Max, Emma, and the "Easy Little Hike..."

Monday, Max needed to get his

Reflections Contest entry done

(because it was due on Tuesday -- of course).

The theme this year is "Wow...!"

In the interest of time, he decided on entering some photos.

He thought about places we could go that made him say "wow!"

He wanted to hike the "Y".

(He's been trying to get me to do that again and I've been putting that one off! It was hard enough the first time I did it!)

I promptly told him no on that so he opted to go to

Bridal Veil Falls.

I asked Jake what the hike to the falls was like.

He said, "Oh, it's an easy little 1/4 mile hike." and assured me that Emma could do it.

So, taking his word, I ventured out with Max and Emma.

Max and Emma in front of the "octopus tree" (as they called it.)

We made it to the trailhead (at least I think it was the trailhead) and started up this hill...

This picture doesn't show it but it was a little (okay alot) steep.

Have I ever mentioned that Emma isn't the least bit adventurous?

Well, she's so not.

I managed to get her up this hill thinking that the easy little trail would follow.

Uh, no.

By this time, Emma's screaming because she was all freaked out over almost slipping going up the hill and then I see the next part of the "trail".

It was all rocks.

So, I had to tell Max that there was no way I was going to take Emma through that.

By then I had Emma crying and now Max.

I felt bad because he really wanted to get pictures up close to the falls but there was just no way.

I waited until they quit crying and I tried to figure out how to get Emma back down.

Max got down just fine and I started down with Emma.

She would have NOTHING to do with that and was

totally screaming.

I'm thinking,

"Great. What am I supposed to do now?"

I didn't feel like I could safely carry her down so I told her we were going to go down on our bums like a slide.

Not such a good plan.

She was bawling at this point.

Luckily for us a nice couple was

coming down and helped us.

Yeah, I felt pretty stupid but I was grateful.

Lesson learned...

don't take a 4-year-old hiking

and don't believe your teenager's word that a hike is easy.

Max had to settle on taking pictures farther away but I think he did a good job.

He chose 3 of his favorites to enter

and displayed them very nicely on a black board.

Here they are...

"Farthest" by Max.

"Closer" by Max

"Closest" by Max

He was happy with the finished project.

I'm pretty proud of him!

I'll have to take him back to hike to the waterfall to make up for this.

But the next time,

we'll be leaving Emma home!

You Know You're Getting Older...

I've been having more and more instances lately that have made me think to myself,

"Wow. I'm getting older."

Like, for example, today.

While cleaning up, Emma and I blasted the Nick Jr. Radio (because we're hip like that.)

The song "Celebration" came on only it wasn't Kool & the Gang singing.

Dora the Explorer was.

It was kind of weird, but anyway.

Memories of the Regional Dance Festival of 1985 at the Rose Bowl flooded my mind.

Yes, the youth of Southern California (over 3,000 of us) put on a dance festival at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California the summer of 1985. (Wow! That was a fun summer!) It was so fun and these kids are wearing the costume I wore.

Doesn't it just scream 80's!

(I found this picture online so I have no clue who these people are. I had hair somewhat like the girl on the left though. What's up with the flat-top? Oh, fun times.)

Anyway, back to today.

I heard "Celebration" and I started dancing around making Emma crack up. This isn't unusual for my children to see their mother dance around.

(Remember the Irish dancing while sod was being laid outside Elisabeth?)

I love to dance.

But these days, I would just DIE if anyone saw me. I mean I don't look as good as I did in 1985 afterall.

Well, I was dancing and then the famous chorus came on,

"Celebrate Good Times! Come on!"

In my dance of 1985, we started low and jumped up in the air with our arms above our head on the "Come on!" part.

Well, while re-enacting this memory, I think I strained every muscle in my body -- especially my still-recovering shoulder.

No worries, I'm fine now.

Just my pride is bruised a little.

*sigh*

I'm not sure I'm ready to get older.

Fun Couple of Days

Friday was Max's much anticipated "Fun Run" at school.

Personally I don't see anything fun about running but that's just me.

He had a blast and was really, REALLY excited about this.

Here he is waiting to start.

It was a two mile run and I think he pretty much ran the whole thing.

Way to go Max!

Later that day, Emma and I got to go on a field trip with Max's class.

We walked to the pumpkin farm next door to the elementary school.

I've never seen so many pumpkins!

They were so beautiful.

The kids got to pick out a small one to take home.

It made me remember how much

I love this time of year!

Saturday, was my parent's annual Halloween Party.

Dad made his famous chili and there was candy galore--

another awesome party at Grammy and Papa's house!

Thanks Mom and Dad!

I wish I would have taken more pictures but here's one of the some of the cousins enjoying yummy treats.

Here's a sneak peek of Emma and Max's costumes...

