Daybreak

Thanks to an old friend of mine we found a place that made me and my boys a little less homesick. Wendi lives near a man-made lake in the middle of a housing community called Daybreak. (It's really like a mini city.) The kids were in heaven digging in the dirt, wading in up to their necks, and peeing in the water and off the dock. Just like old times. Even Owen liked the water.

Collin and Wendi's little boy Will are the same age and have become fast friends. We hang out once or twice a week now. And every time we get home Collin asks me how many more days until he sees his friend Will again. Then he continues to ask me almost every day until the anticipated day arrives, and then it starts all over again.

I'm so glad he's found a friend already...and I'm so glad that it gives me an excuse to hang out with Wendi again. We met in college, well in Europe actually, on a study abroad. She has been a close friend ever since. Even though I haven't seen her much in the last four years (that's how long I lived in Oregon), when we got together it felt like no time had passed at all. She is an amazing mother, a loyal friend and full of good ideas. She is just fun to be around. I feel lucky to count her as a friend.

Cecret Lake (Mud Pies & Wildflowers)

Today was a great day. I connected with my old friend Haylie. (We were senior class officers together in high school and college roommates at the University of Utah.) She has four kids now, including a set of two-year-old twin boys! It was so fun to meet them all. We took the kids up Little Cottonwood Canyon to do some hiking. We followed a 3/4 mi. trail to Cecret Lake, which was a little steep for the kids but very beautiful.

There were several streams for the kids to play in along the way. Wildflowers were in bloom everywhere you looked. That was my favorite part. (See photos of the Indian Paintbrush above.) But what my boys enjoyed most was the mud, of course. As soon as we got to the lake they were instantly dirty from head to toe. Next time I'll bring some empty pie tins and let them make mud pies. Today we settled for mud cookies which we baked on the rocks.

On the way down we saw a moose grazing...in the distance, thankfully. And we got caught in a rain storm, which was a perfect way to end the adventure. I could tell Haylie is an amazing mother. For one thing, she packed one twin on her back and carried the other in her arms for more than half the distance...and at the same time comforted her girls about the rain and thunder. It really was amazing to watch. You go girl! I hope to see more of you now that I'm here!

Timpanogos Cave

We arrived in Utah safe and sound last week. I finally have my computer out of the box and the Internet hooked up, which means I can blog again. Yeah! The first thing I wanted to do in Utah with my kids was take them hiking. Merritt and I both have missed hiking in the mountains. So we took the kids to Timpanogos to see the caves.

These caves are a place I had gone to several times as a child. I remember how amazing and otherworldly they seemed to me then, and I wanted to show Collin. We climbed over 1,000 vertical feet in 1.5 miles which was a real challenge for the kids. But they did great. The caves were every bit as cool as I remember them being.





The words stalagtite and stalagmite are now in Collin's vocabulary. Collin said his favorite part was seeing the "heart" of Timpanogos (see photo above), which is a stalagtite as tall as me and three feet wide that weighs 4,000 pounds. It is pretty impressive.

I think my favorite part was the panoramic views of the valley floor from the top of the mountain...and seeing this beautiful bird which I found out later is called a Stellar's Jay. (I could see myself getting into bird watching.)

Luke was a little weary of the cave, especially because he hadn't yet finished his peanut butter sandwich and didn't understand why he couldn't take it into the cave. He started to cry before the tour even began. He kept shouting, "This is scary!" I knew I had to think of something quick. I told him we were going to see where Thomas the Train lived. Sure enough he stopped crying.

Through every tunnel we expectantly looked for Thomas. Thankfully by the end he wasn't disappointed that Thomas wasn't home. He decided he liked the cave. Every new site he came upon he would shout, "Wow! This is awesome!" I was proud of myself for coming up with a small fib to save the day. And we all got another stamp in our National Parks Passports.

As fun as the day was, I will say I do miss my home in Oregon terribly. I'm still crying in fact. But I enjoy looking out my bedroom window and seeing mountains again, especially as the sun sets and turns them pink. I never grow tired of seeing that.

