Sunday, April 13, 2008
It's Spring! It's Spring!
We're really glad it's spring!!!! Here's what we've been up to. Jumping on the trampolne, swinging, driving our new car (D.I. $6=We LOVE D.I.). The others are of our impromptu early Sunday morning painting session, we found these big heavy pieces of cardboard behind D.I. (We LOVE D.I.) and thought we could make them into a puppet theater or playhouse or something, but they needed a little decoration, we'll have to spend a few days painting them, then start constructing, and probably another trip to the back of D.I. to get more heavy duty cardboard for the roof. Hopefully it will work! Oh, in one of these pics, Rowen is crying in the car because I am taking pics of him instead of pushing/driving the car really fast around the lawn. In the next one, he is getting gas, with a stick.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Zion
So, I know it's crazy but I had never been to Zion's before...ever. I know. Everyone has that same response. Well, it is nice, although I still have over half of it to even see, let alone explore 99.99999% of it. But here are my favorite pics of it. I LOVE taking pictures.
Who looks like who???
The first two are of Jason, the next 3 of me (because both kids do these faces), then 2 of Will, and 2 of Rowen....hmmm....what do you think?
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Another Edward Abbey Quote
I was going back through my copy of Desert Solitaire for the Moab post, and in my book I underlined my favorite parts, a long time ago, which is fun to go back over and find the "good stuff". Well, in doing that I came across this one:
"Where there is no joy there can be no courage, and without courage, all other virtues are useless."
Food for thought.
"Where there is no joy there can be no courage, and without courage, all other virtues are useless."
Food for thought.
Healthi-ER
A while ago I posted about some goals, so here's my update, at least on the making healthi-ER choices. I have actually been doing this the last week or so. The boys and I went to Wild Oats, where we usually have muffins and I sometimes have a decaf mocha. Well, in the spirit of being healthi-ER I chose to have herb tea. I didn't get a muffin or a pastry and shared with Rowen instead. I also had organic raisin bran for breakfast with no sugar on top, and was feeling quite healthy. As we were finishing our muffins and were getting ready to leave, William opened up the bakery case and snitched a piece off a chocolate croissant. Of course I HAD to buy it now. And of course I couldn't reward such behavior by letting him eat it, so I HAD to eat it. I think it's a sin to let a good French pasty such as this one go to the trash without being fully enjoyed, so of course I enjoyed every bite. It reminded me of the chocolate croissant I ate in Paris. Well, so much for being heathi-ER, and thanks Will.
Moab!!!!
We went to Moab this past weekend with my siblings, their kids, my mom and stepdad. It was nice to be back in the old stomping ground. There were many years where I went to Moab area more than once in a year, and now it's been about 10 years since I have been there. We stayed at Moab Valley RV Park, which is overall a nice place, little cabins, tent sites, rv parking sites, etc. They have bathrooms, showers, pool, hot tub, playground, huge checkers and chess and a putting green...and more. It was strange to stay in this kind of place, I have never done that before. I honestly enjoy camping (even with kids) where there are no bathrooms, not even pit toilets, no running water, no paved anything, no people, no front desk, no gift shop, no front porches, etc. I can see if you've been traveling around the country in an RV for a long time and really need a shower, then it'd be a good place, and I have to say the heated cabin was ok too. But it was odd and I felt WAY out of place and didn't enjoy it the first morning when I went to the bathroom at about 7 or 8 am. There were women blow drying their hair and putting on make-up, every sink (about 10 of them) was occupied by a woman "getting ready" to go out--hiking? I thought instantly how sad it is that women really don't feel good enough as they are, and they have to go put their faces on to feel presentable to the world. Okay, maybe I am over-thinking this, or maybe I'm not.
The cabins look like this:
The first day we went petroglyph hunting. It was fun to take the kids and Jess (my pregnant sista who is on bedrest) because there was no hiking involved. You might remember from an earlier (okay WAY earlier) post that I LOVE petroglyphs, they make me super excited and giddy. So, we saw a few that are right near moab, a quick drive away. I was especially excited to see the "birthing scene" petroglyph of a mother giving birth. We decided that a baby was probably born nearby this petroglyph, since they are of course telling a story.
The first place we stopped though was Moonflower Canyon. The petroglyph panel there is the most vandalilzed of any near Moab. One interesting petroglyph here was an upside down person, wonder what that one means, the picture I took of it came out fuzzy. Next to the petroglyph panel, there is a ladder that was built presumably by the same indians who made the petroglyphs, I guess it was a good escape route for flash floods. It isn't fenced off so you could try to climb it, (Ginger did once), but it is missing a rung down low so you'd have to get creative, and then it is missing a lot of them to the top, so you can really only get about halfway up. Nonetheless, it's a cool sight to see.
