Zion National Park- Emerald Pools

Before we got all grumpy and tired, I wanted a nice picture. Flora and Lola (cousins) came with me, and Charity stayed home with her Aunt Audrey and cousin Pearl. 

 

 

They loved the shuttle buses. Flora is such a character- she loves to make goofy faces for the camera. 

 

Our first stop was Zion lodge lawn. Fueling up with lunch. 

 

I chose Emerald Pools- challenging, yet doable without having to bring a stroller. One of our many breaks- Griffin and Oliver are only 3 years old, so we took many. 

 

They loved climbing up the rocks - probably one of their favorite things about the hike. 

They also loved the "cave" and the waterfalls. 

 We had to take a potty break...

 

Then they wanted to take off their shoes and play in the water for a while. 

 

At the top (that chain behind them was a warning to stay away from a giant cliff... I was REALLY nervous here and talked to them about how dangerous it was before reaching this point).

 Had to bribe them with French fries to avoid meltdowns. They did awesome! It was fun to have a couple extras with us this time!

Best Part of Spring

 

My strawberry garden!

Lincoln's Talk in Primary

Lincoln did so well - he read the whole thing all by himself, without me standing next to him. He wrote most of it by himself, with a couple quotes added by me. The theme of the month is "The Restoration".

My Future Missionaries

  

Downtown Splash Pad

  

I took the 4 younger ones to the splash pad after camping... To make up for the cold camping trip and to give Jesse time to prepare his lesson. I love when they all play like little buddies. 

Camping Trip

 

We went camping in Pinto, Utah (near Pine Valley) on Jesse's dad's property with Jon & Jenn. We tried to plan it so the weather would be perfect, since we both have kids 6 and under. Temperatures looked great, a bit  chilly (upper 60's and mid-40's), so we continued with our plans. We didn't realize until after we got up there that there was a wind-advisory warning for southern Utah...

  

Setting up the tent was a bit of a pain in the wind, but doable. But it got interesting when a whole side of our tent ripped free from its stakes... So we improvised with staking directly into the bottom layer...

 

And then one of the poles (hollow but sturdy metal) bent, and eventually broke. So we tried tethering the tent to the van...

 

And after a lot of frustration, thinking we may have to pack up and go home, 2 hours of persistence and ingenuity from this handsome hunk, we (okay... Jesse) came up with this:

 

... which held through the night. After a lovely, peaceful night's rest [read as "no sleep whatsoever" 😣], we woke up and packed up immediately after breakfast. I did a lot of praying for that tent!!!

 

And as we finished packing, the sun came out and the wind was very gentle. 😒 Lincoln didn't even get to use his new fishing pole. Another time... 

D.I. Finds

 

We went to Deseret Industries (D.I.) to find some second-hand shoes for Parker for camping. Lincoln begged and begged for these shoes, and finally decided to buy them with his own money (he just barely got new shoes, so I wasn't going to buy more). They are very gently used Air Jordans... which new go for quite a bit of money. Nice find, Lincoln!

Book Club

  

I hosted this month, which I decided to have at my house (we usually meet at a restaurant). My book of choice, Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson, had a lot of fancy food and clothing, so I served Hors d'voeuvres and wore my fancy flows dress. It was a lot of (fun) work, and turned out really well! Here is what I served:

• Bacon-Wrapped Dates by Martha Stewart (Here)
• Bacon-Wrapped Pineapple by Nom Nom Paleo (Here)
  
• Mango Shrimp in Endive Leaves by RealSimple (Here)
• Queso Verde by Our Best Bites (white cheese dip - Here)
• Restaurant-Style Salsa by Pioneer Woman (Here)
• Strawberry, Lime, Cucumber & Mint Infused Water by Back to Her Roots (Here)
• Harvest Apple Salad by McCormick Gourmet (Here)
• Rustic No-Knead Artisan Bread by Anna's Table (I used 1/2 whole wheat flour, 1/2 white flour found Here)

Yum! Also, for dessert we had chocolate bowls with berries and whipped cream. (http://www.justataste.com/video-chocolate-balloon-bowls/ - surprisingly really simple & easy to make... Not so easy to eat, however... But delicious nonetheless.)

Forts

 

Lincoln and Flora (and I'm sure help from the others) built this fort in the backyard... They are always building things. It is awesome to see their creativity at work! And... after I saw it, I said, "Ok, let me get a picture so you can clean it up!" Haha... But it actually worked. Sometimes they listen!

And yes, that is a screen door off to the side. 😒

Chrysalis

 

They are starting to form their chrysalides... Exciting times! 3-4 more days and we will have butterflies!

Perk of Parenthood

 

I love my little massagers... They do good work and accept little pay (...actually none). 

 Charity can't help but notice when I am taking pictures and loves posing for pictures and seeing herself in the screen. Not camera shy at all!

Sunday Dress

 

I love this sweet little lady. We call her so many names... Bug. Bug-bug. Little lady Lou. Sweet pea. Charity Bug. She is such a girly girl and wanted to pose so I would take her "pih-cha". She loves pink, flowers, combing her hair to make it "pih-tee", and wearing sparkly shoes with dresses. 

