Adventures in summer-land

Our first month of summer has been pretty full. Here is what has been going on since the kids brought home their backpacks for the last time with shouts of joy.

We took a trip to California to visit my family. We have to go to the beach while we are there- it is a requirement! I guess this wave was bigger then the rest and surprised everyone while I was taking the picture. We got home from this trip and I realized I was not in a single picture. I was there, really.

Instead of Mickey's house (which we have visited plenty), we decided to go to Magic Mountain for a change of pace. This was more fun for us older kids who like something a little spicier then the teacups. Kenzie would have been happier at the Happiest Place on Earth, but she was a good sport and got to have her fill of all the kiddie rides, and see super heroes! Tanner and Kylie got their fill of big coasters. Wow, they have a lot at this park. We didn't even get to all of them because our stomachs just couldn't take it.

After the CA trip Paul ran his big 50 mile race. This was the second year he has done this and I am still questioning his sanity, but he made it and this picture proves he was still walking after 12 hours on the trails!

Our next adventure was the Grand Canyon. We hiked down to the area called Havasupai, which is an Indian reservation inside the Canyon with natural springs and beautiful waterfalls. It was so amazing. We went with Paul's dad and brother Kendal and his wife Shannon. Our little girls stayed home with Grandma. The ten mile hike in and out was too much for them! We hiked down in and camped 2 nights before making the trek back out. This is our group ready to hike down early in the morning after spending the night in the parking lot at the top- not my favorite part of the trip!

This is Mooney falls- just one of the gorgeous falls to see down there. The hike from our camp to get to this point was straight down a cliff in parts- freaky. I was praying the chains would hold. So worth it though.

Tanner jumping from one of the falls by our camp. We figured this was about 35 feet- he loved it. I endured the watching of it. But no bones were broken. This was an amazing trip. We are so grateful to our friend David for planning it and letting us join his group!


After a fast day turn around from the Grand Canyon (in which many loads of laundry were washed), Kylie and I were off to our church Young Women's girls camp. Kylie had been last year but this was my first time to go as a leader. We had tons of fun and it was actually quite luxurious after our backpacking adventure, to have a cabin and cots to sleep in and flushing potties. Though there was no hot water and this is on one of the last days with no showers. So I think we look pretty good taking that into consideration. Our camp color was pink and yes I am wearing pearls- it went with our theme! I don't usually camp with jewelry but at girls camp it's a little more feminine.

Paul's last big adventure for June was the Wasatch Back Relay Race. It is a team of 12 (this is the 6 people in his van) and they take turns running on a 190 mile course. It takes them about 24 hours. Last year I drove the van which was a lot of fun, but this year I was still at camp so I missed out on the all night party! Their calves say COD for Crack O' Dawners (team name) and 3 peat because they are serious! Their team had won their division (co-ed submasters, meaning everyone on the team is at least 30 years old) for the last 2 years and they were going for a 3peat. And they won it again. They are crazy good. 1st in their division and 3rd out of 600+ co-ed teams! There were something like 1000 teams this year in the race, it has gotten huge. And yes they are already signed up for next year.
So you can see our June was pretty jam packed and this is a long post! I will report on the rest of our summer later. It will be shorter because there is a lot less happening from here on out!

Global Warming, say what?!

This is why I really question the validity of global warming. This picture is from today. Yes, that would be May 24th. And that is actual snow falling steadily for hours. Kenzie is excited to wear her snow boots to school. Sigh...

Blogs may be hazardous to your (mental) health

I have come to the conclusion that I am not a super mom. How do I know this? I was looking online for something yesterday and came across an amazing blog, secretsofasupermommy.blogspot.com
This is an actual blog of a real life mom, not Martha Stewart with her staff of 50 and no children under feet, who does all these crafty, cute, and creative activities for her family. I'll freely admit that the insecure side of me started feeling instantly unworthy of even calling myself a mother after reading some of her posts. My kids are so deprived. She had about ten different things she did for Earth Day! Kylie was reading those posts and said, "what did we do for Earth Day?". Probably went to a baseball game like every other night! Hopefully I even manged to make a good dinner, but I know there wasn't a meatloaf shaped like the earth.
But then I realized that this is exactly why we shouldn't compare ourselves to others. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. I am not a creative person. Super Mommy obviously loves that kind of thing. I was getting a headache just reading about it. My brain does not look at our recycling bin and think, "I bet I could make an awesome looking Earth Day banner out of this stuff" (She did) Every cute or creative thing I have ever done in my life was actually someone else's idea. That is my talent- borrowing ideas from others. Also I really need sleep. I am thinking she must stay up and busily get everything done after her kids go to bed. My brain and body actually start shutting down about 9:30, I've decided.
So now I have found a good source of ideas. I just have to remind myself that my kids are growing up quite well adjusted, even though they may not have a mother who makes every day a celebration of some sort. I can be happy in the un-super mom that I am!

