I guess I should have checked sooner when I heard Baby K upstairs by herself squealing. She just came downstairs with her head and shirt soaking wet and carrying a spray bottle with water in it. Luke often uses it in the morning to wet his hair down and apparently Baby K got ahold of it and figured out how to spray it. She sat here on the floor for the longest time just squirting herself in the face - it was like she couldn't quite figure out how she kept getting wet but then would laugh about it.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Getting into Trouble
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Beautiful evening
Last Tuesday my new co-den leader and I took our cub scouts to the Great Salt Lake. Unfortunately with the changing back to Standard time we only got there just before the sun went down. It was a beautiful sunset though and I was able to get some awesome pictures of it. And then as we were leaving the full moon was just coming up over the mountains in the east. We have had beautiful weather again this week and despite the fact that the sun was setting, it was a fun little trip for our den.
The only editing I did to these pictures was cropping a few of them. The color exactly what the camera captured.
My little helper!
The other day I was doing laundry when I left the room for a few minutes and came back to this:
Baby K was taking laundry out of the laundry basket and putting it into the washing machine! It was so cute to watch! (The only unfortunate part about it was that it was clean laundry that had already been folded!!) I just love this age when they are constantly observing what is going on and trying to copy what they see others do!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Zion Canyon Day 2
October 23, 2009
We didn't get up terribly early the next day because it usually ends up hurting us in the end if we try pushing everyone too hard. We took advantage of the hotel's Continental Breakfast (they had bread for making toast and 2 cereals to choose from...) and then headed back to Zion Canyon. We took the shuttle up to the last stop in the park which drops you off at the start of a very easy walk along the Virgin River (it was so easy that I can't even really call it a hike). Before we got on the trail we walked the other direction to get a closer look at some mule deer that we could see from the bus. We also saw some wild turkeys in the park that day.
After observing the deer and using the restrooms we headed off on the Riverside Walk trail which is about 2 miles roundtrip and a very easy, wheelchair accessible trail. This trail actually takes you to the start of the Narrows which is where you have to get in the river and hike in the river to get farther up the canyon. The Narrows is a dangerous place to be in a rainstorm.
After the Riverside Trail (and a quick rush to the restroom for Blondie), we got back on the shuttle and made a quick stop at the Court of the Patriarchs. It is a short climb up to an overlook spot where we took a few pictures and then headed back down to the shuttle again.
Our next stop was at the History Center to watch a 20 minute movie about the history of the park. During the movie Kitty and Baby K both fell asleep - but unfortunately they woke up once we got back on the shuttle bus. Next we headed back to the Visitor's Center and our car to eat some lunch - at about 2:00!!
After lunch we went got into the car to drive to the eastern side of the park - which is accessible through a 1.1 mile tunnel through the mountain. The tunnel was pretty cool and before you get to it there is a huge arch visible called The Great Arch - it's not freestanding though. We didn't get any good pictures of it because there was a huge shadow over it when we went past it. The tunnel had huge viewing windows cut out in a couple spots where you used to be able to stop your car and look out - not anymore though.
Just past the tunnel is the trailhead for the Canyon Overlook Trail. It actually takes you to a spot above the Great Arch - but you can't see the arch from it. The trail is 1 mile long and described as "Moderate with long drop-offs, mostly fenced." All I can say is that we were so glad to have Baby K on DH's back so that we could concentrate on helping Kitty and Blondie. There were MANY sections where there was no railing whatsoever and a steep drop off to the side of the trail. I think that several people we passed thought we were a little crazy for bringing such young kids on the trail but we survived.
If you look closely in this picture you can see the bridge that is in the previous picture. Most of this hike felt like we were on the edge of a cliff!
After this hike we got back in the car and started heading back home. Along the way we stopped at Kolob Canyon which is a newer extension of Zion Canyon and has it's own entrance. We got there just before dark so we just drove in, took a few pictures and then left for home again.
We got back late that night and then Luke had an 8:00 game the next morning with M&M's game immediately following. All in all we had a lot of fun and I was impressed with how well the kids did on the hikes (aside from the frequent trips to the restroom!!). It was absolutely beautiful down there at the park and we had perfect hiking weather!!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Zion Canyon Day 1
October 22, 2009
Right when the kids went off-track for 3 1/2 weeks the weather turned really cold and snowy up at Yellowstone so we decided to make a trip to Southern Utah instead for some warmer weather. Unfortunately DH had a conference for work he had to present at and was really busy with that, Luke had the Pinewood Derby, and I was busy with coaching Luke's soccer team. Finally we were able to break away and take a trip the Thursday and Friday before the kids went back to school. We toyed with the idea of camping but the trip was decided somewhat last minute and I wasn't able to get the supplies that we needed for camping out. Luckily I found a pretty cheap deal on a hotel room not too far from Zion National Park and so we left early Thursday morning and headed straight for the park.
It was a good 4 1/2 hour drive down to the park and once we got there we started out by having lunch near the Visitor's Center. Then we boarded the shuttle bus that takes you to different stopping points in the park. It was pretty interesting because the shuttle buses played different recordings that gave some of the history and details on some of the features in the park.
We started out by taking the Emerald Pools hike which takes you to 3 different pools that are formed by water flowing through the canyon. There are 3 different loops that you can take depending on how long you want to hike and how many of the pools you want to see. The kids were having so much fun that we ended up taking the longest loop and visiting all of the pools. We borrowed a backpack carrier from a neighbor before we left and that was definitely a back saver for DH and me. Plus there were many parts on the different hikes we went on that had some steep drop-offs so it was nice having Baby K contained somewhere where we didn't have to worry about her.
