The Shoe Dilema

As I was cleaning my carpet this evening I had a few thoughts I've been pondering.

Why does my carpet get so filthy. This of course is obvious, I have 5 small children who have legions of friends who all walk all over it with filthy feet and sticky hands. They often spill or drip as they sneak food out of the kitchen. They also like to lay on the carpet as they color, do stamps or paint their fingernails. Nail polish, markers, crayons, and ink frequently find their way off the paper or finger and onto the carpet. These are the big reasons my carpet is so filthy.

One common solution to dirty carpets is banning shoes. I have a hard time with this. For the record the rule in our home is that family members may not wear their shoes in the house. Guests will hopefully do whatever makes them most comfortable. We never ask or suggest our guests remove their shoes but hopefully they feel comfortable doing so if they prefer to be shoeless.

This shoe ban is very awkward for me, for several reasons, the primary one being I want every one and anyone no matter what or who they are to feel comfortable and at home in my home and I tend to think asking someone or expecting someone to remove their shoes can put them on the spot. At least it does for me. I am anything but graceful.

There is simply not a graceful way to bend over in the door way with everyone watching and take your shoes off. I have huge feet -while their size is necessary to support my body they can be hard to fit into shoes. I truly have a hard time finding shoes I do not have to wrestle onto my feet. At home I always sit down to put my shoes on. Since most people do not have a chair next to the door this is not possible without walking across their carpet in my shoes. The other possibility would be to plop myself down on the floor. This would be very awkward for anyone present - giving them that internal struggle - do I avert my eyes so I don't stare with my mouth wide open or do I try and ignore the situation by continuing the conversation. (The answer to this is almost always just pretend nothing is happening - most people can't help but peek anyway and turning away just acknowledges that the awkwardness of the situation)

I often wear flip flops for this (and other reasons). While the flip flops do help with the awkward foot wrestling they create other problems. Such as my ugly toenails are exposed, and a foot whose only protection from the elements is the thin thong between the toes are often very dirty and wet if it is winter.

If I wear shoes into someones house I have to bend over exposing my huge hind end or try to "gracefully" hop on one foot while lifting the other one high enough to untie and pull off. This usually takes several tries - all the while the hostess is looking on wondering how I ever got my foot in if getting it off takes so much effort. The other choice is flip flops. I then have to carefully step in someone else footprints to try and get the least possible amount of snow inside my foot. At the door I have to try and shake me feet off and let all snow melt and the water to run off before I enter the house. All the while my feet are freezing. I spend the whole time while in the house self conscious about my deformed toes and thick yellow toenails. For me this whole experience is just not comfortable.

It even gets worse if my children are accompanying me. Removing their shoes also requires a bit of wrestling and knot finagling which requires bending over exposing my hind quarters. Once the shoes come off the socks are exposed and this too is problematic. My children often wear socks with holes and matching colors isn't all that important to them either. Although I am lucky if they wear socks - if not when the shoes come off not only the dirt but also the smell is exposed and that is quite embarrassing. The simple truth is I have enough to do to get ready to go somewhere I find it hard and and counter productive to inspect feet, socks and shoes for each of my children before walking out the door. Also I have found that if I stop to help a child with shoes the other 4 are running loose and this never brings welcome results.

Also what to do with your shoes after you remove them. Should I leave them right there by the door in a big pile. I also have to try and nonchalantly angle them at such a way the size isn't showing - most people probably aren't even aware shoes come in such large sizes. It would be one thing if I were a basketball player or really tall or something but I am not I just have huge feet.

So the bottom line is because of the awkwardness and dread I feel at removing my shoes in someones doorway I refuse to do that to anyone else. Therefore I would never, never ask anyone to remove their shoes - even if they were visibly covered in mud. This includes children who are often not aware or conscious of muddy feet. That being said I hate to wear shoes so in order to feel most comfortable I would rather remove them - I just don't want to do it in the doorway of someone else's house.

My kids never cease to amuse me

A couple amusing little things the kids said recently.





-Friday evening after Thanksgiving as Grandma was getting the Thanksgivng leftovers out for dinner Anna told her, "My mom always buys a little turkey so we only have to eat it once"





-During family scripture study I frequently summerize verses after they have been read. Anna looked over with a very amazed look on her face and said, "You actually understand that". What do you mean I replied. "How in the world do you understand all that stuff you read in the scriptures" was her reply with a look of utter amazement.

-Ryan said while crying his eyes out, "I just don't want to ever do anything besides eat pizza and play wii"

-Dallin said, "Why do we have to ruin a perfectly good day by going outside."



-Rachel - "I want a pink suitcase for my pillow - a pink suitcase."

-Anna - she wanted to stay up later when I was telling her to go to bed. "but I am all ready for school, I already have my boots and socks on so I am all set all I have to do in the morning is get up and put my pants and my shirt on and then I can leave for school." Boots, socks and underwear - not the most comfortable pajamas in my opinion.

-Rachel wanted me to take her somewhere, she was chomping at the bit to go. I finally said, "ok, I just have to get dressed." She said, "You don't stink, right" What I asked. "You don't stink - right." she repeated. "Just get your shoes on, lets go". she said. I got it then. I usually tell her I have to take a shower when I get dressed - when asked why my response is because I stink. I guess she thought I should skip the shower that day.

Tree chopping adventures and Fun Family Traditions

Many years ago our Stake President gave us a book by his brother, Stephen R. Covey. It was something about highly successful families. I thought a highly successful family sounded like a nice idea so I read it. There were lots of good points one in particular kind of struck me - not that it was a new idea or something that sounded foreign or anything I just hadn't really thought about it in such concrete terms. Like I said this was many years ago and I definitely do not remember exact quotes and it is likely my mind has total distorted it over the years but the idea is that you make your home and your family so fun your kids have nothing to rebel against. They don't want to leave you because there isn't anything else out there that is quite as fun. So I decided then and there that would be our family - we would be a perpetual barrel of laughs, with fun going on everywhere - a regular 3 ring circus of delights and good times. Well we were successful at turning our home into a circus whether it is s a a fun one or not that could be debated. But we have tried to inundate our kids with fun. I am more the old fashioned wholesome recreational, simple fun kind of girl. I don't need amusement parks, or movies, or fancy toys to have a good time. Growing up a bike ride or a romp through the forest was great fun. A camping trip or evening at the lake throwing each other off inflatable rafts was what we lived for. As we got a little older, and more independent, a midnight swim in the lake provided the thrill we needed - if we craved a little more of an adrenaline rush we lost the swim suits. But we didn't need speed boats, Disneyland, game boys or a wii to keep us entertained. I don't know where I went wrong because my kids simply don't know how to play without a remote in their hand. Case in point- our Christmas tree.

