The Monsons: August 2016

There is a serious tug at my heart for two competing desires- 1) the desire for my children to have a home with deep roots some where 2) the desire to live a life of adventure. I want so much to have both, but alas, life just doesn't seem to work that way! Although I am loving our adventures here in Brazil, sometimes I get this unsettling feeling that we are totally rootless. There isn't a defined place that my kids would call home and that makes me a little sad sometimes.

Maybe that is why Arizona will always be near and dear to my heart. It is the one place in my life that has always felt like home. It fills my tank to go back and be with people that I have loved through the many different stages of my life. There are friends from high school and college. Friends that have watched my babies be born and I have watched theirs. I have friends where we spent countless hours raising our kids together and a few of us even took classes and joined mom groups as we earnestly tried to be the best mothers we could be. I felt like I had a village.

Going back is always bitter-sweet because in all honesty it opens a wound back up that formed when I had to leave, but it is so much fun to see all of these great people that I love!

Here are some highlights:

Boating With the Eagars

We might have boated on the the most perfect lake day in the history of lake days. The water was like glass, perfect stillness, and it was warm and cool all at them same time. I could have floated aimlessly in it all day and been perfectly happy! Plus, who doesn't love hangin' with the Eagars! It was a blast!

This girl just makes me happy. The end!

Getting to see Friend-Cousins
There is a lot of history with all of these kiddos. Thais and Tyler met each other when they were still in diapers. Chase and Sky have been best buddies from the get go, My kids were in heaven riding bikes through the Gladden Farms neighborhood, swimming and playing soccer to their hearts content.

We were so excited to see that Gladden farms now has a McDonalds! Woot-woot!

How cute is this inside-out oreo cookie? I love these cute girls!

I loved this day at the splash-pad! It is the coolest seeing how much all of these kiddos have grown. SOOO many of these kids I have loved and held as babies.

Love these Mamas that made all of those babies!

Going To The Temple

My history with this friend of mine could fill the books. The two of us standing in front of the Tucson temple has so much meaning to me it brings tears to my eyes. I love her!