Introduction

So, since my old family website has now been lost forever in cyberspace, I'm now starting this new one. We'll see how it goes. I think I'll backlog back to when school started, to have it a bit more up-to-date. It will take me a little while to figure out the ins and outs of this new site. Wish me luck!

More petrified food found in our table.

I just found another photo from February showing more food Amara hides when she doesn't want to eat it. This is from about five different meals. Unfortunately, our table has drawers, so that is a favorite hiding spot. I just forget to check.

Dinner Surprise

Okay, maybe I'm not really that surprised. We were eating a nice Chinese semi-homemade dinner with chicken and vegetable stir-fry on rice with potstickers and sauce, when Amara quickly announces she is done and the ever annoying phrase pops out, "Do I get a treat?" I asked her if she actually ate her dinner, or hid it. She gave me the guilty look and said, "I ate it." I checked the floor first, and then the side of the table. To my utter disgust, I found half her dinner, as well as components of at least three, maybe more, past dinners, all on the window sill by the table. As I was scooping it up into a pile to clean it up, I realized it was so grotesque, I had to take a picture.

It always rains on our Easter Parade!

Easter Saturday never seems to work out quite right each year. One year we attended a community egg hunt. Joseph tripped and spilled all his eggs and the other children proceeded to snatch up all the eggs he dropped. Teary-eyed and broken-hearted, Joseph returned to us with an empty basket. Lesson learned: shallow baskets BAD; deeper baskets reduce chance of spillage. Other years I just couldn't seem to get the eggs filled in enough time, so our hunts were post-poned by a few days, then a week or two. Sometimes we were on vacation and missed the hunting opportunities altogether.


This Easter (that is the bunny-and-egg type of Easter) came a day late for our family. We didn't get back into town until midnight before Easter Sunday . . . well, I guess it technically WAS Easter Sunday at that time. We decided to have our family Easter Egg Hunt and Easter baskets on Monday, since the kids had that day off of school.


I had planned ahead and had filled most of the Easter eggs before we left on vacation, to reduce the stress. There was still stress, however, in emptying the van after a fun-filled and busy vacation. It was looking like an all-day job, but this time I felt the kids should do their part to remove their things and all the garbage they put on the floor. There was complaining, arguing, whining, and crying, accompanying the van clean-up, but I promised they could do the egg hunt when it was done. They filled an entire tall kitchen garbage can with just the wrappers, trash, and rotten food they placed, or threw, on the floor of the van during the trip. Gross! Now you understand why I made them clean it up. After Dad vacuumed the car, Orrin commented, "The van looks nice and clean. Let's try to keep it clean." Hmmmm. Hopefully a lesson has been learned.



So . . . to the hunt. All the children were given TALL easter-colored gift bags (remember the short-sided baskets spill easier), and Christian filmed while I took pictures. Not 20 seconds into the hunt, the kids are fighting, racing, and complaining and then Orrin trips, skins his knee, and spills all his eggs. I told everyone to freeze and go back into the house to start over, when Orrin stopped crying. Then Amara and Aleya start crying and Joseph is saying that it's all Orrin's fault and starts crying, and I am directing them in a less-than-quiet-voice by that point and Christian has completely thrown in the towel and declared the hunt is OVER!







































Stubborn as I am, I determined to move forward with the hunt if everyone would just calm down and stop crying. We started the hunt again and from that point on, there was less crying and whining and more fun, and lots of picture taking. The only problem was that Joseph could not find the craftily hidden large egg, which was his ticket to getting his Easter basket. All the other kids had found theirs. Eventually, some extra hints helped him and Easter ended in success, though its beginning was questionable, at best.

Spring Vacation to Arizona and Utah--Part 1

We decided to redo a vacation we took two years ago, to do some of the things we missed before, and add in some bike riding. I had a hitch and bike trailer installed on our van so we could take our bikes with.

Great Grandma Armstrong with Orrin, Aleya, Amara and Joseph.

Playing Dominoes with Great Grandma.

We began our trip by visiting my Grandma Armstrong in Sun City West, Arizona, just outside of Phoenix. It was fun to see her and my aunt Jesse. They had prepared quite a feast for us with many delicious courses. Our kids couldn't wait to play games like hide the button and dominoes with Great Grandma because that's what they remembered from our last visit. The kids had a lot of fun and Aleya didn't get in too much trouble with all the fragile Grandma decorations.

