Little ole me in NYC

For Will's 10 year reunion for business school two of my dearest friends were not able to come out to California for the gathering.  We decided then to make plans to get together on the east coast since they both live out there.  We picked Father's Day weekend in New York City.  Ashley lives there with her four darling children.  Anne came down from Boston and we made a weekend of it!  

I had been looking forward to this weekend as soon as we planned it.  I don't schedule a lot of time away from my family.  It is hard to leave my kids and even harder to ask some one else to do all of the running around for five kids while I go.  Will has a demanding job and it is hard for me to get away.  Anyway, he helped me make this trip a priority, giving up Father's Day and his birthday so I could go.  

I arrived late Thursday night.  Ashley and I got to visit together for a few hours while we waited for Anne to get down to the city.  We caught up on our life and times from the last ten years.  When Ashley left California, she was pregnant with her first baby...now she has four kids!  

Good friends and wifi

Anne arrived on a bus from Boston and we were so happy to be together!  We visited for a while and went to bed.  

Our first day together was Friday and Ashley had a few "real life" things to take care of while playing hostess.  We tried to help her out.

First, Ashley is Super Woman.  Just look at her hauling her kid (stroller and all) down the subway steps.  She wins parenthood!

Super Woman

We did a super quick tour of the MET with Ashley as our guide.  She showed us her favorite view of the city sky line from the roof top of the MET.

We had a scream at the Psycho house (or a scale model from the movie set)?

AND we saw this A-M-A-Z-I-N-G fashion as art installation.  It was room after room of designer gowns, creative materials, and interesting themes.  It was wild!

I could pull this off...right?

Part of Ashley's real world responsiblities for the day included decorating and helping to host the end of the year party for the 4th and 5th graders at school.  We spent the afternoon meeting her friends and decorating the cafeteria for the party.  Then we danced and chatted while the kids partied.  It was great.

As we were walking through Harlem to Ashley's apartment I looked in the window of a barber shop.  I saw a guy shaving a design into the side of a customer's head.  I thought: "That guy could probably give me a great undercut."  Then I thought, "Hey, I can get my hair cut here!"  So I turned around and walked inside.  The whole place was full of dudes.  I asked the guy I had seen in the window if he could clean up my hair.  He called out to another guy in the back in Spanish.  After a little exchange the guy in the back motioned be down the isle of chairs.  I think I got plenty of strange looks from the other guys in the their chairs and waiting on the benches.  Anne and Ashley came in with me and while we waited we scrolled through pinterest for undercut ideas.  

When it was my turn in the chair I showed the guy two choices.  He said "very pretty" to both and I picked the two triangle/lines design.  He went straight to work buzzing down my undercut and cleaning it up.  Then, he pulled out a straight-Sweeny-Todd style razor.  I'm not going to lie, it freaked me out.  He used the razor to cut the lines in my design in really cleanly...and he did not slit my throat.  I am certain this is the best looking undercut I've ever had.  I love it!  It looks so good!  It was fun to walk into a barber shop and come out with a great cut...for 13 dollars.  Worth every penny!

Sweet!

Home for a birthday...almost...

Keeping up with our "go-go-go" start to summer we had to squeeze in a celebration for Will's birthday.  This poor guy turns 40 on June 20th but I'll be in New York City and then he leaves for the girls camp hike so there isn't really a lot of time to honor him...and he deserves a wild, gigantic party.  

Instead, we had a little family dinner with presents tonight.  I had to take the little kids to the grocery store to shop for the special dinner food.  Adell and Colter were fighting in the cart.  I told them, if they were good...they could pick out a treat.  They instantly started giving each other kisses.  Mission bribery accomplished.

We sure are thankful for this guy.  He is a great Dad and husband.  I know I couldn't keep this family going without him.  He is devoted to his children and knows how to have a great time.  

Happy 40th birthday William James.  We love you!

Viva Las Vegas family style

We had to drive through Vegas on our way home.  Will and I had talked about stopping for a quick look-see the night before.  But, getting out of Charity's house a few hours later than expected made us second guess the idea.  We we ended up going for it.  Showing the kids the City of Sin seemed important...

