School Days

So, it was time for the happy naked dance. OK, so I really didn't carry it out like I'd been planning for five years. As I watched my eldest child walk into the big kindergarten room, I was, I don't know, a little sad...

Matt is a very active child. Beginning at the age of one week when I brought him home from the hospital the child was a ball of energy and frustration for his mother. For two months the child would scream five hours every evening and not sleep unless he was held. This, to me, was not what a new baby should do. They call it colic...whatever "colic" is, nobody knows. It's just a term: nobody knows what causes or how to fix it. It was hell: emotionally and physically. So, as much as I hate to admit it, at the time I was ready for kindergarten to start.

But, yesterday, as I watched my oldest baby blink harder and harder to keep the welled-up tears from spilling down his cheeks and his chubby hands holding tight to his Lightning McQueen backpack, I had instant regrets about wanting him to go. What if he forgets to get off the bus? What if wanders away from the playground?

He walked sullenly into Mrs. Clarke's class at Diamond Valley Elementary: all alone. And I walked back to the mini-van: not alone, but with two little brothers waving goodbye to their big brother. I think Milo actually missed Matt. We got home and Milo promptly put on Matt's new socks, shoes, belt, and underwear. So....either he missed Matt or he's just planning on taking over Matt's role at home.

Whiting Reunion

We had the R.E. Whiting family reunion over the weekend of July 24. This year the reunion took place at the Homestead near Springerville, Ariz. The year 1988 was the last time I was there, myself, and the place didn't even seem familiar. But, it was the area my great-great grandfather homesteaded at the turn of the century. My own grandparents used to have a cabin there and my mom and her sisters spent many summers rolling tires down the Sierra Trigo mountain.

On the way to the Homestead, we passed through Holbrook, Ariz. What a cool town! OK, so it's a little rundown now, but back in the 1950s I'm sure it was in its heyday. The main road into town is dotted with faded hotel signs that are reminiscent of the days of traveling Route 66 to see America. My Grandma and Grandpa Whiting actually ran a Whiting Brothers hotel and service station right on this road back in the mid-50s, and my Grandpa, living in Holbrook as a young boy, remembers the travelers coming through town during the 1930s Dust Bowl. Before he passed away in 1993, he said the scene looked just like it did in the movie "Grapes of Wrath."

The picture of the motel above is the famous "teepee hotel." If you have kids, Radiator Springs = Holbrook, Ariz.

Jason had to cook pancakes on the old Homestead grill.

Kassie playing with the ducks my Aunt Allison made for all the kids.

Tent City: these tents were huge!

Sierra Trigo

In a tiny little dot on the left side of the mountain is Matt and Emily climbing to the top.

From the tire rolling days, we found this tree that just grew up in the middle.

The Fourth

We spent the Fourth in Kanab at my Grandma's other house. My Aunt Laura got a pinata for the kids, Grandma terrorized Cooper by popping his balloon, and my kids were amazed at the fireworks!

Bryce Canyon 1/2 Marathon

I ran (and finished) the Bryce Canyon 1/2 Marathon this last weekend. I ran with my friend, Katie, and we maintained a 9:42 minute mile through 13.1 miles. It was a nice reminder about how hard the SG Marathon can be at points. The race goes from Ruby's Inn to Cannonville. The first four miles are great - downhill with a Bryce Canyon backdrop. And then you come to the bottom of the hill - pretty much flat, with slight hills, and really ugly terrain (kind of reminiscent of Whitewater, Colo.)

Katie and I stuck together. I love running with her - it's been so good for me to get to know her and some other ladies we do daily runs with in our ward. You always get to know someone better when you see each other as early as 4 am, endure good smells (essential oils) and bad smells (sweat), push each other to keep going through tears, and praise the man when you're done.

Anyway, it was a good run - I'm glad I'm taking the time to run and train for myself...or else I'd be an even more uptight wife/mom!

Lake Powell

Cousins: Milo, Savanah, Kylie, Avrie, Asia, Jemma

I have to say the highlight of the 4-day trip was the Jumbo Dog. Myself, along with my MIL, Mary, and three SsIL, Shaquel, Tiesha, and Kristen, jumped aboard. It was a blast (and I don't say that about stuff very often)! We totally felt like kids again - squealing, yelling, laughing, gulping water, and unintentionally trying to drown one other when the Dog would flip. When you become a wife/mom you kind of forget that you can still have those kid/teenage moments. Good times!

When we "do" Lake Powell, we always camp at Lone Rock Beach on the south end of the lake. And I'm proud to say that this year, my little family pretty much outlasted everyone! While everyone, at some point or another, got a hotel room, we stayed there through the dust storms, rain storms, wind, no wind, sun, and chill.

We've been camping the Po Man's way lately, though. When we were first married, in our young, foolish, and (mostly) debt-free days, we had a 37' toy-hauler fifth-wheel. That was downgraded to a 24' trailer, and now we just use a cargo trailer. Nobody, however, was complaining about our cargo trailer when we fit all 26 of us in there for dinner during a dust storm.

Cooper's favorite position on the boat

Our boat - isn't she a beauty?! (no, no, the little one on the left)

Sam

Kristen and Jimmy

We took turns fixing the meals.

Tiesha and Mary - the one time you'll see Mary in anything sleeveless. I was impressed, though, to see my father-in-law, Jim, in actual swim trunks instead of his usual slacks on the boat. I had to laugh, though: Jim, who owns a trucking company, suggested we bring a reefer (a refrigerated trailer) down to the lake to keep ourselves and our food cool....not a bad idea, except trying to navigate through two foot deep sand.

Cousins Connor and Rudy

Matt getting in position to water ski. Sam held him steady while Matt held tight to the ski rope hooked to a 4-wheeler on the beach. One of his uncles gave the 4-wheeler some gas and Matt was....

....up, and then down shortly after. He said he didn't want to try it again.