Roger's Birthday and Our Trip to Capitol Reef - May 25, 2014

Sunday - May 25, 2014
We woke up early and headed out on our adventure.  It was a long drive, but very beautiful, so we were okay with it. We stopped at a rest stop for lunch.  It wasn't too exciting, but roger took our picture while we were eating.

Our first destination was Capitol Reef.  We forgot to stop and take a picture of us in front of the sign, so we did that on the way out.  This was the scenery when we first got here.  It was so pretty and I just wanted to stop and see everything and take pictures.  We pulled over on the first pull out and I took these two pictures.  Then we noticed that there was a hike a short distance up the road.  So, we got back in the truck and parked at the start of the hiking trail.

Here we are at the start of our hike.  We hiked to Chimney Rock.  It's the rock directly behind Parker.

The temperatures were in the 80's.  We were glad they weren't hotter.  I can't imagine hiking in this area in the summer time.  That would be ridiculously hot.

Alissa and Brinley waiting for us to all be ready to start hiking.  Roger had to change his shoes and we needed to make sure we had enough water.

 The hike was a lot of uphill.  I kept using the excuse that I needed to take a picture, so I could stop and catch my breath.  Hiking this year is much better than last year.  Last year, I was really out of shape and it took us much longer and way more stops to wait for me.  I'm excited that it's getting easier since there are so many trails and hikes I want to go on this year.  Especially when we go to Montana.

Brinley and Roger stopped to pose for me. A lot of the pictures that I took were scenery pictures.  I used bits and pieces from my scenery pictures to create a pretty picture frame for the Brinley Roger picture that I took.

 After a lot of uphill, we made it to a sign that gave us options and pointed the direction of what trail to take to get where.  We opted to do the round trip hike to Chimney Rock.  That meant a lot more uphill.

 We treaded a long for a ways, then realized we might not have brought enough water for this.  We had a great view of Chimney Rock (Which is what we came to see), so we took some pictures and decided to turn around and head back.

 The hike down was much easier and went much faster.

 At the bottom, toward the end of the trail, roger noticed a lizard.  I have no idea hoe he saw it.  It was hidden pretty well.  We stopped to take some pictures of it.

 After our Chimney Rock hike, we headed up the road and found another hike to go on.  This one wasn't nearly as long and it took us to an overlook.  After our hike, we realized that we were way to tired from our waking up early, driving all day, then going on two hikes.  So, we decided to head to the cabin that we would be staying in.

 We remembered to get our pictures on the way out.

 On our way to the cabin, we saw a dirt road with a sign that said 'Hidden Lake' or maybe it was 'Peek-a-boo Lake'.  I can't remember, what it was, but it was something that implied it was hard to see.  Maybe it had blind in the name.  I really wish I had a better memory.  Anyway.... we decided to follow the dirt road and go see this lake.  The dirt road was really long.  The scenery was beautiful.  We were really enjoying the drive.  But eventually the road got smaller and smaller and less traveled on.  We kept going, because we really wanted to see this lake.  Eventually the road got too bad and we decided it would be too risky to keep going.  It was a nice scenic drive, but we never did find that lake.  On the way down, we noticed there was a lot of wood that would work great for building a fire when we got to the cabin.  So, we stopped and gathered some wood before we headed the rest of the way to the cabin.

 I had read on a website that the drive from Anasazi State Park to Escalante was a thrilling drive.  I kept wondering what could be thrilling about a drive.  I had forgotten all about it, until we came up to the top of the hill and I finally understood.  There is a stretch of road that was very thrilling.  We were at the top of a mountain with a drop off on either side of the road.  There were no guard rails or anything like that.  It was kind of scary.  But exciting.  I was so surprised and a little nervous as we went over the road, that I forgot to take any pictures.  We stopped and took pictures on the way back though.  We also stopped at this scenic area not too long after passing the scary part on the road.  It was interesting to learn about how this road was made.

 The entry way to our campground. We did a lot of calling around on Saturday night trying to find a place to stay.  Every where we called was all full, since it was Memorial Day weekend.  We had just about given up hope of finding a place.  Roger decided to call one more place.  This was the place.  They had one cabin available and it was much cheaper than any other place.  So, that was really nice.

 The cabin we stayed in

We sat around the campfire and enjoyed some s'mores.  Before our desert, we decided to go out to eat.  We were just too tired and the thought of starting a fire and cooking a meal, just felt like too much.  So, we went to Subway for dinner.  When we got back, someone had started a fire in our fire pit.  We were a little confused, but also felt like, sweet!  We get to sit around the fire with out all the work of starting the fire.  Soon, some people from one of the fifth wheel trailers came over.  They said that they had started the fire.  They didn't realize anybody was staying there and they were hoping to have some s'mores.  We didn't mind sharing the fire pit for a while.  They seemed like nice enough people.  They lived in Holladay area.  They enjoyed their s'mores and we visited for a while, then they left to put their little ones to bed.  We enjoyed sitting around the fire for a while longer before heading to bed.

