My little brother was married this past week. Unfortunately I didn’t take my camera along or even my cheap-o phone to snap any kinds of shots of the handsome couple so I had to snag some from the photographer. My sister was more diligent with her camera and posted all about it and I’m totally tempted to cut and paste her whole post.

Because it was a chilly October afternoon, wedding pictures out of doors were rushed because of the violent shaking and shivering from everyone. I was wishing for more pictures of us with the couple or some of the my kids with the bride. Oh well, these two make such a handsome couple, yes?

This was one of the funnest wedding receptions I’ve attended. It was one big awesome party and we danced the night away to the amazing and classy New Deal Swing band, led by Tad Calcara, the principal clarinetist for the Utah Symphony. They were amazing and even had a vocalist, Melissa Pace Tanner to dazzle us with her talent. Everyone was toe tapping and bobbin’ around all night. It was such a hoot.

A lot of things have changed since I got married. It’s hard for me not to be completely jealous of how cute and stylish announcements, decorations and wedding dresses can be these days. One of the big differences is that photographers are super awesome and capable now. We had a good laugh over my wedding pictures being on actual film and shoved in a envelope somewhere.

Film? Really? Am I that old.

Seriously, so cute!

My kids has such a great time at the reception. Not only was their dancing and cousins to keep them entertained but a there was a table full of sweets and goodies to choose from. I’m talking about humongous suckers and an endless supply of soda bottles. Pure heaven.

It was such a great day. Congratulations Ryan and Mariah!

We have enjoyed our back yard chickens immensely. I had no idea that watching these ladies grow  up and begin laying eggs would bring me so much joy. Neither did I know my children would have hours of fun with them.

These silly birds are so curious. I think we have successfully tamed them. When they are free roaming, they will come running up to us when we open the back door. They either really like being around us or are hoping for some food but either way it always makes me smile.

“Hello, Ladies!”

This week we are finally getting eggs. Hurray, hurray! It’s so fun for the kids to go out and find them. Here are some next to a white store bought egg for comparison. The first eggs are a bit small but we think they’ll get bigger because our hens are Leghorns (though not pure bred) who are suppose to be excellent egg layers. We kept wondering if these chickens were really going to lay eggs. When Emma found one in our newly build egg box she thought I was crazy when I did a little dance around the kitchen. “I didn’t know grown-ups got excited!”

My sis that lives in Idaho asked me why I hadn’t shown a picture of our chicken coop. I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to post about my chickens but it may have been that obtaining our chicken coop and getting our chickens settled in it has been a real ordeal and therefore too overwhelming to post about until we were really settled. When they were getting big enough to move from a cardboard box to a coop I spent several days looking online for a design that would work in our back yard. We wanted it to big enough to hold 4 to 5 hens, fit somewhere in our back yard and keep it 5 feet from the fence (city ordinances.) We finally decided that we lack the tools and the knowledge to build our own coop and turned to the classifieds.

Luckily there are plenty of coops there to choose from. We purchased our coop and found that it tucked nicely in our little tree grove by the back fence. We then had to make some minor adjustments to the design, paint it so it would be waterproof, and build an egg box (which we just did yesterday.) We are happy with our coop although it’s not a perfect design. Our chickens seem to like it well enough except when we leave them out past dusk they prefer to roost in the trees. It’s so funny to see our 4 hens sitting 10-12 feet up on a flimsy branch just happy as can be. They must feel really safe up there despite their clumsiness.

So here’s to eggs, goofy chickens and providing hours of entertainment. Hurray!

(No chickens were harmed in this photo shoot.)

We had a great little camping trip this weekend. The weather was great, the location gorgeous and the memory making complete.

I’m in love with camping. I always find myself wondering why I’m not doing more of it. Oh yea, it’s quite a bit of work to pack and unpack. It’s always challenge to find a free weekend too. But it’s totally worth it! For those of you who are not campers or have never been I encourage you to try it.

Here’s my Camping 101 list for you:

1.Call ahead- It’s a great idea to call the ranger or camp host over the area and find out the scoop on your desired campsites and hikes. They can tell things like where are the nicer spots, what time walk-up sites fill up, if there is a water source or if the mosquitoes are bad.

2. Gear- There are some things you’ll need but don’t feel like you need to have it all. You may also be limited to what you can fit in your car (like us) so pack light if you can. A basic tent, a decent sleeping bag and a cheep foam mat will do. You can catch up on your sleep later. Some other must haves are flashlights, something to hold water in, matches and a first aid kit. The more room you have, the more comfy you can get with camp chairs and air mattresses. Here are more comprehensive lists here and here but I would personally scratch off about half of the items. I guess I’m a minimalist.

3. Plan your meals- If you plan wisely you’ll only need one source for cooking. Fire pit (hot dogs or tin foil dinners), camp stove (soups or scrambled eggs) or maybe even a dutch oven (cobblers, meats or a yummy hashbrown breakfast.) A lot of food prep can be done at home such as cutting up veggies for a tin foil dinner or scrambling eggs. Don’t forget a can opener or your s’more ingredients.

4. Go with friends or extended family- Sometimes it’s nice to just have family time but everyone seems to be a bit happier if there are friends along (for motivation on hikes.) We also found that if you forgot something (bug spray, serving spoon) chances are your friend will have it.

5. Bring firewood- Don’t plan on gathering your logs from under the trees. Chances are the campsite has already been picked clean. Maybe you have your own stash at home but if you don’t it’s cheaper to buy a couple bundles from the grocery store. If you forget you can usually buy some from the camp host. If you are super stingy then be sure to bring your trusty axe because nothing small will be left.

6. Plan on getting dirty- Don’t wear your cutest clothes. Kids will always get sticky with marshmallows and it’s almost impossible to keep dirt and ash from rubbing off on you. Don’t worry, everyone will scrub clean once you’re home.

7. Explore the area- Hanging out in camp is fun but be sure to check out the nearby hikes, lakes and rivers. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Well, that’s the basics, I think. The only thing I personally need to remember for next time is to have a bowl or bag in the tent for throwing up in. This is the second camping trip that Leah has spontaneously thrown up in the middle of the night for no apparent reason. Bare-handing it isn’t very pleasant at all.

I mentioned that we took family photo on the beach and that Leah had been a little difficult but I didn’t mention how difficult the whole fiasco really was.

We only had one night to do the big family photos. We quickly coordinated all 30 people in our family and showed up at the beach all spiffied up and ready to go. Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate. It was so windy and sunny. The wind was blowing one way and the sun was shinning the other.

Not good.

You might wonder why we didn’t we wait until the weather was more desirable but when you have the chance with all 30 family members you’ve got to take it; rain or shine… maybe I aught to say wind or shine…

Because it was terribly windy.

Emma seemed to have handled the wind better than me. She still seems to look adorable underneath all her hair.

It was so sunny when we first arrived. I know very well that we shouldn’t take photos in the bright sun but I’m telling you that we really had no other choice.

Isaac struggled with the sun in his eyes. He tried the binocular method but was told to put his hands down so then we just got squinting, grimacing and looking down from him.

Leah was really the star of the show.

She was so unhappy. She wouldn’t let anyone hold her but me. That made me hot, sticky and unhappy too. She wouldn’t look at anyone for a picture despite the funny faces, noises or whatever party tricks they could come up with. We were even promising suckers and popsicle. We did our best and then we gave up.

I love this photo because not only is Leah having a fit but Emma is holding Isaac’s head up because he kept looking down. Such a hoot.

Any tips for taking photos of kids?

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the Doritos feast the kids had RIGHT BEFORE we headed down to the beach.  I was unaware until we were there and noticed my kid’s orange faces and shirts. Cleaned them up the best I could… guess I’ll have to photoshop Emma’s shirt though.

Better luck next time.

As hard as it was to leave the beach house we knew we still had a couple days to spend with our East Coast family back in the DC area.

