got it covered

We are trying a few new things in the yard this Spring. Some friends in our ward discovered the secret to gardening in Phoenix. Their handful of tomato plants yielded over 2000 pieces of fruit last year. They were good enough to share some step by step directions with us and we got it all set up. Cori prepared a lovely 14' x 4' pad that is now double wraped in plastic and filled with tomatoes, squashes, herbs, peppers, and a soaker hose. So far so good.

We also got a cover for the pool in hopes of extending our swim season. When we first built the pool, we debated about putting a heater on it. The initial installation expense aside, we learned that it is really expensive to heat up thousands of gallons of water. The cover is supposed to heat the water 10*, maybe more. Our thermometer needs replacing, so we don't know for sure how much it heated things up, but we went swimming this last weekend and it was great!

spring break 2012

We were so happy to spend our Spring break in Utah with Grandma Sandy and Papa Ray. It worked out really well with Cori's schedule. He was able to go to a conference at BYU and do some recruiting without eating up any of that precious little vacay time. And the children and I played, relaxed, read, and hung out with Grandma and Grandpa. Here are some shots from our week.

Grandpa Ray reading the "Going to Bed Book." Grant yawned a lot.

The weather was a little snowy upon our arrival. All the Utahans are sick of the fickle Spring weather, but we were thrilled for a little more winter. Grace and Grant spent as much time as possible outside.

Gracie had some help getting a wiggly tooth out. We played duck duck goose for FHE activity, and lets just say, our Grammie Sandy can be pretty competitive! :) Grace didn't even notice it until the little dislodged tooth was pointed out to her. I was thrilled. The last wiggly tooth spent a little too much time being wiggly.

Aunt Brittany brought Ashton, Hunter and Macaleb down to play one day. That night we all had dinner with Grandpa Randy.

Grandpa Randy has two BIG dogs, Daisey and Gunner, whom the children delight in fawning over. Everyone wanted to help with the ginormous water bowl.

We made a few trips to the park. Grace and Grant were fighting over who should walk in front and ultimately decided to walk hand-in-hand so they could both be the leader. Melted my mommy heart just a bit.

We had a relaxing week playing all around Grammie and Papa's house. Inside and out.

Grace and Grant made corn dogs with Papa Ray in the solar oven.

Lots and lots and lots of books were read.

Cori's cousin got married up in Idaho Falls and we made the trip up to go to the sealing and see our family up there. We stayed with Super Grandma Venna and Super Grandpa Larry. Is there anything cooler than a farm?

Grandpa Larry took us up to see the dry farm, a huge homestead that has been worked by the R* family for four generations. It is a 30 minute drive from their home in Iona. Grandma Sandy used to spend her summers at the dry farm working with her parents and playing with her siblings. It was very neat getting to see these places.

A lot of the farm land up there is being converted into wind farms. The windmills are so huge. Uncle Doug got one set up on part of the R* land. (Pictured below)

While we were at the temple for the sealing all the kids got to hang at Aunt Ann and Uncle Doug's house. Playing "taco" with Cori's cousin Reed was a big highlight.

It made for a lot of driving to get back to Phoenix, but we were so grateful to be able to spend time with these two and the rest of the family.

As it ends up

we took third place in our division.

This victory brings with it an orange aluminum baton that includes the words 'bronze god.' Wowza!

worth it

A couple of weeks ago, Cori got an email from an old friend, Tyson W*. When he was growing up, Cori's family was very close to the W* family. The fathers of the two families worked at the same company and their families lived near each other in Australia, New Zealand and spent time together in Utah as well. As Tyson's dad told me, there were times when the kids were young that their families were inseparable. The W*s are native to Australia and all live there now. It had been too many years since Cori had seen these wonderful people he esteems as family. So, when he got the email from Tyson saying the whole clan would be together in L.A. for a couple of days, we made plans to meet up. The W*s plan for Friday had them at Disneyland and we decided to surprise the kids with our final destination. We left Thursday night telling them that we were going to California to see our friends.

We got up and ready early. At 8:15 we went to the car only to discover that the rear, driver-side window had been smashed in. Disappointment does not begin to describe how we were feeling. We had left the kids' fun bag (my study abroad bag :( ) on the floor behind the driver's seat. It had books and our (inexpensive) DVD players in it. We weren't even that bummed about the missing bag. It was so frustrating watching the clock tick away. We spent 6 long hours waiting on people to come do their things. The sheriff was pretty prompt. He took his report and let the G's press buttons in his cruiser.

We waited and waited for the glass repair company to come clean out the back seat and the car seats and to tape up our window so we could get to our friends. Eden got a nap though, which was good. And Grace and Grant were good as gold.

Finally we were at Disneyland. Grace put it together pretty quickly. I keep forgetting that she can read now. Grant kept insisting that we were not at Disneyland. "Mom and Dad would have told us!" Grace kept pointing to trash cans and banners. "It says Disneyland all over the place!" Just before we entered the park I was finally able to convince him. He got super quiet and smiley, the way he does when he is excited.

