Trip Advisor

I have been putting off writing this post about our trip for two reasons; one, it's going to be super long and probably somewhat boring, and two, I don't have the pictures Jeff took and I haven't been able to find them on his computer. But I had to start writing before I forgot everything, so here goes.

DAY 1-We drove from Orem to Ouray, Colorado, about an hour and a half outside Grand Junction. Ouray is a gorgeous town nestled in a valley in the San Juan mountains. It really is stunning. Someone nicknamed it "Switzerland of America" and since I've never been to Switzerland, I'll have to take their word.

We got there around 4:00 with plans to stop at the hot springs pool to swim. It was cloudy, and threatening rain, so we were unsure whether we should actually brave it or not. We decided it give it a try, and forked over the $10 each (less for the kids) to swim in a pool that uses water from the hot springs. The shallow end was 96 degrees, nice and toasty, and we were actually glad it was overcast and a little cool outside so we didn't feel like we were roasting. We had a good time swimming for a couple hours, then loaded back in the van and drove to Durango, CO. It was a gorgeous drive through the mountains, and Jeff stopped along the way to get this shot.

We checked into our hotel in Durango and had the world's worst dinner at KFC at around 8:30 that night. Our kids forget their "restaurant manners" completely, and the 10 extra minutes we had to wait for grilled chicken turned into a nightmare. Carter wouldn't stop crying no matter what I did, and by the time we left, Jeff and I swore we were through taking our kids out in public. But the week was just beginning...

DAY 2- We had reservations on the Durango/Silverton train at 9:45. It is one of the oldest trains in the west, daily making the 45 mile trip from Durango to Silverton. We thought it would be an awesome experience and booked it. The 3.5 hour trip to Silverton was great. The scenery was beautiful, time went by quickly, and no one seemed bored at all. Once we got to Silverton, we hoped we would be able to explore the old mining town before getting back on the train. We were disappointed. Silverton is nothing more than a giant tourist trap. There are lots of cute buildings and shops, but everything is overpriced, the food isn't that great, and there was nothing authentic about it at all. We loaded back on the train at 2:30, expecting to get back to Durango by 7:00. But we had a lot of delays on the way back, including a 30-45 minute stop while a rock the size of a small truck was removed from the tracks. By the time we made it back, it was 8:00, and we were all more than a little anxious to get off the train. Eight hours in one day is asking a little much, even with the beautiful scenery, candy to eat, and games to play on mom and dad's phones. Here we are posing in front of the engine in Silverton.

This was the car we rode on, an open gondola car with the seats facing out. This was before we started, when the kids were still in good spirits.

Overall, I wouldn't do it again. If you were interested in riding the train, I would seriously advise paying the extra $17 to ride the bus back (although at $81 for an adult, and $50 for a child, that extra $17/person really makes it an expensive day). You would save 2 hours off the return trip, but still get all the enjoyment of riding on a train through the mountains.

After we got off the train, we drove to Mesa Verde National Park, where we were camped for the night. Because of our late arrival, we ended up setting up camp in the dark and going to bed shortly after. The air mattress Jeff and I were sleeping on sprang a hole, and we were sleeping on nothing but the ground by morning. I literally had a bruise on my lower back the next day. Quickly, we decided that we needed to find another air mattress before our next night of camping.

DAY 3-We spent the day at Mesa Verde, taking tours of some pretty amazing Pueblo Indian ruins. We toured Balcony House in the morning and Cliff Palace in the afternoon. It really was quite amazing. The only downside was having to go in a group tour, and listening to the guide talk about the Indian people for an hour each tour. The kids were ever so bored, not particularly caring that most of the women got married between 12-14 and only lived to their mid-twenties, or that 50% of babies died in childbirth. They just wanted to climb the ladders and get a closer look at the ruins. This was our first tour of the day, and the only way to the ruin was up this 32 foot ladder. The kids did amazingly well. They are good climbers. Carter took the easy way on Jeff's back in the backpack.

