The Last of the Summer Adventures, Part 1: The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone

Sorry folks. One last family vacation post. I wanted to get it recorded before, say, Christmas..as I do rather like to procrastinate.

Once again, I think I will let the pictures do most of the talking. Here's a quick summary:
In July, I went with my young women from our old ward up to run the Snake River. For some reason, the Young Men's leader thought that since I had run rivers with my family growing up, it somehow put me in the category of river guide, and that I was capable of paddling a huge raft full of teenagers down the Snake - a river I hadn't actually ever run. Not being able to convince him that the idea scared the pants off me, (I honestly had nightmares for weeks, kids drowning, parents strangling me, even Kevin Bacon appearing out of nowhere to hunt me down (movie anyone? A River Wild. Kevin Bacon has one of those faces that completely freaks me out) I quickly invited my dad along as moral support. He was a good sport....and I made him run the rapids for me. Whew. Huge crisis averted. Jevan and the girls then drove up and picked me up in Wyoming and we set off for a weekend in the Tetons and Yellowstone.

We camped at Signal Mountain, and despite the hoards of vampire mosquitos, we had a great time. Such a beautiful place. I think the kids were impressed too. Although, if you ask Jane, the thing she remembers most was the deer with 2 broken legs (probably got hit by a car) trying to get away from a BEAR IN OUR CAMPGROUND! Luckily we were in our car, but Jane talked about it for days. Definitely disconcerting. Don't worry - the bear never got the deer - no scenes out of Wild America for us, thank goodness. Ranger Susie saved the day. (Editor's note: "Save the day" = take the wounded deer for a walk with a shotgun in tote. Not exactly a happy ending, but the bear didn't get to eat it...)

Anyway, it was all beautiful, the weather was great, and Allie only had a few breakdowns of epic proportions. No naps plus sleeping in a tent where you can roam about endlessly until you fall asleep do not a happy toddler make.

It was still REALLY fun.

Some of the daring Young Women from my old ward. They are all awesome girls and I miss them....

Starting our hike to Jenny Lake. This is also where Jane informs me that this is NOT her favorite place to hike. Her favorite place is "Warberry Alice Sunburn Valley." Oh, well then. She gets to plan the next family vacation.

Taking the picture BEFORE the hike. This is important. We have learned that even after 5 minutes into the hike, pictures with all family members present and smiling are not so...possible.

Um...taking the ferry across Jenny Lake as to make the hike significantly shorter...ah-hem. Jevan liked the 3 blond heads shot.

Making it to Hidden Falls. Definitely worth the trip.

Jane makes friends with squirrel. Apparently it likes Pringles. Don't tell Ranger Susie. Jevan's cousin Morgan told me that it looks like the squirrel is smoking a doobie. Definitely don't tell Ranger Susie that...

Playing at Jenny Lake. Here Jane informs me that if I ever wanted to buy the sky, it would cost me a million dollars. No one tell Bill Gates. At that price, he could buy the freakin' universe.

This, dear friends, is Jane's deliciously named "nun cupcake". It's a bit gritty but it just might save your soul.

Allie chillin' in the carseat...in the near-buff because she decided some swimming was in order.

YELLOWSTONE:

This is by far one of my most favorite pictures from the trip. A true Allie smile...they are really rare to catch on camera. Allie LOVES drinking fountains. She was delighted to find one just her size.

Walking around the boardwalk by Old Faithful, looking at pools and geysers. Here Jane asks me: "If Jesus fell into this pool, would he cook like a hot dog or just get baptised?" What do you say to that?

Have I mentioned Jane loves bugs? Jane loves bugs and has NO fear of them. Hence, the HUGE beetle on her arm. She let it climb all over her for a good 10 minutes.

Note the new bug friend perched on her hat. It climbed from her arm, up the side of her face and onto her hat. Note too the onlooker in the background. She watched with fear and amazement and repeatedly refused Jane's invitations for her to hold the bug.

We had to take a picture of this doomsday cloud. It was the ONLY cloud in the sky and shaped like an atomic bomb mushroom cloud? Freaky.

