Camping...Successes?

It's been an interesting week. We weren't able to take too much advantage of Memorial Day itself, but I was able to spread some time off throughout the week. We decided to take the family camping! Wednesday night we went to a local campground in a canyon just east of Mapleton, Utah. It was called Whiting Campground and it was a nice remote campground. Not many sites being used and we found one right next to a rapidly flowing creek which provided us with some awesome soothing sounds. Because it is still May, nights are still pretty chilly, but we planned ahead and made sure we had warm clothes for everyone. Oliver and I were so excited for a campfire and tin foil dinners and enjoying the world around us with our children. Unfortunately, the world around us wasn't ready for us(or at least for our very civilized needs). This campground had a huge downside. Caterpillars. Little inchworms. Everywhere. And the campsite we chose? Apparently it is a prime spot for the caterpillars to be in the trees and pooping on us. Yes, we had the white noise of the creek. We also had a beautiful rain feature that would have been nice except I kept being reminded that it was "worm" poop "raining" on our tent. I'm not normally a squirmish girl, but I was that night. We didn't have a campfire. I wouldn't let the boys outside of the tent. They made my skin crawl even though they weren't on me. We didn't get rid of all the worms until we got back home the next day. The success? Ryan's trilling came back after 20 minutes inside the tent!
Friday night we set out again. To another part of the state with hopes of a better experience. We drove south to Capitol Reef National Park just east of Torrey, Utah. This time we brought Oliver's sister and knew we would be able to enjoy the park itself the next day. We had the same hopes: campfire, tin foil dinners, night out in nature. But again we hit some snags. We couldn't leave early in the day due to classes and work schedules so we got into the area around 8pm. We culd see clouds forming and knew that there was a 30% chance of rain so we had a plan. As soon as we got our site, Beth and I would set up the tent while Oliver started the fire(but if there were worms, we weren't staying there). First snag: The campground was full. Second snag: it started raining. Third snag: we couldn't find another campground close enough. Fourth snag: the first hotel we stop at has no vacancy. Fifth: the second hotel we stop at has no vacancy. We found a hotel that had space and then immediately decided to go to dinner despite the disappointment of not being able to have our own campfire and tin foil dinners. We were given a very artistic(and expensive) meal at Cafe Diablo but at least it made the night interesting since we couldn't have a campfire. One success: Evan wasn't going to freeze in the hotel room like he would have in the tent!
Another success: we still got to enjoy the national park that Oliver has been enjoying over the last year, having gone down twice already with UVU groups.
We took one hike to Hickman Bridge. About two miles round trip and not too strenuous. We were blessed with a beautiful day, but were still grateful for cooling shade and cold rocks that we found underneath the bridge. Then we travelled down to the southern end of the park to see where the park gets its name: a huge barrier "reef" that runs north and south for miles! It was amazing to see and fun to drive on a dirt road for about 75 miles.

Another success: we were together and we got to experience something new. I hope that one day Evan and Ryan love the outdoors in either the same way their parents do, or that they develop their own respects and awe inspiring views of the world.

Exploring Utah County

Along with the previous post of "firsts", Oliver has been finding a lot of places for our cute little family to see and go to. He developed a love of bird watching when he was younger because of his mom and within the last week decided to pick it back up again whole-heartedly. If you are really interested in the birds he has found and where he has found them, he started a blog about it(link on the right). It has been really fun to go with him and see his passion for it. How intense has it been? He bought two Utah bird books on Friday, binoculars on Monday morning, found several websites connected to Utah birdwatchers and when we decided to purchase a new digital SLR camera, the second lens was telephoto. Needless to say, last night after dinner we took a drive to a new place in Utah County and played with the camera. First, I love photography-I may not be as advanced as I used to be, but I still love it. Second, it actually helped our bird watching efforts to be able to come home, look at the photos and realize we had seen birds that we hadn't been able to identify while actually watching them. It was like a scavenger hunt to compare all the photos of different birds with photos others had taken on the website with the books that we were using as reference. Granted, with two little boys and limited time, we didn't always have the patience to sit and watch like I believe some bird watchers have, but the adventure itself was amazing!