Starting out on our first hike. It was much greener there than any of us were expecting. I was expecting something similar to Bryce Canyon where you have the red rock and a few trees interspersed here and there. We also saw some beautiful colors as the leaves were starting to change to their fall colors.
The total hike was about 2.8 miles and the kids did great until the end when Kitty needed to use the restroom... I took her on ahead and we walked as fast as we could to try and make it back to the restrooms before it was too late. Then I decided it would be safer to just put one of Baby K's diapers on Kitty just in case since Kitty's extra clothes were in our car back at the Visitor's Center. One of the downsides to the shuttle system that they have at Zion Canyon is that anything you might want for the day you have to carry with you - and since water bottles are pretty heavy we tried to minimize what we carried as much as possible. Plus we were carrying jackets for everyone because the temperature was right on the edge of needing one and we all ended up wearing one by the end of the day.
After that first hike (and a bathroom break - and let's just say it was a good thing Kitty was wearing a diaper:) ), we hopped back on the shuttle bus and took it to a stop with a short hike up to Weeping Rock. The total round trip was just 1/2 a mile and we let Baby K walk most of it to give DH and Baby K a break.
If you look closely at the picture you can see water dripping from the rock above. This area is called Weeping Rock and there was water just dripping everywhere out of the rock face and the overhang above our heads. The kids loved sticking out their hands to have the water drip on it.
After Weeping Rock we got back to the shuttle stop and took the next shuttle back to the car. By the time we made it out of the canyon it was getting dark! It was after 7:00 at this time so we headed to Hurricane, UT where we got dinner and then made our way to our hotel. It took the kids FOREVER to fall asleep that night!! DH and I thought that for sure they would be all tired out and would fall right to sleep. Well, apparently the excitement of sleeping in a hotel room kept them going well into the late night!!
Finally catching on!
On Sunday night we read scriptures as a family and then were kneeling down for family prayer when this happened:
Baby K knelt down right next to her dad and folded her little arms! We were all absolutely amazed! We were hoping that this day would come soon because up until this point Baby K has thought that prayer time is the time to run around and goof off. It is cute to see that she is finally catching on!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Trick-or-Treating 2009
We were a little bit worried about what the weather would be like for trick-or-treating when we had snow and very cold weather at the beginning of the week that stuck around for a few days. Luckily though it warmed back up on Friday and Saturday was just about perfect for the trick-or-treaters!!
I started out taking the kids around so that Baby K could get in on some of the action. The problem with that was that she wanted to walk the whole way and she is not very fast with those short little legs of hers! So we ended up just going around the block and then we headed back home. Baby K was just starting to figure out the whole go up to houses and get candy thing when we got back to our house. Once we got there I stayed home with Baby K while DH took the other kids around more of the neighborhood. DH got a kick out of Kitty because she was apparently running from house to house and laughing whenever she got candy because she was so excited and having so much fun! I think the kids got more candy than they have before and I don't think there were any whiners in the group this year!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Halloween Costumes 2009
This year we weren't able to make it down to DH's work and we didn't even have a ward Halloween party, so Halloween was a little bit low key this year. The kids went back to school the week of Halloween and the school had its annual Halloween parade on Friday morning. I took Kitty and Baby K with me to the school to watch the parade and then we went to Blondie's class to help with their Halloween party.
M&M decided she wanted to wear a poodle skirt this year and dress in 50s costume. I was able to make her a cute poodle skirt that was really pretty easy. I also bought her some new shoes to wear with the costume and she wore a sweater and belt of mine to complete the look. I think it turned out pretty good!
Luke wanted to be Darth Maul this year, but I had a hard time finding a costume that didn't cost a fortune so he did Anakin Skywalker (from The Clone Wars animated series) instead. I told him that I could make him a long black hooded cloak and paint his face like Darth Maul's, but he decided not to since he wouldn't be allowed to wear it to school anyways. The Anakin costume came with a mask but he opted not to wear it (and he kind of looks like Anakin anyways). Plus they're not allowed to wear masks or full face paint to school...
Blondie chose Belle from Beauty and the Beast and wore a costume I made for M&M a few years ago. It's nice to be able to reuse costumes some years. Blondie really wanted to have brown hair for her costume so I tried finding a wig for her and had the hardest time finding a good one. Most Halloween wigs out there are blonde hair, black hair or something really weird - like green or hot pink. I ended up buying one that I thought might look cute but in the end I preferred Blondie without it.
We found a very cute Disney Store Cinderella costume at the D.I. this year for Kitty. The Cinderella dress was a little see-through on the bottom half so I bought some fabric to make her a slip to wear underneath. When I was making the slip for Kitty's costume, I brought it out for her to try on and Baby K started throwing a fit because she wanted to wear it!! So I put the slip on Baby K when Kitty was finished with it and Baby K started dancing and twirling around the room! It's amazing how quickly the younger kids pick up on what their older siblings do!! 
Since M&M's skirt was so easy to make I decided to try making one for Baby K since she had so much fun twirling around in Kitty's slip. I had some scrap felt around the house and was able to make the cutest little poodle skirt for Baby K! She wore it to school on Friday, but I just had her wear an older pumpkin costume for trick-or-treating because it is a warmer costume. I also decided to wear a poodle skirt to the school party that I had made several years ago for another Halloween. It was kind of fun to dress up again and the kids loved it.
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