Trip to Moab & Delicate Arch

Our first Geocache!


Today was such a nice day - 50 degrees! A nice change from the cold wet weather we have had the past 4 months. Last fall I bought a GPS unit and I have spent the winter playing around with it learning how it works. I have been waiting for the first nice day to go out and try our first geocache and today was the perfect day! For those who may not be familiar with this hobby, its basically a treasure hunt using your GPS unit. I decided that we better do one close to home so we picked one called the "Caveman Cache" which is less than a mile from our house. It took us a few minutes to figure things out and then we used the hints and clues to start searching for it. It took us about 15 minutes of digging, moving leaves, tripping over branches and then Mike finally discovered it at the "base of a tree" (which was one of the clues we had to decode). Inside the box there was a notepad and a pencil to write something down about yourself. It also had little treasures that you could take and replace with something else. All we had with us was a magnetic business card for the Texas Roadhouse so we took a compass and replaced it with the business card (I think we will go back tomorrow and leave something better since we didnt have anything with us). We then re-buried it for the next geocachers to find. The second hunt was called "Dear Old AF High". It lead us to the high school near a picnic area but after looking for 10 minutes or so, we couldnt find it anywhere. I think I will see if there are any clues in finding it on the web. It was a lot of fun, we plan on doing many more now that the weather is warming up.

First signs of Spring!

Today my crocuses bloomed! It was such a nice suprise to see colors of purple and yellow blooms today, what at treat! Spring is my favorite time of year. Seeing all the bulbs emerge from the frozen ground in the late winter never ceases to amaze me. Its hard to believe that anything can survive the cold wet winters but they do and even better they start coming up regardless of the weather. My bulbs faithfully start budding every year in mid February. Every morning in February I study my front flower bed and wait for my bulbs to break through the ground. Its so fun to watch a flower bed that looks like nothing but dirt transform into living plants with every color you could imagine within just a couple months. Every week from February till the end of summer there is something new growing or blooming and I love it! Even though the winters are long and cold I am glad I live in an area that get winter weather because it makes me apprecitate and look forward to spring that much more. I cant hardly wait for the daffodils and tulips to bloom next!

Photos from our Jeep Run to Little Moab...

Scenic Photos

I have taken many photos over the years and I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorites with you . (To view them you can click on the link to the right.)

We are very blessed to live in such a beautiful state and I enjoy visiting new places to photograph (even if its a little scary to get to sometimes, the pictures make it all worth it!) Adam is very patient with my persitance to stop and take pictures when I see the opportunity. I developed a love for photography at a young age from my Dad. One of my favorite memories was setting up a tripod on top of the plateau near the mouth of American Fork Canyon while a thunder storm approached from the West. We were trying to get a picture of the lightning. I dont know if we got a good picture that day but I loved being out with my Dad watching the storm come in. To this day I love thunderstorms - especially lightning.

Today we took a ride up American Fork Canyon and had the great privelege of seeing a MAMA MOOSE AND HER BABY! Wow! They moved very quickly and I was very lucky to be able to grab my camera in time to get these pictures before they disappeared into the trees. It is always exciting to see animals in the wild but to see a moose was especially exciting!

Yummy Christmas Fudge!

Well this is a picture of my yummy Christmas Fudge. In case you want the recipe here it is. Put chocolate chips, broken up hershey's candy bars and marshmallows in a bowl & set aside for later. (The kids can easily do this part while burn the sugar and evaporated milk on the stove.) When the sugar & milk starts to boil over PANIC! Burn & blister your fingers trying to frantically scrap the boiling, gooey substance off your brand new glass top stove. When the house starts to fill up with smoke and the reality of the damage starts to set in, stop everything your doing and.... pray, pray, pray that your new stove top is not ruined. Anxiously wait 30 minutes for it too cool then scrape, scrub & wipe over and over again for approx. 60-70 minutes to restore the glass. It was truly an answered prayer that my new stove top was not ruined! I considered taking a picture of the original damage but couldnt bring myself to do it. I really thought that I was going to have to look at it like that forever. Suprisingly, my fudge (more like chocolate trail mix) was a hit and it all got eaten within a couple of days! AJ & Mike even set it out for Santa on Christmas eve.

Our Christmas morning began at 6:30am with a loud wake up call from AJ. He yelled down the stairs as loud as he possibly could, informing us that it was Christmas morning. There is nothing like being woken up from a dead sleep with one of your kids yelling at the top of their lungs. My first reaction was that something was wrong (like the house was on fire or something terrible). It took me awhile to calm my heart rate down. Needless to say (very politly of course), I later told AJ to never do that again!

Funny Animal Videos!

Have you ever heard of a cat that likes to play in the snow? He likes to pounce in it and swat it around.

Watch how the dog gets the cat off the top of the table.

Jeep'n in th Snow
Today we got our first snow! Adam has been waiting for any sort of storm for months so we could take the jeep out and "cause some trouble" as he says. Luckily we didnt get stuck and I survived another Jeep'n experience (I am such a wimp, I dont know how much more I can take!)

