Lake Day!

Jacob and Tatum came up for the weekend, something we’ve been trying to get them to do for literally years. It has been so fun to see the kids with these guys, it’s almost like they are their older siblings!  Jacob has always been the kids’ favorite uncle and Tatum might just be their favorite aunt too!  Both have played video games with the kids and got on the tube today!  Jacob went with Ava and Jack and enjoyed a crazy ride, while Tatum went with Norah and Ben and enjoyed a fun ride!  So glad they are here with us enjoying this beautiful valley!!

We’ve been able to go side by siding, play video games, watch part of Jumanji, have a pancake breakfast, go boating, have a campfire and make S’mores at Northfork Park and tomorrow we will have church with them, enjoy and smoked pork dinner and then send them back to the Provo!  The miracle of their visit was getting on and off the lake today while the weather wasn’t stormy.  Also, when we got there it was starting to get busy, but we were still able to get a parking spot and when we got off it was fairly quick and the line to get on the lake was out in the street and beyond!  We had no hitched and stayed safe all day, except for some more sunburn!!  Darn sunscreen!!

Beach Day!

Today we went to the lake and hung out on the beach!!  We invited some of the kids’ friends and loaded up some snacks, paddle boards, sand toys and towels!  It was a great few hours of fun in the sun!  The water was still freezing, but somehow all the kids got in and even swam what seemed like miles out the the farthest buoy.  It was relaxing to be by the water and not have the stress of the boat! Everything was great until we realized that we all got sunburned. We are out of practice from the winter and missed some key spots with the sunscreen!!

Trampoline Time!!

We moved here August 2016 and the kids have missed their backyard ever since!  It’s been a long time coming, almost 4 years, but today we restored their trampoline!  Everyone was excited for their first jump session, and aside from Ava getting landed on, it was a total success!!  In TX we had an above ground spring free trampoline, but to preserve our neighbors’ views we installed an in-ground one!  The bounce is still high and the kids, inspite of nearly doubling in size, enjoyed every minute of their evening on the new trampoline!! Now we need some grass!

Spring!!

We have almost completely enjoyed our isolation due to the pandemic because of the amazing place in which we sheltered in place. This valley has much beauty, couldn’t have hand picked a better place to spend months at a time quarantined with 5 other imperfect people!!

90 Pounds!!

Ulli has been doing some strange things and acting sick lately with a disorder the vet has never dealt with, making thus pup less fun to be around-but somehow he has still had an appetite, gained some weight and is up to 90 pounds, which rules out cancer!!  Sweet!!

Teacher Send Off!

Today was the day to pick up next year’s teacher assignments and say bye to thus year’s teachers at the elementary school!  I can’t believe Norah will be in 6th grade and Ben will be in 4th!  These kids both loved having these gifted women as teachers and were sad not to have spent the last two months with them. It was a weird year with no real transition into the end, so glad we snuck out of our cars and got to hug and take a picture one last time!!

The Kiss!

Since the kids finished all of Grammy’s puzzles, I decided to buy one for them that was actually in stock on Amazon and it arrive a few days later and then these two finished it a few days later!  It proved to be the hardest puzzle yet with all the muted colors and repeated patterns, but someone they never gave up and worked on it day after day!

Yearbook Picture?

Ben was asked to send in a picture of himself during the quarantine for the yearbook. He asked Norah to take this one of him sitting on our couch!  I love his smile I’m this picture and love that this is Ben’s idea of a quarantine picture; as if he sits on a couch all day with the soft closure going on!  Too cute!

Avon Pass

We got the side by side last Saturday, and this Saturday we took it up the Avon Pass and cruised around!  It’s super serene up there, albeit super rocky and dusty!!  We might have gone to far driving all the way to paradise and halfway to Mantua, making for a dirty group when we were finished, but the air was blowing and we were carefree after a morning of weeding dyer’s woad in our neighborhood.

