know she had a great last week. We had fun too, I always look forward to this trip every year.

Monthly Goal Review for August

Goal: Learn how to do Family History.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 2 stars

I did a switcheroo for this month, it was setting up an etsy shop, but I didn't want to do that anymore. I can change, as long as I have a goal, right!

I would've put zero stars since I really didn't do anything. But I rated at least a little. I had big plans to get the help of so many knowledgeable people from our families to help me out. I wanted to wait until after vacation. Who woulda known I'd be doing my own daughter's.

I imagined her coming over when I was old and wrinkly and recording my life history, not me doing her life history of a whole 21 months.

I'm going to get back on track for next month....which is tomorrow! I sound like a broken record when I say time flies so fast!!

Meet Kuzco

As we were driving down to Bear Lake, I convinced Tim to get a dog. There was a guy that our friend's knew who were selling pure bred labs that we got for $75! Steal of a deal! I was so excited when Tim actually said ok. I called my mom right up and she picked him up for us and watched him until we got back.

I just brought him home last Wednesday. Although Faith is still getting used to him, we're loving having him around. Such a fun lil pup. He is having a hard time knowing where to pee-diddle....if anyone has any great tips on how to potty train puppies, I'd be much obliged. :)

For those that haven't guessed already, anyone know where we got the name Kuzco from? :)

Move forward with Faith

I just finished setting up a blog where I will write down and share my experiences, thoughts and feelings on our journey of healing from our loss. I named it "Move Forward with Faith". Faith having two meanings... my daughter Faith, and obviously my faith in God.

It's for anyone and everyone who wants to read it. I hope it does some good.

The blog is a work in progress. I want to make it really special, bright and fun, but I wanted to hurry also so I can start recording things while they are fresh on my mind. :)

Grieving

I don’t know what to say except, please be patient with me for a little bit, while I am having an incredibly hard time dealing with the devastating loss of my baby Mikkie while vacationing at Bear Lake.

Many people have reached out with love and have asked how they can help. We are extremely grateful for everyone’s generosity, and it has truly made this burden we carry much lighter. Family, friends and people I’ve never met before. There are so many good people out there. To you and all those who are understanding, I am forever grateful to you. Thank you.
If you would like to help with the unexpected medical and funeral expenses, Tim’s friend has helped set up the donation button on the top right of my blog, or you can donate to the “Mikayla Harper Donations” at Zions Bank. We’d greatly appreciate anything you would be able to donate, no matter how small.

I’m still in shock, and things are still slowly sinking in, so I will be posting more about the trip and most likely this tragedy soon, until then, here’s a beautiful obituary for Mikayla that Tim’s sister put together.

Our sweet Mikayla Lynn Harper (Mikkie), born November 10th, 2008, left her earthly family to return to her Father in Heaven on August 14th, 2010, after a tragic accident while vacationing with her family.

Mikkie is survived by her parents, Tim and Laura Harper, and sister, Faith. In addition, she is survived by grandparents, Bruce and Terri Harper (formerly of Tooele) and Lyle and Tina Jessee (of Riverton), great-grandparents and many aunts, uncles, and cousins. Her great grandmother Lucille Harper and great grandfather Clayton Wilbur were among those who welcomed Mikkie to her heavenly home.

Mikkie had a special, sweet little spirit and brought joy and laughter to all those who knew her. She loved watching and playing with her older sister Faith and her cousins.

If you would like to join in support of the Harper family, a viewing will be held on Tuesday, August 17th, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Broomhead Mortuary at 12590 S. 2200 W., Riverton. Another viewing will be held at the LDS Meetinghouse located at 13400 S. 2700 W., Riverton on Wednesday, August 18th at 10 a.m., followed by funeral services at 11 a.m. Interment will be in the Riverton city cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, if you would like to help, a trust fund has been set up to help cover unexpected medical and funeral expenses at Zion’s Bank under Mikayla Harper Donations.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of her presence while we remain apart from her. We love you. Until we meet again sweet Mikkie…

Healthy and Hearty Quinoa Stew

I had never heard of Quinoa (keen-wah) until last year, my cousin and aunt brought a fruit salad with that in it. I loved that they were these mini balls (shocker) and had to get some. Well I got some about a few months ago, but haven't used it until now when I was browsin through recipes and saw THIS yummy one from Picky Palate. Tried it, loved it, keepin' it.