Ankle Injury

On Thursday I got a call at work from AJ. He said that he had hurt is ankle in PE playing basketball. When I got to the school the teachers were very concerned and recommended that we go get an x-ray. The x-ray didnt show any breaks but he was in a lot of pain. They gave him crutches and a brace to wear. AJ says the best part is that he gets to miss PE for a couple weeks and he get to get out of class early so he can get to his next class on time.

Party in Provo
Last Saturday we went to the first ever "Party in Provo". The U of U rented the Provo high parking lot for Ute fans to tailgate before the game. It was cold but alot of fun. Afterwords we went home and ate hot wings and watched the game. Unfortunalty the Utes didnt win but it was an exciting game to watch regardless.

Football is Finally Over!
Well, football is finally over! Both kids had winning seasons. It will be nice to eat as a family again now that football season is over. We have lived on quick meals and fast food the past 2 months. Getting everyone back into a routine and eating together as a family will be a nice change.

AJ's team did really well this season. They made it into the playoffs which was a huge accomplishment for their team. AJ improved tremendeously and is looking forward to playing 9th grade football next year. He is currently 5'11" & 210 lbs!

Adam & Lee coached Michaels flag football team this year and Michael played very well. He wants to try tackle football next year so Adam is going to work with him over the winter to help get him ready. He is getting taller & taller everyday. He has grown 3 1/4 inches in 7 months and is finally eating everything on his plate plus some. It wont be long before he passes me up!

Halloween was fun this year. AJ dressed up as a pimp, Mike as a zombie and I as a spider witch. I have to admit that I dont miss going out in the cold to take the kids trick or treating. The kids are old enough now that we just send them out with a cell phone and tell them not to stay out too late. I am enjoying the benefits of having older children. No more worrying all the time if they are going to run out in front of a car, no more bundling them up to the point of unrecognition, and I feel ok about letting them eat all the candy they want the next day because I know that they are old enough to know that they will probably get a stomach ache if they do (which by the way they did). We also carved pumpkins this year which we usually do but we have never used the stencils before. They turned out pretty good and they were fun to do!

Welcome to the Medina Family Blog!
Journaling is something that I wish I would have done when my kids were younger. Kids do the funniest things when they are litte and unless you write them down, I have found that the memories fade quickly. Although my kids are past the "cute" stage and have entered the notorious pre-teen and teenager stages, I thought it would still be fun to keep a record of what is going on in our lives. Every year we do new and exciting things and I dont want to look back on my life in 10 years from now and wish I would have recorded all the fun things that we did together as a family. So this starts the beginning of our Medina Family Blog. I am excited to begin posting notes & photos about what is going on in our lives and sharing them with our friends & family. Enjoy!

The Christmas Spirit
By Shelly Medina



What is this Christmas Spirit I have heard so much about?
Asks a stranger on the street to some people rushing about
It’s about finding the perfect gift for family, friends & tots
Replies a father in a panic to busy to stop & talk
No, No says a child, it’s about Christmas trees, presents & lights
It’s about Santa Clause, reindeer and all the elves hype
No, it’s about parties and functions says the mother with kids in tow
It’s about baking and cooking and hoping for Christmas snow

Occasionally the stranger would find the true spirit of Christmas
Like those who give of themselves by serving and feeding the homeless
They were charitable and joyful and required no special praise
They would give generously to others and accept only a thanks
But the stranger noticed that these people were few and far between
Most of the people he met were very stressed and sometimes mean

It’s unfortunate that this holiday season has become so involved
The true meaning is simple - good will & peace to all
So who was that stranger asking questions and walking around?
It was Jesus Christ our Savior, right here in our small town
How could we be to busy to not recognize Christ our Lord?
Yet we pass by him everyday on the way to the local store
He’s on the street corner, hungry and in need of a home
She’s the elderly woman next door, who is living completely alone
He’s the drug addict in prison, trying to turn his life around
She the child in the hospital, her parents praying for a medical rebound
Christ tells us in Matthew 25, an important message for you and me
Whatever you did for the least of these brothers, you indeed did for me
When I was hungry you fed me and gave me a place to sleep
I was lonely and in need of a friend and those memories I’ll always keep

Christ is rarely mentioned while shopping, for that perfect gift
And it’s unfortunate that when we give, all the credit goes to St. Nick
Christ lived his life unselfishly and modeled true and perfect love
He taught that we should be thankful and give all praise to God above

Next year we will attempt to reclaim Christmas and follow Christ’s example
We will not purchase gifts that are unnecessary and run ourselves frazzled
We will donate our Christmas money to a charity that supports a good cause
We don’t want to continue a tradition that gives to others “just because”
We want to simplify the holiday season and rediscover the true spirit of giving
And free up time to reflect about what the Christmas season really means
To us it’s about Jesus birth and being thankful for all we’ve been given
We need to become less commercial, give to charity and show compassion
We were built for silence and solitude that’s what each of us are craving
So next year let’s make it simple and just be thankful for our many blessings

Reclaiming the True Spirit of Christmas


This Christmas season I have spent a lot of time reflecting about what exactly Christmas is and how God would want us to be celebrating this holiday. I realize that the word “Christmas Spirit” means something different to everyone but I believe that the true spirit of Christmas (or rather the spirit of Christ) has been taken over by the commercial world and is difficult to experience while shopping, fighting traffic and running from party to party. This year I have tried to search within myself and try to discover what would give us the most joy when celebrating the Christmas season and honor our Savior in the process.