Playing in the river near a hot spring.Good times.

Crazy Jane in our campground. The night before we were playing the "like/hate" game. I said I really liked camping and I really hated mosquitos. Jane said she really liked marshmellows and...really hated it when a car runs over her. Right. No hit and runs, people. Jane hates that.

Like father, like daughter. No need to say more.

Today, we say a (not so) fond farewell and welcome a new addition.....

Our Booger died.

I wish I could say it was with a heavy heart, but it really wasn't. It's life ended on the freeway in a swirl of smoke.

The old, heavy, stinky guy had been good to us, bless it's heart. (You know you can say something derogatory about ANYTHING, so long as you add "bless his heart" at the end, right? For instance: "That guy that just cut me off is a sorry little man....bless his heart." See? You can vent your feelings AND give him blessings....it's a total win-win.)

Yes, a few weeks ago we said a fond farewell to our Booger, our 1994 Ford Tempo, a lovely shade of turquoise-green, weighing as much as a small building and navigating the roads about as well as one too. Each door was crafted with so much metal that they threatened to crush you instantly if you didn't leap from the car and roll to safety. Trying to get out while parked on a hill was especially exciting.

So, with a loving kick to it's tires, we sent it off to the Kidney Foundation.

And then, we broke down, gave in, and bought this:



Yes, we are the proud new owners of a MINI-VAN.

This is the point where I freak out a little and wonder how in the world my life suddenly got to this stage. I truly had a mid-life crisis during the test drive. You KNOW it makes sense, you KNOW you love having a wonderful little family to putter them around in it, but you still wonder how you went from crazy, adventurous college kid to soccer mom in 2.2 seconds.

Is it just me or did any one else go through this?

At least we still have my baby, the '98 Subaru Outback. It will keep me reminded of the good ol' days.

Anyway, we're happy to have our new "certified used car" toyota sienna. There is just no beating the convenience of a mini-van. It's nice, sensible and gonna go forever and I'm going to love it..........right???

Raspberries!!

Have a hankerin' for some fresh raspberries? I can tell you how to get them for $2 a pound!! My sister-in-law (who is always finding cool stuff to do) found out about this place in Payson where you can go pick your own raspberries for $2 a pound. It's amazing! We went there today. You would think it was too late in the season, but the bushes were brimming with berries. I picked off of 3 rows (out of probably 50) and got 5 pounds of berries...with a LOT left over the bushes! I could have kept picking forever but my girls, covered in red berry juice, quickly lost their fascination with picking berries and began to wander, causing trouble and losing stuff (shoes, cinderella cell phones {heaven forbid we lose that!!}) and themselves in the berry bushes.

Here is the link to their website: www.westmountainraspberries.com

Read about the company...it's kind of funny.

All in all, it's fun. And then you have lots of raspberries. Pie anyone?

TIPS:
Unless you have days to commit to berry picking, don't bring HUGE containers hoping to fill them. You'll be sorely disappointed. It's uh...kinda slow work...but very rewarding in the end!

When they say wear long sleeve shirts, take them seriously.

If you bring small children, BRING THINGS TO OCCUPY THEM. In your perfect world, you think about them happily chattering away as they contentedly pick berries by your side. If you have children like mine, that ain't gonna happen. The only thing that saved us was all the TREATS my sister-in-law packed. They were so bored they even tried to have water fights with their waterbottles. I'm telling you, bring stuff.

Jane turns 4....and very "girlish"

Jane tells me all the time that she likes things that are "girlish." She has started to categorize everything that way - colors, cars, even animals. (All koala bears are boys, FYI). In fact, the other night she said that I had to tuck her in bed because she was feeling very girlish and "Dad is just too boyish." Sorry, Jev...your testosterone must have been a bit too strong that day.

