Arches National Park 6/7-6/8

On our way to Arches I thought it would be a lot of fun to go to Goblin Valley.  It looked like it was just to the side of Moab, but ended up being a lot more than I expected.  When we got there the kids had a blast running down and through the goblins.  Unfortunately it was a little hot for Buddy Boy; he lasted about an hour.  Munchkin and I went exploring more while Eve took Buddy back to the car for snacks and to try to cool off.  It wasn't really that hot, but there was no breeze and it was the middle of the day.  It would have been perfect if we arrived a little earlier, but we still had a good time.

Also on the way I heard about a ghost town, and thought the kids would love to explore a ghost town.  The town name is Sego.  This was disappointing and the kids weren't too impressed with the Indian writings.  So we quickly started back for Moab.

We finally made it to Moab and we were all tired and hungary.  We ate and let the kids play at one of the parks.  The park (Rotary Park) was awesome!  They had giant musical instruments for the kids to play with.  Our kids love parks and this was a whole new excitement for them.

We then went exploring around Moab and saw more Indian writings, and rock cliffs.  The pictures don't come close to show the height and mass of these rock mountains.

Six months ago is when I started to plan our family trip to Arches.  Shortly after Eve and I were married my family invited the me and her to go with them.   It was a beautiful place and I really wanted to go again.  I figured the kids are old enough now to do a lot of the hikes.  When I went with my family we didn't have enough time to go to Delicate Arch,  so this time we planned on going, then after Delicate Arch do what ever we had enough energy for.  The hike wasn't as strenuous as I was expecting, but there are cliffs that we were afraid the kids might trip or do something we would regret.  I was wishing a got one of those kid leashes for Buddy.  Munchkin, and Eve did incredible.  Eve doesn't like heights and this hike had its moments of them.  We were too nervous to walk around the Arch for the above reason,  so we had some snacks, took some pictures and made our way down.  As we started the way down Buddy said he had to go potty, there were so many people on the trail that we couldn't stop on the side and let him go.  It seemed like a miracle he made it to the bathroom.

Our next stop was Sand Dune Arch.  This is the best place in all of Arches for kids.  The giant rock slabs keep the sand cool.  Lets face it the kids don't really care about seeing arches, and would much rather play in sand.

We then ate lunch and took them to a view point when the kids became agitated.  We started back to the entrance and stopped at Park Ave and me and Munchkin walked down the parkway.  The views here were spectacular.

We then went straight home.  Kids wanted to go back to the hotel and come back, but It was only a two day vacation.  Maybe another time we will get to see more of the Park.~Clay

Birthday Month!

This is our family's month for birthdays! Munchkin is turning 7, and Buddy Boy turns 3...

SO, to celebrate, we'll be doing a combined party with family for both of them. That's probably horrible, but they're young enough to not care. I swear, I'll make it up to them when they're older.

Yesterday we had the fun of throwing a party with friends for Munchkin.

It was awesome! And y'all know how I'm a frugal nerd. I calculated our cost, and it was $16. The kids, fortunately, had a blast! Here's what went down:

-We started the kids off with a craft. They decorated foam paper with glitter glue and foam stickers, and we made picture frames out of them. While they were decorating, I took a picture of each of them, and later printed them up on our computer so they'd have a framed picture to take home. SO cute!


-After that, we did "carnival" games. A bean bag toss, balloon volleyball, and cotton ball blowing races. Dad oversaw that while I did pictures, but I heard they had fun. We then opened presents and did cupcakes and ice cream. We bought a bunch of toppings from Winco's bulk food section and had the kids decorate their own cupcakes. Most of them put so much crap on that they couldn't eat the cupcakes. One kid said, "If I eat this whole thing I'm gonna puke."


-Then we did a treasure hunt with clues hidden around the house. While the kids ran around, I snuck into my room and dressed up as a clown. Once the treasure hunt was over and the gold coins were found, I came out with my makeup and balloons. A GLORIOUS friend of mine GAVE me a clown costume and taught me how to make balloon animals, so it was fun. Big shocker, the boys all wanted swords, and the girls wanted puppies and kittens and stuff. Each kid went home with 3 or 4 balloons, it was so funny watching them try to haul all of their stuff home!

Anywho, it was awesome. The kids had a blast, and I feel very grateful that Munchkin has such good friends. Buddy Boy even enjoyed himself, and was sad to see everyone go. And get this: He actually SMILED at the camera when I took his picture! Yes, he did. Need proof?

Afterwards Dad and I tried to take naps, but alas, the children were coked (sp?) up on sugar and yellow dye #2. We went to Wienerschnitzel for dinner too, just because it was a special day! We've never gone there (well, not since getting married), so it was fun!

There. I updated. Told you I would.:-)

Happy Birthday Mom

Ten things I love about Mom:

1. She loves family and all of us being together.
2. She is a chef on a budget. She can whip up all sorts of great meals for under $10.00.
3. She is frugal, and proud to be.
4. She sings to our kids, reads to our kids, and teaches our kids how to be good, and smart people.
5. She loves to learn new things, and accepts the challenge placed in front of her.
6. She loves people and will do many charitable things to help anyone out in need.
7. She is responsible, and teaches our family its importance.
8. She loves gardening.
9. She is a greenie, and is always finding new ways for herself, and the family to be more environmentally friendly.
10. She loves us and we love her.


Here is some pictures of her birthday celebration. ~Dad

Birthday Party

We had a birthday party for Munchkin at Chuck E Cheese, just the four of us. It's amazing really, when you don't buy a party package or take a million kids along, it can be quite affordable. We all got filled up on pizza, played games for hours, and redeemed our tickets for great prizes (according to Munchkin), all for under $20. In case anyone was curious:-)

5 Years Ago

5 years ago today my life changed forever....

-5 years ago today I realized that I don't need to care what the world thinks of me, because there are so many more important things.
-I learned that life is so much bigger than me.
-I saw first hand the miracles that God gives us.
-I figured out WHY eternal families are SO important.
-I had my first memorable glimpse of Heaven.

5 years ago today my sweet girl was born.