We decided to skip our last planned hike to Spruce Tree House, as the kids had had their fill of Indian ruins for the day. We drove instead back to Utah, stopping in Cortez, CO when I saw a WalMart. There we got more ice for the ice chest and a new air mattress for Jeff and me. I've only been more excited to see a WalMart once in my life. We had planned to camp near Bluff, UT, but we must have blinked as we drove through it, because we missed anything that resembled a campground. Instead, we drove to Mexican Hat, where we hoped to find a place to eat. As it was starting to get dark once again, we opted for frozen burritos from the gas station. And I must admit, they tasted fantastic. We drove a little further, to a place called Goosenecks of San Juan, where we looked and looked for a campground that we had seen on the map. Finally, as the sun was setting, we located it, and set up camp once again.

This was a much better night of camping, on a full air mattress with my ear plugs in, although I did wake up once sure there was an animal outside our tent. Jeff assured me it was just the wind, but I didn't sleep particularly deeply after that.

DAY 4-We spent this day in the middle of nowhere. Technically, it was Cedar Mesa, between Bluff and Blanding, UT, but I think it was more likely the middle of nowhere. We took the kids on a hike to some more Indian ruins, this one called "Fallen Roof," in a place called Road Canyon. It ended up being longer and more strenuous than we anticipated, but the kids didn't complain much. It took us about 2.5 hours round trip to make it back to the car. We were all tired (I carried Carter in the backpack for this one) and dirty, but it was actually a lot of fun.
Here is our family shot. Carter, who didn't get to take a good nap for many days, was ready to leave, and Damon was trying to comfort him.

He did like to snack on an apple, though, although he mostly just sucked and drooled and made a huge mess. I guess that's what roughing it is all about...


And here is the shot Jeff got. Pretty cool.

We also stopped by National Bridges National Monument, where we drove through the park, ate lunch, and looked at some natural bridges (different from arches, in that they are made from running water) from the viewpoints. No one wanted to hike anymore, so we continued on our way.

We drove to Blanding and checked into our motel there. I put Carter to bed in the room and took the other three kids to the pool, while Jeff stayed with Carter. I tried to keep them there as long as possible, so Carter could get one good nap in, and we probably made it at least an hour and half. Kyla, who thinks she is invincible, climbed on the railing that leads into the pool and fell straight down on her face. She bit her lip and scraped her face a little bit, but was back in the pool within 10 minutes. The water felt as warm as the hot springs pool, and was actually too warm for me.

We went back to the room, showered, and walked next door to Old Tymers Restaurant where we had dinner. I am glad to report that our "restaurant manners" were much better this night, and the kids were rewarded with an old time stick of candy (like a flavored candy cane, only in stick form) from the restaurant. We relaxed in our room, as the kids watched The Suite Life of Zach and Cody (I heard Jeff chuckle once or twice, too) and then we drifted off to sleep.

DAY 5-We checked out of our hotel and drove to another hike Jeff wanted to do. He promised this one would be shorter and not as hard as Fallen Roof. So we headed into another canyon to another ruin called "House on Fire." The kids were not quite so eager to hike this day. There was far less climbing and far more walking than our hike the previous day, and it gave them a lot of time to remember how tired and thirsty they were. But we made it, and were once again rewarded with a cool view.


Here is Kyla posing in the doorway of the house.

We then drove to Monticello, where we stopped at a park for lunch. The kids had a great time playing at the skate park, sliding around on their behinds and socks. Monticello seems like a cool little town, and we have talked about going back. Then, we drove the 45 miles or so to Moab, where we set up camp for the night. Jeff wanted to do one more hike, but no one would go with him. So, he hiked to a place called False Kiva in Canyonlands while we waited for him back on the road. He went fast, and made it back in just over an hour. I definitely want to hike there when we go back, it looks so pretty.


We drove back to Moab, had a quick dinner at Burger King, then took the family to Despicable Me at the theater. Jeff didn't get to enjoy much of the movie, because Carter wasn't cooperating, but the rest of us really enjoyed it. We drove back to our campground on the way to Canyonlands, and went to bed.

DAY 6-Our last morning started before sunrise. Jeff wanted us all to experience sunrise at Dead Horse Point, so we got up at 6:00 and got to the lookout just as the sun was coming up. Allie wasn't too thrilled to be there (she is NOT a morning person), but she warmed up once we busted out the chocolate chips muffins. I don't know why Kyla is looking sad, she was actually quite happy to be there.


As the morning wore on, the clouds dissipated, and Jeff got a really great shot of Dead Horse Point.