Last Look

We took our last look at the ocean today and our last walk along the river. We are moving back to Utah this week. Merritt wants a new career. So it's back to the big city for us. I'm not sure how to say goodbye to this place. We have become a family here. We have many dear friends here. And I have never seen a more beautiful place on Earth. It helps that we have family in Utah that will greet us with open arms. But we will definitely miss this place and everybody in it. Wish us well. Love to all.

Paddle Boats and Fishing Poles

Merritt has been working on a lakeside house these past few weeks, and the owner invited us to come spend some time at the lake. We took a paddle boat out to do some fishing. We saw a beaver dam, which was fun for Collin. And when the boat began to get a little crowded (and the kids a little restless), we headed back to the dock to do some more fishing.

Luke just wanted to splash in the water with his feet. He tried out lots of different spots. He went to each side of the dock and both sides of the boat. I'm not sure what he thought would be different about each spot. But he seemed to be testing them out.

Collin was really into practicing his cast. He got to be pretty good at it. Unfortunately, we only caught one catfish that we had to put back. Collin wanted to stay until we caught at least one fish that we could bring home, but he got vetoed.

A couple of weekends ago C0llin and his dad caught five fish and we ate them for dinner. I think Collin expected the fishing to be that easy again. So he was a little disappointed when we left empty handed. So I promised him we'd still have fish for dinner. (We grilled up some salmon from Safeway.)

Last weekend was not so restful. We spent Friday evening at the strawberry patch (Bush's Farms) picking fresh strawberries. We left with four buckets full and two flats of pre-picked strawberries. Which meant that all day Saturday we slaved away in the kitchen making jam. We wanted to make a year's supply since the kids eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches almost every day for lunch. It took us all day but we ended up with ELEVEN batches of jam. And it is delicious!

Here is Luke with strawberries all over his face at the patch.

Here is Collin blowing a big bubble after church on Sunday. Collin is a gum expert. He collects it. And every day after lunch he practices his bubbles. Once we went to a party where the kids got to hit a pinata. It was full of cheap gum, and Collin was the happiest boy alive. He stuffed his pockets so full his pants were almost falling off his body. His stash lasted him for months. And thus began his addiction. I can bribe Collin to do just about anything when bubble gum is involved.
Last Sunday at church I took a cute picture of the boys by a flag they made in Primary a few weeks ago. Each child colored a picture of their family on a square of material, and wrote down something they can do to strengthen their family. The inspiration for the flag came from a talk by Elder Russel M. Ballard about the family proclamation.

He said, "Today I call upon members of the Church and on committed parents, grandparents, and extended family members everywhere to hold fast to this great [family] proclamation, to make it a banner not unlike General Moroni’s “title of liberty,” and to commit ourselves to live by its precepts (Ensign, Nov. 2005)."

I think the flag is very cool. We made it at a Primary activity day. My husband actually dressed up like Captain Moroni and told the kids his story from the Book of Mormon. Then he talked to them about how they can defend and protect their homes today. Merritt was such a good sport to do this; you get roped into things like this when your wife is the Primary president. :)

Merritt was speaking at the "house of faith" where we colored our flag. The kids also visited the "house of prayer", the "house of order", and the "house of glory" (see D&C 88:119). They made family prayer boards to help them make their prayers more specific, and become more aware of their family member's needs. They played games at the house of order to help them learn how to serve their family (e.g., doing the laundry, setting the table, picking up toys). Then they spread white frosting on temple-shaped cookies to help them remember their family can be eternal because of blessings available in holy temples. It was a really fun activity.

Collin now dresses up in his play armor and pretends to be Captain Moroni. I love it. I am so grateful to the church for the resources they provide to help me strengthen my family. I love being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I wish every child had the privilege of being raised in a home where proclamation principles and the teachings of Jesus Christ are understood and lived. The church's quest is to strengthen families. And it has been such a joy serving in the Primary and working to strengthen my own family and the families of the children. I truly love the children and want the best for them.

Backyard Carnival: Collin Turns Five

When the carnival came to town last month Collin wanted to play every game and ride every ride. Unfortunately, our pocketbook did not allow for that. But it did give me a great idea for a birthday party. Collin turned five on Tuesday and we hosted a backyard carnival for him and his friends.