A few days ago I sat in my parents home feeling a bit sick. We had just finished Thanksgiving dinner. It was delicious - definitely worth the sick, bloated, have to undo your top button kind of feeling eating so much is sure to bring. I didn't mean to eat so much. I sat down to dinner with the resolve to enjoy a conservative amount. I carefully served myself conservative portions. I did well at that and then decided just to have a bit more. At that point I would have been fine but I looked up to notice that for the most part my children's plates looked the same as when I had dished them up. My kids aren't very good eaters. I don't understand this at all - it astounds me. How can they not like to eat - is is so wonderful. Anyway I was feeling a little guilty - all that wasted food. I didn't want my Mom to start to wonder if there was something wrong with her cooking so I graciously decided to help them out. I only had the best of intentions in mind. So I started with Rachel. For some reason she likes to be fed- probably because she figured out I hate feeding her. So for every spoon full I put in her mouth- 2 or 3 went into mine. I moved on to Ryan and Anna. Well that is the reason the top button of my jeans didn't get to stay done up as I moved from the table to stretching out on the living room floor waiting for my food to digest enough I dared move.

This is when I started to think about family fun. I made a resolve that no matter how much my kids complained I would prove to them that we could have fun family traditions. I have this thing with creating fun family traditions. I create them my husband endures them and my children dread them. I keep trying hoping someday the rest of my family will see the merits of my efforts. One such tradition is chopping down a Christmas tree.

We've been married for 13 years now. We have had several tree chopping experiences with a varied degree of success. The first Christmas tree we shared as a family Kristin bought us a tree at the Christmas tree lot. It was a wedding gift, we didn't have a tree stand so we had to devise a way to get it up. But it was wonderful, it made me feel like a real family in a real home. The next few years I can't remember what happened we may have just skipped having a tree altogether. Then my parents moved to Soda Springs. Soda Springs is near a national forest where Christmas trees grow so relying on Jeff and Kevin's truck and knowledge of the terrain we headed up to the mountains of the caribou national forest and chopped one down. We got some pretty good trees this way.

My parents didn't aways fare so well. The year my mom had cancer my Dad took matters into his own hands and went after the tree. Apparently they were hard to come by that year at least the ones with branches because he came home with not a whole lot more than a stick with a few needles. My mom tried to decorate it the best she could. She had to resort to perching stuffed animals in its branches to hide all the holes. It was by far the sorriest looking Christmas tree I have ever see.

The year we moved to Spanish Fork we decided to go after our own Christmas tree. I went and bought a Christmas tree permit, it was easy to get and only cost a couple of bucks so I was feeling great as we headed up into the mountains. We hadn't traveled very far when a forest ranger stopped us and asked if we had a permit. I said, "we sure do" and gladly got it out - proud I had remembered to buy one. I shouldn't have been so proud. It was the wrong permit. Turns out we were on national forest land and we had a state tag. So where is the state land we asked. He pointed. 'But there's no trees there" We said. "Yeah - that is why they sell em so cheap" he responded. "Oh", I whispered totally deflated. "Good news is I have one right here I could sell you he said. I brightened. So for a little more than we intended to spend we were once again heading up the mountain looking for the perfect tree. It took a while traipsing through knee deep snow but I found it - the perfect one. I pointed it out to Rick "are you sure" he said his head tilting back so he could see the top, it's pretty tall, he said. "Well we will only take the top 8 feet I said - remember the forest ranger said that was ok. So like the good sport that he is he climbed up into that tree and started sawing. My guess it was at least 30 feet tall. I kept the kids occupied. I started to run out of ways to occupy them so I went to check his progress. He was threw the first few layers of bark but still had a lot more sawing to do. A few hours later he yelled timber and that big monster finally fell. I graciously offered to cut the top off so he could rest his aching shoulder. That didn't last long I was a bit of a novice when it came to sawing so he had to finish the job but we got her done and loaded on top of the car and headed for home. That was the easy part. What we hadn't realized is that big trees have big trunks. While we had bought a Christmas tree stand we didn't get one that would hold our monster. We spent several hours trying to rig it up. Finally we got a big 5 gallon bucket stuck the tree inside filled it with rocks and set it in the living room, we also had to tie it to the ceiling but the tree stood.

The next year I once again decided we needed to keep our tradition and go after a tree. I planned ahead this year and went to the right national forest office. What I didn't know was that those tree permits are so popular you have to stand in line to get one. Well I got there about 1/2 hour after they opened the first day the sold the permits. I waited for over an hour - in the cold snow - with 2 small children. The lady directly ahead of me was the first one to get turned away - "Sorry we are out for the year" they told her. If I would have been 2 people faster we would have had one.

So I reluctantly got another state permit and we headed off to the opposite side of the state hoping to find real trees there. Well after driving for a very long time we came to a forest of types. They had trees - not really the ones people usually get for Christmas but ever greens. So we pulled over. Unfortunately our pink station wagon wasn't equipped with four wheel drive and we had a bit of trouble getting around the forest. We finally parked and searched for a tree. We found one we deemed acceptable and Rick asked for the saw. I had assured him that I remembered to bring it- and I had the only problem was it was the wrong kind of saw. Apparently hack saws aren't for cutting down trees. After a few hours of sawing and shaking and pushing we finally got the tree down and loaded on top of the pink station wagon. We headed for home, unfortunately we must have went over a few too many bumps and holes because we got a flat tire. Rick hoped out and patiently changed it. We headed out a few miles further and we got another flat. This time I could tell Rick was cursing at me under his breath. "what do we do know" I asked in a whisper. We didn't have a cell phone in these days so Rick started off hiking down the road in the middle of nowhere looking for help. He went to a couple peoples' house asking to use the phone. He was turned away. Somehow we coasted on flat tires into a service station. The mechanic wasn't in but fortunately a kind man helped Rick fix the tire and we got home.

The next year Rick told me we weren't cutting down a Christmas tree. I asked Jeff if he could get us one- he said maybe but not likely. I decided to better have a plan B . I new if I broke down and bought a nice artificial tree our tree chopping tradition would be over so I stubbornly refused to do this. I was still stressing about what to do when I saw that Home Depot black Friday ad. They were giving away a small number or 7 ft prelit artificial trees. So Friday morning I got up at some insane hour and went down to the home depot and stood in line for an insane amount of time to rush through the door and elbow my way through the crowd to the free Christmas tree pile. Turns out they weren't as popular as I assumed they would be and most of the people I was elbowing were headed for the drastically marked down power tools and not the pathetic looking free Christmas trees. So needless to say I got one. So that year and several others I have drudgingly pulled out my tiny little ugly fake tree and set it up. It is really easy to set up, it is pretty much like an umbrella with green fringe all over it. It is pathetic. It isn't like it is a nice beautiful tree, it is not like i have lovely ornaments to decorate it up like a Martha Stewart tree, it is not like it smells good, the only thing it has got going for it is that it was free and is super easy to set up. Now the trees we chopped down weren't necessarily all that beautiful either and I don't have lovely decorations to grace their limbs either - but at least they have a story and a memory and the are a part of a fun family tradition. So this year I decided to reinstate this fun family tradition.

