July Recap....Sliding Rock

For years we've been talking about going up to a place my husband frequented during his teen years. For a while the area was closed off, but now there is a gate that allows hikers through. It's an easy hike. Apparently, the land below it was being readied to be subdivided, so there are asphalt roads all the way up. There are even fire hydrants, water and sewer lines ready and everything, but the plans to sell lots are no longer happening.....too bad, I kept telling Ron it would be such a beautiful place to live.....oh well, we wouldn't be able to afford the lot, so it's okay!

We hiked up the roads to the end of a culdesac, and then followed the little footpath about 200 yards to the prettiest waterfall and pool. There was no one else there, so we had it all to ourselves. Ron was the first to take the plunge, then Riley and I followed. We finally talked Nicole into it, but Jared was a no-go. Ellie was too little to begin with. The rock climbing involved in getting to the top is a bit hairy, but Nicole was able to handle it barefoot, so it is doable. It was so odd sliding down the falls. The rock wasn't as slippery as you'd think, until you got going down it. It took Riley a while to find her "line" so she wasn't bouncing all over. The pool at the bottom was waist deep, but that water was so shockingly cold I couldn't catch my breath once I came up.....brrr! Thankfully it was a warm day, so once I finally recovered and got my heart beating again the drying time was short. A fun way to spend a morning! We'll definitely go back.

Ellie was a happy hiker as long as she had her kitty and bottle of water.

Sliding Rock

Ron was first to go, and first to recover from the cold water!

I hiked up there, so dang it if I was going to miss out on the fun....check out the zoom on the right. Yeah, that would be sheer terror! (You should hear me on roller coasters!) But I did do it twice!

Riley bouncing around, and Nicole did it too...with Dad's help! (click on the picture if you want a closer view)

As we hiked down, we were glad we went up early and had it to ourselves. We passed two other families and two groups of teens on their way up to play. I guess it's a popular spot in the afternoon, evening and weekends. Our choice of Friday morning was perfect!

July Recap....Jared's Birthday

Okay, I'm a bit behind in the blogging department.....I'm missing stuff from July! I guess it's just a sign we've been having too much fun?!

I wished Jared a Happy BDay, but never shared Bday pics....

We didn't have a friend party, and honestly, it's because his behavior in the weeks and days prior to his bday didn't warrant it (I am such a mean mom....) He did however, request a pinata. So during the family party that evening, we did the pinata thing. The kids thought it was great, of course!
1. Jared taking a whack at it.
2. Nicole trying to kill it with an overhead beating. For a girl, she's rough!
3. Ellie took a turn without the blindfold.
4. In the end, Jared did it in....basically by hitting it so hard that it ripped off the hanger. So Ron helped open it up and dump it for the kids to collect the spoils!

Enjoying his presents.
1. Jared thinks Transformers are great, but can't really transform them...and dang, they are difficult! Good thing they come with step by step instructions for me! And I'm in trouble if I lose them.....the instructions that is...
2. Jared loves money. This is what he did with the cash Grandmommy gave him....laid it all out on the ground for ease in counting it.

Jared and the Speed Racer cake he chose....why Speed Racer? We have no idea....He's never even seen the movie! Just a kid thing to do.

A Little Freedom: Take 1

Riley and Nicole started back to school today...9th and 1st grades, respectively.

It really seems like yesterday that I was walking Riley to her first day of 1st grade.....now she's a freshman?! Whoa! And can you believe it? I actually caught a smile?! Cute kid. Riley has Seminary now (released time from school to take a religious class), she also is taking Algebra 2, Painting 2, World Civilizations, Biology, Advanced Choir, Advanced Spanish(3rd year), and Honors English. Go Riley! :)

Nicole was so excited for 1st grade. The kid is just excited about school and learning. I hope her enthusiasm never wanes. She was happy that she and most of her kindergarten friends ended up in the same class. I was excited for her to start on this new adventure of 6 hours of school....but torn as well! She grew up so fast. I of course got teary as I walked out of the class and Ron laughed at me and asked me why in the world I was crying about more freedom....I wasn't! Those tears would be for joy....my tears were a mixture of pride and sadness that my babies are just getting old so quickly. It was fun to pick her up, she bowled me over with a big hug and was most excited about the fact that she had three recesses! :) I found it interesting when she told me that during her 3rd recess, she and her friends were pretending to go on a rocket to visit the moon, Venus, Pluto, and back to Earth.....funny that they decided which specific planets they were going to visit.

