LIFE

Little Prune

We went to visit Payson Lake!

Little Nature lover

I love this picture of Gabe..

A baby deer Ren found in the road.

Well life is a livin'. We have had a fun summer so far and are even more excited to make the big move to New Jersey very soon!! One Sunday, we decided to go visit Payson lake. This is such a beautiful lake that we try and visit at least once a year! Next time we need to take our fishing poles.
Piper is eating lots and lots! She is transitioning to the bottle and is getting the hang of it now. She is such a good little baby and so happy! We love having her around.
Also, the other night Ren was driving home when he came across a baby deer in the road. It was still alive and was just sitting there in the middle of the road. He must have gotten hit, which is pretty common up in Woodland Hills, since so many deer are always roaming around. Ren decided to bring him home and try to call a vet in the morning to see if they could help him at all. The poor thing had a shattered back leg and couldn't use it at all. Unfortunately, he passed in the night. I think he had some internal injuries. :( Maybe he is up in deer heaven now prancing around in lush green fields. :)
We also made a trip to Lagoon and let Gabe go hog wild running around to all the rides with her cousins! It was so much fun going on all the old rides I used to love as a kid. I will try and post some pictures of that soon!

A visit to Park City!

We decided it was time to visit Uncle Cole up in Park City and see his new home! Here he is with Gabe and her cousins! He is such a ham!

We also went for a hike on a little trail near his house.

We were a little worried as we watched our kids run down this part of the trail with Cole...luckly, no one rolled down the mountain. ha!

Posing.

Yes, I know Gabe's hair is totally out of control in this picture..she loves to take it out every time I manage to do it and get her bangs out of her face. (Who knew growing bangs out on a child could be so hard!)

Strolling

Part of our hike

In deep conversation with Grandpa

These are the goofballs, formerly known as Carrie (my sister) & her family.

Going strong.

Home at last.

Markling Family Reunion!

The whole clan in our matching shirts!

My favorite two people in this are Piper and Justin...along with my Dad, who didn't move an inch between the 1st shot & this one.

Yes, that crazy fool is my brother about to fall off the cliff..
(hiking through Bryce Canyon)

My and my bro.

The main crash pad in Duck Creek, Utah.

Who knew horseshoe's could be so entertaining..

I was trying to get Jerry to look in my direction and happened to catch the flying horseshoe as it whizzed across.

Let the good times roll.
(that cake was divine. divine.)

What does this remind you of?

The hummingbirds were fearless.

So were the horny toads.

And the chipmunks...well...I will just leave it at that.

Jeff- the master horseshoe opponent.

Paige was a really good sport!

Harley throwing a fast one.

Gramps

Crackin' jokes
(or watching my Mom throw horseshoe's. Sorry Mom.)

About two weeks ago, we had our Markling Family Reunion! We had family come from all over, including Alaska, Colorado & Las Vegas to name a few. It was so much fun hanging out in the mountains with some family members we haven't seen in over 10 years! We played horseshoe's, rode 4 wheelers, went hiking through Bryce Canyon and had a hoot watching "Duck Creek Days", which just so happens to be the biggest thing to hit that neck of the woods the entire year. Our motel, (yes we stayed in a motel without any air conditioning in the middle of July) was right across the street from all the excitement of the festivities going on. Needless to say, we didn't sleep very well while trying to cool off with our windows open, listening to the terrible band called "The Muddy Boots" playing all night long. Still, we had a fun time! Life just wouldn't be the same without family reunions.

Goodbye Grenada!!

Warning: this post is pretty long!!

I know this post is late and I am sorry. I really wanted to do a post about leaving Grenada right after we got back to Utah, but things don't always go as you would like and we had to move around a little until we got settled up in the mountains at Ren's parent's house. Needless to say, I can't get online very easily up there, so I have had to put blogging and anything involving the internet on hold,...which sounds funny, but has been kinda hard on me. I think after being in Grenada and pretty much using the internet to connect to the outside world, it was a little bit of a change for me to get used to. Anyways, here it is...my post about leaving the island. Grenada.