So, when I asked her what she wanted to do for her 4th birthday, she informed she wanted to have a tea party, because, of course, it was a very girlish thing to do. This is all especially hard for me to swallow because I was a raging tomboy until I was....well, i dunno, I'm not sure I have really grown out of that phase. I wouldn't even wear a dress to church let alone have a "pretty princess party." (I truly threw such major tantrums over dresses that my mom actually let me wear pants to church many times. Sad, but true. Sorry Mom. I wear dresses now though so i guess that's something...). I guess I also just assumed my children would be the same way. But they come programmed from the start, huh? Jane likes everything girl, from princess dresses to "pail nolish" (nail polish) to dolls and everything that is perfectly pink. Thus, i am totally out of my element with my very "girlish" daughter.

You know how you sometimes try to hide inadequacy by overdoing it in the area for which you feel you lack? That was me with this tea party...to the point of my mother thinking I had lost all my marbles. But I have to admit...I kind of enjoyed myself. I think Jane and guests had a pretty good time too. Everyone dressed up in their finest princess dresses (except for our token male guest)and I doled out the plastic jewelry. They decorated purses, played games and had a tea party out on the patio. For reasons I still don't understand, I took the food pretty seriously and made all sorts of little fancy food...finger sandwiches, mini muffins, cheese cut into shapes, tiny fruit kabobs, chocolate covered strawberries (with drizzle no less! Who would have thought me capable of such things? No one who has ever seen me cook...)and even these mini watermelons made from a lime, red jello and mini chocolate chips. And just so you know, if you ever read in a recipe "Cut a lime length wise and hollow out the halves", don't be fooled into thinking it's like an avocado or something that you just scoop right out. No sir. It ain't no avocado. You'll be swearing before you're done with one...mark my words.

But enough with party details. Suffice it to say it was fun and Jane had a great time doing girlish things with her cousins. I really love my little four year old. Wow, I still can't believe I have a kid that old! I've decided four is a good age (am I going to eat those words?)even though it's only been one day. I know this because 3 was pretty dang good and it only gets better right? (Don't burst my bubble.) Jane has really become my little buddy, pleasant to be around, entertaining and funny, curious and surprisingly reasonable for her age. She handles her crazy mother and stubborn sister with grace and patience.(Am I going to eat all of these words too now that I have said them out loud?) She makes me truly happy and I am so glad she's mine. It's been a good 4 years. Happy Birthday Janers!

Notice the tiny tea set

Happy Birthday Jane!

Not nearly enough magic

I have more than a few things which I enjoy doing, and like to fancy that I do them moderately well. Being a somewhat self-actualized individual I realize that I am not the best at any of them, but I often tell myself things like "I could be as good as so-and-so if I had more time / money to practice / work at it more, but I have always had other things to do as well". But every so often that illusion of this great potential comes crashing down.

I was playing Wii golf with my nephews while I guess I was supposed to be watching Jane & Allie (I think Em told me to keep an eye on them. That or make sure I took the rolls out of the oven. I can't remember because it was THAT intense of a game of Wii golf) Anyway, Jane was playing dress ups and came up to me wearing either a fairy godmother or a drag queen outfit (again, the details are kind of fuzzy) and told me that she had a magic wand and could turn me into whatever I want.

Jane: "Dad, what do you want to be?"
Me: "A pretty pretty princess." (Don't try and tell me you've never secretly wished for that too...)
Jane: "Abracadabra, you're a pretty pretty princess."
Me: "Yay!"

<5 minutes of Wii golf elapse>

Jane: "Ok dad, now what should I turn you into?"
Me: "I want to be a crocodile!"
Jane: "Abracadabra, you're a crocodile."
Me: "Yay!"

<5 more minutes of Wii golf elapse, in which I hit a lousy shot. Note: this is not at all unlike a regular game of golf, only in regular golf I do not have big blond pony tails>

Jane: "Ok dad, now what should I turn you into?"
Me: "I want to be a good golfer."
Jane: "Oh, I'm sorry dad, my magic wand can't do that."
Me:

Yes, apparently a magic wand that can turn me into a reptile and a princess does not have enough magic to improve my short game. Of course, maybe I am putting way too much stock in the magic wand of a girl who the other night, as I was tucking her into bed, looked at me and said "Dad, sometimes I just wish that everything could be hamburgers."