I packed all of our snow boots, snow pants, gloves, hats and scarfs. Our snow clothes were about 2/3 of the luggage we brought. They take up an inordinate amount of room. I had to dig them out of the storage closets and make the kids try them on and search for matches. It was quite the undertaking but I had wonderful visions of our family all happily frolicking through the snow covered hills finding the perfect tree. In my vision everyone was laughing and joking, throwing snowballs, holding hands and singing Christmas carols. We would stop and build a snow man, make some snow angles and sip delicious hot cocoa. Even in my dream I could feel the love and warmth and hear my children say, "boy mom- this is was so fun, nothing is as fun as being with my family." Well it didn't quite turn out that way.

First of all we decided to go get the tree a bit late in the day. So we rushed in and told the kids to quick grab their snow clothes and get in the car. They were in the middle of doing things and didn't want to go. I told them they had to and the would be sorry if they complained. The quietly grumbled and got in the car muttering under their breath. Well they weren't the only ones that didn't want us to go - the van protested to and wouldn't get us up the hill. After several tries and sliding all over the road we gave up and went home.

The next day we decided to give it another try. Once again the children protested and we ended up with only Rachel who wanted to go. Ryan took a little convincing but was smiling by the time he got in the car, Dallin got in begrudgingly after being bribed. We arrived at the spot we thought looked good. There was already a family there. The men were tying some big beautifully full tress to the top of the big SUV while all the women and kids were having a snowball fight and laughing and smiling. It was like my dream minus the Christmas carol and hot chocolate and it wasn't my family. I was excited and opened the door to get the kids out. I had told them to get their snow clothes on before leaving the house and apparently I should have checked to make sure they did. No one had their snow pants and Ryan and Rachel had forgotten wear socks, Ryan had brought boots that didn't fit. Rachel did have her boots but had a whole in her pants. Dallin also had a whole in his pants, he did have socks but no boots and his shoes also had holes in them. It is not like he doesn't have nice shoes without holes he just prefers his holy ones. He said, "I guess I better stay in the car", I suspected this was his plan all along. I didn't know what else to do since i knew he would freeze in just a couple of steps so we left him in the car. I opened our box of gloves and started to put some on Ryan - he didn't like them, his favorites were the green ones. The green ones are too small but he wore them anyway.

We made it about 10 steps to the trail head when Rachel stopped put her hands up and said"carry me". So instead of us all frolicking along through the snow covered hills, three of us trudged up a giant steep hill with me packing Rachel and Ryan begging to carry the saw - promising us he wouldn't fall on it and cut himself in two. After all, he reminded us he never cut himself in half before so he wouldn't do it today either. Dad quickly found his tree and cut it down. I was panting so hard from packing Rachel up the hill in knee deep snow I didn't care how the tree looked I just kind of pointed at one. We had to use a bit of creative measuring to get it to be under the 12 foot tree allowance but we reasoned we would only take about 12 feet home and after all we didn't have a tape measure to know for sure how tall it was. By this time Ryan's hands were freezing since snow had somehow gotten into his too small gloves and Rachel once again had to be carried and needed to pee. After everyone, but me, made a little yellow snow (which may have been the highlight for some of the kids) we got the tree drug back to the car and tied on.

We threw a few snowballs and at each other and I tried to build a snow man but the powder just wouldn't pack. Dallin had a great time in the car. He saw a wolf, or maybe it was a small cat, he couldn't tell for sure up on a nearby hill. He then saw a white hamster or ferret looking thing that looked like a meer kat running across the road. We made it home with our tree - ours is still on the top of our van, but Dad got his out and propped it up in the garage. Funny how they sure look a lot fuller and more beautiful in the middle of a snow covered forest. Hopefully our will be ok when we get it home, if not I have got a few stuffed animals we could perch in its branches and if all else fails I still have my free black Friday home depot tree I could unfold.

I sure hope my kids remember our tree chopping adventures. My hope is that they will look back on all these fun family traditions with fond warm memories. My fear is that they will be laughing when they remember these times and their laughter will be directed at their crazy mom who comes up with all these crazy plans that she forces them to go along with.

Anna's new Pants

A couple days ago Anna started screaming like a banshee and chasing Rachel around with a marker. Rachel's shirt was a casualty. When I grabbed the marker Anna collapsed on the ground sobbing her little heart out. When her body wrenching sobs calmed to a mere occasional hiccup I finally could make out what she was saying. "Rachel drew on my favorite pants with permanent marker", she cried," now I'll never look beautiful again". The sobbing started all over again with this last realization. "Oh my" I said, eyes rolling. "Lets take a look it." There was in fact a long black line drawn down Anna's pants. I tried rinsing it out and even using some of the magical oxy stuff. Nothing changed - the same ugly black line still ran down the pant leg - not even a little bit lighter. The sobbing started again. I felt sorry for her - her heart was truly broken.

But then I got a bright idea. "Hey we just barely bought those pants- maybe they still have some left, we could get another pair." Anna brightened and I logged onto The childrensplace. com. Clicked on the clearance link (only place I shop on sites such as this). The pants were no longer there. "Are there any other pants you want", I tried- hoping but not really expecting. "No there will never be any other pants I like - ever" she sobbed. 7 is kinda young for this kind of drama I was thinking - pms couldn't have possibly come into play yet - could it. "Well how about these" I said clicking on a pair. She finally raised her head off the ground enough to look at the computer. "No" head went back down. "I like these" bringing another pair up on the screen. She looked up and shook her head - but kept looking. All of a sudden she brightened. "These", she said pointing, "I'll have those". "But they are ugly" I replied don't you want cute ones. She got defensive, "I like them" I knew the battle was over. It was those pants or no pants - and even ugly pants are better than having her go to school in her underwear. (Especially when she wears the underwear her newly potty trained, hasn't mastered wiping yet, little sister sometimes borrows) So luckily the ugly pants were only $4 so I agreed. As soon as I added them to the cart her whole demeanor changed and she started pointing out other things she would also like to have. When all was said and done Rachel's little art project got Anna 3 new shirts and 3 new pairs of pants. I was ok with it since they were all off the clearance page and cost me less than $20 all together. It is not like she really needed the clothes - she actually has a lot - but my motto has always been "more clothes they own- less laundry I do".

So the order came today. I was pleasantly surprised. The web page did nothing for ugly pants - they are much cuter in person than in a picture. Or maybe it's just Anna that made them look cute. They are still far from my favorite - but she loves them. I am fairly certain those are the same pants Jan Brady wore to a party on one of the earlier episodes - or maybe it was Bobby Brady. Anyway what do you think of Anna's new pants.

