Beginnings

2019 is already a month shorter and I can’t believe it! Time seems to be flying by quicker than I can manage and I’m always so shocked by how quickly it slips away. Life, as usual, has been a tad crazy but we have learned so much and I’m already excited for the changes that are coming up. 2019 is going to be a wonderful year for the Ward family!

 

We began this year full of time with family and I hope the rest of the year will be no different. I feel like just within the past  2 months I’ve heard story after story of families being separated by tragedy and loved ones lost. It makes me want to hug my loved ones a little tighter and remind myself just how fragile life is.

This year, I hope for a couple things. I hope to be present. Whether it be in conversation with my coworkers, family or with Trent, I want to be present and involved. There is so much distraction in this world and I want others to make sure they feel listened to and loved when they are around me.

Second, I hope to choose what’s best for me. This may sound odd, but I have a tendency to put all others feelings and wants before whats best for me and my family. This has often led to unnecessary feelings of guilt and mixed up priorities. This year, I hope to make decisions based on what I feel is best for me and my little family unit.

Lastly, I hope to be sharer of light and goodness. This little space has been so fun for me to put my thoughts and feelings down. I hope to continue to be a reminder that there is goodness and light in the world.

May your year be full of wonderful beginnings and hope fulfilled.

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Birthday Adventures

Sometimes I’m a little reluctant to join Trent on his adventures. I worry about all the things I probably should be doing or I get a little nervous because I’m just not as brave as he is. Trent sometimes has to really talk me into these things. However, I am always so grateful that I went once we’ve gone. I love the car rides traveling to and from our destination, I love the wonderful conversations Trent and I have, I love the gorgeous views we stumble across and I simply love being with Trent. Every adventure we go on brings us closer and closer together and I couldn’t be more grateful.

This Saturday we went and explored Guardsman Pass up Big Cottonwood Canyon. The snow really hasn’t been great this year but we’re trying to make the most of it. We explored the trails, found big clearings to play in and had so much fun! There are so many gorgeous cabins up there and the scenery was spectacular.

I’m not very good on a snowmobile but I’ve loved learning more and more with Trent as we go more often. He is incredible on those things and they mostly scare me to death. It’s fun to have a way to travel to unknown spots in the mountains and explore places no one else has been. I’m hoping for one more big snow storm this year so that we can go at least a couple more times before the season is over.

It was Trent’s birthday on Friday and this adventure was part of the celebratory weekend. I’m so grateful to have such a wonderful husband who is always finding the fun and the good in life!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Dancing through Life

Saturday Thoughts

I truly am reminded every single day what an adventure life is! Each day holds endless opportunities, endless amounts of goodness as well as endless amounts of uncertainty. Every day I go to school wondering what crazy, funny, awesome thing is going to happen today. (Those 5th graders are full of surprises and I’m also sick for the 10th time this year thanks to them…) Some days are more eventful than others but every day changes us, helps us learn and helps us grow.

This week has been a week of trying to figure out what we are going to do with our lives. What should Trent get his degree in? How long will we live where we live? Where should I work next year? So many questions! Often Trent and I forget how young we are and start to stress about making big life decisions now.  It can become quite overwhelming really quickly but it was also a good week of reflection and discussion.

As we talked this week, we reminded ourselves that we have time. Trent doesn’t need to know what he wants his profession to be right now, I don’t need to stress about the future right now. Yes, we understand that we need to be actively engaged in finding answers to these questions but we don’t need to let them cause anxiety and stress. We reminded ourselves that as we continue down the right roads, we will be lead to where we are supposed to be. My Mission President always told us that the Lord can’t steer a parked car. You’ve got to be moving and He will direct you and guide you along the way. So much peace comes from knowing that we have someone so much greater than us watching out for us.

Until then, we’re just going to keep moving, keep learning and continue dancing through life.

Cheers to Fall

Fall this year in Utah has been absolutely gorgeous! It’s been warm, sunny and the leaves are absolutely breathtaking. I’ve always loved Fall for the changes that it represents. The year moves along so fast when the leaves start to change and the weather cools down. It’s time to prepare for the winter, time to make wonderful memories and time for lots and lots of adventures.

The Way of the Wards is officially a year old! How crazy is that? I was looking back through all my old posts and it’s fun to see how much we experienced last year and how much we continue to experience each and every day. Life is a glorious adventure.

A couple weekends ago, Trent and I took off into the mountain on our little dirt bikes. I crashed, Trent rescued me, we rode together and simply enjoyed the beauty that surrounded us. We are so lucky. Of course there are good days and bad days, but the good days always seem to blur out the bad and each new day holds endless possibilities. Cheers to Fall, to adventures and to the beauty that surrounds each and every one of us.

Its been a minute…

Hello there!

Like I said, it’s been a tad busy around here but I’m so glad to be able to find some time to jump on this space. It’s so much fun to interact with everyone and share a little bit about what’s going on in our little life.

This past summer was amazing and like summers usually do, it went by much too fast. We ended our summer with a trip to California with Trent’s family. This is the third year we’ve been back there with his family and it is such a wonderful trip. We rented a cute house on the beach and spent our days playing in the sun, swimming, exploring New Port Beach and spending time with Trent’s darling family. Trent was especially fond of this trip because he was able to go spear fishing. He already told me that our next big trip has to include a spear fishing adventure, he loves it.

This Albion Fit suit was definitely a favorite from this summer

After we got back from California, I jumped right into school. I am officially a 5th grade teacher, can you believe it!? My days are full of 29 kiddos that I absolutely adore and endless learning experiences. I am exhausted all the time but loving my job. Trent is going to school full time up at the University of Utah studying pre-med which also makes hime quite busy. He is taking Anatomy right now which is hard but he loves it! I’m so proud of all he’s doing and for the record he got an A on his last test 😉 It’s my job to brag. It’s been hard adjusting to me working full time and Trent taking some harder classes. I’ve had my fair share of meltdowns and Trent’s been amazing during everything. Changes in the rhythm of life are sometimes tricky but I’ve also noticed that they are here to remind us of the things that matter most.

We try to fill up any spare moments we have with each other and luckily we’ve still been able to go on our fair share of adventures since school began. We got to go to the Lady Antebellum concert with a co-worker of mine and it was the best concert I’ve ever been to. Nothing beats warm summer nights and dancing to country music. We were also able to spend a weekend up in Midway, go boating with my family and adventure out on a fun backpacking trip with my sisters and some friends. Trent and I pretty much froze to death in our hammocks but it was totally worth it…

 

Photo by Sam Featherstone Film and Photo

Photo by Sam Featherstone Film and Photo

All in all, things are going great around here. Life is a complete adventure with its ups and downs and everything in between. We love each and every one of you and are so grateful for all of your support.

Love,

The Wards