Saturday, July 13, 2019

Colorado Trip

We went to Durango, CO to celebrate Ron and Jeff turning 40 this year. For 4 days we got to hang out with the Talley family experiencing Colorado. Every night we stayed up late chatting and movie watching. Everyday we had a different adventure planned. Our kids were in heaven and I have to say I was too. We have been long time family friends and hanging with the Talleys is always a fun time. All of our kids get along so well despite some of the age differences. Lindsey and I attempted to go for a jog but quickly learned that high altitude running is TORTURE!!!! Haha so we didn’t last long with that and resorted to a gym work out at the club instead.

Purgatory Ski Resort
We played all day on the zip line, alpine slides, rollercoaster, trampoline bungee jumping, and even some lake time. Callie got pretty good at back flipping on the trampoline. Mason loved doing the ropes coarse. Noah's favorite was the  alpine slides he went down again and again. April cracked me up the whole day she’s not the most daring and wasn’t too excited to go on even just the ski lift terrified her. But by the end of the day she was much more comfortable with everything and seemed to enjoy herself. Poor thing got some road rash on the Alpine slide going down but didn’t even complain about it til later.

White Water Rafting
This was the highlight of trip for me. We purchased a 3 hour rafting trip but it wasn’t long enough! Everyone agreed that we didn’t want it to end. Well all of us but April. Initially I was nervous going because according to their website she was barely big enough to ride she’s such a light weight that I kept having mental images of her flying out of the raft. Thankfully that did not happen. Only 6 people were allowed per raft. So we decided to put the youngest 4 children with the men then Lindsey and I on the second raft with the 3 older boys. It was so much fun. Lindsey brought her waterproof phone case so we even got some fun video and pictures. The water was soooooo cold!!! Mason is so crazy he kept asking the guide if he could get in and play in the water. This kid just LOVES the water and he got his wish. He stayed in that freezing water for a few mins and as I was helping him back in the guide pointed out that Mason stayed in longer than most people.

Date night
Friday Evening Lindsey, Jeff, Ron and I ditched the kids at the house and went out on a double date. It was really fun to walk around down town Durango. We discovered a (actually my sweet hubby found) really yummy GF restaurant called Grass Burger. My friends are so sweet about making sure I have food that I can eat. I don’t ever want to inconvenience others and I certainly don’t want everyone to plan around me and my stupid diet restrictions. They make me feel loved.

Time to head Home
Saturday morning came too quickly. This trip was such a dream. The kids had so much fun with their friends and there was very minimal whining and complaining. The cabin had 3 bedrooms. Jeff and Linds has the master suite, then right next to their room was the kids room complete with 2 sets of bunk beds. All the kids were able to stay in that room. They stayed up late every night watching movies and playing games. Ron and I had the upstairs room where we slept with April.
The drive home was very long. Jeff and Lindsey were having car problems so we had to stop a lot to fill it up with oil and get it checked. I felt so bad for them. Their car is pretty new and when they called about the Honda warrantee I guess it was 5 days past coverage. We made it to Star Valley which is about 1 hour and 20 mins from home. The decision was made to stop and try to get it towed. We piled all the kids including me and Lindsey in the sequoia and I drove slowly and carefully home while Ron stayed with Jeff until an uncle arrived to tow them. I didn't want this fun trip to end and Lindsey told me I got my wish! Haha I was surprised at how good the kids were considering everything and very thankful we made it home safely. Ironically about 45mins into that last stretch home the Sequoia’s check engine light popped on. (Insert eye roll) The engine temperature was fine and there were no other warnings so we continued to drive and thankfully the next day the warning lights were off. I hate car problems and just wish it was less complicated. 
We had an amazing trip I’m so grateful for these good friends and the fun memories shared.
































Friday, July 5, 2019

Callie's Swim Lessons

I think I may have found my secret weapon to get Callie to swim. His name is Sam and his assistant (pictured in Callie’s hand) aka Jeffie #ohboy #imintrouble #imjusthappysheisswimming

When Callie was a toddler she HATED the pool. We went to the pool almost everyday and almost always you could find Callie poolside with the swim bag eating snacks and refusing to get in.  Since then she has slowly enjoyed the pool more and more but has never been a strong swimmer or really even enjoyed formal swimming. Don’t get me wrong she can stay afloat just fine and even taught her self to swim by the age of 3. This year at the very mention of me putting her on swim team would result in a downward spiral of tears, yelling and defiant outbursts. So I put her in a strokes class instead. She wasn’t happy to go but went with a sad demeanor and dragging her feet. After a few days of swim lessons I noticed her excitement about the experience. She would remind me to take her to swim and at the end of the two week class she asked me to sign her up again on one condition. That it be the same class that coach Sam taught.

