75 Miles and Camping Trip #1

Unfortunately this picture is the only proof we have of our Salt Lake Century Ride. It was back on May 21st, and it was supposed to be 67 miles but it ended up being 75 miles. So far, NONE of the rides we have done have advertised the correct mileage. What's that about? It started at the State Fairgrounds in Salt Lake and went up through North Salt Lake, Bountiful, Farmington, Layton, Kaysville, and Syracuse and out to the Great Salt Lake and then back. We hardly trained for this ride at all. We've been waiting on my stinkin ankle to get better for months, and I've had a few setbacks (via basketball and wearing heels), so we just had to be patient. Paula also desperately needed a new road bike, and thanks to her super-awesome hubby, she GOT ONE for Mother's Day. So we didn't have much time to train. A few 15-mile rides and one 28-mile one, and that was it. It is possible that we are insane.

So as for the Salt Lake Century .... LOVED IT! What a great ride. Beautiful country, relatively flat terrain, good support. I'd really like to do the 100-mile route on this ride next year. I WAY preferred this ride to the ULCER for a lot of reasons. Maybe cause there wasn't a 30-mile gradual uphill climb with 20-mph headwind. I don't know??? Both rides are near water and seem to have an issue with those little bugs that fly around in massive packs ... and since I tend to ride with my mouth open ... yep. Nasty. Surprisingly neither of us wore sunscreen and ended up with some awesome sunburn/tan lines. We kept good time and didn't take long stops at our rest stations, and that seemed to help. We've made the mistake before of taking long breaks for lunch, etc. Bad idea. Getting off those bikes for more than 10 minutes makes it SO hard to get back on. Quick stops to refill water, grab fruit snacks/oranges, and back on the road is the way to go. So it was a fun ride. Great bikes, great company, great weather .... great ride.

We took our first camping trip of the year over Memorial Day weekend with a big group of amazing friends. We were up Hobble Creek Canyon in the Cherry Campground. The ranger came up halfway through to tell us there was a bear in the area. We mostly shrugged, kept a close eye on the little bite-size kids, and kept the food in the cars. We might not be the most responsible group of people or I guess we figured even a bear isn't dumb enough to come anywhere near a crowd that size. Either way, the camping trip went off without a hitch. No bear. No injuries. Lots of good food and fun.

It was a little chilly ... so we borrowed a tent heater. Those are about the coolest things ever. We'll definitely be getting one of our own.

Austin basically chopped up things with the hatchet all weekend. Sometimes he took breaks and carved up things with his pocket knife. Should I be worried?

Jackson tormenting Daniel and Jason while they play a riveting game of chess.

Me and my finished product of chocolate heaven in a dutch oven. Chocolate cake, caramel, nuts, whipped cream. Yum.

Again with the freezing. Of course, the tent heater was on MY side of the tent and Austin was on the opposite side. Hello??? I purchased the child a mummy bag that's SUPPOSED to keep him warm in the North Pole ... and it wasn't that cold. Don't feel sorry for him.

London (along with her trusty sidekick, T.J.) spent her weekend making boats to float down the raging rapids of the much-higher-than-usual-cause-it's-still-snowing-in-June river. Very safe I know.


This is Dave's patented method for getting the tent to fit in the five-sizes-too-small tent bag. Fold and then recruit volunteers to roll on the folded product. Something about getting out all the air ... blah, blah, blah. It seems to work though.


So all in all we had a great camping trip and a great time with friends.

We have ARRIVED (continued)

My baby graduated from kindergarten a few weeks ago. Do you know what this means??? I am old. And in a few months, all my kids will be in school for six hours a day. My biggest concern ... boredom ... and being old of course. It feels weird. I'm sure it will have its perks, but it feels weird.

My handsome boy LOVED kindergarten and his teacher Miss Morris. I love how kids feel about their kindergarten teachers. My kids have all ADORED their teachers. Who knew the sun could rise and set with a cute, young, happy, recently graduated, excited to be there kindergarten teacher. Apparently it does ... cause we're four out of four on that. Love that people want to teach and are so good at it and want to be there with my kids and 30 of their closest friends day in and day out. Way to go Miss Morris.

They did a cute little program (complete with songs) and received their official diplomas.

T.J. is really excited about going to first grade. I'm not sure he realizes he'll be there for twice as long during the day. He basically just wants somewhere to go with his Spiderman lunchbox.