During our 5 1/2 hour drive home from the beach Jeremy said, Wouldn’t it be fun to go to Kings Dominion?” Emma yelled “NO,” Isaac yelled “YES,” and as my mind ran over all the mommy type thoughts of a  day at a theme park (high humidity, no stroller for Leah, dealing with packing swimsuits, kids tired of walking, Emma hating roller coasters, not wanting to spend money on theme park priced food and having to smell funnel cake all day.)

I replied, “It’s up to you.”

So we did it.

And it was hot, and the kids did get tired and we did spend money on expensive food. We didn’t buy a funnel cake but I did smell it and want it. We packed our swim suits and loved cooling off in the lazy river because it was super hot and humid. Emma did refuse to go on any big or medium roller coaster so she went on all the kiddie rides and she loved them all even though she wanted to roll her eyes and act just a little bit big. I did have to carry Leah around a ton. The kids did get tired of walking around and my feet got super sore but we had a great time and we’re glad we did it. Right?

We spent all day doing kid stuff and at the very end Jeremy and I decided that we wanted to go on at least one big roller coaster. We picked the Intimidator. It’s a new ride there and was voted Best New Roller Coaster of 2010 and we thought if we jumped in line at the close of the day we’d be okay waiting with the kids in line. Unfortunately, we weren’t the only ones with that idea so we waited for an hour past closing time and you can imagine how tired and worn out we all were. Jer and I had to take turns on the roller coaster so one of us could stay with the kids. It worked out and we’re glad we did it because it was a super cool ride -vertical drops, crazy unexpected twist and even some fog thing going on. Wooh! What a day. We crawled into bed in DC around 1:00 am.

The next couple days we enjoyed some of our favorite places in DC: The National Zoo, The Natural History Museum, The Air and Space Museum, and the Smithsonian’s.

It was so deathly hot and sweaty!! Just walking down the street was painful. I can’t believe people live there and actually survive it. Oh, wait, I used to live there. Luckily the museums were air conditioned. I wish we had more time there. There are so many old haunts we’d love to see again.

We did make sure to drive past our old house in Maryland. It left us feeling so nostalgic. Did we really have a life here? Did I really bring my first 2 babies here to this house? It seemed like ages ago but the minute you see it so many memories come flashing back. Remembering this and that. Have you ever drove past an old house after years of being gone? We looked at all the things that were still the same and all the things that have changed. We stopped and visited with a couple of our closest neighbors. Wow, time flies, doesn’t it.

Our trip has finally come to an end. I’m left with a vacation hangover. It was bitter sweet to come home.  I kinda feel like I had to say goodbye to that long ago life all over again. I’m not sure when we’ll get to go back again so I missing it already.

Ah, beach week was wonderful! I don’t think there is anything more great than spending time at the beach with family. We went to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Ever been there? If not, I highly recommend it. It’s such a perfect family friendly place.

We had the whole family on Jeremy’s side there. Here are all 16 grandkids. Can you spot my kiddos? Leah happened to be “the one kid who wouldn’t cooperate” and ruin the photo for everyone else. Ha. This is the best we got.

Kids can play all day at the beach. Isn’t it wonderful!

We did a lot of this…

and this…

and this…

And when we got tired of the sand and sun we had plenty more to do around the island.

Like checking out wild black bears…

Oh, this picture is has the wild bear. I know it’s hard to tell the difference.

and climbing to the top of a light house.

It’s so sad to have to leave. It’s one of those trips that are almost too good to be true.

So far, our trip to the East Coast has been Awe-some! Can you hear me singing?

I always fear traveling with kids and prepare myself for the worst possible scenario. I imagine things like screaming babies in hot squishy airplanes, kids messing their pants at inopportune times and running through airports to catch a flights with loads of bags on our arms and sobbing kids getting dragged behind… Oh, the stress!

But Luckily, nothing like that happened and everything when quite smoothly. Leah slept for a full 3 hours on the plane, there was minimal fighting between the siblings and we had plenty of snacks and entertainment to keep the littles (and husband) happy.

Yeah!

