Please Pray

We are asking all our family and friends to pray for Eric. He is very sick. I can't say right now what is wrong because he is still undergoing tests and we won't have an exact diagnosis until next week, but it is very serious. I am sorry to worry all of you, but we need your prayers. Please fast if you can this Sunday for us. Please don't call, I am too emotional to talk. I will post more when we know more, but until then please just pray for strength for our family.

Highlights

Here are some highlights from the last week or so. Life in Grand Junction continues to treat us well!

We went to a pumpkin patch with Logan's preschool group and picked out some over priced pumpkins...

I hung some pictures that I had taken of the kids back in August. This picture does not do them justice, so trust me when I tell you that they are so cute. If you don't trust me and want to see more of the photos for yourself go here and enter "Barnhurst" as the password.
We went to a Dinosaur Museum in Fruita (just a few miles west of us), which was great. They had a dinosaur bone quarry, animated dinosaurs, and amazing fossils. Eric and I were shocked that such a small town museum had so many quality pieces and displays. If you come visit us, we'll definitely take you here.


Yesterday we went fishing at Mesa Lake and had an awesome day. The weather was perfect and we actually caught fish! The lake was so pretty - crystal clear. We could watch the fish swim up to our bait and take it, it was so clear. While the boys fished, Paige discovered the joy of dirt. Once those finger nails dug in, there was no going back - sigh.


We brought 3 fish home for dinner and the boys each ate one whole fish themselves! They were so proud to have caught our dinner. These really are mountain boys!

New Job

Yesterday I started my new job - group fitness instructor at Crossroads Fitness. I used to instruct classes when I was in college and now 10 years later I am getting back into it. I got so spoiled with my cheap YMCA membership with free babysitting in Philly that it was killing me to pay our gym membership and babysitting fees here. So, now as an employee, both are free! Mason was pretty upset when I told him I was starting to work at the gym. He told me, "You can't go to work every day like dad, who will stay with us?" It took a little explaining for him to realize that it would only be 1-4 hours a week. I will be teaching Kickboxing, Body Sculpting, Cardio Chisel, and Chisel (weight training classes). I taught Cardio Chisel yesterday and put more weight on my bar than I should have because I didn't want to look like a wussy instructor. I am paying for it today with sore muscles! Hopefully my body gets in the groove fast otherwise I won't be able to walk, let alone teach!

Idaho roots

Last week we took a trip to Idaho to celebrate my Grandpa Longhurst's 80th birthday. My mom grew up in Idaho with a cattle rancher/sheep broker as a dad and spent a lot of time on the farm. She traded farm life for California beaches, but the love for life on the farm somehow got passed down to my kiddos. Mason and Logan have both loved horses and cowboy stuff since they were tiny. I remember the summer before Mason turned 2 he would throw a fit everytime I put him in shorts because he wanted to wear "cowboy pants" and "boots" (jeans and his church shoes). Since then my mom has indulged them with proper cowboy attire and we still have arguments with both boys in the summer about whether or not it's too hot for boots and jeans. I was never much of a fan of the farm as a kid because I thought it was too stinky, but my boys think it is heaven.
Grandma and Grandpa Longhurst with the Borgquist girls
Cute kids in the hay
Last time we were in Idaho, Mason was 2 1/2 and he fell in love with Junior, the horse. He talked about Junior probably once a week for the last 2 1/2 years, so he was thrilled to go back and see his favorite horse. Thanks, Uncle Reed, for teaching my kids how to ride!

It was Logan's first time meeting Junior and he was so excited. While he was waiting for his turn to ride, he was looking at the cows in the pen and someone pointed out the one big bull. A couple minutes later he said (dead seriously), "I want to ride that big black bull." We all thought we were going to die laughing but he didn't get what was so funny!

Just chewing some straw. I really do have hick kids, don't I?
How could you go to a farm without playing on a tractor? This was right before we were leaving to drive back to CO and we had to use serious force to remove the children. They would have happily stayed there without us!
The best part for me was seeing my sisters and my cousins (who I didn't take any pictures with - ahhhh!!!). Thank goodness for great family!