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!

Pack and Play

Desh has definitely outgrown this pack and play, but still sleeps in it all curled up.  To be fair, I do give him the choice every time I put him to bed whether he wants to sleep in the "big bed" or the "small bed"  Most of the time he opts for the small bed.  Someday he'll want to grow up but for now, I'm totally ok with it!

Steph's birthday hike

Stephanie said that all she wanted for her birthday is to go on an adventure - so adventure we went!  We took a really beautiful, fun hike up Little Cottonwood canyon to   .  We had such a fun time and I agree that going on an adventure is the best way to celebrate!

Baby Ladd

Welcome to the world Baby Ladd!  Andy and Kristi had their baby today and we couldn't be more excited to have this little one join the family!

1st Day of School

Well this year we have a 7th grader who is no longer attending the elementary school.  That's right, Rease is officially a middle schooler as of today!  She was super excited/nervous for her first day but I have not doubt that she is going to do amazing things.  She looks so grown up and beautiful I almost didn't want to let her go...

 The other kids are holding down the fort at Butterfield Canyon Elementary and they are excited to be headed back to their friends!  Beck is joining the ranks as a kindergartner this year and I'm going to miss having that one around all day.  He's ready for it though so off you go bud! Desh could not be left out of the school photos so he got his backpack and took a picture just like the others!

These kids are going to have a great year with lots of brain expanding!  Can't wait to see what they do!

Dad and Mom Robbins

We were in Logan this weekend for a wedding and we stopped in to say hello to Greg's parents while we were there.  We haven't seen them in a really long time so it was great to catch up with these old friends of ours!

St. George

Guy and Robin are so kind and let us go stay in their condo in St. George every year.  We go the week before school starts as one last hoorah before we have to settle back into a routine at home.  It is always SUPER hot that week, but we hike early in the mornings then swim in the afternoons.  Evenings are spent in the cool condo eating dinner and snacks and watching movies.  Then it's sleep and repeat the next day!  We have a blast! The first hike the kids always want to go on is the Dixie Rocks.  It's close, fun, easy and there's always new things to explore.  We found this cool arch this year.  This one is a classic.

One afternoon Rease and I snuck away to the temple.  The St. George temple is about to close for a couple years for renovations so we were so glad that we got to go.

 We also found a couple new places to hike and this one was our favorite of the week.  It was up the canyon just past snow canyon called "White Rocks"  Fitting name because of the white rocks.  It was a gorgeous view with the red rock of Snow Canyon in the background.  We had a great time playing here and exploring.

 We did find this short hike in Snow Canyon too called Jenny's Canyon.  We hit this one on the last day before we headed out of town and it was perfect.  Short and sweet and super easy.  It was the hottest day we had too so we were glad that we got there early and didn't have to hike too long.  Ice Cream on the way out of town was the ticket and as we pulled away from St. George it was a hot 107 degrees.  We were happy to be in an air conditioned van!  What a fun week we had though and love being able to explore our beautiful state!

The kids each got a challenge from their dad before we left on our trip.  We have been studying Paul's epistles lately in the New Testament and Josh encouraged each of them to write an epistle while we were gone to let him know what they've been thinking and doing.  They all took the challenge and came home with an epistle for their dad.  We sure missed having him with us!

Happy Birthday Keen!

Keen has a lucky birthday that he shares with Uncle Caleb.  And the past few summers we've also had Nolan here so we can celebrate his birthday too that is only a couple weeks later.  So today was a birthday party for all 3 of these handsome boys!  Keen chose a candy train cake and picked out which candy he wanted in the train cars.  Leave it to Keen to choose a treat birthday party!  But the cake was a big hit with all the kids and you better believe that every piece of candy was gone from those train cars by the end of the night.

The best things about Keen at age 7:

1) Right now I love the stage that Keen's teeth are in!  He has lots of loose ones that come and go just as quick as Keen can wiggle on them.  He got one out the other day that had a big part of the root still! He is a maniac when it comes to wiggling his teeth out and that leaves him with the cutest jack-o-lantern grin that I can't get enough of!

2) Keen has a very generous side to him.  When he wants to be, he is the most helpful kid I have.  He asks what he can do to help with dinner or with the dishes or just picking up the house when he can tell I'm a little overwhelmed keeping it clean.  And he is really good at sharing toys and playing with his younger brothers.  I love seeing that side of him and hope that stays with him forever.

3) Keen loves to ask questions and try and figure things out.  He is constantly talking and jabbering, enough that once in a while I have to tell him that I need some quiet time for a little while.  But I know that brain of his is working full speed as he tries to figure out the world and everything around him.  I love the curiosity that he has and I know that will take him big places in the future!

7 year old stats from Dr. Erickson:

Height: 4'5" - 99%

Weight: 65 lbs. 8 oz. - 93%

We love Keen at this age and hope he has the happiest year ever!

Mini Boat Week

We were so lucky to get to take a "Mini Boat Week" this year and stay at the cabin for the weekend.  Josh took an extra day off of work and we had 3 days on the lake and had a ball!  We had one really awesome, glassy water day that we just took full advantage of.  We all skied, wake boarded, knee boarded, swam, jumped off the tower, ate snacks and did all the things that a good boat day requires.  And we soaked in the sun and knew that it would be one of the last times we would be on the boat before the end of summer arrives.  

 We also enjoyed our time off the boat - smores, Krispie Kreme donuts, early morning gym session, golf cart tour of BYU campus (which was super fun!), and getting messy faces from marshmallows. 

 And we ended our mini boat week with something we've never done before!  We got to the lake early the last morning to see the lake covered in fog.  It was the craziest, eeriest thing!  And even crazier was skiing in the fog.  But by far one of the coolest things we've done as we felt like we were skiing in the Mississippi Bayou instead of Deer Creek.  We also had special visitors with us for the weekend and loved having Grammie and Papa join us at the cabin and also on the boat!  It was so great to have them and we had a great weekend at the lake!

Card maze

Rhen and her friend Talon spent all afternoon today making this maze out of playing cards.  I think they literally used every card in our house!  It turned out super fun - and even more fun will be cleaning it up and sorting out the cards again!