find joy in the journey

hike park city

Each time I take the kids hiking I love it even more.  Being out in nature, pointing out all the amazing creations around us, feeling my body work with each step forward, spending time together without distractions . . . it just fills me up!  

While the men played golf one morning, I took the kids hiking on the mountain right behind our resort in Park City.  It was beautiful and so so so GREEN!!  Like really, really green.  I could hardly believe it.  

And the wildflowers . . . I just couldn't get enough!  Although, wildflowers and bees are a package deal and every buzz had Anna freaking out.  After an hour and a half of hiking we had gone as far as I wanted to so we turned around to hike back.  And suddenly, miraculously, she was okay.  Really.

We also came across a big mound of snow, a snake, mountain bikers, lots of squirrels & chipmunks, and we took pictures of every variety of wildflower that we saw.

I've decided that I want to schedule a family hike once a month.  Luckily, with the mild winters in Vegas we can pretty much do that year round.  We just have to find some alternate locations for June, July, and August. :)

Grammar Avengers

Our costumes were pretty awesome (just ask me) so I just have to show them off one more time.  As a reminder, here is the reason why we did this.

All of our characters come from the sketch comedy show, Studio C.  The kids love it, they memorize the sketches, quote them daily, and eagerly anticipate each new episode.  So it seemed only fitting that we should base our BrownCon costumes off of the show.  

Here's the cast of characters along with their catch-phrases:

 

 

 

 

  

Oh my goodness we are such dorks!  Haha!  But hey, sometimes you build the best memories when you let yourself be a little silly.  Like that time we dressed up as Oompa Loompas and did a dance & lip sync number for the ward talent show.  

Just another element in building that strong family culture.  If our kids can look at us like this and still think we're cool, then I think we're doing a pretty good job.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

The video below is a sketch from Studio C that includes all of our characters and explains a little more of what they do.  Captain Literally has several other sketches here, here, and here.

Also, most of our costume pieces came from Amazon - Prime shipping!  Don't you want to be Captain Irony too?

blue cape * pink cape * orange cape * pink tutu * blue mask & power bands

the drops

a few details up front

. . . . this is an irrigation ditch somewhere off of hwy 93 in southern idaho

. . . . we promptly took showers when we got home

. . . . life jackets were worn by all participants at all times

. . . . this was our first visit to the drops.  Scott's brothers and dad are old pros.

. . . . inspite of the name, there really is only one "drop"

ROUND ONE

ROUND TWO

ROUND FOUR

 

final notes

. . . . between each float there was a 10 minute walk back to the starting point

. . . . float count:  Scott - 6, Shannon - 5, Conner - 6, Payton - 2, Anna, 3

. . . . although Payton freaked out at the beginning, once he got in the water he really enjoyed himself.  Or maybe he was just faking it.

. . . . everyone had a great time.

. . . . on the way home we stopped at the Shoshone Snack Bar for ice cream cones.

This was a small.

12.4 hours

I tallied the numbers.  This week we spent 12.4 hours in the water, in the sun.

That's why Anna has such a great tan.  Don't worry, I do put sunscreen on her.  And all the kids, all the time.  We're on our 4th or 5th bottle of sunscreen this summer.  

We have two choices when it comes to surviving the heat:  1)stay close to A/C or 2)find a cool body of water.  This is basic desert survival 101.  Frequent trips to Yogurtland and 7eleven for slurpees also helps.

I love that the kids are getting so much time in the water.  I grew up swimming everyday from May to September (although there were some years we dipped into April and October).  My hair would turn green from the chlorine every year.  I lived in my swimsuit all. day. long.

If my kids didn't like swimming, I think I would be a little heartbroken.

Conner initiates all kinds of games in the pool -- Marco Polo, cops & robbers, races (with me), battles, etc.

Payton tests out a variety of cannonballs and was so excited when he was able to touch his nose to the bottom of the pool.

Anna is a little fish.  No water wings for her and she swims, jumps, plays all over the pool with no problem whatsoever.

These days our routine goes a little like this:

        morning swimming lessons for Payton & Anna.  And Conner swims laps

        eat lunch or pack a picnic lunch

        play at one of the numerous splash pads or swim at our apartment pool for 1.5 - 2 hours

        stay indoors for the hot afternoon - reading, tv, chores, etc.

        go swimming again when Scott gets home from work.

It's a pretty rough life.

 

pumpkin patch // a photo story

 

It was a most lovely day at the pumpkin patch.  With all of our travels this month I had exactly one afternoon available to squeeze in a trip to the pumpkin patch.  Looking ahead on the calendar I hoped and prayed that it would be a good-weather day.  Plan B was to ditch the patch and pick out a Safeway pumpkin -- not nearly as fun..  But, you can see the autumn sunshine that we were blessed with!  Gorgeous!  I feel like a lot of my tender mercies lately have come in the form of good weather at precisely the right moment.  {sigh}

And now those pumpkins are sitting on our front porch, freshly painted. Yep, we opted for painting them this year instead of carving.  I think everyone loved the project.

