Halloween 2017

The kids had a fun day today. Although that's pretty easy when it's Halloween, right? The morning started with me using my exercise time to do hair and makeup on my girls. I was grateful for the quality time with them, and can I just say how incredibly long all of their eye lashes are! You're welcome, my daughters. I just want you to know that your father's eyes were one of the first things I noticed. I know you're grateful I chose a man with such lovely lashes, that was key in all of you getting those pretty eyes. I put mascara on all of them and just wow, if my lashes looked like that! Mine with mascarea barely look like theirs without. Ok, let's take a picture!

Sophi is Elena of Avalor, she got this costume from Corey for her birthday. She's just been waiting for this day!

Lily is a ballerina -

And Abi's getting older, so she didn't want to do the princess route this year. She's a pirate. AND she wore my boots! They were a little big on her, but still, how did this 4th grader get so big?! She shares clothes with Mel! She's already a young woman.

So after getting them out the door, I hurried and got the little kids ready so we could run out the door to see the parade. Natalie was still asleep. Luckily Corey was able to stay home, so I left her and took Owen and Daniel. Unlike past years, today I made it over with plenty of time to spare, go me. I saw each of the kids, they saw me, so I got credit for attending and my duty was done. Then we headed out.

I grabbed Abi on her way out the door so she could hold Daniel while I adjusted Owen, and took another picture...

One more picture when we saw Sophi in the hall watching the parade. Owen was excited "Sophi!!"

Sophi insisted on wearing her dress up plastic shoes. I told her that I thought her feet would get too cold and could even hurt from wearing those plastic shoes, but she had to be true to the costume and told me when she got home that her feet did not hurt. Ok, I'm glad.

After Sophi got home, I took her to an eye doctor appointment. They did vision screenings at the school and she got 20/50 in one eye and 20/80 in the other. They said I needed to take her in for an eye exam and bring back a signed note. So I made an appt. I was hoping it was just a fluke from her not understanding what was going on. Her eyes weren't that bad, but the opthamologist said it would be good for her to patch her eye again, 2 hours a day. So we're doing that again until her follow up appointment in 4 months. They dilated her eyes so the appointment took 2 hours. I was glad it's not a busy office. I was pretty tired after though. So were the kids! But the day's not over yet! Get dressed again, we're heading over for dinner at the neighbor's house. Wes was a "cool kid".

Owen and Wes eating pizza. Sophi and Natalie posing on the stairs for me.

I took Abi to get a costume yesterday at Kid2Kid and while we were there we saw this little snowman outfit... I couldn't resist buying it. We were excited to dress Daniel up and he didn't disappoint!!

He was the cutest little Olaf there! One funny part was when our old ward bishop came in a big black gorilla costume. Owen grabbed Corey's pant leg and panicked. Not our little D though - Daniel looked fear in the face and held his ground.

The gorilla jumping around trying to get some sort of a reaction...

It was so funny!! 

Daniel didn't wet his pants, but he did spill his little cup of water.

Then the gorilla decided to wait for some pizza. Unfortunately for our meek little 2 year old, the gorilla was in line behind Owen.

Owen, you sure you've got a good enough hold of dad's leg?

Dad! Dad!! That gorilla's looking at me again!!!

He didn't yell or freak out, so he's getting braver. It's okay to stay close to dad, you were very brave Owen. All the little kids lined up for a picture. All the big kids still eating pizza.

It was pretty cold so we decided to keep the little ones home. Daniel would have been fun to walk around with, but he can't walk in shoes and so his feet would freeze in his socks. Owen was no good - he wanted Corey to hold him. You can't trick or treat if you won't walk buddy. So they stayed home.

Abi ran off with friends, Lily went with her friend Isa, I took Sophi and Natalie around. Wes joined us for a bit and then they went to watch a movie. So it was just the three of us going around the neighborhood and it was really cute. Not a lot of people home, so the kids mostly took treats from bowls.

We're going to try to get these kiddos to bed now, so I'll post a little more tomorrow, I got two cute videos of the kids after we got home from trick or treating. They are fun, love these kids

Spirit Week

It's Red Ribbon/Spirit Week for Wes at the Jr. High. And Wesley, like Joseph, is not one to pass up an opportunity to participate in something fun at school. Today they were supposed to wear their Halloween Costumes. Wes would have liked to go buy something new, but I'm too cheap. I said they've got so many costumes in the dress up box down stairs, I'm not going to buy anymore. You'll just have to get creative. So he did and decided to be a nerd in overalls and glasses.

