Take a Hike! Part 2

We made it to the top!
This is looking down the waterfall
We decided we wanted to climb up even further, but the only way up (that we could see) was up a steep rock wash. Brooke and Julie stayed behind, and the rest of us forged ahead to get a closer look at the falls. The amazing girls who made it all the way!

Keith climbed in front of the falls, but decided it was too wet!

Keith then decided he would climb across the falls to the other side. On slippery rocks. Over rushing water. I was not nervous at all. He made it...

...then Glenn, Zack, and Andrew decided to cross as well.

I decided to look the other way for the most part, and the girls took turns taking pictures.

The view from the top

Zack and Andrew found the trail we should have used to get all the way to the top, instead of climbing the wash. I am glad they found it for the way down, because we could have created quite an avalanche!

Heading down the trail

How Brooke kept herself busy while she was waiting!

Take a Hike! Part 1

We took a hike behind Mt. Timpanogos--it was so beautiful! There were millions of wildflowers (another post on that!) and everything was surprisingly green. Our goal: three waterfalls near the top of a mountain.

cooling off in the icy mountain water

this is where we were headed...
Can you blame me for taking so many pictures?!?

Wii Too Much Fun

One of the highlights of our stay with the Flemings (for the kids at least) was getting in some quality Wii time with Zack and Nicole. They did the standard sports games and then moved on to the Raving Rabbids 2 game.

It is totally random and full of juvenile humor, and pretty darn funny. The kids loved it. Andrew was in constant motion and took the game very seriously. Would you expect anything less?

Glory Days Revisited

Monticello Apartments...where it all began

Climbing the 100+ stairs to campus...Glenn and I had to do it, so the kids did too!

Goofy girls in the BYU bookstore

Checking out the library This is the beautiful new addition to the library, but I was kind of sad because my general reference desk (where I worked for 2 years) is gone!
The beautiful campus of BYU
Future missionaries!

The reward for being dragged around all day in the heat? Something cold from the Creamery!

First Stop--St. George, Utah!

Andrew did not want to be in this picture.

Two hours northwest of Las Vegas is the thriving metropolis of St. George, Utah. Seriously, it is a rapidly growing community. We met our good friend Kari and her new husband at a park for lunch before heading over to the temple. The red rock mountains surrounding the city are beautiful, but it was hotter than snot and I was glad to be back on the road under the cool A/C.

The sun was SO bright for this picture, it felt like the first day of kindergarten all over again!

Everybody Sleeps

Everybody sleeps. I can still hum the tune to the Sesame Street segment which taught me that concept. I guess it is important to encourage conformity in preschoolers. There must be security at that age in knowing that you are not alone in needing some rest in the middle of the day or shut-eye at night.


Personally, I love sleep. I have always been a champ at sleeping and staying asleep. And I have always been intrigued by sleep. I mean, what is it anyway? What is this change that comes over our bodies that takes us to another world? At one point I had even toyed with the idea of becoming a neuroscientist and studying the whole thing at Boston University. Now there's something you probably don't know about me.

I may not have ended up with a degree in the subject, but here's what I do know...it is desireable yet elusive. It is both hated and loved, scorned and coveted. Children fight against it, while their parents crave it. At some point we make the change from protesting sleep to catching zzzz's whenever and wherever we can. We've all mastered the art of sleeping during class, on a table in the library, in a car on a long road trip. We will take sleep in whatever form we can.

My children have not yet turned that corner. They still insist they are not tired, not ever. They stay awake as long as they can, and taking a nap is their worst nightmare. Take our flight to Las Vegas yesterday, for example. We left Cleveland at 6:30pm and arrived in Las Vegas at 9:15pm, which translated to midnight for our family. The children were so well behaved on the plane, but we could tell near the end that Andrew was starting to fade. He put all his books away and pulled out his sleeping buddies--Footprint the dog and his "nother one" (a crocheted granny square for those who are not familiar). This was a sure sign that he would soon be snoozing. He even curled up on my lap while the seatbelt sign was off.

The girls were keeping themselves busy with books and games across the aisle, so Andrew, Glenn, and I coiled ourselves up in a complicated knot that could surely lead only to pinched nerves and aching backs. And I watched as my active, energetic, sometimes attentionally deficit little boy turned into a sleeping angel. His eyes stayed open for a while, wheels still turning in his head. I watched for that first blink that lasted a millisecond longer than usual. Then I saw another...and another, until finally, he allowed himself to be taken away to dreamland.

I looked over at Brooke, and was surprised to see some major head bobbing. Earlier she had asked if it was 9:00 in Cleveland so that she could go to sleep, but she had held out for quite a while. It looked so uncomfortable that I suggested she use her backpack as a pillow of sorts, but it was "too hard." I chuckled as I thought about how that will not matter in 10 years or so. If she can rest her head on a cement block to catch up on sleep, she will. For now, though, she gets mad because the seat back does not recline as much as she thinks is should. She has not slept without a comfortable pillow under her head in years. But she did admit to me this morning that she was tired and was going to try to sleep in the car on the way up to Utah. Has she reached a milestone? Has she come to terms with and accepted the need for sleep in her life? Is she no longer afraid to miss whatever it is kids think they are missing while they sleep?

Whatever the case may be, whatever position my kids are on the sleep-accceptance spectrum, I can think of few things that are more satisfying than watching a child drift off. From the solid weight of a sleeping newborn on your chest to a wild toddler breathing softly through his mouth, to my kids dozing on the airplane, a sleeping child is a heavenly child.

I just wish it had happened sooner than right before the initial descent into Las Vegas.

Last week was supposed to be a break, a reprieve of sorts, some time off between the week my parents were here and today, the day we leave for Utah. In my mind we had the whole week free. There was nothing written in my planner, just a couple of swim meets and a baseball game. The problem is, that whatever time you have, that's the time you fill. And boy, did our time fill up.

Yes, we did have those meets (where Emma shaved almost 3 seconds off her 25 fly time and Leah's relay team came in second place!) and that game (which included an inside-the-infield home run), but we crammed in a whole lot more--

-a pedicure

-a visit to my friend's house where I finally got to meet her new baby!!

-a birthday party

-two trips to the community pool (one which included friends tagging along)

-two baseball practices

-taking a meal to another friend who has 3 week old twin boys

-a trip to the zoo

-three piano lessons

-a playdate for Andrew (at our house)

-an unexpected trip downtown to a camera shop to drop off the video camera for repairs

-an Indians game for Glenn

-pizza and movie night

-another birthday party

-sharing time and singing time preparation and execution for Primary

-various other errands

-cleaning the house so we don't come home to a pigsty next week (definitely a Momism!)

And, to top it all off, we had to tackle this mountainous chore last night:

That smile on my face was because at the time I was happy to be in my PJ's and finally sitting down. It didn't last long.

These three baskets are just bedding and towels. And a couple tablecloths.

Free at last! Free at last!

It only took me, oh, AN HOUR AND A HALF! I so earned that huge cup of ice cream I had.


So today our plane leaves at 6:30pm. I have had all day to calmly help the kids pack, take a shower, pack my own things, and write this blog post. I think I like this departure time more than an early morning one where you're up late the night before and up again at the crack of dawn, rushing around to get our the door and to the airport on time. (Sorry Melissa, for the rehashing.)

We are so excited to head west and get a break from the daily grind. Stay tuned for tales of adventure and excitement!