Lessons from Camping

So there is a lot to be learned from a camping trip. For instance ...

If your 9 year old packs his own bag, and even if you ask your husband SIX times if he has checked it, you should only expect to have the following:

2 pairs of shorts, the child's best zip-up SWEATER, one or two pairs of underwear, 3 stuffed animals.

You may be missing:

Pajamas, long pants of ANY kind, sweatshirts and/or coats, water shoes, bathing suit, toothbrush.

If you arrive at your camp late at night and set up your tent in a hurry in the dark, some of it may fall on you during the windstorm in the middle of the night. This may cause your teenage daughter to sit up every 20 minutes until 5am exclaiming "The tent is falling! We're going to suffocate!"

If you hike with 11 children and want to keep track of them, do not bother giving them numbers and trying to get them to "count off". They won't get it right until the afternoon of the very last day on the very last hike.

If you are hiking with the same 11 children, DO NOT give them each a walkie talkie. You may be able to tune out the constant chatter on them, but the strangers around you will not appreciate it.

If you plan on ditching your kids in the Junior Ranger program so that you can go do an adult hike, make it a good one. You won't be able to talk the kids into going back to the "most boring thing" they've ever done. Also ...make sure the 5 year old you are trying to pass off as 6 doesn't look too young.

Also ...Camelbacks are the BEST invention ever, Zion National Park is beautiful, kids love to be dirty (and the dirt is coming home with you)!

And the last lesson of all...camping with fun friends is a great experience - do whatever you need to to make it happen!

More pictures here.

Bounty Hunter vs. Marine

This is the difference between playing Bounty Hunters at recess or playing Marines.
Details provided by Easton:

*A bounty hunter works alone.
(Nixon chimes in here. Apparently, he also has knowledge of this recess game. "A bounty hunter is hired to kill people. That makes him a paid assassin").
*Bounty hunters have jet packs.
*Bounty hunters have guns. So do Marines, but not laser guns.
*Bounty hunters have armor, wrist launchers, grenades.
*Marines have grenades too, but they throw them on the ocean. Because they're mostly on water.
*A bounty hunter has a helmet.
*Marines have rocket launchers, ships. They go on land to help out the army. They help out the navy a lot.

Someday you may be lucky enough to have boys that learn these kind of things on the playground too. Until then, I didn't want you to be out of the loop and not know the difference between the two. We are camping with 2 other families and a couple this weekend at Zions. The husband half of the couple is a Marine (he's in law school and is reserve and will be JAG when he graduates), so I can't wait to find out if we adjust our description next week! This is not a picture of Easton at recess, I just like his goofy smile in it.

Anti-Flashers at the Office

Did you see the episode with the flasher? The wanted poster that Pam drew of the flasher (Dwight with a mustache!) had a phone number.

1-800-984-3672

Call it.

Really.

Thank me later.

Signs of the Season

You know summer is on the way when ...

The ice cream man comes for the first time:

Flowers are everywhere - your blog background, the yard, the cakes you decorate:

You play the first baseball game of the year:

I *heart* summer!

Swim Lessons at School - really!

Yes, the school here really does teach swimming. Every year, for 2 weeks, to the 3rd graders. It cracks me up. Having had pools at our home since the boys were little, I think they learned how to swim not long after they learned how to walk. But not very many people (I don't know of anyone!) in Park City have pools in their yards. I suppose it isn't practical, what with the 8 months of winter and all. So there might be quite a few 3rd graders who don't know how to swim.

Maybe Easton is one of them. On the first day of class, he got sent to the lowest group - in the baby pool! At first, I was going to go in and let them know he really did know how to swim. But he didn't care, in fact, I think he was enjoying the fact that he didn't have to do any real work. So I stayed out of it. And Easton loved riding the bus to the middle school and swimming every day. So all is well. The last day, the kids just get to play, and Easton got to display some of his flipping/twisting/spinning moves off the diving board. Here is Easton and his friend Noah playing with the water basketball hoop. I'm sure when these two team up, they can give any teacher a run for their money.

Mother's Day, make that Week!

Well, it took me until Thursday of Mother's Day to week to post about it! I guess that only makes me 4 days behind, so it could be worse! Anyway, it was a nice day, even if I still had to go to Ward Council (I bet they cancel meetings on Father's Day!). Our ward did get the Mother's Day gift right though, no dumb flowers that are broken and dead by the time your meetings are over - it was chocolate for us! yummmmmm, and I didn't even share!

The darlings in my house also made me breakfast. It only took me 3 hours to clean up the kitchen on Monday. The floor and stove were pretty gross. Every time I commented on the floor on Sunday, I got a new confession of what else had been spilled. Bacon grease (Nixon), raw egg (Easton), and waffle mix (Sara). A person could gain 3 pounds through their feet just walking in there! So now you know what I got to eat too!

I'm pretty grateful to get to be mom to these kids. They are great and I love every minute I get to spend with them, and I don't even mind cleaning up the kitchen after them. I know the minutes are slipping away faster and faster all the time, think I'll end this and go give some good-night hugs!

Catch-up!

Let me attempt to to appease the angry mobs who have been demanding to know how an elevated life has been lately. Here's the quick hit:

Saturday May 5 - Busiest Day EVER!

Aiden's baptism in the morning (awesome!)

Kill some time in Spanish Fork (we heart Stone Drug) Sweetest Surprise Party for Jamie (good job Burke, hope you were rewarded well) Jazz WIN a series - killer party with a killer chocolate fountain (you rock Kara and Jeremy, glad you were there Becky!)Busy Week Too!

Is school almost out? Because I am so over it! It's way too nice out to be doing homework! Easton's class just had 2 weeks of swimming lessons, Sara's final dance performance of the year is this weekend (that = even MORE dance than usual), Nixon and Easton started baseball practice, led by the fearless Dan from Coldstone and his trusty assistant - Geoffrey!

Sara and I went on a little excursion to REI with 2 great friends from church. (Lucky for us, REI is right next to a Cafe Rio). We all got hiking boots in anticipation of our hike this summer to this amazing place. I've hiked around Park City in these babies every day this week. Looking like I need some more practice before the big event! And I have the start of a killer farmer's tan - very sexy!

This Is The Place

In California, in the 4th grade, you learn about state history and your parents are tortured by being forced to stay up until all hours of the night gluing sugar cubes together to recreate a mission. Fun! In Utah, in the 4th grade, you learn about state history and your parents are tortured by being forced to sit through a program about the history of the state, complete with costumes, songs, and speakers that need a prompt from the teacher every 3 lines or so. I'll choose the Utah option, thank you very much. Less work for me!

Nixon's Utah play was last week. Here is the video they showed while we were waiting for the program to start. This guy had way too much time on his hands: