Spring Break in Moab, Part I

The day after the night that J lay huddled on the floor by the bathroom and hugging the toilet, we all piled in the FJ and headed off to Moab. When we arrived, we sought out some dinner, which 5/7 of us didn't eat, and then went for a walk to this really cool park:



They have all these percussion instruments there made out of random pieces of wood and pipe.


And the auxiliary percussion station:


The next morning, after a disgusting breakfast at the hotel we found our way to the Bowtie Arch/ Corona Arch trail head. Outfitted with trekking poles, Camelbaks, and G & G Kim, we were off!






About here is where I had a little hissy fit and tried to pick a fight with J, much to the amusement of my father, who looked on and laughed. I understand that hiking has its perils, and if we want to become a hiking family, we need to face those perils, but really?!? Trails on rounded sandstone that require makeshift ladders and guardrails so you don't fall off into the gully below? Steep, slopey rocks that you climb up and then will have to climb (or fall) down? Anyway, after I used a few choice words (like "stupid" and "idiotic") I climbed up the "ladder", gripped my boys' hands with no intention of letting go, and sucked it up. Turns out it wasn't so bad after all, but I breathed a sigh of relief once we were back at the car.


Corona Arch




Bowtie Arch

Spring Break

We've begun our Spring Break with vomit and diarrhea. I don't mind, actually. It's nice to have all my boys home. We are listening to "Peter and the Wolf" and "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra" while making domino tracks. Plus, since most of the kids are sick, I don't have to cook. I made a vat of chicken soup (a la Sungsook Kim) and rice, so I won't have to cook for a few days. Doesn't get much better than that! (Okay, so take away the vomit and diarrhea and there's a perfect Spring Break, but we'll take it as it is!)

A Running Update

In case you were wondering...

I went running last week and OUCH. Sore for a few days.

I had a podiatrist appointment on Monday, and he said that I won't be doing any damage by running on it as much as I want (within reason), even though it may feel like I am damaging it quite a bit. I can handle the pain. I took that as the go-ahead and ran 2 miles on Wednesday. Not a lot, but I'm planning on 3 tomorrow and 5 or 6 by the end of next week. I'm kind of on the accelerated plan since the Wasatch Back will be upon us before I know it.

J took me up to Striders (a running store) in Layton on Saturday. They have a really neat foot analysis thing where you step on this mat and it sends all the information -- pressure, contact, etc. to a computer. Then they can see what really happens when you walk/run and can recommend the best pair of shoes possible. I came home with a new pair of running shoes and a renewed excitement to run run run! Now, the homemade strawberry ice cream I just ate is trying to talk me out of the 6:30 run tomorrow morning, but it will not win. It will not win. Well, it might win. I'll let you know.

St. George, Part 1

For some reason, blogger won't let me upload pictures, so we'll have to do without for now.

A few weekends ago we headed down to St. George for a quick little vacation. We left Orem at 8 PM on Thursday, thinking that the boys would sleep all the way down and through the night. Well, they did sleep most of the way down (and through the worst snowstorm we've had this year -- freaky whiteout conditions), but once we arrived at the hotel at midnight, would not go to sleep for 2 hours. Note to J and E: DO NOT DO THAT AGAIN!!!

So, Friday dawns bright and early since my kids hardly ever sleep in, and there are thunderclouds following my little ones around. To the background noise of whining, complaining, and all-around grumpiness, we had breakfast, went to Target, and headed off to Zion National Park. J and I were awed by the beauty of the rock formations (lots of pictures that don't do it justice, even if I could upload them). S was hating vacation, O was offering commentary on how grumpy S was, and H was helping (think: copying) O and S in their individual strains of thought. After a yummy lunch, we headed up the Middle Emerald Pools trail. The moods lifted as we spied horses, plicky plear (prickly pear) cacti, deer droppings (mother of boys, remember?), yucca, and -- at last! -- the waterfalls! There was a heart-stopping moment when O walked under the chain to the edge of the waterfall (We have a picture of "the cliff where O scared the hell out of us"). On the way down we saw a herd of white-tailed deer, grazing about 10 feet from the trail. So neat...

After leaving Zions (and S's good mood) behind, we ate dinner and went back to the hotel to swim in the completely shaded pool in 50 degree weather. Vacation rocks! We all bathed, watched the last 2/3 of Kung Fu Panda, and went to sleep.

I wonder how the boys will remember that weekend in St. George. Beauty, fun, whining, movies, grumpiness, playing in the park, mommy jumping out the van to walk around the St. George temple in order to convince herself not to leave her kid on the side of the road and drive off, swimming, bloody head, yummy frozen yogurt, watching the 3-D version of "Monsters vs. Aliens" without 3-D glasses in Best Buy while waiting for J to find whatever he was looking for... I'll have to ask them. As for me, a few weekends later, I think it was a really fun trip!

St. George, Part 2

After wasting $21 at the dinosaur museum where our kids sprinted through without looking at anything, we headed up to a really neat park in or near Washington.

I like how we're all looking in different directions in this picture:


In the afternoon, H and I hung out by the pool...


...while J, S, and O went swimming. I've found that I somehow cannot restrain myself from taking pictures of my sexy husband shirtless. However, I have managed to post only this one, and by doing so, have saved my readers from being blinded by his extreme whiteness:


S, perfecting the cannonball:


After dinner, we drove to Pioneer Park and clambered around some big red rocks:




And while I was busy taking a picture of J doing this:


H tried to follow S across a space between two big rocks, didn't quite make it, fell in between, and cracked his head open. Even though I washed all the blood out of that shirt, he still won't wear it!


We carried him -- screaming -- to the car, cleaned him up, slapped some hemostatic gauze and a butterfly bandage on it, then took him (and his brothers) out for frozen yogurt. Great vacation, I must say!

Dear Sandbox,

Dearest, Darling Sandbox,

Thank you so much for the 40 or so minutes of sanity you gave me today. You will never know how much it meant to me. I was only interrupted once in my vacuuming by a screaming H ("S frew sand on my shut!" "Oh no! Why did he do that?" "Um, bekuss I frew sand at him." "You threw sand on his head?" "No! Not on his head! I frew sand on his shut!")

I know we have sadly neglected you through the harsh winter months, but you were never far from my thoughts. Hibernating beneath a layer of dead leaves and snow, I knew that one day you would awaken and again be my sons' best friend. How beautiful was the cry this afternoon that lit upon my ears: "It's dry!! It's dry!!" followed by the happy sounds of childish conversation as they pulled the sprouting maple tree and weeds from you. I hope in the next life you are rewarded by being a beach in Hawaii. Until then, I promise to rake you clear of the dead leaves, keep the lawn edged around you, and supply you with children to keep you company through the spring, summer, and early fall months.

Bless you and bless you again, beloved Sandbox!

How I Know...

This is how I know I live in a house full of boys:



O noticed today that my kitchen cabinet wasn't closing all the way. He fixed it for me with Scotch tape. Scotch tape for the 5-year old, duct tape for the man he will one day be.