Halloween costumes and accessories are prepared and laid out for tonight's festivities.  Anna and I are going to pick up a jack-o-lantern pizza from Papa Murphy's soon.  And we are so thankful that the school was smart enough to plan one of it's Professional Development days for tomorrow -- no school! 

Have a Happy Halloween!

And you need to watch this:  The Zombie Song  

It's super catchy.

spirit week at the pool

The second week of swimming lessons also happened to coincide with Spirit Week at the pool.  Usually there's a silly theme each day and the lifeguards will dress up.  But when Conner's teacher told him that he would get extra jumps at the end of the lesson if he came dressed for Pirate Day on wednesday . . . oh boy, it unleashed an enthusiasm for spirit week that I'm sure the staff has never seen before.

Wednesday: Pirate Day

Friday: Crazy Hair Day / 80's

But Thursday takes the cake . . . . Super Hero Day

Let me introduce you to Flower Power - 

And the man of steel, Superman -- 

Finally, the one and only Bionic Booger Boy -- 

Bionic Booger Boy was created this last year when Conner began drawing comics.  All of his stories feature this green super hero, fighting his nemesis Mr. Clean.  I love his creativity & imagination, but after a while I have to put the "lava boogers" talk to rest.

Conner came up with the design and materials for his costume and I helped him put it together.  An old day camp t-shirt became a cape and mask.  An undershirt + fabric markers and he was all set.  Oh my goodness, he was absolutely giddy.  He wore the costume all day for 2 days.  It was pretty fun to see his excitement over this character coming to life.

Who knew that swimming lessons would be such an adventure?

how to pack for a trip

So in our packing for the mega road trip we brought . . . .

• 3 duffel bags
• 1 rolling duffel bag
• 1 swim bag
• 2 computer bags
• 1 camera bag
• 1 hanging garment bag
• 2 temple bags
• 1 food/snack tote bag
• 3 bicycle helmets
• 2 ipads
• 2 guns (I'll get to that later)
• 1 ammo box
• 3 road trip boxes filled with activities for the kids
• and 4 golf club bags

That's right.  4 golf bags.  1 for Scott and 3 for the kids.  Scott was planning to golf.  That is a given.  We discussed the possibility of him taking the boys out, but it didn't work out.  Soon, our time in Idaho was growing to a close and those 3 extra golf bags were still sitting in the garage unused.  Nothing steams me more than packing super large items for a trip and then not using it.

In our early married days we lived in Utah, and from time to time we would drive up to his parents' house.  Scott would always bring his golf clubs, his bowling bowl, and his roller blades . . . . just because you never know what you might be in the mood to do.  Ackk!  The excessive packing drives me just a little crazy.

Anyway, with just 2 evenings left in our stay in Idaho we packed up the golf bags and headed to the driving range.  Tantrum averted.

Here are some photos from our delightful evening at the driving range.

See all the balls lying just inches from Anna?  The reason for her frustration.

But on the good list is getting to collect all the balls that are 10 steps away . . . . to hit again!  It's almost like an easter egg hunt.  :)

Some pointers from dad . . . 

He swings and . . . ooo, it's a miss.  Nice divet.

Placing his tee for the next shot.

Scott getting slouchy with Anna's driver.

Golf was something that was completely foreign to me before meeting Scott.  And now I have to say that I quite enjoy scenes like this (below).  It makes me happy.

My boys with their bags (see Conner's monogrammed golf towel?) after hitting a bucket of balls on the driving range.

summer fun #11: frisbee golf

The kids (especially the boys) LOVED this.  As soon as they hit each tee box it was a frenzy of disc throwing and running, throwing and running . . . . Definitely doing this again someday.

But I may practice my frisbee throwing technique first.  Turns out, I'm kind of a spaz.

color scavenger hunt

I had a short list of errands that I needed to accomplish today and we all needed to get out the house (badly) and away from the temptation of video games and tv.  So, I decided that along with the errands we should go on a color scavenger hunt.  I got the idea from Rebecca Cooper's cute blog not too long ago.  

I decided that we would try to find our colors at some of the local parks.  The kids were down with that.  At each park I gave a 15 minute time limit for playing and color finding. And in between park visits we checked off errands as well.  I think it was a win-win situation for all.

Here are the results of our park-hopping afternoon:

august 1st: summer fun so far

ahh, the summer fun continues. 

Here's a few pictures of things we did in July that previously did not make it to the blog.

The much-anticipated, long-planned-for cookie and lemonade stand

 

Yes, I know they are wearing jackets in July.  It was a coooold morning.  I sat outside on the porch and actually had to whip out some hot chocolate.  Don't you love their sign?  Especially the upper left, "Babies Free."  Conner was persistent with his sales pitch.  Shouting down the culdesac with no one in sight, "Lemonade and cookies!  Only 25 cents!  Babies 3 and under free on Saturday and Monday!"

A fun nature walk and picnic lunch at the Audubon Society.  I highly recommend it.

A trip to the beach.  Despite the grey weather, we had a great time.  The kids could have stayed there all day digging trenches, jumping in the waves, and rolling around in the sand (Anna).  Breakfast/Lunch at Camp 18 and treats at the candy kitchen make for a delicious day.

 

us + friends + a few random people on the beach (somehow they ended up in every cute photo op, grrr).

A week spent at Cub Scout Day Camp.  The boys were great, everyone got along really well, and they got to do some fun activities.  My primary job was to count heads, enforce the buddy system, and ward off swarms of mosquitoes.  :)

 
We went on our ward campout and it was so great!  From the Primary Pioneer day parade, to our first year with separate mom/dad and kids' tents (no one rolling on me in the middle of the night!), to an entertaining campfire program (which included a silly, costumed, singing, dancing skit that Nicole, Sheila, and myself were asked to do), to the great food and friends who are willing to share their camp cooking skills.

 {corn on the cob, potatoes, shrimp, with lots of garlic, butter, & spice.  No silverware needed.}

Summer is flying by too fast!  Here we are in August already.  But I am comforted by the fact that the kids still have a little more than 5 weeks of vacation left.  And we have done a lot of fun things together and made some fun memories.  Let the good times continue!

july 1st: summer fun so far

Not too bad for the first 2 weeks of summer vacation.

While in California we went on a great hike in Yosemite National Park.  The views were spectacular,

 

At about the half-way mark we made it to a footbridge where we got our first glimpse of Vernal Falls,

 

The entire hike was uphill, and considering this was the first time we've attempted something like this with our family, the kids did great!  I asked them if they'd like to go hiking again when we get home and they all said yes.  Yippee!  This is something I have wanted to do with our family for ages and now it looks like everyone is checked out.

As we walked further the sound of the waterfall got louder, the air got breezier and colder, and soon a damp mist was in the air.  We came around a corner and this was the view,

Isn't that gorgeous?  This is also the point where Payton, my mom, Heidi, Carlee, Preston, and I turned around and headed back down.  Too wet.  The rest of the crew (Dad, Scott, Conner, Anna, and Sam) continued on to the top, yes the very tippy top of the water falls.  As you can imagine, they got soaked.  Anna and my dad didn't actually go to the very top.  They turned around when the trail and steps started getting treacherous and very slippery.  But Anna wanted to keep on going!  They had to make her stop and turn around.  For the return hike I called her "Anna the Brave."  She quite liked that.

Other summer fun things we've done that are not on the list:

*The kids wore Nature Bracelets while on our nature walk to collect leaves, flowers, sticks, and even a lizard tail.

 
* I gave all the girls (mom, heidi, carlee, anna, and me) glitter toes one night.  A sparkly red in honor of the upcoming holiday.  I think Anna is going to get some blue glitter fingers this weekend as well.

*The kids painted t-shirts for the 4th of July, using stencils made from freezer paper.  I got the idea from Family Fun.  It worked great!  I had no idea you could iron freezer paper on your shirt and it would stick.  Definitely adding this one to my bag of tricks.

Okay, that's all the fun I have to share now.  Hope you're having a fun summer as well!
 

in october

"rake up the leaves and put them in a pile in october. . . . . "  Another pre-school song.  Everything past the first line is completely unintelligible to me, though.

getting crafty with Martha.  Seriously, 5 minutes is all it takes and it's so much fun.

 

 

Really getting into the Halloween mood today.  It was time for Halloween Bunco and I cannot pass up an opportunity to get all dressed up.

 

A Halloween Princess.  I had Payton convinced for a minute that this was my real hair and I had colored it purple (and somehow made it grow 10 inches).  I'll be making another tutu soon for Anna's pink fairy costume.

I love thursdays.  I spend some quiet time ironing and listening to Ali Edward's "Yesterday & Today" class on BPS.  Loving it.

Today was my brother's 28th birthday!  I wasn't able to get a hold of him on the phone, so happy birthday Sam!

 

Scott has given me permission to find him a Halloween costume.  He doesn't want to be consulted about it, though.  I just have to go out and do it.  When I asked Anna what she thought he should be, she replied, "a vampire."

Speaking of vampires, the New Moon soundtrack comes out tomorrow!

three little pumpkins

you know that song, Five Little Pumpkins . . . five little pumpkins sitting on a gate, the first one said, "oh my it's getting late!" etc. etc. . . . .  Anna learned it at preschool and sings it a lot around our house.  One of the things I most love about pre-school is all the cute little songs they learn, and then come home to entertain us with.  And it's especially fun because they are the same songs that Payton learned and that Conner learned.