 I love this girl and all her dramatics, kindness, stubbornness and a tad bit flirtatious ways. This swim class has been going for a week now and she has already announced she’s not a fan of this session because there are too many kids in the class. Haha Last session most days she was the only swim student in the class. I guess she wants Sam all to herself.

Saturday, June 8, 2019

April's Dance Recital

I just love that April got to attend dance with her cousin Kendalyn. They are such a sweet pair. The theme for her recital was “Take me to the movies” Her class had the movie Muana. It was adorable. 










Thursday, May 30, 2019

Grand Canyon Training

Mason and I have worked really hard the past couple months walking and hiking. We were invited to hike with a group that hikes the Grand Canyon every year on Memorial Day weekend. Because of my work schedule I wasn’t able to hike every single Saturday hike but my friend Christine offered to take Mason on those hikes. We stuck to the scheduled hikes and walking schedule as best we could. With our busy evenings of spring swim team and meetings Mason and I got up early in the morning to get our walking mileage in. It wasn’t easy Mason got up sometimes as early as 4:30am on school days. We stuck to the schedule pretty well and the anticipated day was approaching. I finally went out and bought some Hiking shoes the week before our big day and tried them out on our evening hike up Piestewa Peak (it’s like the stair master times 10!) Tuesday May 14th, our scheduled hike was a double hike of this mountain up down, up down, and done. Well... on the first trip down the mountain I don’t know exactly what happened but my ankle slipped in a small hole and I fell. Pain shot up my leg and I knew it wasn’t good. I thought I could walk it off so I hiked down the mountain and decided to grit my teeth and head back up. Probably not the smartest move I’ve ever made but I survived. By the end of the hike I could tell the swelling was bad and sadly it only got worse over the next few days.  I shed a few tears over the realization that I had to cancel my hike. Mason was really sweet when I asked him if he still wanted to go he told me he wanted to do it with me. I’m confident Mason and I will train and go next year. That said, we did have some pretty fun hiking experiences and encounter some pretty cute creatures.
Black Mesa Hike
Weaver's Needle in the back ground
Squaw Peak or Piestewa Peak (aka the Stair master)







Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim Hike Schedule
Memorial Weekend, May 2019

Here is the schedule for the Practice Hikes to prepare us for the Canyon hike on May 25.  Please mark your calendars and plan on attending.  

Those marked with an asterisk (*) are considered mandatory hikes.

Tue. – 4/9  6pm   Town Hike  -  5 miles
Thu. – 4/11 6pm   Town Hike  -  5 miles 
*  Sat. – 4/13  7am   Superstition – Fremont Saddle - 5 miles 
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Tue. – 4/16  6pm  Canal Hike – 6 miles
Thu. – 4/18  6pm  Canal Hike - 8.5 miles
*  Sat. – 4/20  6am   Superstition – Hackberry Spring – 5.2 miles
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Tue. – 4/23  6pm  Canal Hike – 7.7 miles
Thu. – 4/25  6pm  Canal Hike -  9.5 miles
Sat. – 4/27   Rock climbing up to Flat Iron. (5.9 miles)
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Tue. – 4/30  5pm  Squaw Peak  -  2.5 miles – bring headlamp
Thu. – 5/2    6pm  Town Hike  -  10 miles
Sat. – 5/4  Fathers and Sons outing – hike if you can
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Tue. – 5/7   6pm  Canal Hike  -  10 miles
Thu. – 5/9  6pm  Canal Hike  -  9 miles
*  Sat. – 5/11  6am  Superstition – Black Mesa – 9 miles 
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*  Tue. – 5/14  4pm  Squaw Peak - TWICE - 5 miles – bring headlamp
Thu. – 5/16  6pm  Canal Hike  -  9 miles
*  Sat. – 5/18  6am  Superstition – Miner’s Needle Loop – 8.7 miles 
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Tue. – 5/21  6pm  Canal Hike – 6.8 miles
Thu. – 5/23  6pm  Town Hike – 3 miles
*  Fri. – 5/24  8am  Drive to North Rim
*  Sat – 5/25 Hike the Grand Canyon-North Rim to South Rim–24 miles