Reflections

Last Friday Taylor came home from school all excited - he handed me a note. It was already opened, I read it, the first line read "Please keep this a secret from your child, we want it to be a surprise", great I thought already failed on that one. It was a note inviting me to the awards assembly on Monday where Taylor would be getting an award for a reflections entry. Reflections is a contest they have each year where the kids are given a theme and then use some artistic method to address the theme. Some kids draw pictures, write poems or stories, others compose music or a dance. Taylor entered the photography category. He had no desire too. I forced him.

This is the first year I gave Reflections much thought - while it is open to the whole school it is a requirement for the 5th grade "Golden Explorer" award. At the beginning of the year during back to school night the teacher introduced the Golden Explore award, I took note of the requirements and started devising a plan of attack so that Taylor could get the award. I was excited about it. When we got home I started talking to Taylor about what books he would read to make sure he read enough for the award. What award was all he said. The Golden Explorer I replied a bit irritated he hadn't paid attention. "Oh that - I'm not doing it" "Of course you are", I spat back. "Na- I don't want to" he nonchalantly said and walked out. I was outraged. How could he not want to get an award - didn't he want to be the best student in the school. Didn't he want to prove what I good mother I was - a mother whose children win all awards possible and then some. Ok that is taking it a bit far - but realistically why wouldn't he want to get an award.

So one of the requirements for the Golden Explorer was to enter Reflections. I decided that we would discuss the award at a later date but I didn't want him to miss the opportunity to get the award just because he hadn't entered Reflections. I suggested it, he dismissed it. I tried reasoning with him and just couldn't get him to come around. Finally I pulled out all stops and said "Little boys who don't do all their homework -INCLUDING REFLECTIONS - don't get the privilege of playing the computer. "Fine" he said glaring at me. I glared back. I felt a little guilty making him do it, but I rationalized that he would thank me later. So we went for a hike and he took a picture - had it printed and shoved it in a matt and entered the contest. For some bizarre reason he won.

The awards ceremony left me even a little bit more bewildered. It was obvious that many students put a lot of thought and effort into their projects and didn't win. Taylor snapped a picture and won. It was a nice picture but it took him all of about 10 minutes to complete the whole project. I had to laugh as I overheard him bragging a bit and showing off his medal to Ryan and Anna. "It takes a lot of hard work he said, but if you are willing to work a lot and try really hard you might win a medal too " Boy is he pleased with himself.

And boy does he need a little lesson in humility, which was obvious last night at family home evening. He was on edge all during the opening song and prayer I could tell something was up. "Ok Ok -lets just get it over with he cried as he climbed up on the table and covered his face pretending to be really annoyed and embarrassed - although it was obvious he was so excited he could hardly contain himself. "What" Rick said trying to act like he didn't know what Taylor was up to. "I know you are going to make me get 3 Hips and a Hooray" so lets just get it over with Taylor said like that is the last thing he wanted. We all knew he that is exactly what he wanted. He thrives off recognition and praise. When some one in our family does something of merit we recognize them in fhe by having them stand up on the coffee table and talking about whatever they did and how wonderful it was then we all give them 3 Hips and a Hooray. We cheer "Hip Hip Hooray, Hip Hip Hooray, Hip Hip Hooray" while punching the sky. The kids love it. Anyway so he got his cheer, he was beaming as he got off the table and said "Thanks mom for making me do it". I love being right - come to think of it I deserve three Hips and a Hooray too.

This way wicked something came....

and went -luckily. Halloween is over and boy I am glad. Not that I don't love the candy but it is truly one holiday I could live without. I hate Halloween, I am not sure if that makes me sound like a Scrooge but it is true. I think because I turn into a witch about this time each year - and I am not talking about the kind with a broom stick and pointy hat. I just seems so stressful and well stressful. The kids love it though, they talk about if for months and enjoy the spoils of their trick or treating for weeks, well some of them, others just sit down and have one giant candy fest and empty their bucket in a few hours. Which shocks me because they get A LOT of candy. Having Halloween on a Saturday this year really spread out the holiday. The fun began on Wednesday which was Halloween at school. The kids dressed up and had their class parties and school costume parade. Wednesday night was my cub scout haunted house and dinner. Thursday we went to Hee Haws for our Dentist appreciation night. Friday was the Omniture Halloween Party and our Ward party (which was a soup and pie night not a Halloween party) and Saturday we went Trick or Treating.

For some reason I get myself into these little messes with costumes that I don't know how to sew and spend hours and hours and hours trying to get them done and figured out and redone and re figured. Anyway this year Taylor wanted to be Chester cheetah- which I thought was a cute idea. But they do not sell Chester cheetah costumes. So I had to just look up pictures of him and try to figure out how to make it. I spent many many hours working on it. The biggest problem I had with it was that I had a hard time getting Taylor to try it on - he was always busy or gone when I was working on it. So it was pretty much done before he put it all on. I had decided just to buy a pair of long johns and dye them orange and sew spots on them to make the cheetah suit. I thought it worked out ok till he put them on. When we got the long johns Rick was there so I asked him to go with Taylor in the dressing room to make sure they fit. They came back saying they did. Well they do - if you are wearing them as underwear but they are skin tight and show every little thing and there are parts of a 11 year old boy that maybe shouldn't be seen at school. I almost cried I didn't know what to do. It wasn't super appropriate for him to be running around town in something so skin tight and revealing but I spent so many hours on it I didn't really want to scrap it and I wasn't sure how to fix it. I shouldn't have trusted Rick to help him try them on. Oh well he wore it and no one has said anything about it yet.

About every other month 2 of my cub scouts (the denners) are in charge of planning a activity. This time it was a Halloween dinner and a Haunted House. We invited the wolf den to come and go through the haunted house. It was a very interesting experience to watch the boys get so excited about planning such an event. The discussed it for weeks, planning and scheming and anticipating. They talked about what they would wear, what kind of props they would have and how scary it would be. Frankly I was scared - scared the whole thing would be a flop. I didn't really have any desire to do this, so I tried to make it very clear to they boys that they were in charge and would need to bring ALL of the decorations and do the set up. I did however get very nervous that they wouldn't follow through with all their big plans - so I went over to the church early in the day and hung up all the black sheets to make kind of a maze going through the room. I figured this would be too hard for them to do. Well some of the boys really surprised me and showed up right after school with loads of stuff to work on it. We decorated for several hours. When we were finished we had a pretty decent haunted house. Well the wolf den came and we had dinner then the haunting began. All the boys were really excited to go in the haunted house. We only let in a couple at a time. The first two went in, the door shut, and maybe 2 minutes went by then it opened again. The two little boys were begging to get out - they were terrified. So we let them out and sent the next 2 in. Same thing. So I had a little talk with my monsters and ghouls and told them to turn it down a notch. Well it took several groups but finally a couple brave wolves made it through. Once 1 boy successfully finished others decided to try again. I guess it was just a lot scarier than I thought it could possibly be. Although we told the boys, several time, not to touch anyone they were actually grabbing people. Apparently they just couldn't help themselves. Several boys came out with red rings around their necks where the "monsters and ghouls" had grabbed them. This required a lot of discussion and threats to stop the haunted house so they calmed down a bit. All in all it was a huge success - which I guess made all the work, stress and worry well worth it.

