Look at Me Go...Two in a Row!

Well, if you aren't proud of me, I am!  Two posts only a couple weeks apart--I told you I'm turning over a new leaf (again) with the blog.

With the weather turning into fall and getting cooler, we know we have limited chances to do certain things, so we went with Grandpa Swenson out on his boat to go up to Strawberry Reservoir to try to catch some fish!  There was very little fishing involved since the majority of the time we were all trying not to get hypothermia because it was FREEZING!  But Joey caught a couple, grandpa and dad did too, and I even caught one!  But pretty much it was huddling under blankets...

A few weeks ago we decided to be ambitious on a Saturday morning and took the boys on a hike.  Eric had a particular one he wanted to do that crossed up onto a ridge (or something like that in "mountain speak"). We tried it, and boy was it steep!  We gave it our best go but probably only ended hiking a little over a mile each way, just because it was so steep....plus the trail kind of became overgrown and difficult to traverse...no doubt because of all the other people who did what did but turn back when they see the trail never gets less steep, thus the overrun trail.  You keep climbing higher and higher thinking you must be near the top.....but no.  Nevertheless we made a fun time of it.  Pepper came along too--Jacob had a little "lion king" moment with her.  She wasn't very happy about it.

I have always encouraged my kids to play an instrument.  Tyler has done guitar for a long time, and there were times when he wanted to quit, times when I wanted to quit, but we both stuck it out and thank goodness we did!  Tyler can play guitar so beautifully now, and the best part is he actually finds a lot of joy in playing. He practices on his own, finds songs to learn, heck, he even played a hymn in sacrament meeting that he arranged himself!  It was funny because Craig and Sharee came to hear him play that Sunday and the person behind them said (when Tyler went up to the stand with his guitar ), "Well this should be interesting."  Then after (Tyler did the most amazing and beautiful job) the same guy said, "Wow, that was good."  Ha.  I love seeing Tyler find joy in his music.  Now I'm hoping that all the grief I get from Jacob and Maggie taking piano lessons will be worth it--I am hoping they can get to the point where they are good enough to be able to play songs they like, find joy in playing for themselves and sharing their talent with others.  But it is a battle getting them to practice.  Jacob especially because he wants to hang out with friends (teenager)...and Maggie because she is busy with dance.  But music is a talent they can use their whole lives.  Joey started guitar a few weeks ago--so far it hasn't been too bad, but he is also catching on really quick!  I am pleasantly surprised because I wasn't sure how it would go with him because, well, Joey. But he seems to like it so far.  Fingers crossed!

Getting a fireside serenade was the highlight of my month--and I told him so.  

Maggie has been taking dance for years now, and has been working up to being "on pointe" for ballet and guess what?  She finally did it!  She was thrilled to say the least. We went to get her her first pair of pointe shoes.  There was a little snafu with the shop opening late, but after almost 3 hours, yes, you read that right, 3 hours, we found the right pair. And wouldn't you know it, it was the first pair she tried on to begin with.  Phew!  It was a long haul, trying on dozens and dozens of pointe shoes.  Who knew it was so complicated?!  I'm just glad the pointe teacher comes to help them find the right fit/style/pair for their feet.  I'm so happy for Maggie--this was highlight of her month!

We had long weekend so we decided to go down to Zion's National Park area just to get away.  It was over  

Halloween weekend so I had to bribe the two younger kids with candy to replace trick or treating. It is such a beautiful area down there. We went into Zion's and found some rocks to climb and explore.

It is so fun hiking on that redrock because you can basically climb up almost anything. The kids thought that was a blast.  And you can't beat the scenery.  I love this picture of Joey--typical...a big smile and a big hole in his knee. Ha ha. Oh, we also found an old Big Foot track!

We also got to see the home of the Ho-made pies. Yes, you read that right. When we first drove by the sign I didn't read the saying and just saw the scantily clad figure of the woman.  I thought to myself, "That's a little inappropriate!  Slutty for a small town."  Then I saw the caption.  We didn't try a pie, but we did get a laugh out of it.

While down there we went exploring a few other places after we meet up with Jessica and her family and grandma and grandpa Swenson.  Pretty fun stuff!  A tunnel carved for drainage....

And some wind caves...not sure how they were formed or what for.  But they were pretty neat!

Of course I had a panic attack because Joey would walk right up the edge of the cliff--literally inches away, on sand.  I could picture him slipping and falling down the straight cliff behind them.  Ugh. Luckily no one fell to their death that day.

We also went to Buckskin Gulch--the longest slot canyon in the world. No we didn't hike the whole length of it, and it wasn't as technical or narrow as some others we've done, but it was gorgeous and a really fun hike. Slot canyons are so cool--as long as there's no rain in the forecast! A few pictures to enjoy...

Another exciting thing happened -- Maggie turned 12!!  Didn't really get pictures of the party because I was dealing with a water issue (more on that in a minute) but she had a bunch of friends come in their "onesies" and they had a dance party, played games, did henna... a fun time. With a little side of drama, to be expected maybe with tween girls? Annoying nonetheless.

Maggie is so much fun.  She loves to play with her friends, she loves loves dance, she is so kind and thoughtful to others.  I feel so lucky to be her mom.

As for the water issue, our well stopped working!  We woke up Saturday morning and...no water.  So my day was filled with this....filling buckets for toilets, drinking, toothbrushing etc.  You never realize how much you use water for until you don't have any!  

Good news is they are here today (the next day) fixing it. Hopefully fixing it.....fingers crossed I have water by this afternoon!

One side note, Jessica (a teacher at Joey's school) sent this picture to me with the caption, "Look what I found in the garbage at the school!"  I laughed so hard.  I don't know why, but it is just so typical Joey to get an award, shrug his shoulders and throw it away. He's such a funny kid.