Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!

Admittedly, we didn't plant a tree. But we plan to tomorrow...

We went to Zion national Park yesterday. (a short day trip from LV, so no camping required) Hiking, hiking and more hiking with the promise I gave the children that they would see something GRAND! Ethan argued that the Grand Canyon is bigger. He hasn't even seen it, but it must be massive in his mind, because he was awestruck with the size of Zion's mountains.

My favorite was our last hike of the day, The Canyon Overlook Trail, which we finished just in time to watch the sunset and head back down before it was too dark. It's varied landscape kept our attention, not to mention the adrenaline-pumping steep drops along the way. We safely positioned in front of a rock for a picture.

My cute kids picked up litter in at Zion National Park. I'm so proud of their efforts.

Glen went green well before Earth Day. Recently, he changed all the lightbulbs in the house to energy efficient bulbs. Those spiral bulbs are definately not a decor statement, but they're using less energy. And supposedly only have to be changed every 7 years. We'll see...

I came across this website today. What a nifty idea with a huge impact. www.cleantheworld.org It's easy to donate soap, so do it.

Red Rock Canyon

The children and I celebrated the first day of Spring Break with a scavenger hunt in Red Rock Canyon hosted at the visitors center. They had to find all the bronze statues of animals hidden in the Discovery Area. Boring, right? Not really... they hid many of them and Ethan was so loud when he found one you would think we had won the lottery! The kids each earned a pin to wear, then we headed out for a fun hike to find Pine Canyon Creek. (Yes, there is water in the desert!) About 200 ft in, we found a shady spot to rest under some pines where the sand meets the water. Emma was busy mixing sand and water to make primitive sand castles while the boys counted innumerous frog eggs and caught frogs in the shallow pond. I enjoyed the peace and quiet of watching them create and explore independently. It was only 80 degrees and lovely.

We ran into quite a bit of wildlife, this time not bronzed:

A Ladybug that was kind enough to crawl across all our hands without flying away

A Wild Burro that met us on the trail and kindly moved off so we could pass

The few Chorus Frogs Matthew wanted to, but didn't, take home

An evasive Painted Lady Butterfly that stayed by for only a moment

A teasing Side Blotched Lizard that hid when the boys tried to catch it, then came out to show us he was still there

A huge Tarantula...

A Scorpion almost as big as the Tarantula...

(Thankfully, the last 2 were behind glass at the visitor's center! Eesh. )

The funniest part of the day was on the return from the hike. Matthew was leading the group. I stopped to pick up Emma and turned when I heard Matthew scream at the top of his lungs. A big dog had come around the corner on the trail and stopped in front of Matthew, who is terrified of dogs. The dog looked curious and kind, and wasn't growling. The dog stared for a minute, then turned around and ran away from us. I laughed off our shock and told Matthew he probably scared the dog more than the dog scared him! Minutes later, we met the owner who had a good laugh with us about the whole thing.

Next time you visit us in Spring, Fall, or Winter we would love to take you into Red Rock Canyon!

Multi-tasking

At the grocery store today, Emma had to "go," and while we were in the ladies' toilets, the woman in the stall next to us (doing her bathroom business) started talking "Joe, you can return the jacket that I bought if you won't wear it. Keep your shoes, you need something comfortable to wear to work. Please don't return my shoes, because I plan to keep them. Okay, talk to you soon. Bye Joe." We then heard the close of a phone. Emma quietly said, "Mom, what was that noise?" Umm... a woman confused about the term multi-tasking?

Wish you were here! Well, no, actually, we don't!

Glen and I had to most amazing trip to the Bahamas where he received a Top Branch Manager Award from his employer. We stayed at the infamous Atlantis resort on Paradise Island, Nassau.

Since Mrs. Doubtfire never turned up, (anyone know how to contact Mary Poppins?) we arranged for our each of our kids to stay with different families in our new ward. I'm so fortunate to have a supportive community in our new area!

I promised not to spend my vacation worrying about the kids. (The stressed questions in my head... will they be comfortable at their first sleepovers, various playdates, did they get to school ok, what if they don't like the food, what if they get ill, will Matthew survive the kids in the dreaded after-school program? etc) They were fine, and surprisingly so was I. Which gave Glen and I time to:

*Deep Sea Fish for Mahi Mahi

*Dress up fancy for beautiful evening receptions, dinners and galas

*Stay up late eating all sorts of delights

*Learn to be laid-back like a local Bahamian

*Swim with Dolphins (More pictures to follow, when we get them developed from our waterproof camera)

*Have our cake and eat it too (3 desserts a piece each night!)

*Evening walks at the beach and resort

*Sleep in (no room service today, please.)

*And other unmentionables, but if you know Glen, I don't need to mention them. ;)

I'm shamlessly bragging since it was the trip Glen deserved after a tough year of many changes in which he proved his work ethic and dedication. I'm so proud of him. I'm already planning for next year's trip...