PC / MAC?

I've had it. We are always waiting on our computer to process... The "dinosaur" is slower than well, the slowest dinosaur! Now we are taking action, but we need your help with the great debate: PC / MAC? ...leave your comment!

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Family Reunion

My mom pulled us all together for a family reunion that centered around an extended family picture. It was shocking to see how much we've all grown and watching our children play the same games I swear we were just playing (okay, but 25+ years ago) at our Grandpa&Grandma's. (minus the Xbox and Nintendo, of course) I'm glad we got to see each other. What a fun time!

Ethan took some pictures of us on picture day. (also 1 I took that he's in!)

 "handsome" and I

 our little wriggly worm moved in every picture!

 "my boys"

my parents and sisters and I

Garbage Day

(Matthew's explanation when I found him in the garbage can... "I do this to get the trash bag to stick on the sides of the garbage, Mom!" He was so proud of his cool idea. I told him to stay there while I dashed for the camera. I'm impressed he could get in and out by himself!)

Oh What Do You Do in the Summertime? 2011

We do 300-page workbooks, chores, educational and service activities at Red Rock Canyon, the library and the Children's Museum. No "summer slide" in the Smallman household!

We also... swim, hike, walk, bike, read, and watch movies together. (in case you're worried I'm a drill sergeant!)

Until, Ethan broke his foot. Fortunately, it was a small break and didn't require a cast. Unfortunately, he was instructed not to wear closed-toe shoes and to stay off it as much as possible. We're almost done with the 3-week sentence from the orthopedic surgeon and cannot wait to return to our active lifestyle.

Matthew has been our comic relief and kind enough to help Ethan. Emma has been giving him lots of hugs to cheer him up. How cute!

I found the best activity (besides T.V.) for the 8 year old with the broken foot: a 620-piece 3D puzzle! He had it completed in just over a week. What now?!

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!