Moab, UT & Arches Nat'l Park

We took a break from remodeling the kitchen to take the kids on a little trip to Southern UT where we actually got to stay in a hotel! Wheee! (No more camping for me for awhile.) We went to Moab which is where Arches Nat'l Park and Dead Horse State Park are located. It is a huge tourist area for people who like to go off-roading, mountain biking, or dirt biking or who want to see the natural arches made out of red rock.

Forrest and the boys hiking towards Delicate Arch, the one that is featured on one of UT's license plates:
Forrest's close-up shot of it:
On our way to Sand Dune Arch...we had to pass through a couple of narrow walkways to get to it:
The sand was so cold and so soft that the kids had to stay and make their own arches in it:
The highlight of our trip was taking a Hummer Off-Road Tour for an afternoon. I would have never imagined that such a large truck could go up and into the areas we went. And over not very wide rocks!!!
What goes up...:
Must come down:
Petrified Allosaurus dinosaur footprint:
At the top:
The kids all agreed that that was the best part of our trip. Our guide was so much fun and really took us on some fast, tight turns and one area that literally felt like a roller-coaster. We saw so many people with their own personal vehicles-Jeeps mostly-doing what we were doing and they are nuts, IMO. No way would I put a vehicle I had paid that much money for through that much abuse. We saw many that had break-downs along the way trying to make repairs.

Today, before we headed home, we hit Dead Horse State Park and once again I was struck at how nice UT parks are. The views here are unbelievable but the rock wall separating us from a 2000 foot fall are low, so we did not spend a lot of time here since anxieties about the heights and our clumsy kids were running high
These next pictures I am putting in because they just make me laugh.

This one I find so funny because Wyatt instructed Forrest to take his picture like this:
Henry posed like this in every picture we took of him by himself. He's my little Ralph Lauren model.LOL:
And this one...this one is the crux of taking pictures of the kids:
So much fun, especially since running water, showers and toilets were involved.LOL

Kitchen Renovation

Since we were able to unload the house in IL, we have decided to make this one our own. The first thing we are tackling is some painting around the house and the kitchen as a whole. We have ordered new appliances which will be here on the 18th and the refrigerator was delivered yesterday. We-and by we I mean Todd- have also started painting the walls, covering the ugly maroon trim and removing the light fixture that we have lovingly nicknamed "The Monstrosity".

Some "before" pictures:



And now some "During" pictures:

"The Monstrosity" is gone. The plan is to replace it with either recessed lighting like the others that are already in there, or track lighting:



The maroon trim is painted around the sliding door and floor. Who paints their trim maroon???:

My new refrigerator...isn't she pretty!:


The color on the walls is called "Smokey Topaz", which is a rusty tan color which is one of the colors in our granite.

We plan on refinishing the cabinets ourselves and we also want to lay hardwood floors in the near future.

It's a big project, but we are having fun planning it out and implementing our ideas.

Monday Blurts

There is really nothing new going on except for the house being torn up because we are painting/remodeling/redecorating. So, I thought that I would just post some random things that have popped into my head or little things that have been said that I find funny.

*I just put LC on the bus for the very first time. Another Kindergartener's mom called and said that the kids in our neighborhood who are afternoon Kindy are able to take the bus to school, so I put Lauren on it and off she went. She was soooooo excited.

*Last week we passed a Wendy's and Lauren blurts out that she "hates Wendy's because they have bad toys." I informed her that when I was a kid, our meals didn't even come with toys. Enter Henry who says, "Yeah Mom, but that was like the 1980's!" Todd and I just looked at each other and busted out laughing. Who knew that the 1980's were the stone-ages?LOL

*Picking out colors for the walls of your home is a very daunting task. #1paint is expensive, AND #2 painting is a pain so you want to get it right the first time.

*Holy Mary, the sun is hot out here. We don't have anymore window treatments on the windows so the sun coming in makes the house feel like a sauna. It doesn't help that we have been in the 90's for the last 2 weeks with another week of it to go. Last year at this time, we had our first snow flurries.

*I love Lowe's and Home Depot. Love. Them. I could spend hours in there looking at faucets and doors and appliances and window treatments and light fixtures and flooring and...It is so much fun to be able to make plans for the house and know that we can carry them through and make this home our own, finally.

