So we threw together a quick little Spring Break get away last weekend. I was a bit nervous getting ready for the trip because we were going to meet up with some new friends who we don’t know that well plus the weather was a going to be a bit unreliable. I was so unsure about everything… but now that we’re home and I’ve spent the whole day cleaning and doing laundry… I’m left with some crazy, awesome memories.

We went to Goblin Valley. It’s a small little state park but is packed with amazing scenery.

When we arrived we were greeted by 46 mile an hour winds. When we were driving in we could see a red haze of sand on the horizon as well as the sand that was being kicked up by the winds. Jeremy and I were dumb founded and unsure of what was going to greet us. When we pulled up to our camping spot it didn’t take us long to find out. We soon had sand getting in our eyes and grinding between our teeth. My hair was blown so wildly about that I could barely see. We shifted into survival mode and hid out in a crevice in the cliff side. It protected us for a while but we still had sand and tiny rocks falling on us from above. We returned to our tightly packed crammed full of gear car for refuge until the wind finally blew over that evening. We were then able to set up camp and enjoy our time there.

Note the sand blowing up on the left side of this photo. It doesn’t quite do justice without hearing the whistling coming through the door and feeling the car rock slightly with the push of wind against the car.

The next day we explored Goblin Valley which was very fun for the kids. We had lovely weather and even got a bit sunburned. The Goblins are perfect for playing hide and seek in.

We also hiked two gorgeous slot canyons. These were my favorite part so I have tons of photos to share. These slot canyon hikes must be on the top ten list of the most incredible places on earth.

Crack Canyon:

We had to slide down sections like this. We named this particular the toilet bowl because you felt like you were swishing around down into a hole.

I think Isaac is pumping his fist in almost every photo I have of him.

A pretty one of Emma.

Little Wild Horse Canyon:

I’ll admit that Leah was a pain to hike with. She is getting to that age where she doesn’t want to be packed on my back any more but is still too little to hike on her own. She was obsessed with taking her shoes on and off because she kept getting rocks in them. Arggg. By the end of this hike I was sooo done with her.

But here, in this picture she looks so sweet amongst the giant walls.

Love this one.

There was a little bit of water in this one. It only came up to our knees but the nice thing was that it kept the throngs of tourists from going beyond this point. We felt like we were much more secluded once we past the water.

These swirly walls were AMAZING!! Can you see Emma?

We had a total blast! and the kids hiked better then they ever have. We covered more miles than I would have thought possible.

I definitely would recommend this little spot if you happen to be in the area and looking for a day or two to spend exploring. It was perfect for kids.

Now, time to recoup…

Emma’s school class has been hatching baby chicks. The teacher was given extra eggs and so she asked if anyone wanted to take some home. I volunteered. So now we have 6 healthy baby chicks hanging out in our garage.

Emma is ecstatic. I think she goes out to hold them about every other hour and has made her hands so chapped from all the hand washing afterward.

I’m not quite sure what I was thinking now that I see how much extra work these little fluff balls are making.

The plan is to raise these chicks until they are old enough to join my mom and dad’s chicken coop. I have thought about keeping them… I’d love to have some good egg layers around, however, there are several factors to consider;

1. Can my dog learn to accept them? I think he wants to eat them for lunch.

2. Can my yard accommodate them?  Where would I put a small coop and would the neighbor boys keep my gates shut if they were free ranging?

3. Between Jeremy and I, could we build a chicken coop on our own that would suffice? Doubts do exist.

4. What is the cost of keeping them? Would it be cheeper to just pick up the eggs at my mom’s house since they already have a chicken coop up and running?

5. How many roosters am I going to get? Because these were hatched at school and not bought I have no idea how many hens I’ll get. Will Emma have a complete breakdown if we eat her roosters?

Hum, I’ll keep you posted.

We have two birthdays right in a row here at our house. Isaac and Leah’s birthdays are 3 days apart. This makes for a very busy week for me. I’m glad it’s over.

Here is my very cute boy that has turned 5. I’m not quite sure how I feel about him getting older. I’d like him to stay this size forever for a while.

But he is obviously thrilled about the idea of getting older (and getting presents.)

I threw together a last minute party for him. I was planning on having a party all along but I procrastinated it for so long that I only had a couple days to send out invitations and get everything ready. I guess that is just how I roll. Pure insanity!! It turned out to be quite chaotic getting it all ready. There was a moment of panic when I thought none of his little guy friends would be able to attend due to soccer games and traveling. Yikes.

Somehow it worked out.We had 5 friends show up which supposedly perfect. My mom has always told me that there should be one friend per age of years old so… ta-da, 5 friends -perfect by chance!

Isaac loves our local roller skating rink so the entertaining part was easy once we figured out the date and time.

He requested chocolate cupcakes. Yum, yes?

Ok, maybe not. Apparently we need to work on our cake eating abilities. Nothing has changed from last year. (Oh dear, he’s wearing the same shirt. How embarrassing!!)

I think Isaac was very happy with his thrown together birthday party. Hurray for friends (and their heads?)

Here is the invitation I whipped up to run around the neighborhood. I used a new kit from this months Digi Files- Miss Mint’s irock kit (I don’t think it’s been revealed yet.) I thought it coordinated great with the neon colors from the skating rink although I don’t think anyone cared but me.

I drew up my own razor scooter so I thought I’d share it with you if you can find a use for it. Maybe you have a 5 year old boy too. Click here to download the png.

We also had a little family party last night. I made a cake for Isaac and Leah to share since we were celebrating both of their birthdays. The cake was completely ghetto so I’ll spare you a picture of just the cake (I do not claim to be a cake decorator in the least) but on half of it is a batman symbol (which Isaac shook green sprinkles on) and the other half a flower.

Perhaps when they get older I’ll have to come up with something better than squeezing frosting out of a sandwich bag but as of right now -no one cares what the cake looks like as long as it tastes good.

Goodness, I’m tired.