Our latest adventure was last night. We went to Utah Lake, but to the southern end to a place called Lincoln Beach. Even though it was windy, we got the boys out and walked around with them a bit as Oliver continued taking pictures of shore birds and kitesurfers. That was a surprise, something I'd never seen before, but I was amazed by it!

Wakeboarders propelling themselves by the wind with giant kites!
The only downside to our adventure was that it happened after dinner right as the sun was setting(or at least going behind the mountains) so the lighting wasn't perfect, but that didn't stop us from enjoying ourselves!

Firsts

In raising kids, you enjoy the firsts. Sometimes you even enjoy the multiple repeating of firsts. I love that Ryan claps. It was amazing when he did it for the first time, but it makes me giggle even now even though its no longer the first time. Firsts can be revitalizing. The first time Evan took more than 5 steps thrilled me to the core! I have had the privilege of experiencing a lot of firsts lately. Not just for my children, but for myself. For some reason, Oliver and I have decided that we should be taking more advantage of the state we are living in. I have been to so many cities and had a lot of new experiences lately. It's revitalizing!

We've always enjoyed going to new restaurants that we've never been to before, but its also a lot of fun to just drive down a road you've never taken before to see what you can see. Three weeks ago, I experienced my first ever massage and pedicure. I took my sister to the Missionary Training Center and walked inside for the first time ever. We drove to Manti and I saw the Manti temple, we found Snow College in Ephraim and we drove on two different roads to get in and out of the valley. (Which were both beautiful drives). We went to Layton for the walkathon and went to a park I'd never been to before as well as driving down a road that connected to another part of the area that I HAD been to. We drove further up the road to Squaw Peak than we've ever been before trying to get to Rock Canyon Campground, but were stopped by a caved in road. Oliver suddenly fell back in love with bird watchingand has taken us a few places for bird watching(It's an art that I have to work on still, but I think I'll get plenty of practice while also getting to see a lot of new scenery). Over the last two days we've driven on roads here in Provo that we've never driven before and they make it feel like you aren't even in Provo anymore.

Rejuvenating experiences. What's to come? Camping this week. Twice in two different places. Two places I've never been before. :) It's a wonder that infants and toddlers have so much energy. They get to experience all of their firsts and so quickly that of course they would have a lot of energy!

Which leads into the next thought process...the advantage of new experiences versus old traditions. What are your thoughts?

ASF Walkathon

Yesterday was a good day! Not only was it beautiful outside, but the walkathon went smoothly and we had a lot of fun.

We were able to finally meet some other families and individuals who have Angelman's or have "angels" in their lives. I only have a few pictures, but you can see that there was a good size group of people there. This is almost everyone that was participating in the walk, not just the individuals or immediate families of the angels. There was a "parade of the angels" at the beginning and then the walk began. It was marked out by orange traffic cones across the park as well as some photos of the angels with little sayings. Evan's was the very first one! Interspersed with the photos were signs with facts about Angelman Syndrome such as this one: Evan did a good job. He walked for probably a quarter of a mile at the beginning. But I don't think he was in the mood to walk very much. We've never really tested to see how far he would walk or how long. Because we were going at Evan's pace, we quickly became the last of the group. Which was fine. I just loved being there, spending time to focus on Evan and being with a group of people who understood what we were going through. I never once during the few hours we were there, felt like I had to explain Evan. When asked how old he was, I knew the asker had an understanding of what 2 1/2 really meant.

We were blessed to have Beth, B, Bekah, & Pugah come with us.And of course we are so thankful to all those who donated a few dollars to the foundation in Evan's name. I hope that everyone was able to take a walk yesterday or learned a little more about Angelman Syndrome because of our involvement in this walkathon. Thank you for your support!

Why Flowers?

