Here Comes the Storm

 You can see miles and miles from Rainbow Point. That was when we first saw some dark clouds. We figured we would go check in to the hotel and just rest until the clouds passed.We've had so many wildfires here lately, that my biggest worry was to have dry lightening-with us at 9,115 (and some cases 9,118 feet) high.  

We went to Ruby's Inn, checked in, set up a movie to watch until it looked a bit better outside. Instead we all fell slept for a few hours. We woke up at 5-ish. Just in time for dinner! However, the trip had messed up Heidi Anne so much; she thought her 2-hour nap was a whole night. She was so sure that it was breakfast time not dinner. She only believed us after the waitress at the restaurant confirmed to her it was dinnertime. 

After we ate the clouds still had that foreboding look; we decided it would be safer to stick close to the hotel. 
We explored the stores, galleries, and the area surrounding the Inn. That is when we noticed the clouds starting to gather and darken, which officially put an end to our outdoor adventure for the day.

 Heidi Anne had other plans. There was so much energy in her little body was really bouncing off the walls. 
She kept reminding us that we promised to take her swimming. 

Pretty Please? I want to Shwim

We looked back outside and things seemed to have calmed down, the pool was indoors, and we needed to drain her of energy. 

We were at the pool for about 40 minutes when we started to see some sprinkles. No clouds, but just sprinkles.

We got outside-BAM-downpour! It was still sunny-but it seemed like the heavens opened. Just as we got into our room the lightening struck.

Chances of rain in Southern Utah? 16 out of 365 days.

Chances of it raining in southern Utah while I am on vacation? 100% guaranty.

Yeah, we were in for the night after that. We planned to take Heidi Anne outside to stare at the stares, since Bryce is one of the best places in the world to stargaze. Thanks to the storm, we had to go to plan B- watch a movie. They both feel asleep so quickly.  

Movie Time!

The lighting was so bright and the thunder was explosive. Yet, they both feel asleep so quickly. I on the other hand could not sleep a wink, so I just watched the lightening. Not quite the stargazing I planned on, but it worked. 

Rainbow Point

After the walk, we took Heidi Anne to the Bryce visitors' center. For the longest time visitors centers seemed like glorified gift shops to me. 

We've discovered there are more to the centers then stuffed animals. They are practically mini museums complete with displays, fun hands on activities for kids, maps,  park information, (letting the rangers know I am around), and a little "passport" station. Every visitor center has a special stamp and you can track how many parks you have been to (like an international passport).

After we played at the visitors' center, we found a Ranger who informed us that there aren't many (if any) trails I can hike in the Canyon. He suggested we take the scenic road to the top of the canyon and stop at as many view points as possible to get the best (safest) visit to the canyon.

We started our drive to the top of the canyon, Rainbow Point. How high is this place, you may ask. Oh, the elevation is only 9,115 feet above sea level, that's all. The drive was breathtaking (on many levels). 

Again, it took us over an hour to drive 18 miles. What can I say, we enjoy the journey to the destination, not the destination itself.

It was amazing to see the canyon from such a high vantage point. 

Heidi Anne wanted to sit on a post to see better. So twice in a 3-hour period, I watched my little girl (at 9, 118 feet this time) be awestruck at the landscape. 

I wasn't worried about her falling this time, there was a little strip of ground just under the ledge. I have a feeling a mom must have designed the layout for this viewpoint.

 We decided to have lunch at Rainbow Point. We let Heidi Anne pick the table, she analyzed the five tables and found one to her liking. 

While Dada made sandwiches' Heidi Anne went to explore the woods a bit more. 

As we ate she chatted on and on about the things we had seen so far, what a pretty place this is, and if we were going back home after lunch. 

After all, we got there so quickly. It took us a few minutes, but Char figured out what she meant. To her the drive down to Bryce had only taken 2 hours, since she was asleep for the first 4 or so hours of the drive. 

Bryce The Bear

 After last years' vacation to Yellowstone and the Tetons last year, we made it a goal to take at least one family vacation a year. Since last year was the furthest north Heidi Anne has ever been in her life, this time we wanted to go south.

We got a head-start by leaving home at 3:00am. Heidi Anne fell back asleep as soon as we got her in the car, I made it 30 minutes. Good thing Char stayed awake. Anyways, we woke up in the middle of Utah just in time to see the views. 

Before we knew it we were in Red Canyon stretching our legs and stopping into a little visitor center. Apparently, they don't get many visitors at that station, one minute I am readying a display, I turn around to Heidi Anne cuddling a little teddy bear. I went to go ask her to put it away when Char told me, "The Ranger gave it to her." What can I say, I guess it shows our tax dollars at work.

With Heidi Anne, Dolly, and now Bryce safely in tow  we continued our journey. We went to Southern Utah, which has many beautiful but strenuousness trails, passes, arches, ect. Lucky for me there are many scenic byways and trails in Bryce Canyon. With many other tourists willing to take pictures of us in exchange for taking their photos. ( To think I always thought international exchanges were harder to understand).