We parked and walked up the strip.  We figured it would be safe and easy going on a Monday afternoon but we didn't consider all of the leaflets that would be littering the ground from the weekend before.  Those little pieces of paper let to a few questions and weird feelings.  Anyway, we walked down the strip, heading towards the Circus Circus hotel.  We stopped to see a few cool hotel sights and walked through one hotel trying to find a tiger exhibit that wasn't there...or wasn't free?   We stopped for some of the most expensive frozen yogurt I've ever paid for and kept walking. Finally, I sent Will and the kids on their own to Circus Circus and I went to get the van.  We were running out of time if we were ever going to get home at a reasonable hour.

I got to the hotel where we parked (Cosmopolitan) and wandered around the parking lots for about 30 minutes.  I could not find the car!  We had scored a sweet parking spot right beside the elevator but there were four or five sets of elevators!?  I couldn't find the car.  I gave up and went up a floor thinking to find help from the valet on the next floor up.  I came out of the elevator and...there was the van...lucky me.

I drove up to Circus Circus and found Will and the kids playing games and watching the circus act in the Midway.  It was a fun pit stop...even if it ended up being longer than we expected.

Then we were back on the road for home.  Colter was in charge of hanging out bubble gum and selected times to perk up our passengers.  We ended up rolling into home after midnight.  It was a stinky situation for Lorien.  She had been invited to a sleep over birthday party and had to miss it because we were so late.  She was not happy with us.  She would have skipped Las Vegas.  

Goodbye Davises, Hello Smiths

Sunday morning it was time to pack up and head out.  Grandpa Davis and Uncle Chris were heading up to Salt Lake and Aunt Colleen and Uncle Richard were heading back to Southern California.  We had two more days of vacation and planned to spend a night with Will's sister, Charity, and her family in Saint George.  

We headed up to meet them at church. It was sad to say goodbye to my side of the family but it was so nice to have had the time with them.

After church, we wanted to take a hike in the hills behind Aunt Charity's house.  I realized I had left all of my clothes in the dresser at Uncle Chris's house.  I left Will and the kids and drove back to his house.  With the garage code I was able to let myself back in and retrieve my clothes.  Having the house all to myself for a few minutes was kind of amazing.  It is a great house and if I ever get to build a house of my own, the floor plan and design of this house is high on my imaginary list of options.  

Back at Aunt Charity's house we suited up and headed out for out hike.  

Grandma Judy, Aunt Emily and Uncle Kenny were visiting Aunt Charity then too.  We got to see so much of our family on this trip!  Aunt Charity and her family just moved into a new house.  

This hike was a doozie.  We didn't go for very many miles...maybe one...but we went straight up!  It was cool and scary.  Wyatt and a few of his cousins scrambled up ahead of the most of the pack.  We couldn't see them for most of the hike, which was nerve wracking for me.

Grandma Judy and Clare stopped about 2/3rds of the way up.  It was hard to hike so much straight up.  The rest of us went for a ways up and stopped while Will and Uncle Ben and a few other kids explored even higher vistas.

It was a great hike. We all appreciated seeing another different part of this beautiful Earth we live on.

Back at Aunt Charity's house we snuggled babies and visited with family before falling asleep for the night.  Aunt Charity has a theater room in her house and we slept in there.  It was very dark and very quiet...maybe a little too dark and quiet.  We ended up sleeping through our alarm and getting up several hours later than we intended.  It made for a scramble in the morning but we had to get going.

Extended family fun...

As promised, Mike and his family loaded up Saturday morning to drive back up to Salt Lake.  They had flights departing at midnight for home and had to get back up in time to return a rental car.  We all loved our time with them.  It is so nice when we can see our extended family...we have a lot of family and they are all great (on both sides)!

We made the cousins line up for a quick picture.