We have all been taught from a very young age that giving is better than receiving but do we really practice it? The other day on the radio station, a woman called in and said that she had just unexpectedly lost her baby to a sudden illness. She heard that the radio station was raising money for a homeless shelter and she felt compelled to stop and give something to the cause. Despite her tragic loss, she thanked the radio station for the opportunity to give to someone less fortunate than herself. How many of us can truly say that we experience such joy and pleasure from giving during the Christmas season? There is something so satisfying in giving to someone that you know will benefit and not return anything to you in return. I think that we have gotten into such a habit of giving to people out of obligation & tradition that we really don’t really feel the joy that we are meant to feel when we give from the heart.

Another thing that I think helps us feel the Christmas spirit is listening to Christmas Music & Reading the Christmas Story. The Christmas story is such a miraculous event and too often we fail to appreciate what an amazing story it really is. During the Christmas season it’s easy to view Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, the Shepherds and Wise men as nothing more than figurines in a nativity set placed out on our coffee table for show. We fail to relate to them as real people who endured many things in their lifetime. I think my favorite part of the Christmas story is the shepherds. The scriptures tell us that the shepherds were watching their flocks when “an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified…suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angels, praising God” What an amazing event to witness! I love trying to imagine what it must have been like to be there in a dark field with angels singing and praising God for the birth of our Lord. There are so many beautiful Christmas songs that capture the Christmas story so perfectly. If we would just allow ourselves to actually stop and listen to the words and meaning of the songs, we’d be surprised at how beautiful and how spiritually moving many of these songs really are.

As I have gotten older I have noticed that for most people the Christmas holiday has become something to endure rather than something to enjoy. When we shop during the Christmas season we fight crowds & wait in traffic in search for that “perfect gift” for everyone that we know. No matter how much careful thought and time goes into obtaining that “perfect gift” we wind up getting people things that eventually loose their appeal and hold little sentimental value. Technology has trained us to loose interest quickly in everything we purchase because it’s a know fact that there will always be something better to replace it in a few months.

I would like to invite my family and friends to join me & my family in reclaiming the true spirit of Christmas. Next year, rather than spending energy and money on that “perfect gift” for everyone in our family, we are going to limit our gift giving and invest our time, energy and money into giving to those who are less fortunate. We will attempt to quiet ourselves and reflect on the spiritual significance of this holiday. We will let go of traditions that have lost their meaning and replace them with traditions that express our appreciation for the blessings that we have been given. As we change our priorities and focus on celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and honor Him through genuine expression of love, our high expectations and stress will be replaced with love, joy, peace and kindness.

So, in the true spirit of Christmas, we propose a new tradition. This is open for discussion and by no means mandatory. This is just what I & my family will be doing next year to try to simplify this holiday season and celebrate it in a way that would please and glorify our Father in Heaven.

Around Thanksgiving time, each family who wants to participate will enter their name into a drawing. For example: the Medina Family, the Vega Family, the Phipps Family & the Egan Family. Each family will draw another families name and purchase a GAME, DVD or GIFT CARD for that family. The amount that will be spent on each gift can be decided upon as a group. As Christmas nears, we can all get together as a family and exchange gifts. This would also be a good time to collect needed items or money that can be given to a charity. We have decided ahead of time that our family will be donating the money that we save on family gifts to The Road Home located in Salt Lake City. We have decided to start a Christmas tradition of visiting the shelter and donating our items in person. I have included some information about this shelter if you would like to contribute or participate with us. As I mentioned earlier, this is just what our family will be doing next year. If you would like to purchase gifts for us, please consider donating money or items to this cause instead of purchasing gifts for us. It would be very meaningful to us knowing that the money that would have been spent on a gift will instead be going to a good cause and making a difference in the lives of people who are in need not only during the Christmas season but in need all year long.

Just to show the impact that our family alone will make next year, here is an example of what we spend vs. what we will be able to donate….

We currently purchase gifts for the following individuals…
Adam’s parents
Shelly’s parents
Lee & Kindra
Kolby & Alison
Lindsay
& other charity, extended family & misc. gifts given

By limiting our gift giving and redirecting our money to a charity, we will be able to donate $600 or more in supplies or money to the Road Home! It costs the Road Home $12.00 per night to provide shelter for one person. That’s 50 nights of shelter provided for 50 people just by limiting our gift giving during the Christmas season. That’s the true spirit of Christmas!

We hope you have felt the true spirit of Christmas this holiday season and will consider joining us in making a difference for those who are less fortunate next year.

Merry Christmas,
Adam, Shelly, AJ & Mike