We loved it even more knowing how healthy it is! We need a lot of healthy stuff around here to keep the pesky viruses away.

We were excited to be able to use carrots and squash from our own garden! That zucchini is the only one we got, we have no idea what we're doing wrong, everything else is growing great.

Healthy and Hearty Chicken Quinoa Stew

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

5 stalks celery, chopped

4 large carrots, peeled and sliced

2 Cups sweet pepper, chopped (I get the big bag from Costco, love them!)

1 large zucchini, quartered and sliced

64 oz chicken broth

15 oz can diced tomatoes

5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and cubed into 1 inch pieces

3 Cups cooked quinoa

4 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked, shredded and lightly seasoned with salt and pepper

2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard

1 Tablespoon Hot Sauce, I used Cholula

Kosher Salt, fresh cracked black pepper and Lawry’s Garlic Salt with Parsley to taste

1 1/2 Cups fresh parsley, chopped

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion, celery, carrots, peppers and zucchini until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and tomatoes and potatoes. Increase heat to high just until broth starts to boil. Reduce to medium high and cook potatoes for 10 minutes or until fork tender. Reduce heat to low and stir in quinoa, chicken, dijon mustard, hot sauce and season to taste w/ salt, pepper and Lawry’s. Stir in fresh parsley and simmer until ready to serve.

8-10 servings

Sweet BBQ Chicken Kabobs

Got this recipe from Kraft, one of my favorite places, and they were fantastic! I loved the flavor! Perfect for all those summer bbq's!

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

2 cups fresh pineapple chunks 1 1/2 inch

1 each red and green pepper cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup Barbecue sauce

3 T. frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

Heat grill to Medium-high heat.

Thread chicken alternately with pineapple and peppers onto skewers.

Mix barbecue sauce and orange juice concentrate; brush half on evenly onto kabobs.

Gril 8-10 minutes or until chicken is done, turning and brushing occasionally with remaining sauce.

Enjoy! :)

Billy to Bob

Inside story here..... Mikkie's hair was getting really long, mostly in the back so it looked like a mullet, like this:

Being a hair stylist it drove my sister nuts :) I was only holding on to it cuz of the cute curl, but it was looking kinda funny, at least we got some good laughs from it. :) So.... point, Tammy started calling her Billy Ray.......cuz of the mullet.......As much as I liked the curl, I wasn't too fond of the new nickname. :) So it was time to chop chop.

Tam was achin' her achy breaky heart to chop it off.

Bye bye Billy Ray.

Hello Bob. :) Of course we didn't nickname her Bob, but that's what the cut is.

What a stinkin' cutie! She did so good!

We got Faith's hair cut also. It hasn't been cut since the accident. :) She found scissors somewhere and butchered her bangs last November...RIGHT after her first hair cut.

She's not getting anywhere near scissors this time. :)

Monthly Goal Review for July

Goal for July: Faith and I learn how to swim.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 stars

let's pretend I was aiming for a silhouette picture, ok. :)

I finally made it a point to get my rear in gear and learn how to swim. It was easier than I thought. Maybe cuz I didn't have to be in the dreaded deep end; but anyways, can I get a round of applause?! ;) Big feat for this scaredy chikin me.

My aunt was kind enough to show me and Faith the ropes and had us swimming in no time. Well, me at least, Faith is working on it. She did so great though, I was so proud of her! When we first went to a pool this summer, she sat on the benches the whole time, she was pretty nervous. Night and day difference to last week- she wasn't clinging all over me and went down the kiddie slide all by herself.....a couple million times. :)