This really awesome roller-coaster was in my parents basement for many years, entertaining all the little grandkids as they grew up. When my dad sold the house a few years back, the coaster made its way to my backyard where it was enjoyed for a short season. Then I got chickens. And they destroyed my backyard, for now it is a barren wasteland of dirt and chicken poop. Today I relocated the coaster to the front yard and now I am the envy of the neighborhood!
Imagine stepping in some mud, and being the last person to step in the mud, and then having people 165,000,000 years later find your steps in the now-stone mud. Well, we did that but it was from Dinosaur feet instead of Nike’s. Pretty fun! These footprints are a few miles down Willow Springs road just outside Arches, and if you continue going down Willow Springs road, you end up in Arches – but don’t need to pay! Pretty sweet, eh? The full road is about 8 miles and will take you 45-60 minutes to complete. You’ll need a 4 Wheel Drive as some spots are fun (rocky ledges) and your Camry just won’t do it. Eventually you’ll pop out by Balance Rock in Arches National Park.
Thirty-four years ago my family packed up everything and left Texas, heading to Utah where we’d end up settling ever since. We left on my birthday. That same day, my best-friend Jordan gave me a 20 car Micro Machines collection. I loved those cars! Over the years my collection grew and I played with them all the time; sometimes I’d be able to buy some, other times they would be prizes for practicing the piano. Beyond the cars, I ended up with a carrying case and a few little play area cities to enjoy. Sadly, one of them is more or less destroyed because I gave it to Emmett too soon in his life, and the other one is not in the best condition, but it’s is still playable. I recently brought them all back out for the kids to play and they’ve had fun all playing together.
A few days ago Emmett was playing with a tie-down trying to use it as a recovery strap. It was a bit too heavy and cumbersome for his RC cars. This morning the idea popped in my head to give him a few of the small bungee-cords I had in the camper. Voila! Emmett’s Off Road Recovery was born.
You’re 4. You’re growing up too quickly. You love to talk–non-stop when you have the opportunity. You love stuffies and anything cute, and always have to take some squishy kind of comfort when you go next-door in the morning, whether it’s your blankie or a stuffed animal. You still love to wear dresses most of the time and I absolutely love that. Your little soul craves so much snuggling it’s sometimes hard to keep you happy with that, but I do my best! For the past several months you come in to my room at some point in the middle of the night and finish up your sleep in my bed. I hope you never stop (although when Emmett or Elle want a turn, you’re kind of in the way and I feel bad about that).
Everyone that knows you just adores you, and it’s impossible to not feel more cheerful and happy after just a few minutes with you. You love to play around–too much! In the morning when I’m trying to get you ready and you’re playing run-away it just drives me crazy. But one day you’ll stop doing that and I’ll miss it, so I better enjoy it while I can.
The day after your birthday you woke up and asked “Daddy am I still 4?” and I quickly said “Yep, you’ll never be 3 again…” and that just broke my heart. I love you little Emily!
Tonight I introduced the kids to Sleeping Queens, a rather fun and young-friendly card game.
Winter has been brutally long; five solid months of terrible weather and an awful lot of snow. Last year, we took our first real campout to Goblin Valley near the end of March. The weather at home was pleasant, but the weather camping was perfect.
A few months back we planned another adventure to Goblin Valley in March yet again, but a few weeks earlier. When planning, we didn’t think it would be that big of a deal to be a few days early. Winter had another idea. It just kept on snowing. The week – heck, just a few days before leaving it was snowing! Always snowing! I probably should’ve cancelled the trip altogether, but I needed to get out of winter. I couldn’t stand it any longer.
So we left! A day later than planned (to avoid driving Hwy 6 in a snowstorm) but we left. About 2 hours in we stopped at a Rest Stop that’s a good halfway point. Everyone rushed to the bathroom… and then Emmett had to jump off the seat and throw up.
Sigh. We stayed at the Rest Stop for about an hour waiting for Emmett to feel better, or worse. Who wants to be sick and throwing up while camping? Ultimately, we decided to keep going, Emmett was feeling good enough to travel.
A few hours later we made it to Goblin Valley just a little bit before dark… and then Emmett threw up again. And again. And again. His stomach was determined to have nothing to do with food. Or water. Whatever went down came right back up. Poor guy. It was a rough night. While he laid out feeling pretty crummy, the girls and I played games and had some noisy fun in the camper. It was too dark and cold to be outside.
The next morning, we cautiously fed Emmett some breakfast and it stayed down! Whatever he had had run its’ course and we were back in business! The weather was mostly great; we hung out outside, played in the sand, and had a great time. It did end up sprinkling a few times, but all in all the weather was quite cooperative. I finally escaped winter. Take that, ya stupid season!
If you haven’t heard, Bluey is the new hot Kids show in town. But really it’s an Adults show. It’s just amazing. And it’s full of so many fun game ideas for Mom and Dad to play with their kids. I absolutely love it. Today I had the idea of playing Zoo with my girls since they have an incredible amount of Stuffed Animals. They loved it, and I loved it. 10/10 would absolutely do again.