Jackson's final eventof a crazy busy fifth grade year was the wax museum. They all pick a character and read a book about them and dress up like them. The parents and other students come to the classroom, press a button on the poster or desk, and the kids recite facts about this person. Jackson took too long deciding on his person and got assigned Bruce Lee. What???
Turns out he had a good time learning about the Kung Fu master. Austin and Jackson discussed for weeks whether Bruce Lee or Chuck Norris was stronger, tougher .... WHATEVER. So in Jackson's reading, we discovered that Bruce Lee actually taught Chuck Norris how to fight at one point. And that pretty much ended the discussion.

Jackson in character as Bruce Lee.
And the infamous Bruce Lee poster.

London finished up her year with the Second Grade Dance Festival. They performed the Tarantella. She was nervous before but had a lot of fun performing her dance for LOTS of people.

She did a great job!

This girl is growing up way too fast. They all are.

We have ARRIVED ... and so has Austin

Wednesday night Austin graduated from Elementary School. Yes folks, he passed the sixth grade, and he was part of an elite group of students who are the first graduating class to have attended Eagle Valley Elementary School for all seven years. There were only eight kids in this group who have been here all that time. Austin thought that was pretty cool.

He's grown into quite the young man. He is just about my size (yes I have four-inch heels on in the picture ... so what?) and has such a big heart. It's fun to see him get older and want to learn and be interested in so many things. I love that he still thinks his parents are cool ... hopefully we've got a few more years of that. In fact, he just called me (just to check in) from his friend's house where a last day of school video game junk food extravaganza is going on, and before he hung up, he said, "Love you." WHAT?!! Love this kid.


Austin loved his teacher this year, and he had some great friends in his class. I was the room mother for his class this year, and we had some fun parties and field trips. It's been a really great year.

So as part of the graduation, they handed out a few awards, and you'll be happy to know that Paula, Melanie, and I were voted by the faculty as the Volunteers of the Year at Eagle Valley and we each received a lovely plaque.

So there's a funny story behind this. Our friend Aprill who got Paula and I started with volunteering at the school via the Book Fair many years ago is what you call a super-volunteer. She literally LIVED at the school volunteering here and there and everywhere and she is AWESOME. We loved doing Book Fair with her (and anything else) because she is so much FUN. And of course she was voted Volunteer of the Year. And we were jealous and we bowed to her greatness and we hoped and dreamed to aspire to her level of volunteerism. And it would appear (according to the plaque pictured below) that WE HAVE ARRIVED! And it turns out we didn't even need to literally LIVE at the school for two weeks a year like we did during those Book Fair years ... all we had to do was make the teachers dinner four times a year during SEP conferences and one super special lunch during teacher appreciation week.

We have been the SEP food committee for years (maybe five?) and we all really enjoy it. Melanie keeps us organized and on track with spreadsheets and tracking amounts (i.e., counting paper plates) as well as the shopping and Paula and I keep busy with our assignments for PTA coordination, food prep, and set up and serving of food. Honestly it's a lot of fun, and I LOVE that I get to know my kids' teachers. It makes a HUGE difference in our experience with their school. We really love Eagle Valley and I have enjoyed volunteering there for the past seven years. It's a great school with great teachers and staff, and if you don't know that, then spend some time over there. It will make a difference to you and your kids.

London's Big Day

London got baptized back on April 30th. She was SO excited and loved having some of her extended family here with her on her special day. Unfortunately I got very few pictures. Ooops. She was VERY worried about her hair coming up so we did it in a crazy tight style with a bunch of elastics in the back, and it all stayed down. What a relief. London asked Grandma Morton to give a talk about the Holy Ghost, and she asked me to lead the music (????). Bro. Monsen called me up for an impromptu testimony at the end with about five seconds of warning. I realized my kids have hardly EVER heard me share my testimony from the pulpit, so I was grateful for the opportunity.





We tried to get a nice family picture before the baptism, but it didn't go too well. You would think it was unusually bright and sunny out... but it was actually just about to start snowing. Jackson is apparently being blinded by the brightness of the oncoming snow?

And T.J. is normally very photogenic, but we have apparently hit a bit of a snag with that.

SERIOUSLY PEOPLE!!! WORK WITH ME HERE!

T.J.!!!! What in the world?

Anyway, we had a very nice day and are so proud of London for her decision to get baptized. She has been trying harder to do what is right and to fix it when she does wrong. I'm glad she understands the importance of making good choices. We're so proud of you baby girl. :)