Redman Camping Trip 2016

In early July I took the kids on a quick camping trip. If I don’t go camping at least one or two times per year I’m likely to get pretty grumpy!

It is sometimes difficult to get a reserved campground on a Friday night in a local canyon so I decided to shoot for the Redman Campground in Big Cottonwood Canyon which is first come first serve. The campground is located near the top of the canyon between Solitude and Brighton Ski Resorts (the best campground are always at the top of the mountains).

We arrived at the campground around 11 am to find that only one campground remained available; however, the campsite was still occupied and would be for a couple more hours. We parked our car next to the campground and started wandering around the environs. We had a good time just goofing off in Nature while waiting a little while for our campsite. Here are a few photos we made during that time.

After getting the tent setup we played games and explored the area.

Julie came up that afternoon (she is not much into sleeping on the ground these days) to do an activity with the girls while Nate and I went mountain biking at Solitude. We had a great time.

We cheated a little on this camping trip at went to get pizza at solitude because our dinner plans for cooking over the fire didn’t quite work out. The pizza was really quite good.

That evening and night we had a blast doing all of our traditional camping activities; roaming the woods, cutting wood, roasting marshmallows, star gazing, and telling stories around the campfire until we are too tired to stay awake.

The next morning we lit an awesome fire to warm us up, ate breakfast, played in the woods a little more, and then cleaned up camp.

We headed up to the Brighton store to get a little more food before heading to Doughnut Falls for a good Saturday hike.

We made it too the falls in record time and even conquered the upper rock scrambling portion of the trail. Way to go kids!

We had a great outing and look foreward to the next time.

Park Pics

One Sunday evening we went to the park to enjoy some fresh air at golden hour while I practiced how to use our new camera...hence some blurry shots. Oh, well.

We played

 

We picked flowers

We shot some hoops

And that's all, folks!


**Can you tell that ever since I've been writing more for work my writing on the blog has been sparse? It's hard for me to want to sit here and write all creatively when I already do it for a couple of hours every day. Plus, summer is BUSY. So for now you get short, sweet, and to-the-point posts. Sorry.**

January Spent Indoors

Back in January I put a roll of TMAX film through my Canonet QL17 in January before taking it to Mexico (test run). Here are a few of the photos I took. They are pretty fun!

When it is freezing cold outside one needs to play indoors. Here is a cute photo of they doing what they do best.

The girls just playing in the family room

A quick photo of some serious work in clay.

Here is a couple of photos taken on one of my chilly commutes home on frontrunner. Looks chilly but still some fun photos.

A photo of Julie, her sister Karen, and Mom Michelle looking through some family photo.

Julie’s Dad’s incredible work on the Mayflower. Here is the post discussing the finished product. Link

And last but not least a photo of best friends.

Sweet Niece

My sweet niece was baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This girl is special and we sure love her!

Swimming with Friends

A couple of weeks ago we were invited to go swimming with some friends. Obviously, the kids had a blast! Check out the cute, splashy pics!

Is this the most perfect summer swimming picture ever?!

Don't you love teeth at this age? 

Father's Day Video by Rob

For Father's Day Rob put together this super great video dedicated to his dad. Check it out.

Rob and I love all the wonderful men we've been surrounded by throughout our lives. Our dads, of course, but also other positive influences including grandpas, uncles, brothers, cousins, friends, our friends' dads, ward leaders, and church leaders. We love you and thanks to you all!

For My Children: Why I Do This

I've been feeling lately that I should write a post telling my children why I have written so much about our lives on this family blog. Maybe it's a given. Maybe it should be said anyway.

Dear Nathan, Madeleine, and Caroline,

These 944+ pages are for you. I've written every word of it so you will always be able to know who I am and how much I love you. As you get older and read more of this family history, I want you to really know me and all my parts, both the strong and the weak. If I were to ever leave this earth before I'm old, I don't want you to wonder or forget anything you could possibly wonder or forget.

I want you to have my memories of you, too. I want you to know where you come from and the breadth of your pure spirits. This is the sole purpose of my writings. It always has been and it always will be.

As long as you are my children, I will be your mother and I will love you with all of my eternal soul. I hope you already know and feel it but because of this blog, you will never have the chance to question or forget.

Yes, I love you. You're not only the reason for this family blog, but the reason for my life.

With all the love a universe can contain,

Your mom

Re-Enjoyment

I haven't been able to think of anything interesting to write about lately so I thought I'd look back and pull out some classic family pictures and posts for our re-enjoyment.

July 24, 3005
Over the last week I put my hand to Julie's belly like four times to try to feel the baby kick. With my hand on Julie's belly and her hand on mine she asked me if I felt anything. Of course the answer was no – With the exception of intestinal rumblings!!! So as you can imagine I was feeling pretty bummed. I didn't really want to try to feel anything because I thought it would still be a while before I would feel the baby, and I didn't want to be disappointed again. So sad.