It was great to see my Grandma again.

Thrifty as we are, we did not get a hotel nearby because the rates had all increased by $40 or $50 a night, since we last stayed there. So, I found a less expensive place in the next town, north of Phoenix . . . which turned out to be 1 1/2 hours away. It was a bit further than we wanted and we were tired and of course there was a mix-up with our room. I had accidentally reserved a smoking room. After changing to a non-smoking room, we dressed in our pajamas and went straight to sleep.

Montezuma's Castle Indian Ruins

Monday morning we packed up and ate the continental breakfast and headed off to Montezuma's Castle. It was fun to see it again and take pictures. I was able to buy another Junior Ranger hat (this seems to be one of the few places you can get them). We found out too late, last time at the Grand Canyon, that these hats were not sold there, only at Montezuma's castle.

Snowball fight, anyone?

Next, we drove 30 minutes to Sedona and Bell Rock. We had wanted to ride on some bike trails, but the Ranger said many of them were muddy. So, we spent most of our time hiking and climbing around Bell Rock. Last time we came, I was 8 months pregnant, so I didn't get to climb up on anything. We also had a surprise that there was fresh snow on the ground all over the place. Some had melted, but much still lingered. The kids were LOVING IT. They had a lot of snow ball fights while we hiked. It felt like the high 50s, low 60s, though and it was nice and sunny, so we planned to make the best of it.

Bell Rock at Sedona.

Look how high Christian and I climbed!

This time we all climbed to some pretty high spots on Bell Rock on the west side. Christian and I climbed the highest to get a 360 view of Sedona and Oak Creek (at different times). I was nervous to be up there without Christian, but a kind young man helped me a little and showed me the best route to get up. Christian had taken the more difficult route and, according to my boys, "Almost died." I think they were exaggerating a bit. We also climbed on the east side of Bell Rock to a point I had wanted to climb up to 2 years ago, if I hadn't been pregnant. It was near the place where Orrin was stuck last time and had to be rescued by some other hikers and their dog. This time we took the easier way up. It was again fun to see the 270 degree view from there. We noticed on the way back that much of the snow on the trail had melted while we were climbing.

Climbing is cool!

A baby's eye view from Bell Rock.

Christian and the kids climbed up very high on the west side.

All the snow had melted by the time we finished climbing.

We spent so much time climbing we left little time for anything else, so we stopped for lunch at a KFC with a buffet (delcious and worth the $6 all-you-can-eat price) and then we went on our way up Oak Creek Canyon toward Slide Rock Park.

Skipping rocks at Slide Rock Park.

We had wanted to stop at Slide Rock the last time we came, but it was closed (it was past 4PM). This time we got there at about 3:45PM and were able to stay until the grounds closed at 5PM. We didn't actually swim, but Christian taught the kids how to skip rocks and they had a blast trying to find the best ones to do it and seeing who could get the most skips. They also had a trail along the river which we followed to an old abandoned shack which I think was an outpost by the water wheel, used to generate electricity for the homestead there. Everyone had so much fun that we may come back again when it is warmer to actually get in the river and try out the natural water slides.

Old abandoned rock shack. It smelled like a latrine.

Wish we could have swam at Slide Rock. We'll have to come back when its warmer.

We next continued north to the Grand Canyon to our hotel, the Red Feather Lodge. We had stayed there before. It is actually a very nice hotel, with rustic decor. The kids got the crazy idea that they wanted to swim in the outdoor pool there (even with all the snow on the ground). Aleya and I were more sensible and stayed in our room.

Spring Vacation to Arizona and Utah-Part 2

Aleya's first time at the Grand Canyon.

Ranger talk at Yavapai Point.

Tuesday we got up early and ate breakfast and made it into the park in time to get the Junior Ranger booklets and get to the first Ranger Talk. We went to a different place, Yavapai Point, which we hadn't gone to before. They had small museum/visitor's center there and the kids were able to complete a good portion of their booklets. We walked a ways along the rim and snapped photos. The kids played in the snow. Aleya was a bit of a handful and got all muddy and kept wanting to get too close to the edge, which ruffled mom's and dad's feathers a bit.

Bike riding at the Grand Canyon.

