Southern Utah Trip

Jason and I both spent most of our growing up years in Utah, yet neither one of us had ever been to Southern Utah. We decided it was time to take our family, so that our children wouldn't have to admit to the same thing.

None of us knew what to expect on this trip. But we had so much fun. We are still finding sand at our house, which I guess shows how much fun we had.

We started the trip by going to Goblin Valley. This was my personal favorite! None of our pictures even do this place justice. You really have to see it for yourself. Karli cried most of the time we were there because it was really windy and the sand kept blowing in her eyes. The sand blew in our eyes too, but the rest of us didn't mind. In fact by the time we left all of us were completely covered in sand. It didn't help that we put sunblock on right when we got there, so the sand totally stuck to our faces, as you can see from some of Halle's pictures. I think the sand on my face looked like that fake suntan stuff, where you turn kind of orange if you don't rub it in right. Anyway, to look out and see all these "goblins" was just amazing. Goblins are what they call the rocks that look like chocolate that is melting. The kids loved being able to climb without mom and dad telling them to get down. And, Maya kept telling me to "take a picture".

The kids were so excited because the condo we rented had a pool, but the weather was too cool, so the pool was closed the first day. Quite disappointing to little kids. Luckily for us our condo had it's own private hot tub, so the kids thought that was the next best thing.

On our 2nd and 3rd day we went to Arches National Park. It was a ton of fun too. We hiked a lot and were pretty tired by the end. Jarren wanted to hike more, but his little sisters didn't. Maybe next time. Our favorite arch was Sand Dune arch. Underneath the arch there is tons of fine sand. We all sat and played in the sand for quite a while. It was very relaxing. (Of course I didn't get any pictures of it because I was having too much fun just sitting there).

Jarren's Birthday

Jarren turned 9 this month. He was so excited for his special day. His grandparents all gave him money, and he thought he was so cool with a pocket full of money. He wanted to spend all of his money on Pokemon cards, but I wouldn't let him. I told him he could buy Pokemon cards, but he would have to spread it out over a few weeks, to make sure he wouldn't rather have something else (I'm a mean mom, huh?).

I was nice though to let him have a friend birthday party. He wanted a sports party. So we went to the park and played basketball, football, and soccer. All the kids seemed to have a great time.

I love you Jarren!! Happy Birthday!

Mission Call for My Little Brother

My little brother, Jordan, got his mission call for our church tonight. He will serve 2 years in the California, Long Beach, Spanish speaking mission. I am so excited for him. And I am so glad he gets to learn Spanish. My dad had to work tonight, so we all went to my dad's store to open it. (Sounds familiar, I opened my mission call at my dad's store too). Jordan will leave the end of August.

The excitement and anticipation...waiting to see where it will be.

The proud nieces and nephews. They sure love Uncle Jordan! We were figuring how old some of the kids would be when Jordan comes home. Jarren will be 11 and Halle will be 4. That is crazy!

The proud mom and dad. They all look a little teary eyed (Tears of joy, of course).

One of the proud sisters. My sister was on a cruise, so she missed being there. Sorry Jess, we missed you, but I'm sure you were having a great time in Mexico.

And last, but not least, the proud girlfriend, Esther. Our family really likes Esther. We sure hope she's still around when Jordan comes home.

Love this Girl!

It makes me sad to see that Halle isn't a baby anymore, she's a little girl. Isn't she just a little cutie though?

Idaho

We went to Idaho this weekend, and this is the only picture that I took. Jarren thought it was great having a boy to play with (thanks Tregan for being Jarren's buddy). This picture was taken outside of Big Jud's, it is our favorite place to eat when we go to Idaho. Being a germ nut, I can't think about the way the place looks and just enjoy the food. Our family enjoyed a 1 lb. burger, fries, tator tots, onion rings, mini corn dogs and ice cream (I know, pretty healthy, but very yummy).

The weather wasn't the best, but we had a great time. Jason and I were able to visit the new Rexburg temple. It was so pretty. It reminded us a lot of the Winter Quarters temple we got to go to when we lived in South Dakota.

The kids all had fun making beaded necklaces and bracelets; even Jarren thought this was great. Thanks Diana for the fun and for sharing your beads!

I'm not sure how many times the girls went to visit the horses next door. I hope the horses didn't get sick from all the grass and weeds they fed them.

Karli's Preschool Graduation

Karli had her preschool graduation last week. It was so cute to watch her sing the songs with her class. She loves to sing. I can't believe it's Kindergarten in a few months. Seriously, where does the time go?

Pinewood Derby

Jarren was so excited about the Pinewood Derby. My dad and little brother helped him get his car just right. And I actually think my dad was as excited as Jarren was. It was cute to see them get so excited about it. Jarren was disappointed that he didn't win, but he was pretty proud that his car took 2nd, 1st, and then 1st in the different races.