Kolob, Part Two

Here is the second installment in my Kolob "series".

The colors were beautiful on the mountain, and I tried my hardest to capture the beauty with my camera. Here are some of my favorite results; I would really appreciate comments on the pictures you like best, as it will help me decide what editing, lighting, and angle techniques seem to work well.

Kolob, Part One

Yesterday, DEl and I were able to take our four youngest children to his parents' cabin on Kolob. My sister Nicole and her three boys were able to join us for lunch and an afternoon's worth of exploring and fun.

We always enjoy our time up there; it is so peaceful and beautiful. I love being able to reconnect with nature while spending time with my family.

I took over 50 photos while we were up there, and I've decided to share a few of the favorites with you. This segment features the "people" part, and a later post will showcase the nature shots.

My family will probably notice that Jefferson and Cooper are not in any of the photos; they were down at the lake catching crawdads when these pictures were taken.

A Little Less Dora

Dora the Explorer has recently become one of Mathison's favorite shows to watch, and often the refrains of "Vaminos!" and "Swiper, no swiping!" can be heard echoing from the family room. While I don't let my toddler watch Dora all day long, I have been letting him watch an episode or two each day if he wants. After all, the episodes have examples of problem solving and often highlight numbers, shapes or letters. There is also the mixing of English and Spanish, which might spark an interest in my child to become bilingual at a later point.

However, the are some other things that Mathison is picking up from this show that are unexpected and......well, a little embarrassing.

We were recently at Wal-Mart and I was having some difficulty with the wheels of the shopping cart getting stuck. Mathison looked at me and said, "I know what can help us - let's use our sparkle power!"

Ooooookay. Other boys are talking about trucks and sports, and here is my son excited over "sparkle power".

I wasn't too concerned until another incident happened when we returned to Wal-Mart a few days later. I was searching through clearance items, and Mathison was having a great time hiding among the clothing racks. Suddenly, I heard his little voice calling, "Mom, look at me!" I glanced over and saw that he'd draped a blouse over the sides of his head. Mathison turned his face from side to side and exclaimed, "Look - I'm a pretty princess!"

That did it.

From now on we are watching a little less Dora.

And a little more Diego.

First Prom

Saturday night was the Homecoming dance at Desert Hills High School.

It was also Krissia's first date to a formal dance.

She looked so beautiful in her stunning dress!

Krissia even managed to pin the boutonniere on her date on the first try.


A fellow swimmer asked her out. They're about the same height without shoes, but when four inch heels are thrown in, this is what happens:

I don't think either one seemed to mind too much.

I felt like the paparazzi as I followed them outside and snuck in a few more pictures:


I actually grew a little emotional as I watched my daughter drive away; I think it struck home that we are growing closer to the time when a young man will sweep her off her feet and drive away with her for good as they begin a new life together.

And I am just not ready for that to happen.

A Little TOO Close for Comfort

As we were choosing where to live last fall, the location of our current home appealed to us because there is a hill literally right in our backyard. The thought of being so close to nature was a benefit we just couldn't pass up.

Lately, I'm beginning to think we're a little too close to nature.

A couple of months ago, I blogged about a gigantic grasshopper that had found it's way into the house. Then a couple of weeks ago, there was the snake that Mathison found on our back doorstep:

And now?

Say hello to our newest guest:


We found him crawling around on OUR FAMILY ROOM FLOOR in the basement last night.

Actually, it was Krissia and her friend who found the tarantula while watching a movie. I just followed the screams downstairs and scooped the spider into a jar:

I hope this ends our stream of visitors for awhile!

Our Trip to Zion

Three weekends ago, admission to Zion National Park was free. We loaded up the family after church, and headed up to walk an easy trail. It was a lot of fun, and of course there were many great photo opportunities along the way:

One Mean Mom

There were two instances this week when I had one of my children pretty ticked off at me.

The first happened a week ago, with Jefferson. We'd gone to LaVerkin for a family dinner, and he was really wanting to stay and have a sleepover with the cousins because the next day was Labor Day. Normally, this would be fine except for a) he had been battling a cold for a few days and b) he'd made a commitment to help someone in the neighborhood early the following morning. Jefferson had some pretty compelling arguments, and was even able to work up a few tears for effect as he pleaded to be allowed to do this. However, I felt he needed a good night's rest to get over his cold - and there was no way that would happen while cavorting with his cousins. I also felt strongly that Jefferson needed to keep his promise to help our neighbor, so I said "no" to the sleepover.

Talk about trauma - he sulked all the way home. I was feeling pretty bad, too. I knew how much spending time with his cousins meant to him and hated to deprive him of the opportunity, yet I felt it was more important for him to get healthy and learn what it means to keep your word. He eventually got over his disappointment - and his cold.

The next experience was with Krissia. She and I had the opportunity to do some modeling for an exclusive store at the mall and were called in for a fitting. As we exited the car, she mentioned that she wanted to get an Orange Julius when we were finished. There was some cash in the car, which she grabbed and put with her phone. During the course of the fitting, Krissia misplaced the money and couldn't find it anywhere. As we were getting ready to leave, she started begging me to use my credit card to buy her the Orange Julius she wanted so badly. Again, I was torn - an Orange Julius sounded pretty good to me, and I could tell by the look on the store clerks' faces that they were thinking 'Come on, it's only a few bucks; just buy her the drink." But what would I be teaching my daughter if I gave in? That it is okay to be careless with your money because Mom or Dad can always bail you out? I told her "no" and was stuck with her complaints for the ride home.