As we walked along the trail getting beautiful shots of the canyon rims and valleys, Heidi Anne convinced Daddy that she wanted to see the canyon better. That is how we got these sweet pictures of my only child enjoying the view from 8,003 feet high. Inside I was thinking, "AHHHHHHHHH -My Baby is over a gorge!" On the outside, I smiled as she was pointing out pretty trees, or the teeny tiny hikers on the trails.

We slowly walked around the rim trail, watching Heidi Anne trying to absorb the sights, the colors, trees, and the mountains. She would run ahead of us then run back to report on the sights. She was always pointing at something and telling us "Mommy that is so pretty! The prettiest thing I've ever seen!"

A few steps later, "Oh, Dada, now THAT is the most beatfulist mountain ever!"

A few more steps "NOO, now that is the prettiestest thing I've seen!"

This is how a little 1/2 mile (round trip) nature walk took us over an hour to travel. If she were a pioneer, there isn't a snowballs chance we'd ever reach our destination

Last Day on Vaca

Prelude: Last winter I saw a super cute idea on Pinterst (Pintrest, you are so awesome). This particular craft is an easy way to get a souvenir practically free. All you need is a clean baby food jar, which can be decorated a little bit, a trip, and some soil. You go to your given vacation, put the soil in the decorated baby food jar, close the baby jar lid. You now have a 1 ounce unique souvenir that is low cost, compact, and great for any little girls’ show and tell days.

Fast forward to the last day of our vacation. We decided that there really wasn’t a huge rush to get home, since we had all day. Unlike our normal selves, we actually slept in! Yes, we didn’t get up and get going until 7:30! On top of that, we went to a diner for breakfast, which was one of the few times Heidi Anne has been out to eat, much less out for breakfast. She was very shocked to learn you can BUY pancakes-you don’t have to only make them at home.

We had forgotten our jar when we went to Bryce Canyon the first day, so we made a quick pit stop back to the canyon to grab the soil. Now keep in mind Bryce Canyon nearly boarders Arizona and we live in Logan (which is like 15 minutes from the Idaho border) so we had a long trek ahead of us. With the car packed, gassed, and lots of water stored (incase we broke down in the desert) we were homeward bound.

To Big Too Fast

Today was Heidi Anne's first day of Pre-K and her first day of Ballet without me in the classroom with her. As I sat outside the classroom - to make sure she wouldn't be upset about being alone - I thought about my little girl last summer. The baby girl that yelled "THANK-YOU STARS!!" on the Fourth of July last year was counting the number of booms with each Firework this year. 
The little girl who needed Momma's hand as she toddled around now helps other babies walk. Amazing what happens in less then 52 weeks. Now I look at my girl who fell asleep while cuddling her Daddy on the sofa and wonder if this too, will be a thing of the past sooner then I want.
One thing that comforts me is how happy, sweet, kind, loving, silly, and charming she is. So while she's growing up too quickly for my liking, at least it's slow enough for us to teach her about the important things in this life. 

Bear Lake-No Water Necessary

We have been trying to go to Bear Lake nearly all Summer. But things kept getting in the way; someone (cough, cough) would get sick, busy holiday weekends which the lake would have been packed, and I really, really wanted to go with my sister’s family, however, we constantly ran into scheduling conflicts. We deiced, “Oh, well-we’ll just plan better next year” and didn't give it much thought after that.  Heidi Anne had other plans. She kept asking when we would be going to the Lake with Kayla? When were we going to get the yummy ice cream shake?" Char decided we should go to the lake, even if we didn't go swimming or play in the water.  He couldn't let the potential memories slip away. So we took the scenic drive through Logan Canyon to visit Bear Lake. 

Do you remember that old computer game “Oregon Trail”? You know the game where just after you haggled away your witch-hazel for 100 pounds of bacon Little Timmy died of Mountain Spotted Fever. 

Poor Timmy. Oh well, Pass the Bacon

Anyways, one of the stops on the game was Bear Lake – I didn’t know it was REALLY part of the Oregon Trail until I saw various historical markers. Since we had been in the car for quite sometime we made a little game of it. Every time we saw a marker, a historical billboard, or anything to do with history, we would get out of the car and wander around. We weren’t able to go around the whole lake, which means we have an adventure for another day. (We’re hoping for next summer!)  

In addition to the shakes she wanted to get lunch at the “fun pizza place we went to with Kayla!” I have no idea how she remembered it, yet she did. We love Bear Lake Pizza too, it was lunch time, so that's where we went.  She said she missed Kayla but the pizza was still just as good.

Dadad, I'm STARVING!! 

Being a little Clown

We finished our mini trip by getting those Raspberry Shakes for Heidi Anne (Weird to think the main reason for going up to the lake in the first place was how we ended it. Meh). We got those tasty shakes from the most popular snack shack. (It’s hard to describe the place but if you’ve been to Bear Lake you know what I am talking about.) 

The "Famous" Shake Shack

As we waited for the shakes, Heidi Anne went exploring, climbed some trees, wandered in the little field behind the building, just having a good time outside. 

I wasn't climbing the tree-What makes you think that?

At long last she got her beloved raspberry shake. I don’t know why, but watching her jumping up and down with excitement for her treat, then savoring it as we sat in the shade is one of my favorite adventures, so far. 

Hhhmm-Dat's Good!!

Heidi Anne's First School Performance

Heidi with her "boyfriend" James-Ahh Puppy Love

I adore Heidi Anne's daycare and all the teachers that work there. Four of the teachers finished their Education Degree this spring.  They will all be teachers at different elementary schools this fall. 

Kylie- A.K.A "Kylie Kool"

These four teachers all love the kids they've been teaching, you can tell by how happy they are when they see the teachers in the store or when a child is dropped off and the run to hug their favorite teacher. There are a few children (like Heidi Anne) that have been involved with their lives since they have been 5 weeks old. 

Kimber 

The teachers deiced to go out with a bang. They held an official school performance with the kids for all of their families. They have been practicing and preparing for weeks. Heidi Anne has been super excited about the show, she would be singing in her room and Char asked what she was doing. She proudly told him with a grin "I am doing practice, practice, practice-so I can sing pretty for all the parents!" 

Mallory with Heidi 

At 6:30 we arrived at the recital hall where nearly 30 other children from 18 months to 10 years old were getting ready to sing. They were all on the stage singing a verity of songs. I then realized the irony of school plays. Your kid will sing any and every song at the top of their lungs, but once they are on stage they mumble the lyrics. Odd.

I forgot what I was doing-Oh well

Bubble, Bubble-POP!!

After the kids sang, the teachers passed out cups of popcorn while we were treated to a surprise movie. In addition to putting on the recital the teachers made an adorable video of interviews with the kids (think "Kids Say the Darnest Things") mixed with pictures of the everyone doing their favorite activities. 

 The Shark family-Do, Do, Do, Da Do

 It made me realize the from now on there will be many, many more school performances to come. 

Take a Bow, I don't remember that song...

The Admiral

Over the last year we've started to change our home decor from an Asian theme to "Refined Rustic". Do not get it mixed up with "Crappy Country" . Our refined rustic has earth tones (greens, blues, and different browns), pictures of Wasatch / Teton forests or the little critters that live there. Well, maybe a grizzly bear isn't a "little critter" but you get the idea. Recently, we have developed a taste for older (1920-1940's) antiques and electronics. On top of this Char has started of refinishing furniture as a hobby.

 –If anyone has some kerosene or miners lanterns they want to unload-I’ll give them a very happy home. I Promise!

This leads us to Char's birthday. We went to some of the antique stores looking for a coffee table or a school desk he could fix up for Heidi Anne. He found a beautiful desk for Heidi Anne no serious repair was needed. Another surprise was a 1948 Admiral radio that still works!! Oddly enough, the best radio station it picks up is the Oldies station. It's as if the radio has a memory of its own with music preferences to boot.  

Yes, I said "He", we call it "The Admiral".  On the side of Admiral there is a list and diagram of all the parts he uses. On the bottom are some basic repair instructions. I’m starting to understand the “they don’t make them like they used to” cliché.

 Unfortunately, despite our success, we didn't find any coffee tables or other items to refinish. Instead, he bought some lumber and started to build a coffee table from scratch. Considering we don't have a jig or miter saw it's looking really awesome. Bonus-I now have some ideas on what to get him for Christmas. I can't wait for his next project-whatever it maybe. It may sound like a slow uneventful birthday but he had fun. Not to mention The Admiral is so cool!

Wildflowers and Slushies

Stella Lily

Lately Heidi Anne and I have been doing wildflower adventures, where we walk around the neighborhood or vacant lots, find, and pick wildflowers. We bring them home to identify them then we preserve them using our flower press. Last Saturday Char had to work so I thought it would be fun to finish our wildflower adventure with a surprise-her very first Slushy.

After our successful hunt of the elusive Common Sunflower and Stella Lilies. We went to 7/11 celebrate our triumph. The employees looked at use like we were from Mars. A little girl in a stroller, loaded with flowers, having the following actual conversation.

Me: Heidi Anne, would you like a Slurpee?

Her: What’s a Slurppy?

Me: It’s like a melted popcicle.

Her: What’s a popsicle?

            (Insert very puzzled looks from customers and employees)

Me: It’s an otterpop on a stick.

Her: Okay, I want a Popsicle.

Me: How about a Slurpee?

Her: Yeah! That sounds fun!!!

We find the Slurpee machines, trying to figure out how to operate the thing, where the cups are, which flavor would be the best. I got a Coke and she got banana. As we headed to checkout Heidi Anne said "I'm getting hungry." I figured since she already had a Slurpee for a snack why not go for broke? We both saw those rolling hot dogs at the same time and we both wanted one! However, I couldn't eat it-but at least she could. As soon as we paid I told her to go for it. We were still in the store when she took her first bite and first sip. After which  exclaimed "This is the BEST hot dog I ever had!! Oh, the Banana  Slurpee  is so yummy! No-this hot dog is Yummier!" Somewhere along the way she got me to trade my Coke  Slurpee  for her Banana. 

That is how Heidi Anne got her very first slurpee , gas station hot dog, had any Coke, and hoodwinked her Momma to trade slurpee . Honestly, the Coke was so great, I  am still wondering how she did it.