My Biz

If you have had any contact with me in the last year then you already know I've started a business educating people about Natural Health Care and more specifically the use of doTERRA essential oils.  It all started when my mom started using them.  I thought she was CRAZY!  So if you think that about me, just wait, you'll change ;)
I was pregnant with Aiden and she gave me peppermint oil to use for my heart burn.  I never used it.  Until one night, because that's when the heartburn gets the worst, I was out of Tums and forced to use the oils.  Guess what, it worked.  And not only did it work, my heartburn seemed to occur less and less.  Then after baby was born, she gave me some diluted lavender oil for diaper rash.  Viola', it worked, it smelt good and it wasn't made of chemicals that I was rubbing on my babies skin.  I was convinced.  I started to use them more and more and even bought a few bottles for myself.  A while later a friend of mine contacted me about doing doTERRA as a business.  Sharing these oils with people, educating them on what they are and how to use them and selling them as well.  I felt that people NEEDED to know about these oils and here I am.  Changing lives, one drop at a time.  I believe in these oils because they give us an option, we don't have to always rely on Western medicine and I believe in them because they work.  Ask my non-beleiving husband.  Oh, he knows.  He just hates the smell.
And they are often cheaper!  I use Melaleuca for an ear infection.  It costs $.06 per drop and I apply 2 drops on the outside of the ear, 3 times a day for 2 days.  That's less than $2 to treat an ear infection!  Normally you pay a co pay, pay for a prescription, and then have to take antibiotics for 10 days which destroys your gut.
Think about a natural disaster, medicine isn't accessible and you betta believe the pharmacy shelves will clear fast.  What will you use?  Yes, these can be stored in your food storage and will last longer than we will.
I specifically use doTERRA because of their purity and quality.  I know it is a company I can trust.  It's a company built on integrity and you know that when you listen to or meet their executives, warm loving and grateful people.  They are also huge humanitarians.  When I teach my classes, I have to be conscious that I don't talk too much about my love for their humanitarian work.  They make sure the money goes in the pockets of the people that do all the work.  No middle man ripping off the 3rd world farmers doing all the work to support their family.
My goal with my business is to get a bottle of doTERRA essential oil in every home and to eventually support my family.  I asked Ryan what it would mean to him if I made enough to pay the bills plus some.  His response, "I could finish a painting instead of just painting it to the point that it can sell.  And I could paint what I really want to paint."  That was motivation for me :)

highlight of our summer

An incredibly vague catch up post like my last one wouldn't be complete with out the highlight of our 2014 summer.  Raphael, our foreign exchange student from France.  He stayed with us for 3 weeks in July and we had thee best time.  My kids loved hanging out with him, Ryan and I enjoyed talking to him and having him around and we did a lot of fun things while he was here.  We had to show him what America was all about.

First stop, Sodalicious.  A soda shop with more flavor mix- ins and soda concoctions than you would think possible.  He loved it.  

 Since he is in Utah, the Mecca for Mormons, we showed him our heritage and I'm sure he's seen more than most Mormons in France.  (He is Catholic) 

 What's more American than a rodeo?

 Camping because the French don't camp.  He enjoyed himself and we went to a beautiful spot on the Nebo Loop.  There was no one around us so it was quiet and the kids could play and run around without distracting people.  My mom, niece Persayes, Stacy and her kids, Gavin and Tiana and Ryan's dad camped with us.  It was a lot of fun and I camped 2 nights without taking a shower, that was a big accomplishment for me. 

 We made him drive our big Suburban

 Seven Peaks.  Our family had season passes and Ryan's brother was able to get him a season pass as well.  Which was great because we could get into Seven Peaks, Laser Tag and a baseball game all for free. 

 We spent a day up in Park City and rode the roller coaster.  It was so fun.  I didn't know what to expect, but you go down a track on these cars and you aren't really supposed to use your breaks so it is all gravity.  And you gain a lot of speed.  My age really showed because I was scared but still really fun.

