Showing posts with label Chester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chester. Show all posts
09 June 2011
This is Charlie
16 May 2011
RVin'!!
Oh, we are LOVING this thing!!!
Thursday late morning we packed up and headed on our first big trip in the motorhome. Stanton was supposed to be seeing patients till late in the day, but ended up only having one OR case, so we got on the road much earlier than expected.
We met Dave & Judy, Don & Ann and their girls, Katie, Alli, & Rebecca, and Emily and her kids, Eliza, Ben, & Matthew in Hurricane (pronounced HurricUHn, which I find so delightful). The drive was about 6 hours long and was just fun because the kids were able to sit at the table and do crafts, color, eat snacks, etc., as well as go to the bathroom while on the road. They ended up only watching a movie the last 2 hours of the drive. Oh, and did I mention that I cooked homemade pizzas for everyone while we drove?! How cool is this????
So, we made it to the condos where the fam were all staying and ended up just camping outside the parking lot that night. Not before the dads took the kids for a walk and we got caught up visiting for a bit.
The first night sleeping in the motorhome was surprisingly great. Brigham had a difficult time falling asleep, but once he did, he was out for the night. Everyone else went right to sleep and didn't make a peep the whole night -- including the dog! We were pleasantly thrilled it went so well.
Everyone was awake by about 6:30, so while Stanton got some breakfast on, I went for a run. The St. George area is so beautiful.
Okay, not this one, but I thought Shauntae would like to see that this is the very moment I was texting her from Snow Canyon. :) Hi Shauntae!
Cannon was so sure-footed on these rocks. Love that he's getting bigger!
Lily spent most of her time ahead with the cousins -- these three tended to hang back a bit with us. I didn't mind that one bit!
So fun to be with family!
I loved this fun rock and had some fun posing Chloe through it. Super pretty.
This was my favorite picture from the day. I love the 4 different landscapes represented.
We had a picnic at a park in the park (I know, it's late, forgive my terrible writing) and headed over to the sand dunes. Whew, they were HOT! And it was a bit of an effort to get to them (mostly because we were hauling kids, but the heat played a role, too, definitely). The dunes were really fun -- the kids really enjoyed running up and down them...as long as they stayed on the North face and kept their shoes on! I have to admit, I had fun running down them, too! Stanton was on a bike ride with Don during this time.
Emily running with the kids. I stinkin' love that girl.
After the dunes, we headed back to the condo where we spent a couple of hours in the swimming pool. Lily almost drowned Chloe by accident (because she's a bit of an over reactor), but other than that, it was fantastic. Cut short only by a pretty gruesome bathroom accident from Brigham ... don't worry, though, no pools were pooped in...only the walkways around them. That ended our fun and we headed back to the camper for a shower. By the time we got everyone in the camper and Brigham cleaned up, we decided we should head to the RV park I'd reserved for us so we could hook up and get settled for the evening. Well, not so much. The park had no hook-ups, so we (I) learned a $23 lesson and we found one that did. It was nice to be able to use the generator and water freely and we got everyone showered up. I cooked chicken enchiladas in the RV oven and listened to the kids complain about how disgusting it was (it wasn't). They were all sure to eat it thankfully, though, when they learned of our plans to go to Neilsen's Frozen Custard for ice cream. That'll get me to eat my dinner, too! We ate ice cream and then headed back to the campground for the night. Brigham and Cannon both had a hard time falling asleep, but once they did, they slept right through the whole night.
The next morning we unhoooked and met everyone on the way to Zion's. That was a lovely drive! Zion's is such an incredible place...I just love it.
We took pictures at the checkerboard mesa.
The trip to Zion's was beautiful -- I wish we'd had time to stop and do some of the hikes. It was perfect as is, though. The scenery there is magnificent.
Is there anything cuter than a girl with her puppy? She's being SO good to obey our dog rules and be a good leader for Chester/Charlie (we're still wafling on the name -- we think we're going to go with Charlie, but it's REALLY hard to change our habits after a week of calling him Chester! But we think he looks more like a Charlie...).
