Zion National Park visit

Taking in the beauty of Zion was a great way to spend fall break. Since Oliver is a fourth grader, he and his guests get into all Park lands for free. It was fun to thank him for his kindness in providing this perk.

On our first trail, we saw this tree and loved how it’s roots were in the side of the hill.

The Weeping Rock was something I’ve never seen anywhere else. The water comes out of the middle of the rock because of a shale layer. It creates an oasis in the desert and beautiful hanging gardens. 

Riding the shuttle bus was barely tedious. The kids loved it and the buses came often. I’d take the shuttle bus over traffics jams any day. The Park Museum said back in the 90s the Park was just full of sitting yet running cars. 4.5 million visitors a year at this place. They do a good job making the natural wonders very accessible. 

The older boys, including Jess, used this rock as a natural slide. Much fun was had, all pairs of shorts were damaged. All worth it. 

We hiked up to the Narrows and Ollie wanted to keep going. Someday Ollie!

Ian was a trooper and got some good rest on our longest hike.

The views were amazing everywhere we went. 

The next day we stopped at the Big Bend of the river and hung out listening to the water and throwing lots of rocks. 

And getting wet. As a parent I am slowly coming to learn that: Water + kids = kids in water. Ansel loved floating leaves and sticks. 

One of us went pantless. It was warm out but became chilly if you kept your wet clothes on. 

It was a beautiful spot. A great trip. We’ll have to go again to hike the Narrows and hit up Angel’s Landing when the kids get bigger. Plus, the Upper Emerald Pools we’re closed as was Hidden Canyon. Next time!

“Mom, where are you?”

All of my kids ask this when I’m not in the kitchen or family room. I’ll answer back, “I’m in here.” They’ll try to hone in on my voice and I listen for their little (or big) footsteps looking around for me. Oftentimes I have to give them more of an explanation as to my whereabouts. Then they find me. 

On busy days, I feel that I just need a break to sit down and read something without an interruption. However, sometimes I think to myself, “I am going to miss this someday,” and I perk up the minute they find me. “Hey, what do you need?” Usually it’s a drink of water (Ian), a bottle of food coloring (Ansel), or participation in the latest magic trick (Oliver).

Recently I read a blog where a woman in her fifties looked back on her experience as a parent to four kids. She sounded pretty amazing and cool. Many of the things she said were so good, but the one that stuck out to me was: 

At the end of the day, I’ve done what’s worked for me and my family. Other people’s value judgements typically say more about their lives than yours. 

I love that! Parenting works differently for every personality. We all do things that allow us a balance so we are the best parents we can be. Anyway, I’m trying to take in all of this stage of parenthood because everyone whose gone before me tells me it goes by so fast and I’ll miss it. I’m sure they’re right. 

Fall sports

Oliver played mostly defense on his soccer team and got a lot better at stopping the run and keeping balls away from the goal. When he’d come to the sidelines, he’d ask Jess, “What can I do to play better?” It was fun to see him get into the game. 

Ansel played T-ball and was a hustler! He loved running fast and scrambling for the hit balls with his glove. 

Both boys enjoyed their team this year and want to do more of it. We had many games during the week, instead of weekends, and I really enjoyed it!

“Scary guy”

While on vacation this past summer, we watched some Star Wars on cable television with the kids. We viewed about a half hour and for much of that time the scenes included the Emporer. As such, Ian dubbed him “scary guy.” That same vacation, every time we’d watch TV, Ian would declare that he wanted to see the “scary guy.” Of course, the rest of us thought this was hilarious which made Ian say it that much more. 

Fast forward to October with the stores that have so much (so much!) Halloween decorations. My kids love to explore the offerings and Ian often asks to see the “scary guy” at the stores. One afternoon, Ian and I found ourselves shopping without the other boys. We had to peruse the Halloween section and since it was so impressive, I decided to take photos to show Oliver and Ansel later. What I caught on digital film was Ian’s face and fascination with the whole thing. 

This werewolf was no joke!

While I got a shot of the witch, Ian was being captivated by an equally frightening ghost. 

This fortune teller can tell you your fortune for $129.00! 

Every time October rolls around I am amazed at the selection and creativity of the offerings these stores come up with! 

Growing fast

The other day my sister-in-law came over to visit and upon observing Ian said, “This kid is growing so fast!” It’s so very true. He can reach the hanging monkey bar on the play set. His pants no longer require rolling. He uses words I don’t recall introducing to him. He puts together sentences like a pro. He can lift big things. 

He sings songs with the correct and incorrect words, dances with the best hip movement around, and likes to draw with pen. He wakes up slowly and eats two or three breakfasts a day. 

He and I are good buddies (just like Oliver and Ansel were at this age) as we hang out together at home. There is nothing like this time with kidlets. They are learning so much and it’s fascinating to watch. 

Pumpkins

The last Saturday of September Ansel declared that we must go to the pumpkin patch! He very much wanted Dad to be able to come and had already begun to listen to Halloween music, so this was our next step to making October begin. We weren’t even sure if the patch we like to go to was open, but as luck would have it, Saturday was it’s first day. 

Photo cred for the above by Oliver. 

The brothers took turns pulling the wagon. 

The day was perfect. 

Now our porch is complete with pumpkins, orange and green. 

These colors!

Our family took a “welcome fall” drive up the canyon the other day and took in the colors of the changing leaves. We talked about how the yellow aspens looked like frosting on the mountain amongst the evergreens. The views were magnificent.

It began to rain and I was thinking we’d have to bag our walk among the leaves. However, my kids love the rain and aren’t adverse to being wet with cold temperatures, so we waited out the worst of it and began our little hike with a sprinkle. 

I love the photo below because the first two or three in the series included Oliver resting his elbow on Ansel’s head and afterward these were their “we love each other but we also love to bug each other” faces. The whole time Ian just kept saying, “cheese, cheetah, cheese!”

Now back to the colors. They took my breathe away. Look at the depth of those hues, right from the bottom to the top!

What is it about aspens in groups? And those long, skinny trunks. To give credit where it is due, the better photos in this post come from Jess. 

Ian loves taking little trails though the trees. 

We found vivid reds here and there. Beautiful. 

Ian’s face in this family selfie says it all. We had a great time.