Shinob Kibe

Hike to the top of Shinob Kibe:

 All the reviews we read for this hike said it was very family friendly. It was only 3/4 mile to the top, but about 1/4 of the way up, we thought we were on the wrong trail. It was extremely steep. There were a few tears and my heart was pounding watching the little kids try to traverse it. But after that point, it was a cinch. It took much longer than the 8 minute record of reaching the top, but what can you expect with a crew of varying ages? The little guy was carried most of the way up and back.

At the top of Shinob Kibe is a mailbox with paper in it to sign when you reach the top. There is also a notebook with the history of the peak. It was very informative. 

The hike down was much faster and easier. Even the child who was scared for her life on the way up practically ran down. We would recommend this hike to anyone. 

Not a Baby Anymore

Xander has had long hair for awhile. I have not wanted to cut it because it has been so cute.

Longest his Hair was

    

after a quick haircut by mom
(that was terrible by the way)

I finally broke down and got him a good haircut. What do you think?

Goofy face--playing the Wii with his sis

I think he looks older and much more like his older brothers than ever before.

Where I'm From Part 2

Where I'm From

Grant

I am from the pages I read, from box scores and Nike.

I am from wrestling and roughhousing, kids trampling through the house.

I am from the bent fence in the back, and the BYU lawn gnome.

I am from praying each morning, and dark-ish hair, from Grandmas and Grandpas, The Greenman’s, Nielson’s, and Kristina Belina

I am from lax laughing, and silly stories.

From Larry and Skedule and The Mudball Maniacs, The Squirrely Squinters and tree house trap doors.

I am from praying with my family before school, and 6 hour Sundays.

I’m from Provo and Brigham Young, The State of the Solo star, clean sin city, and Antimony.

From Potatoes that are baked, mashed, lathered in ranch and gravy, and chocolate chip cookies kept in Tupperware dishes with the heel of the bread.

From getting hit by a car while on my bike, moving from state to state, tripping and falling on my nose, and having same-week birthdays

I am from the top drawer, my closet (my cache), and under my bed, where I hide my candy from my siblings and keep my work from the past, so I can revisit old times.

Where I'm From

Where I`m From

Jacob

I`m from practicing basketball, eating Hershey’s, and grandma and grandpa’s house.

         From roughhousing, craziness and hugs.

         I`m from desert sagebrush and blowing sunflowers.

         I am from pulling weeds, brown hair, and hazel eyes.

         From 4 siblings and 2 loving parents.

         I`m from laughter and loud grass hopper.

         From the childhood stories of Larey and Skudule.

         I am from prayer and “ I am a child of god”.

          I`m from hot and humid Texas, and snowy, cold Utah.

         I`m from chocolate chip cookies and baked potatoes.

I`m from vacuumed hands, cracked open skulls, and the school nurse.

         I am from Newport Beach, LaVell Edwards stadium, and home sweet home.

*Poem from English class 2013 (they were given the prompts to write their own 'Where I'm From' poems).

Soccer Season

Soccer season is coming to an end. It's been a lot of fun. We are lucky enough that practices for both kids are all at the local Elementary school, so it didn't involve a whole lot of commuting.

Alaina plays on a competitive team with several neighbors. It has been fun to watch her progress. She scored several times this year and helped her team move from Division C up to Division B in the spring.

Alaina on her new comp team

Ryan also plays on a team with a bunch of his neighborhood friends. This boy has skills. He is very entertaining to watch. When he is sweeper, the other team can't get the ball past the center line. He is also the leading scorer on his team. 

Not only do we have two awesome soccer players, we now have
two soccer refs! Grant and Jacob took a certification course to be able to ref recreation soccer. They have refereed quite a few games now and they are really loving it.

Mending Fences

We live very close to the boys' school. In fact, all they have to do is hop the fence in the backyard and they are at school. They were so excited to go to Jr. High so they could hop the fence. They talked about it for months. The time finally came for Jr. High, and sure enough, they hopped the fence. J would often joke the he was sure to get hurt hopping the fence at least once.

I love that they can get to school so easily. It saves me hours in the car each week. They literally leave for school with two minutes to spare. Their friends come over after school just for a quick stop over, or to hang out. They sometimes wait here for their parents to pick them up because it's more comfortable than the school.

If you can imagine, when two or more kids are hopping a fence multiple times a day, it will bend over quite a bit. It was really nice, actually. It made it so easy to get over. I admit that on occasion I have been known to hop over to get to sporting events. (I feel really silly doing this, but hopefully others just think I'm young at heart.)

Fast forward one year and two months . . . their second year in Jr. High. Everything was going so great. The fence is their main pathway to and from school. One day in late September, G and J came into the house fuming mad. Someone had repaired the fence! They put a cross support beam through the middle and a support beam across the top. The fence is taller now, and much harder to climb.

This was mind boggling to us. Obviously the school fixed the fence, but was it really necessary? They didn't fix any other parts of the fence that goes for two or three houses, just our small 3 feet where we hop. Interesting?