My domestic-ness (probably not a word)

I tend to post about our kids and what they are doing. I guess their lives are more interesting then mine! But I thought I would post about something I have gotten good at lately. I like to cook. Not so much dinners, though I don't mind the cooking of it- I just have a hard time with the planning of it all. What I like to do is bake. I started making whole wheat bread from scratch and it has been consistently turning out yummy. I never pictured myself grinding wheat and baking bread, much less finding enjoyment in it. Yet here I am, and there is something truly satisfying when the house smells heavenly and there are beautiful loaves of bread on the counter. Who would have thought I would be typing this! I love other kinds of baking-cookies, brownies, sweet breads, various desserts- but for the sake of my waistline I must restrain myself in those areas. I've also been making a lot of granola, delicious and healthier than most cereals. Luckily my kids appreciate my efforts and help me eat all this food. My kids favorite is the homemade pizza on Friday nights. Paul doesn't mind it either!

Kenzie was asking, "Why are you taking a picture of the granola?" I agree it is weird!

More snow...even in spring

Well this is a catch up post obviously since it is now May and I am blogging about snow. I wanted to post these fun pictures. I had a great winter. I realized that being active outside even in winter makes a huge difference. Instead of just surviving the winter and waiting for the nicer weather, I really enjoyed it. We went skiing about every week and I also tried cross country skiing for the first time. That is a workout! I have a whole new respect for those Olympians. I also got a pair of snowshoes for christmas and tried that a little too.

This is my friend Alyson and I on a snowshoeing adventure. How can you not enjoy a view like this? I love my double chin as I was taking our own picture.

We were being silly and striking some poses. It was so warm this day that we were sweating!


This is my kids and Alyson's on a most gorgeous day in the best snow ever at Brighton. Everyone's legs were tired from all the powder.

Kenzie would not try downhill skiing but we did get her on cross country skis. She liked it and went a few times. I love this picture. She really looks like she's loving it!

Maddie and her friend Alyce relaxing at the top of the mountain at Sundance. What a life!!

How old am I?

This is me today- feeling old and saggy. My child can now legally drive a car. The permit is in his hands and he is ready to go. I am now officially middle aged (probably have been there awhile but now I am admitting it). When did my son get taller than me and old enough to drive? I need to go take some vitamins and possibly an aspirin for the tension headache.

Ski bunnies

We have been hitting the slopes hard this winter. My girls have found a love for skiing! Kenzie is the only hold out. She says next year she will try it. We shall see. I have no pictures of Tanner because he has gotten good on his snowboard and he and his friends are off finding jumps in the trees as soon as we let him out of the car. I love where we live! 20 minutes from our house and we can be pulling into Sundance for the afternoon. We have gone up after school for a couple of hours. So fun!
Who's got attitude?
Paul and I on a snowier day. Good powder!

Christmas etc.

Christmas snuggies!! Cheesy, yes, but cozy! I guess this shows that my kids watch too much TV and that all the advertising works on them, since they all asked for these for Christmas. Also the "Touch n' Brush" which is a nifty little device to put your toothpaste on your toothbrush. Yes, my kids are capable of doing this for the most part but it is still fun and surprisingly it works well. We can now get every last bit out of our tube!

A "real" piano!! It was time to ramp up the piano playing and this is their new motivation. It has worked like a charm and piano music is heard more frequently now that the kids don't have to go "all the way downstairs" to practice.

Tubing during the Christmas break.

Tanner turned 15 and got a new desk for his room. I guess studying upstairs with lots of sisters to distract was getting old. Now he is studying for the driving test! Yikes, do I really have to start teaching him to drive? We are dragging our feet a tad!

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was one of the most enlightening books I have read in awhile. Do you ever think about where our food comes from and how far most of it has to travel to get to our favorite grocery store? I can honestly say I really never gave it much thought until I read this book. This is the story of the author and her family's quest to eat local and in season food as much as they could for a year and they do it and enjoy it. Most of the food they grow themselves on their farm in Virginia so it's not as if any of us could actually live this way to the extent that they did. But the lessons they learned are applicable to everyone. I am not always a huge non-fiction fan. I usually read to escape, not examine real life (shallow as that sounds). But the way she explains this totally ordinary life on their farm is also quite entertaining. How can you not enjoy a description of onions coming up out of the ground as "visions of Wonderbras". In one section she is making cheese (never knew you could actually do that in any kitchen, but I am actually considering trying it!) and when she tells the grocery clerk that, she is amazed and says, "Now that is a real homemaker!" The author says it took her along time to get to the point that she considered that a great compliment. Feeding our families well is an important work!

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What a week!

For some reason things seem to happen in large bunches at times. That was our experience the week of Halloween. It was all wonderful stuff though! It started out with a piano recital for Kylie and Maddie on Monday. Costumes needed to be done for that- check. They played well and looked cute! On wednesday Tanner was awarded his Eagle Scout. It was a nice night. We tried to keep it simple and focused on the boys and I think it was perfect. We are proud of his accomplishment and now I can say good bye to the scout store and sewing on patches. (which I found out I had done wrong as you can see in the picture-oh well) Friday was all the school celebrations for Halloween. I love that costume parade, the kids are so dang cute! Saturday was Maddie's baptism. It wasn't till the afternoon so after that it was pretty much eat dinner and say good bye to everyone so we can all go trick or treating. The baptism was wonderful and Maddie was so excited. She looked beautiful in her white dress- so grown up! We hit our neighborhood and came home with plenty of sugar to last for the next year. Unfortunately it will be gone in a week or two. Tanner was too old to trick or treat this year (sigh) but Maddie and Kenzie were full of energy the whole night and Kylie still went with her friends. I was just ready to collapse that night!

Three generations of Eagles