The scariest 4th of July ever!

When it comes to holidays, the word "scary" is usually reserved for Halloween. But my 4th of July warranted the word this year. Not because there were men with chainsaws hiding in the bushes or creepy creatures coming out during the fireworks....no, no, here is the face that gave me the scare of my life:



Yes, she looks innocent enough (sort-of....she actually looks like she's about to go hang with her homies...) but she was the source of my complete and utter panic that day.

The day started out fabulous. We spent most of the later afternoon and evening at Sugarhouse Park with Jevan's family waiting for the fireworks to begin. It's a tradition with Jevan's family and we always secure a sweet spot on the hill.

Just at dusk, at that point where you can still somewhat see but colors become muted and it's harder to distinguish things, I was talking to my sister-in-law, keeping an eye on my kids like mothers sometimes do...kind-of a "I am mostly aware of where they are even though they are just barely in my peripheral vision" type of vigilance. Or maybe I should not put any other mothers into that category because that is just my own lack of protective parenting. Anyway, for some reason, it halfway registered in my peripheral vision that Jevan had Allie and was paying attention to where she was going. Apparently, he was thinking the same thing of me. You can tell where this is going, huh?

All of the sudden, in mid-sentence, the alarm bells started ringing in my head (mine are a little bit sluggish and unreliable I've decided. Time for new bells. I think I should get a new set with each kid....) and I blurted out: "Um...where's Allie?" I yelled over to Jevan and he gave me the blank stare. Ohhhh boy. She's just got to be around here somewhere.

After a quick 10 second check, we could tell that the scene was all to calm and serene for Allie to be anywhere in the near vicinity. I glanced frantically around at the neighbors around us, in hopes of finding her scavenging around looking for "treats", but she wasn't anywhere around.

I took a long look at the hillside COVERED completely in HUNDREDS of people and... the panic set it in. My stomach dropped out, tears started to form at the edges of my eyes, and I started praying. The main reason for such panic was that it was basically dark at this point. I couldn't tell who anyone was, let alone my little child toddling through the mass of people.

Jevan's family was great and immediately fanned themselves out across the hillside. I took a wild guess and hoped Allie had headed up the hill, going for the top. I called out for her frantically and a few people said they had seen her, so I followed a trail of pointing fingers, the tears growing stronger for each second that passed. Where could she have gone? Why did she have to move so fast? Why wasn't I paying better attention? Why? Why?

After about 3 minutes, which honestly felt like the longest 3 minutes of my entire life, I spotted her. She was standing right by a car parked on the road, pointing and telling anyone who would listen that she found a car. She was literally feet from an extremely busy road and could have stepped out from the side of the parked car at any moment into on coming traffic. I ran and swept her up in my arms and started crying. I had never felt such relief. Every tense moment flooded from me in a rush of emotion. I held her so tight that I probably squeezed all the air out of her.

I notified all the searchers and everyone returned, greatly relieved that she had been found. The rest of the evening was great - the fireworks spectacular...but I had a tough time enjoying it with all the mommy guilt I was carrying. It was a good learning experience though...or rather, it basically just solidified a rule I already knew - never take your eyes off Allie.

So that's the story. I probably shouldn't publicly admit to being such a negligent mother. No one will ever leave their kids with me again. But I guess such an experience was something I needed to write down because I had never experienced true fear until I had thought I had lost a child. You realize how much you love these little crazy creatures.

A couple pictures from the day:

Jane and Jevan playing some soccer.

Jane and her cousin Calvin.

Little ducks beware...

I was getting Jane's shoes on this morning and she was singing (because really, who can resist singing while their dad fumbles around with those silly sandle-y shoes that have those impossible clasps that were made with people with little bitty tiny fingers in mind, not that I'm bitter). She was singing the "4 little ducks song", you know the ducks run away, mom yells, then 3 of them come home, etc. etc. Anyway, Jane sings the first 3 verses, then gets to when there are only 2 ducks left. Here's how she finished the verse:

"When the Mother duck said quack quack quack,
2 little ducks came wandering back.
And then there was a polar bear there that bit them and chewed them up."