I gave him a stash of star and heart stickers that he was able to enthusiastically pass around to friends all day. He is a fun kid. Tomorrow is Disney Day, Wednesday is Super Hero Day - I'll update here with the creative things he comes up with.

Update:
Super Hero - He said his name was "Water Wes" - I took this picture of him after dropping him off on Nov 1st. He's got his fleece blanket for his cape, a blue tie around his head, and a W made out of duct tape on his shirt. He's a fun kid.

With our Flag Flying!

This past week has been one of the hardest I can remember. I've had the analogy in my head for a while, that with Corey's business it's like we're stuck in the doldrums of the Pacific - no wind, no currents, just stuck on some driftwood in the middle of nowhere, baking in the heat of the equator. No ships coming or going, no help in sight. We're just waiting to die. Yeah, sounds kinda bleak, but that's how it feels. Every now and then, a small something adrift in the ocean will float up to us to provide us another few weeks of survival, but nothing for long term sustainability and death still just a month away. We're still alive, but this week we might die. Detailed a little bit here - Worth Fighting For. I usually try not to share my stresses on here, but it's part of our life. I had a real low this past Thursday and spent most of the day weeping and listening to Master the Tempest is Raging. I'm doing much better today. My emotions have come full circle and I'm ready to face whatever comes. I just finished a book this week - "Worth the Wrestle" by Sheri Dew.

I loved this passage at the beginning of the last chapter on page 95-96.

  I once had the privilege of meeting and interviewing Randall Wallace at his California home. Wallace came to prominence when he received an Academy Award nomination and a Writer's Guild Award for the screenplay to Braveheart. He has also written and in some cases produced, such movies as Secretariat, Pearl Harbor, the Man in the Iron Mask, We were Soldiers, and Heaven is for Real.
  I liked Wallace instantly. From Lizard Lick, Tennessee, his unassuming, country-boy, small-town background resonated with me. His family members were devout Baptists, and when he talked about spending twenty or thirty hours a week "going to church" (everything from the Boy Scouts to Sunday meetings), I felt as though I'd met a kindred spirit. 
  Prior to our interview, I watched the address he gave at the National Prayer Breakfast in 2011 and was struck by the sincerity of his message about the power of prayer. In our conversation, he was neither self-conscious nor self-righteous as he professed his belief in Jesus Christ and the impact the Savior had in his life. 
  His career, though celebrated now, has had its share of intense ups and downs. At one point, when he faced the possibility of losing just about everything, he said he was determined that if he went down, he would go down fighting for what he believed, "with his flag flying."
  When I asked why he had produced and written so many movies about war, his answer reinforced the rest of his story: "I don't think of them as war movies," he said. "I write love stories. I want to know what a man or woman loves enough to fight for. 

What do you love enough that you're willing to fight for it? Corey's been fighting for years and though he's weary from the long battle, he is not retreating, he's going to stay the course. He continues to stand and march in this battle. Also "intense ups and downs..." that's an accurate description of what we've been feeling. Randall Wallace faced the possibility of losing just about everything, that's where we're at right now. But I'm ready to face whatever comes, trusting that God has a plan for us and that we are in his good hands. We'll see what this week brings!

Seminary Videos

Joseph is our go-to guy when it comes to video editing. He's a Camtasia Studio wizard! He stayed up late last weekend working on a video for seminary. In the spring, shortly after his SBO campaign ended unsuccessfully, he was extended an invitation to serve on his high school's LDS Seminary Council and he eagerly accepted the opportunity. He's enjoyed it a lot. He recently told me he's really happy with how things have turned out his senior year by not winning SBO, cause if he had won he wouldn't be in Madrigals (or the Madrigal President even! ...which he's hoping increases his chances for music sterling scholar) and he wouldn't be on Seminary Council. He's really glad he is in both of those groups cause he really enjoys the friends he's made there and the experiences thus far. And he's only just over two months into it. For Seminary Council, his position (according to this video below that he edited) is Media Corps Captain (see 1:35)...

Over the summer he also worked hard with the filming and editing of this video - the Vlog of Mormon! He played the roll of Moroni - here holding the golden plates.

Watch their cute video!

