Bonnie Springs

This past weekend was our Family Outing for April and it took us to Bonnie Springs.

We couldn't have asked for better weather to be outdoors in the hills of Vegas.

Kaitlyn and Cason loved the train ride - Jake was a bit nervous because it shook so hard - Ty was his usual content self.

The petting zoo surprised me. There were a lot of animals, and a lot of unique animals that you wouldn't expect to find at a petting zoo in the middle of nowhere.

Jake enthusiastically walked right up to this sheep to touch it and then jumped back about a foot when it moved - I'm going to guess that he didn't know it was alive!

All in all, I would say that Bonnie Springs is worth the drive when the weather is cool. It's cheap ($20 per car load) and the kids had fun with the train and the petting zoo. My only advice is to skip the "town" - don't even go in. I'm not exactly sure what they are going for inside there but it was run-down and on the verge of scary! Hmmm.

Happy Family Night!

My mom directed me to the "Mormon Messages" available on YouTube. They are worth checking into, and as far as I can tell they ARE made by the church (can you just imagine some suit at Church HQ's who's job is to make YouTube movies?)
This message is particularly touching and is a great story to share for a quick FHE discussion. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Lovell Canyon ~ Labor of Love

This morning I ran the Lovell Canyon 1/2 Marathon.

Sometimes it's better to only see what is directly in front of you, because if you see the big picture, it is overwhelming. Sometimes, like today!

The course we ran on had a gradual incline through mile 4 and so I was glad to reach mile marker 5 and be done with the incline. That is, until I came around the corner and saw the next mile spread out ahead of me in a straight decline! (**at this point I invite you locals to drive the Lovell Canyon road - you will know what I'm talking about as soon as you see it**) It was STEEP, it was LONG and I knew at mile 7 I would be facing it in the reverse direction, namely UP! All in all, the course climbed 700 feet in elevation, dropped 300 only to reclimb that 300 and then drop all 700 again. Uggh!

Basically this course was HARD! I was hoping to shave 5-6 minutes off my previous time, I ended up adding 8 minutes. Not only was the course hard, it was COLD this morning (40 degrees at the canyon and it actually started to snow as the race began), the WIND was BLOWING right through you, with the last mile of the race running directly into a HEADWIND.

I'm not going for the pity here, though I would accept it (j/k) - I am simply documenting that I don't want to run this course EVER again. This post is my means to remind myself next spring to find another race. I don't run to punish myself - I run to do something I enjoy. The races are meant as a motivator for me, not a punishment. This race was torture and I am glad it is over!

Where did he learn THAT?

Anybody that knows me well knows that Jake did NOT learn how to iron from his mother :)

Jake came out of Kaitlyn's room on Monday with the toy iron. He promptly removed his overall and began to iron them.

I'm pleased that he has learned the importance of not ironing clothes while they are on the body. Many a new missionary learns that the hard way!

Ty at 10 months

The months continue to fly with ever increasing speed.

Ty's turning 10 months old today is just further proof of this.

Here's my boy, with his monthly "chair & bear" shot!

Here is what the bulk of my attempted "chair & bear" shots looked like. Ty is now evidence of the theory of motion - namely that an object in motion tends to stay in motion :)

Here is Ty's most recent accomplishment - he POINTS! What's even better is that he realizes that if his pointy finger gets tired, he has a spare pointy finger on the other hand.

Another recent discovery that Ty has made is his tongue. He makes me laugh because he doesn't point it out like you would think of "sticking your tongue out", rather he lets it flop out like a dog! Isn't it funny?

Along with these great discoveries and the mastering of his walking, Ty is also enjoying music and has begun to "dance" when the music so invites.

Ty also has his four top teeth beginning to come in - at this point only the middle, left top one has actually broken the gum but the other three are there. So his cute two-toothed grin is soon to be gone forever.

Like I said, he continues to grow!

Happy Birthday Ty-Guy!

My JOY x 4!

What a happy day for me! Look what cute photos were on my google reader this afternoon!

While we were in Utah, for all of two days, I arranged to have my sister-in-law's sister take some photos of my kids. No reason - it's not a birthday or a Christmas shot or anything else, but I'm realizing how quickly my little ones are growing up and I just wanted some candid shots of my kids at the stage that they are right now. Because next week they will be bigger and by next month even bigger and by next year...oh, I may start crying!

But back to the photos - Marky posted these shots to her photography blog today, so it's my sneak peak that I'm sharing. I will post more when I get the rest.