I like to make my kids happy. As a parent, I naturally want what's best for them - but sometimes, that means not giving them what they want. I hate feeling like the "bad guy", but I figure that my greatest responsibility to my children is to stick to my guns when there are life lessons to be learned - even if they cannot see them at the time. It would be great if I could always act like their friend, but they already have plenty of those.....and the buck needs to stop somewhere.

Even if it makes me a mean mom sometimes.

20 Years

Last weekend was a fun-filled blast from the past as my graduating class celebrated their 20 Year Reunion.

And guess who was co-chairman?

That's right. Me.

I am only now recovering.

I learned a lot from this experience, including:

1. I would rather just show up than plan an event. I get too stressed about the details.

2. Although I prefer not to do so, I have the organizational and creative skills to put something like this together.

3. It becomes much easier when there are people to help (my classmates were great at volunteering).

4. Some people change a lot in 20 years.

5. Some people don't - and this isn't necessarily a good thing.

6. You can't please everyone, so stick with what you've planned and just go with it.

7. We have a really, really fun class that still rocks it after all these years!

We planned the reunion to take place over Labor Day weekend, which also coincided with Hurricane City's Peach Days celebration. Here is a brief outline of our activities:

Friday night: Classmates only event. I didn't bring my camera, so I don't have any pictures. We met at the high school parking lot, where we had a potluck BBQ, decorated a float for next day's parade, and did a lot of reminiscing about the good ol' days. Afterwards, many of the classmates drove up to the "H" and changed the numbers from "09" to "89". Love it!

Saturday 6 a.m.: Classmates could participate in a 12k "fun run". No, I didn't run - 5k is about the limit for me. Anything longer isn't much "fun".

Saturday 9 a.m.: Peach days parade. Look at the peach tree we put together the night before - isn't it great?
Here are a few of the classmates on the float as we waited for our turn:


Saturday 11a.m. - 1p.m.: Family swim and picnic at the Hurricane Pool. We had rented the entire facility, and it was fun to see the families. Several of the classmates had "mini me's" running around - it was so cute!


Saturday 5:30 p.m.: Tour of HHS. They will begin work on a new school within the next year, so classmates had one last chance to look at the old building before it's torn down.

Saturday 6p.m. - 10 p.m.: Reunion dinner


We had a great time. Due to the generous donations of certain classmates, we were able to have a nice, catered dinner and still keep the cost at a minimum. We had a welcome activity, then ate dinner. Afterwards, we held a special tribute for deceased classmates. We have had 8 classmates die already, which is a staggering amount considering the small size of our class (129). This was followed by an 80's trivia game, special awards, and class photo.

Over 50 classmates showed up that evening!

Can you find me in the above picture? If not, here's a clue:

Yes, that's me with the long hair. I am wearing the extensions I bought for "Annie Get Your Gun".

Here's a picture of me with two of my very best friends from high school, Brooke and Suprena:

That's my old boyfriend in the middle, Ryan. He is actually a cousin of Del's; there must be something about that family I find irresistible:

This is Craig and Tiffney; the three of us are second cousin's on my Grandma Barrick's side. We have another cousin in our class, but she was unable to come:

This is Kathryn, my good friend from school and the other co-chairperson of our reunion, and her husband Matthew. Our husbands were such good sports about the whole thing!

Just before it became time to nominate the next committee, my husband asked me what I'd do if they didn't select anyone to take over.

The answer was easy. "Then we won't be having our 25th reunion."

Because as much as I love my classmates, I don't love them THAT much!

Paradise on Earth

Sunday evening, my husband and I were able to experience our own little piece of paradise.

I'm sure everyone has heard of the Garden of Eden. My good friend and former dance partner in Annie Get Your Gun, Randy Paul, has captured it's essence in a romantic getaway called Eden's Keep.

Randy - you are one amazing, creative genius.

Everything about our stay was magical - from the romantic lighting, to the incredible details, to the realistic replications of rock and flora, to the single perfect rose placed next to the bed. It was if we'd been whisked away to a private kingdom where we could relax, renew, and rediscover ourselves.

It. Was. Perfect.

And sooooo hard to leave.

Here are some pictures I took of our experience, but please know they cannot give this special place full justice. It literally is something you have to see for yourselves.

A view to the bedroom area. This was taken the next morning, which is why the bed is unmade (Sorry, Randy!):

The kitchen:

Powder area outside the shower:

Our perfect rose:

Shower entry. The shower is 1.5 stories tall and has multiple shower heads:

Top of the shower. When turned on, it's as if a gentle rain is falling:

Here is the "tree" that was growing in the room (notice the detail of the bark):

Entry:

The tub. This was perhaps our favorite feature:

You can't appreciate how huge the tub is in the above picture, so we added this for perspective:

Thanks again, Randy and Tammy. WE ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE EXPERIENCE. For those of you interested in more details about Eden's Keep, please click HERE.

You won't be disappointed!