Zion Ponderosa

My sister and her family invited us to go to the Zion Ponderosa last weekend. It is a campground a couple of miles outside of Zion National Park. We were debating on whether or not to go because we have SOOOO much stuff to do around our house and it seems like we can never catch up and something else always comes up. But we don't see them very often and it sounded fun AND THEY BEGGED...so we went. :) It was a lot of fun and we are so glad we went.

First we went swimming in the pool. I didn't get any pictures of the slides but the pool had two slides, two hot-tubs (which is where we spent most of our time because we were so cold) and a waterfall.

The next thing we did was go on a Jeep Tour. For anyone who knows me really well, you would know that I HATE four-wheeling. I could give you a dozen reasons why I hate it but I won't bore you. I will just let you know that I have changed my mind and now LOVE four-wheeling in the RIGHT vehicle. We went on a jeep ride and it was the perfect vehicle to go 4-wheeling in. It was safe enough for me but dangerous enough for the guys! A perfect combo, right!?

Earlier in the day Abigail mentioned that she wanted to go on the "boing-boing." I wasn't sure what she was talking about until finally she pointed over to a girl jumping on a trampoline. So Allison and Abigail got to go on the "boing-boing." I am not even sure what it is really called but "boing-boing" works for me. Austin got to go on the zip line and Kody climbed the rock wall...like a spider, I might add.

We had so much fun! Thank you again Stacy and Ed for inviting us!!!

Back to School!

Austin started third grade a little over two weeks ago now. He says he hates school but I think deep down he actually loves it because he is always writing, drawing, reading and asking how to solve math problems in his spare time.

This is him trying to be serious for mom....

...this is what he is really like! Goofball!

My second baby was off to start her first day of Kindergarten a week later. There were only a few tears...none on her part. She was as excited as ever. The first thing she said when she walked through the door coming home was "That was awesome!" And she was bummed she didn't get any homework. She says she can't wait for homework. Funny girl. If she only knew, right? Austin was really excited that they would be riding the bus home together. I hope it stays that way.

I had to get a picture of her pretty hair...I was so proud of myself. :)

She wanted to ride the bus but I wanted to drop her off so we did both. She rode the bus and then I followed and walked her into school.

Getting off the bus and getting into the lines to go to each of the classrooms.Hanging up her backpack. My big girl!

Summer Vacation

We have had a busy summer this year and I can't believe it is already over. I really wasn't ready. I love having my kids home and being able to go and do anything at the drop of a hat and not having to plan everything around school. But I also love watching them grow and learn and experience new things and starting a new school year is part of the whole process so I guess it is good in it's own way.

Because we have been so busy, there are so many things that I never got around to posting - like our summer vacation, our last camping trip, playing at the park, Austin's baseball games, etc. I may not get around to posting about all of them but I thought our summer vacation would be worth taking a trip back in time for. So here it is.

This year we went up to good ole' Salt Lake City. I have only been once since Chris graduated college 5 years ago and it was a one day trip for business so we didn't do much of anything worth writing about. This time we went to Lagoon, a first for me and the kids, the Hogle Zoo, Temple Square and Cabela's.

We learned something very important about our kids that will help us plan better vacations in the future. There is no need to spend loads of money on fun activities because the things they enjoyed the most were free, like Cabela's, swimming in the pool at the hotel (which I guess isn't technically free) and Temple Square.

The first place we visited was Cabelas. Chris went here on a business trip once and thought the kids would love it. He was right! There are huge fish aquariums to see and we were lucky enough to be there for feeding time. They feed them worms, pellets and live gold fish. The kids LOVED the carnage! They also got to feed some other fish some pellets. There were lots of real "stuffed" animals from Zebras and Lions to Deer and Bears. And they played a hunting game. Plus they loved looking at all the outdoor equipment you can buy!

I love these cute pictures of the kids sleeping in the same bed at the hotel. They woke up excited for the next adventure.