Well, Yesterday I interacted with my baby for the first time. Julie grabbed my hand and said try to feel this! I'm like alright we'll try again and fail. So here I am with my hand on the belly, trying to feel the slightest movement. Nothing. I waited longer. Finally, I felt a little push. Then another!!!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I felt my baby move!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was if the baby were saying, "Hello daddy, I love you!" It was so cool.

Dad and Son May 2006

March 15, 2008
For those of you who don't know, I'm getting induced at 6:30am Monday morning. I'm kind of bummed about this, because I was induced with Nate and really wanted to just "let it happen" this time. Just seems a little easier for me and the baby. But my doctor seems to think that the delivery will go much better if I do it a little early. He wanted me to do it last Monday, but I opted to wait another week. I have been so sore this pregnancy. I carry really low and it's been painful to walk and do just about anything for the last 5 months! So needless to say, I'm ecstatic to start feeling better soon. Plus, I can't even go into public without endless stares and multiple comments on my huge belly. It just amazes me that complete strangers will actually come up to me and make stupid, rude comments. This happens, literally, at least 3 times a day and it's getting REALLY old.

Oh, how I hate this picture!

June 21, 2010

• With 4 months to go, I feel like my hips are crumbling.
• Rob’s at Youth Conference tonight so I think I’ll take advantage of the situation and take up the entire bed diagonally.
• Last night I sat on the couch with a pillow behind my back. I was aching. I lifted my shirt to check out my belly and found something strange. It was bulging in a hard, bumpy way. Right at the surface under my paper-thin skin. It morphed. The weirdest thing is that it WASN’T the baby!! Internal organs are my only guess since I’m almost positive I have a hernia. Since my skin and muscles are already so stretched, I’m mortified that my baby is going to explode out the front of me before my 9 months is over. 

• Here's a fun little video of Nate and Madeleine dancing in the rain.

October 14, 2010

Waiting to find out the sex of our baby was fun and it heightened the anticipation. It made the moment so exciting! I was about 75% sure my entire pregnancy that I was having a boy, so it really was a shock to me that I had been carrying a girl the whole time.

February 2, 2011

The baby screamed in the car the whole way. I was pulled over for speeding because there's nothing better for a cop to do than pull over a mom of 3 going 6 miles over the speed limit while driving up a hill with a baby screaming in the back seat. Fed baby in parking lot. Nate coughed up a lung in play area. Walked to the food court to get a drink. The kids see a carousel. $1.50 cash only. I only have 75 cents. Kids fight over which dumb little car ride to spend my 75 cents on. Dumb little car ride eats my quarters. Baby crying. Get kids lemonade. Nate drops lemonade.  Drive home with baby still crying. We had SUCH a great time!

This was recorded before horizontal video was invented. 
At least watch long enough to see the dancing baby in the hallway. 

July 7, 2011

What is you favorite food?

NATE: Mac n cheese, pizza, dino nuggets, beans n wieners
MADELEINE: Sandwiches

What is your favorite game to play with each other?

NATE: cars
MADELEINE: wrestling, Batmunk

What chore do you dislike the most?

NATE: Cleaning up toys ‘cause there are lots of toys.
MADELEINE: Clothes

What is your favorite song?

NATE: Battleforce 5 and Anberlin, Animal Kingdom, and Gomez
MADELEINE: A Child of God

Where is your favorite place to go with mom?

NATE: Carnival and Boondocks and McDonald’s
MADELEINE: Jungle Jim’s

What is your favorite thing about our new house?

NATE: I like making new friends.
MADELEINE: Sydney

What makes you so mad?

NATE: When we get stuck in traffic jams.
MADELEINE: Taking puppets (stuffed animals) away from me.

What do you like most about Caroline?

NATE: Kissing her.
MADELEINE: Playing with her.

What has been your favorite vacation that we’ve been on?

NATE: When we visited Grandma Maria.
MADELEINE: Going to Jordin’s house (in Murray).

What pet do you want?

NATE: I don’t know yet. (He’s been studying the animal encyclopedia trying to decide.)
MADELEINE: A cow, just like my puppet.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

NATE: Rock Star
MADELEINE: A cash register store.

What super power do you want?

NATE: For I can get cool punches.
MADELEINE: The power of wind.

Walking at 10 months

Such sweet children I have. Such a sweet life I live.

April's St. George Getaway

We took a few days off in April to go south and enjoy some of Utah's beauty. The following are some of the things we had fun doing in the St. George area:

• Hiked 3 1/2 miles roundtrip to a fantastic slot canyon in Kanarraville
• Boys went mountain biking twice
• Lots of swimming in the pool and hot tub during the day and at night under the stars 
• Visited some cool shops on Main Street
• Splashed in the splash pad
• Went "mining" for gypsum
• Toured the homes of Jacob Hamblin and Brigham Young
• Played for hours at the free children's museum
• Scrambled over red rocks and through "The Crack" at Pioneer Park
• Swung on swings
• Explored the nature park
• Took in the views at Bryce Canyon National Park

All in all, a great few days!

