Moab

Spring break was a perfect time to head to Moab.  The weather was still cool enough to spend the days hiking and exploring.  I was worried that we wouldn't snag a camping spot this time.  The place we go is "first come, first claim", and we circled around a little bit before taking a "tent" sized spot we barely fit into.  But it worked!

And it was perfect weather for a kite.

Our newest trailer upgrade involved a cheap projector on a tripod.  Christopher added enough solar panels that he could power a movie projector at night, and so we gathered around the fire for a movie night.  But our favorite part was our guests!  Christopher nudged me part way through Minions to point out a little headlamp that had stopped along the road to the bathrooms to watch our movie.  He was probably 2 or 3 years old.  A bigger brother joined him a few minutes later, and eventually a Dad came to collect them.  He told us that they were on a "no screen" week, so our movie was a true siren call for them.

Later, we turned around to see a whole group of young teenagers that had skipped any casual pretense and set up all of their camping chairs to form a back row.  We loved it!

Of course, Moab is always a lot of hiking in the parks for our family.
We hiked the trail to Landscape Arch, with a pause at Pine Tree Arch along the way.

Might be time for a haircut. Or at least a hairdo!

We hadn't hiked up there since the kids were tiny.

We hiked just a little bit beyond the arch this time.  The trail is more difficult as it continues on, but had some great views.

And that is the last view we have of the Junior Ranger vest.  I was so happy when I snagged that (usually $30) vest at the thrift store for $3.  But Jasmine took it off not long after this picture and we didn't realize it until we were a mile away.

Instead of freezing in the RV park pool like we had other years, we took our crew to the indoor, city pool. That was a huge upgrade, and it was still cheaper than staying at the old park!

She figured out selfies.  Look out!

We even talked Tyler into going off the high dive!  He did get pretty scared once he got up there (rightfully), but eventually took a jump off.  He is so much braver than me.

We went into Canyonlands to explore on another day.  I hadn't been in that park before.  "The Island in the Sky" seemed like an odd name until we drove along the plateau and hiked to the edge of the rim.

It really felt like we were in an Island in the Sky.

I don't know if that video will work on here or not, but it is the only way to do that place justice.  We hiked out on this 8 foot wide rock that literally had 1000 foot dropoff on 3 sides.  I had to check on a map later.  It was terrifying.

This arch is famous for sunrise pictures of the sun peeking through it, but what surprised us is how large it is on the side of that cliff.  If you could see the other side, it is actually huge.

I think the part of the trip our kids liked the most, however, was something I spotted in a local newspaper.  Backyard magic show!

It was in the backyard of a restaurant in town, and there were hay bales for kids to sit on and colorful folding chairs for adults.  We have never been to a magic show before, so we aren't expects by any stretch, but we were really, really impressed with this guy.  We have no idea how he did most of it.

There were only 4 or 5 families there, so each of our kids got to go up and participate in an act.  They talked about it for weeks.  Kaitlyn was very analytical, determined to figure out each trick, and especially the one she saw up close.

Tyler was 100% convinced by everything this guy did.  When he "poked a hole" in Tyler's shirt and then fixed it, he was jumping up and down in shock.  He inspected his shirt over and over all night.

And when the magician told Tyler to think very hard about his card that he picked, Tyler thought as hard as he could.  On tiptoes.

He even read Christopher's mind, and hid money inside of lemons that I was holding for him.

He played the clam game with kids, rearranging the order and then seeing which coloring book hid the surprise, which was hilarious.  Jasmine loved when he disguised the kids to make it harder to "recognize" them.  So many giggles.

And of course, we did our annual bike trip to get a banana split.

We need to find a longer trail, since the kids have nearly mastered this one, and we'll have to get more banana splits.  The kids are so big now that the entire thing was gone in 5 minutes.

Goblin Valley

We love all of our trips with our trailer, but Goblin Valley is one of the best.  There are no services of any kind for 100 miles, so camping is your only option, and it just isn't as crowded because of that.  That also means that kids can just roam wild up and over all of the rocks they find.  Last year was fun, but the wind gusts were up to 50 mph, we knew it could be even better.

Plus, this time, we got to bring a little doggie!

It was his first camping trip with us, and he loved it.  Dogs aren't allowed in National Parks, but they are in many of our State Parks.

And now, a million pictures.

The kids figured out that the soft sandstone was easy to "write" on with a rock.  Tyler immediately wrote "famly" and drew a heart around it. He is so sweet.

My kids love their "room."

Hey look!  Proof I was on this trip!  Usually I take all the pictures, but Christopher took a few this time.

We hiked a slot canyon this first day, and I think that was our favorite part.  It was just so COOL looking! A bit of clambering over rocks for the kids, but nothing they couldn't handle.

They decided that this should be the official family pose from now on.

Ta da!

The next morning, we headed out to explore the goblins.

Christopher took the kids into a cave that he knew about.  There were some tiny spots to fit in, way up high, and . . . I have to admit I just didn't make it in with them.  I am a total chicken.

For added humiliation, they even carried the dog into the place I was too scared to go.

"Wait!  I know what this rock needs!  Go take my picture!"

That tiny little dog actually did a great job.  I think the sandstone gave him good traction, because he was climbing up and over all kinds of stuff.  He loved being on the adventure.

I'm just glad it wasn't too windy for this trip!

Jasmine's birthday

I'm behind on writing again, but I'm going to try and catch up!