 We also rode the Alpine Slides.  

 We took Gavin and Tiana, our cousins with us to Park City and after taking them home, I remembered that it was Tuesday, kids eat free at Ikea on Tuesdays.  Dinner was served.  Free.  Catching on to all the free?  He was a bit surprised with how many things we did for free.

 Baseball game.  I've never had to explain the rules and concepts of a baseball game before :)

 More camping.  Brody loved sharing his room with Raphael and having another boy in the house.  He was also very tolerable of all my kids but especially Brody.  Brody was always wanting to rough house with Raphael.  While camping, we also took him shooting.  He shot a .22, 9mm and a shotgun.  He loved the shotgun. 

Sad, sad day.  We sent him on his way back to France.  Hopefully sooner than later we can visit him over in France.  We loved having Raphael and want to host again but would be worried we won't get someone as cool and easy going and just all around good kid as Raphael. 

here's to 2015

it's been over a year.  I love looking back on my blog so I hate that I let it go.  Ever since instagram, I seem to have fallen off the blogging wagon.
For starters, we just moved.  Still in the same city, just about 2 miles away.  We were living in a spacious 3 bedroom with 5 kids and our landlords were not pleasant.  It seemed that there was always something we were doing wrong or needed to be reminded about.  Like the time she texted me to tell me to make sure I mowed the lawn once a week.  Thank you, thank you for that reminder.  The over growth would have been over looked had you not told me to mow once a week.  But we had great neighbors and friends over there and we lived on not only a dead end, but a dead end to a field.  The kids loved riding bikes back there and sledding on the big dirt hills.  And the view of Mt Timp was always amazing.  But here we are, new house, new ward.  We are still getting settled and I really don't enjoy the process of getting to know new people when I move.  Maybe it's my age but I just find meeting new groups of people annoying.

Cloe is in 7th grade and is playing basketball on the school team and also city league.  She's all about fashion and I have no idea what I'm talking about.  She got braces in November and was THRILLED!  It's like the coolest (and most expensive) accessory.

Brody is in 6th grade and is the school mascot, shhhhhh, it's a secret.  He is really getting into drawing and basketball.  Ryan is coaching his team again this year.  He got a ukulele for Christmas and will be learning to play that this year.

Abbey is in 4th grade and still attending the French Immersion program at school.  Her school does Common Core math and it is Fur-rust-ur-ating!  She is also just starting city basketball.

Charlotte started Kindergarten.  It was all a bit stressful and gave me anxiety in the beginning because of her diabetic care.  But her and Cloe attend the same school and Cloe is an Ace at taking care of her diabetes so I know she is safe in Cloe's care.  She loves school and has enjoyed learning.

Aiden, the little Angel hair.  She is a stubborn little thing but adorable and sweet at the same time.  Ryan sometimes is convinced she doesn't think he is her dad because some days she wants nothing to do with him.  But I have fun spending a few hours a day with her while the kids are at school.

Ryan is still working away, building up his school and creating beautiful art.  This last year, we traveled to Monument Valley, absolutely beautiful everyone must go, for him to do some paintings.  It was one of my favorite trips.  We also went to Monterrey, CA with Charlotte and Brody and then to DC with Cloe.

I started a new business venture this last year which I've loved, doTERRA.  If we are friends on Facebook or instagram, you already know that :)  I timidly used the oils and saw that they worked so I decided to educate people about them and make some cash as well.  If you have questions, I'm your gal.  I didn't do much running this last year, just cross fit.  I love the strength I've gained from cross fit but miss the more slender build I had when I was running all the time.  I was also a RS teacher this last year.  The week I had to teach was always stressful as I tried to find time to prepare but I did enjoy the calling and what I learned.

Now let's see if I can blog at least once a month.  Extra credit points if I can do once a week.