We saw a rainbow

Playing at Bothwell Park - May 24, 2014

Saturday - May 24, 2014

We love this Park!  They added some new playground equipment, which makes an all ready really great park even better.  This park has everything!  It has a really great playground, basketball hoop, Volleyball area, baseball field, area for playing soccer, a bowery with tables, and access to a kitchen if you ask and reserve it.

The kids wanted out of the house and Roger and I needed some time to relax and figure out what we wanted to do for Roger's birthday and Memorial Day.  While they kids played (they played on the playground, played tennis, then baseball with some other kids), Roger and I played basketball.  It was a lot of fun.  I love the basketball hoop there.  The backboard isn't too bouncy, so it makes it easier for me to make baskets.  I actually won a game of seven on the line.  It was so exciting and fun!  Roger and I played until we were too tired then we started planning our weekend.

We had originally planned on going to Lava Hot springs, but we had a few other ideas.  We started looking online and decided that we wanted to go south for Memorial Day.  We decided to go to Capitol Reef and Escalante State Park.  We started looking and planning things out and decided that we would wake up super early and go first thing in the morning.  Roger called and found a place that had a small cabin we could rent.  It took a lot of calling around before he found a place.  He called a bunch of hotels.  Most of them were all booked up and the ones that weren't were close to $200.00 a night.  The place he found was only $50.00 a night.  Since we found a place to stay, we got the kids and headed home, so we could start packing and get some sleep before our vacation tomorrow.
Alissa and Brinley let me try some cute hairstyles on their hair before we left to the park.

The Mile Run - May 21, 2014

Wednesday - May 21, 2014
We are at the high school track watching the kids do the mile run.  Parker and Brinley both qualified, but Parker chose not to participate.  It was really hot sitting out in the sun watching them run.  When I first got there, I sat on the bleachers on the other side of the field.  I was too far away and couldn't tell were Parker and Brinley were sitting.  So, I just snapped a bunch of pictures (zoomed in) knowing that I could find them later.  The two bigger pictures on the right hand side are the pictures that have Parker and Brinley sitting with their classes.

There are a lot of different groups that run.  I think they group them by grade, then I don't know how the divide up the groups within each grade.  There are a lot of races to watch.  The first year I ever watched the mile run, was when Alissa ran it.  We got there at 9:00 am.  Alissa ended up being in one of the last groups that ran.  So, she ran shortly before 12:00 pm.  It was a long day!  I had Parker, Brinley, and a little boy I was babysitting with me.  It was rough trying to entertain them for that long while we waited.
This time was much different.  I was there watching all by myself.  It was a lot less stressful that way, but I wasn't really grateful for that.  I like it better when I have little ones with me.  The thing I was grateful for was that I didn't have to wait as long for Brinley to race.  She got to race around 10:00 am.  So, that was nice.  I left as soon as her race ended.  When I got home, Roger and I went for  long bike ride.  It was a lot of fun.

My Ouchy - May 20, 2014

Tuesday - May 20, 2014

My wrist has been hurting for a while.  I can't pinpoint a certain time that I injured it, but it hurts when I use it a lot.  I kept thinking that I must have sprained it or something.  It would hurt and I would avoid using it for a while until it would start feeling better.  Then, I would forget about it and start using it again and it wouldn't be long until it started to hurt again. This has been going on for about 6 months now.  About a month ago, I noticed that I have an odd bump on my wrist.  I wondered if maybe I had broken it and the bump was a bone out of place or something like that, because the bump is hard.  Anyway.... I finally went to see a doctor about it.  She said that I have a deep tissue cist.  I get to wear a super cool brace and take some medicine for it, then we'll see how it is doing and decide what needs to be done to treat it.

I took this picture at Wal-mart, while Roger and I were waiting for our prescriptions to be filled.

Roger went to the doctor also.  His allergies are getting really bad again and he was hoping to get an allergy shot again.  Those have worked really well for him in the past.  This time the doctor told him, that the shots are really bad for you.  they kill your immune system and they decided the benefits are not worth the risk.  So, they prescribed some allergy medicine and referred him to a specialist to figure out exactly what he is allergic too, so he can get it treated better.

Parker set up his super cool hockey set that Aunt Linda gave him.  He loves it!  It is such a fun toy.

 Alissa competed in a bi-athelon at her school today.  But, since she doesn't have a bike, she only participated in the running portion of the race.  She came in third place!  I'm so proud of her.  She participates and is involved in so many more things than I ever would have done.  I'm glad that she is brave enough to put her self out there and she gets to experience so many fun and exciting things.

Parker's Birthday - May 19, 2014

Monday - May 19, 2014

Parker is 10 years old!  That is so crazy!  Time goes way too fast.  I can hardly believe that it has already been 10 years.

Since Joyce had to go to work in the morning, we decided to let Parker open his presents first thing.  That way Grandma would be there to enjoy the fun.  Parker was so excited and he loved everything he got.

After Parker finished opening his presents, Grandma said her good-byes and headed to work.  The kids played with Parker's new toys, while Roger took a nap and I took a shower.  Then we made some yummy Happy Birthday cupcakes.  We decorated them really simply.

