Mother's Day

I was sick on Mother's Day, but it was still a lovely day filled with thoughts of my kids and my own wonderful mother.  The day started out as one of the best days of my life.  I woke up long after the usual early groggy wake up to a quiet room with a closed door and the bed empty beside me.  This happens so rarely that I was a bit startled for a moment as I tried to put together what was going on.  As I lay there I heard the sweet voices of all my boys coming from the kitchen.  Then I heard breakfast being made and started to smell bacon and eggs and toast.  It all came together for me then.  It was Mother's Day, I was really sick and had been at the doctor's the night before.  Mark had taken it upon himself to quietly get up with our early riser boys, take them in to the kitchen and he made everyone breakfast.  I was very surprised and very grateful.  It was exactly what I needed.  Thank you so much Mark, Brian and Timmy for the wonderful breakfast!

I stayed home from church with Timmy while Mark took Brian to Primary.  I guess all the women in the whole church building met to eat pie while the men (or just Mark) took over the entire Young Women's and Primary.  They left it up to him as the Young Men's President to coordinate all the youth in helping all the primary kids write up these cute cute papers for their mothers.  I assume it all worked out well.  I LOVE mine from Brian.

 I'm glad he thinks I am only 12 years old and that I only weigh 13 pounds.  I think it's rather funny that he says I like to pet my dog and I like to sleep.  Actually all the answers make me laugh along with Brian's drawing of me.

 I also got a hand flower from Brian and Timmy.

From school Brian brought me a cute book of recipes from his class.  His recipe is his favorite snack, kettle corn made on the stove.  Again, Brian's rendition of me cracks me up.  I love watching him learn to draw.  Does my hair really look like that?

I love my own mother and I love my mother-in-law.  I also love love love being a mother myself.  I always feel so blessed on Mother's Day.

Moab Part 3 - Cousins and Arches

 On Friday afternoon we were joined at our campsite by my sister Melanie and her family.  They set up camp, played for a bit and we headed over to Arches to meet my other sister Allison and her family who had arrived that morning.

 We spent some time at one of our favorite places in Arches, Sand Dune Arch.  It is too bad it was so windy just at the time we were there.  Meanwhile back at camp, the wind/sand storm was raging as well, filling our tent trailer with buckets of sand.  Next time we will remember to close all the windows no matter how hot it is. Despite the wind, the kids had fun playing together and going on adventures with Uncle Dave.

On Saturday morning we did a little more four wheeling with Melanie.  We went on a fun quick drive out to Eye of The Whale Arch.

Then we met everyone for a picnic up at the Devil's Garden picnic area.

 This kids had so much fun playing and climbing here together that we spent the rest of our time in Arches here in the picnic area.  They had much more fun than they would have on a hike.  I was very impressed by their rock climbing skills.

Thanks everyone for meeting us down there!  Having you all there made it so much fun for us!  Next time you want to go I'll be there in a heart beat.

Moab Part 2 - Wheeling

One of the main reasons for going to Moab was to take Mark's Land Cruiser off-roading.  We decided on the Fins N Things trail right there in Sand Flats.  My Mom and Dad drove down Thursday night and stayed in a hotel.  They rented a Jeep and met us at our camp first thing Friday morning for our epic wheeling adventure. It was amazing!  The trail took us about 3 hours and the pictures just don't do it justice.  The obstacles were challenging yet not too scary for me to have the kids with us and the views were spectacular.  It was so fun to go with my dad and mom and my nephew Evan.  Brian loved it and Timmy fell asleep through much of the drive.  I enjoyed the whole thing, but I especially had fun watching my dad go up and down the super super steep climbs and drops.  Mark was in heaven of course.

If you missed Mark's little video of this on an earlier post click here.

Moab Part 1 - Camping

We did it.  We actually did it.  We took our kids camping and survived!  Mark and I love to camp.  We went on camping trip after camping trip after camping trip the first four years of marriage.  Then we had Brian and it abruptly stopped.  We didn't go camping for the next four years and missed it so much.  Brian has always been REALLY particular about many things, but mostly his sleeping situation, so camping just sounded torturous.  This Spring Mark had a thought that if we had a tent trailer then maybe camping with the kids would be a possibility.  Mark convinced me to let go of my "trailer camping is not really camping" attitude and we bought ourselves a nice little used tent trailer for a great price from good old KSL Classifieds.  Here she is in all her glory.

We love it.  It's clean, convenient, comfortable, light to tow, and it has a heater!  Timmy can sleep in his portable crib and with the heater I don't have to worry about him getting cold because he cannot figure out how to sleep under a blanket.

Last weekend we took the Dutchmen on her maiden voyage to Moab and it was a blast.  Besides me being really sick both nights, one night with a sinus infection/cough/sore throat and the other night throwing up all night, the trip was a wonderful success.  The kids did better than expected!

We went down Thursday morning and found a lovely secluded camp spot with a stellar view in the Sand Flats Recreation Area.  We set up camp and spent the day exploring the surrounding area and Moab.  The kids were in heaven because we were basically camping in the world's biggest sandbox.

  That evening we put the kids to bed and Mark and I enjoyed our first sunset together on a camping trip in over four years.  It was gorgeous.

I had to include this little video clip of the kids diving in and out of Timmy's bed early in the morning. I had been sick all night so I have an excuse for sounding really scary.  Each side of the trailer has a nice bed, one side a king size and the other side a full size.  Both ends have curtains and the benches in the middle of the trailer make into two more twin beds.  There is a table, cabinet space, a little pump sink, a fridge, lights, and a heater.

Wheelin' Video

Fins and Things, Sand Flats Area, Moab, UT

Happy Belated Birthday Mark!

Mark turned the big 30 last week.  I had some grand plans for a party with a delicious peanut butter/chocolate cake.  It all fell through because I got sick sick sick, and we were trying to get ready for our big first camping trip ever as a family a few days later.  Mark says he didn't even want a party, but I still feel bad about dropping the ball.  We did go to eat as a family at Italian Village though and Mark got a new mountain bike for his birthday, so he says he's super happy.  In fact he is out in the garage working on small improvements for his new bike which he's already taken down the "Bobsled" trail with Dave.  I hope he enjoys the new bike and stays safe.

Here's a few pics from Italian Village.  Mark loves the Pizza Benders there.

Random Phone Photos

Thanks to a nice little company called Page Plus, I can have a smart phone with a data plan and pay $20 less than I was with my original basic phone plan.  I like my phone for many reasons, mainly because I am more organized with my calender and shopping and to-do lists.  I also enjoy having a camera in my pocket all the time.  I find myself just pulling my phone out to capture simple everyday moments with the boys.

Sidewalk chalk

One of our FHE hot dog roasts in the backyard.  The kids LOVE this.

Brian was so cute as he helped Timmy do all the puzzles.

Riding bikes with Jordan. 

Timmy and Caitie

Finger painting

Scooter rides with Uncle Tony

Backyard adventures

We saw baby ducks while riding bikes along the neighborhood canal path.

Heritage Park visit

"Helping" Daddy put together his new mountain bike.