Say hello to

Indiana Jones

and

Annie!

Emma made me a promise that she would sing "Tomorrow" when she was dressed like Annie.

So here is four-year-old Emma making good on her promise...

(I was trying to get her to do her "big finish" but she wouldn't do it. Dangit. It's so cute!

Oh well, I'll take a cute finish instead.)

Tonight, the Men's Chorus in our ward (a double quartet)put on an awesome fireside.

All I have to say is,

those boys can sing!

(I love hearing men sing. There's just something so calming about men's voices.)

It was beautiful!

I love being in such a talented ward.

P.S.

If you haven't already,

you need to read this beautiful story.

It makes me want to hold my sisters tight and let them know how much I love them!

New Address...

Come visit me at my new blog

"Time Flies"...

Vote America! Honor the Fight, Exercise Your Right

One thing I am grateful for is to be an American woman.

I can't imagine what it would be like to not have the rights and liberties I take for granted all too often. A while ago I received an email from my friend talking about the battle the women of the early 1900's fought so we can have the opportunity for our voice to be heard by voting. It made me even more grateful for these brave women who endured being jailed, beaten, and starved just so I could enjoy the rights and liberties as every American should.

I am so grateful to these women and all those who have fought

and continue to fight for my freedom.

I hope and pray that every American will exercise their right to vote.

Feeling a Little Whacky...

Today was "Whacky Hair Day" at school.

I actually sent my cute Max out the door like this today.

I don't know who feels more whacky,

he or I.

(or is it "him or me"? I can't think today.)

Lovely Zion! Beautiful Zion!

We actually did something we've never done before...

We went out of town for UEA (or fall break? Whatever.)

It was between biking in Moab or camping in Zion's National Park.

Zion's won and

it was fabulous!

(The whole dirty bunch. Isn't camping in dirt the greatest.)

Thursday we packed up the old "loaf of bread" and headed to God's country. This was the first real camping trip we've ever taken as a family so it was an experience. We stayed in one of the campgrounds inside the Park. Uncle Jonathan and Ethan came too.

I can't begin to tell you how beautiful it was!

It was totally amazing!

I loved how there were paved hikes that even a fat lady like me and a four-year-old were able to enjoy. We hiked and hiked and had so much fun!

Friday morning, Emma and I drove into Cedar City to pick up Elisabeth.

Can I just say, I never truly understand how much I miss her until I get to see her again.

It was a dream having my whole family together.

While we were in Cedar, the boys hiked Angels Landing.

(Angels Landing is right in the middle with the few trees on top.)

Had I known how incredibly scary this hike really is...all I have to say is

they are crazy!

There's chains you hold onto so you don't plummet to your death down 100's of feet drop offs! Max and Lee made it up half the chain part but Lee felt that it was too scary for Max so the headed down a bit and waited for the older boys who, I have discovered this weekend, are really monkeys. Seriously they, Max included, can climb up anything!

(Jake carried Emma up to this. It was way up there! This was taken with my zoom.)

(Scott is secretly Spiderman I think. Seriously, the kid was up EVERYTHING in no time flat.)

The best part was to just hang out and spend time together without any phones, computers, or t.v.'s to interrupt. We need more of that!

(Our dusty campsite. The one thing --other than sleeping on the ground-- that stinks about camping is the dirt! But it's still fun.)

Here's a few more pictures...

(I was so upset with myself because I totally forgot to charge the battery for my camera before we left so I could only get a few pictures. But we did have plenty of homemade brownies instead. I am learning that I can't multitask anymore but that's another post for another day!)

You're not allowed to drive through the Park so they provide a shuttle service to take you to the different trailheads and sites. It's pretty cool. It was nice to have a little rest in between hikes that's for sure!

(Here's Emma, Cole, and Elisabeth at Checkerboard Mesa.

I'm not sure what the heck Cole's doing but then again, I never am.)

(Jake with "Flat Stanley". Elisabeth needed to take a picture for one of her classes and Jake was willing.

This makes me smile.)

We saw all kinds of wildlife --wild turkeys, deer, tarantellas, mountain goats-- it was cool.

This is a deer that was wandering around outside Zion's lodge. I was only a few feet away when I took this. It was amazing!

This was just plain freaky.

This is one of our hikes to Emerald Pond. It wasn't really emerald but it was really beautiful.

There's actually 3 tiers to this hike but we just went to the bottom one where there's a waterfall that flows into this pool. Here's another picture of it:

Simply gorgeous.

We stopped by Kolob Canyon on the way home. This was breathtaking! Way worth the stop!

We are definitely going back someday!

There's still so much we didn't see.

Who'd Have Thought?

Teenage boys are full of surprises that's for sure.

I just have to laugh sometimes.

