Thanksgiving 2009

We were fortunate enough to spend the week of Thanksgiving with all of my family in Sacramento. I was able to visit my parents and all my siblings. We had fun cooking, eating, visiting, and playing games. We also planned some fun activities:

• Saturday we made the drive.
  
• Sunday we attended church and had a great spaghetti dinner prepared by my brother Kimber and Dee.
  
• Monday we took a tour of a gold mine (Sutter Gold Mine) with my uncle Kirt and aunt Krista and family. My how my cousins have grown! We stopped by their house on the way back.
  
• Tuesday I took the kids to the Sacramento Railroad Museum (CSRMF) and for a horse-drawn carraige ride in Old Town.
  
• Wednesday everybody went up to Apple Hill to hang out for a while.
  
• Thursday we cooked, ate, played games, and visited.
  
• Friday we went to the Sacramento Zoo together.
  
• Saturday we made the drive back home.
  

Thanks to my family for all the fun and to my parents for hosting us for our Thanksgiving vacation. Click below to follow all the fun:

Thanksgiving 2009

Havasu Falls

The good thing about being between semesters on the holiday break is that I can try and catch up on the blog. A few months ago I caught up with my friend from Ricks College, Brit. He and his entourage were heading down to the Havasupai reservation on the Grand Canyon to hike Havasu Falls and invited me to tag along. This hike has been on my list for years, so I was excited for the chance.

With a borrowed Chevy Suburban I picked up the crew from the airport, made a quick stop by the house to rearrange the backpacks and fill up with water, then drove to the Hilltop Trailhead (36.160005°, -112.709277°). Due to the travel time, we started on the trail about 5:30pm to make the 9.7 mile hike to the campground. It was getting dark by the time we arrived at Supai village (36.236485°, -112.688881°), so we hiked past the sound of Navajo Falls and Havasu Falls in the dark without being able to see them. The campground was fairly full and it was difficult to see in the dark to find a good resting place, but we found a nice spot right next to the river toward the farthest end of the campground.

This, of course, was my first time here, but from what I read, the campground was expanded since being reconstructed after the flood of August 2008. We especially enjoyed the new triple and quad berth, solar-powered composting latrines. The erosional forces of the flood water altered the waterfalls significantly and was very evident when comparing photos I researched before the trip to what I saw while I was there. One of the falls, Navajo Falls, was wiped out completely and two new waterfalls were formed, New Navajo Falls and Rock Falls. You can read about the changes on the tribe's website (http://www.havasupaitribe.com/waterfalls.html).

Our first day, we traveled downstream from the campground to swim in Mooney Falls, then continued the hike down to what we think is Beaver Falls. The rope swing below Mooney Falls was especially refreshing around noon with the sunshine reaching the bottom of the canyon. Our hike took us through the beautiful valley of vines and carried us a total of about 4 miles round-trip back to the campground. The second day we hiked back upstream to visit Havasu Falls, Rock Falls, and New Navajo Falls. By lunch we decided to begin our hike back out of the canyon, but we only made it as far as the village before we decided to fore go the beautiful hike out and take the helicopter ride instead. This got us back to Chili's restaurant in Kingman, AZ by dinner and back to Las Vegas by nightfall.

I knew that this trip would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience as it was every bit as beautiful as I imagined from the pictures I had seen. What I didn't expect was such a strong desire to return again. I highly recommend it. Let me know if you would like more details or especially if you would like to invite me along on your trip to guide.

Click below to see most of my pictures from the trip:

Havasupai Trip

So much #2

Also in October Kalvan put together a Geo Caching field trip for Sage's class. Using a GPS, they had to hunt for three points within sunset park. The first was a little roll of paper tucked into a palm tree they got to sign to show that they'd been to the cache. The second was inside the Clark County Park and Recreation building at Sunset park where they got to trade an item they brought with them for something in the cache box. The last point was a stashed box of cookies I'd placed on the play ground. They all had so much fun being outside and hunting for treasure! We stayed at the park for a picnic lunch and a quick lesson by Mrs. Barillas (2nd Grade Teacher) on the GPS/compass tools Heavenly Father has provided us.

The following weekend we were delighted to have Kal's niece, Brooke, her husband and baby come for a visit. In the morning we headed up to Red Rock Canyon for a hike.