We spent the rest of our Saturday relaxing at the house.  The vacation rental is amazing!  Seriously, if you are looking for a house to rent in the Saint George/Zions National Park area, this is the place.  It is a brand new built home with a great pool.  Plenty of space for relaxing and playing.  We had a great time.

Chris and Annette are always excellent hosts.  We played games Saturday night and made plans to visit Will's sister, Charity, who also lives in St. George for Sunday.

Saturday afternoon a storm rolled through the valley around us.  The kids and I sat up on the balcony looking over the pool and the valley behind the house.  We watched the clouds gather and the rain falling far away from us.  The best part was the forks of lightening coming down from the clouds and the chest rattling thunder.  We watched the storm as it started off to the right of our vision and rolled across the vista to the left.  Some times the clouds and falling rain was so thick we couldn't see the buttes out in the distance.  We didn't get any rain at the house we were staying at.  But we got to enjoy watching every second of the show.  It was definitely a high light for me.  I miss summer rain storms here in California.

Letting no grass grow under our feet...

We literally fled our town the second school was out Thursday the 9th of June.  We had been planning a trip out to Utah for the last month.  My brother, Mike, and his family were going to be out from North Carolina to visit my brother, Chris, and my Dad.  My Dad is living in Utah while he is being treated for colon cancer.  We knew we could make the drive out for part of the time Mike and his family were there.  We weren't sure about the location.  Christopher and his family recently finished building a vacation rental home in the southern Utah town of Hurricane.  They live closer to Salt Lake.  Mike was flying in and out of Salt Lake but wanted to spend some time in St. George.  We ended up settling on St. George.  But we were going to need to book it south as soon as school got out.  Lorien had finals the last few days of school and there was no rearranging her schedule so we couldn't skip out of school early.  

So, Adell had a kindergarten graduation, Clare wrapped up 4th grade and Wyatt finished 6th.  We all piled into the van and waited for Lorien to get home from the high school.  The second she was with us we hit the road for our 9-10 hour drive to St. George.  Of course, traffic was tricky in a few places and we had to stop for food so we didn't make it to Uncle Chris's house until about 2:00 am.  But it was worth it!

Chris's vacation rental home is new, large and very comfortable.  The kids had a blast checking out the pool with their newly reintroduced cousins.  We haven't seen Uncle Mike and his family since the reunion in 2008.  After a morning of catching up and swimming we all dressed in our hiking clothes and headed to a spot called Kanarraville Falls.  It isn't officially part of Zion's National Park but it is close and has a lovely slot canyon hike.  

There are several falls along the hike...most of it is through a little river.  We hiked up through two sets of falls.  The first one was very cool!  Except, you had to scramble up a pretty sketchy ladder to get over the first falls.  I wouldn't even call it a "ladder" it was a log with metal ties nailed into the wood.  There was a disintegrating rope attached to the canyon wall with a newer rope competing for attention.  I was mentally freaking out as we climbed up because I knew we would have to climb DOWN on the way back home.  Terrifying.

The second set of falls were really fun.  There was a rock slide down the falls that most of the kids tried out.  The boys all tried it a couple of times.  The water was cold and they were so brave.  

And then, Will took Colter down on his lap.  Colter was not as excited about trying out the slide as the big kids.  

Lets just zoom in on his poor, scared face for a second.  

Not pleased, not pleased at all.

After the second falls we turned around to head home.  Apparently, there are quite a few more falls as you go up.  We all had out paced Grandpa Davis, Aunt Colleen, Uncle Richard, Uncle Chris and Aunt Annette.  We passed them just past the first falls on our way back.  They went up the first falls and turned around too.  

As we headed down the river, our big kids out paced us with the other adults.  Will and I managed along with Colter and Adell as our companions.  We were nearly finished with the hike and I stepped down a set of rocks in the water.  I couldn't see what was under the water and I landed poorly on a rock twisting my ankle.  Smooth move...

Will was super man and carried or supported me for the rest of the hike home while managing Colter and Adell too.  We were all pretty tired by the time we got back to the cars.  It was an impressive hike.  Uncle Mike hung around with Clare and Lorien while we hobbled back down.  The other big kids had gone back to the house with Aunt Erin and Catherine.  Then we waited around for Grandpa Davis and his crew so we could have enough seats between the last two cars.