Op Art

Ava started her final art assignment of 9th grade this week and when she was finished we were all amazed at how it turned out!! She started with 8 dots and this is what came of it!!  She chose 3 very subtle colored pencils and made it 3-D by adding gradient scale!!  She is so excited to have it done and can’t believe how cool it turned out (the rest of us never doubted).

Stinker!!

Yesterday this little puppy was hanging out on the driveway while we were playing frisbee, when a car came and parked at the top of our driveway. Ulli went nuts, barking and running towards it. I was at the bottom of the driveway, so the girls ran over and tried to pull Ulli away from the car that he jumped on; Ulli was not having it and wouldn’t listen until I came up the driveway and grabbed him!!  We are doing more recall training today and he has been a perfect, obedient angel!!  Thank goodness, we’ve already got a sick dog, we don’t need a disobedient one too!!

Tubing!!!!

Ava and Ben enjoyed a dry tube and a slow paced ride before Norah and Jack started a crazy ride that tossed Jack off in the end!  Both groups seemed to have a great time!!  It was a windy and chilly evening when it was time to leave, but Kyle and I rose to the challenge and launched, trailered and parked the boat at our house without a hitch!  We love boating!!

Heron Nests!!

As we were about to drop our boat in, someone started excitedly telling us and the water officer about a bunch of Heron nests on one of the banks of the lake!  We went right over to it and counted 15 humongous nests with Herons in them!!  It was so cool to see so many in one tree!  We hung out and watched them for awhile!

Inaugural Run!!

Today the temperature got up to 81, the warmest we’ve been this year and the only warm day this week; what a perfect day to hit the lake!!  The kids were hesitant, because they knew the water would be cold (Willard Reservoir is 66 degrees), can’t say that I blame them!  Norah was the first one in the water and even put her face all the way in, followed by Jack when they cannon balled in together, then Ben slipped in for a second before jumping out; Ava stayed dry with Kyle and I!

Munich Puzzle!

After finishing Nancy Drew up last night, the kids got the border done before bed and finished this one this afternoon!  It’s an old puzzle that the kids had almost finished, but gave up on. This time they completed it in half a day!!  Way to go, on to the next one!

Mother’s Day Hike!

Last year we went on a hike and it was not nearly this green, there was still much snow on the mountain and beneath, but the company was equally good this year!  So glad we live in such an amazing place with trails moments from our house that take us to magical surroundings!  We drove the side by side over to the trailhead and we let Jack drive back home!!

Hobbit Theme Song!!

Norah decided to enter a piano performance of the song In Dreams from the movie the Hobbit for the 5th grade virtual talent show.  She has been practicing for awhile and today we did a bunch of takes before recording the final performance-it was beautiful and I felt transported into the movie!

Lemon Squares!!

Ava cut out all the letters while Kyle made the lemon squares.  They dusted the bars with powder sugar and then removed the letters and it couldn’t have been more impressive!  The brisket and corn dinner was a great prelude to such a summery dessert on an 80 degree day!

Polaris Ranger!

Kyle has been trying to score one of these side by sides for years now, and this Spring’s garage cleaning really cleared up the space needed!  It’s hard to find one that’s nearby with a street legal kit, sound system, under carriage lighting and big new tires let alone one that includes delivery!  Kyle found this one last week and when it was delivered last night everyone was stunned!  It fits great in the garage and the inaugural cruise through Northfork Park this afternoon was a total success!  The kids will learn how to drive on the this thing and there’s even room for Ulli!

Luckiest Mom!!

I don’t know anyone else who received homemade truffles (Nutella, salted caramel and s’mores to be exact) and chocolate Nutella peanut butter cups as well a parent survival kit complete with candy aides for all the predicaments motherhood brings!!  The cards included top notch notes as well as beautiful pictures and hand lettering!

Kyle stole the show with some Godiva and the gift I have been asking him for these past months-the Dyson Airwrap (hope it works on my hair).  The wrapping paper was even expertly decorated!  These guys sure know how to spoil me; sleeping in and good food!!

