David's Birthday Weekend

We were supposed to go to Cali this weekend. We planned to drop the kids off at Grandpa & Grandma's and the two of us were going to spend the weekend in Palm Springs. But last minute we felt like we were supposed to stay home. We took a staycation instead.

Friday was David's 33rd birthday. We stayed home and swam and ate cupcakes. That evening we turned out suv in for a minivan (I'm totally Utah now).

On Saturday we got some chores done then threw everyone, including Bishop, into the truck and headed up north to the mountains. Our first stop was to explore Red Creek, just up the Paragonah canyon. We drove around the lake a bit then decided to drive to our favorite small town, Parowan, for lunch. I'm positive that Parowan is magical! We had lunch at La Villa then walked over to the bakery for ice cream cones. We ate our cones in the park. We hopped back in the truck and drove up the canyon, which leads to Brian Head, and went to Yankee Meadows. This is my new favorite place! Yankee Meadows is amazing. Hundreds of cows roam freely amongst campers, aspen groves, bubbling brooks, and a beautiful fishing lake. We walked around the lake and threw sticks in the water for Bishop to retrieve. We stayed as long as we could until the unavoidable toddler meltdowns began.

We came home and spent the rest of the day swimming.

On Sunday we laid low and continued our staycation. We spent the day swimming and laying out in the 105 degree afternoon. Later we got in the family minivan and drove down to Cedar Pocket.

Cedar Pocket is where the Virgin River winds between the border of Utah and Arizona. The shallow river flows between towering magestic red cliffs. The temp of the water is over 90 degrees and has a bed of the softest red sand. We romped around for a short while then headed back home.

Kittens

Did I tell you we have kittens now? I think we are officially an Urban Farm.

About a week ago a litter of kittens emerged from underneath the honeysuckle in our garden. There are 6 kittens and I'm guessing they're about 5 weeks old.

Picture this, our backyard now houses the following:
6 hens
1 rooster named Elvis
1 bunny
Bishop the dog (when he's not in the house)
6 orphaned kittens

In order to prevent this magic from turning into a dump I have to spend most of my "free" time cleaning up after everyone (including my 4 littles).

Mommy Tantrum

So I lost my temper a wee bit this morning. I don't usually notice it, but when David's out-of-town I get a lil' edgy.

This morning I summoned the troops to get the house in presentable order for our returning soldier. Daddy is on his way back from California and we need to clean up our act.

I had to hide in the office for a bit to work on some of my secretarial duties and left the kids to complete the projects I gave them. But instead of hearing the buzz of worker bees I heard the gnarl of siblings fighting and crying. YUCK!
I crumbled and succumbed to my anger. After some yelling and some door slamming I retreated back to my lair (office).
I recovered and came out with my head down to apologize.

Sophia came in from the backyard covered in water. She told me she'd just watered the garden for me. I told her I was sorry for loosing my temper. She said, "I understand. I would too."

I gathered the rest of the kids to tell them I was sorry. Nathan said, "I thought my ears were gonna burst when the doors slammed." And he continued with, "if you'd slammed the doors any harder the house would fall down."

Here's to another mommy tantrum and the forgiving spirits of my angels.

"I Got That Chicken"

We let the chickens roam the backyard for a few hours everyday. Rachel loves those birds and cannot stop picking them up and walking around with them. Rachel walks around saying, "I got that chicken" in her deep raspy voice. David and I figure that children have been playing with chickens for centuries. That chickens are, well, just chickens and should be able to handle it.

The chicken on Bishop is one of our White Crested Black Polish hens. These hens are especially kind and friendly.

Who knew?!

Otter Pops For Sale

On Saturday Sophia had the itch to earn some money. She got some helpers (Nathan & a neighbor friend) and together they sold Otter Pops.

I lent them the Otter Pops and Sophia made a sign. They earned $10.50. After tithe, paying her "employees" and paying her suppliers Sophia was left with $4.50.


That sweet girl cannot hold onto her money for very long. It was burning a hole in her pocket. So, I caved-in and took her to Walmart so she could buy a Bakugan.



Nathan has been driving me crazy about taking him to the store to spend his money. I've been finding notes all over the house saying things like, "remember to take me to the store."