Ladies and gentlemen, my daughter.

June Adventures

In June, we went with Jevan's family up to Eden, UT (near Huntsville) where we stayed in some condos for a glorious week. We all had a grand time. There was lots of time spent at the pool, and indoors just playing games and hanging out. The highlights of the trip were definitely the hiking as well as a little petting farm with LOTS of baby animals. I must admit I was most taken with the baby goats...I know it sounds weird but there is just something about a little baby goat that is just so dang cute. One day I shall have a goat. (Jevan says he can hardly stand the dog so a goat is out of the question. One day I might not have a goat.)

Again I think I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Besides, my friend informed that she really only looks at the pictures....and who wants to read a travel log? We were there, it was fun, we came home.

Hiking up around Powder Mountain.

My kids love their accessories. Sunglasses are a necessity around our house.

Jane was obsessed with finding these and "blowing them out" like it was her birthday. She aptly called them Wishberry blossoms. Her next favorite was holding stinkbugs and caterpillars she found on the trail. She named them all Sarah.

The llama nearly sucks up Allie's hand at the petting farm.

Jevan's sister Andrea finds her favorite spot with the baby bunnies.

Allie with my goats.

The horse ride around the corral was a huge hit.

All the crazy kids. Jane and Allie have a blast with their cousins.

My second adventure in June was running the Wasatch Back (or Ragnar) with a good friend from highschool. Jevan pretty much covered this in an earlier post but I thought I would post a couple pictures. It was a crazy experience...a little surreal at times..but super fun. The best part was all the new friends I made doing it. I didn't know anyone in our relay group but my friend when we started the journey, and by the end, I loved them all. There is something very unifying when you are trapped in a van for over 24 hours straight, your only escape being your leg of the relay where you run heart out for X number of miles. It sounds just crazy but it was a heck of a good time.

My Ragnar team...and yes, it was not too warm that morning...

And my friend Erika who roped me into it in the first place. I'm glad she did.

First trip of the season - May

We started our summer with our first camping trip of the year. Our friends had decided to venture out west and wanted us to join them. In all my years of living in Utah, I had never been to the Oquirrh Mountains that lie to the west of the valley. I always assumed they were too arid to be anything very pretty. I have since repented. How wrong I was! Our campsite was nestled back in a canyon with lots of green trees and large stream. (The stream was wonderful and a nightmare at the same time. It was very full from spring run-off and dangerously swift. It took a fair amount of energy just keeping track of the location of every child at every moment so we didn't lose any downstream). We had a great time. I even had my first taste of Quinoa (on a camping trip? I know! We were lucky enough to have some campers who were serious about good food.) The last day, we woke up to a serious downpour and after a VERY LONG hour holed up the tent, we did the next best thing....cosmic bowling. In our pajamas no less. Thank you, Grantsville!

I'll just let the pictures do the talking from here:

Allie shows off her favorite rock before hucking it into the stream. Sometimes it made it, sometimes it just hit innocent bystanders.

The Crew - Jacksons, Nelsons and us. This picture tells all.

Feeding frenzy during the hike. Watch your fingers....

Dad and Jane pose for a picture.

Who's dirty child is this? This is the face of trouble....

This little kid right here was one of the highlights of the entire trip for me. This is Romney. Yes, those are knee pads and elbow pads over his pajamas. They went over his clothes during the day too. In fact, he had them on 24/7, even when he was sleeping. They gave him his superhuman powers, so he said. I think he looks pretty tough, don't you? *smile*

Cosmic bowling in the jammies. Good times.

We saw this place somewhere between Grantsville and Tooele. It made us smile.

Breaking the Silence.....