Really, it was quite spectacular, and a nice way to end our trip.

We went back to camp, loaded up, and headed home. And despite a 45 minute delay in Spanish Fork Canyon, we still made it home by 1:00.

Phew. Are you still with me? That was a lot, I know. But it needed to be documented. Looking back, I can't believe we did all that we did with four small kids. And they really were very well-behaved, except those few times we'd rather forget. Kyla kept us laughing with all the funny things that she said. Here are a few of my favorites:

She laughed a funny laugh I had never heard before and I asked her what that was, to which she responded, "That's my fancy laugh."

She told us multiple knock-knock jokes, but the best one was about a bear dancing around in a bikini.

While we were cleaning up camp, she yelled to Damon and Allie, "Come get your pillows, you women!"

And..."If Allie drinks lots of root beers, she'll have a fat baby."

I don't know where she came up with all of that, but we were highly entertained.


Some other facts:

We brought a dry ice chest full of food and one with ice for drinks. Because of that, and the two continental breakfasts at hotels, we only had to buy one meal a day. It worked out very nicely, but the kids were sick of meat/cheese/crackers, and Allie wouldn't touch lemonade by the end of the trip, but it really helped us with our budget and our flexibility, being able to stop and eat whenever we wanted to.

I read The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo to the family as we drove (she is the author of Tale of Despereaux and Because of Winn Dixie, if her name sounds familiar). That was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. The book was a good length for us, and enjoyed by all.

Really, there was not a lot of fighting on the trip. Probably the biggest fights were over what movie they were going to watch in the car. And the fighting between Jeff/me and the kids all had to do with lying still and going to sleep at night. I was amazed at how much fun we had together. I think it bodes well for trips in the future.

I lost my pillow in Durango (it got left on the bed as we were packing) and my shoes in Blanding. The pillow was my fault. I think my shoes were stolen. I thoroughly searched the room before we left, concluding that I must have packed them, but we got home and no shoes. I did the second hike in my flip flops. It was an adventure. Somewhere, some maid at the Comfort Inn in Blanding is sporting some nice Adidas shoes. :(

Rock Jar

We've been gone for a week on our family trip. Miss me?

As you can imagine, I have much to document in way of our travels. But Jeff is currently editing the photos, as he was the camera man for the trip, so that will have to wait. I did want to post something that happened before we left.

My friend, Heather W., had an amazing idea about how to reward kids for their positive behavior, instead of focusing on the negative. We stole this idea from her. I had an empty jar and an ample supply of fishtank rocks. Any time we caught the kids being good (obeying the first time they were asked, helping each other out, etc), we rewarded them with a rock in the jar. They could also earn a rock in the jar every day all their jobs get done. Even still, with a plethora of opportunities to earn rocks, it took the kids nearly a year to fill the jar.

And so, when it came time to pay up, we knew it had to be something good. The kids decided on bowling and ice cream. Yes, they may be a tad deprived if they are willing to work for a year for one night of bowling and ice cream, but so be it.

We invited my brother, Eric, to come along, because let's face it, any time the number of adults come close to equaling the number of children, it's a good thing.

We went to BYU, because that is our favorite place to bowl. It brings back fond memories to Jeff, who took a bowling class there while we were dating. It wasn't crowded at all, and no one yelled at us when Damon's ball somehow jumped the gutter from our lane and started rolling down the lane next to us, prompting Damon to take off at a sprint to retrieve his ball. Yes, friends, BYU is a great place to bowl. At least in the summer when most of the sane students are selling pest control. Or getting married.

Kyla couldn't keep herself from picking the balls off the rack and dropping them on the ground. It was fun for her. And she always wanted to use the heaviest balls when it was her turn to bowl.


Jeff opted for his own bowling shoes. And his own bowling ball. Consider him economical.

And although Jeff racked up the best score of the night, Damon was the one with the most strikes. He had three. And the girls celebrated with him. If you look closely, you can see Kyla's mouth in the middle of the hoopla.

It was a fun night. Which we proved by making silly faces. And pretending to lick the ball.

Frozen yogurt was consumed after the bowling, and Damon made sure to get his money's worth. I'm sure his cost over $5.00 alone after he somehow filled his dish with every kind of yogurt before I gave him the "only take a little" speech. Oh well. I guess when you have to wait for a year, you take what you want.