Shower Time!

 

Front left: Oliver (3)

Front right: Charity (2)

Back right: Griffin (3)

Back left (looking at camera): Parker (5)

Back middle: Lincoln (6 - & not amused I was taking a shower picture!)

They barely fit... Probably the last time they take one communal shower! My babies are growing up! This has been our Sunday morning for the past couple years. 

Girls Night

   

On May 6, the boys went to "Fathers and Sons" to celebrate the restoration of the priesthood (more on this at LDS.org), so we joined with Audrey and her girls and went to Benja's. Charity loved my chicken, wouldn't touch the edamame I ordered for her, loved the pellet ice from my water cup, and also managed to sneak my water glass and drop it on the floor resulting in the bus-girl cutting her finger on the shards while trying to clean it up off the floor. Lots of fun having a girls night... I thank God everyday for my baby girl, Charity, my little miracle. I am so blessed!

Scary story- a few weeks ago, we were playing at a park for the neighborhood play group. Griffin kept wanting to go in and out of the van, so I finally closed the door and locked the van. A minute later Charity wanted to play on the sidewalk by the van, which happened to be parked on the street. WHAT WAS I THINKING not retrieving her immediately? Of course a car comes and Charity heads around the van right for the oblivious oncoming car (in between my van and another car, so the oncoming car could have never even seen her). I hop up and sprint towards her and start screaming at her, scaring her further into traffic. My heart racing I finally got to her and picked her up, just a few feet away from the 30mph car. First cradling her in my arms, and then a little spank for going on the street... Angels were there keeping her safe and I am so grateful to my Father in Heaven for her safety. 

Cup of Caterpillars

   

We got these "Cups of Caterpillars" along with a butterfly pop-up tent-like garden. In 7-10 days, we will have painted lady butterflies! I love teaching homeschool! 

This school year we prayed about the decision to homeschool, and it is what we are currently supposed to be doing! So overwhelming at first, but so gratifying and rewarding, now that my head is (in part) wrapped around the idea. 

This fall, however, our kids "won" the lottery to get into a local charter school. We prayed about this, too, thinking we would continue to homeschool. Quite shockingly, the answer we all received (Lincoln and Parker also prayed about it with us) was to finish enrollment at the charter school for admittance fall 2016. Another year, another change. God has me on my tiptoes! 

Track Meet

  Great job, Lincoln! 6-8 yr age group

200m time: 00:48 (4th place)

400m time: 02:03 (7th place)

Softball throw: 48' 4" (9th place)

Poetry Teatime

 

In March/April of this year we started Poetry Teatime. (This is inspired by Julie Bogart of Bravewriter.) We have lemonade, snacks, light candles, al while I read aloud some children's poetry. Sometimes we have friends/cousins over to join us. 

  

Most often I try to do it during nap time, since this girl can't eat wheat/gluten. This day she happened to wake up right as we began... She was happy with a banana a spoon, and a cup of lemonade!

When it's just our family, I have Lincoln and Parker each pick out a poem to read aloud to everyone else. Parker tried his hardest at finding the silliest poem possible. 🐕😂

Mother's Day

Jesse sure made my Mother's Day special. He...

1. Let me sleep in. 
2. Had all the kids help him make me breakfast and 
3. Simultaneously made the kids a different breakfast. (Oatmeal, every Sunday)
4. Showered and clothes all the kids. (There's 5.)
5. Made me an elaborate meal (chicken chile lime tacos with mango salsa and avocado cream sauce) for dinner. This man can cook!!!
6. Wrote me a sweet letter telling me how much I mean to him. (And what a babe I am, of course.)

 

Some of you may not believe this, but Jesse does at least half of the cooking (when he's not at work) and he bathes and feeds the kids every Sunday. He is amazing. Everyone sees me hauling my kidlets around and says, "I don't know how you do it!" Jesse. THAT is how I do it. And much prayer. And scripture study.

It's interesting how much more I appreciate my own mother now that I am a mother myself. I love you Mom, and thank you for putting up with my...independent (aka naughty) spirit!

Wastewater Treatment Plant

For "water week" we visited this stinky - but fascinating - place. It was really interesting to learn about how little they actually treat the water. Filter by gravity mostly, and then UV lights is all. 

These railings were (GASP!) not child-proof! I had some serious anxiety here. This quick-moving water was so silt-dense that even a good swimming adult couldn't stay afloat longer than 1-2 minutes. AND... it is 17 feet deep.

Another interesting fact... seeds are in the water from all types of plants. They empty these corridors (wrong word..) to clean all the sludge at the bottom every so often.. and after it's dried up, it's basically human manure/fertilizer/compost that is very fertile and grows all the seeds. I didn't take a picture of the plants (remember... I was on high alert to avoid having my kids fall through those railings!) but there were squash and watermelon and even weed. Ha!

Pink, Pink, Pink

This girl loves PINK. Pink hat, pink romper, pink socks, pink shoes.