The day, or rather what was left of it, was so much fun. Grace hasn't been to Disneyland since she was a babe, and Grant has never been. They loved every minute of it. And we stayed until closing.

I don't know that Disneyland alone would have been worth it for us this last weekend. But seeing this family was worth every bit, even if Disneyland hadn't been part of the package. I have heard about the W*s for as long as I have known Cori. We have exchanged Christmas cards with them every year. I had only met a very small piece of their family years ago. But I felt like I was part of their family from the first second we greeted each other. Look at us. We fit right in!

The whole group didn't stay together long. We tagged along with Steven, Rosalee, Tyson, Nelani, and their little girls most of the time. We spent time in lines chatting and took turns with the littlest ones. Eden had a rough evening. Poor kid didn't feel so hot. Grant's light-up sword was the only thing that could make her smile. This was a situation that didn't make Grant want to smile. In retrospect, we should have shelled out for another...

The next day, the window of our car got replaced. We met up with the W*s again. This time for some outlet shopping and lunch at Ruby's. It was hard to say good bye - not knowing when we would see them again. But we had to hit the road. Next time, in Sydney!  

blessings

Time with friends from far away. A few weekends ago we got to visit with Mr. Perry R. from our Petoskey family. It was so great to spend time with him, catching up. And this weekend we spent time with dear friends from Cori's growing-up years whom he hasn't seen in a very long time.

The amazing young women in our stake. This last weekend was 'Mormon Prom.' Our stake pools resources with 4 other stakes to put on a special evening which is intended to give kids an alternative to their High School prom. It was well attended (370 kids) and magical. We are in the midst of Ward conferences and I visited with girls from three different wards yesterday. We were so proud and grateful to see them all dressed so beautifully and modestly.

The power of a good attitude. We had a few things go not as planned this weekend. The hiccups threatened to ruin everything. But we kept our smiles on and things turned out just fine.

blue eyes

I was just cleaning off the big camera for our next adventure this weekend and came across these pictures of Eden. She is doing so much these days. Time for an update! Lately, Eden:

Loves tagging along with her sibs. She is good at keeping up too. She is able to join in on all the project creation that goes on around here. Grace is always super impressed with Eden's excellent 'pincer grip'.

Uses her body to show her emotions. The G's were never really temper tantrum throwers. Eden exhibits behavior that would suggest she has been cut from a different bolt. When she is frustrated she will smack the wall, the floor, or her own head with her hands. She wont let me hold her sometimes. These fits are few and far between, but they always surprise me. Eden is of a mind to turn her energies outward as well. When Grant is pouting or whining at me (which he is prone to do rather often, unfortunately) Eden will plant her balled-up baby fist anywhere on his body she can reach. She will then look to me for my approval with an expression that seems to say, "You're welcome mom." Heartbreak ensues when she is scolded for hitting. She is just a firey, passionate kid and is just as expressive on the other side of the emotional scale. When she is really happy she dances, runs, laughs out loud... Lately I find her walking around on her tip toes with a big smile on her face.

 This is the face we get when we ask her to smile. It makes me want to smootch on her big time.

Loves tubbie time. Once the water is running she fusses until she can get in. She cries when it is time to get out.

Uses lots of words. Some of which we can understand. Aside from 'Mama' and 'NO', one of the clearest words she uses is "guckle" which is how she says "buckle." She loves, or I should say, she is obsessed with doing her buckles in her highchair. Nothing else can happen until her little fingers have pushed those plastic clasps together, so help us all!

Feeds herself. She is quite insistent about it. She does a pretty good job. The bibs Grammie Sandy has made for us over the years get a lot of action.

Though spirited, she is a really easygoing and easy to please little person. Her disposition is overwhelmingly happy. She is a great sleeper and eater, which is a definite blessing. Also, her hair is as crazy as ever. Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone out there is thinking the 'fro is due to lack of attention.

AND she's going to nursery. Happy Day!

a little weekend away

Cori scored a great groupon for a couple of nights at Kohl's Ranch Lodge outside of Payson, AZ. He arranged for Tiffany and Brett to stay with the kiddos so we could have the weekend to ourselves. It was pretty darn great. 

Usually, Saturday includes a long run. Cori has been nursing a calf injury and running was off the list. So our main outing involved biking a few miles up (and I'm not talking colloquially here, that road had some elevation) to the trail head of an 8 mile hike. The hike was super lovely. We even saw some snow. And ice!  That afternoon, we felt we hadn't cheated ourselves out of any exercise for the day. We were spent. Nothing a round of bocce ball, a soak in the hot tub and a good rib eye couldn't make better. We took advantage of the opportunity to relax, read scriptures and catch up on books and magazines, and watch some Cougar bball. 

We ended up on the wrong side of the river at one point and came across an ingeniously built campground. Cori said the chaise-lounge was quite comfortable, for a pile of rocks. The hike ends at a couple of natural springs that are just shooting out the side of the mountain. We had never seen anything like it!