Now the rock jar sits empty again. I'm not sure how motivating it will be to put rocks in it again. We shall see...

This week

1. I took the girls to a preview of "Cinderella," put on by the Hale Center Theater youth group. They did a free performance at the library, and the girls loved it. I knew they would. We got a couple pictures with cast members after the play. (Photos from my phone, and I'm still learning how to get good pictures with it, hence the weird coloring)

2. Carter has put up with a lot lately. During swim lessons, he tried on Damon's goggles. Not a fan. But he did seem to like his second experience with the swing at the park.

3. Allie wanted to ride her bike without training wheels. I was sure she was going to fall and would throw a huge fit, refusing to ride again for months (like Damon did). She surprised us all. She rode, she fell, she didn't cry, she rode again, and she has picked it up much more easily than I thought she would.

4. One day the kids were bored. Hmm, sounds like every day we don't have something planned. This particular day they made a fort. With tunnels. It was a lot of work. And I made them take it down before dinner. But it made for a fun afternoon.

5. Carter started eating sweet potatoes this week. And Kyla insisted on feeding him.

6. I got my first food from a co-op today (Bountiful Baskets). Pretty happy with the food I got for $15.

(7 plums, small seedless watermelon, bananas, 7 ears of corn, 3 English cucumbers, grapes, green cauliflower, lettuce, 5 lb potatoes, 3 tomatoes and 7 peaches).

Carter Update

So, it's been a little over a week since I started "sleep training" with Carter, and I must admit, it's going better than expected. Here is a journal style post of how it has gone:

DAY 1-Jeff had a meeting, so I had to take all the kids to Relief Society with me. By the time we got home, Carter didn't get in bed until 9:30 (he was ready much earlier). He woke up at 5:30 and I fed him the 4 oz bottle. He cried when it was gone, but went back to sleep easily.

DAY 2-Went to bed at 8:30. Woke up at 3:00 and I gave him the binky. Woke again at 4:00 and I gave him 3 oz. Went back to sleep easily.

DAY 3-8:30 bed time. Woke at 5:30 and I gave him 2 oz. He cried for a while, but went back to sleep until around 7:30.

DAY 4-We had a family reunion in Heber, where we were sharing cabins with Jeff's family. I had planned on feeding him 4 oz during the night, just so no one would have to listen to him cry. He had a hard time going to bed, and didn't fall asleep until late (being woken up by Kyla certainly didn't help anything). To my surprise, he didn't wake up at all during the night, and I didn't feed him again until it was light (my concept of time wasn't good, but it was probably after 7:00).

DAY 5- I put him to bed at 8:10. He wasn't hungry, so I didn't feed him then. I gave him a "topper" at 10:30 before I went to bed. He woke up at 3:30 and I gave him the binky. He went back to bed and woke up at 7:30.

DAY 6-Bed between 8:30 and 9:00. Woke up at 3:30. Binky and back to sleep.

DAY 7-Bed 8:00. My friend, April, dropped by unexpectedly at 9

:30, so I woke him up so she could meet him. He went back to bed around 10:00 and slept until 7:30.

DAY 8 (last night)-Jeff watched him while I went to a baby shower. I put him to bed when I got home at 10:00. Woke at 4:30. Binky and back to sleep until 7:30.

So, it seems a pattern has emerged. It's clear he doesn't need to drin

k a bottle during the night. And my nighttime routine has become sticking a binky in his mouth between 3:00 and 4:30. I am tempted to just let him cry himself back to sleep, but there is always the worry that he will do so by sucking his thumb/fingers (I have seen him do this before). So for at least another week, I will get up and give him the binky, then reevaluate.

I love this picture. I use the pack n play as a changing table downstairs, and one day I left Carter there while I did something else. Kyla, who absolutely cannot leave him alone, found a way to be close to him. As a side note, look at Carter's thighs.

Stitches

If you had to choose one of your children to fall and split their chin open, who would you choose? The oldest, a boy, who would be less likely to be affected by a scar on his face when he was older?#2, a drama mama, who is afraid of any drops of blood, because you think it would be good for her to realize that things will turn out okay? #3, the tough one, the one who didn't cry when she lost got shots, but instead gave the nurse an evil look, because you know she is the most likely to be brave? Or the baby, who is also the least likely trip and fall, because he can't even sit up yet, so how in the world could he trip and fall?