Did you ever have to keep a journal in your English class? One of those random busy work assignments that forced you to practice your writing skills? I hated those. I hated them because I was terrible at keeping up with them. And, I hated them because once I fell behind, my habit of procrastination would kick in full force. The more work I had to catch up on, the more I would procrastinate. A horribly inefficient and vicious cycle. It would all end in tears at midnight and pulling an all-nighter to finish on the day it had to be turned in.

Sadly, my blog has become that monster. The summer has been crazy but fun, with lots of stuff happening that I have wanted to blog about. However, as soon as I fell behind in recording it all, I just reverted to my old ways, putting it off and putting it off.

But of course, every slacker has excuses. Here are some of mine:

1. Constant child supervision. Living at your parents house for a few months definitely has its advantages, but one of its disadvantages is that their house is not really child proof - especially for our tornado-on-two-legs two year old. I can't just let my child roam free in the house while I am on the computer like I could at my own house. There would definitely be irreparable damage to house and home...and probably the cat too. Allie sure does love the cat.

2. This summer has been our summer of vacations. Lots of good times and not much time to blog.

3. Trying to buy a house. Let's talk about ALL-CONSUMING. When I am not looking at houses, I'm looking at them online. When I'm not looking at them online, I'm obsessing about where to live and why...and blah, blah, blah. It's taken way too much of my small supply of brainpower and time lately.

But no more excuses. Here I am. In case anyone is still listening. I'm going to catch up on the summer's adventures.

AND, to all my blog friends - I'm going to catch up on all of your lives too. I've got lots of reading to do.

Homeless

Ok, so technically we're not actually homeless. We're currently living with my wonderful in-laws, who are gracious enough to let us hang out here whilst we look for our new home sweet home. Since I am not paying rent or a mortgage yet am not living in a cardboard box, let's just say I'm between domiciles.

We're a little behind the times from a blogging perspective, so I'm going to do a quick recap. I have time to do this because, right now, at 11:44 PM on Friday night, Em is in a van in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of strangers preparing to get out at 3:00 AM or so and run for 5 miles as a part of a 188-mile relay race known as the Wasatch Back. Yeah, I don't get it either. Apparently there are prizes not only for the team that wins, but for "Best Decorated Car", "Best Team Name", and "Best Costume". Em's favorites so far: a team dressed like the cast of Xena, Warrior Princess and people wearing "Rabies Awareness Fun Run" T-shirts.

I'd rather stay up here than run 188 miles...

So being between domiciles definitely has some advantages. For example, nighttime is always a battle. Whenever it's time to brush their teeth / put on jammies / get in (or out) of the tub / read books / sing a song they cry and call for mom. I think the only thing they prefer to have me do is stuff that will a) otherwise get them into trouble or b) get them out of going to bed. I haven't quite figured out why this is. It might have to do with the fact that I tell them if they get out of bed the aliens will suck their brains out of their heads with a giant straw; dunno. Anyway, because they know that Grandma is around, they yell and scream and carry on until she acquiesces (I think this is a fancy term for "negotiates with terrorists") and rescues them / me from me / them.

Additionally, there is always good food to eat at my between domicile. But there is also really not good food to eat. Let me explain: when we first got there, both of the refrigerators were completely full of food. Upon a casual perusal, Em discovered that there were a number of… let's say "questionable" items contained therein. Further inspection revealed that had someone from the FDA been looking they likely could have arrested my in-laws for growing biological weapons next to the cream cheese. After an inventory of food (including leftovers from a Sunday dinner that I kid you not was more than 2 years ago) we got rid of a few things and now there is only good food to eat.

Speaking of food to eat, Jane made me laugh at dinner. We had popsicles for dessert, and Jane chose a green one, which led to the following Laurel and Hardy-esque dialogue:

Jane: "Mmmm, I just love Slime popsicles."
Me: "Jane, that's not slime… it's lime."
Jane: "I know, Slime."
Me: "It's LIME."
Jane: "Yeah, slime."
Rather than disabuse her of that, they shall from now on be known as Slime popsicles.

