I tried

It's been a few years since the boys have had matching Easter clothes. So we got some new shirts this year. While getting ready for these photos - we found that every single pair of khakis we already had were stained or had holes. We considered buying new ones just for photos - but why? They will just get ruined. And it doesn't really matter anyway - because you don't see the pants too much.

I think this one (below) is the best one - even though Sam's pants are pulled up to the knee (?)

Jack is much too dignified to take part in silly faces.

Nice.

Much better.

p.s. All these photos were taken in my neighbor's back yard. There are no really great places around here. And I think I need to take a photography class again - for children. And maybe get a new lens. And does anyone know if you can post better resolution photos here on blogger? They always lower the resolution SO much.

Moab 2011: part 2

The next day in Moab we went to Arches National Park. We'd been there before and the kids have been begging us to go back ever since.

We saw a few new places, felt the nice, warm sun, ran into friends from Salt Lake (and high school - weird?)

First stop: Sand Dune Arch

This is Jack at the entrance of the short hike to Sand Dune Arch. I love being in those slot canyons. So cool.

Right before the arch it opened up a bit more and there were some great places to climb. The ground was also all sand.

Little Henry did great in this backpack on every hike. But he did get his first sunburn. We forgot his sunhat.


And here's the actual arch. It was definitely one of our favorites so far. The boys climbed around and could have played in the sand for hours. They could have gotten up on top of the arch, but you're really not supposed to do that - so they didn't.

Next stop: View to Delicate Arch

You can hike to Delicate Arch, but it was at least 3 miles, so we opted for the view hike - which was only a mile or so. This is a photo of the arch from the hike we didn't take (not my photo.)

image credit

Luke and I hiked together and Dan went ahead with the older boys. He kept using his binoculars to look for them.

Here is our view of the arch - far far behind the boys. You can see there are some people out further than them but we didn't go up to the edge.

In all that dry desert there are a surprising number of plants, but this was the only flower I came across while hiking. Pretty.

Last stop of the day: Double Arch

Here are the guys in the parking lot - waiting for the rest of us. This is a pretty short hike up to the double arch on the far left. Can you see it?

Seriously - you should be careful in the winter here because if you aren't - your head could spin around to the back and you might end up doing the splits.

Another view of Double Arch on the hike there.

Climbing around once we're under the arches.

Those are 3 of my boys up there inside that arch.

And one more thing: I told you that the boys earned Junior Ranger badges in both parks, but I didn't tell you about how horrible the illustrations are in the booklet. Actually - the inside pages weren't nearly as bad as the cover pages. SO bad. I could do a better job - and I'm not an illustrator. Am I right?

p.s. To see photos of the last time we went to Moab - go here and here.

Moab 2011: part 1

Last week was our Spring Break and we decided to take another trip to Moab. The boys love going there to climb the rocks and swim in the hotel pool.

This time we started off by going to Canyonlands National Park. We'd never been there and it was pretty cool. A lot different than Arches. The boys earned Junior Ranger Badges in each park - so they learned a lot and had a fun time doing it.

First stop: Gemini Bridges (on the way to Canyonlands).

We took a short hike to a big hole in the ground. This bridge was on the other side of the hole. You can't see it from here, but there's another bridge directly behind this one.

Here are Dan, Sam, and Charlie standing on this same bridge. Kind of scary.

Even scarier - when we got over on that bridge to look back at where we were just standing - we kind of freaked out. It looked like the ground below was going to fall right out from under us.

Trying to keep Luke entertained so he wouldn't fall off a cliff.

Next stop: Mesa Arch (inside Canyonlands)

It was a short hike to this arch, but you could go right up to it and there was a huge drop off. The kids were running around and didn't really get how dangerous it was, so Dan and I were kind of totally freaking out. I got a few photos and we left right away.

At least there were some good rocks to climb on and this one where Charlie was sitting is the perfect little seat.

Next stop: Whale Rock (inside Canyonlands)

This is what Whale Rock looks like from the parking lot. Too bad there's not a person in front for scale. It's pretty big. We climbed up on top of it. The boys LOVED it.

image credit

Here are Sam, Charlie, and Jack on top.

Here are some more of us on top.

Some great signs on the way to Moab.

This sign was for a Chinese Restaurant right by our hotel in Moab. A scoop of what? We never found out.

I won!

Candace over at Sparkle Power had a giveaway for this book and I won! I'm so excited to do a great summer of arts and crafts with my kids. I read Jennifer Casa's blog too and she always has great ideas. Thanks Candace and Jennifer!

a bit of an update

This little guy is already older than 5 months! I'm kind of sad about it, but it's so fun at the same time. He already sleeps in the big crib some of the time and a lot of times he wakes up happy. Like this:

He has also started holding his own bottle.He still needs some help - I'm not sure he realizes he can control where he's moving it, but soon. Very soon.

Luke fell asleep like this. I think he had been watching TV. (Favorite disheveled blanket in hand.)

Luke and I found something he could do besides watch TV. I made him some play dough and he loves it! This was before he mashed all the colors together and made brown.

Last but not least - I'm giving away these fabrics on my quilt blog. Go check it out at leedle deedle quilts

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just like the queen of england - I too will play the drums

We went to St. George to get away from the cold and it snowed

But we had fun anyway.

This was in the car on the way down. Charlie is intensely reading "Matthew's Cutlery" - a knife catalog. That is Sam taking a break under his blanket.

First Adventure: Snow Canyon part 1 (before lunch). Sand dunes. Cold and windy, but not wet yet, super fun!

Second Adventure: Snow Canyon Part 2 (after lunch). A short hike. Cold, windy, and rainy. The boys got to climb rocks - their goal for the trip.

Third Adventure: Zion National Park (the next day). Hike to a waterfall and then up above the waterfall. Cold, muddy, rainy, then snowy. I loved it. I think the boys loved it. I'm not sure Dan loved it, but he didn't complain.

The Aftermath: Everyone was muddy and soaked through. The boys stripped so they could get warm in the car. Henry stayed nice and toasty in Dan's jacket.

A few extra shots:

The conclusion: This trip was definitely fun. The colors are so much more saturated when it's wet and everything was beautiful. But we're all excited to go again when it's warm (but not hot!) Thanks to Emily and Logan for housing us.