You'd pick #3? So would I. And lucky for me (but maybe not so lucky for you, because #1 and #2 probably would have made for a better story), it was Kyla. Here's the story: we were at a family reunion up in Heber this weekend and all the kids were playing. We had been there about an hour, so they were still interested in doing things besides annoying Jeff and me. We heard Kyla crying, and Jeff went over to see what was wrong. She had fallen on a big rock and was bleeding from her chin. After we got some of the blood cleaned up, it was pretty obvious that the cut, while not real big, was pretty deep, and she'd need stitches.

One of the benefits of having so many family members in health care is that someone not only usually has a suture kit, but also the ability to stitch up anything simple. But unfortunately, no one had a suture kit, not even the camp hosts. So, Jeff loaded Kyla up and drove her to Provo, calling his oral surgeon buddy, Mike Harris, on his way down. He drove her to Dr. Harris' office, where she got 4 shots of lidocaine and 5 stitches. He said she didn't cry at all, but at one point during the sutures said, "I felt that!" A couple of hours later, they returned to the reunion, where Kyla was extremely proud of her battle wound. And since she can't seem to keep a band-aid on it, she felt it her responsibility to keep it clean by soaking it in chocolate milk.

As a side note, look at how crowded her teeth are. Not a good sign for a 3 year old. Anyone know a good orthodontist?

Eat, Drink and be Merry

Carter has the life. He basically gets whatever he wants. He is a fairly high maintenance child who is only happy when he is getting his way. And for some reason, we are all too happy to give him what he wants. It makes life easier for the rest of us. He is most content if he is riding around on my shoulders. Maybe it gives him a better view of the world, I don't know. But I do know that he will be happy for a MUCH longer time if I am carrying him than any other way.

As a result, though, I have aching shoulder muscles. But I tell myself that the best way to get the last few pounds off is to haul an extra 19 pounds around. That should do the job. I'm hoping...

I did decide it was time for him to have some rice cereal. At five months, I think it was time.

He is great at opening his mouth whenever he sees the spoon coming, probably because he likes to suck/gnaw on anything that comes near his mouth, but not so great at swallowing. But we're working on it.

I was hopeful that the rice would help him get full enough to sleep all the way through the night. But I haven't seen a difference yet. He still wakes up once during the night to eat, and usually once or twice more when I have to give him the binky. But that is all about to change. Little Mr. Rule-the-House is about to be overthrown. Up until now, I have been making excuses for him; he was a sick little guy after all. But the tiny baby who had compromised lungs is gone. And this Chubby Bubby doesn't need to be eating during the night.

For some reason, feeding has always been such a chore with Carter. He is hungry, but he nearly always cries, gags, and puts up a fight when I feed him. The only peaceful feeding he has is during the night. Which is another reason I have been easy on him. No more. My plan is to cut back how much he gets during the night (start at 4 ounces, go to 3, than 2 than 1 than nothing) during the next few nights. I also think I am going to let him cry more to get himself back to sleep. He doesn't seem to have a problem crying himself to sleep during the day, so I know he is capable. It's time to break the bad habits. And I don't think Carter is going to like it one little bit. But the three older kids were all sleeping through the night consistently by 3 months. And if you factor in the fact that he was 2 weeks early and spent 2 weeks in the hospital, he has still caught up. No more excuses. Wish me luck!

If my plans fail, maybe I'll let him sleep in the swing with a bunch of toys. Seemed to work this day!

And this picture makes me smile. It's from my phone, and not the best quality, but Kyla and Carter were "helping" me do laundry yesterday.

The Rest

The biggest part of our Fourth of July celebrations was mealtime. We had many big gatherings with lots of good food. And we kept sending the kids out on the deck to eat. Eric felt bad for them, as they were roasting in the late afternoon sun, and he built this tent for them. So nice.

A few of us "lucky ones" got to go to Stadium of Fire. I hadn't been in several years (since Martina McBride was the headliner, in fact), and didn't have any interest in forking out $50 for the event. But then they booked Carrie Underwood. And how could I say no? I couldn't. Especially when Jeff said he would stay with the kids. I didn't take any pictures, but stole a few from my cousin's Facebook account (me, my cousin Addison, and my bro, Eric, on our way!).