After Zion's, we took the scenic route home -- through Monroe, where we stopped at a cemetery to visit some graves and have a picnic (does that seem like an odd combo?). We were grateful for the motor home during the picnic because a huge windstorm blew through and forced us all inside. I was surprised at how comfortably all 11 of us fit inside. Another thing I'm totally loving about the motor home is how comfortably the kids can fall asleep while driving. And doesn't Stanton look great in these pictures? He's lost almost 25 pounds since January. Slow and steady and changing habits. It's awesome and he feels as good as he looks.
After Monroe, we headed to Manti to visit the temple grounds. The same storm was making its way there and made for some pretty cool pictures of the temple.
The temple grounds down there are beautiful. They put on a huge pageant every summer that's held on the large hill. I'm thinking we might try to make it down there to watch it this year. The kids had a blast running up and down the hill.
One more fun picture -- Katie and Chloe-- these two girls are really growing up on us! With Julie & Scott and family gone to Singapore, these girls are the oldest cousins. They were delightful on the trip.
In fact, all the kids were delightful on this trip. We figure we drove over 1000 miles in the 2 1/2 days we were gone. The kids were really great and kept the fighting and whining to a minimum. I am seeing a new chapter of life starting and it's one I'm excited to embrace.
Hooray for Southern Utah!
Thursday late morning we packed up and headed on our first big trip in the motorhome. Stanton was supposed to be seeing patients till late in the day, but ended up only having one OR case, so we got on the road much earlier than expected.
We met Dave & Judy, Don & Ann and their girls, Katie, Alli, & Rebecca, and Emily and her kids, Eliza, Ben, & Matthew in Hurricane (pronounced HurricUHn, which I find so delightful). The drive was about 6 hours long and was just fun because the kids were able to sit at the table and do crafts, color, eat snacks, etc., as well as go to the bathroom while on the road. They ended up only watching a movie the last 2 hours of the drive. Oh, and did I mention that I cooked homemade pizzas for everyone while we drove?! How cool is this????
So, we made it to the condos where the fam were all staying and ended up just camping outside the parking lot that night. Not before the dads took the kids for a walk and we got caught up visiting for a bit.
The first night sleeping in the motorhome was surprisingly great. Brigham had a difficult time falling asleep, but once he did, he was out for the night. Everyone else went right to sleep and didn't make a peep the whole night -- including the dog! We were pleasantly thrilled it went so well.
Everyone was awake by about 6:30, so while Stanton got some breakfast on, I went for a run. The St. George area is so beautiful.
We spent the day at Snow Canyon about a half hour drive away. It was gorgeous! We did a small hike (about 1/2 hour) and both Chloe and Brigham had impressive falls. Poor Chloe had a 3" diameter bruise on her arm from hers as well as some decent road rash...Brig's wasn't as dramatic, thankfully.
Snow Canyon is beautiful! I loved the incredible rock and the vibrant colors. I was really nervous at first with the kids because everything looks like a cliff until you are right next to it. We eased up a bit after a while and the kids seriously enjoyed themselves. I got some great pictures on our morning hike.
We had a picnic at a park in the park (I know, it's late, forgive my terrible writing) and headed over to the sand dunes. Whew, they were HOT! And it was a bit of an effort to get to them (mostly because we were hauling kids, but the heat played a role, too, definitely). The dunes were really fun -- the kids really enjoyed running up and down them...as long as they stayed on the North face and kept their shoes on! I have to admit, I had fun running down them, too! Stanton was on a bike ride with Don during this time.
Emily running with the kids. I stinkin' love that girl.
After the dunes, we headed back to the condo where we spent a couple of hours in the swimming pool. Lily almost drowned Chloe by accident (because she's a bit of an over reactor), but other than that, it was fantastic. Cut short only by a pretty gruesome bathroom accident from Brigham ... don't worry, though, no pools were pooped in...only the walkways around them. That ended our fun and we headed back to the camper for a shower. By the time we got everyone in the camper and Brigham cleaned up, we decided we should head to the RV park I'd reserved for us so we could hook up and get settled for the evening. Well, not so much. The park had no hook-ups, so we (I) learned a $23 lesson and we found one that did. It was nice to be able to use the generator and water freely and we got everyone showered up. I cooked chicken enchiladas in the RV oven and listened to the kids complain about how disgusting it was (it wasn't). They were all sure to eat it thankfully, though, when they learned of our plans to go to Neilsen's Frozen Custard for ice cream. That'll get me to eat my dinner, too! We ate ice cream and then headed back to the campground for the night. Brigham and Cannon both had a hard time falling asleep, but once they did, they slept right through the whole night.