The Omniture party was just as over the top as they always are. It utterly amazes me how much work goes into their parties. I have never seen anything like it. I am always excited to see what they come up with - especially what they are going to use the dwarfs for. Every year they hire dwarfs to be part of the executive teams theme. The Charlie and the Chocolate Factory year they played the Umpalumpas, then they were the 7 dwarfs, then the Munchkins. This year they were smurfs. One thing I realized is how much my kids don't know about things I figured they knew all about. Like smurfs. Don't all kids know who the smurfs are. Mine didn't. They also had no clue who the Flintstones, Beatlejuice or pac man were. Thanks to his recent death they had heard of Micheal Jackson but Thriller was all new to them. Well there is no way really to describe an Omniture Halloween so if you are interested check out these videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=det0khhzfJs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHhQnsYVSe4


Trick or treating brought a first for our family. Taylor went with his friends while Rick and I took the other kids. I was a bit nervous at first but figured he was old enough - for one thing it was still like 6:00, and not very dark. We live in a neighborhood where we know EVERYONE and the streets were filled with people we know and trust. So off they went running from house to house trying to fill up their candy bags. The rest of us had fun too. The kids were begging to go home and Rick was pleading with them to do "just one more street". They also got more candy than any child should be allowed to have. Good thing I am such a good mom and willing to take some of it off their hands for them. We all watched the movie "Something Wicked This Way Comes" when we got home. What a weird movie.

Halloween 2009

Ryan was a little Executioner - at least that is what the package called it. He picked it out and loved it. Unfortunately he lost the hat at Rick's company party- which really adds to the costume I think.




Ryan at the school Halloween Parade - this is the only picture I took of him before he lost his hat. He didn't even know I was there - so he wasn't posing for the picture.


I think Rachel's was my favorite costume -a princess dress up from the dress up box. No sewing, no buying, no make-up, no trouble - and she loved it.


Anna was a vampire girl. She loved her wig and the little bit of blood dripping down the corners of her mouth. Beautiful and spooky all at the same time - that kind of describes her all the time too.

Dallin was a Fieldguard - a character from a computer game he likes to play (wizard 101) he really like his costume and got a lot of compliments on it - it also scared a lot of little kids which suprised me - I didn't think it was too scary. One downside to this costume is that everyone liked to give him a little thump on the pumpkin head - which he hated.
Taylor as Chester Cheetah. After many many hours and lots of trial and error we came up with this little outfit. He was happy with it and got lots of compliments. He had fun swinging his tail and handing out little bags of cheetos.
Since Chester Cheetah doesn't illicit a lot of fear it wasn't the costume Taylor wanted to wear for our haunted house - so he borrowed Rick's costume for that. When Rick wore it he also painted his face.


This is the costume I was planning to wear to the haunted house - when one of the boys showed up without a costume I gladly gave him mine - It is a bit hard to tell what it is in this picture - but this gives you an idea.

Why we love our Dentist

A few weeks ago we got an invitation to our Dentists annual Patient Appreciation party. I have never had a dentist who "appreciated" his patients with a party, but then again I have never had a dentist quite like mine. He was a counselor in the bishopric when we moved to Spanish Fork. Just moving to a new area we had the need to find a new dentist - and there one was conducting Sacrament meeting. So I checked our insurances website to make sure he was on our "preferred Provider" list and then called his office to find out if he was taking new patients - luckily he was so we joined the Dr. Jones, Ford and Hillaim family.

That was about 7 years ago. The first time I went was a little uncomfortable. It was a really nice place - and we aren't "really nice" people. I was afraid we were going to be escorted out. But they took us in and not only cleaned our teeth but made us their friends. It didn't take long for the kids to look forward to dentist visits like they do their birthdays. When we get the little appointment reminder postcards in the mail the kids start the countdown. "How many more days till we get to go to the dentist", they ask on an hourly basis. "Bless that we can we go to the dentist in 8 more days" is included in the nightly prayers. There was a time when Dallin wasn't brushing - at all - so that he could get some cavities so he could go twice in 6 months.

Rachel just recently came of age and got to experience her first dental visit. She was beside herself with excitement. The other kids had prepped her well and you'd have a hard time distinguishing what would excite her more - the dentist or a trip to Disneyland. Her appointment was all she dreamed it would be and more - she thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to go back. So whats so great about our dentist.

First of all when you walk in the door one of the lovely assistants, in coordinating clothes, magically comes into the waiting room to greet you and each of your kids by name. They always compliment you on how good you look and quietly congratulate you (me at least) on how much weight you have lost and give you a hug. If I had really lost all the weight they have alluded to over the years the scale would read a negative number - but still they say it - and I drink it in. I have wondered if they have hidden cameras in the parking lot so that they can see you get out of your car -then quickly find your file, look through it referencing the pictures they secretly took of you while they had you in the x-ray machine that spins around your head taking pictures of you at every angle. They use the pictures to remember your name past weight, and other interesting facts they had gleaned from you at your last visit- as you tried the best you could to answer their questions through their hand as it sat in your mouth.

After greeting and flattering you they either invite you back or if they aren't quite ready for you they invite you to read a magazine or enjoy their beautiful shark tank while you sip an ice cold water while you wait. Periodically someone comes through to "check" on you and make sure you haven't gotten thirsty and aren't ready for more water.

Once back in the examining room after you are comfortabley seated, your preference of music has been established and put on the ipod they start the cleaning by having you rinse with mouth wash. It is this antibacterial stuff that smells minty fresh. I think this is for their comfort more than yours but they never allude to it. They then take your blood pressure - for what I am not sure. Then they start in on the x-rays and cleaning. When the hygienist, mine is Enid, is all finished scraping the 6 inch layer of tarter off your teeth, flourideing you up and marveling at how amazing you are for being able to brush your teeth at all - since you are so busy with all your beautiful children - she quietly and kindly hints how wonderful it would be if you could try to brush your teeth everyday. She then uses the tiny little microphone attached to the "color of the day" blouse that she and all the other assistants are wearing to summon the Dr.

Dr. Jones quickly comes in and starts in on the compliments again, and then gives you a run down of the "tiny" little cavities in your kids' mouth that he will take care of for them. While doing this he is giving you a neck massage which doubles for a cancer of the neck, jaw and tongue check. Finding you lump free he scans the x-ray pictures that magically appear on the big screen in front of you. He then compliments you on how good your teeth are and wonders if you would like any of your old silver fillings switched for nice new composite ones. After he is all done he thanks you and leaves the assistant to clean you up. She discreetly wipes any saliva that may have escaped your mouth, ran down your cheek and pooled in your neck. She then offers you one of their sample lipsticks in a wide variety of color (I believe this is only for the women - as Rick has never been offered a lipstick touch up). After you are all taken care of she walks you over to talk to Linda - the billing lady who once again marvels at how wonderful you look and how good it is to see you and then tells you she is not worried about your bill because your insurance will probably pay the whole thing.