Finally, I have to talk about actually packing up our house, even though it was a long time ago. My entire adolescent life was spent with the assumption that, upon entering adulthood, I would find a fantastic job rescuing princesses and vanquishing evil for huge sums of money. My envisioned career path rhymed with "Splintendo" and "Innuendo." So when faced with the challenge of putting all of the contents of my house into a container 8'x8'x16' I knew that it was simply a matter of channeling my inner Tetris skills. I'd like to give a shout-out to Alexey Pajitnov (the inventor of Tetris) and thank him for providing the platform that prepared me for the challenge. As I was about to start loading, an ice cream truck drove up the circle, which normally would be annoying, but I took it as a sign. You see, this is likely the only ice cream truck in the world that plays the Tetris theme song while making the rounds.

So with the help of people from the ward and my stalwart brother in-law Steve, I got the high score for live-action Tetris and fit pretty much everything inside. Post-packing, I discovered that the day we loaded boxes was actually the 25-year anniversary of Tetris' creation. Fate was most definitely on my side.

May Family Update

So much has happened lately that I felt it was time for a family update.

The big news is that we are in the midst of selling our house. Right now the economy is in a pretty substantial recession and as such, housing prices have gone really low. It's a really hard time to sell a house, but a fantastic time to buy one as housing prices and interest rates haven't been this low in decades. We decided to just put our house up on the market and see what happens. It took a bit of work to get it ready, but we did it...and then it was under contract in 3 weeks. Unheard of in the market right now. We feel so blessed. Now I know that we really were supposed to move. We really needed a change.

The biggest problem is we don't know where to move. We want to find a neighborhood that has kids for the girls to play with and where Jev and I will be able to find friends. You can buy a really nice, new, big house right now, but in the areas where these are located, I worry about the neighborhoods being all about "keeping up with the Jones'" So figuring out where we want to go will be the next biggest challenge these next few months. I still really want to move to Heber but we can't decide if it would be truly feasible or not. I do know it would be really fun to live by my family AND Sarah. Now that Sarah has had her first baby, we could spend lots of time together. Anyway, for the next few months we are moving in with my parents, staying in the basement while we search. I hope we all survive each other.

That is the biggest family news. Otherwise, all is good. I just got my first real roadbike and I'm excited to use it in some triathlons this year. Having some sort of race to be looking forward to continuously is what keeps me sane and happy. Jevan thinks I'm crazy but I love to run, to exercise, to make my body work hard and be strong. I think I am addicted to endorphins. Right now I am also driving around a rental car because the subaru got rear-ended when the girls and I were returning from visiting a friend in Eagle Mountain. It should be fixed by the end of the week.

Jevan still travels quite a bit with work and while it is hard on me and the girls sometimes, he is racking up lots of skymiles for us to use! Jevan has started a city league basketball team. It means he plays several days a week between his city league and ward ball teams. Jevan continues to be the joker in the family - usually happy and crazy and making us laugh. He loves to tease, tickle and wrestle with the girls.

Now, onto the girls:

Jane: Jane is growing up so fast! She is only 3 but everyone says she seems much older because she is so verbal and articulate. She always wants to play with the older kids. Everyone continues to be her friend and she is quite a charmer. When we get out of the car at the park and we see other kids there, Jane yells out; "Look Mom, my friends are here!", even though she has no idea who any of them are. People in the ward say they are mad at us for leaving because we are taking Jane away. She has won the heart of so many people with her unusual warmth, friendliness, and confidence.

Jane is finishing up preschool and dance this month and I also put her in a "smart-start soccer class". She loves all of these things and looks forward to all of them. At the end of this month is her final dance performance with South Valley Creative Dance. I have really loved this dance co. They are about as close to Virginia Tanner as you can get but without all the expense. Jane's preschool teacher says Jane is a pretty sharp cookie and will probably be reading soon. This I actually know because we have been working on it, bit by bit. Jane really showed an interest in learning to read so I got her some early reading books that she gets to mark off on a chart as she masters each book. She knows simple sight words and is learning to sound out other shorter words. She also loves to practice writing her letters and numbers. I got her an writing board book with eraseable markers and she will spend a full hour working on tracing and writing her letters. Her preschool teacher says the only thing that doesn't keep her focus is coloring things slowly and deliberatly. She doesn't care about staying in the lines.