Rob made this video of our explorations. He always does a good job pulling out the fun and emotion of our experience. Thanks, Rob!!

The Worst Things

Before I continue with my post I want to take note that today our family blog hit 62,500 views. Wow! Granted, that's over a 10 year period and with 942 posts we are only averaging 67 views each. Not very much at all but but when it's all added up is sure sounds significant for just a ho-hum family blog. Moving on...


Lately I've been working on (and not being very good at it) having a more positive outlook and attitude. However, it's been a while since I've done a "rant" post so here goes a quick list of my worst things lately.

• Sushi. Ew! I tried it for the first time in forever and I ended up repeatedly dry-heaving over the nice restaurant's table while trying to swallow a big bite of it. The texture, uck! The taste, eek! What's even worse? I was completely out of water which I NEEDED immediately in order force the chunk of goo down my gullet. I had to quickly steal my friend's glass before I completely lost it. Embarrassingly, my pretended sophisticated-and-cool countenance quickly disintegrated in front of a group of actual sophisticated and cool friends.

• Still wearing sweaters at the end of May. My arms need to see the daylight!  

• Our stupid cat's addiction to meowing frantically to go outside and then immediately turning around and meowing frantically to come back inside and then immediately turning around and meowing frantically to go back outside and then...well, you get the point. When the weather is nice I can just leave the door open and hope the flies don't come in but usually it needs to stay shut. We are all going batty over this never-ending game!

• Chronic shoulder pain. I need to do something to remedy this but I'm not sure what the optimal treatment is and I'm too lazy to go about figuring it out.

• Lowering my own hourly pay by loosing focus, procrastinating, and spending too much time writing articles about animal feed processing, employee onboarding (which isn't actually a real word but I had to write about it anyway), RV insurance, how to use a walker, and a hundred other things I know nothing about and have to B.S. my way through anyway. I should be doing that now but instead I'm writing this silly post. 

• Making any decision. About anything. Ever.

• Having to try on 30 pairs of leggings before finding a pair that isn't too small in the waist AND too big in the legs, aren't a thousand dollars, or see-though when my butt is up in the air. 

• Never being able to complete dinner within the recipe's estimated time frame. I feel like a loser every time.

• Crayons in the dryer.

• Thinking about wearing a swimsuit to our new community pool surrounded by everyone I know and hold in high regard. AWKWARD.

• My beautiful, lush Ivy houseplant turning into a sad, dying, stringy mess.

• Is cooking really worth the dishes it produces? My sink is never empty of dirty pots and pans.

• Paying for a library cd that is stuck in my car's cd player. Also, broken car cd player.

• So many end-of-year school activities crammed into the last few weeks of May. Let's spread it out a little, eh? Also, multiple backpacks full of garbage. I have seen PILES and PILES of used paper enter my home. I mean, can't it just be put in the school's recycle bin?

• The dust seriously accumulating in unreachable places.

• Always having ground flax stuck in my teeth.

• The vision I have in my head for my yard vs. reality.

• Birth control decisions.

• Loud music playing continuously. It's like I'm in torture training for the Navy Seals. Okay! I break! I'll tell you anything you want to know! Just make the noise stop!

• Finding Cara used half my bottle of expensive shampoo for bath bubbles.

• I love going to my backyard for quiet, alone time. It's peaceful, I hear birds chirping, none of the kids are bugging me. BUT for the last 6 weeks when I go to the backyard, breaking the silence, is some negligent neighbor's dying smoke alarm. Every 30 seconds, FOR 6 WEEKS is that faint DAGNABIT chirp interrupting my zen. *^##$@!!!

• Opening the finished dishwasher after one of the kids loaded it.

• My fatigue and soreness flare ups can be a real downer. The other day Madeleine asked why I take so much medicine and why I'm in bed so much. (I'm not really but in her little eyes I am and that makes me sad.)

• My exploding linen closet because I'm the only one in this household who knows how to fold a blanket and put it on a shelf and I've refused to do it this week.

• All three of my kids inheriting my un-fittable feet.

• Because of my stomach pooch, Caroline asking me, repeatedly mind you, when I'm going to have a baby and saying, "but your stomach is sticking out!"

• Stinky washcloths.

• Nate's bad attitude when he has to wear clean pants rather than dirty shorts.

• The tupperware cupboard. 'Nuff said.

Wow. That's a long, sad list of Worsts and I could probably think of about a hundred more if I let myself. But really, if those are my "worsts" than life is still pretty darn amazing. Lucky, blessed me. 

(See that positivity blip I put in at the bottom? That makes me a better, not so negative person...)