Linda then walks you to the waiting room where an assistant is waiting to offer you a cold, juice or water, a warm cookie from the otis "something or other" cookie oven, or another healthy snack (animal crackers, goldfish crackers, pretzels or vanilla wafers) served in clear little plastic cups. This last part is the kids favorite. They love to get the little cans of apple juice several cups full of crackers and a cookie to munch on as soon as the time on clock matches the time on their "I had fluoride today - wait until _____ to eat" sticker that is on their shirt. They don't mind the wait to eat because they are busy playing with the prizes they got to choose out of the treasure chest or dreaming of what they are going to buy with their Toys R Us gift certificate the dr sends them when they have all the boxes on their teeth brushing chart filled in. We then go home and wait another 6 months till we can do it all over again.

If that wasn't enough they also host a yearly party to show their great appreciation for having you as a patient so that your insurance company sends them a lot of money. Last year their party was in the summer at 7 Peaks - this year they choose to do a Fall party at Hee Haws. I have never been to Hee Haws - it is a farm they convert to "one of Utah Counties favorite Fall and Halloween destination". Notably it is also home of Leroy the famous 1200 lb pig. We didn't get to see Leroy but the kids did chase and sometimes catch some cute little piglets.

They had dinner, hay rides, a corn mazes, and lots of other fun little farm themed activities. Such as the corn pit - a big box (like a sand box) full of kernels of corn for the kids to dig in and mostly throw at each other. They also had several slides made out of pipes and other things you might find on a farm. Then there was the barnyard - one of the kids favorite. They had pigs, goats, chickens and ducks for you to pet, chase and pick up. Rachel loved to carry the chickens around.

They also had ride - kind of like a carousel with swings attached that went in a circle. It was like those things you seen mules attached to that have to walk in a circle so they turn some lever to do something. I actually have no understanding of how it works- you just see it on shows like Little house on the prairie. Anyway the kids loved it - and it did look like a lot of fun. The most amazing part is that a woman had to push it. She gets all the kids seated in a swing and strapped in then she goes to the center of the turning thing holds onto the bar and starts running around in a circle. I felt really sorry for her -she was huffing and puffing and bright red but she kept on running - around and around pushing the swings faster and faster to the delight of the children. I wondered why they couldn't get some mules or now that it is the 21st century maybe even a motor or something to do the work.

The whole evening was a lot of fun - other than it was very cold. We were all bundled up but still shivering. I guess that is just what happens in October in Utah. We had to leave at 7:00 to get to Parent Teacher Conferences but after dark the corn maze became haunted and other spooky things began to happen - but we missed that part.

All in all we felt like very appreciated patients and are very happy to be part of the Dr. Jones, Ford and Hillam family. We definitely feel that all the money our insurance companies sends to Dr. Jones is well worth the royal treatment we get being their patients.

My cleaning lady

I just turned 34. It's not a whole lot different than 33 - at least not that I've noticed yet. But it was a good birthday. When ask what I want I typically respond with something like - obedient kids, or a nice clean house or something like that. Which is true. Well this year when I mentioned a clean house the kids took notice. Due to their lack of interest in house cleaning and somewhat lazy natures they didn't actual clean the house. And they didn't start doing their chores or turn into the little kitchen fairies my Dad seems to believe in but they did give me a clean house. They hired the girl next door to do it. Our neighbor, McKenna, had recently started a little house cleaning business and brought around fliers. At three dollars an hour she was in their budget, so Anna, Taylor and Dallin each bought me an hour of house cleaning. I was thrilled.

McKenna was very professional and arrived with all her own supplies and ask me where she should begin. She started with the bathroom. She went in and shut the door and I didn't hear from her for almost an hour when she came out to ask me to help her open the toilet cleaner. Door closed again. About 15 minutes later she came out and ask me to help her because she knocked the shower curtain down. She finished cleaning the tub, took out the trash and asked me what was next. I went in to inspect. The first thing that hit me was how good it smelled, so fresh and clean. She must splurge and get something more than comet cleanser. It looked great too – spotless in fact. While it did take her about 10 times longer than it takes me – it was worth it. It looked great and I didn't have to do it.


Having a cleaning lady, makes me feel a bit elite. I never thought I would be rich, or snobby, enough to have a cleaning lady. (No offense to those who do, just a little jealous here.) I am just not really in that class- you know the one, where the wife is too busy with having her eyebrows waxed, lunch at the club, shopping at Ann Taylor, and picking up her Baby Gap dressed children at the Gymboree, to clean her own 7000 sq foot home. I am more the clearance rack at Walmart, bushy eyebrowed kind of mom who sends her kids out back to play while she eats the rest of their pbj for lunch. I am the “scrub my own toilet” kind of woman always have been, and thought I always would be. But now that I have a cleaning girl and have had a taste of the good life it will be hard to go back – but for only $3 an hour maybe I won't have to.

I am hoping she comes again soon. I am going to have her do the blinds next. Hopefully she is a bit faster on blinds than she is with bathrooms because I've also got some vents that need cleaned, some dusty furniture, a floor that could use a good mopping and the list goes on and on. I just wish she was a bit older - I am a little afraid that 9 is young enough child labor laws might come into play here and I would sure hate to lose my cleaning lady.

A little Christmas Cash

I've been doing a little window shopping lately - getting ready to make my Christmas list. I am really excited this year cause I just know I am going to get a really nice present from Taylor and Dallin. You see they recently came into some money and as their most favorite person I am sure to reap some of the windfall.

They are definitely feeling rich, or at least like they will be pretty rich. They are both about to receive 2 payments of 40 dollars each. That is $80, a fortune for my kids. They earned it by being a guinea pig. They let our doctor inject them with a new form of flu shot. All they had to do is sit there while the dr talked to me for what seemed like an hour and then made me fill out what seemed like 1000 forms. I didn't actually count but I am pretty sure I signed and initialled less forms when I bought my house. Meanwhile the boys sat there fantasizing over what they were going to spend their money on and letting their arms get numb.

The study also wanted to know if they had any immunity to the flu before getting the shot. This required a blood draw, and for some reason the doctor thought this required the numbing of their arms. Now I have gotten my blood draw more times than I care to count and I have never been numbed for it. I was a bit irritated that my boys were. Like I have mentioned before I do not want my kids growing up to be wimps. A little blood draw does not, in my book, require numbing. Nevertheless they numbed them, took a tiny bit of their blood, which they did not feel at all and then a tiny little poke later they were 80 dollars richer and hopefully immuned from the flu.