You've got some serious video skills, Joseph! Once when Joseph was editing a video (can't remember which one, might have been his math video?) Lily saw him doing it and asked "How come you always have to make the videos?!?" His reply "Cause I'm friggin' awesome at it!! ...Just kidding, I should be humble... Um, it's because I'm pretty good at it, and I enjoy it too!" Yes, you are good at it Joseph. I'm looking forward to you to making fun videos of our family reunions someday!! (see the 2nd and 3rd videos here) I'm excited!

Owen the Singer

We went to our church tonight for a neighborhood chili cookoff. I didn't make a chili or soup, but did bring something - this lovely orange and fall colored vegetable dish - Ethiopian Cabbage Dish. I came across this recipe when it was shared on the McDougall facebook page - McDougall is a vegan guy but taken up a notch, cause he also says not use oil. But I made it with oil for tonight. But they gave tips and said it's easy to make it McDougall approved by cutting out the oil and then double all the spices. It was very very good. I got there a little late and so maybe people were already full, cause lucky Hyrum and I ate up most of it. Tasty! We enjoyed the other chili's too. One of the reasons I love fall is cause it's soup and stew season. After the neighborhood party was over, we stayed and visited. Owen was cute playing on the stage, pretending he was singing and taking bows to his fans.

We got a kick out of his mouth open as if he was singing, but with no sounds... 

Then he'd take a bow, then he'd sing again. Cute little guy.

Business wise, good news is that I only almost cried with fear and worry one time today, yay. I think yesterday left me emotionally drained. So that helps the tears not come when you're all out of tears. I'm still reading scriptures, praying, seeing help and support from on high. My mother knows what's going on and came and gave us a gift that was much appreciated. Moms are like that, they're always answering prayers. The kids who weren't in school today worked really hard too, we've cleaned the house, it looks great. I'm glad they were home today and that I have another day tomorrow to put them to work again, yay! They answered my prayers too. There are many blessings all around us, even if sometimes one specific blessing of help that we want doesn't come. We will still seek it and work for it, but will also trust in the Lord and his plan.

The End

It's the end of the term for the older kids today. They've all be staying after school this week, taking re-tests and making up work, trying to get their grades up a little bit. They've been working hard, but it would be better to stay on top of it from the beginning of the term rather than trying to catch up the last week of the term. Good luck kids, they are thankful to not have school tomorrow. Here at home this morning, Daniel was super cute as he threw his bottle over and over again. It would bounce off the floor and then he'd pick it up and throw it again.

It was super cute. I love my baby.

And in other news, word yesterday from the business front is a feeling that they are 90% sure the deal is going to fall through. So kind of feels again like we're at the end of the road. I've been crying today, pretty tearful and fearful. Trying to not let my doubts and worries get the best of me. I've been listening to the Piano Guys "It's Gonna Be Okay". And "Master the Tempest is Raging". Carest thou not that we perish? Torrents of sin and anguish sweep o'er my sinking soul. And we perish we perish dear master, oh hasten and take control. This terror and worry will pass. Please help us Heavenly Father. What will happen, how will it end?!?! Ahh! The worrying and the wondering have gotten me pretty low tonight. So that is my stress and worry today. Trying to trust. I'm pretty sure we will all still be alive a week from now, so that is good. This is not Valley Forge and we're not in Martin's Cove, we will be okay. But still I'm going to keep praying for deliverance.

Trust Like Joseph

I taught the class at our Study group today. I signed up for today cause I really wanted to talk about Genesis 49 - cause of what things Timothy Ballard shares in his book about that chapter and George Washington (George Washington had the Bible opened to Genesis 49 and put his hand on that chapter when he was sworn into office as president. See this article by Tim Ballard or read his books "The Washington Hypothesis" or "The Covenant"). So that was why I originally wanted to do these chapters, but as is often the case, I got a lot more out of it as I studied and prepared. This lesson was just for me. So today we were discussing Genesis 37-50 and Joseph of Egypt. As I reviewed it last night, this quote at the beginning of the student manual made me nod my head, thinking "Yup, this is just what I need!" I loved this quote which was part of the introduction, in bold below (does this mean that we can't give up yet? I'm ready to surrender!!):

“The story of Joseph, the son of Jacob who was called Israel, is a vivid representation of the great truth that ‘all things work together for good to [those] who loved God.’ (See Rom. 8:28.) Joseph always seemed to do the right thing; but still, more importantly, he did it for the right reason. And how very, very significant that is! Joseph was sold by his own brothers as a slave and was purchased by Potiphar, a captain of the guard of Pharaoh. But even as an indentured servant, Joseph turned every experience and all circumstances, no matter how trying, into something good. 