With all our travels we rode on planes, trains, and automobiles (and a shuttle bus too.) Good times.

We’ve had a great time hanging out with family and doing some fun things. Before we headed to the beach in North Carolina we had a few days to spend with family up in Northern Virginia. It was fun but hot. I’ve forgotten about the sticky humidity. Check out Leah’s flushed cheeks.

With all of our East Coast cousins we went to a farm and learned all about the facts of life, you know, all those things that you can learn on a farm… like where milk comes from.

We made sure to attend an Orioles game, Jeremy’s favorite team from his youth.

And since we were going up to Baltimore for the baseball game we wanted to go to the aquarium too. I don’t have any cool photos of the fishes or rays or sharks that we saw but I thought that this pic of Emma and Leah was so cute. They are waiting to see a monitor lizard.

Of all the fishes and water animals there, I think this guy was our favorite. Can you tell what he is?

Oh yea, and I had a birthday as well. I’m one year older and wiser too.

Next post should be our rock’n trip down to the Outer Banks in NC. Stayed tuned.

I’m not sure who’s idea it was to combine a week long of swim lessons with a week long of camping but whoever it was has made me completely and totally exhausted.

Oh, wait… I know who’s idea it was to drag me along… JESSICA. You can catch her version of our experience here. Can you hear me saying her name in an annoyed sisterly sort of voice. JESSICAAAH! It requires a deeper sounding voice and holding out the A for a long time. Ha hah.

It was very fun, really! but I am also very glad to be home. I still have a huge camping mess to clean up. There is so much work that is required to give my kids an awesome packed trip of memories and swim experience. Sheesh! This was not a vacation. It was work! Especially with this little stinker who wouldn’t stop saying “Mine. Mine.” whenever her fellow toddler cousin would be playing with something, anything.

In order to join all these swimming loving hippies and their children, I had to drive 4 hours north to the much colder climate of Idaho. My kids were so excited they didn’t mind the drive too much and we had fun counting rainbows. We saw about 5 or so on the way up. So pretty. Emma was the photographer while I drove.

The forecast was actually suppose to be pleasant for most of the week but when we arrive to boggy, saturated field of water and left over hail stones where were suppose to set up our tents I was thinking about where the closest motel was and where could I buy some wellies for me and the kids. What kind of week did I have before me? Luckily I managed to find the driest piece of grass and I persevered until the sun came out to dry up most of the field.

Emma and Isaac loved swim camp. Isaac would get out of the pool and get dressed only to ask to go back in. Emma never came out. We’d wake up to a overnight crockpot breakfast (yes, camping with electricity) and then the kids would jump into their swimsuits and run off for their morning lessons. They’d stay in the water for hours!!

Aren’t these girls cute in their swim caps despite the blurriness of the photo? We used the caps to protect the girls hair from becoming straw-like with so much time in the water.

When Open Plunge started my sis and I with the toddlers in tow would join the bigger kids in the warm pool and naturally heated hot pool until everyone’s toes were white and wrinkly. We’d then head back to camp for naps and playing in the sun (when the wind wasn’t blowing us sideways).

The toddlers wanted to be swimming all of the time too. But they had to wait their turn. Here they are in their life vests rearing to go. I think they wore these more outside the water then actually in the water.

Here is Leah wishing she could join in the swim lessons. See her sitting on the pool deck patiently waiting her turn? Ya, she wasn’t actually being very patient.

I think the biggest challenge for us mommas was making sure everyone had their goggles, towels and shampoo, keeping track of pool toys, and keeping the toddlers occupied and happy and making sure everyone’s hair got washed in the single lukewarm shower spout. Leah was super clingy at times and I felt myself feeling so crazy trying to juggle everything and everyone at once. It wasn’t always pretty.

Here I am trying to look stoic while Leah has one of her fits. Ya, I wasn’t actually being very stoic.

Leah would also attach herself to Jessica at times. Here she is showering her with kisses. Don’t you want one too?

So overall- fun but super tiring. Will I go again next year? Hum, I’ll have to think about that one.

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.