Mountain Escape

We spent the night at DEl's parents' cabin on Kolob a week ago, and it was wonderful.

Instead of 100+ degree heat, the temperature stayed in the low to mid seventies during the day.

Perhaps it wasn't quite as relaxing as usual, as we had three families with a combined total of fifteen kids (ten under ten years) all sleeping under one roof.

But it was fun :)

This photo was taken during the drive there; we stopped several times so JiHye could take pictures of the beautiful scenery which many of us locals take for granted:

A trip to the cabin wouldn't be complete without a hike to "the knoll":

This was the only pic I got of Jefferson, as he was "gone fishin" most of the day:

On top of the knoll:The views up there are incredible!

During our trip, I experimented a little with scenic photography. These first two pictures are of West Zion:

This is the backside of Kolob Canyons. The curve in the cliffs on the left is a natural rock arch, which can only be seen from this view a few hours during midday, when the sun shines through it (the other "arch" is just an indentation on the cliff):

This was taken on top of "the knoll"; the mountain in the background is Pine Valley:

It was raining as we drove home:

We're looking forward to our next mountain escape :)

Purple

This week's challenge at iheartfaces is "purple." Here is my entry:
This photo of my teenager was taken in a moment of fun at a neighborhood Halloween party. I love how the purple complements her dark hair, yet contrasts with the greenery behind her.

Mission Accomplished

I am happy to report that we are officially diaper and pull-up free.

Mathison has been going "number one" consistently in the toilet since January, but has really struggled on the other end (terrible pun, I know). I had plans to finish things up at the end of spring, but that's when Mathison had his cast put on. So, as soon as we returned home from his final cast removal, I put away his pull-ups, crossed my fingers, and began "Operation Big Boy Pants".

It's actually been easier than I thought it would be, and I'm happy to report that Mathison has only had one minor accident in the past 2 weeks.

Oh happy, happy, day. Our family is through with diapers (and potty training) FOREVER.

Mission accomplished!

Victory never smelled so sweet :)

A Loss and a Gain

We've had some big changes in the Beatty household the past week and a half.

First, we said goodbye to this guy:
Bronson has decided it was time to cut the apron strings and move out on his own. With DEl's help, he found a place in town with two other Dixie College students. Bronson must really be enjoying this time on his own; we only saw him once last week. He believes he'll have enough funds to see him through at least until the end of fall semester. We miss him - especially Mathison, who worries that Bronson is no longer part of our family. However, I know that being out on his own will is a good thing for our oldest son at this point of his life.

A couple of days after Bronson moved out, we received a new member of the family:
This is Ji Hye (pronounced Gee Hay), a college-aged Korean exchange student we are hosting for the remainder of the summer. She is taking part in an educational internship sponsored through the Washington County School District. Ji Hye is a very sweet girl, and gets along with our family very well. Krissia has been so excited to have a "sister" to hang out with in the evenings and on the weekends :) Ji Hye and Mathison have formed a very special relationship; she is very patient with him and seems amused by many of the things he says and does. In fact, when DEl recently asked Ji Hye what her favorite part of her experience has been so far, she replied with a smile, "Mathison!"

I wish I could keep my kids with me and protect them from the world....but life moves on. Things change, and we must change with them. For every down, there is an up; for every loss, a gain. And when the time comes for a child to spread his wings, all one can do is hope he will remember the lessons that will help him to fly.

This is easy to say, so much harder to do! I'm sure I'll be a basket case again when Krissia's turn comes :)

Essscape Artist

Meet Chesster:

He's the newest member of our family. We found him in the middle of the road last Saturday evening while driving around in Washington Fields. The original plan was to just move him off of the road, but somehow Jefferson sweet-talked his way into keeping the snake on a trial basis.

We found a large rubber tote to keep him in at home, and picked up a few supplies at the pet store on Monday. Things were going pretty well at this point, and it looked like Chesster was here to stay.

That all changed Monday night.

Jefferson had been keeping the snake downstairs in our family room, and needed a way to keep the cage above 80 degrees. He came up with a good plan - he cut a small hole in the lid, underneath a hatch door. He covered the opening with packaging tape, then positioned a small lamp to shine in the hole. It had worked well the night before, with Jefferson turning out the lamp when he went to bed. As I prepared to go to bed on Monday, I decided to check if he'd remembered to turn off the snake's lamp. I leaned over the railing and realized that the light had indeed been left on. As I straightened up, something on the stairs caught my eye.

It was our 3.5 foot king snake, resting on a step about halfway up the staircase.

Talk about a shock! It's a good thing I'm not a screamer, or the whole house would have awakened right then. I ran into our bedroom to grab DEl, only to find he'd just gotten into the bathtub. When I breathlessly told him about finding the snake on the stairs, he said,

"Hon, I just got into the bathtub....what do you want me to do about it?"

I guess I didn't play up the damsel in distress quite well enough. I decided that there was no harm in having the snake on the stairs while my husband finished his bath; we could catch it together when he was done.

It was a great plan except for one thing - when I walked back to the stairs, the snake was gone.