 The kids played outside with some of Parker's new toys, while the cupcakes were baking.

Roger woke up so we went back to celebrating Parker's Birthday.  I realized that I forgot to bring candles, so that was a bummer.  We sang Happy Birthday to Parker then he pretended to blow out the candles and got a little fussy with his sisters for helping him pretend blow out the candles, because he wanted to do it by himself.

We ate the yummy cupcakes then cleaned up the house and got ready to go out and play.  We went to The Hollywood Connection.  Missy VanBibber, Linda, Elizabeth, Kristin, and Mathew all met us there.  It was so much fun.  We practically had the whole place to ourselves when we first got there.  The kids loved all of the rides.

Then we went upstairs and played in the arcade for a little bit.

When we finished playing, the kids used their tickets to buy themselves some treats.  After that, we went downstairs to play miniature golf.  That was my favorite part.  Linda was having bad luck.  A lot of times, the ball came back to her and landed in almost the same spot that she had started from.  That made me laugh a lot.  It was too funny!  Parker, Brinley, and Mathew played their own game of miniature golf.  They were ahead of us and finished much faster than we did.  We ended up getting a hold of Lizzy (who was still up in the arcade) and asking her to come and watch the kids while we finished.  She kept an eye on them while they rode the rides again.  They loved it!

At the end of the miniature golf course, the last whole has a prize for you if you get a hole-in-one.  I went first.  Before I hit the ball, I commented on how impossible it looked.  I was sure that I wouldn't be able to do it, but I went for it anyways...... and...... I won! Woo! Woo!  A ticket machine spits out a ticket telling you what your prize is.  I won a free scrambled dog at the little restaurant that they had in there.  It was really yummy.  I love free food!

After I finished my food and the kids finished riding the rides, we went skating.  Skating comes free with our pass of all passes, but it would have cost $2.00 a person if we roller-bladed.  So we just stuck with the roller-skating.  I'm not a very good roller-skater.  I'm much better at roller-blading.  Parker is also.  He really wished he had his roller-blades.  He still did really well.  He is good at stuff like this.  I had the funnest time watching Mathew try and skate.  He was really funny.  He fell a lot, but he didn't give up or cry once.  He just kept at it.  That was impressive, but it was also very funny to watch.

We were pretty tired after the roller-skating, so we decided to head home.  Linda brought a Birthday gift for Parker, but she left it in her van.  We walked out with Linda and Parker opened his gift.  He loved it!

Then we said good-bye to everyone, piled in the truck, and headed home.  Kids were all asleep by the time we got home.  We managed to get them all inside and in their beds.  It was a long day, but Parker had a really fun Birthday.

At Kari's House - May 18, 2014

Sunday - May 18, 2014

I woke up this morning feeling so happy to not have a headache.  Kari had a lot of breakfast foo for us to choose from.  That was so nice!  It was nice to wake up and have so many different foods being offered to you.  Usually I wake up to my kids telling me they are hungry.  when I start listing the different things they can choose from to eat for breakfast, they start whining that they don't like it and we never have anything good to eat.  It is so frustrating!  So, this morning was nice.  No whiny kids and lots of yummy foods.

We spent the morning relaxing and talking.  Then in the afternoon, Kari went to get some highlights for my hair.  she also, go me a super cool blender, like the one she has.  she made me the yummiest smoothie and I was so jealous.  I asked her where I could get a blender like that.  she told me where to get it and I had planned on buying one, but she is too nice and decided to get one for me.  I love it!

Anyway... I just really wanted to do something different with my hair. So, Kari gave me highlights.  It took really well.  My hair is a lot lighter, which I love, but it doesn't look very natural, which I don't love.  So, I love and hate my hair all at the same time.  It is fun to have something different though.  I was getting really bored with it how it was.  I can't decide what I want to do next.  I either want to cut it shorter or get a perm, or....... do both!  We'll see when I visit Kari again.  I guess it all will depend on my mood at the time of my visit.

Anyways.... We had fun at Kari's.  She gave the girls some really pretty dresses, that they are super excited about, and she gave Parker a Hoodiebuddy for his birthday.  Parker Loves it!

When my hair was done, Roger came to pick us up. As soon as we were all loaded up in the truck, Roger's mom called.  She was just getting home from a Sister's Fling with her sisters.  They were all heading over to drive down the lane by the house I grew up in.  It turns out that they are relatives of the old owner of that property. Some of their relatives are buried back there.  They have rights to the land.  They are supposed to be allowed to go back and visit the backyard where their ancestors are buried anytime.  Roger's mom was so surprised to find out that I grew up in the house right by the lane.  The house I grew up in was built on the property that was owned by her family.  Crazy!  So, they wanted us to come and meet them there, so I could share some stories of my childhood and what I knew about the area. So, that was a lot of fun for me.  We visited for a short while, then they left and we headed to Roger's Mom's house.

We decided to stay the night at her house, so we could celebrate Parker's birthday the next day by going to a fun center that took our pass of all passes.

It was nice to relax for a little while after we got to her house.  Before we went to bed, the kids helped me blow up some balloons and decorate a little for Parker's Birthday.