It hasn't stopped the hopping. We aren't going to question it, just go about our regular business. And we know that the fence hopping will be a forever memory.

Runners

We have two runners in the family. They are both very fast, even without a lot of practice. The cross country coach asked them over and over to join the team. They were on the volleyball team and didn't want to give that up, so after that was over, they decided to run. At their first meet, Jacob placed 18th out of 100. Grant didn't fair quite as well. At the second meet, they both did even better. Jacob came in 4th overall. Grant dropped about 2 minutes per mile off his time. Way to go boys!

18th after the first meet
Time: 6:48 mile

Happy after the second meet
Jacob Time: 6:40 mile
Grant: 7:30 mile

When It's a Little Too Quiet . . .

You mean this?

Proud of his art work

Poor Guy

My baby is busy. He rarely stops, even to sleep. So when he takes a second nap in one day, you know there is something not quite right.

Xander's shoulder has come out of its socket about six times in his short life now. The first time was legit: he was hanging from the monkey bars and it pulled out. It is very painful. He can't use it at all and just lets it hang by his side. He gets very lethargic and almost always falls asleep. 

After it comes out once, a shoulder comes out of its socket too easy. The most recent time he was trying to pull a watch off his wrist and lo and behold, he pulled out his shoulder.

We have visited a neighbor chiropractor several times to get it fixed. We have also learned a thing or two and Matt was able to put it back in this time. The results are amazingly immediate.

Color Run

These boys like getting dirty:

 This past weekend G & J attended a Boy Scout Jamboral. They were able to participate in the Color Run. It's an obstacle course where they periodically throw colored chalk on them as they run past. Getting colored sure made up for the freezing night of camping.

His Turn . . . Finally

Ryan started long awaited Cub Scouts. He has watched his older brothers attend Scouts since he was two years old. They would come home with belt loops, pins and eventually merit badges. Ry has never said anything about it, just stood by and watched. But when I announced at family dinner that he had his first den meeting coming up, he cheered loudly, and fist pumped into the air.

He has an awesome leader and we are excited for his new adventure.

At his first Pack Meeting, he and all the other Wolves earned four belt loops. Ryan earned Soccer, Language and Culture, Swimming and none other than Video Games. (All the boys earned video games. There was a lot of giggling for that one.) Who knew there was a Video Games belt loop?

The Crew at Scouts and beyond

He's trying not to smile here,
but he was loving it.

My Stroller Buddy

This is my walking/running buddy. He goes with me everywhere. We put 10-15 miles on the stroller a week. He knows the drill--get your water, toys, a snack, and bundle up on the cold mornings--and we're off.

By the way, this jogging stroller is one of the best purchases I have every made.

It's the Little Things

My dad asked me what I was going to post on my blog. There are a lot of things I could post, but I want to focus on the good things in my life. Everyone has ups and downs. We've had some downs this year, but I have found that when I focus on the good and the blessings we have received, I don't get carried away with the struggles. That is the reason I started this blog, so that I can think more intently about the good happening all around me.

I love my husband. I am so blessed to have a husband who loves and cares for me and our children. He puts us first. He works HARD, harder than I could have imagined, when he needs to. And he lives and teaches our children the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I love each of my children. Sure they bring out the best and the worst in me, but they also help me to grow into a better person each day. My children have all come with their talents, habits, quirks, you name it. They are all unique and wonderful. They make me smile every day.

We are blessed to be surrounded by our family who lift us and love us. Our children love to spend time with extended family and they learn from them. I know that I wouldn't be able to raise my children very well without all the good family in our lives. (Even those that live a little further away.) My children will be better people because of all their aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas, and cousins, who help them to see life from a different perspective.

I don't know who will read this, if anyone, but I know this blog will force me to focus more on the little things in my life that make me happy.

Karaoke Time

The other night we hung out with Matt's old college roommates and their families. It was so fun to be with them (it's been over two years). Between the three families there are 15 kids ages 1-13. It's wild, but not as wild as Dave's karaoke set up with stage, mics, lights and all. These three probably had more fun rockin' out to their favorite bands than all the kids combined. It's not often the kids see Matt let loose with his buddies. It was quite the night!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

The other morning, while I was trying to get the kids off to school, I looked outside and saw this:

It made my morning.

Shiner

You should see the other guy . . .

Up close

My Square Foot Garden

I started a garden this year for the first time. The whole family has loved it. I followed the Square-Foot Gardening and this is what it produced:

My First Garden

 It's not huge, but it sure has been fun. I built two 4X4 boxes and put them up against my house where I get the most sun. I planted a bunch of different things, just to try it out. Although we don't love eggplant, we've found that it produces a lot, and the blossoms are a beautiful purple. I have used the herbs a ton, most recently in made-from-scratch spaghetti sauce. There is nothing like fresh vegetables on the dinner table.

Tomatoes, Beans, Cucumbers,
Pumpkins, Watermelon, Brussel
Sprouts

Eggplant

Parsley, Basil, Broccoli and Eggplant

My garden 'made-from-scratch' spaghetti sauce