At first, I thought that perhaps I had just imagined seeing the snake the first time as it was rather dark in the hallway. This hope was proved wrong as I saw the snake again, this time slithering towards the open door to Krissia's bedroom. She was gone, but I knew we'd have a hard time finding Chesster if he got loose in there.

So I put on my big girl pants and caught the snake. By myself.

While putting the snake back into its cage, I saw that it had worked the tape loose in one corner, which allowed it to slither away. Determined to prevent this from happening again, I moved the lamp and shut the hatch - covering the hole completely. I wasn't worried about lack of air getting into the cage, as we had punched several small holes in the top. I went back upstairs, satisfied with my solution.

I began reading a book; about 10 minutes into it, I decided to check on Chesster. He was directly under the hatch, trying to peel the tape away with his head. 'Smart snake,' I thought as I turned out the light and went upstairs again. I read for a few more minutes before deciding to prepare for bed. As I was brushing my teeth, I decided it wouldn't hurt to check on the snake one last time.

When I turned on the light, it revealed an empty cage. Upon closer examination, I could see that the hatch had been pushed ajar and Chesster was on the loose again.

At that point, I was thinking we should have named that snake "Houdini."

There was no way I was doing this on my own this time around. I ran upstairs to grab DEl, then together we woke up Jefferson. We desperately hoped that the snake was too big to fit under the storage room door, as we have boxes of Christmas decorations that it could lose itself indefinitely in. Luckily, the snake hadn't wandered too far; the boys found it in the corner of the family room, burrowing under some blankets. After depositing Chesster inside his house YET AGAIN, I decided the best place for it would be outside. We set the cage on the basement stairs, with a heavy book over the hatch, and hoped it would be there in the morning. Well, at least Jefferson was hoping it would still be there.

So far, Chester has remained in his home, although we've found a permanent place in the garage for him to stay. Now that the threat of having a snake running loose in our house has subsided, I've actually quite enjoyed having him around - I didn't realize that snakes were so fascinating to watch. We haven't been able to get the snake to eat yet - we've tried frozen mice twice (yes, I know it sounds gross) without much luck. We're going to try a live mouse tomorrow; if that doesn't work, we'll have to release the snake back into the wild. Jefferson will be sad.

And surprisingly ...so will I.

Sweet Sophi

On the 4th of July, I decided to do a quick little photo shoot of my niece, Sophi. She will turn two next month, and is just as cute as can be! After ignoring me for the first few minutes, she really started playing it up for the camera. That lasted for about 10 minutes before she was DONE.

It was quick, but I think we were able to get some good shots. If you have time to leave a comment, I'd appreciate learning which ones are your favorites as I am playing around with different editing techniques.

Thanks!

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12

July 4th

The past few years, we've held the Kerry Gubler family reunion on the Fourth of July. We had a great time celebrating our nation's birthday with our loved ones!

I took plenty of pictures at my parents' house, and I tried to include at least one picture of someone from each of my siblings' families in this post. Except you, Shawnee - I think Benson was pretty much in the house the entire time :) Oh, and Matt, since he and his family are in Kentucky (I think I've covered everyone now).

Some of the kids gathered in Grandpa's garden to set off smoke bombs:

Here's Jefferson overseeing the detonation of the "bombs":

Adri's eyes are so pretty; and yes, they really are this blue:

I love how Sofi seems totally oblivious while Adeline is posing for the picture:

Mathison, showing me his "Avatar" stick and pose:

Jett has the cutest smile:

Ethan seems pretty engrossed by the garden fireworks:

Adeline is waiting for the talent show to start:

Jaylee had just finished some of Grandpa's homemade ice cream:

Jefferson and Carter just chillin' on the swing:

My beautiful teenager:

Great buddies:

Sofi finally started to ham it up for the camera:

Cole in his tiger suit for the talent show:

Of course, we ended the evening with fireworks:

Mathison kept a safe distance from his sparkler:

A shutter delay produces some cool effects:
Our family had a great time together, and we are already looking forward to next year!

19 and 20

It's been a big week for our family.

On June 24th, our oldest child celebrated his nineteenth birthday:It seems like yesterday that Bronson made his entrance into the world 4.5 weeks early, weighing in at a frail 5lbs 9oz. He became very ill when he was only a week old, spending 8 days in the NICU for various infections. It was a scary time.

Bronson just finished his first year of college, and is looking forward to continuing his education at Dixie. He is currently working two jobs, and hopes to have enough money saved up by Christmas to be able to move out. A mission is not in Bronson's plans at this time, although we hope this will change at some point :)

Yesterday was our wedding anniversary.

It was a huge one.

The big 2 0.

Twenty years. I have now officially been married for longer than half of my life.

With a child that's now 19, 20 years of marriage under my belt, and my 40th birthday coming up next winter, I feel......old.

How did my husband and I celebrate this momentous occasion?

In a way that represents our lives at this point. DEl is currently in the middle of producing the Miss Nevada Pageant in Mesquite, so the kids and I drove down to spend a few hours with him during one of his breaks. We swam for a couple of hours, then had dinner together. I know it's not every couple's dream to spend their anniversary with their children; but for me, this picture represents what our last twenty years have been all about:

Who knows - perhaps we'll get lucky and be able to sneak away for a couple of days when things slow down a bit in the fall :)