“This ability to turn everything into something good appears to be a godly characteristic. Our Heavenly Father always seems able to do this. Everything, no matter how dire, becomes a victory to the Lord. Joseph, although a slave and wholly undeserving of this fate, nevertheless remained faithful to the Lord and continued to live the commandments and made something very good of his degrading circumstances. People like this cannot be defeated, because they will not give up. They have the correct, positive attitude, and Dale Carnegie’s expression seems to apply: If you feel you have a lemon, you can either complain about how sour it is, or you can make a lemonade. It is all up to you.” (Hartman Rector, Jr., “Live above the Law to Be Free,” Ensign, Jan. 1973, p. 130.)  

It reminded me of this quote by Joseph Smith:

George A. Smith, who served as a counselor to President Brigham Young, received the following counsel from the Prophet Joseph Smith at a time of great difficulty: “He told me I should never get discouraged, whatever difficulties might surround me. If I was sunk in the lowest pit of Nova Scotia and all the Rocky Mountains piled on top of me, I ought not to be discouraged but hang on, exercise faith, and keep up good courage and I should come out on the top of the heap at last.”

Joseph of Egypt had it rough and his circumstances were totally unfair and undeserved. Ours, not as much. This has been our choice and our journey, even though it's hard. How would we like to trade Joseph for 13 years of servitude and prison? (I love this picture...)

It eventually turned out quite favorable for him, and it most likely will turn out okay for us too. I'm sure we'll be in a better position 13 years from now, so we just have to stay strong and positive when we're in prison. But ugh, that does not sound fun. It's hard to go through. Ya kinda want to give up and you doubt yourself, whether I've done things right and if I've obeyed and heard the spirits promptings. Also, another interesting thing I mentioned today - in the manual, it said that some scholars believe that Potiphar's position of "captain of the guards" literally means "chief of the butchers" aka he was an executioner - executing capital sentences ordered by the king. Genesis 39:20 "Because Potiphar had great power and was perhaps even head of the royal executioners, it's remarkable that Joseph was only put into prison and not executed." Joseph was blessed and protected, even in being sent to prison instead of execution. Likewise, I can see how the Lord has blessed us and I know it could be worse and much harder than it is. The fact that we're living in this great house in this amazing neighborhood is such a miracle and gift, one we could not and did not get through our own efforts. It was and is a total gift. The trick is to keep that gratitude and keep a positive outlook and perspective. How do we do it and keep doing it when it's hard and we're tired? Sigh.

So those are some of the thoughts and revelation that have been answering these worries. It's been a good day but I've been kinda sad and meditative, feeling like I'm trying to prep myself for a storm that's a comin... Oh, and for the "Courage Challenge" I'm going, guess what we're studying this week? FEAR. Perfect, another answer to my prayers and more help to get me through! The stress is getting pretty big and frightening and is causing me to fear and tremble again. It keeps going back to the "worry or trust" theme that seems to come up in my life over and over again. This time the worry started on Monday - Corey's business came to verbal agreements for a deal with the Brazilian investor two weeks ago. They were to go get the ok from their boards and then get back to each other. Corey's CEO took care of it in 3 days. Then they didn't hear from the Brazil guy. A week went by, nothing... They finally got a hold of him on Monday - he was in Las Vegas and had left the decision to his committee. That wasn't what was supposed to happened - he said that he was the one that had the power to make the decision. It made us worried that this deal was still not going to be finalized for another week or two. Then today Corey says that Ildefonso is now 99% sure that it's not going to happen, cause he said that the "decision with my committee" comment is Brazil business talk for trying to get out of the deal. Ugh. So it's all up in the air, we're dying on the vine... the business is and us financially too. There have been many tender mercies and miracles during the whole past 10 years of this business experience (see 1 Nephi 1:20) but we need the faith to make us mighty unto the power of deliverance. We can't keep living like this, it's not sustainable. I've had this analogy before in my head - it's like we're about to drown in the ocean and there are ships that come and help by throwing us floaties. But the floaties are leaking, so they aren't a permanent solution, and really aren't that much of a help, not that I want to be ungrateful... BUT! Can someone just pull us up on the boat?Are we every going to rest of the blissful shore? It's all up in the air. Breathe, pray, trust.