Cole came home from school Friday all disgusted.

He says, "Look what we have to read in English!

Can you believe it!?! It's so sick! It's like 500 pages!"

I look up and see Twilight.

Being who I am, I couldn't help but laugh.

I say, "Isn't that a romance novel? That's an odd choice of books to read in English. (I'm thinking, 'whatever happened to the classics?') Maybe I should read it along with you."

(because I'm probably the only woman who hasn't read it.)

Well, I haven't seen my son for the past couple of days.

After school I ask,

"Where's Cole? We need to do chores."

He's up in his room reading.

Dinner time...

"Where's Cole? It's time to eat."

You guessed it, he's up in his room reading.

I even caught him reading at 11:00 last night by the light of Emma's nightlight.

This just really makes me laugh.

He said, "Who'd have thought that Twilight would be so good!"

He also said, "Why did she have to make it so good! I can't stop!"

Just this morning, I had to remind him of the time so he wouldn't be late for the bus (which I never have to because Cole is anal about being late).

I just have to laugh.

As I was writing this post, Max walked by and saw the picture of Cole reading and started laughing that he was reading Twilight. He told me that two of his girl friends gave the book to him to read and it's not for school.

Hmmmm...

I can't wait to get to the bottom of this after school today!

That makes more sense than an English teacher requiring students to read romance novels!

*** AFTERSCHOOL UPDATE ***

He just wanted to see what all the hype was and has discovered that it is addicting.

He didn't want to tell the truth because he was afraid of getting teased by his brothers.

Well, as it turns out, his brothers didn't tease him...

his Mom did!

I know, I'm bad but it's not like he doesn't dish it out!

It's still funny to me.

A Couple Random Things...

I woke up yesterday and checked outside to see if it had snowed like it was supposed to.

No snow was to be found (thank heavens) but I did see these...

Yes folks, the sheep are back.

I'm hoping they are a little more neighborly this time.

Also, Lee is now working from home full time.

It's an adjustment but I think it will all work out.

We have de-cluttered and moved things around and managed to make room for an office for Lee. He will be sharing Scott's bedroom. Scott doesn't want to sleep in with Jake because Jake wakes up too early so Scott's bed is in the office and all his clothes are in Jake's room. Sometimes you just have to be a little creative to make everyone happy.

We remodeled (he chose the paint color) and here is the new office/Scott's room.

We put in a laminate floor and new moldings. Even though I'm not a huge fan of blue, it looks 100 times better. He uses his Grandpa's old dining set for his office furniture. It works out very nicely. We still need to get window coverings and hang things on the wall but the hard stuff is done.

I can't wait to start the next room!

It's amazing what a little paint will do.

Friday Funny

I got this in an email today...

The New $1 Bill

It's easier to laugh than worry, right?

Learning to Be Safe the Fun Way

Monday night was the Provo City Safety Fair.

We try to go every year because it's a lot of fun.

(Even though the teenagers look a little goofy, they had fun!)

The kids enjoy seeing all the trucks and playing games.

Candy is also handed out liberally so that's always fun too.

This year, the boys wanted to make sure they got to ride in the "buckets" so we went there first off.

To say Max was excited for this would be an understatement.

I love that the simplest things will make him happy.

Cole wasn't quite sure he liked it.

(I think he's a little afraid of heights. I don't blame him. The bucket goes up about 55 feet!)

We saw a sheriff's helicopter land and I thought Emma was going to blow over.

I always forget just how windy it gets around helicopters!

They learned about electricity and water conservation, got to see all the fire and police vehicles, played games at the Parks and Rec. booth, and even got to squirt water from

a fire hose.

Emma saw 2 puppet shows also at the Library's booth.

Here's more photos of our fun evening...

It's a fun event and I'm glad we got to go again.

First Field Trip (catch up post)

A couple weeks ago,

I got to go with Emma and her class to visit the

Pleasant Grove Fire Department.

They had been learning about safety and the firemen talked to them about what to do if they are in a fire or accident.

Emma was very fascinated with the firemen and listened carefully to what they were saying.

She thought it was really cool to see inside the ambulance.

(I didn't have my camera set at the right setting so it's blurry. Sorry.)

The kids were so funny.

One little girl told a fireman he looked like a bird and the funny thing is,

he really did.

I love preschoolers!

It was really fun to see such excitement from these cute little preschoolers.

It was also fun to see Emma interacting with her new school friends.

I found out that she has a "best friend", Zoe S.

This whole preschool experience has been great for Emma. She's having so much more interaction with children her age and I can see a big change in her.

After, we went next door and played at the park and had a snack.

I'm so glad I get the chance to do things like this.

But, I just realized something...

This is my last child's last first field trip.

Kinda weird.