We played five carnival-like games. Each game brought a chance to win several tokens. Afterword, the kids were able to spend their tokens at a make believe "store". The store had simple prizes and candies from which they got to choose a variety of things.

The boys seemed to really enjoy the games. They were all very energetic of course. We had a squirt gun shoot out, popped balloons with darts, used a bow and arrow to hunt for stuffed animals, played roller ball using the slide on our play structure, and knocked down a tower of cans with a baseball.




We were supposed to have a wading pool fish pond, and a cake walk at the end so each kid could take home an extra cupcake. The wading pool I didn't get to setting up that morning, and I forgot about the cake walk by the end. Oh well.

Oh, and we also had a guessing game in which the boys were to estimate the number of gum balls in a bottle. Duncan was excited to win the bottle, and I had an extra for the birthday boy (since gum is currently Collin's favorite thing in the whole world). Amazingly, Owen managed to sleep through the whole party. But here is a cute photo of him playing with the gumball bottle after the party.



Collin was really excited that his friends got to stay for lunch. We had a picnic with hot dogs, cheese sticks, fish crackers, watermelon and peanuts. The peanuts were actually quite a hit, especially with Luke. The kids enjoyed cracking them and finding the nuts inside.

I was happy with the way my cupcakes turned out. The cupcakes were supposed to look like a bouquet of balloons. And they were so bright and cheery and cute. It was not my idea but it was a good one. (You gotta love FamilyFun.)

Of course, the friends definitely made the party. Collin really does have a great bunch of friends right now. He loves to play with Camp, Nolan, Ruben and Duncan, as well as his brother Luke. (Although sometimes I have to remind him that his brother is his best friend.)

Collin was so excited about the gifts his friends brought him. You could tell every boy had helped to pick out their gift. Each gift matched the boy's personality perfectly. Thank you all for making this day special for Collin.


I'll mention the gifts Merritt and I gave Collin since they give insights into Collin's personality and interests right now. Collin loves collecting things. He has a sticker collection, a gum collection and a rock collection.

He also loves playing with money. He often does chores around the house to earn money. And his dramatic play almost always involves him being a store manager. He tries to sell me his used toys in his bedroom. It's really cute.

I had hoped to combine his two hobbies and give Collin a 50 States Quarters Collection Map. We could start coin collecting (and educating...see this great website). Uncle Allen would be so proud. Unfortunately, it didn't come in the mail yet.

So instead, I gave Collin the game Monopoly Jr. It was perfect because it involves buying attractions at a carnival or amusement park. You set up ticket booths and people have to pay you to ride or play if you own the attraction. Collin and I played it together yesterday. It was totally fun.

Merritt gave Collin a rock tumbler that will polish rocks and gem stones. Totally cool idea. Way to go Dad. He can't wait to try what he calls his "rock experiments". Whenever Collin is bored, he comes and asks me if I can think of any experiments he can do. He often comes up with his own ideas for experiments, but I also have to get quite creative sometimes.

For example, yesterday I suggested he test the five different squirt guns he has to see which one squirts the farthest. And what do you know, he did it. Collin is my little scientist. Dad tries to encourage Collin by telling him he's going to be a brain surgeon someday, which is why Merritt also gave Collin the game Operation.



One other thing to note. Collin won a free bike from a drawing we entered at the bike rodeo last month. Perfect timing. We were planning on getting him a new bike for his birthday anyway. It's blue and it matches his blue spider man helmet. He loves it.

That evening Collin got to choose what we had for dinner--pineapple pizza. Which means I didn't have to cook. And we rented the movie Charlotte's Web. We had just finished reading this chapter book together and had been looking forward to watching this. After some more popcorn, peanuts, cupcakes, and birthday cake ice-cream Collin was finally tuckered out. All in all, Collin said he had the best birthday ever. And I feel so proud and lucky to be his mom.

I've loved him since the day he was born.

Three Months Old

Sleeping through the night...six hours that is. Yeah!