Crazy Hair

Today is the day that every elementary student looks forward too all year - Crazy Hair Day! Yay. So I didn't get in my morning exercise cause I was helping these girls figure out what they could do. Abi is sporting an autumn crazy hair look -

And Lily wanted a stuffed animal in her hair. So we put her Beanie Boo chihuahua, whose name is Any-Color-Rainbow, to her head and tied it on with her hair and lots of bobby pins. 

Good enough, another year of Crazy Hair Day done and we'll call it a success. yay

Daniel fell asleep in the tv chair today, this time with Natalie. 

I know I've probably taken enough pictures of him asleep and awake in this chair, but he's just so darn cute. Thank you, tv chair, for helping me get laundry folded and blogs posted. I'll try to not use you as my default as often as I do.

I had a ton of WINs in my courage challenge today - had a green smoothie, I cleaned the toilets again! just like last Tuesday morning (cause it's Toilet Tuesday!), I called Nicole, worked in the basement, raked leaves, worked on family finances, finished a book (The Book of Mormon in America's Heartland... not sure I think it was in the US but still an interesting book) Did laundry, went to the ENT Dr. for my mucus problem that I've had for the past 2 months, and as I walked out I vowed I'm never going to a doctor again, I felt stupid, might be in my head but still.... Lessons learned: exercise in the morning or it won't happen, don't eat ice cream. 

Six Sick Kids

Well, we're having fun being sick around here. First there was Lily and Hyrum. Thankfully Lily's eye is almost better, but that's been two weeks, yuck. Hyrum was sick last week for a day and passed that bug on to Ethan, who then took his turn staying home from school last Wednesday. He felt lousy. And then I'm guessing that that bug was then passed on to Natalie, who felt ill and had a fever in Moab. On Friday before we came home, Abi told me she didn't feel well. Yet she decided to stay for an extra day with her cousins (sorry if she gets all you guys sick!) Wes wanted to stay but he felt sick too and so he decided to come home with us. He's basically been a corpse on the floor for the past 24 hours. Saturday was just a big waste cause everyone was sick and laying around dead, demonstrated here by Wesley. 

Poor kid he did not feel well. Natalie was resting on the couch. 

She looks like a peaceful angel compared to Wes there like a zombie.

Sophi has something going on with her throat and lost her voice and kept coughing and spitting up phlegm. It was lovely, she was at the computer watching Abi design a home on a computer thing and Sophi had a bowl next to her full of her spittle. I found it later, gross. New household rule - if you have a bowl of spit, you need to put it in the sink when you're done spitting in it. So Saturday I had five sick kids at home (cause Abi was gone): Wes, Lily, Sophi, Natalie... and then there was Daniel, too. I came back from Moab to see Daniel had been infected with Lily's pink eye, great. Good thing I'm learning how to be unstoppable, cause even with a Saturday work day being flushed down the tubes, six sick kids, and unpacking the van and doing loads of smoky laundry from our trip, I was able to work my way through it! I am ok! Though, truth be told, on Saturday I was kicking myself for everything I said on Wednesday about being on top of it, I was ready to take it all back! Or I just need to make a mental note to knock on wood next time. Saturday was hard cause we got back from Moab late on Friday, so I didn't do my courage challenge planning, and then Saturday got off on the wrong foot and with the kids all sick, it just turned into a big mess and kicked me in the pants. But I learned my lesson and did my planning on Saturday night and Sunday was better, Sunday night planning and today has been good, even with sick kids. Yesterday I kept my six sick kids home from church. That is a tongue twister to say! Wes, Abi (who made it back home safely), Sophi, Natalie, Owen, and Daniel. Owen had a fever last night. Gave him some Tylenol and he seems to be doing better. We watched BYUtv all day.

