The Missing Transformer

We were out shopping one night and Jeremy really wanted to get a toy from the toy store. He chose a Transformer and he really loves it! He plays with it all the time and loves transforming it from jet to robot and back again. Well, one day he lost it. We were pretty sure that it was in the house somewhere, but after looking everywhere for it, it wasn't to be found. Needless to say, he was pretty sad about it.

Fast forward a couple of days and it's now Monday night and I'm looking for a good Family Home Evening lesson. You always want FHE to be good and uplifting, especially for your kids. I was really thinking hard and then I had this great idea...

I talked to Jeremy about prayer and how we can ask Heavenly Father for help, especially when we need help or something is lost that needs to be found. I brought up the missing transformer and I told Jeremy as sincerely as I could that if he prayed to find his missing transformer, Heavenly Father would help us find it.

Jeremy folded his arms and said a prayer and asked Heavenly Father to help him find his transformer. After he was done, he looked at me as if to say: "Okay, where is it?" That's when the panic set in and I thought: "This better work... Please let this work..." I shouldn't have doubted. I got up, walked directly over to the couch, and lifted the cushion... I'd already looked there. Several of us had looked there. Yet, there was the missing transformer.

I'm so grateful for answered prayers. I feel so frustrated with myself when I begin to doubt or lose faith. I have NO reason to... This is just one more example in my life of the countless answered prayers I've received. I just need to be stronger and stop letting my mortal reasoning limit the power of faith. Of course Heavenly Father wouldn't let this opportunity to teach my son the power of prayer go without manifesting a miracle. I had felt inspired by the desire to teach my little boy about our loving Heavenly Father and He truly was there for us. He's always there. Mark 9:23-24

The Knife Sheath

One weekend, I made a knife. It's a great knife. Only one problem with said great knife... It split it's sheath. I needed a new knife sheath. I have a friend named Tyson. Tyson helped me make a new knife sheath. It is amazing! The end.
Haha so yeah, I needed a new sheath for the knife that Dad and I made and Tyson totally hooked me up. It turned out so sick! I'm really proud of it. Now the knife is back on my hip ready to do what it does best: knife things! Thanks, homie. Here's how it went down...

Ostriching

I was shopping at City Creek and everybody knows that after a long day of shopping, one tends to get a little spent. Well, in all my years I've never seen a more perfect example of this than I saw that day with this kid... Yeah, THAT is spent.

This young lad has inspired me in my life. Ladies and gentlemen, I formally invite you all to join me in the next social experiment, movement, craze, sensation... OSTRICHING. That's right, ostriching. When life gives you lemons, stick your head in the ground, friends! Snap a pic, email it to me (jakeolsen84@gmail.com) or tweet at me (@JakeInUtah), and I'll add it to the post!

Jeff

Jake

Paul



Matt



Melissa

It Doesn't Get Any Better

Life gets really crazy sometimes and if that wasn't enough, it also tends to get really busy at the same time. This is probably one of those chicken vs. the egg debates of which comes first. Regardless of which triggers the other, life is busy. And when life gets busy, life gets crazy. And viceversa. Word.

Anyway, I was having one of those days. Woke up late. Got to work late. Had to work late. Got home in just barely enough time to change into my Boy Scout uniform and run out the door to the church for an Arrow of Light ceremony. The ceremony went well and even ended earlier than I thought it would, but when I got home, I was spent.

I walked into the door, not wanting anything else than to change my clothes, lay down, and forget about the day... and that's when Jeremy and Ammon ran up to meet me. Jeremy wanted to play baseball, Ammon wanted to be held. And I couldn't say no. We went outside, Ammon in one arm, my baseball glove in the other, Jeremy running with excitement, and there I was in my Scout uniform playing catch with my boys in the front yard not wanting the day to end. Seriously, it doesn't get any better. Lesson learned.

Easter 2012

I love Easter. It's seriously my favorite holiday of the year. Obviously, the meaning behind it is so special and powerful with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the Atonement. Our physical and spiritual bodies would be lost without Him and I'm so thankful that He was willing to take upon Himself the burden of our salvation. I can honestly say I feel like I've learned more about His sacrifice and infinite Atonement this year and that made this Easter all the more special and impactful.

Not only that, but it's just a fun holiday. Jeremy had a great time collecting eggs and surprises around the yard in the beautiful Spring sun. Ammon doesn't quite understand it yet, but he seemed to enjoy himself as well.

After we were done with our egg hunt, Mom, Jeremy, Ammon, and I went up to Ogden to see Dad at his mountain man rendezvous. It's always funny to see Jeremy's reaction when he first walks up to Dad is all his buckskins! After he finally recognizes him he's fine, though. We had a fun time visiting Grandpa for sure.

Oh, and of course the other reason I love Easter... It's got the best holiday candy of the YEAR! Hands down, no contest, case closed! Peanut butter eggs, jelly beans, Cadbury eggs... The BEST! And Monday night, with the help of Rob and Aerielle, I hit up the grocery store for the candy on sale! $0.24 a piece for Cadbury eggs?! Why, thank you! I think I'll take FORTY! Best... Holiday... EVER!

Goblin Valley

We went down south for our latest Scout adventure and got to check out Goblin Valley! What a cool/strange/unique/awesome place that is! The drive down was a long one, but the boys were well stocked with gummy products which made the trip more bearable. Of course, that also meant that they were nice and sugared up, which made them more hyper... Hmm. Thankfully, I had Tim and Tyler with me to keep some sanity and order in the truck!

We pulled into the campground just after dark and met Jeff and Maren who were already there waiting for us with a fire burning. We set up our gear and cooked dinner (hamburgers) over the fire and enjoyed some delicious dutch oven cobbler! We were living the high life for sure. As it was such a beautiful night, the boys decided to set up their hammocks and sleep in those. It got pretty windy throughout the night which really stirred up the sand and blew it around everywhere, but other than that we all slept well.

The next morning, we were able to finally see where we were camping. The view was amazing at sunrise! The campground was completely surrounded by sandstone walls and it was the coolest thing to see. It felt like we were inside a fortress! We had a great breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes. (Again, living like kings!)

After we got our gear all packed up and loaded into the truck, we decided to check out The Valley of Goblins. We were able to see tons of different rock formations and structures and really enjoyed exploring the area. We even found a Geocache! Here are some photos:

After we were finished in Goblin Valley, we drove out to the visitors center to check out maps of the surrounding canyons. We had some extra time and decided to check out one of the canyons on our way home. We had a great hike, ate lunch on the trail, and found lots to see!

The trip home was pretty uneventful, except for stocking up on yet more gummy candy... Haha. We had a great trip! Nothing like a trip with the Scouts and theBRIGADE. I roll deep.