Rick was in the waiting room with Ryan, Anna and Rachel while the boys were selling themselves. It took a good hour or so, so the kids were very happy to see us. Rachel went absolutely ballistic when the boys came out with lollipops in their mouths. She started hollering I'm sick, I'm so sick - over and over again. She's pretty smart - she knows you see the doctor when you are sick and the doctor gave Taylor and Dallin a lollipop. Therefore she was sick. She didn't quite her yelling until the doctor came out and gave her a handful of lollipops. I am sure they were happy to see us leave the waiting room. I am hoping to use that to my advantage.

While we did make a tidy sum of money on last weeks visit we didn't get what we came for - the H1N1 shot, so another doctor visit will be coming soon. I am hoping the nurses take one look at Rachel, remember her and meet us in the waiting rooms with our H1N1 shots when the next shipment comes in.

I called in this morning and ask if they had the vaccinations in. They said, we sure do just come in this evening between 5-6 and we will give it to you. Well from previous experience I knew that between 5-6 was their flu shot clinics and the waiting room would be packed so I thought we better be prepared for a long wait. Since we were meeting Rick we couldn't go much before 5:30 when he could leave work, so we shot for 5;15. We were late, like usual, and walked in the door at 5:30. Signed the forms and waited to get called back. About an hour later the doctor came out and called for attention. He said they only had a few shots left and would have to start giving them to the high risk patients first. So they went through and identified all those who qualified as high risk. We didn't make the cut. Next the nurse handed him a little yellow sticky note. "I have a list of the next 5 families on the list in the order they arrived." he said. The tension in the room was thick. "We will just go down the list and do as many as we can." he said. I was a bit nervous until he called Carter. We were first I was so relieved I jumped up like we had won a prize or something saying "that's us". Unfortunately so did the lady next to me. Two Carter families right in a row. Which Carter would it be - I honestly didn't remember if we had come in first or not. I may never know because the doctor took a look at my kids all lined up next to me and ask how many we had in the family. We need 5 shots I said. "We don't have that many," he said, "and I'd like to complete the whole family at once". The other Carters only had 2 kids so they go the shots. I felt like a loser. But the doctor came back with an offer for us that Taylor and Dallin just couldn't refuse. I sure my hope Christmas present makes it all worth it.

Soccer, Soccer and more soccer

Soccer is over at least until April. I love that my kids play soccer. I love to see them be part of a team, to play hard, to excel and most of all to love doing it. It is not that I love going to a soccer game every night of the week - because truthfully that gets a little old, but I love that they play.

Soccer season makes life hectic but it is only about 6 weeks then it is over. This year I enjoyed it a bit more than past seasons - I think because I had it easy. I wasn't coaching (YEAH!!!) and I only had 2 players and they played on opposite nights. So even though I had 4 games a week, I only had 1 game each night.







In the past I have had multiple games a night sometimes at the same time in different parks. Which has been an absolute nightmare - especially the season I coached pregnant and with Ryan on my hip. So realistically it has definately been my easiest season yet - although it still made life crazy busy.



Taylor's games are getting later in the evening which means Rick made a couple of them. The downfall to this is that it is harder to take pictures because it is getting dark and the big lights they turn on don't work out that well for pictures.

Ryan's games were early enough that Rick was only able to come to 1 of them. Luckily it was his best game ever. I think he played extra hard for Daddy. He kicked the ball several times that game. I am usually ecstatic if his foot comes in contact with the ball even if just in an accidental passing. But he absolutely loved it. I am looking forward to watching him get better each season.


Taylor is getting really good. His games are really fun to watch - they are very competitive and perhaps it is just because I am his mom but I think he is one of the better players out there. He thinks so too and he's not to shy to admit it ( which is why our next fhe lesson should be on humility)

The Beauty of Winter

I shouldn't be so negative about winter. It really does have its few saving graces. Very few. I noticed this morning as I was running that it really is beautiful. The mountains with the red trees and snowy caps, the way the sun shimmers off the layer of ice on the wheat fields and the stillness the cold seems to bring, really are beautiful. Of course they are kind of hard to see through the fog my breath makes. But if I can get past the icy wind slapping my face, the throbbing tingling of my fingertips ears and front teeth and the stiff numbness of my joints and muscles I could really enjoy a morning winter run. And of course there is always my favorite part of winter- a garage full of ice cold diet coke. The thing is as much as I hate to admit it Utah really is beautiful in the winter- if only it weren't so cold.

What happened to Fall?

You hear a lot about climate change these days. Global warming, melting ice caps all kinds of weird stuff is happening to our weather. I don't really understand it and frankly I don't really think I believe it either - but one thing I am not to happy about is the disappearance of fall. We skipped it. We went from 90 to snow. No cool crisp autumn days just the biting cold of winter. There were a few days this summer when it felt like there might be something to this global warming thing but the last year or two it seems like winter comes early stays late and hits with a vengeance. Almost like the earth is trying to prove it is not heating up. I couldn't believe it snowed in September. I think snow is a wonderful beautiful thing on Thanksgiving Day and the week before and after Christmas. That is it. The normal blanket of snow that arrives in November and stays until April is more than enough agony for me to endure. A snowy September is going to push me over the edge. Maybe that is why it didn't stick. Just one awful day of bitter cold with thick icy snowish rain falling all day long. That one day was enough.

The bitter cold, icy wind and wet dirty snow of winter really does depress me. It was more than hard to see it arrive so soon this year. Some women go shopping when depressed - some women eat. I do both. I ate all the rest of rice crispy ice cream bars that were in my freezer. Those things are sooo good. And then since I didn't want to get wet on my way to the store I logged in and started shopping online. I bought just what I needed to lift my spirits and give myself the strength to endure another winter. A vacation, an escape from this dark frozen nightmare I live through 6 months a year. Tickets to the Caribbean.

I actually didn't have to buy mine I had thought ahead and applied for a travel rewards credit card and racked up enough frequent flier miles to get a free ticket. I got in last year just for this purpose. I suggested Rick get one too. He didn't do it. I told him he would be sorry when I was laying on a beautiful beach in St. Thomas and he was trudging through the snow and bitter wind to scrap off his windshield before braving the icing roads to get to work. I guess he really lucked out this time. The snow in September depressed me enough that I need to buy something and since I didn't have to buy myself a ticket I bought one for him.

So now we are both going. I have mixed feeling about this. On one hand I wouldn't have much fun snorkeling by myself. Going skinny dipping with out him wouldn't be quite the same. I'm too scared to drive over there so I would have to take the taxi and that is a bit scary too. He always makes everything more enjoyable. He is my best friend and I would rather be with him than anyone else, I really do need him to be with me in able to enjoy the trip. But then I don't' get the sweet satisfaction that comes from being right. He didn't plan ahead, prepare and make sacrifices. So he shouldn't get the reward - right. Something in me wants to point my finger at him like an Ice Age dodo bird and squawk. "If you weren't smart enough to plan ahead then DOOM ON YOU!" I told him he wouldn't get to go and yet he does. It may not be fair but I really want him to come - so he get too. I am guessing this means he will never see the benefit to frequent flier credit cards.