I hate that I have fallen off the blog bandwagon.  I love blogging, I love looking back on my blog posts and love reading the blogs of friends and family.  Do I catch up or just start with the now.  Whichever I choose, it's time to get back to it.

mass update

The only way I am going to update this thing is if I do a mass update with snippets about what has gone on.  And unfortunately, they uploaded out of order so I've done my best to rearrange :)

 Our weekday mornings were spent at the pool for swim practice and then our Saturday mornings were spent at swim meets.  If we could pull it off, we usually stayed after the swim meet and played in the pool.  

 during a crazy summer storm the kids were concerned about the trampoline blowing away so they did their best to anchor it down.

Cloe went to BYU basketball camp this summer.  She was excited, scared and sad to be leaving us (mostly Aiden)

 she met some new friends, learned a lot and had a blast

 Ryan met her one day for lunch at the Cannon center.  When she got home she said she wasn't expecting to play basketball the entire time and that she never wore regular clothes because she was always in gym clothes.

 Cloe helping Charlie with her talk.  It sure is nice having older kids.

 Brody turned 10 on July 22nd,  he had a great birthday and was sad when it was time for bed because it was over.  We let him stay up as late as he wanted (per his request) and he lasted until 11;30.  He said he was really tired but had to take advantage of the opportunity so he stayed up.

 July 24th

 Went trail running at least 2 times a week this summer, love it!

 we went up to the Utah Museum of Natural History.  Such a cool museum and very interactive.  It's fun to learn more about Utah.      

 Charlie's first season of soccer!

 she was so excited but when we got to practice she was too shy to participate.  Most games started this way but she eventually warmed up to it and had a fun time.  Treats were her favorite part.

 watching a summer thunder storm

 4th of July in the canyon with my family

                                     

camping at Balsam in Hobble Creek.

 Charlotee shooting the air soft gun in her underwear. 

Aiden's first camping trip and she did great.  She loved the tent.

 Jeremy and Brittany came up with their family for a night.

 of course Ryan painted.

 dutch oven dinner in the canyon with my family.  Corine and her boyfriend made us some chicken and peach cobbler.  Love dutch oven cooking.

My step Dad/the kids Grandpa has multiple mylenoma cancer.  My mom planned for us to do a walk for cancer in honor of him

 August 24th our little angel haired baby turned one!!

she did very well with the cake smash.

Abbey's first day of 3rd grade in French immersion.

 Brody in 5th

 Cloe in 6th grade

In September Ryan was in Switzerland for 10 days teaching and then went to Paris for a couple days.  We pretended to be happy for him while he sent us pictures of his surrounding.

and thankfully I had scheduled a hair cut in the middle of his trip because the break was much needed.

my first race since having Aiden was a 15k trail race.  This is the middle of the long climb.  The snow capped mountain is Mt. Timpanogos. 

 the view from the very top of the climb.  After this point it was an awesome run that rolled and made for a great descent.  It was beautiful fall weather and scenery.  I get such a "high" when I trail run.

 and it was pretty surprising when they announced my name for 3rd place in my age group. sweet!

BYU homecoming parade.  So fun.

a Fall evening in the canyon with the fam for dinner and a fire.

Egyptian day for Cloe at school.  They spent the term studying about Egypt and also did reports.

 I coached Cloe's soccer team this year.  I was regretting it when the season started because it was time consuming but ended up loving it.  We had a great team of girls and had a lot of fun.  At our last game we beat the undefeated team 1-0 which was pretty awesome!

 Sunday hike to enjoy the colors.

 Brody played flag football this year.  He really enjoyed it and it was exciting to watch his games.  It got pretty cold at times.

 my step dad recently died on October 26th.  In the days leading up to his death, there were times when Aiden would run up to my mom and give her a big hug and just squeeze her tight.  My mom would always start to cry and say "Aiden, how did you know that I needed that hug right now?  You are my little angel."  Even when he passed and the mortuary came to get his body, she went to my mom and reached for her to pick her up and wrapped her arms around her.  Such a sweet hear.

November 5th Miss Charlotte turned 5!  I love this little bundle of personality.  We went on a lunch date to Kneaders.