For the last few weeks, I've been motivated to give flowers to those I feel deserve it. Perhaps the motivation came from Oliver's mom who wanted all the children to send flowers to Grandma on her 75th birthday because no one was able to be with her on that day. So we all sent flowers from our various locations and it made her day a little brighter. Our anniversary was a few weeks ago and I did get some flowers for that from Oliver. For Mother's Day weekend, all of my siblings were going to be together for my sister's birthday and farewell party except for me. Since it was her birthday and mother's day, I sent some flowers to my sisters and mom via Neal, one of my brothers. Definitely not the highlight of their weekend, but I hope it meant a little. And I got my own share of beautiful flowers for mother's day. From my children...thanks to Oliver. From my sister in law and from church. They're beautiful and they make our house look and smell a little better and more springlike. But why flowers? What makes flowers so universally a woman's gift or so easily turned to as an effort to show someone you were thinking of them or you appreciate them or you want them to get better or you love them?
It could be the color it brings into a room or a specific space. The color usually awes me and it definitely brings some girlishness to our house. Could it be the fresh smell? That is something amazing. The light spring aroma that makes you relax just a bit when you take a deep breath. (Sunday night before going to bed, I took a nice deep breath over the roses and over the lilies and daisies I had recieved that day and it instantly put a smile on my face).
Flowers aren't the most practical gift to give. I could have spent money on chocolates or on something that they may have wanted or needed more. So maybe flowers are just easy to give away? You don't have to worry whether they like it or not, because they'll die soon and be thrown out and the reciever doesn't have to deal with returns or having a random gift that they don't want.
I like to think that flowers bring joy. A simple way to send some joy someone's way without being too intrusive. And its more than sending a card although one usually goes with it. They are even a bit rare because they often only grow at specific times throughout the year. They are definitely what makes spring so nice-all the flowers blooming that remind us of rebirth and hope and of the beauty of the world around us.
Do you think flowers are an okay gift to give? Are they worth the money? Is there a better way to show your appreciation, love, or well wishes?

Pampered

For my birthday(about 10 months ago) I was given an amazing gift. A gift certificate to Seasons Salon and Day Spa! Well, I finally set an appointment and used it as a mother's day gift from my loving siblings. Thanks Neal, Denean, Casey and Natalie. I had a massage for an HOUR, a half hour facial and then a pedicure. It was my first experience at a spa and it was so relaxing to be pampered. It even ended with me going to buy new flip flops because I didn't have the ability to put my newly pampered toes into the nasty ones that I walked in with. I would recommend this to anyone! Go if you get the chance! Or send someone you think needs pampering! Oliver made us a great dinner and Beth came over to share that with us.

Then that night after dinner and taking Beth back home, we drove up to the lower parking lot at the entrance of the Y Mountain Hike. The boys were asleep so Oliver and I got out and just looked over the valley and talked. So I felt pampered and loved. Oliver has always found ways to help me feel pampered even in the middle of really stressful events and even when he may be needing some pampering himself. Like letting me stay in bed for a few more hours instead of getting up with Evan, even though Oliver's not really wanting to be awake either. Or reminding me that he still loves me. It's simple, but it's effective! Sometimes when he knows I'm stressed and need a rest, he tells me to go take a bath.

I love my husband with whom I share the role of parent. I love my boys who keep our lives interesting and also give us lots of reasons to smile and laugh. I hope everyone else had a beautiful and happy mother's day and celebrated in the way you desired.

Why I Like Where We Live

One of the blessings of living in the northern half of Heritage Halls is that I normally walk along the street to the Cannon Center that is south of the Marriott Center. Why is that so great? Well, in the spring, the street loks like this:

As soon as you approach this section of sidewalk, the sweet aroma overtakes you and it reminds me of home. Once upon a time there was a lilac bush at the head of our driveway. Luckily, I get to be blessed by all of these huge lilac bushes without having to take care of them myself! Yay for spring and yay for lilac bushes and yay for walks. This is what happened while we were walking:

You can also see why I love this new stroller. You can lower the seat backs independently of each other and they can lay almost flat(as you can see Ryan is almost flat and Evan is slightly higher because he kept waking up every time I tried to lower it).