The Ensign Peak Hike

I love sunsets over water, I think that there is something spectacular about them. I miss Great Salt Lake sunsets.

This is overlooking Salt Lake City. The kids loved their first hike with us. I am grateful to have my own family to do this with now.

We started our hike from a couple of blocks north of the state capitol.

I haven't been on a hike in years and so I decided it was a good idea to get perspective of how far up the climb was. I remember in general conference hearing a talk about the relief society president receiving her calling and the first thing she did was hiked up Ensign Peak. Ever since hearing that, I decided that the next time I got to Salt Lake I would make the hike with my family. My roommates and I used to hike it together, too. What great memories!

At least I can see the mountains in pictures. When I lived here growing up I always took advantage of the majesticness of the mountains. I loved going to them and getting out of the city for short adventures or camping or fishing with Jason.

New Hairdo

The finished product! She absolutely loves it! Aunt Kelli did a fabulous job and it was great seeing her in her element.

Now Aunt Kelly will style it (I think Kasyn likes her new look).

All 13 inches of it and she still had enough left to put it in a pony tail if she wants. Still all smiles.

The comb is either 7 or 8 inches, at least it puts it in perspective.

This was taken the night before she had it cut. All in all I think that she was one happy girl. She smiled the whole time we were there. I think she enjoyed the excitement of it all. We have a "Kacey" at our church who has a young cousin with leukemia and was looking for donations and this way Kasyn would know who was going to have her hair.

An Unexpected Visitor

Uncle Collin flew in for a few days from Texas. It has been two years since the kids and I have seen him and even longer since Jason last saw him. I think that I was the most shocked of all to see him since he never informed anyone of his arrival. He just decided to show up on the doorstep.

And Jason thinks that he is adopted. I think that there are too many similarities between them to deny the resemblance, but I think that I will be hearing it for the rest of our lives.

We went and visited Aunt Callie and her family and she took some time out to show us the great family history albums.

Tricycles, Puppies and Guitar Hero

I had no idea how much the kids would like the trike so much. I wish that we had one here too.

Oh Oreo, the kids miss you so much!

The guitar was bigger than Teig, but I think that he and Kasyn held their own really well. Unfortunately, Teig only knew one note and didn't score very many points.

Thanks Brianne, for letting the kids (Jason included), jam out on guitar hero. It was a lot of fun.

Potty Training With Some Help

I've been toying with the idea of teaching Teig how to use the bathroom. So far all of our tries have been unsuccessful. Yesterday, after asking him if he wanted to try and use the bathroom Kasyn says, "mommy, I'll teach him how to do it." After a second of mulling it over, curiousity got the best of me and I tell her she can give it a try. So she starts going through the motions and explaining as she is going.
Kasyn: Okay first you come in the bathroom and turn on the light. Then you get the stool and put it in front of the toilet. Then you pull down your pants. Then you sit on the toilet.... now listen to this... do you hear that Teig??? That is my potty splashing in the toilet.
Teig: Ooooooooh woooooow.

I don't think that I could have explained it any better if I had tried.

Visiting Grandma and Grandpas house

Aunt Erica took a day off from her job to spend with me and the kids. What a great sister and aunt she is.

My dad had the kids take turns going for rides around town with him on the four wheeler. They absolutely loved it.

These are some horses that my parents adopted over the winter. They noticed that they were malnourished and neglected and asked around to find out whose horses they were and talked to the owner and they asked if they could have them if they fed them and they agreed. Their names are Spirit and Pistol and the kids were nervous at first, but after they gave the horses some carrots and apples they warmed right up to them.

The black one is the mom and the tan one is her baby and is just over a year old.

Grandma let Teig take control of the mowing to help earn our keep while we stayed with them. He did such a great job, sure there were some missed spots, but I think he was just being creative.

Oakleigh's Birthday at CEC's

Wow, is it just me, or are all of the CEC's alike? I was hoping for some variety from state to state, but apparently its the same everywhere. The first day in Utah, we celebrated my great-niece's 8th birthday(wow that makes me sound old). The kids were so excited to see all of their cousins again. Since we have been home that is all that they talk about. It was so nice to be able to see my family again minus Erica and Devin, but everyone else was able to make it. What a great reunion!

I Think I See The Mountains and The Great Salt Lake

This is a small part of The Great Salt Lake, I can see the "tall" smokestack at the base of the mountain (not so "tall" from this view).

This is Kennecott Copper mine. It's hard to believe how much of the mountain they have dug up and refined.

This is somewhere between Colorado and Utah. It's kind of weird to see snow still, I almost forgot how far into the summer you can still see the snow on the tops of the mountains.

We did it! We finally took a trip out to Utah for the first time in about a year and a half. Looking back, it all seems like a whirlwind. We were there for around two weeks and made every day that we were there count. Jason made it out the last week of our trip and I am grateful that he was able to help me with the kids on the way home in the plane. The kids talk about all of their cousins everyday, especially Kasyn. I don't have any relationships with my cousins anymore and so I am grateful to see that my kids are able to visit with their cousins and get to know them better. I have a ton of blogging to catch up on now that we are back and I was able to take a lot of pictures. I love the aerial views from the plane!

Mother's Day

Kasyn came into my room a couple of nights ago and says, "I know what you're getting for Mother's Day, but it's a secret." So I say, "oh you can tell me." She says, "Huh uh, it's a surprise, but I think you're going to like the picture that I draw for you." Now all I have left to figure out is what it is going to be a picture of.
Happy Mother's Day out there to all of the mom's and soon to be mom's (at least I can still find humor in the small things).