Jasmine had a hard time narrowing down what she wanted to do for her birthday this year.  We eventually settled on "a party for all the princesses, but especially Moana.  And we paint our nails!" She wanted to invite every friend she has, but I told her she kinda had to choose between inviting boys and painting nails.  Not that boys can't paint nails, but . . . it usually isn't their thing.

I had asked the girls in the middle of February if anyone wanted a Moana dress.  They both said no.  I have to admit, that made me rather sad.  And then we were walking through the thrift store, and I found the perfect things to make a dress out of.

 The fringe!  And the perfect color of orange!  So I made Jasmine a dress anyway.

Which was a lot of fun.  Especially since most of the work was painting the designs on there. I was just glad she liked it, despite not asking for one.  I'm going to have to find kids to "adopt" and make costumes for soon, since both girls have passed the dress up phase.

In a fundraising auction months ago, I bought help from some teenagers for a birthday party.  And they were fantastic.  They made a princess scavenger hunt that led the girls all over the house for clues and prizes.

And of course, the luau theme was fun to decorate.

Moana boat cupcakes!

Thank goodness I had help with painting nails, too!  Movies helped to keep them still.  Mostly.

Our weather was even warm enough that they could go outside and play while parents were coming.

Jasmine was SO excited about her presents from us.  I told her we had to wait until Daddy came home to open them, and she stayed at the window to wait for him and asked me where he was every five minutes.

It was more about the opening than the actual objects.

A five year and three month snapshot, since I am that far behind:

*She is starting to read now, and really enjoys the antics of Sam and Mat in the "I See Sam" books.  She loved preschool at Kate's house all year, and while she never liked "computer school" from Upstart quite as much, I think it helped a lot, too.  Even if she still insists on writing her J's backwards in her name.

* She would stay on youtube all day if I let her.  Unless Avery can come over to play.  We have to check and see if Avery can play every day.

*She is still quite particular about her clothing.  She wears crocs every day, unless she is going to church or the swimming pool.  When we went to school to have her try on uniforms, she reminded me that "Mom, I don't wear pants."  Which is just too bad, since they are part of the uniform.  She might just try and wear a skirt or dress all year, though.  I always think that being cold will teach her that leggings and short sleeves aren't enough, but she just doesn't get cold often.  She wore long sleeves once or twice this year, though, so maybe that is progress.

*She is happiest when she is "big".  She loves being the only kid at home with me, or having younger friends over to play.  And no matter how much Tyler and especially Kaitlyn try to make her feel like their equal, she is still sure they are out to get her.

*I have to admit, I rarely let her sit on my lap because she is SO wiggly.  But she has convinced her teacher at church to let her sit on her lap every single week.  I can see the look of triumph from my spot at the piano.

*She loves to sing all of her favorite songs and dance along, no matter where she is!  I tried to put a video on here from instagram of her singing "I see the Light" from Rapunzel, but it won't come.  Most recently, she sings Moana songs all day.  All the skirts she tried on for fit the other day were tested for hula compatibility by singing "Moana!  Make waves, make waves!" (which isn't even the correct lyrics, but I'm not going to tell her.)

*Her favorite foods are pepperonis, entire cartons of strawberries, and sneaking candy, no matter who it belongs to or who told her she couldn't eat candy right now.  She also loves the joke that "Mom always says no to gum, but Daddy says yes."  I hate gum.  I don't like watching people chew it, finding it stuck random places, all of that.  Suckers are also evil, since everything the kids touches gets sticky.  So they beg gum off of Daddy. :)

*She LOVES swimming.  As long as she can touch the bottom.  She knows she can't swim, and will splash and play in the shallows for hours.

*She's my happy, sweet girl!! (Until she's not, and then you better duck. ;) )

Front room makeover

We put the new floor down in time for our Christmas tree, and left it at that until the holidays and birthdays were all over.  I've had an idea in mind for how I wanted it all to look for a long time, and I think I'm coming close.

A before shot from November.  I was most excited to have bare floor under the dining table.  I know that rugs underneath is the right look for a magazine, but with children, that means you cannot eat there.

Mainly, I knew it was time to redo the wall to the left of that picture.  The fake tree was cheap a dozen years ago, and toddler Tyler in particular thrashed it.  He ripped all of the "confetti" out of the bottom basket, so I saran wrapped it years ago, and then he ripped the leaves off higher and higher as he got older.  That wasn't even worth posting for free anywhere.  The credenza was in really good shape, but the drawers were empty now that the contents could fit into the kitchen where they belonged.  I needed more shelves for my ugly tutoring books. and the decor on the wall was fine, but hasn't changed in a decade.

Before and After:

My inspiration pictures were rather close,
    

except that I didn't get the walnut front to my credenza that I pictured.  I searched and searched, and even considered building the doors if not the entire thing from scratch, but it just wasn't meant to be.

I even bought a different credenza and refinished it.  It was a really orange shade of wood when I got it, so I thought that a dark stain would fix that.  It just went dark orange, so I did another coat, and another, and another, and when we finally carried it in, I declared it too dark and my husband declared it too flimsy. I never bothered attaching legs.  Just sold as is.

So I got the IKEA one that should hopefully last longer.

Anyway, more before and afters!

I am amazed at how much better the rug looks just by taking away the carpet that was the same color, and moving it over.

The kids love the picture wall the most.  I made each row grow chronologically, from wedding to family picture, and newborn to current for each child.  I love having pictures of my littles on the wall!

My math books were rather crammed in with kitchen supplies, so I love that they now have shelves to spare.  And there is even a shelf for piano music.  Now the basket next to the piano can just have the ones we are currently using, and the rest can tuck away. I love it!