**Stay tuned for "A Little Freedom: Take 2" next Monday when Jared starts Kindergarten.**

We are back.....

Once the above list is checked off.....I can blog again.

I have been reading though...and enjoying. Life will return to normal soon, and I have lots of fun to share!

**make your own post-it here! **

Gone 4wheeling! Be back soon!

We're off tomorrow for the beautiful state of Colorado! We can't wait to enjoy the quiet beauty, cool weather, and fun times.

Hope everyone has a great week! I'll be back for more fun the week of the 11th...I'll blog then if I can fit it in between dentist appointments, haircuts, and back to school stuff....whew, I need a vacation just thinking about it. :)

Golfing with Dad

Jared had some golf clubs passed on to him by Uncle Scott in April. Since that time, he has bugged and pestered his Daddy to take him golfing, of course! So on July 24th, Jared and Daddy went golfing. He was most excited about the cart...no surprise there...and had fun playing golf with dad. Thankfully the other 2 players they were placed with didn't mind having a chatty 5 yo along. Ron reported that Jared did pretty well, and learned golf etiquette quickly. They played "best ball" for 9 holes, and ended up at +4! The nine holes was a bit long, so I think they have scheduled a rematch for a year from now when Jared's attention span is a bit longer.

I broke out of my routine and actually scrapped the pictures that Ron took with his iPhone! It's my 2nd actual full size scrapbook page. See, there is hope that someday the kids lives will be documented. :)

{credits: template by andrea gold, paper by andrea dickinson "dads den", metal alpha-designs by vicki}

A fun Giveaway!

The very talented Lila Tueller (who I have heard about through others) is having a fun giveaway on her blog, and here is your chance to CLICK over and enter as well! She designs the cutest fabric, and if I ever get my sewing room into organized and working order...I will be searching out her fabric to make some fun stuff out of...but until then, I hope I win the cute purse she made and is giving away!

I just counted it up....

Three weeks and three days until school starts again here.....August 18th!

Wow.....I have stuff to do! School supplies to purchase, Jared needs shirts, I need to figure out what Riley needs, and they all need new shoes and backpacks!

I really can't believe summer is almost over. :) :) :) :(

Just so you know I'm alive.....

....crickets chirping.....

Mighty quiet from where I sit. I have sat at the computer many times recently, and feel only writers block. Not much going on!

I did manage some school shopping at Old Navy's stock up sale. Jared is muy excited about his shorts and pants. I was not excited about the 100% cotton polos that you can't get stains out of so I'll find those somewhere else! And does anyone know why on earth Old Navy doesn't let you mix and match on the two for... stuff? Like I wanted 1 pair of jeans for Jared, and they were 2 for $25....so I matched it up with another uniform item that was also at 2 for $25....but they wouldn't let me do it! grrrrr..... It had to be another pair of jeans. Dumb idea I tell ya.....so I put both things back and they lost out on another $25 bucks from me. Childrens Place lets you mix and match.....I guess I'll go there next time! :)

Fun stuff happening this weekend. For Pioneer Day (one of those Utah holidays) our little city puts on quite a party/Family Festival. Complete with parade, carnival, water cannon (fire truck dousing the kids for 20 minutes), performances, and a fairly good fireworks show....and the best part is the fireworks are almost right over our house! It's the funnest part of the summer! The kids are very excited. They like the parade best because everyone throws candy. They come home as loaded as on Halloween! So check in Sunday for a fun recap of the activities.

And if anything else breaks through my block, I'll share that sooner! ;)

Saturday Happy Thoughts....

• Fun day today: We got the 4wheelers out and went up the canyon to make sure everything is in working order before we haul them out to Colorado. (in 2 weeks!)
• We found a great parking place up the canyon, which is sometimes a near impossibility on a Saturday.
• The trail we ride wasn't too crowded, and was in better shape than last Fall....that or I'm getting more skilled and less nervous about all the rocks and bumps.
• No mishaps or injuries had by anyone, and Ellie fell asleep on the way down....her specialty is being able to nap on a bumpy 4wheeler ride!
  
• The dirty dusty kids came home and went straight into the blow-up pool in the backyard to cool off and clean up a bit before Saturday evening showers.
• It's 7 pm, two kids are showered and clean, and I am in a quiet house as they all just had to go with dad for the dinner run to Taco Bell....oh, the joy of silence and being able to blog!
• The best...although my mom didn't think so...was that the counter offer on her house was turned down, so she won't have to move by Aug 15th.....yay! I won't have to go to Colorado and worry about my mom packing up her house by herself! :)