The Moonflower Canyon petroglyphs.
The Moonflower Canyon Indian ladder.
The second place we stopped was at the birthing scene petroglyph. This one is interesting too, because it is on a boulder that is relatively square shaped, with petroglyphs on all four sides.
The Birthing Scene:
Footprint petroglyphs near the birthing scene, one foot has six toes:
A cute picture of Rowen taken at the birthing scene petroglyph:
A cute family pic taken at the same spot:
Another:
More cute pics of Rowen at the petroglyphs, he was really hamming it up:
These petroglyphs were in between the other two sites, but on the way back are easier to find, because they are on the east side of the road. The pic is of one that is 20 feet or so off the ground, I spotted it out the window of the car.
A nice picture of cactus growing near the birthing scene petroglyphs:
William really started posing for the camera, showing off his bad boy attitude, I think he looks like a rapper in this one. He says his camelback is a Boba Fett backpack, and he LOVES it.
This one happened when I was forcing him to eat (he never slows down enough to eat so always has to be reminded to take more bites). I told him to take a bite of his bagel and instead of picking it up, he smashed his face right into the cream cheese. Silly kid.
Camping and playing and hiking wears Rowen out!
On Saturday morning we went to hike Delicate Arch. I have never hiked it before. It was fun, even to carry Rowen on my back. He enjoyed it for the most part, except the wind. He slept most the way down. This next pic is of my bro-in-law Norman, pushing Emma, my niece in her special chair, all the way to Delicate Arch. A fireman who responded to Emma's initial rescue is the one who built her the chair as a gift. It is so amazing. Props to Norman for pushing her the whole way!
A quick family pic at the arch, quick because it was so windy and William was so tired, his Uncle Brandon carried him most the way down.
A pic of Rowen and me at the Arch, after Will had already headed down with Uncle B:
A couple of pics of Delicate Arch, I have a new goal to go there again, hike to the arch before sunrise on a weekday, so I can get great pictures and enjoy it without the multi hundreds of people. No matter how touristy Delicate Arch is, it is amazing. There is a reason everyone goes to see it. Here are some thoughts on it, much more well articulated than I can do...
"A wierd, lovely, fantastic object out of nature like Delicate Arch has the curious ability to remind us-like rock and sunlight and wind and wilderness-that out there is a different world, older and greater and deeper by far than ours, a world which surrounds and sustains the little world of men as sea and sky surround and sustain a ship. The shock of the real. For a little while we are again able to see, as the child sees, a world of marvels. For a few moments we discover that nothing can be taken for granted, for if this ring of stone is marvelous then all which shaped it is marvelous, and our journey here on earth, able to see and touch and hear in the midst of tangible and mysterious things-in-themselves, is the most strange and daring of all adventures." -Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire
William, in one of his rarer moments on the hike when he was feeling adventurous and not crying and whining.
After the hike we had cake for Ingrid's birthday, and then took a three hour nap. Then we had a big bbq, and went to Dead Horse Point right as it got dark. I have to say DHP is a wonderful and beautiful and awesome place, but not with climbing 3 year olds. After a few visions of what it would look like if he fell off (cliffs that equal certain death, similar to the Grand Canyon), I had to get back in the car, thank goodness Rowen was in the backpack, or I might have had a full blown anxiety attack. (Which I have never had, but if I were to start, it might as well have been that moment.)
On the dark drive back to Moab, we saw a bunch of cows, even mama and baby cows nursing in the middle of the street, two deer, and two jackrabbits.
These pics are of the boys being silly in the car the day we went to find the petroglyphs. Rowen also loves drinking out of the camelback. William is playing with Rowen's tractor we bought at the Walker Drug store in Moab, but we accidentally left it behind at the RV park.
The boys loved the soft sand there, they wanted to bring it back for their sandbox. We brought home a little in Will's carseat. You can take your car out of the desert, but you can't take the desert out of your car.
We had a fun trip, and can't wait to do it again!
The cabins look like this:
The first day we went petroglyph hunting. It was fun to take the kids and Jess (my pregnant sista who is on bedrest) because there was no hiking involved. You might remember from an earlier (okay WAY earlier) post that I LOVE petroglyphs, they make me super excited and giddy. So, we saw a few that are right near moab, a quick drive away. I was especially excited to see the "birthing scene" petroglyph of a mother giving birth. We decided that a baby was probably born nearby this petroglyph, since they are of course telling a story.