So yea, not a whole lot getting done right now other than me playing Florence Nightingale. Abi and Sophi are staying home from school today. Wesley and Hyrum both have sore throats but they went to school cause it's almost the end of the term and they can't risk missing any work. I have a sore throat too. I've set up a dr. appointment for myself next Monday with a Ear Nose Throat doctor, cause I've had issues with my throat since the eclipse. At the eclipse, I remember feeling like I'd accidentally breathed in a gnat or something and it felt like there was something stuck in the back of my throat. I cleared it and cleared it but it still felt like it was there. Unfortunately there isn't anything there to clear out, it's just felt weird and annoying for the past two months. I've been hacking and clearing out my throat for 8+ weeks now... time to go get it looked at. Maybe I have tonsil stones or something, or is this what post nasal drip is? I don't know... I don't have much experience with the throat/tonsil area, so we'll see what I learn next Monday with that. Praying for the kids to get better. I don't mind the older kids being sick, cause they know what to do and will take their medicine. I feel so bad when babies are sick. Daniel's eye looks so sad. Praying for you, little guy!

Grandstaff Trail

We went to bed last night around 10. As we got in our sleeping bags, I could feel that Natalie felt very warm. She definitely had a fever. She woke me up around 3 a.m. telling me that she had to go to the bathroom. She was shaking and trying to make sense of her surroundings as I put on my shoes, unzipped the tent, and tried to take her out before she woke up Owen. As I picker her up, I noticed her pants felt wet, doh, I guess I wasn't fast enough? But we continued by the light of my phone through the darkness over to the lovely outhouse. I helped her sit on it, and that was when I saw the reason why she felt wet. She had pooped her pants. And it was "I'm sick" poop. She sat down and went #1 and more of the #2 runs. Great. She didn't want to put her underwear or pajama pants back on and I don't blame her. So we went back to the tent, I found the wipes, and she stood in the cool nighttime air as I wiped her clean. I left the underwear by the side of the tent in the dirt, and it saw it's untimely demise later that morning in the fire pit.

She's clean, now getting her back in bed... I knew I hadn't packed clean underwear for her, but was sure I could find something to work... I looked around in Sophi's and Lily's bags and found a pair, yay. "Here..." "No! I need Rapunzel underwear!!" Ahh! Fine! Shh!! I look in her backpack. No underwear. She did have her trophy though, which made me laugh and roll my eyes. Good thing she brought that! "Natalie, I can't find Rapunzel underwear. Just wear this..." "No! I need Rapunzel underwear!" I look around some more in the piles of pillows, blankets, sleeping bags, and comatose bodies. "Natalie, I can't find Rapunzel underwear! Can't you just wear this?!?" "I know I have Rapunzel underwear..." Kept looking, and finally found it, hallelujah "Yay..." she says, lol. Ok, Rapunzel underwear on, new pjs on, good, we're done. And thankfully her sleeping bag wasn't a mess. She got back in and went back to sleep. Owen was still asleep, yay. I was very thankful that I did not have Daniel. I lay there and tried to fall back asleep but couldn't. It was just a little windy, and everytime the wind blew it make our tent rustle and it sounded like someone was walking along outside of our tent brushing it with their hand or clothes. Once I figured out that there actually wasn't anyone creeping around our tent, I was able to relax and ignore the noise. I was almost asleep when a big gust of wind blew the the rain cover off the top of the tent. Oh, I thought we had clipped that on. Oh well. It sounded loud and I was wide awake again. Luckily it didn't make the tent any colder, it was a pretty warm night. I lay there with Owen under one arm and my feet uncovered and looked up through the tent screen at the stars. I saw several shooting stars and noticed a satellite cross the sky. I lay there feeling very comfortable and content. I'm glad we came, poop and all.

In the morning at 6:45, I left the sleeping kids and drove out to Moab where I could have cell phone service. I called Corey to tell him of our change of plans - I had considered staying two nights but now with Natalie sick that plan changed and we were going to go back home today. I called Corey to let him know, since there was a possibility that he was going to drive down today with his parents. But he said Ethan still couldn't leave cause of so much homework, so okay, good to know our plan. Corey and Eth are going to stay, we'll be back there tonight. I pulled over and did a polo video to my family. Took a picture of the canyon, so cool.

Our campground was right by the Colorado River and also right by the road. The noise wasn't bad at night but in the morning cars were driving by bright and early, so it was easy to get everyone up and out of bed.

So when I got back the kids were all awake. Mark had breakfast ready for everyone and the kids ate up. Natalie seemed to be feeling a little better. She didn't ear anything though, she just wanted hot chocolate. "Mom, can I have some hot chocolate..."