Next, I convinced everyone to take a bike ride along the trail, near the rim, but not next to it. Most of the trail was a good 20-30 feet from the rim. One part was a little close, but I advised the kids to walk their bikes through that section. Amara didn't listen and Christian claims she lost control and got a little too close to a drop-off. I didn't see it though. Later the trail turned away from the canyon and more toward the village. We planned to go over to the Grand Canyon store to get a few things and a little food. Then we rode back to the Visitor's Center to turn in the completed Junior Ranger guidebooks so the kids could receive their patches. Amara earned the Raven patch, Orrin earned the Coyote patch, and Joseph earned the Scorpion patch.

Filling out Junior Ranger booklets.

Earning Junior Ranger patches at the Grand Canyon.

The bike trail to the Visitor's Center was mostly uphill and VERY tiring on the kids. It was scenic though. The boys even stopped by the roadside and made snow angels in some fresh snow. At least the return trip would be easier. The trail again took us a little too close to the rim, so we walked our bikes through those sections. All-in-all it was a fun bike ride. It turns out that we weren't supposed to ride our bikes in some of those sections. It was unclear, the difference between the biking and hiking trails. The sign with "no biking" was at the end of the trail, rather than at the beginning. WHOOPS! I guess we won't be doing that again.

Desert View Tower, Grand Canyon.

We wanted to get to the eastern most part of the South Rim, the Desert View Tower, before it closed at 5:30PM. We had just missed it last time because we went to the gift store first. This time we went straight to the tower. The inside was adorned with Native American artwork and murals, and lots of windows for viewing the canyon. It was interesting architecture, as well. It was fun to explore and climb the staircases to the three levels, as well as take photos and such.

Native American Artwork in Desert View Tower.

The top viewing area of the tower.

Looking up through the Desert View Tower.

We still had a three hour ride ahead of us, to Kanab, to stay the night in the Victorian Charm Inn, Bed and Breakfast. As I was arranging our hotels and motels, I deviated from our usual fare of staying in the cheapest possible motels. I thought we'd spend just a little more money and stay somewhere fancy. The kids were excited for the in-room jacuzzi. The room was nicely decorated with a four poster bed and armoire, a quilt rack, a fireplace, and a couch hide-a-bed. We filled up the jacuzzi and the kids changed into their swimsuits and enjoyed the bubbles and the jets for a while. Christian and I each took our turns in the morning. The only arguing we had was who gets to sleep in the sleeping bag on the floor. They all want their turn. Why don't they argue about who gets to sleep in the bed? Go figure. The breakfast was fine, but not really fancy. We had bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, toast, milk, and juice. It was very nice atmosphere and a welcome change from the cheap motels we usually stay in.

Victorian Charm Inn

When we got to Kanab, we figured out that the bike rack was scraping the ground. We found out in the morning that one of the bolts for the hitch had dropped out and all the other ones were loose. It appeared that the installers hadn't tightened them properly. It took us several hours in the morning to find the right sized bolt and get it bolted in. The hardware store didn't have it, so I checked at the auto parts store and by luck, they had two left. I had a mechanic at an auto shop bolt it down and tighten it for us. The weight of the bikes had bent the hitch and misaligned the holes.

Since we got a late start on Wednesday, we decided to go to Zion National Park, rather than Bryce, which was further away. After passing through the tunnels, enjoying the scenery, and stopping for some pictures, we pulled into the visitor's center and made our way to the bus area to go up the "Scenic Route" of the canyon. It turned out that the buses would not start taking passengers until Friday.

Skipping rocks on the Riverwalk trail.

Take a picture of us on this rock, Mom!

Riverwalk at Zion National Park.

So, we got back in the car and drove up the "Scenic Route" in our van. We drove all the way to the back of the canyon and took the River Walk first. The kids couldn't wait to skip some more stones in the creek. We strolled along the trail and snapped some photos, and then stopped a little short of the end so we could head back and take some potty breaks.

