Happy #7 Zade!

Zade's birthday kind of got lost in the busyness of the end of school.  We finally sang to him and gave him his present when we dropped him off from our little hike!  Sorry there was no cake and candles, but we did have enjoy spending the afternoon/evening with him and hope the ice cream stop made up for the cake!  Happy birthday Zade!  We love you!

He had a fun army party with his family and friends that morning!  He was pretty excited about his Nutella snacks for sure.  Hopfully he'll have fun with the other stuff too!  

Grand Edventure with the boys

We have been wanting to take  Zade, Koen, Brenden and Noah on a hike. They are finally old enough that we thought they could all have fun hiking with us. We found the right hike and it turned out to be a really fun time for all of us!  We took them up the trail from Brookside to Baker Lake and cooked our dinner along the way.  They did GREAT!  The only way it could have been better was if Noah could have joined us.  We'll have to plan a little more ahead next time so he can come too - we are such last minute edventureres sometimes.  (We planned it while we were on our hike to Dutchman's Draw the night before.)

The first thing they discovered were the ants - piles and piles of them everywhere.  They counted ant hills all the way to the lake!  We also ran into a mother turkey and her chicks.  She was pretty mad at us and kept trying to distract us until we were well away from them.  Grandpa showed the boys how to use joint grass for whistles and they made a great band!  They all were amazed at how beautiful it was on the hike.  

We found a great dinner spot along the stream.  The boys had a great time throwing rocks and sticks in the water and hanging out in the trees while Grandpa cooked hot dogs and Grandma made sure they didn't fall in!  Good food in a beautiful spot! (Zade was trying to hide in the tree in his camo clothes.)

Hiking back was just as fun, and stopping for twist cones was very tasty - and somewhat messy!  

Dutchman's Draw

Took a Friday afternoon/evening hike at Dutchman's Draw.  Did about 10 miles working to get Paul in shape for his upcoming scout hike.  It was a beautiful desert hike with lots of cool things to see!  

Snow Canyon...rain or shine!

So glad we got that State Park pass gift!  We love to hit Snow Canyon whenever we can for a walk or a bike ride...rain or shine!

Bottom left is the yearly falcon next with mom or dad perched on the edge.  Need a better zoom lens!  

Happy #3 Trigg!

Trigg's birthday happened to fall on Family Dinner day, so we ate and celebrated that day!  It was so nice we ate outside!  Our old time Mouse Trap game was a big hit, and the boys always love the cars. We were few in number this time, but we had a great time!  

Happy birthday time!  Trigg is now a three-year-old!  Such a cute boy!  Happy birthday Trigg!  We love you!

Camping, soccer and dinner fun rounded out the week end!

After a busy day trying to get caught up with all that I was behind on (didn't get it all done yet), we threw it in the truck and headed out for a quick camp out up by Browse.  It was absolutely perfect weather.  Paul made great food and we enjoyed walking up a new section of stream...until I missed it and ended up in the water!  Have felt really crummy with a bad sinus infection, but it was still fun!  

In the morning after Paul made a tasty breakfast and we packed the gear and made it home in time for Brenden's last soccer game where he played a great game.  Came home and got more things I needed to done and then the Weavers stopped in for dinner...they brought dinner.  Fun times visiting with them and hanging out in the yard with the kids!  

Happy #13 Kaebri - an awesome teenager!

It was so fun to join Kaebri and family at her before school 6:30 am crepes and present hunting birthday breakfast party last week!  Amazing that Kaebri is now a teenager!  I remember that cute little baby girl all those years ago!  So proud of the beautiful, kind big girl she has become!  Love you Kaebri!  Happy #13!  (She found her Piano Guys concert tickets - after quite a hunt - stapled to the dryer lint trap!)  Thanks for letting us join the fun!  

Happy #1 Essie!

Too bad we can't just run up for these special days.  Pictures at least help.  Happy birthday #1 sweet Essie!  We love you!  Hope you like that noisy present we sent.  I took it to the post office thinking I had packaged it well enough that the buttons wouldn't be able to press, but then I leaned on it and it starting bleating like a goat.  The guy behind me thought that was pretty funny.  I was in a hurry to get it in the mail before it went out that day, but I got out of line and put it into another bubble envelope and sent it off.  Well, I guess that still wasn't enough...Brynn sent a text saying that the package was speaking to them too.  Oh well, hopefully the noise won't wear out too soon from all of that use in transit!  But maybe Jay and Brynn do hope it will soon be silent!

Red Mountain Trail in the rain

Decided it was time to start getting Paul in shape for his Pine Valley hike with the scouts this summer.  Red Mountain Trail up to the slick rock to see the pond was our goal.  Our weather report said the rain wouldn't come until the evening...plenty of time!  Well, it came early, hitting hard when we got to the slick rock.  We ate lunch under our umbrella and stuck around on the slick rock long enough to see lots of pretty stuff and then headed down the trail. Everything was so beautifully rain washed, colors so vibrant.  Other than getting very wet, which wasn't bad either, we had a great hike! 10.8 miles of desert beauty!

Flowers everywhere!

Snow Canyon overlook.

One of our goals was to see the pond.  Love this little oasis in the slick rock!

Lunch out from under the umbrella, etc.

Water was gathering into little streams, bigger streams...on and on and then cascading over the cliffs into Snow Canyon.  Awesome to watch!

Just before we left we decided to take a selfie...and couldn't remember how.  Then we got it!  All of this technology is hard for us old folk to remember!

Late Easter with the Lillywhites

If there is a reason to be glad about going to the doctor, these girls (and their mom and dad) are it! Paul had an appointment up in Provo early Monday morning, so we left Sunday after church and had a fun time, in spite of ear aches, pink eye and teething tramas, with these cuties.  I had saved their little Easter treats to bring to them.  Essie especially enjoyed her chocolate bunny!  Thanks Jay and Brynn for being a wonderful bed and breakfast anytime we are up your way.