The day after was our ward's primary presentation and Kaleb's 10th birthday! Kaleb is so excited to finally be 10 and advance into webelos. He completed his bear back in June and has been itching to move on. It may surprise you to know that Kaleb prefers pie to cake. He's my citrus boy. He loves most things lemon or lime flavored. So for his birthday he chose a lemon meringue pie.

For Kaleb's birthday he got to go try out kart racing. He did a fantastic job and had some fun too.

For his friend party Kaleb and 3 of his friends went to see "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs". It's was such a funny movie and the boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

MR. CLEAN - HALLOWEEN - NEED I SAY MORE?

The evening after Kaleb's party was our ward Trunk r' Treat Sage made a beautiful Mulan, Karter is still obsessed with Mickey Mouse, and Kaleb was a frightening ninja.

On Halloween we had soup, went trick or treating and had a sugary good time!

So much to tell, where to begin...

Hello all!

I've been very bad about updating our blog. Since school started we've done so much and there's so much to share. I'll start with Karter's birthday. Karter turned 4 this year! As most children he was so excited to get on with the birthday festivities he didn't even change out of his pajamas before opening his gifts. It still seems crazy to me that he could be so big already!

The Saturday following his birthday we held his friend party. We had so much fun eating cake, playing with an AHA parachute and opening presents. The only planned activity was the parachute which I borrowed from our school. It wasn't Karter's favorite since he ran smack into a larger child under the parachute right off the bat. The rest of us had a great time right up until the spriklers came on. I'll have to remember to turn those off next time.

Karter was so happy to spend some time with all his adorable friends.

Three days after Karter's birthday we celebrated my birthday. It was great!!! I was pampered, fed, loved and got new shoes! My funny hubby even wore colors that matched my new skirt and shoes to church the day after my birthday.

As promised here are my adorable kids in uniform. This picture was taken on Constitution Night at American Heritage.

Each class at American Heritage is asked to create a "class constitution". The kids get to give their input on what they want in their constitution. Each year in mid-September the school does Constitution Night so each child in each class has the opportunity to come up and sign their class constitution in front of parents, friends and teachers (there's no backing out of the constitution after everyone you know has seen you sign it). This year our guest speaker was David Holland (Jeffrey R. Holland's son). He's a history professor at UNLV and a constitution guru. I didn't get many pictures of the kids signing since I had to stand at the Kinder-school table and help my students sign.

That brings us to October. We had a Kinder-school field trip to the ONLY orchard in the Las Vegas Valley. It's called Gillcrease Orchard. The kids were so dang cute. Most were dressed up in their western best. They had the opportunity to pick apples from the trees and select a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. We had a great time and everyone (including me) were ready

for naps when we got back to the school. Unfortunately a few of my kids couldn't make it so not all are in the picture.

Where did summer go?

We've been quite busy these last few weeks getting ready for school to start. We are NOT ready for summer to end!

Kaleb and Sage finished out summer with a bang in Cedar City at Cousin's Camp 2009 August 3rd thru 8th. They had a blast with Grandma Pam and Aunt Lynn and all the cousins! Highlights include swimming at the rec. center, Annie at Tuacahn, Bryce Canyon NP with more swimming at the Tropic Ditch waterfall, and fun at the park complete with water fights and lots of great food and goodies. Karter, Miki and I got to stay at Aunt Lynn's the last night to join in the fun before heading back home to the Las Vegas heat. The kids are already talking about how they can't wait for Cousin's Camp next year in Colorado. Thanks again Grandma!

Kaleb and Sage started school August 17th. Kaleb is now in 4th grade and Sage is in 2nd grade. My second year MBA classes started August 24th. Miki has been diligently preparing her K-4 curriculum and getting her classroom ready. Her classes started September 1st. That also means school started for Karter since he is in Miki's class and loving it. Everyone is doing very well so far in their classes. Stay tuned for a picture of the kids in their school uniforms.

Whenever we have a break, we try to squeeze in some swimming or a movie. We've scrambled to have some last minute BBQs with friends. It's the mid-day nap that seems to be needed the most, though.

And since Labor Day weekend traditionally marks the end of summer, we decided to fit in some more family fun while we can. September 5th we visited the Las Vegas Old Mormon Fort, one of the many places on our list we hadn't had a chance to see yet. They had a little scavenger hunt for the kids that made it quite fun for everyone.

We also got to go hiking Labor Day morning at one of my favorite hikes around these parts: Anniversary Mine/Lovell Wash Narrows. It is the closest slot canyon to Las Vegas that I know of and is absolutely spectacular. I could spend all day there watching the sun cast its light to create rainbows of reds on the deep canyon walls. Click the link below to see my attempts to capture the grandeur:

Lovell Wash Narrows

Now it's back to homework, homework, and more homework until Christmas. We are already looking forward to the Thanksgiving break!

Sweet Balsamic Vinegarette

I have a fabulous cousin who has encouraged me to include a recipe here and there on my blog. So, I'm starting with the one she requested. Since trying it at my mother's house it has become our favorite. Give it a try, you won't be sorry.

Sweet Balsamic Vinegarette

1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup Sweetener - Sugar or Splenda
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3/4 - 1 tsp. salt
2 - 4 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp. basil
1 Tbsp. fresh parsley

Pioneer Day Celebration

So after almost 9 years and 8 July 24th pioneer day celebrations, we hadn't been to one...until this year. It fell on Saturday, July 25th this year. Three stakes combine efforts to put on a huge celebration complete with parade. American Heritage Academy had a float entry which we helped decorate and pull behind our truck...



...followed by a traditional hosing of the crowd by the fire department...



...a huge pancake breatfast...







...and dozens of booths with crafts, games, and information both indoor and out. There must have been over 2,000 people there. It was quite fun!

Conversation of the Day

After bath Karter wanted me to comb his hair up "spikey". At his urging he ended up with a mohawk. Proud of his new do he headed downstairs to show his dad and the conversation went like this:

Karter: "Daddy do you like my hair?"

Dad: "I love it!"

Karter: with a smile, "That's because you don't have any."

Hanging out in Hoodoo Lounge

Last weekend, Miki had her annual retreat at the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City, so I offered to chauffeur her to and from to get a little change of scenery and away from the Vegas heat we love so dearly. After some Friday lunch at Iceberg, the kids and I left Miki in good hands as we headed up Cedar Mountain and across to Bryce Canyon National Park for two nights of camping, hiking, and hot chocolate by the campfire. We had a blast! Unfortunately three-quarters of the park was closed due to a lightning fire they had been fighting for nearly a month. And of course they couldn't have announced that on the website I scoured for hours the night before, planning out our itinerary. The park was a little more crowded. Let's just say that the open portion of the park is very familiar to us now. In fact, it forced us back out the park entrance to hike Mossy Cave, which turned out to be a welcomed refreshment as we discovered the fall/winter flowing waterfall of Tropic Ditch.

The kids and I had fun hiking and spending quality time together. Hopefully we will be able to return again someday to see the portions of the park that were closed. Click the photo album below to follow along and see the beautiful park of Bryce Canyon.

Bryce Canyon NP

California Fun!!!

I love summer!!! I love that Kal and the kids are out of school, the sunshine, swimming, and even the smell of sunblock. We had a fantastic vacation in Sacramento where we caught up with Kalvan's family. The kids were thrilled to see cousins they hadn't seen in a long time and meet some they didn't remember or hadn't met before. A large portion of our trip was spent getting ready for

or camping. We camped for 3 nights at Lake Clementine. In Kal's family you don't just drive out to a camp ground and go camping. They load up the ski boats and head off to a lake. It's genius I tell you, pure genius. Lake Clementine is a beautiful lake on the the American River not far from Auburn, CA. We spent 4 days in the sun water skiing and catching up with family and friends.

While we were out camping we celebrated Kalvan's birthday. It seems we are always on vacation for his birthday, but it's been a long time since he was able to spend a birthday with so much of his family. Happy birthday honey, you're so good looking!

It was exciting to get to go to a BBQ where a large majority of Kal's High school/ward friends had a little reunion! If only all kids could grow up with such a fun group.

For the 4th of July we decided to take it easy and let the kids recover from the colds they caught while we were out on the lake. After a long nap Sage, Karter and I took a little trip out to visit Katie's thorough bred horse Honey (Katie is Kal's niece). Sage was in heaven and much to my surprise Karter felt up to riding too. Thanks so much Katie for letting us visit your beautiful horse! Sage can't stop talking about it.

Of course we couldn't get through a 4th of July without fireworks. At the last minute we ran to a stand and bought a few sparklers and little fire crackers. The kids had a great time!

See our photo albums by clicking the images above.

Quote

"You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing."
- Michael Pritchard

Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day is one of those great days when we get to reflect on our childhood with the fun and silly things we did with our father. I always grin about my father's trade mark statements like, "50 DOLLARS!!!", "Get a jooob, nananananana" (to the tune of a Beach Boys song), "have a funny day", or "keep your chin up". There's never been a doubt in my mind that my Dad loves me.

As for my children, I don't think they've ever doubted the love of their father either. Kalvan is a fabulous Dad who's always ready for a little party anytime I have to go to a meeting. It's been regularly stated that Dad's the fun guy. Karter informed me today that I'm "not the best anymore, daddy is." To which I responded that if I had to be out done by anyone at least it's Daddy.

Our Father's Day included lasagna, salad, garlic bread, Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, and chocolate, chocolate chip ice cream. It's a very predictable "Kalvan" meal. Believe it or not, he had strawberry lemonaide with that not chocolate milk. As I've said before, if there were such a thing as chocolate poisoning, Kalvan would be a prime candidate.

To all you Fathers out there Happy Father's Day! Thank you for all you do in raising happy, healthy, plate licking children.

Desert Princess

Miki and I are HEROES! Yep, we got vouchers to take a free cruise at Lake Mead on the Desert Princess in exchange for our blood. Thanks United Blood Services and Lake Mead Cruises! It was a nice sunny day at the lake with plenty of wind. We cruised from the Las Vegas Boat Harbor to Hoover Dam and back. Cruise time is about 1 hour and 45 minutes. The Desert Princess has a full bar and concessions aboard, which was a little too pricey for our budget. We found a quiet, shady spot on the first level at the bow of the boat for some quiet conversation and beautiful scenery.

The Hoover Dam bypass bridge is ready to add the keystone section to the arch in preparation for its end of 2010 opening. I would count on 2011 sometime with as many delays it has seen so far. Projected cost is $240 million. It will span just over a quarter mile section of Black Canyon when complete. As many times as we have experienced delays driving across the dam, we are looking forward to its completion.

Unfortunately, the gentle breeze we were hoping for turned downright gusty a majority of the cruise. Miki had slipped her flip-flops off for just a couple of minutes before I saw them go flying past me like two pidgeons dodging the front bumper of my truck. I dove, but was only able to catch one as it hit the railing and momentarily rested on the deck before continuing its slide toward the edge. The other one was long gone the way of the lake. Some lucky fish will be enjoying a free foam flip-flop this evening. We spent the rest of the cruise laughing together and trying to figure out how we were going to get Miki off the boat and back to the truck. Luckily the dock was not hot, so Miki bare footed it to the edge of the rocky parking area. I then gave her a piggyback the remaining hundred plus yards to the truck, only to find as we were pulling out of the parking area that my cell phone was then missing from my belt. Knowing that it went missing during the piggyback, we quickly turned the truck around and searched the piggyback path. Nothing. I ran into the pay desk and it was there, turned in by a good samaritan.
We then caught lunch at the A&W in Boulder City on the way back home. All-in-all we had a fun date. It made for a great story to tell the kids over dinner.
Follow the link below to follow along with our pictures and see the boat route as captured by the handy-dandy GPS watch:

Lake Mead - Desert Princess Cruise

Primary Water Fun

Yesterday afternoon was the water activity Miki planned for the Primary. The kids had a blast! Of course, after I got Miki with one itsy-bitsy water balloon, she had every kid there convinced that I was the enemy. I was surrounded on all sides. There was no escaping my soaking doom!

Friday Funday

I love my Fridays when the kids are out of school. It feels like I have two Saturdays in a week to get my errands and chores done. Even more so when we have an open-ended invitation to visit our friends swimming pool. Life is good!

Saturday Stroll

Last Saturday Miki helped work a roadshow booth at Costco, so the kids and I went on a little hike at Lake Mead NRA. Just below Lake Las Vegas where the wash runs into Lake Mead is the Wetlands Trail. It's one of the only hikes in Las Vegas where you can hike along running water, but since it is mostly urban runoff it carries an "urban" odor and color with it too.

Afterward, we picked up a Little Caesars pizza and headed to the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, where we ate lunch and continued our walk around Pond 3 to see many kinds of birds. The "cooler" weather with partly cloudy skies was perfect for getting outdoors.

Of course we stopped by Costco on the way home to check in on Mommy. Click the link below to see the highlights.

Lake Mead Wetlands Trail & Henderson Bird Preserve