St. George & Bryce Canyon

We took a quick weekend trip to St. George just to get out of town. We had a great weekend. We stayed with our friends Dave and Tia, Jared served his mission with Dave. They have 3 boys and so the kids played so well together. We went to the all abilities park, it's dinosaur themed so Ellie thought it was awesome. We hiked around Snow Canyon State Park, checked out dinosaur tracks out in the desert at Warner Valley, ate frozen yogurt, the kids ran around and jump on the trampoline. It wasn't too hot and the desert was beautiful and so green. 

Trips with babies is always hard, Lucy is a temperamental sleeper when not at home. We always opt for fast food because the kids eat nuggets and fries. So although we may not get to check out cute hip restaurants, eat way too much fast food and don't sleep great, its worth it because we are making memories! 

 We took the long way home and stopped in Bryce Canyon. Jared and I had never been before and we are so glad we made the stop. We stopped in the town of Bryce Canyon for more burgers and fries and then headed into the park. We lucked out and it was a FREE day! Yay for saving $20! We checked out the visitors center, I par-oozed the gift shop, I'm a serious sucker for all the souvenirs. We decided to hop on the shuttle so we wouldn't have to worry about parking and headed for the Sunset trail head. We hiked the Sunset to Sunrise trail and it was fantastic. We loved getting down into the valley, surrounded by the rock formations. It was so beautiful. The girls fell asleep, I carried Ellie on my back, and got an idea of how a llama feels. We didn't get home until 11 o'clock after one last stop at McDonalds. 

We try and get out hiking as a family often, but life is busy and lawns have to mowed and sprinklers need to get fixed so sometimes we realize it's been longer than we think since our last adventure. In the moments spent together as a family out in nature we realize that this is what makes us most happy. These are some of my happiest memories. Here's to a summer of happy days!

Here's A video of out trip

April

Every month is busy lately. April started out with General Conference. The kids were surprisingly good. We bribed Ellie with Jelly beans. For every talk she sat through she got an Easter egg to open. I will definitely use this idea again, maybe put different stuff in the eggs or even have a grab bag that she gets a surprise from after every talk. 

We have big plans for the yard again this year. There wasn't much there when we moved in 3 years ago so its always a work in progress. We are so excited our peach tree is doing so well. We still have to thin the fruit this year to establish strong branches but I think we might leave enough fruit to make a cobbler. 

Ellie kicked the training wheels to the curb. I had her practice balancing on her bike a little over a week, our small patio wasn't cutting it so we headed to the parking lot at the high school. She hopped on and just went for it, she's been cruising ever since. 

It has been so fun to watch her gain confidence with learning a new skill and it's just so funny to watch her little legs working so hard and moving so fast. I love that the pace of our walks has sped up, she might be able to follow along while a jog, or maybe i'd be following her ;)

So Karate. Back story is, I did karate as a kid and liked it. Ellie is so active and I thought she would like something to do to expel some energy. I found this karate studio and it was relatively cheap compared to some others in town. 

Fast forward to now. 6 weeks later and we are done with karate. Ellie got the uniform and 6 weeks of basic instruction. We are pretty bummed but the studio really nickle and dimes you. We though it was going to be a certain amount, but then there are all these extra fees, etc. Its hard not to follow through with something. Our plan was to do this through the summer before she starts soccer. All in all, I'm glad she is only 5 and doesn't really care if she sticks with it or not. 

My grocery "helper"

The weather finally got nice enough to paint my mural!! I have had the idea to paint something on the side of the garage for a while and I finally did it. It bright and cheerful and I love it!

Dying Easter Eggs with Ellie after Lucy went to bed because I didn't want to deal with Lucy wanting to participate in an activity like this.

Oh boy....Kindergarten round up! I had no idea this was going to such an emotional activity for me. As soon as I walked into the school and saw the class room, with little tables and chairs I welled up with tears. It was overwhelming, making sure I filled out the paper properly, listening to all the information, signing up for the right stuff...yikes. I held it together until I got home and walked in the door and starting crying. Poor Ellie, I had to tell her they were happy tears because I was so exciting for her to start kindergarten. That's partially true, I am so excited. She school is old and is the type of school I always envisioned her going to. She will have some friends from church in her class which I am so happy about. We decided on half day, she is going to have a wonderful teacher and I just know she is going to do great. It's just a big change, and it's my first time doing all of this. 

Grabbing BBQ in downtown after a long busy Saturday. YES!

Ellie chomping on ribs is hilarious.

Easter Sunday was wonderful and quiet. The children sang "Gethsemane" and the whole congregation was in tears. I spent to much money and totally over thought Easter baskets this year. I don't know why I do that, live and learn.

The finished mural, even included a fair door.