Thankful Thursday - Saturday

This week I am thankful for fun family bonding time! Since it was the kids' Spring Break we decided to tag along with Brian down to Moab for a conference he was attending down there for work. He only had to be there to talk to the doctors during their two morning breaks so we had the rest of the day to play! We've done a lot of the hikes in that area so this time we decided to bring the 4-wheelers and ride some of the neat trails. They were AWESOME!!! We stayed here at the Red Cliffs Lodge which is about 17 miles up the canyon. It not only has lodging but is also a working ranch along with a vineyard. Needless to say, Nick LOVED it there and even asked if he could get an air freshener for his room that smelled like the air up there. It smelled like a FARM...who wants their room to smell like that????? :) Only my boy who really needs to be raised on a farm! Hailey and I loaded up and ready to go on our ride on Thursday. This trail turned out to be my favorite ride we've ever taken. It was about a 3 - 4 hour ride that was BEAUTIFUL!!!! We crossed streams, rode through the red rock mountains that dumped us out into a beautiful valley on the other side and even rode on the edge of a cliff at times. But it was a smooth trail with plenty of room so we weren't too freaked out about the cliff. Because the trail was so perfect Nick and Hailey got to drive a lot (Hailey didn't get to drive at the top of the cliff however) but they absolutely loved that!

Brian and Nick up ahead of us.

Brian and Nick stopping to pose for a picture for Hailey who was our trip photographer. :)

Me and Nick. Brian was cruising through this water and splashing everywhere. Nick was bummed that I made him slow down so I didn't get sopping wet!

Brian and Hailey in front of our room. This was part of the scenery on our ride on Friday. We never actually made it to "Picture Frame Arch" which is where we were trying to go...there were too many off shoots of the trail and it got a little confusing but we did see some awesome sights on the trails we took.

A big cave in the mountain that Nick and Hailey NEEDED to climb up into.

Brian took some allergy medicine the morning of this ride that was making him very sleepy so he hung out on the 4 wheeler while the kids climbed around the red rock mountain.

Next time I glanced over at Brian he was sound asleep. :)

This is where Nick could've spent all of his time...looking at the cows. :)

This is our ridiculous pile of laundry we brought home with us on this TWO DAY trip. I think we brought home all the dust from the trails of Moab with us!!!

Our Little Friends

Our little friends Ellie and Lynlee came to play with us today. Nick had the great idea to have Ellie feed the chickens and she had so much fun throwing corn into the chicken run. We had just as much fun watching her...she would get such a kick out of the chickens going for the corn on the ground.

This is what Lynlee did most of the time. :) She did wake up long enough to drink her bottle, get her diaper changed and watch her sister with fascination.

We love it when they come to play!!

Thankful Thursday

I received an email from my mom last week letting me know that she still checks my blog every Thursday for my "Thankful Thursday" post. :) I obviously haven't been doing these posts lately so in honor of my mom I'm bringing it back. :) Today I am thankful for many things. I am thankful I got to spend a couple days with my sister that I hardly ever get to see. She is my half sister and it is amazing to me how much alike we are for not having been raised together. One time when I picked her up at the airport she came off the plane wearing the exact same sweater as me. We use the same expressions, we had the same cell phones, she has some of the exact pairs of shoes I have, we had the same make up case at one time, and we both think we're pretty funny and laugh a TON every time we're together. Her kids tell us we share a brain and they're probably right! :) I'm also thankful that prayers are answered. Hailey was having a very hard time sleeping this week with Brian gone so one night we knelt down by her bed and prayed specifically for comfort for her. There was a very sweet spirit in the room as we offered this prayer and she was sound asleep within a 1/2 hour of that prayer. The next morning she told me she knows Heavenly Father is real and hears our prayers because of the peace she felt. I'm very thankful for experiences like this with my kids. And lastly I am thankful for my mom for reminding me that it's important to reflect often on things we are thankful for. She is a great example of this and I am always thankful for her!!!

Putting Aunt Beckie to Work

My sister Beckie came out from Tennessee for a visit and we immediately put her to work. :) She stayed with us Thursday night and when we were down in Nick's room I mentioned that I've been procrastinating putting all of his Eagle Scout stuff up on his walls. Her response was, "Let's do it." He has also been wanting to rearrange his bedroom so she was more than willing to do that with him as well. I've decided I'd like Aunt Beckie to move in so a lot more things would get done around here. :) She also made quick work of turning Hailey's light switch into a zebra print light switch with only a sharpie. :) They love their Aunt Beckie...I do too! :)

This is the flag that was flown at the nations capital on the night of Nick's Eagle Court of Honor and was sent to us with a certificate from Orrin Hatch stating that it was flown in his honor.

You Give an Inch...They Want a Whole Room :)

The other day I was shopping with friends when I saw this cute decoration that I thought Hailey would love for her bedroom. So I brought her back later that night to see if she would want it for a little spot on her wall that needed something. Little did I know I was unleashing a complete bedroom makeover!!! She has always had hot pink in her room but at an Activity Day activity they made cute picture boards where she picked out zebra print fabric...now with this new wall hanging and the picture board she made, she decided that the room HAD to be zebra themed! A quick couple of days and SEVERAL stores later trying to find the bedding...VIOLA...a new room. :)

That zebra on the wall is vinyl and came in about 8 pieces that you had to match up. Hailey thinks it's so cool to have a zebra on her wall and she even named it...Zeb. :)