The next morning we unhoooked and met everyone on the way to Zion's. That was a lovely drive! Zion's is such an incredible place...I just love it.
We took pictures at the checkerboard mesa.
After Zion's, we took the scenic route home -- through Monroe, where we stopped at a cemetery to visit some graves and have a picnic (does that seem like an odd combo?). We were grateful for the motor home during the picnic because a huge windstorm blew through and forced us all inside. I was surprised at how comfortably all 11 of us fit inside. Another thing I'm totally loving about the motor home is how comfortably the kids can fall asleep while driving. And doesn't Stanton look great in these pictures? He's lost almost 25 pounds since January. Slow and steady and changing habits. It's awesome and he feels as good as he looks.
After Monroe, we headed to Manti to visit the temple grounds. The same storm was making its way there and made for some pretty cool pictures of the temple.
The temple grounds down there are beautiful. They put on a huge pageant every summer that's held on the large hill. I'm thinking we might try to make it down there to watch it this year. The kids had a blast running up and down the hill.
One more fun picture -- Katie and Chloe-- these two girls are really growing up on us! With Julie & Scott and family gone to Singapore, these girls are the oldest cousins. They were delightful on the trip.
Hooray for Southern Utah!
08 May 2011
Around Here Lately...
We've had a couple of very fun and exciting changes at our house recently.
The first is something Stanton and I have talked about for a good 2 years now. Ever since our trip to Yellowstone in '09, we've been looking, talking, dreaming, and searching. We finally pulled the trigger and bought a motorhome. We are so excited about it. We've packed up the kids 2 Saturdays in a row and just gone for a drive, parked the camper, and hung out for a while. It has been a BLAST. I don't know about other parents, but for Stanton and I, it's really hard to disconnect from the million things we need to do around the house and just play with the kids. Being able to go away from the house has really allowed us to spend some amazing time together. It has been so fun.
We're going to take the kids out of school for Friday and make a trip down to Southern Utah with some of Stanton's family this weekend. We're so looking forward to it.
Anyway, it's been a really great purchase and we are looking forward to some really fun family time because of it.
One more super fun addition to the family -- of the four-legged variety...
CHESTER!!!
Chester is our new Australian Labradoodle puppy and has pretty much captured every heart in our family in the few short days he's been with us. We are in love.
This was the night Stanton got home from the airport (he flew to us from Washington state). Chloe was in love from the word go, Lily really likes him a lot, Brigham was on the trampoline, and Cannon wasn't quite sure what to think, "I like him! He's touching me! I like him! Get him away from me!!"
Had to throw in this picture of my latest French braiding attempt on Chloe. It's pretty scraggly, yes, but it was also the end of the day. I'm improving....
He is such a beautiful dog...and I love love love that he looks like....a dog! Just a cute little Benji-looking pup. He is really well-behaved, mellow, playful, and eager to please. We are loving this little guy!!
The first is something Stanton and I have talked about for a good 2 years now. Ever since our trip to Yellowstone in '09, we've been looking, talking, dreaming, and searching. We finally pulled the trigger and bought a motorhome. We are so excited about it. We've packed up the kids 2 Saturdays in a row and just gone for a drive, parked the camper, and hung out for a while. It has been a BLAST. I don't know about other parents, but for Stanton and I, it's really hard to disconnect from the million things we need to do around the house and just play with the kids. Being able to go away from the house has really allowed us to spend some amazing time together. It has been so fun.
We're going to take the kids out of school for Friday and make a trip down to Southern Utah with some of Stanton's family this weekend. We're so looking forward to it.
Anyway, it's been a really great purchase and we are looking forward to some really fun family time because of it.
One more super fun addition to the family -- of the four-legged variety...
CHESTER!!!
Chester is our new Australian Labradoodle puppy and has pretty much captured every heart in our family in the few short days he's been with us. We are in love.
He is such a beautiful dog...and I love love love that he looks like....a dog! Just a cute little Benji-looking pup. He is really well-behaved, mellow, playful, and eager to please. We are loving this little guy!!
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