*My stress level is almost at a zero these past few weeks. The pain in my chest is gone, my heart has stopped palpitating constantly and the knot in my stomach has disappeared. Most importantly, my hair stopped falling out. It is amazing what anxiety can do to a body. It is nice to be able to breathe.

*I was reminded once again this past weekend, how short life is and how we should never take anything for granted. A very special family is going through a very hard time right now. I hope they know that we are thinking of them and praying that peace is theirs. We love you all.

SOLD!

After 17 months of being on the market and 14 months of being vacant, our house in Illinois finally sold on Friday, September 10. It was a very long road filled with a broken dishwasher that flooded the house, a tree falling on our fence, worry every time that a storm came through that the basement would flood or the roof would leak, 7 offers and one failed deal. To say it was stressful is an understatement. Add to that, we were carrying 2 mortgage payments, so at times it made life unbearable. It was hard to tell the kids that we weren't able to have birthday parties for them, or that we couldn't go to certain places because they were too expensive, or that we couldn't order from Scholastic this (every) time. When we did go to things, it was because they were free. I mean, seriously! I camped 3 times this past year just to be able to take the kids on "trips" so that they could have some fun.

Selling the house is very bittersweet, though. I loved that house and there are so many things I will miss about it. The wood trim, the wood floors, my stove, the extra garage, the front porch, the rhododendron out front that bloomed every year at LC's birthday--especially that. We moved into that house and then 6 months later we were pregnant with Wyatt. We brought all three kids home to that house and spent 10 1/2 wonderful years there that were filled with love and laughter and tremendous growth. I am someone who believes that buildings have a "soul" of their own, per se, and I believe that we left some really good karma back at that house in Spring Grove.

It belongs to new people, though. I do take comfort in the fact that it was the same people whose deal fell through in April that came back in August, still wanting to buy it. We have been told by both our realtor and our lawyer that the wife of the couple broke down into tears at the closing because she was so happy that the sale finally went through; she loved the home that much. I am glad that someone bought my house that will love it there as much as I did.

So, good-bye Spring Grove, IL. Thank you for the wonderful memories.

First Day of School 2010

The boys had their first day's of 5th and 2nd grade last week and seem to be settling in.



Lauren had her first day today and was she excited!! She asked all morning, "is it time, yet?" She had already picked out her outfit last night and since her hair is now long enough, she wanted a "back ponytail", which I have to admit, I regret doing because I'm worried she looks like a boy. But, she wanted it, and I wanted to make her happy, so I went against my better judgment.

When we picked her up, she was standing with her brothers and was all smiles and exclaimed, "I had a good day!"

Weber County Fair

The fair started today and since we love a fair, off we went.

First off, we stop for smoothies. Lauren was distraught over how long it was taking and how windy it was:
Next stop is the pigs. Heny was sticking his hand in every cage to see how each animal felt:
There was even a pig named "Wyatt" even though you can't see the pig laying down:
Then came the cows, which Lauren was not sure about touching, at all.:
There was also a cow named "Wyatt" but in this picture you can't see the sign, LOL:
Rainbow rabbit!:
Our favorite part of the day is the horses:


Lastly, the kids decided to take Nana and Papa up on the offer of doing the power jump. After a boost from the operator, Wyatt went sky-high:
In this picture Henry is on the right and that is about as high as he got. He was very tentative after being all gung-ho:
LC even tried it:

Another Camping Trip...

This past weekend we went on yet another camping trip this year. Since our finances (some of which are out of our control) don't allow for any more elaborate trips at the moment, we are taking the time to see the beautiful sites around our state.

Last year, the boys went on a trip up near Logan, UT. Todd was very anxious to go up there, again, to show the gorgeous scenery to Lauren and me. Garden City was having their Raspberry Days Festival, so we went to enjoy the famous raspberry shakes, walk the festival, and stayed for an a capella group called T minus 5, that is from the Ogden area. We all loved it.

Bear Lake and Tony Grove Campground are absolutely beautiful. Bear Lake is called the Caribbean of the Rockies and I now understand why. The water is as blue as the water down there, only a little colder. And Tony Grove--while the amenities are primitive--the views are breathtaking.

It was an enjoyable 3 days, which in my opinion, is the perfect amount of time for a camping trip.

I wish the kids and I weren't in this pic. It's hard to see how gorgeous the lake is behind us...
Setting up camp:
Lauren and her dad:
The kids on the hike:
Me and LC:
The kids wading in the lake:
See? My boys really do walk on water: