Clean Air

Winter in SLC means air that gets stagnant and gross and unhealthy.

But, the cure is just a few miles away... and up.

So, since our air quality is unhealthy and NOT breathing doesn't work so well...

We headed into the mountains for a little exercise.

Evan LOVED snowshoeing. 

Ryan loved just being with his Dad. 

And I loved the smiles on their faces.

And the fact that they slept the whole ride home! 

Weekend Adventure

So, originally, we were going to give the boys a trip to San Diego for Christmas. 

 

And then we remembered that People are in San Diego, and neither Mark or I like People. 

 

And since SoCal gets a LOT of traffic this time of year, we decided to go out in the middle of nowhere instead.

 

Well, actually, we went to St George, took a left and ended up in the middle of no where.

 

Beep Beep I'm a Jeep Time!

 

The first day, we drove out along a trail that sort of meandered through this:

 

And somewhere out there, we found some dunes.   

 

 

 

Mark of course, had a BLAST, the whole while I was repeating "Find your happy place, find your happy place!!"

 

And luckily, there were some other crazy souls out there that pulled us off the top of the dune that Mark high centered us on.  I did NOT take any pictures of that.

 

The next day, Mark somehow talked me into going out again.

 

And while we couldn't find the trail he was searching for, we had a great ride through the middle of no where... and found a few places where Mark could play with the jeep.

 

 

He was so excited... more so than Evan and Ryan on Christmas morning at the chance to REALLY use all the jeep's special features.

 

When I got back in after spotting him over this THREE FOOT DROP, he was grinning from ear to ear and proudly announced, "Everything is ON!" (referring to the sway bar disconnect, the front and rear locks, and whatever else allows the jeep to go up and down THREE FOOT LEDGES!).

 

The boys also had a blast, and spending two and half days with each other, no interruptions, was the perfect Christmas gift... even if it meant three foot ledges and high centering on sand dunes.

 

It's a Marshmallow World

We had a huge winter storm roll through on Saturday... 

And it was the first GOOD snow we've had all year.  

 

Which means on Sunday morning, when the sun came out...

It was time to play.

And play.

And play.

And if you've never heard Dean Martin's Marshmallow world... 

It's Ryan's current favorite.

I love Quakies.

 

End of Story.

I Spy With My Little Eye...

 

SASHA AND ELSA!!!

 

Who??

 

 

Sasha and Elsa!  Duh!

 

The deer.

 

Not to be confused with the babies in Ryan's belly that are ALSO named Sasha and Elsa.

 

We actually saw 6, all were either Sasha or Elsa.

 

Except for the Spike, he was John.

 

Ryan informed us of their names. 

 

And kept either shushing us so that we wouldn't startle them OR calling for them out his open window.

 

And PS... I so love the names my son has chosen for his imaginary children.  If I had a girl, she would SOOOOO be named Elsa!

 



Telluride

Our Jeep Adventure for the long weekend took us through Telluride Colorado.

 

And of course, we couldn't just drive through!!

 

 

If you follow the main drag through town... you end up here:

 

 

Well, at least that's where the snow stopped us.

 

But, considering that the town is down there somewhere too small to see... I think we made it far enough!  

Sunday Drive

 

One of my favorite things about where we live is being just a few miles from the mountains.  

 

 It's great to be able to hop in the vehicle and be up out of the city within just 20 mins.  And now with the Jeep, one of the favorite actives is to do just that. 

 

Last weekend, we went up Millcreek Canyon and Big Cottonwood Canyon...

 

 It was perfect up Millcreek, just slightly cooler than the 75 degree valley and the boys were VERY jealous of all the other visitors who had thought it out enough to bring a picnic!  I told them that we would for SURE do that next trip. 

 

Big Cottonwood though was still full of snow... and only in the 40s!  A little too chilly for our shorts and t-shirts!  The boys thought the little town of Brighton at the top of Big Cottonwood would be "THE COOLEST PLACE TO LIVE!" especially when they saw some of the cabins still buried to their roof tops in snow! 

So, there is this Hole...

Yep.  

We drove for hours to see a hole.   

And, being in the jeep with THREE boys (yes, that includes Mark) discussing the HOLE we were going to see did lead to many many BOY jokes.  

I'm sure you can imagine.

I know, I know... I could have just let Ryan have free reign in the yard with a shovel... but I just don't think it would have been the same as THIS:

Or, as breathtaking as: 

This may be my new favorite picture...

Oh, and if you've never heard the story of the Hole in the Rock... In October of 1879, 200+ Mormon Pioneers were sent to settle the Four Corners area, and since I-70 didn't exist yet, they had to forge their own trail through the desert.  Along the way, they ran into the gorge formed by the Colorado as it cut through the sandstone.  The found themselves 1000 feet above the riverbank... 1000 feet of sheer red rock cliffs had to be conquered before they could cross the river.   So, with limited blasting supplies, pick axes and shovels, they cut a hole in the rock that was just barely wider than their covered wagons, and held on for dear life. 

 *Hmmm... Shadows in Slick Rock make for nice fake orange tans!

This last picture, I took while standing on the very edge of the slick rock on the right side of the the Hole, holding my camera up over my head and out over the ledge... see my shadow??  And those loose rocks down in the center?  That's where we are sitting in the pictures above.  It is STEEP!

Click the link below for a Pioneer story of the decent...

Stanford and Bella Smith's decent down the Hole.

Weekend Jeep Adventure #1, Complete.

Beep Beep, I'm a Jeep!

Why do we spend money on things like Pogo sticks...

When our children are just as happy playing with free sticks they pick up in the woods?

 

Or maybe it's just my crazy kids who THINK normal sticks bounce?

PS... I just looked through the pictures from our trip to the cabin (where this video was taken) and other than the pictures where he's eating, Ryan has a stick in his hand in every one.  I need to pick some up next time to gift wrap for Christmas...

Nature Calls

We love getting out into nature... alas, we sold our camper when Ryan came along... it was too small, and we have yet to replace it.

That means we don't go camping as much as we used to, but we still try and get out of town when we can.

So we rented a cabin a few weekends ago just outside of Antimony.

It was a US Forest Service cabin.

(Did you know you can rent a lot of them? AWESOME deal!)

The cabin was AMAZING.  It's actually one of their corals, so it was completed fenced in... keeping the rift raft (mostly, I mean cows) out, which means the grounds were in great condition.  There were tables, a great fire pit, a horse shoe pit, Adirondack chairs on the porch.  

Just soooooo well kept, and so relaxing.

I still haven't taken the pictures off my camera.  

I'm a slacker. 

Well, I have a few on my phone.

Thought I'd share one I snapped of Ryan enjoying the outdoor life... 

What?  You were expecting something more classy??

If you were, you obviously don't know me very well.

Fish Lake

Soooo... more about our weekend drive/fishing trip/drive...

After checking on the site, we weren't very far from a great recreation area called Fish Lake in central Utah, and Mark had thrown the fishing poles in the back of the truck so we could stop for a few minutes and relax.

After grabbing a bite to eat, we rode up to the lake and found a nice quiet place... The weather wasn't the best over the weekend, so the lake was nice and quiet!!

As we settled in, and Mark prepped the poles... and Ryan and I clowned around. He LOVES having his picture taken right now! 

The lake was sooooo pretty... the hillsides were very green, with the dark grey clouds and sun poking through. 

This was the picture I snapped RIGHT before the "Flashlight" that sent us scrambling up the bank and back the truck.   Ryan was so bummed that we only got a few minutes to fish.  Every other time we've gone, he's at least been able to reel in a carp or two!  Guess we will just have to make another trip! 

Captial Reef

This summer has been the summer of National Parks for my family.   Utah has 5 parks and several monuments and we have been to 4 of the parks, and several national monuments this spring/summer.

We actually didn't plan it (and in fact, when I mentioned to Mark that after our visit to Capital Reef, there was only one left... he had to think back!

Anyway, this weekend, Mark had to visit a site that had lost power due to a wildfire... the power had been restored, but the surge had flipped the breaker, so he just needed to flip the switch and check and make sure the equipment hadn't been harmed.

Ryan and I decided to drive down with him... and then we took the scenic ride home through the park.  For a drive, the weather was beautiful... lots of big storm clouds, lots of thunder and lightening and some REALLY heavy downpours interspersed with BEAUTIFUL shots of the sun pushing it's way through the dark clouds, creating a dappled vista that was just breathtaking. 


Plus, the rainy weather cooled the air, because normally this area is SMOLDERING in the summer!  But it was a wonderful mid 80 for most of the day.  Seriously, pictures cannot due justice to this unique area of the country.  The shadows and light play against the enormous red rocks and then there will be a shot of green where a tree has beat the odds and put down roots.

Plus, I got to spend it with two of my favorite people...  Evan will be home soon, and hopefully we can repeat the experience in our last Utah Park!

Utah has UGLY Fish

On Saturday, we took a nice relaxing ride south... stopped in to see Mark's brother and his family, and then went fishing for a few hours.

Brian, my brother-in-law, had a pole that had a broken reel, which I'm not sure why he brought, but Ryan found it very entertaining.  The handle was broken, but you could spin it by hand, so when Brian cast the line first on accident, we handed the reel off to Ryan and let him spin it for fun.

Of course, that was the first line that got a bite!

Ryan didn't know WHAT to think!

Next, Evan hooked a big old ugly carp.  Seriously, these things are butt ugly.   Evan wasn't too excited to hold it, but Brian made him at least "pretend" so I could get a picture before releasing the ugly thing!

It was a great lazy Saturday afternoon! 

Easter Adventure

We went off on a wild hare of an adventure this weekend. 

Seriously... Last weekend Mark mentioned he thought it would be fun to go south for a weekend.  We talked about maybe the Grand Canyon (about 10 hrs away) or maybe just Zions (about 5).  Nothing concrete.

We packed up Friday night and drove down to Cedar City (about 4 hours south)... woke up the next morning and did a lot of ...

And...

AND

Followed closely by...

Plus, a little of ...

And VERY LITTLE of...

We've been home about 30 mins... Ryan is passed out, Evan is quietly playing...

And my sister went grocery shopping for me.

Despite a rough start, it turned out to be a great weekend!

Snowball

We have had so little snow this year, that anytime there is even a inch or two on the ground, the boys are dying to get and play in it.

Last weekend, we ended up with just about 3 inches, and Ryan begged to go out.

When I opened the back door and asked him what he was doing (as I was snapping this picture) he giggled and told me he was going to make a snowman... then he promptly changed his mind and told me, "I gonna throw my snowball at CHOOO!"

Yeah.  As cute as that little grin is, I quickly shut the door and watched him from behind the glass!

Marriage: It's about over coming differing opinions

See, to me, anytime you have to HANG OFF THE SIDE OF THE MACHINE TO KEEP IT FROM SLIDING INTO THE DEEP MUD PIT, it's time to turn around. 

To my husband (and the husband's of the my wifey friends) it was time to practice defying basic laws of nature.  Like GRAVITY. 

PS.  Additionally on this ride, my adorable niece informed me that some of the words that slipped out of my mouth as my knee slammed into hard plastic for the 5 millionth were "for grown ups only" and she didn't think I was old enough yet. 

Campfire Bananas

So, a few weeks ago, I was messing around on Facebook and found one of my relatives had linked to a blog post about "Campfire Bananas".
Knowing we had a camping trip on the horizon, I decided to take a peek.

And I just about fell out of my chair.

HOW have I been on this earth for 30 plus years and NOT thought/heard of this before????????

I am KNOWN for my inventive s'more creations! 

Side Note: Seriously, you know those jelly orange sticks you get a Christmas... try one of THOSE puppies!

Oh yeah, back to Campfire Bananas...

What you need: 

Bananas, Marshmallows, Misc Chocolate*, Tin Foil, and Coals. 

Pull back a thin strip of banana peel, leaving it attached.  Hull out a little of your banana, it's okay to eat what you take out. 

Shove some marshmallows and chocolate into the newly vacated space.  Pull the banana peel back up into place, and wrap it all up in tin foil. 

Then, throw it in the campfire (or in the oven or on the bbq). 

And then you have to wait.  WAIT.  WAIT!!!  It was hard... and they actually take a long time!!  But while you wait, might I suggest... a S'more??

Back to the banana.... Oh, MY!  No picture can do them justice.

*We found some mini DARK chocolate Reese's cups, and they were the best in the bananas.  However, I do believe the chocolate/caramel bar was really yummy.  And next time, I think I'll try and find a Heath bar... ooooo... the toffee!!

Campfire Snuggles

 

After the long ride, dinner and an AWESOME dessert (recipe/instructions coming soon), topped off with a little imaginative play on the parked machines with their cousins,  Evan and Ryan were content to sit and snuggle by the fire as the sun went down.  

And, just so you know, I TRIED to get my adorable baby boy to sit with me and snuggle ME, his MOTHER.  The only time he was interested in sitting on my lap was when his big brother jokingly came and sat on it.  

Obviously, being around his brother is way more cool than being with his mom.  

And he's only 2.  

What is it going to be like when he's a teenager and Evan is the cool older brother home from college with his sports car???

Kids are so FUNNY!

So, 6 hours was not enough time on the 4 wheelers I guess, because once we got back to camp, the kids were still climbing all over the machines pretending to ride. 

Evan went and found his own machine (he's 4 years older than the other kids, 6 years older than Ryan). 

And well, he's that much cooler, so of course, they followed him...

(And I'm not exactly sure why Ryan has his helmet on upside down, but it was seriously cracking me up!)

Look how nice Trevor and Gracie were, making room for the littlest!!!

And this picture may be my favorite from the entire weekend... The 4 year olds totally hamming it up for the camera... the 2 year old with an backwards helmet... and Evan, dear sweet Evan, just barely containing his joy with the tag a longs to his day dream of driving the 4 wheeler!