Back at the vacation rental it was time for more swimming and family fun.  Uncle Mike and his family were planning on heading out the next morning.  It was a short visit but worth every second.

The last day!!

First day of school!  August 2015

                                         

Where did the school year go!  I cannot believe it is over and SUMMER IS HERE!  Well, it will be here after today.  They all look so different up there...so young...so pulled together...

We are off on the whirlwind start of summer right after school gets out.  We are scooping up the kids and driving to St. George, Utah to see my family.  After a few days in St. George we head back home and I leave for a trip to NYC to see some girl friends.  While I am away, Lorien leaves for girls camp and Wyatt heads off to Scout camp.  Will and I will be home together for one day...a handful of hours really...then he leaves to chaperone the girls camp overnight hike.  

It is going to be crazy.  For right now, I will celebrate the last day of school!  

Last day of school June 2016

After this picture we took individual photos of the kids.  For some reason, Adell got super sad/mad.  She didn't want me to take her picture.  We were late (as usual) and we had to hustle off to school.  I told her I'd take a better picture after school when she got home.  (We did)  I wish I knew why Adell gets upset sometimes.  It seems unprovoked at the time but there must be a reason.  Poor kid...maybe she could sense the craziness that is coming our way.

Clare the dancer

Clare has been taking dance classes for most of the school year at a studio that is kind of far away from our house.  We carpool with four other families so it isn't too bad but classes are at the worst time for traffic and we drive with traffic all the way up to dance.  Clare LOVES TO DANCE!  She has tried a few different studios close to home and not felt perfectly at ease.  This dance studio has been different and Clare has had a great time.  This weekend was her performance.  She was so excited!  She has been taking Jazz and Hip Hop and couldn't wait to show us her moves.  

                                         

She also couldn't wait to wear stage make up.  This girl loves to dress up and doll up.  

Her hip hop dance routine was a hip hop version of Dora the Explorer...weird but so cute.  The song was much cooler in the hip hop version and the dancers were full of energy.  Clare is such a star when she gets on the stage.  Just like Lorien, she knows how to ham it up and isn't shy at all.  It is so great to see her shine up there.  We didn't attend her first night's performance but friends who did were full of compliments on Clare's confidence and joy at being on the stage.  

Crummy iPhone pictures only...Clare is the dancer on the farthest left. 

Clare's jazz routine was the song "Shake it up" from the Disney show of the same name.  Clare really shined in this performance.  Something about a fringed leotard brings out the stage presence in Clare.  She was adorable and so confident.  She did an amazing job.  Will and I took Adell to see Clare's show and we all loved it!  Hard work paid off.  

Clare is the second from the right, close to the front.  

Adell the actress

Adell's Kindergarten class puts on a few short plays at the end of the school year.  Mrs. Erickson reads the stories and the kids act it out with a few small speaking parts here and there.  Adell was picked to be the Mother in Tikki Tikki Tembo.  She nailed it!  

False alarm

                                         

Colter woke up this morning and couldn't walk.  I thought he was just feeling sleepy and wanting to be babied but he persisted in not being able to put any weight on his left leg?  I watched him all day, crawling when I couldn't carry him and avoiding a lot of the normal physical activity he usually engages in all day long.  Finally, I called our pediatrician and got him in for an afternoon appointment.  After X-rays and phone consultations our pediatrician said there was a small fracture on is small fibula BUT the orthopedic X-ray reader said there was no break.  Colter was fitted for a walking cast, none the less, and sent home to wait for the Pediatric Orthopedist to check his X-rays and make a final ruling.  

The walking boot made all difference.  He was able to walk around and felt much better.  We will wait and see what the doctor has to say.

                                         

**update**  The pediatric orthopedist said there wasn't a break.  The next morning, Colter was up and walking around just fine.  I have no idea what it was but he could not walk yesterday and is just fine today.  Grateful, grateful, grateful!