Steak

Josh and I always laugh at each other when we go and eat steak.  I get the big ribeye and he gets the dainty filet.  It isn't usually this obvious of a difference but thought it was funny today that mine was so much bigger than his!

Crazy Rease

I can't wait to blackmail her someday with pictures like this...

Rhen's Blanket

Rhen has been crocheting her little heart out and making this rainbow blanket for her room.  She has worked so hard and so long on this and finally got it done!  I'm amazed that she can even do this and be so good at it at 10  years old!  It will be something she can have forever and remember the first blanket she ever made.

Fall leaves

The leaves up the canyon are officially becoming fall leaves!  Wohoo!  Love this time of year and the beautiful colors it brings.

Cupcakes on the Corner

Rhen and Liev have started a baking business and have started taking orders for their delicious desserts! They are the cutest and are very serious about their projects.  So far they've done mint brownies, cupcakes, caramel apples, fruit pizza, bundt cake and homemade oreos.  They take care of contacting their customers and letting them know delivery date and time for the dessert each week.  They've also had to learn some good lessons about how to price out their desserts and calculating the cost of making it vs the money they bring in.  It has been so fun to see them take this on!  And we're looking forward to many more desserts coming up!

Master Shifu

This little rascal is so funny!  He kept putting this clip on his chin and calling himself "Master Shifu."  

Junior High carpool

Junior High carpool can be a party - especially if you have a big van and can squeeze lots of kids in!

Cool dude

Something about little boys in sunglasses makes me smile...

Pete the Cat day

It was Pete the Cat day at school today for Beck.  His teacher Mrs. Hernandez always does fun things with her class and I love these cute cat faces they made!

Rhen's art

Rhen is always so cute and creative with her art projects.  I love her imagination and she has turned out to be quite the artist!

Family Pictures

Baby puppies

Grammie's dog Taya just had baby puppies today!  The kids are so excited and also convinced that we are going to get one of the puppies.  I assured them that we can play with the puppies as much as we want, but we will not be asking one of them to join our family.  For now we are excited to have them around!

Settlers apology

Two things happened today.

1- I gave the FHE lesson about asking for forgiveness and forgiving others.  

2 - Rease, Rhen and Josh all got mad at me and pouted because I won settlers for the 5th time in a row.

So naturally I said that I wouldn't play with them anymore.  I got up the next morning and found that they had used my FHE props to try and win me back.  Of course I forgave them...mostly because I thought their apology was so cute!

Desh's milk

What did I tell you about Desh and his milk?  I'm not kidding.  He's a drunk.

Hiking the Narrows

We had the chance to very last minute take a trip down to Zions and hike The Narrows.  My uncle Craig and cousin Ciana were there for a week and got some spur of the moment permits.  So I called up my friend Shelley and we hurriedly got some details with kids, crossguarding, carpools and piano lessons figured out and we left that afternoon to drive down with my dad!  When I say last minute, I mean literally that morning we didn't know we were going then we left by 4:00 that afternoon.  We felt very proud of ourselves that we could get that all coordinated! We got to camp that night around 8:30 and met up with Craig and Ciana who had a hot dinner waiting for us - bless them.  We were scheduled to get up and be at the shuttle by 6:00 am the next morning so we scooted off to bed and planned to get up early and pack the next morning.  We all got up and made it to the shuttle in time, ready with our packs, lunches, trekking poles, water bottles and maps.  It was going to be a long and fun day of hiking!  

We took the shuttle for about an hour and a half and got dropped off at Chamberlain Ranch at the top of the canyon.  The hike down the narrows is a 16 mile hike that many do in two days.  There are camp sites half way through and lots of people opt to do it that way.  We were going for it all in one day and were going to make it!  

It was a GORGEOUS hike through the canyon and in and out of the river.  We were wet from the very beginning but it was a beautiful day and we didn't mind being in the water at all.  The scenery was incredible and in some parts the walls of the canyon were taller than you could believe.  We loved seeing all the cool niches in the canyon walls, lone trees growing up out of the rocks, the narrow walls something just wide enough for us the fit between and overall just the magnificence of it all.  We told stories and laughed and joked and had the best time together.  

About half way through Craig's knee really started to bother him and he was slowing down significantly.  We were all "in a pickle" about what to do, knowing that we had to make it out of the canyon by dark and had another shuttle to catch to make it back down to our truck that was 10 miles farther down the canyon.  We finally decided that Shelley and I would go ahead of the group and make it out of the canyon in time to catch the last shuttle.  Then we could bring the truck back up and pick up the rest of the crew when they were done.  We were all anticipating a long night ahead of all of us because Craig was struggling so much with his knee.  Shelley and I hurried ahead and finished the last 6 or 7 miles pretty quickly.  It was actually the most beautiful part of the hike and we took time to enjoy it along the way.  There were some parts where the water was about chest high as we were wading through and it was cold water, but such a unique place!  We made it out of the canyon just as it was getting dark and jumped on the shuttle.  Surprisingly only about an hour later we got a call from Dad and Ciana who were also out of the canyon and on the last shuttle back to camp.  I was shocked to hear that they made it out.  Turns out that Craig couldn't make it out of the canyon and ended up camping overnight with another group of hikers at one of the camp sites.  I think the night in the canyon was a cold one, but he was grateful that he could rest his leg and then finish the hike out the next morning.  They had a team of people that hiked up and helped him out the next day and all was well.  I think it all worked out for everyone that he stayed and the rest of us finished up the hike.  Dad, Shelley and I left early the next morning to drive home and Ciana and Craig had a couple more days at Zion before they headed back home to California.  

We had the best time! I am so glad that we got to do that.  It's always a hike that I've wanted to do, but never had the chance.  It is absolutely gorgeous and such a fun way to see the canyon and national park!

Visiting Dad

We stopped in to see Josh at work today and couldn't find him in his office... 

We had to send him a bunch of pictures to let him know that we were looking for him!

Beck's cavities

Well I felt like a terrible hygienist/mom when I heard that Beck has 4 cavities! Yikes.  Today we went to get some of them worked on and he was a champ.  Not a flinch or a whimper from that kid!  Papa said he was a star patient and I agree - he did great and we'll be back for more in a couple weeks!

Sunrise

We caught another fantastic sunrise this morning from our window and the kids and I agreed that it looks like the sky is on fire.  Beautiful!

Sardines

Today we played a mean game of sardines in the house.  Once in a while we sent out clues to those that couldn't find us to help them figure out where the group was hiding...Liev was the master at this game and always found the hiding place super fast!

Scones and Pickleball 2019

It's our 6th annual Scone and Pickleball tournament!  We love this day that we can get together with friends and neighbors and eat good food and have fun!  We always get a big crowd and I think everyone has a great time.  This year Andy and Camie Doyle (The CrockoDoyles) took home the Pickle Platter!  Congrats you two and we'll see you all next year!