And for those of you in Utah (specifically the Ogden area - though I would say that Marky is worth driving for) give Marky a call (click here for her contact info) for your next photo shoot. Not only does she have a natural talent, she is FUN, FUN, FUN! You will enjoy your time with her like no other - seriously, it's worth the sitting fee just to hang out with her!

Proof

The internet is a wonderful resource!

I was able to find a way to upload a video from my camera...so here it is...

TY WALKING!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

A friend gave my kids a whole bunch of furbies.

They're kind of cute...in their own ugly way.

Ty was intrigued.

He reached out his hand to touch one and his hand brushed the hair on the furbie's head.

You have never seen a kid pull his hand back so fast!

And then he began to cry!


Ty is now officially SCARED TO DEATH of the furbies.

He will crawl out and around any that are laying around and will burst into tears if one dares to invade his space.

It's so sad.

I mentioned to Rich what a funny fear this is for Ty to have. Rich reminded me of an even funnier fear - when Kaitlyn was Ty's age she was deathly afraid of....

the koosh ball.

Wentworth Miller (deep sigh!)

I feel as though I've been on a bit of a personal hiatus.

This is why...

I can't remember which of you dear friends recommended this show to me, but shame on you!

I have watched season 1 and season 2 and just today sent season 3 back to the library with Rich, before I had even watched it. I had to get it out of the house and get on with my life! I will probably pick it back up at season 3 and finish it at some point, but for now I need to claim my life back.

I am now reminded of why we don't have cable and how glad I am that I am not in the grips of any weekly shows!

Goodbye for now Michael and Lincoln. I wish you well in your continued attempts to free yourself from the Company. You will do just fine without me.

WALKING!

It's official - Ty is now a full fledged upright human being!

He's been taking steps here and there for the past couple of weeks. But as of this weekend he is really walking! He no longer has to be conjoled or encouraged. He stands on his own! He will generally go for about 6-8 steps before a tumble, but he will immediately stand right back up and continue on his way. He has even mastered the art of walking with his hands full.

Good job baby boy!

It's times like these that I wish I had a digital video camera, but you get the idea.

(we do actually dress him in clothes - but all my "walking" shots happen at night when clothes are apparently in short supply)

Continuation of EGGcellent Easter Activities

With our being out of town for a couple of days last week, we were delayed in getting our Easter Eggs colored - so we let the kids get after it on Sunday afternoon following church.

Jake LOVED coloring the eggs. I didn't give him as many eggs (because he's two) but it turns out that he needed twice as many as the big kids because he was FAST. He was putting more than one egg in the color at a time and using multiple cups of colors as well.

Cason was more methodical about his coloring - going for the two-toned eggs. His shirt was removed, not because I considered Cason a hazard to himself, but Jake was sloshing plenty of dye in every direction and I feared Cason would be more likely to end up dyed than Jake's eggs.

Kaitlyn is an expert at the eggs, as she is at most things now that she is the ripe old age of eight. She's been around a while and just wants to get down to business :)

All in all the activity was a success.

Note to self for next year:

• cook MORE EGGS - like a couple dozen each!
• be careful when buying the cheap egg dye kit - the "9 color tablets" advertised on the package turned out to be only 6 color tablets, which turned out to be only one package of 3 color tablets repeated twice. Lucky for me the kids never questions why there was only brown, green and pink as color options!

Our EGGcellent Easter Activities

We spent two days of our Spring Break last week in Utah - which, to my kids, means Boppa & Diyah's house.

My family was very accomodating. They had the annual Easter Egg Hunt a few days early so that our kids could participate.

The kids began the festivities by decorating plastic pails with foam stickers to serve as their Easter (loot) baskets.

Due to weather limitations, the egg hunt had to take place indoors this year. It made for less hiding options and therefore a shorter "hunt" but the important thing is that the kids all ended up with sugar equal to their body weight!

And here is a photo of the grandkids with their loot. It's a pretty good shot of them all - there is something to be said of just taking a ton of photos with hopes that in one you will be able to see everyone's face and that nobody will be crying, screaming or drooling chocolate.

Thanks Boppa & Diyah!

A New Look...

We spent a couple of days in Utah this week - there will be photos to come of the Easter Egg hunt and some photos I had done of the kids, but those will have to be another day.

In the meantime, I thought I would post my new look.

While in Utah I got my hair done. I cut about 6 inches, maybe a little more. I added lots of layers. And I went significantly darker, with subtle highlights.

What do you think? I think it's my "grown up" look :)

Thanks Karly - I personally LOVE the much needed change!

Who is this guy?

Ty went in to the salon for a haircut this past weekend.

I don't even recognize him! He had more hair than this when he was born!

Actually, I guess I do recognize him.

I'd recognize those big eyes anywhere!