Finished Nancy Drew!

These guys have loved all the puzzles from Grammy and tonight they finished the last one!!  It is so amazing how fast Ava and Jack have become at putting puzzles together!  Impressive!!  Now they need to go read some Nancy Drew books!

Baby Moose

I spotted the moose first and raced over to the fence surrounding the yard it was grazing in.  Jack and I must have watched it for at least 10 minutes before he scooted home. I stood there for as long as it took to see it walk around, eat a bunch and drink from a puddle-it was so magical with the mountain backdrop!!  So glad we went on the scooters this morning.

Scooter Time!!

A week and a half ago, Kyle’s latest brilliant idea arrived via FedEx. We were all excited to try out the new wide wheel electric scooter, even Ben!  We have been enjoying it off and on depending on how the brakes are working and even purchased a second one to go for rides in pairs!  It has been really relaxing to get out on the scooter and ride the hills in our neighborhood and especially get a break from whatever is ailing us!  So grateful for all of Kyle’s great ideas!  On our morning ride today, Jack and I saw a baby moose!

Dinner!!

With Jack’s help, we had some amazing chicken enchiladas with Macayo’s red sauce, guacamole, refried beans, chips and grapes!!  Everything was delicious and the assistant in the kitchen was fantastic; so glad it’s cinco de Mayo!

Cinco de Mayo!!

Today is another fun holiday we celebrate at our house!  Our cinco de Mayo breakfast was so authentic!  We whipped up some sopapilla dough, let it rise and deep fried it to golden perfection!  We dusted the pockets with cinnamon, sugar and honey!  Everyone really enjoyed it; it’s been forever since we’ve been to New Mexico and enjoyed a few!!

Leah Cupcakes!!

Chocolate fudge cupcakes with a buttercream frosting, chocolate hair and Oreo buns!!  Are you kidding me!?  All this amazing was while watching Empire Strikes Back made for a great end to our day!!

May the 4th Be With You!

Bb8 for dinner!  Coolest parent award goes to...US!!  We wanted to do something special for May 4th and decided that Death Star pancakes for breakfast and Bb8 pizza for dinner were a great idea!!

Art Project

Ava completed another art project and this one was actually worth photographing. She created the fireworks using shaving cream and food coloring and then topped it off with a skyline silhouette. She was pleased with the result and I was happy to document it!

Sick Puppy!

Ulli has his 2nd birthday last week and we didn’t do anything special!  He wasn’t feeling great, not eating and didn’t seem very thrilled to be alive.

He’s been through a ton with us and we are mostly used to his illhealth, but are always hoping he can get better and be a normal 2 year old dog.

He is doing better today and even ate all his (smaller portioned) food in one sitting, something he hasn’t done for quite some time!  He went on a walk early with me while it was still pretty cool out and even got to play for a minute with a girl dog who had gotten out of her yard!  The kids have been helping with Ulli more these days, making my load lighter thankfully!

Dream Yard!!

About a week ago, Kyle mentioned to Jack how fun it would be to have a fire pit in the yard-30 minutes later he had constructed this pit out of random rocks in the yard!!  It was so circular and sturdy, we couldn’t believe how fast he’d made it!!

We christened they fire pit a few days ago, and decided it would be a super fun activity tonight as well!  We gathered the s’mores stuff last night and enjoyed the fire even after the treats were gone!  So fun to be able to walk out our front door and use this pit that Jack made!!

Porch Place!

Last time we had a fire in the front yard, Ulli was inside with his face glued to the front door watching our every move. Today, we tried to give him a better seat and be outside with us, but not near the fire. He was pretty good at staying on the porch while we were 25 feet away!  He was safe and would not end the day smelling like a campfire-win!!

Puzzle Time!!

Norah’s puzzle went down so easily, the kids must have finished it in a matter of hours!  I think we need to enter a puzzle contest-these guys are fast!!