Weeping Rock (see the falling water in the background)

Next we stopped at Weeping Rock, which was really pretty cool and some gorgeous rock formations and water stains. It was a pretty short trail, so I convinced Christian to stop and let us try another trail to the Emerald Pools. We saw waterfalls, murky pools, gorgeous cliffs and rocks, and also some deer. When we finally reached the Upper Pool, it was secluded and we had it to ourselves for a while. My camera had run out of battery, but we prayed it would take one or two more pictures, and it did. It's nice to know Heavenly Father helps us with even the smallest of blessings that we need. There was a nice waterfall dropping into the pool and the cliff walls had gorgeous patterns and stains on them. It was quite serene and magical. The kids kept running around in circles drawing lines in the dirt with sticks and playing in the water. It wasn't the most difficult hike, but it was very fun and the kids didn't complain at all, unless we wanted them to stop to pose for a picture.

Trail to the Middle Emerald Pool.

Upper Emerald Pool (picture taken with empty battery)

1. Wild Turkeys at Zion

On the drive out of the canyon we saw a fox, which Orrin exclaimed, "Look at that giant squirrel!" We also saw 7 wild turkeys and had to stop to watch them for a few minutes. They actually didn't make the "gobble gobble" sound. It was more of a higher-pitched warble, almost like birds singing.

Pa'rus Trail at Zion

Scenic family bike ride at Zion.


It was getting dark, so Christian rode his bike back to get the car.

Full moon at Zion.

We parked at the entrance of the "Scenic Route" and rode our bikes along the Pa'rus bike trail back to the Visitor's Center. It was a nice wide trail that ran along the creek and weaved back and forth across small bridges. The sun was setting and it was a very scenic and beautiful ride. We seemed to be the only ones on the trail. Christian had us continue on to the Vistor's Center and he rode his bike back to the car to come and pick us up. We were running out of light fast. We did have a full moon to guide us the rest of the way. It was a shortened, but very fun day at Zion. The kids couldn't wait to get to our cabin at the Zion Mountain Resort. Again, instead of staying in a cheap motel, I thought it would be fun to stay in a cabin for a few days.

Our cabin at Zion Mountain Resort.

Relaxing on the king-sized feather bed.

Our cabin was on the East side of Zion, which meant we had to drive back through the park and the two tunnels to get there. It was worth it to back-track. Our cabin was GORGEOUS! The rustic cabin decor, the log walls, the buffalo motif, and the king-sized feather beds, all made it one of the most fancy cabins we have ever stayed it. Best of all, it smelled of fresh pine. It was complete with a porch and porch swing. We even checked out some videos for the kids to watch. We had brought popcorn and hot chocolate to make in the microwave there to enjoy with our movie. We had a fun evening and a fairly restful sleep (Aleya was a little wiggly in our bed).

Sprinkler-made ice sculpture at junction.

Thursday we stopped at a junction on the way to Bryce to buy some milk and have breakfast. Oddly, the little store by our cabins didn't carry any milk. Where we stopped to eat, an empty RV hook-up area, someone had left some sprinklers on that were making ice sculptures on the trees. I think the owner forgot to turn them off. The sculptures looked pretty cool, though.

Cold and snowy at Bryce. The kids were in heaven!

The drive up to Bryce brought us sights of more and more snow covering the ground. Our kids were freaking out. The wished we had brought some sleds or something. We saw some pretty good sled hills. Once at Bryce, the kids watched the movie and filled out their Junior Ranger booklets. The Park Service Ranger suggested we take the Queens Garden trail, but that it was a bit muddy. I wished he had suggested the Navajo Trail, which was less muddy, by far. Although we all had shoes with treads, we did not have mud boots, as we soon found out that most of the hikers were wearing. Why didn't anyone tell us about this? I guess all these people knew ahead of time.

The hoodoos and snow. Orrin loved rolling snow balls down the hill and watching them grow.

Dancing with the Hoodoos.

The family is in the tunnel on the bottom left.

At Sunrise point we started hiking down the trail, through a lot of mud and snow and some dry ground. The Hoodoos (funny rock towers and formations) were amazing and the tunnels were fun, but the mud was annoying and seemed to get deeper and stickier as the temperatures rose and the sun climbed higher in the sky. Through one particular section, the mud sucked my shoe off five more times. Uggggh!

Orrin and I got stuck in the thick mud several times on the trail.

