The Grand Canyon

I can check it off my bucket list. It was pretty impressive. But doubt I need to drive 6 hours to see it again anytime soon.

Stopping by Jacob Lake - Steve and his brother, Mark, worked there 20 years ago! (I'd maybe go back for one of their chocolate cloud cookies, though - mmm.)

The crew (minus Maggie and Mark):

Piper, Noah, Steve, Max, Kristin, Zoe & Amanda

Steve scaring the crap at out of me with a wiggly 2 yr old on his shoulders standing way to close to a very deep canyon drop off. At least he wasn't trying to climb over the rail like Noah!

Piper heading back into the lodge exclaiming how much she hated it here :)

See the window in the rock behind us? Can't remember what it's called.
It was the first day of summer - we wore matching shirts to celebrate.

Piper clinging on for life.



And Day 2 came to a close with Max dumping popcorn all over, naturally :)
(We went through 9 bags of popcorn over the week!)
(Still waiting for the call asking us to never return to this hotel ever again... seriously, those poor maids.)

No Place Like Home

We made it back from the worst vacation ever {at least for our family}.
The poor hotel maids. You've never seen so many puked and pooped on sheets, towels and blankets!

We headed to St. George for the week with Steve's brother and family. All was well. We swam and played in the hotel room.

Tuesday, we headed out to see the Grand Canyon, where Piper was completely freaked out and exclaimed to everyone in earshot that if we ever decided to come back she was staying home!

Wednesday, Max woke up with the flu.

Did I mention it was 106 degrees? That didn't help much. I don't do heat.

Thursday, we headed to Zion National Park. Max seemed to be doing a little better. I started to feel a bit queasy though. Trekking a couple miles in the heat, pushing a stroller, didn't help. We didn't end up staying long.

 And Max wasn't really at all better. I don't think he likes the heat either.

It was too hot for Max to even sit by the pool in the shade, poor guy.

Then Piper got the bug. I heard her cough from the other room and came out to this - she was still asleep!
Max's diarrhea was so severe his bum blistered - ouch!

To top things off, Steve and his brother went to see Rush in Vegas Friday night, where my car got rear-ended. Joy. Not too much damage, but still, such a pain to have to take it in and get fixed.

I had the full bug by the time we drove home Saturday. We all went to the doctor thinking we had crypto from the pool, but she said there is a flu bug going around - 1 day of vomiting, 5+ days of diarrhea. Max is still fighting off the bug, everyone else seems to be over it. Thank goodness! A few more edits and then more pictures to come :) Just glad we're home.

One More Saved

Mia and her new big sister!

Mia was officially adopted out of an orphanage in the Ukraine by Kecia and her family last week. They flew home on Friday and we had the privilege of stopping by for a quick first meeting :)
The thing that struck me most, is that this little princess who had not seen the outside of the orphanage in 4 years, was such a social butterfly. She was so happy to be held by so many new faces, and was really enjoying all the people around her.

They had a balloon launch symbolizing Mia's new freedom.

So happy for you guys!! Especially for Mia :)

The Starfish Poem:
Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"

The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish in the ocean."

"I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?"

"The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die."

"But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can't possibly make a difference!"

The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the ocean, past the breaking waves and said - "It made a difference for that one."

Hope I Don't Melt

We're off.

It's suppose to hit 103 degrees in St. George this week. Not sure I'll survive. Anything above 75 makes me want to cry.

{Image stolen from somewhere online.}

Happy Father's Day!

We surprised Steve with a new BBQ grill last Sunday (we were having family over to bbq - it was needed early).
So Piper painted him a tie for today.

That's Piper and Steve walking by a pond with a lily pad - she wanted a frog on the lily pad but couldn't figure out how to do it.

And just for the record, nope - he didn't wear it to church (cause he assumed it would be too short)...

EI Family Fun Day

DDI, the early intervention program here, had their annual family fun day at Wheeler Farm. Lots of fun stuff to do including butcher paper drawings, face painting, and bounce houses.

 Max hates hats! But note he is tolerating his new ID bracelet well :)

Piper and our friend Grace. Piper LOVES her new ID bracelet. {Bummed that the child locator device I ordered doesn't look like it's going to make it here before we leave on our trip next week.}

Max and our friend Will. Of all the fun things to do, playing in rocks was the favorite, of course.

Is He Part Raccoon?

Yep - found him eating garbage out of the trash can he knocked over.

What? It's just watermelon, Mom!



Luckily, it was just leftover watermelon from lunch, but still!

I'm heading out in about 2 minutes to find a new kitchen trash can. We had one of those stainless steel ones, but the trash bag kept falling in. This cheapo one worked so much better. Ugh.

He's Fast

He's not running yet, but he's still fast. {The other day Max got out the front door when a friend was picking up her kiddo after a playdate with Piper - neither one of us saw him go out - we found him over a block down the street!}
Thinking about getting this child locator device for Max for an upcoming vacation to southern Utah... {and possibly daily use, too} ($20-$40)

as well as these for both kiddos... ($10-$13)

Anyone seen or used the top type of locator before?

How about a recommendation for a good kitchen garbage can lock? I have tried two different ones and the tornado has actually figured out if he knocks the can over, the lid pops off. I love finding him in the kitchen eating garbage, let alone the mess :) And I'm sick of gating off the kitchen - we're in and out so often it's a real pain. $70 worth of kitchen cabinet/drawer/oven locks later and he still makes a mess in the kitchen! Good thing he's so dang cute.