I don't think I can describe living there any other way, than a huge blessing. Things have come about in ways I didn't ever know would be possible and doors have been opened that will continue to lead us into many different rooms.
When we first found out we were going to be moving there, I was ready for a change. I was ready to quit work and spend my time being a full-time mom. I was so excited to do nothing but spend my time with Gabe and Ren. After a horrific time trying to actually get to the island, all of which included losing Gabe's new passport, getting stuck in Trinidad, missing all our flights and chartering a small plane with one other guy to our final destination...we finally touched the runway in Grenada and let out a sigh of relief, as we welcomed in our new home.

As the years passed, there were definitely days when I wanted to jump on the next available flight OUT of Grenada and fly back to "the states" without blinking an eye, but for the most part I really enjoyed the environment I was in and the relaxed state it made me breathe in. I needed to slow down my life and concentrate on what the really important things were. That was one of the biggest blessings Grenada was to me,..understanding my time and how to use it wisely, especially with my children. I loved dinner time and talking with Gabe about what her "sweets and sours" were for the day; practicing her alphabet & numbers, along with playing Barbie's (of course I was always the boy.)
I won't ever forget the beach and the love I have grown for it since living there. If I was ever having a hard day, I swear the beach would always cure whatever it was that was ailing me. There is just something about the sound of the ocean and the warm sand.
I loved getting to know the other students, especially the ones in our ward. We all grew so close and it really felt like we were family. I hope I am always able to stay in touch and close to those people. They really mean so much to me and my family and we honestly can say we love them as we love our other siblings. We had to depend so much on each other and since we were all going through some of the same things, it was so nice to have someone who understood when you just couldn't take the ants crawling in your cereal anymore. ha! Oh...the bugs of Grenada. I definitely will NOT miss those! I will miss the sound of the frogs at night, though, chirping their little hearts out. And the lizards. I know some people might not love lizards, but for some reason I loved searching for them in our yard, whenever we came home. (Sorry this post is so long! Ha!)

Another blessing that came about in the most unpredictable way, was my love for photography. Living in Grenada gave me the time I needed to play around with my camera more, and to experiment with whatever came my way. I loved going out with Sara Weir and Lexi Shaeffer, to find new spots to shoot at and asking random people to model for us..it was so much fun and I grew so much as a learning photographer during that time. I loved taking pictures of the people there and the gorgeous landscape all around us! Especially the sky. There is something about the sky on an island. It makes you feel like you are so open to the rest of the world, and it always felt so close. Almost close enough to reach out and touch. It always seemed to have a mind of it's own when I took it's picture, & it always played to my photographs. I loved it. It (the sky) couldn't go wrong.

Ok, I think this has been a long enough post. I think this is probably the longest post I have ever written on here. I think I will wrap it up by saying I loved and hated living in Grenada. It was such a growing experience and I am so lucky to have been a part of it. I think part of the key to having a happy life is to always try and find the good wherever you might be. To stay positive and to enjoy the time you have. Thank you Grenada for teaching me that.

Au 'revoir you spicy little island!

Gabe-babe!

Gabe-babe, originally uploaded by Casey McDaniel.

The picture says it all. And I love it.

Little Piper!

Cute little chick, originally uploaded by Casey McDaniel.

I just love this picture of Piper! So I had to post it! :)

Sisters!

Gabe & Piper hugging, originally uploaded by Casey McDaniel.

I feel like I have fallen off the "blog wagon" for so long, so I thought I would post this picture I took of Gabe and Piper the other day. They crack me up! Gabe loves her little sister so much!! And, Piper is always amazed by everything Gabe does. I am one lucky Mom.
P.S. I am still in desperate need of doing a post about leaving Grenada...for now, let's just say we are a little less "spicy." But, we are really excited to meet up with our buds in New Jersey this Fall!!

Steel Drums

Steel Drums, originally uploaded by Casey McDaniel.

Prickely Bay and the Steel Drums!

Setting up the drums..

Gabe really wanted me to take a picture of her by this bird.

Zane & Gabe dancing the night away!

Tonight we headed to Prickely Bay for some pizza and to hang out with our friends, before we head back to the states! We also got to hear some Caribbean steel drums play the night away!