Lagoon was fun but for "die-hard" Disneyland fans it was a little disappointing. Austin and Allison were brave enough to ride Lagoon's scariest roller coaster "Wicked." I was actually scared for them but they loved it! We also loved "Rattlesnake Rapids," so much even that the kids went on it twice in a row, once with dad and once with mom!

The next day we went to Hogle Zoo. Growing up in Southern California and going to the San Diego Zoo every year it is hard NOT to be a little disappointed with Hogle Zoo. However, Zuri, the baby elephant won me over completely!! I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the baby elephant and we sat and watched her play with her mom for probably a good half hour. It took Zuri about 10 minutes to walk over this log and it was so fun watching her try to figure it out. Then she played in the mud for a little while just like a little kid would, not like an elephant normally does. AND then we watched as her mom feed her some grass and then you could see she was getting sleepy and they walked off together for a nap. It was the sweetest thing ever!!!

The last thing we did was go to Temple Square. We have been several times before but there is always something new to see. We actually got to see the top of the Conference Center this time. It has been closed every other time we have tried. We ate lunch at the Nauvoo cafe for the first time. We also got to see the new movie "Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration" which was amazing! And we visited the Church History Museum.

FUN TIMES!! :)

Happy Birthday Asher!

It has been an entire year since we have been blessed with our sweet boy, Asher. He has definitely brought balance and a feeling of wholeness to our family. I am glad to report that I finally feel done having kids. I didn’t know if I would ever feel that way and was worried that too many other factors would play a role in deciding if we would have more children or not. But Chris and I both feel like our whole family is here and that we are complete. It is truly a peaceful feeling.

Asher is so far my smallest one year old. He is only in the 25th percentile for weight and height! That is just weird when all my other babies have been in the 70th and above and still are. I guess he might take after my side of the family instead of Chris’. What he does have is a “DeMille size head.” Both my boys heads were off the charts for size…which if you ask Austin just means he is that much smarter than the average person.

Asher may be little but he is very smart and energetic already. He is walking around everywhere. He is still getting into the toilet every day. The older ones haven’t learned to keep the bathroom doors closed yet, but at least they have learned to keep the toilets flushed. He likes to put things in the toilet like mom’s makeup, toys, clothes, brushes, combs, etc. He likes to turn off mom’s computer and always before I have saved. He likes to take all the books off the shelves and clothes out of the drawers. He has already learned to go up and down the stairs, sooner than any of the other children. He also loves to cuddle. So far he isn’t picky when it comes to food but his favorite food is definitely chicken (along with dirt and rocks when he can get it). He loves chicken and recognizes it immediately when I am cooking it. He likes to stick his bum up in the air like a stinkbug. He has learned to love water. He can already throw a little tantrum, also earlier than any of the older ones. He has 6 teeth and likes to use them! But most importantly he is my happy boy!

He was actually very timid to eat the cake at first. It was very out of character for him. Finally his Uncle Keith took his hands and smashed them into the cake and then he started eating it and he loved it. Mmmm!

More About Asher...

This is a video of Asher's funny crawl. He knows how to crawl on all four but usually only uses one leg and one arm. He started walking and we hadn't got his crawl on video yet. The only time we could get him to crawl again was when we opened the front door and he wanted to get out of the door fast. We think it is pretty cute! But then again, we are a little biased. :)

This is Asher opening a kool-aid packet.

This was just a random picture I found that I thought was cute!

Tumbleweeds

Austin and Allison got to be in another play this summer, this time called Tumbleweeds. Tumbleweeds is a western comedy based on an old comic strip. There were about 50 kids, ages 4-18 in the play. They practiced several hours a day for several weeks. The night of the performance I wasn't sure how well they were going to do because they hadn't actually made it through the whole play without stopping yet. But they did so well they gave me goosebumps. I loved it and am so proud of them.

Austin was the Indian Chief and had about 20 lines. Austin is my super-smart boy but gets really nervous speaking in front of people. He is a perfectionist though, and doesn't allow himself to fail so will usually perform well, regardless. That is one reason I really want him to be involved in the singing, dancing, acting group because I want him to be more comfortable in front of people. By showtime, he had practiced and performed so much that he said he hardly got nervous at all and did so awesome. I am so proud of him.