She also has this amazing vocabulary and is constantly pulling out words that we had no idea she even knew. The most incredible part is that not only can she say bigger words, but she knows what they mean for the most part.

Jane has kept her sweet manner for the most part. She is a fun 3 year old. She sure does ask a lot of questions though. Somedays I get really tired of the word "why?" She is trying to learn how to play with Allie but the two fight quite a bit. Mostly because Jane likes to bark orders and Allie doesn't like to take orders from ANYONE. But when they do play nicely together, it's really cute. i hope they grow to become good friends. The worst is actually bathtime. They are in too close of proximity to each other and bug each other to death. There is continual fighting most days.

Again, though, Jane has stayed very sweet. She will randomly tell Jevan and I that she loves us and will come up and give us a hug and kiss....all on her own and out of the blue. It makes my entire day. She is very loving and motherly too, and loves to cuddle with babies and other small folk.

Allie is cute and funny and a REAL handful. She is exercising her independence more everyday, and wants to always be doing things by herself. She doesn't like help, especially from Jane. She is still a very busy creature and is always on the move and getting into things. Her words have really improved though and that is helping with her temper tantrums. Allie has been acquiring language in a funny way - she waited a long time to develop a few single words, but then skipped all the rest and went straight to sentences. Instead of just "milk" she started saying..."I NEEEED milk" . Instead of saying "help" like most kids do, she says a garbled version of..."Mom, can you help me please?" Most of what she says are 2 to 4 word sentences. Sometimes there is only one word in the sentence that you can actually understand, but we almost always get the gist of what she is saying.

Some of my favorite phrases are: "oh..thankyewvewymuch..." and when you tell her thank you she says: "welkie!"

I have found Allie has my heart for animals. She LOVES them. She gets all excited over birds, wants to pet every dog she sees, and follows any cat around trying to pet it until it eventually bites her (like my parent's cat). Jasper hurt his paw a couple of months ago, and every time we went to the vet to have the bandage changed, Allie would cry when they would take Jasper away to the back room.

Allie is getting taller and leaner too. She is also very strong. She loves playing in the water and I am always pulling her away from the bathroom sink. She has a fascination with the toliet but is still a long ways off of being ready to potty-train. She also still loves shoes and is always trying on a different pair whenever she can. We always have small shoes strewn all over the house.

Happiness Is.......

These are the things that have made me smile lately.

Happiness is....


....SELLING YOUR HOUSE!

(Or I guess I should technically say, "under contract." We sold it in a little over 3 weeks. This is nothing short of a miracle and we feel incredibly blessed. We are currently taking suggestions on what in the heck we should do now. )

......TRAMPOLINES


(I know. I know. They are dangerous. People break all kinds of body parts on them. They are also one of my very favorite things about my childhood. So, when Jevan's dad offered us their old one, we gladly accepted. I absolutely loved my trampoline growing up - from turning on a sprinkler underneath, to countless sleepovers, to making up dance routines to Beach Boy songs..{.did I say that out loud?} to jumping off the roof onto the tramp {don't tell my parents}, I spent countless hours outside on the tramp. I can't deny my kids the same fun just because they might break an arm. Am I a bad parent?)

...CELEBRATING THE HOUSE SELLING WITH A NIGHT OUT ON THE TOWN - PIZZA, BOWLING AND ICE CREAM CONES



......SWIMMING.


Why this picture you ask? Because this is why I love swimming. Not only is it fun, but it tires out your kids like nothing else - sucks the energy right out of them...until they are falling asleep in their dinner. You swim in the early afternoon and you can put your kids to bed for the night at 4pm. So great.


......SELF PORTRAITS.
\
(Does anyone else get little surprises every time you download the camera?)

See? All kinds of things to make me smile. What makes you smile?