Fathers and Sons

Dance Festival and, it's over!

Love love love the dance festival at school each year. G danced to a Phineas and Ferb medley and C danced to Cotton Eyed Joe.

Also, I forgot that I took this fun photo of Cosmo and Tyler

and this one of playgroup buddies..

On the last day of playgroup we roasted marshmallows in my backyard. I earned serious cool points that day, and no one managed to get burned (including the marshmallows).

And finally...

goodbye 2nd and 5th and 8th grade (not pictured...are you sensing a trend?), hello summer!

Brian Head

Lucky for us--we got an invite to spend Memorial Day weekend at our friend's condo in Brian Head. We are so lucky to have awesome friends with awesome connections.

There were 4 adults and 10 children. Clearly, we were outnumbered and outwitted. (Yes I realize only 8 children are pictured here, but trust me, there are two more that weren't pictured. I am not at liberty to disclose why.)

We have never been to Brian Head before, and it was beautiful even if there was snow on the ground. Good thing the condo had a jacuzzi, because jacuzzis make up for snow on the ground on Memorial Day weekend.

Favorite parts of the trip included holding baby Troy...

who is the happiest, calmest baby I have ever met.

Another really cool part of the trip was the "loft" at the condo, which had beds for 8 of the 10 kids. It was awesome.

The first day we headed to Cedar Breaks National Monument, just a few miles from Brian Head. It was sunny and beautiful but cold! The first hike we tried to do had parts of the trail covered in thigh-deep snow! So mostly we just drove around and stopped at the look-outs and took pictures:

and my favorite...

I was trying to get an awesome picture for Rich's desk at work, so he could remember how cute I am.This is probably not that picture.

Ben is a good brother. He was such a help with the little kids on the "snow" hike when they were nearly buried by a Memorial Day avalanche.

Eva and I are secretly plotting their arranged marriage. Too cute!

Not sure what to say. Hard to resist photos with that blue sky and cool guy.

Day 2 we explored Parowan canyon and did a hike called Hidden Haven. Amazing hike, perfect in every way. We had children aged 15,14,13,11,10,8,7,4,3,and 6 months, and only one of them cried. (I'm not telling who.) At the end of the hike there was an amazing waterfall!

More hike pictures....

Another attempt at the desk photo..

I give up.

On our last day there we reached our limit and finally put the children in cages woven by ancient Paiute Indians. Just kidding. But we did explore Parowan Gap, where there were really cool lizards and lots of petroglyphs.

(Standing around admiring the petroglyphs.)

So much fun, even though I feel bad for anyone who travels with us because 1) we are cranky and our family has problems and 2) we are boring to hang out with and 3) my children are not flexible but thankfully 4) the Knox family seems to still love us anyway. Thanks, guys.

It's like riding a bike

It took two days for this guy to figure this out.

He was extremely determined, despite many cuts, bumps, bruises, and falls.

On day two he exclaimed: "Mom, I'm better today than I was yesterday!!"

He got some tips from his bro...

but mostly he just got up every single time he fell down, and tried again.

And then.....

success!!!

When I grow up, I want to be as determined as my Sam. I want to remember to keep trying even if I fall a million and one times, even when I get hurt. So proud, Sam-I-Am. Love you.

Sometimes theres crying on Mother's Day

I'm a little behind in posting. But better late than never. Here, 3 cuties enjoy lunch in the backyard.

Also, we had Mother's Day. It started out fabulous with a yummy breakfast, then there was an unfortunate incident at church we like to call "disaster in the 3rd row." It was all downhill after that. Still, I'm grateful to be a mom, even though sometimes there is crying on mother's day.

We planted the garden. I had lots of awesome help. I do love my garden. And my helpers.

After planting we enjoyed no-bake cookies. We like to call them chocolate meatballs. I think they should be considered a healthy food since they have oatmeal in them. Also, people are more excited about gardening when there are treats involved.

Also, some people let me take their pictures....

and some people don't. But I still love those some people.

Defending the Universe

Cassidy has learned and grown so much as a soccer player. I am so proud of her! She takes her game seriously, is a great team player, and really listens to her coach. She happens to love it, too.

She also really likes the uniform color this year, so much better than the year they were a dull gray, which is NOT in her color palette. 

She also evidently enjoys playing a little air guitar on the field. Just sayin'.

Thumbs up, girlfriend. You're awesome.

Then there's this guy.......

I totally love 8 year old boys. Especially those named Garrett, and those who play baseball (and soccer). He is such a happy part of my life, full of love, curiosity, and good-spirited fun. He is all heart.

Crossing home plate in style.....

and still missing his front teeth. I love it.

As I was putting this cutie to bed a few nights ago, he recites the following to me:

"Meany Meany Miny Mo--

Catch your tigers, BITE it's toe."

Sage advice---catching your tigers and biting their toes!

Also, during Stake Conference last Sunday, about an hour into it he whispers to me "Mom, how many quarters left?" and later almost at the end says "Mom, is it the fourth quarter yet?" Either we have a teenager in the house who LOVES professional basketball or we just spend way too much time watching and playing sports, or both. Either way, we made it through all 4 quarters of stake conference and I didn't have to take him out once!