The first place we stopped though was Moonflower Canyon. The petroglyph panel there is the most vandalilzed of any near Moab. One interesting petroglyph here was an upside down person, wonder what that one means, the picture I took of it came out fuzzy. Next to the petroglyph panel, there is a ladder that was built presumably by the same indians who made the petroglyphs, I guess it was a good escape route for flash floods. It isn't fenced off so you could try to climb it, (Ginger did once), but it is missing a rung down low so you'd have to get creative, and then it is missing a lot of them to the top, so you can really only get about halfway up. Nonetheless, it's a cool sight to see.
The Moonflower Canyon petroglyphs.
The Moonflower Canyon Indian ladder.
The second place we stopped was at the birthing scene petroglyph. This one is interesting too, because it is on a boulder that is relatively square shaped, with petroglyphs on all four sides.
The Birthing Scene:
Footprint petroglyphs near the birthing scene, one foot has six toes:
A cute picture of Rowen taken at the birthing scene petroglyph:
A cute family pic taken at the same spot:
Another:
More cute pics of Rowen at the petroglyphs, he was really hamming it up:
These petroglyphs were in between the other two sites, but on the way back are easier to find, because they are on the east side of the road. The pic is of one that is 20 feet or so off the ground, I spotted it out the window of the car.
A nice picture of cactus growing near the birthing scene petroglyphs:
William really started posing for the camera, showing off his bad boy attitude, I think he looks like a rapper in this one. He says his camelback is a Boba Fett backpack, and he LOVES it.
This one happened when I was forcing him to eat (he never slows down enough to eat so always has to be reminded to take more bites). I told him to take a bite of his bagel and instead of picking it up, he smashed his face right into the cream cheese. Silly kid.
Camping and playing and hiking wears Rowen out!
On Saturday morning we went to hike Delicate Arch. I have never hiked it before. It was fun, even to carry Rowen on my back. He enjoyed it for the most part, except the wind. He slept most the way down. This next pic is of my bro-in-law Norman, pushing Emma, my niece in her special chair, all the way to Delicate Arch. A fireman who responded to Emma's initial rescue is the one who built her the chair as a gift. It is so amazing. Props to Norman for pushing her the whole way!
A quick family pic at the arch, quick because it was so windy and William was so tired, his Uncle Brandon carried him most the way down.
A pic of Rowen and me at the Arch, after Will had already headed down with Uncle B:
A couple of pics of Delicate Arch, I have a new goal to go there again, hike to the arch before sunrise on a weekday, so I can get great pictures and enjoy it without the multi hundreds of people. No matter how touristy Delicate Arch is, it is amazing. There is a reason everyone goes to see it. Here are some thoughts on it, much more well articulated than I can do...
"A wierd, lovely, fantastic object out of nature like Delicate Arch has the curious ability to remind us-like rock and sunlight and wind and wilderness-that out there is a different world, older and greater and deeper by far than ours, a world which surrounds and sustains the little world of men as sea and sky surround and sustain a ship. The shock of the real. For a little while we are again able to see, as the child sees, a world of marvels. For a few moments we discover that nothing can be taken for granted, for if this ring of stone is marvelous then all which shaped it is marvelous, and our journey here on earth, able to see and touch and hear in the midst of tangible and mysterious things-in-themselves, is the most strange and daring of all adventures." -Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire
William, in one of his rarer moments on the hike when he was feeling adventurous and not crying and whining.
After the hike we had cake for Ingrid's birthday, and then took a three hour nap. Then we had a big bbq, and went to Dead Horse Point right as it got dark. I have to say DHP is a wonderful and beautiful and awesome place, but not with climbing 3 year olds. After a few visions of what it would look like if he fell off (cliffs that equal certain death, similar to the Grand Canyon), I had to get back in the car, thank goodness Rowen was in the backpack, or I might have had a full blown anxiety attack. (Which I have never had, but if I were to start, it might as well have been that moment.)
On the dark drive back to Moab, we saw a bunch of cows, even mama and baby cows nursing in the middle of the street, two deer, and two jackrabbits.
These pics are of the boys being silly in the car the day we went to find the petroglyphs. Rowen also loves drinking out of the camelback. William is playing with Rowen's tractor we bought at the Walker Drug store in Moab, but we accidentally left it behind at the RV park.
The boys loved the soft sand there, they wanted to bring it back for their sandbox. We brought home a little in Will's carseat. You can take your car out of the desert, but you can't take the desert out of your car.
We had a fun trip, and can't wait to do it again!
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