We ate lunch at the end of the trail and then hiked back. The kids had to complete their Junior Ranger guidebooks and turn them in before the Visitor's Center closed at 4:30PM. We only had time for one more stop at Sunset point before we left. That's where I noticed that the Navajo trail was much dryer, sunnier, and less muddy. Oh well, the kids really enjoyed the squishy mud. Amara got the muddiest because she slipped several times. We tried to clean our shoes off as best we could in the snow. The mud was really sticky, though. I ended up scrubbing them off back at the cabin. The kids turned in their booklets and earned their Junior Ranger patches for Bryce and then we headed back to our cabin.

Mudding shoes and jeans. Amara won the muddiest award, because she slipped and fell.

The kids earned their patches with mud, sweat, and cheers!

Back to the Buffalo Cabins

We wanted to get back to the cabin early to give the kids a chance to ride their bikes around the property, and to view the buffalo herd, also on the property, and then go eat some buffalo in the restaurant at the resort. We changed the kids into some dry shoes and sent them off on their bikes. Christian and I watched them from their porch swing. They looked like they were having fun. Then they disappeared. I decided to go for a walk and find them. They had discovered the pond and Joseph and Orrin had muddied up their second pair of shoes for the day. Ugh! We still were going to dinner. Luckily, I had packed flip-flops for everyone, so off to dinner we went. The boys had buffalo burgers, Amara had a cheese quesadilla, I had a buffalo fillet wrapped in bacon, and Christian had the buffalo steak. Everyone enjoyed their meal except Christian. Half his buffalo steak was grissle. Yuck. The rest tasted good, but he was still hungry and a little sad, since the buffalo meat was a little pricey. I explained the problem the next day to the manager, and they gave Christian a complimentary buffalo burger and fries, which he thoroughly enjoyed. We finished the night of with another movie and more popcorn and hot chocolate.

Private buffalo (Bison) herd on the property.

Our cozy cabin. It was fantastic!

Porch swing at our cabin.

Friday morning we checked out of our cabin and Christian and the boys went on a mountainside horseback ride to a lovely view of Zion Park. Amara, Aleya, and I explored the gift shops and the neighboring Indian post (with teepees you can stay the night in). Joseph and Orrin had a great time on their first horse-back ride.

Horseback riding at Zion National Park.

Orrin's horse loved to gallop up the hills.

Ahhh. Aleya was too little to ride.

Galloping up the mountainside.

Next we drove back into Zion and found an off-the-road hiking spot that resembled Bell Rock in Sedona. The kids scampered up like it was nothing, and Christian hurried up after them to make sure they didn't die. I had a nice PBJ lunch for them when they got back and then I did a little hiking, as well. I wasn't as daring as they were.

Back to Zion again.

Off-the-road climbing. They hiked up to the lookout peak on the top left.

Hooray! We made it up to the peak.

We finally decided we needed to get to St. George/Ivins to give the kids a chance to play with their cousins. When we got there, the house was empty, so we unloaded the bikes so we could go on a ride. St. George has many new paved bike trails, particularly in the Ivins area. Just as we were about to leave, the family came home and the boys went crazy playing with each other, even in the small spaces. I believe they played "Ghosts in the Graveyard" for part of it. We eventually convinced everyone to ride bikes to the park. Christian brought over some pizza and drinks for dinner. We finally went home and wrestled the kids into bed. We chatted with Phil and Wyn about their business and recent Florida vacation and their family, and then we watched a movie together. One topic we discussed is why all the arguing, fighting, complaining, and whining on fun-filled vacations? Phil thinks it is a matter of gratitude, and I have to concur. Our kids are spoiled rotten and I guess we need more FHE lessons on gratitude.

Spider-boys?

Playing with their cousins in Ivins.

Pizza at the park.

Ivins Easter Egg Hunt.

Saturday morning we attended the Ivins' Easter Breakfast and Egg Hunt. It was pretty fun and the kids enjoyed their eggs and candy. We let them play for as long as we could before setting off back to San Diego. Also, Christian and I took one last vacation bike ride on a new paved scenic trail in Ivins. We had to leave early because I needed to be back to sing in the ward choir on Easter Sunday. I am one of two sopranos in the choir. We didn't make it back to our house until around midnight. Thankfully, our church starts at 11:30AM.

We rode our bikes to the Breakfast and Egg Hunt.

Amara's bike got a flat tire, so she got to ride with Aleya in the trailer.

One last bike ride before we left St. George, Utah.

WHAT A GREAT FAMILY TRIP!