Boys

I love boys! They are so much fun! Boys have so much amazing energy!

Nate and Will went on a backpacking adventure of their own. They filled their backpacks with the essentials. Things like hammers, tractors, chalk, a magnifying glass and squirt-guns, you know things you can't live without. They wanted to walk around the city. But I made them stay in the circle. (I know I'm so terrible)

Then, Nate fell off the bunk bed, hit his head on his dresser and split his head. So we took him to PCMC. We waited 4 hours in the ER (that was a blast) getting home at 1:30 am, where he got staples in his head.

We babysat for my adorable little nephew Owen! Emery is a great help, and can't get enough of babies. It's so much fun to see him cruising on the furniture. What a cute little guy.

Playgroup was at our house on Friday. We had 10 kids here. I love all the kids in our neighborhood, so it is really fun. But the best part was all the littler kids that came. Will thought he was so cool with all his friends there. Keni came a little later too and apparently thought she was one of the big kids going to playgroup.


Then Nate lost both his front teeth. I don't know why but the two front teeth missing is just so dang cute. (Until they get their permanent teeth, that are to big for their mouths and are crooked.)



We've also been having Ethan mow the lawn. We pay him $3 (oh yes I love slave labor)! Isn't this why we have kids? So we don't have to do things ourselves? And we only have to pay them pennies? He's also a great babysitter! We've paid him a couple of times to babysit. We had Ethan and Emery babysit one night when Josh and I went out. This is the phone conversation we received;

Ethan: "Mom Will has major diarrhea."
Me: "Well make sure he gets to the bathroom."
Ethan: "Uh mom....it's too late for that."
Me: crap (literally)
Ethan: "It's all over in his pjs!"
Me: "Well take off his pjs and wipe him up."
Ethan: "No mom, it's aaaalllll over him."
Me: gggrr... I really don't want to go home..... "Can you give him a shower?"
Ethan in the background: "Emery we have to give him a shower."
*silence*
Ethan: "This is so gross, I can't do it."
Me: "Just do it."
Emery's background noise: "Eww! Eww! Gross! Eww! Disgusting! Sick!"
Me: "Ethan go help your sister."
Ethan: silence
Me: "Ethan get his pjs off and put him in the shower!!"
Ethan: "Mom, I'm on the phone. Emery is doing that part."

We got home and the pjs had been rinsed out, and were in the sink. Will was safely clean, in clean pjs and sound asleep. Ethan's a great micro manager!!Needless to say, he's gotten a taste of $$. So now he's kind of obsessed with finding jobs.

Dark Canyon

Friday morning we did something stupid! Josh, myself, my brother Bill, his wife Nikki, my sister Melanie and her husband Steve, went backpacking down into Dark Canyon, which is near Lake Powell in Utah. It wasn't really stupid, it was actually really amazing, just stupidly hard!There was about a 3 mile hike to get from the car to what we call the 'wall of death'. The 'wall of death' is a 1200 foot drop into the canyon, of shale, rocks and boulders. Basically that is 2400 steps, with a 25lb backpack.This is what the 'wall of death' looks like from a mile away across the canyon.


This is the close up version.... it took about an hour and a half to get down.


Once inside the canyon it was beautiful! There were pools and waterfalls over some amazing rock formations.

We hiked about another 2 miles over pretty rough terrain to get to where we camped. The only way to get to where WE camped, we had to jump off a cliff into a pool. We lowered our bags down with a rope and once down, carried them over our heads to a bank. (When I say we I don't mean me). My pack was about 25lbs and there is no way I could have carried it above my head through the water!The pics are really grainy cause it was so dark in the canyon he he he hence the name "Dark Canyon"

We followed the river down the canyon (it does meet up with the Colorado river, but we didn't go all the way down) where we swam in pools, slid down water slides and jumped off waterfalls.

We stayed 2 nights and had a blast! Listening to the frogs all night that sounded like goats, sleeping on rocks, and eating dehydrated backpackers food! It doesn't get much better. LOL

Getting back out was tricky. We had to scramble up the side of a cliff, pull the bags back up with a rope and out a small hole near a waterfall. I'm sure everyone has as many scrapes and bruises as I do. Steve and Nikki got the worst ones.

Then climbing back up the 'wall of death' was a killer. Again repeating the (at least) 2400 steps. But WOW once I made it to the top, I was pretty proud of myself, I CAN'T BELIEVE I DID IT!!
No seriously it was a lot of fun! I'm glad I did it!! Once.

Father's and son's (and daughter)

On Friday, our ward had their Father's and son's camp-out. As a wonderful mother's day present, Josh took all the kids. It was great!! I had the house to myself. Unfortunately I had to clean it. (the only chance I have to do it and not have it get destroyed in 30 seconds) But it was quiet!


And Saturday was Emery's birthday, she was having a party I was getting ready for. They came home filthy about a half hour before the party. And yes, when they came home, the house was dirty again. And I had a pile of laundry to do. So my mother's day present was quickly over. ;)



She turned 8! And what a sweet 8 year old! She is so excited to get baptized. We got her a pet! At least she thinks she got a pet, even though it was just a fish! he he he!

No smells, no poop to clean up, no hair on furniture, and best of all quiet! The best kind of pet ever! She was thrilled and named him Phineas. (We'll see how long it can live.)

family pictures

On Easter my entire family got together for my dad's 70th birthday to take family pictures. I don't think we have been all together since my wedding. It was really sunny that morning (hence the squinting)but better than the snow we had been getting.
The goofy in-laws.....My super cute kids....