Round ‘em Up!

I am a huge fan of rodeos.  I love the crowds, the noise, the hats, the belt buckles, the dirt, all of it.  My rodeo of preference is the Strawberry Days Rodeo in Pleasant Grove, but the Lehi Rodeo comes a close second.  Strawberry days I love for the cups of strawberries and cream they sell at the snack bar.  Yum.

This year we went to the Lehi Roundup Rodeo with J, Joanna, Haley and Trace.  We sat right down front and got right in all the action.  Aliyah even got to meet one of the Royalty and get some autographs.
 
This was the first year the kids were old enough to have more fun than they were afraid of the animals running past.  Gavin was especially thrilled with the motorcycle stunt show.  We all had a blast, and I hope it will continue to be a tradition for years to come!

Bliss

A couple of years ago we were horrified to discover that our favorite camping spot had been made the poster-child for Utah Valley outdoor recreation.  The switchback dirt road that lead to it was now backed up for miles with bumper-to-bumper traffic, and the lake was teeming with people.  Fastforward two years to our Memorial Weekend camping trip.  We had made the mistake of not reserving a campsite in advance and the weather was dishing up it's fair share of incompatability.  We needed something A) Not to high in elevation  B) Not too packed with people, and  C) Free.  Admittedly, our chances were not good, but against the odds, we pulled it off!  We found a spot settled in a little valley where the sun hits most of the day, with relatively few neighbors, by a stream and among trees, and without paying a single fee.  Needless to say, it was bliss. 

Nights and mornings were a bit frigid, but besides that and a few mice who decided to play bumper cars under our tents in the middle of the night, it was the best camping trip we've had.  We are so glad that the Michalek's decided to brave the elements and be adventurous with us!

A New Kind of Snow Suit

So I should have guessed that the Lord would make a special effort to disprove my "prophesy" in the last post.  Sheesh.  I should have specified to him that I was only making a joke for "the blog" and spared myself 3 inches of snow. Regardless of false prophecies, it's summer as far as I'm concerned,  no matter what form our precipitation is coming in! And so in the spirit of the season, me and my mother-in-law Carolyn decided to take a stand for summer! 

Here's to trading Snow Suits for Swim Suits, and not having to run around the snowy backyard like an idiot in my PJ's trying to cover my tender herbs!

And Bah-Humbug to Angie, who would not come over to play today because she refused [REFUSED!] to have any fun in this awful snow, or even watch other people enjoying it (hahaha!). Party Pooper!

Everyday Miracles

When Spring decides to periodically grace us with her presence, the kids and I do our best to be out doors every glorious minute.  Living in the arctic nook we do, we very often run into weather such as this.... but more and more frequently we are ending our days smelling like sweat, dirt, and green grass (my favorite perfume!).  But last week amidst the usual splendor of watching life wake up from a very persistent winter, we caught two of the most breathtaking little miracles! 

This little guy was in his nest up in my parents pine tree in their backyard, and with the help of a very tall ladder, I peeked in and all most fell off the ladder in my excitement.  A newly hatched little worm-of-a-bird was waiting for his brother to hatch and his mom to bring him dinner.  I have never seen a brand new baby bird so close up before and it was amazing!

Then the next day Troy called me on the phone and told me to go outside and look up into the sky to see the "rainbow cloud."  I was very confused until I saw it, and would you believe it?  It was an actual rainbow cloud!  I have never seen anything like it before, it was like a shimmering mist of rainbow hanging over us, and it was beautiful!  Well at any rate I am taking it as a good omen that spring is here, and the Lord is promising not to inundate us with any more snow until next winter (but as I'd rather not be excommunicated for false prophesying, please don't quote me on that... :)  )

Picture Perfect

Last week we took some family pictures to be able to give to our moms for mother's day, and they turned out fantastic!  Angie is such a great photographer, and I'm so glad that she has this hobby!

It's too bad that Troy and I feel so differently about family photos, because I can honestly say that I LOVE taking family pictures! I would take them quarterly if husband and money permitted :)

Mother- There Aint No Other...

Lest there be any doubt....a message from a man who knows his stuff.


Happy Mother's Day Everyone,
And a shout-out to the Mommies we're celebrating this week:

48 Ways to Crack an Egg

Some levels of destruction defy all explanation, and are beyond the reach of verbal or written communication. This morning I awoke to just such a catastrophe. You'll know what I mean when you watch the video.

Rest assured that this video does not convey the entirety of the destruction. I was still half asleep while filming, and had not yet discovered some of the real treasures of their work, like this little gem:

By the end of the cleanup, we had discovered every possible place 48 eggs can be flung, 2 carrots (lightly gnawed), the remnants of a banana, and some empty butter wrappers in their room (if you watch the video again, you can play the "eye-spy" game to find everything) . If you are wondering where the butter inside the wrappers had gotten too, the answer is that a few hours ago I went to grab some USB cables from under my bed, and found an eewie-gooie ball of butter nestled into the carpet there. Lovely.

And the forecast for tomorrow? Cloudy with a chance of Salmonella. Gavin apparently ingested an unknown quantity of raw egg while frolicking. We know this only because his face was covered in crusted egg sprinkled with egg shell, and because about an hour into cleanup, he began puking up egg whites. I now know that the only thing worse than cleaning up egg, is cleaning up regurgitated egg. Does anyone know if it is illegal to put your kids to sleep in straight jackets?