We agreed that on a scale of 1-10, Carrie was a 10. The rest of the show was a 5. Total score=7.5. Worth it, but not the best ever.

We also swam plenty. Both in the pool and in the tub. Girls in one tub, boys in another. Here are the girls:

And one of our lone swimming pictures. I was trying to upload a video of Kyla being tossed in the air by Grandpa Dale, but it is taking too long. Maybe later when I have more patience I will do that...along with the other things I promised in earlier posts...

Happy Fourth (on the Eleventh)!!

Letter from Damon

Damon wrote a letter (via my sister, Heather) to my brother who is on a mission in Argentina about his baptism. I had to share (thanks Heather for doing this!).

Dear Elder Jonathan:
On your birthday was my baptism. I am so happy I got baptized on your birthday. I'm going to send you a picture of me and my dad in white clothes. I felt warm inside. I got the Holy Ghost and I felt so good. And I sang a solo called When I Am Baptized. Are you doing a good job on your mission? Has anyone listened to you? Have you felt the Holy Ghost? Because those are the things I felt at my baptism. On my birthday I had a pinata, water balloons, and a yellow cake. I had a very fun time. My cousins came over to celebrate my party and my baptism. I am having a really fun time with everyone here, even though Heather is sleeping in my bed. Guess what Grandpa Dale gave me for my birthday? A geode. It is big like two grapefruits put together and it is blue inside. I love it a lot. It's supposed to mean the solid foundation so you can build a strong testimony in Jesus and not on sand, like Satan. Um. And. I hope you had a very fun time.
Love, Damon

Damon

Our fourth of July weekend started out with a quick visit from our best friends from dental school, Jenn and Joe Whitesides. We had such a good time visiting with them, and even though they didn't have their two boys, our kids made up for it with their excitement.

Things really started to get busy on the 2nd, when this handsome boy turned 8.

We have been talking about his baptism for a long time, and I honestly can't believe that day is already here. He has grown a lot since we first started taking these pics of him in his daddy's shirt. You can see his legs now. But he still has a ways to go before he can fill it out (phew!).

My family was already planning on being here for the Fourth, so we were excited to find out that Damon would be getting baptized on the third. And although he didn't get to have a party with friends (it was just too much for me, having to host all my family and plan an after baptism get together), he still had a great birthday. Here he is sampling his favorite food--sushi! Harmon's has the best.


He wanted a rainbow cake, but we were running out of time, so all he got was a yellow and green cake (yellow is his favorite color). You can see some of our chaos in the background. It was SO much fun having all my family here, but I think it will take me at least a week to get everything back together.

Saturday was a very special day. There was only one other child in the stake getting baptized, so Damon got to plan a lot of what he wanted to happen. He asked Tara to give the talk on the Holy Ghost, Heather to play the piano, Kimmy to lead the music and Noel to say the prayer. He also prepared a song to sing (which he sang wonderfully--must remember to get video).


Really, it was so special and I am so proud of him and his eagerness to do what's right. Happy birthday Damon! I love you!

Here are 8 things I love about him:

1. He is so determined. Although he often gets frustrated, he never gives up. He always wants to be the best and he's going to keep at it until he is. He must have done over a hundred flips on the trampoline before he landed on his feet.

2. He is very sensitive to the spirit. I told him once at FHE that someday he will have to pray and ask Heavenly Father if the Church is true. He told me he already has and he already knows that it is.

3. He is very responsible. He cleans his own room, makes his own bed, gets himself ready for school (including making his lunch), all with minimal reminding.

4. He has a beautiful singing voice and some great dance moves (the singing voice Jeff is okay with; the dance moves he is not.)

5. He has the best laugh. Really and truly.

6. He loves to dress up for church. And sometimes at home when the girls are in their play dresses. So we bought him a nice suit for his birthday. He looks great (must remember to take a pic)

7. He is a saver. He has saved over $50 during the past few years and when I asked what he is going to buy, he said, "I'm saving it for my mission."

8. He is a great helper. I always thought I wanted to have a girl first, to help me with the kids, but he is a great brother. He loves his sisters and Carter and looks out for them. I'm truly blessed to be his mom.