Pets

Summer has been very low-key and without many exciting events. We usually go to the gym in the morning, and have lunch. In the afternoon the kids play with friends, we go to a local pool, or just hang around the house playing with our pets. We have started to accumulate quite a few.

Of course we still have Coco

The kids caught lizards in Moab, which we keep in a glass cage, and feed crickets and grasshoppers too.

A few weeks ago I found an adorable bunny at a garage sale. 2 Saturdays and $85 later Snow has a pretty nice house.

A few nights ago, while jeeping, Joe and the kids found "Jake the Snake" on a 4-wheel road. He is currently living in a jug, but we'll let him go in the next few days.

A summer day

We get to have Levi for the week while his parents are exploring New York. Of course I try extra hard to keep the kids entertained when we have visitors. This morning they watched Karate Kid. Then we went to the gym where they played in the daycare while I did Pilates. After Pilates I got my kids unlimited rock climbing passes for June, and all the kids had fun climbing. After lunch they played with neighbor kids, and when I made a list of activities they could choose from, they picked washing the car.

I'm not sure the car ended up being much cleaner, but it's the thought that counts, right? 

 They also had fun running in the sprinklers.

All together this was the perfect laid-back summer day. Although we didn't do anything really special, they had fun together and spent most of their time outside.

And I got to do Pilates AND Dance Trance!

Dirty Dash

The Dirty Dash is the muddiest, funnest 5.5 mile race! A few years ago I saw pictures of a few Boise friends doing it, so when I saw the Utah race would be right here in Utah, I jumped for the opportunity. I was able to convince a few ladies from my ward as well as my life-long friend Rachel Jester to run it with me. There were hoards of people, and so much mud. We started off running, but there were so many people, that at every obstacle, you'd have to wait about 5 minutes just to go over it. Next time I'll definitely have Joe come along with the camera and get more pictures of the obstacles.  Pictures are definitely worth a thousand words

A special kids race "Piglet Plunge" took place in the afternoon. Sterling ended up running the second half of the big race with me, so only Winter and Ginger participated. Getting dirty is so fun!

  I hadn't seen Rachel for 14 years. Her mom and my dad were friends in high school, so any time we used to vacation in the US, we'd visit them. Rachel just found out she is pregnant, so her husband Aric ran the race in her place.

The only not-fun thing: trying to clean up the heaps of mud that was EVERYWHERE! Even after scrubbing in the shower, Ginger looked like she hadn't bathed in months at church on Sunday. 

Moab again

Our plan for Memorial day weekend was to camp and explore close to home. The Wasatch national forest is beautiful and has some great biking and scenery, but when it started raining while i was packing and the weather report said 60% chance of rain, we gladly changed our plan and headed south. We had been planning to make this trip with our friends the Judds for a while, and let them lead the way towards a camping spot. We ended up by the San Rafael Swell where there were supposed to be some slot canyons for exploration. By the time we got to the spot, it was pitch dark and the sandstorm blizzard in full gear. With the help of some flashlights, we barely managed to set up our humongous new tent

Miles was perfectly happy hanging out with Winter in her sleeping bag while I made his own bed.

On Saturday after breakfast we started driving to find the slot canyons. The wind was howling and everything was whited-out by the dust. We drove for hours, and never did find any hiking spots. Finally, we decided we had had enough of this place, and that Moab would be a better place to be.

Rolling into Moab, the storm was just dying down. By the time we found our camping spot (at an actual campground, since we'd had enough driving for the day) the weather was nice enough to have foil dinners on our fire. Mmmm! How I love a good foil dinner. Tiffani did a great job fancying it up with cream soup and yummy spices.

Tiffani's style of camping reminded me of the "Pampered Chef" she is. Their trailer has everything you have in a regular kitchen including a freezer. She has all the tools any person would long for in a regular kitchen, let alone a camping trailer.

The kids entertained themselves with reading

Playing with sticks and pokies

We enjoyed ourselves with the Judd's 4-wheelers. (No infants were harmed in taking this photo)

And of course we had some good times telling stories and roasting marshmallows around the campfire.

The next day we drove to the other side of the river off Potash road to Wall Street. These cliffs have many rock climbing routes, some harder than other. Winter was a bit comprehensive at first, since this wall looks quite different from the wall at the gym. Their practice at the gym has paid off though. The climbs were just right for them. We did 4 different routes, some harder than others. What was supposed to be a few hours of climbing, turned into an all day activity. And my arms got a good workout from belaying!

Monday morning we went for a quick swim in the Colorado river before going to Canyonlands National Park for a peek at Mesa arch. This arch isn't as impressive as delicate arch, but the landscape in the background is amazing. And the dropoff right behind the arch is dizzying.

This weekend was a great camping weekend, which is why we love living in Utah. We love everything associated with camping, including dust, campfire smell, dirty clothes, and dirty babies.

Maple Canyon

On the way home from Fillmore, we followed uncle Joe and Adam to Maple Canyon for some rock climbing. Adam is somewhat of a pro, and I had been dying to see him in action. He truely is amazing! Hanging from 2 fingers, upside down. Lead climbing sections where if he falls, he'd hit the other side of the rocks and tumble halfway to the ground. 

Joe had a go at some climbs too. I sat this one out, still being sore from a weight lifting class I attended on Friday morning. Next time we'll have to make sure to get some harnesses for the kids, as they were very disappointed not to be able to climb.

 Miles was fussy, so I tried feeding him, rocking him, and bouncing, but in the end he was the happiest laying on the ground

 We had the chance to see the Lunar Eclipse. Our upstairs neighbor Brent came up with the brilliant idea to use a welding helmet to look at the sun without damaging our eyes. So I used this piece of dark glass to photograph the eclipse. Maybe it's time to invest in some dark filters...

Grandpa AC turns 91

Since moving to Utah, the kids get to see grandma and grandpa a lot. This weekend they came up for Great grandpa AC's 91st birthday, and of course we got to spend some quality time with grandma too. Friday afternoon she came to our house, when the kids enjoyed some one-on-one attention and story time.

 Grandma usually has quite the touch when it comes to babies, but for some reason Miles was not having it.

 This morning after cooking waffles and taking Winter on a shopping trip to the local quilt shop, mom drove down to Fillmore with me and the kids. Joe has been in Moab for the last few days mountain biking with Stephen Sidwell. I pretty much think he's in heaven. Driving his Jeep down to Moab, with his bike on the rack

 Since Joe refuses to write on his own blog, I guess I have to hijack his riding photos, and share what he's been up to. At the top of Porcepine rim

 Monkeying around. Reliving the glory days.

Down in Fillmore the kids had lots of fun with their cousins.

It makes me so happy to see Sterling having such a good friend in his cousin Levi, especially since he doesn't have a brother close in age.

Grandpa AC and his cute new wife Madge

 Grilling up some burgers and hot dogs with uncle Cleve.

 Miles prefers his bouncy seat

 It was fun to catch up with uncle Joe, Adam, and Rozy. I haven't seen Rozy since Joe and I were engaged 12 years ago. She changed from a 14 year old teenager to a mother of 2.5.