Camping

Ah, the great outdoors. The very best place for star gazing and fresh air. A few weeks ago, while my father was visiting from North Carolina, we went on our last Utah camping trip to Goblin Valley before we  move. We rented the on site yurts (think round cabin) instead of trying to tent-it with 4 little kids. The only down side to that was that we didn't figure out the heater until the morning after some of the kids had been chilly all night. Our hike through Little Horseshoe Canyon was excellent. Gabe and his boundless energy would have hiked the whole loop but we made the executive decision to turn around after 4 miles. I wasn't sure how far little legs could go. Ruthie was carried by Zach almost the entire way but Mac did a super job on his own Flintstones power. He didn't even really start complaining till about mile 7 and Zach carried him the last half mile while I carried Ruthie.  Overall a very good trip and probably the last one for a while. As a side note, someone saw us pack our van and asked us how long we went camping for. They were very surprised when I only said one night since it was stuffed to the max with people and gear- and that was without tents! I think they were expecting me to say a week or so. 

Cottonwood Snow

I don't know how well you can see it in this picture, but in the Spring time these fluffy cotton-like seeds fall from the trees and drift around lazily in the sky for about a week or two. It's quite lovely to watch.

Dorthy... or maybe the Good Witch

Zach wanted me to take a picture of Ruthie in this outfit because it is the same outfit Dorthy would have been wearing in the original Wizard of Oz book- silver slippers, not red and of course the blue gingham.  He also says the original Dorthy is about 5 not 16 but I can't vouch, I haven't read the book yet. Zach did read it to the older two boys, maybe I should ask them. Dorthy was obviously not in very good spirits that morning. Not exactly up for a photo shoot. She just wanted to be grumpy that I wouldn't let her get in the car and mess with all the buttons. We all have our days. 

In Case You haven't Heard...

Scooby Dooby Doo

Ahh, my first born. Can it be 7 years or was it just yesterday? We decided to do a party this year since this will be the last hurrah before we move in July to Colorado. Gabe, being the oldest, and probably having the most friends, is also the saddest, but he will make new friends I'm sure. My eternal bouncy ball requested a Scooby Doo party, complete with dog bone invitations, a mummy wrap, a monster mash, and a Scooby snack balloon pop. They also had to be good detectives and find their party favor bags in the back yard. Zach was an excellent helper, corralling 18 kids from school and the neighborhood. It was a little bit like organized chaos, but in a good way. Happy Birthday Gabe! We love you.

This is apple cake from his actual birthday, which happen to be on a Sunday

My oldest just turned 7. (Since we are birthday buddies, I turned 30 just a few days before!) He requested a Scooby Doo Party.

I was so glad Gabe chose to have a birthday lime pie rather than a birthday cake. Saved me 4 hours of decorating!

Cindy Lu Who

I was giving hair cuts and lil' miss wanted to get in on the action. We use the vacuum to get up the stray hair on the floor, even if it's still attached to the owner.

Soon-to-be Sister Missionary

Remember this pretty lady? She's about to go into the MTC (missionary training center) next week. Before she left college we celebrated her 20th birthday in style with quinoa guacamole burgers and lemon cake- menu by request. Here we are sporting our Lazy Man Iron man shirts together. Don't we practically look like twins? (If you are curious what that is, you do a full triathlon but you have a month to complete it. If you finish you get the t-shirt. As Naomi will tell you, she will do almost anything for a t-shirt) And that would be Zach's hand smashing her face into the cake. We sure are going to miss Naomi and our Sunday night dinners but she's going to do awesome in France. Au voir!