Allison was a little Indian with the rest of the 5 year olds. They didn't have any speaking parts but she danced in three muscial numbers and the audience loved them and thought they were all too cute! And they were!

Asher just hanging out during rehearsals. Chris and I were involved in making props, scenery, costumes and choreographing so the kids did a lot of "hanging out."

In the comic strip, the Indian chief has a "bodyguard" named Bucolic Buffalo. Chris played that part so he got to be Austin's bodyguard. Austin loved it. Chris didn't. :) But he loves his wife and son so will make himself feel like a fool for us.

Allison singing in the last musical number of the show.

This is the final musical number.

Austin, Dad and Allison after the final scene of the last night's performance.

Fourth of July Weekend...a little late.

The kids performed twice during the Fourth of July weekend with their singing/dancing group. They performed at the American Heritage Festival and during the parade. They loved being in the parade and they ended up on the front of the newspaper too!

Later that night...we had a BBQ with the family, rode the family train, watched our own fireworks and then watched the city fireworks which are let off just down the street from our house. :)

Abigail is so timid about everything. She always wants to hold the sparklers but they also scare her. She tries to be so brave.

The cool thing about getting together with a large group of people is that they all bring their fireworks and so to get through them all you have to light several at once.

This was a very LARGE firework. It lit up the whole sky and the kid's faces looked like this....

Mom and Asher

Weekend at Aunt Stacy's

My kids would live in the pool if I let them (at least Austin and Allison would). Once it hits spring they start counting down the days until we visit Aunt Stacy's next because they can have several whole days of swimming.

This was Asher's first time swimming. He didn't hate it but he didn't love it either. He pretty much has this stoic expression on his face the whole time.

Abigail loves the new bathing suit her Uncle Ed picked out for her. She said "I likes having big muscles." Chris said she looks like a purple ninja turtle. :)
Austin and Allison have no fear. They jump, dive, fall, flop, splash and smile the whole time.

Dega-sitting.

My sister, Gail and her husband, went out of town for a week and asked if we would babysit her chinchilla while she was gone. I was happy to say yes because my kids would love a pet but have very mean and selfish parents who would never say yes to something permanent. But we would be happy to do it for a week and give it back. :)

So here is Dega. I am sad we didn't get more pictures. My kids loved watching him run in his ball and feeding him his dessert every night of a single raisin. However they did not want to clean up around his cage everyday.

Look at that cute profile!

Here we are giving Dega a bath. That kids thought it was so funny watching him shake in his dry bath. Yes, it may look like he is getting dirtier but he is, in fact, bathing.

Water Play!

Summer is great! The kids can finally get out of the house and play, play, play! I love how creative they get with anything they do (inside or out). No matter how stressful life seems to get, they always seem to have so much energy and happiness in them. I guess that is one of the many reasons we are supposed to "be like a little child," right? And that is why we have them, to teach us to be better people. I love the little lessons that my children teach me every day about myself. As much as I don't want to sometimes admit my weaknesses, I see them in them and want to quickly change myself so they will change themselves. Wow, this post quickly changed from just plain old pictures to some deep life reflection. But sometimes, I can't help but look at these sweet pictures and their smiling faces and be reminded of how great life is and how much better I want to be. My children make me want to be a better person. Hopefully they make you feel the same way.

Just chillin'. I love how much my kids love each other and are best friends even after they have just yelled at each other. They truly are a great example of forgiveness.


I love this picture of Abigail, even thought I cut off her eyes. She tends to be my more serious adult-like child so when I see her really having fun and smiling it makes me happy.

Allison on the other hand is pure joy. She is constantly a ball of energy and happiness. She finds joy in everything she does and is so imaginative.

Wrapped up like little bugs, drying off. I love capturing moments like this when they aren't looking and posing for the camera but showing just how naturally creative they can be.

It started to get really windy, so here is Allison making a "flag."