Grotto Falls

We spent a fabulous day at Grotto Falls up Payson Canyon. (Thanks to BFF Vicki for the great suggestion! She is an awesome travel agent and always has good suggestions on fun places to go.) The weather was PERFECT and the hike was just right for our family---a short, completely shaded trail. The trail follows a creek for about half a mile that ends at the falls---a beautiful 25 foot waterfall that drops into a shallow pool surrounded by huge boulders. The boulders rise so high on each side that you feel as if you are inside a cave--a grotto--with your own private, magical pool. The water was FRIGID but that didn't stop the kids from getting in the pool and exploring the crevices and caves surrounding the falls. After the falls we stopped to picnic at Payson Canyon Park before we headed home. Thanks to Ben for making the lunch and trail food (Cub Scout achievement) and to everyone else for making it a great day.

What I will miss most about summer....

My garden is one of the things I will miss most about summer. The first picture below shows the garden just a few weeks after planting, sometime in May. The second picture shows the garden now, after months of tender loving care (well let's don't get carried away---all I really do is water it occasionally!) I LOVE walking in my garden every day, seeing which produce is ready to pick and which is almost ready, battling squash bugs and other varmints, eating cherry tomatoes with Cass right off the vine, and (especially) watching the pumpkins turn orange. It is just so satisfying! I will definitely miss havesting our dinner vegetables daily, but we probably still have a few weeks left so I will just enjoy them while they last.

Here are the rest of the things I will miss most about summer:

• flip flops and brightly painted toe nails
• staying in pj's with the kids until 10am
• having all the kids home for lunch
• swimming
• eating dinner in the backyard
• not being a slave to the school schedule
• hikes, camping, and family vacations
• BYU Creamery ice cream
• warm weather and the sun on my face
• bike rides
• the smell of sun screen

What will you miss most?

Time flies when you're having fun....

Evidently I fell off the blog wagon and I am only now just getting back on! Here's a recap of the latest and greatest:

Watch out first and fourth grades! Cass and Ben had a triumphant return to Freedom Elem and are loving every minute of it (Ben pretends not to). Cassidy is especially enjoying first grade--she is just so enthusiastic about everything--school lunch and riding her bike to school being her favorites. We are so grateful that they both have wonderful teachers this year. Kudos to Mrs. Braithwaite and Mrs. Alston! (P.S.: Can you feel the love in the picture below?)

On Monday August 18 Cassidy sang with the Lehi Children's Choir (check out my friend Kandice's blog to see the video) the National Anthem at the Salt Lake Bee's game. The choir was amazing and we all enjoyed an evening at the ball park, complete with a complimentary Bee's cap. Good job, Cass!

Ride Like the Wind, G-Dawg!

After about a month of trying Garrett finally learned to ride a two-wheeler with no training wheels! Those of you parents who have already experienced this feat with your children know the immense joy that fills your heart when your child works hard at something and finally conquers it.....and also because you can stop running up and down the street holding on to the back of their bike while they practice! Actually, to give credit where credit is due, it was Cassidy who really helped Garrett learn the whole bike thing. Day after day she worked with him until finally yesterday he figured out the whole balance thing and can now do it by himself. Way to go Garrett, and thanks for your help Cass! Here's my little analogy to go along with Garrett's new triumph:

Once there was a mom who loved her children very much and always encouraged them to be their best. One day her young son asked her to put training wheels on a bicycle so he could ride it. The mom agreed, and when the dad came home from work that day she asked her husband if he would put training wheels on the bike for their beloved son, since she didn't really like to have to do anything involving tools or assembling complex Lego structures. The dad also loved his children very much, but he did more than just encouraged them to be their best----he taught them how. "I will not put training wheels on the bike, my darling," he said, to the baffled protests of his wife. "Our son will learn to ride a bike much faster without the training wheels."