What are you doing with your eye, silly girl?

Sand in your eye? We were out of warm water, so I made her cold chocolate. She accepted my offering. She's a cute little girl.

Last night Mark had gotten a flat tire when he ran back to town for sour cream. Fun for him, right? This morning he went in early to get a new tire around 8:30. We put away the tent and packed the car. while he was gone.

The kids played soccer and another game that they played was to sit on top of a big rock at our site and try to get all the semis and trucks that passed by to honk their horns. Such a fun game, I remember doing that on road trips when I was little. After Mark got back, we loaded up the rest of the kids and drove to the Grandstaff Trailhead for a big group hike. Owen fell asleep as he waited in his carseat.

Everyone filling up their camelbacks.

Heading to the hike.

Grandstaff Trailhead. Owen had fallen asleep in the car, but I picked him up and figured I'd probably carry him most of the time. Still, I'm glad to be out in the beauty of southern Utah, this will be fun!

Mark and the older kids went ahead, Nancy, Jordyn and Seth saved me and helped me out with my small kids. Lily probably could have kept up with the older kids, but we were glad to have her with us.

Jordyn kept Natalie close by.

Natalie walking with Jordyn, and me carrying Owen on the other side of that photo. He's got his binky and his blanket, this toddler is ready for a nature hike!

Seth with Sophi, he's been so kind with her last night and today, probably a bit of a novelty to have an affectionate big brother figure! Her brothers aren't that way with her, so it was cute to see.

We hadn't walked very far before Natalie was tired. Thank you Jordyn!

Stopping for a snack. Yay, we get to put down these toddlers!

Owen enjoyed his granola bar.

I had come prepared with water, a diaper and wipes if necessary. Unfortunately Hyrum was carrying them. And he was far ahead of us on the trail. So yeah, they weren't going to do me much good now. Thank you to the cousins for sharing with us! The water felt so cool and refreshing.

Part of me wanted to jump in and cool off like we did in Costa Rica. But we resisted. It felt good enough to get our feet wet. I was able to keep my shoes dry on the first crossing of the stream, but got one foot wet on the next crossing. It was hard to try to keep our feet dry when we were concerned about getting the kids across safely, so soon both Nancy and I and the 2 big kids all had wet feet. Stop for a photo ~

Owen letting us take a break from carrying him, yay.

It's slower if he's walking, but our backs need it.

Lots of people walked this trail with their dogs, and each time we saw another furry four legged creature coming, we'd hurry and grab Owen and get him up and safely away from their curious noses, cause he freaks out when a dog comes sniffing him. He made it through the whole hike without screaming about dogs even once, yeah! Jordyn seemed to have a natural motherly antennea that warned her each time a dog was approaching, she is a pro.

Hi ho, hi ho, up the trail we go.

Helping the littles get over the big rocks and steps.

Did I mention yet that Jordyn and Seth saved me?

We didn't make it all the way to the Morning Glory Arch... we knew we had to retrace our steps if we wanted to finish this hike, and with the little ones it tow it might take us a while... so we stopped before reaching the top and had another snack and then turned around. We hoped to reach the bottom at the same time as the big kids did. The trip back down was rough on Owen and Natalie.

Natalie said "This is hard..." and that her legs weren't working. We tried to encourage her "You're doing so good! We're almost done!" And then she cried back "I'm not doing so good!" Ok sweetie, I'll carry you.

You have been doing good Natalie! You did a great job for a 4 year old, especially a little 4 year old who is under the weather. You did great sweetie. And we timed it perfectly - we had almost made it back to the trailhead when the big kids came up behind us and were able to take a turn at the end carrying Owen. Then the kids were all talking about who had worked harder - the big kids who had to hike all the way to the top of the hike, or us who had to carry small children. I let Hyrum, Wes, and Abi think they had worked hard, but we all know that people hiking with toddlers win hands down everytime. Yay, we survived! We started around 10:30 and finished at 2. Owen and Natalie both fell asleep in the car as we drove over to the sandpit for lunch.

The kids slid down the hill and they played in the sand for 2 hours. Sand sand everywhere.

We were on the road headed home at 4 and got home tonight at 7:40. We haven't unpacked the car. Priority for me was a bath, (esp since I hadn't showered since Tuesday morning, ugh.) It was a great quick trip, I'm glad we went, and I'm glad were back.