Well, my three little pumpkins have had a pumpkin-filled week.

First there was the pumpkin ginger cupcakes with cream cheese frosting that Anna and I made on Monday.  Delicious!

That spiderweb is just about as fancy as I get when it comes to decorating cakes or cupcakes.

And see that pumpkin there.  I grew it in my garden.  Yep.  Pretty proud of that one.

Then on Tuesday I accompanied Payton's class on their trip to the pumpkin patch.  Always a fun one.  He picked a pumpkin with a really long stem.

 

And on Friday, the kids were out of school, so we took the opportunity to visit the pumpkin patch.  The last time we went there I was pregnant with Payton, Conner was almost 2 years old, and because this was before the days of cute monkey backpack leashes we tied a rope around his waist before entering the corn maze.  Ahhh, those were the days.  This time we did not go in the corn maze - I was not going to attempt that without Scott there.  But we did do just about everything else:  visited the animals in the barn, climbed the hay pyramid, rode the cow train, ate kettle corn and hot chocolate, enjoyed the hayride, and found the perfect pumpkin.  Here's a few photos:

 

 

 

 

Other than a few tears shed over a burned tongue (that hot chocolate was HOT), a great time was had by all.  Afterward we drove into town for two little errands and then I took the kids to dinner at Red Robin.  What a great mom am I?!  It was a little weird though, sitting at the restaurant, me and my 3 kids.  I wondered if I looked (and I have to admit I even felt) a bit like a single mom.  Just a little interesting.  As time goes on I think I feel braver and free-er (no diapers & naps to worry about) to do these bigger outings on my own with these three little pumpkins.  Heck, I drove 1500 miles this summer with them!

Moving on . . . 

For the kids' halloween costumes this year we are buying one, reusing one, and I'm making one.  I think it will work out pretty well.

I asked the kids what they thought I should be for Halloween.  Their responses . . . . 

• Anna:  "A princess!"
• Payton:  "An Egyptian!"  (he suggested this simply as an excuse to demonstrate "The Egyptian" walk.)
• Conner:  "Hermione, because she's the smartest one like you."

All three sound perfect to me.

swimming the days away

Summer Swim 2009 from Shannon on Vimeo.

highlights

•  the big step  
• • sliding around on your belly so much that you end up with a hole in your swimsuit, scraped knees & feet, and not minding a bit.
• night swimming
• big squirt guns
• taunting Uncle Denver
• • and getting thrown into the pool
• taunting Uncle Sam
• • and getting thrown into the pool
  • hating it, but you keep coming back for more
• trying to jump off the diving board like the big boys
• hosing off the hot hot cement
• taking a break to pick a not-so-ripe peach or pluot from the garden
• water balloons
• being 3 years old and calling Denver "Uncle Mason" all week long

cute story:

We were sitting out by the pool watching the kids (me, mom, dad). . . . My dad says to Anna, "bonita senorita - you're a pretty girl."  She walks up to him, real close, and says, "Do you know Dora?"

mountain hood

We just spent the day at Mountain Hood (as Anna calls it, and it's just so darn cute we might all start saying it that way).  Our first ever visit to SkiBowl and it was a blast!  There was so much to do and it was a huge bonus that ALL of the kids were able to do everything (even little Anna on the bungee trampoline).  Very nice that no one was excluded for being too short.  Plus, you can't beat the scenery.

{taken while zooming down the alpine slide}

As for the activities . . . . 

There was, of course, the alpine slide.  We did it 3 times, and because we came mid-week there were no lines.  We'd make it down the hill and jump right back on the chair lift to take us to the top.

{Payton and I at the end of the track.  And Conner zooming past me on the other track.  He was pretty proud of this move.}

kiddy karts

kiddy canoes

an indoor playzone

summer tube hill

watching Anna come down was a crack-up!

miniature golf

Conner even got a hole in one!

bungee trampoline

This was at the top of everyone's favorite list.  At one time Anna, Payton, Conner, and I were all going at the same time.  Pretty darn fun!  Below I have a video of Payton doing his backflips.  I, of course, was too chicken to attempt that maneuver.  Jumping 15 feet in the air was thrill enough for me!

 

and last but not least . . . . the zipline

Conner and Scott strapped up, climbed the tower, and zipped their way down the 500 foot cable.  There is also video of this below.  As you'll see, Conner did great!  When he got down he was pumped and ready to do it again.  But we were only paying for one trip down the zipline, so maybe another time bud.

 

Mt. Hood SkiBowl from Shannon on Vimeo.

A trip to Dairy Queen for blizzards and a lot of "that was so much fun!" comments from the back of the van, and I'd say it was a pretty successful day.