One last Hoorah!

With school in full swing, never ending soccer games, piano challenges and mountains of homework things were getting a bit hectic around here. Homework, piano, scouts, soccer, dance, reading and the normal chaos and messes of five children were beginning to weigh on me. There is such a stark difference between the carefree relaxing days of summer to the mile-a-minute, no-time-to-pee days of school it can be bit hard to take all at once. I need to kind of ease in to it. But that is not really possible. So I decided we need a break, a little vacation. Luckily so did the school. So Rick took the day off and we heeded out to Capitol Reef.

We left Thursday evening. It is about a 3 hour drive - we pulled in to our hotel about 9:15. Just in time to hit the pool before bed. We were a bit leery of the hotel - we had never stayed there before. Although when I booked it I was thinking it was the same hotel we got last year. Which was definitely a hole in the wall - although I understand their claim to fame is that they serve the world's best pickle pie. We didn't try it. I had tried to find a room in several other places but everywhere I checked was full so I decided to settle for the pickle pie motel again. I figured there would be rooms available since it is the kind of place that fills up very last. Staying at that dump of a motel would give us something to talk about so I gave them a call - they of course had vacancies. I even splurged and reserved us their best room, a room with 2 King sized beds, a fridge and a microwave. It wasn't till right before we left when I logged on to get their exact address that I realized this was not the pickle pie motel at all. Since the pictures and the prices were pretty similar I was a bit nervous we would end up in a crappy motel that didn't even serve pickle pie. But we were very pleasantly surprised.

The room was nice. Dallin even commented that this was the nicest motel we had ever stayed in. Which is definitely not true - but it was very clean and big. The pool was nice and for the most part we had it to ourselves. We all had plenty of room to sleep in the 2 huge King sized beds. (I made Rachel sleep in her pack and play so we would have extra room- it was a tight squeeze for her but it had been so long since she slept in a crib that I think she enjoyed the novelty of it) So we went swimming then came back and watched Caddyshack. I'd never seen it before. Rick loves it and has often talked about how hilarious it is. I just didn't see that -maybe I was tired but I found it a bit on the boring and stupid side.

The next day we got up and heeded into capitol reef. We stopped off at the visitors center to stamp our passport books, pick up a family back pack with fun activities to do with the kids and grab some maps. I pulled out the hiking map and started searching for a good hike. Rick said - I think we should start with the mot difficult one they have. I just stared at him pointed to the back and reminded him we had brought the kids. Some of our kids love to hike and are real good at it scampering up the mountain like mountain goats with huge smiles on their faces. Some of our kids constantly remind us how is a waste of a perfectly good day to have to spend it walking up some mountain. While the hike we settled on wasn't the longest it did have the second most vertical feet.

The hike was a little over 2 miles each way. We listened to complaining from our non hiker for about 3 miles and spent the other mile looking for him when he fell behind and got lost and then went ahead and got lost. It wasn't exactly pleasant in that regard. But other than that it was awesome. It was absolutely beautiful, the weather was a bit on the warm side but not unbearable. We talked and laughed and took turns thinking of songs and artists that start with every letter in the alphabet. We sang songs and Ryan wiggled his tooth. He wiggled and wiggled it until it came out. Right on top of the mountain it feel out into his hand. He was ecstatic. He lost his first tooth. I was surprised because it wasn't all that loose the day before. It seems so strange to see my little boy with a whole in his mouth. I am pretty used to seeing Anna and Dallin with missing teeth but not Ryan. He is too young.

Well we all made it down in relatively good shape. Dallin did get hit in the eye with a few pieces of flying rock. The kids loved to throw the rocks and see them shatter. We told them not too and Dallin found out why.

We then went to the picnic area and had lunch. We pulled out the family back pack the park ranger gave us and did some activities. There were fishing nets and microscope things in there to look at the water bugs. That and the binoculars were the kids favorites. We also checked out the trees and later that night we tried to go star gazing but they weren't too into that.

After lunch we went to the river and orchard area. We hiked a bit more and picked some apples and pears. They were delicious. The kids had a lot of fun picking them. Especially Taylor - the problem with that is that he doesn't eat fruit. So picking it jut to pick it and throw it on the ground is pretty wasteful. We warned him he better not pick it unless he either eats it or talks someone else into eating if for him. Rachel helped him out at first but got full before Taylor was tired of picking. He had to eat the last apple he picked. You would think we had asked him to pull out all his teeth himself. He threw such a fit. He ended up eating one bite but that was such a major ordeal I wasn't' sure he would even live through it.

A herd (or flock-as some of my children say) of deer joined us in the orchard. They are tame enough you can walk about 10 feet away from them before they run away. Rachel wanted to pet them but was never successful (luckily). She did get to pet the horses which was a highlight for her. We then headed back to our hotel for dinner and more swimming.

Saturday we got up and headed for Goblin Valley. This was probably our favorite part of the trip. For anyone who has not been I wouldn't miss it if you have the opportunity. It is really pretty spectacular. It is not the kind of thing you go and do all weekend, a couple hours is all you need. It is beautiful, amazing and a bit eerie when you stop to think about it. It is a valley out in the middle of the desert. There are no trees, no water and no civilization. The "goblins" are huge red rock formations that are scattered across the valley. It looks like a scene from mars or something. We ran around and climbed on the "goblins" for a while.

Taylor and Dallin immediately climbed up the biggest one they could find. I tried not to be an overprotective neurotic mom and kept my fears of them falling to myself. I gritted my teeth looked up and took a picture of them perched up on the top of a rock. It was great until they tried to get down and couldn't. Dallin finally managed it but it took some doing for Rick to climb up after Taylor and coax him down. We then played tag and hide and seek for a while. It was really fun to run around and hide throughout the different formations. We had lunch and played a bit more then headed for home. We pulled in about 8:00. Rick went and picked us up some dinner then we cleaned out the car, showered, started some laundry and fell into bed. It was a great weekend. We had a blast enjoying the miraculous beauties of Utah, enjoying the warmth of summer and laughing and playing together. It was just what I needed to get me through another month of chaos.

Pictures from Goblin Valley and Capitol Reef

Goblin Valley -Rachel and Ryan hiding in the Goblins




The kids loved to climb up the hill of sand like dirt and then run/jump down.






Taylor and Dallin climbed up pretty high





What beautiful girls - don't ya think!!! Rachel and Anna love
to pose for the camera.




Taylor got himself stuck on top of this "goblin"









Capitol Reef




The colors and layers of the rock are amazing



We got a kit from the visitors center with
all kinds of fun activities. Caught water bugs
and this black one is our attempt to take
pictures of the amazing stars we saw while
star gazing. We discovered we would need
to leave the shutter open much longer than
the kids were willing to stay - so we didn't
get any of the stars but they were amazing.



Our hike - the kids were tired, hot and thirsty - but the view
from the top was spectacular.