The wife protested, because she was, afterall, just looking for anything that would MAKE HER LIFE EASIER. (It was all about her) The mom argued that if the dad would just put the T.W. on it would make it so easy for the young boy to go out and ride his bike and the mom would not have to run up and down the street after the boy helping him balance on the bike. But the dad would not be swayed. After only a short amount of time the young boy learned to ride his bike without T.W. Although he endured much frustration and hard work, he persevered and reached his goal. Sometimes the easy way is not the quickest way, nor the best way. Sometimes we must fight and persevere and grow and change, and it might even be painful, but it is usually short lived and well worth it. And the mom, dad, young son and his siblings lived HAPPILY EVER AFTER, without training wheels.

The Once and Future King........#4

Ben, Cassidy and Garrett (okay maybe not Garrett because he really has no clue what's going on) are pleased to announce the upcoming arrival of a new brother or sister due in January 2009. Cassidy has big plans for this baby (Can SHE sleep in my room, can I feed HER, can I sit by HER in the car--notice a pattern?) and Ben just has lots of 9 year old questions (Does Heavenly Father just put the baby inside you? How can you tell you're pregnant?--tough questions to answer appropriately for a 9 year old !). Garrett just keeps telling people we're having two babies, although I assure you we are not. (We're not sure why he says this---who knows why 3 year olds say anything.) Anyway, we are all excited to meet our newest little King---even though it is still far away. The best news of all? I am due right around my brithday--January 17---and this just might be the best birthday present ever.

There were 3 in the bed and the little one said.....

Greetings to my devoted fans (all 2 of you)! We are just returned from a fabulous family vacation to wonderful Wyoming (do you like my alliteration?). We had a GREAT time--here are the highlights.........

The kids LOVED sleeping in the hotel. Their favorite parts were the continental breakfast, indoor swimming pool, and vending machines. If we had done nothing else besides let them swim and choose a treat from the vending machine they would have called it a success. Oh, and they also were completely amazed that someone came in every day to make the beds!

Wyoming is a big, beautiful desert! The sky is amazingly blue and we enjoyed cooler temps than Utah as we hiked and explored. We especially LOVED taking our van on dirt or gravel roads in the middle of nowhere, in search of a new ghost town or pioneer site that I just had to see. In this picture we are on a wagon-wheel road to the Byrne cemetery, built in 1870. B,C, and G were amazed at all the young children who died so early.

Here we are visiting Fossil Butte National Monument, one of the largest fossil quarries in the world. We saw tons of antelope, deer, badgers (the kids wanted to take one home for a pet--Rich said no) and mosquitos and ticks. We also drove this day to Fontenelle Reservoir, and stopped at more pioneer sites along the way. Wish I could list them all here for you, but Wyoming is a treasure trove of pioneer places. To me there is something amazingly cool about standing on the same ground where the pioneers stood.

On Thursday we drove from Evanston to Paris, Idaho (how many of you can say you went to 'Paris' on your vacation this year?). After 10 miles on a rutted, rocky road we finally arrived at Paris Ice Caves, which are amazing. Ice stays in the cave year round, and water flows through the cave so you have to cross a bridge in the cave to get to certain parts. There were amazing rocks to climb, snow to slide on, and dark corners of the cave to explore. This is a must-see if you are ever in the vicinity.

After the ice caves we spent the rest of the day at one of our favorite places, Bear Lake. We particulary love the north shore for the sandy beaches and shallow water. The water was actually warm and the kids waded out forever and loved playing in the "mud". Strong winds helped create waves on the lake and we were sure we were in California at the beach.Of course, no trip to Bear Lake is complete without an overpriced raspberry shake, and we were not disappointed. The best part about this vacation was our proximity to everything. We stayed in Evanston, which is only about an hour (more or less) from all these fabulous adventure spots. So we explored by day but returned to the hotel (and especially the hotel's swimming pool) each evening. There are so many other pictures I should post......if only I wasn't so lazy. Maybe I need a vacation........