Camping at Guinavah

This last weekend we went camping up Logan Canyon. The kids now beg to go camping and are sad when we leave. Maybe we should just sell the house and live in our trailer (okay, maybe not). We had a moose walk right through our campsite! It scared us to death since we had kids scattered all over the place. Luckily the moose was more scared than us and left quickly. Then we were set to go on a hike when someone up the trail told us the rangers had found a mountain lion on the trail. That changed those plans! The kids still had lots of fun playing with the Lamb family. Their highlights were climbing the tree in the picture above, wading in the water (we couldn't keep them dry!) and building bridges. It was great to get away.

Since we couldn't go on our hike, we settled for a walk to the amphitheater. The kids had fun playing on the stage.

This is what camping is all about!

The kids had been "planning" what to take in their hiking packs for weeks. They were almost excited when Kolton fell down and scratched up his leg, then they were able to use the band-aids they had so carefully planned for.

Crowded Tub

There's too many kids in this tub.

There's too many elbows to scrub.

I just washed a behind
That I'm sure wasn't mine,

There's too many kids in this tub.

Things that warm a mom's heart

One day I realized that 3 of my girls were missing from the house. I looked outside to find Arianna reading to Kali and Sabrina out of a family favorite bear book. The two littlest were still in their pajamas and having a wonderful time. There's nothing that makes me happier than seeing my kids playing together on their own. It makes having 5 kids in 8 years all worth it.

If you can't join 'em, make your own fun!

We got a call from Miranda and Arianna's piano teacher a couple of weeks. Apparently she didn't want to have a recital this spring. No, I wasn't happy with the decision. Yes, we will be looking for someone else. The girls had been working on their songs since after Christmas. They were disappointed, so I promised them we'd have our own recital.

The same week was Jacob's kindergarten graduation. The night before, at about midnight, he started throwing up. It lasted until about the time his program would have finished. He was SO disappointed, as were the rest of us. All of a sudden our piano recital turned into a talent night. Last Sunday we all dressed up and the kids shared their talents. Arianna played the piano and did one of her TaVaci songs, Miranda played her songs and shared her art pictures, Jacob sang all of the songs from his graduation, Sabrina sang and danced (her own choreography), and Kali shared her best versions of itsy-bitsy spider and 3 little monkeys jumping on the bed. It was a fun night with talented kids!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Farr

My dad celebrated his 60th birthday on June 1st. After a little deception, we all surprised him at Maddox for a surprise dinner. We had fun spending the day with Grandpa and the rest of the family. All of Dad's kids and grandkids wrote love letters and put the in a special book for him. Then the grandkids sang him a couple of songs. Dad just kept shaking his head a fighting back the tears. He's not really comfortable with that kind of attention, but we loved giving it to him. We love you, Dad and appreciate all you do for us!

P.S. I don't know what happened with our picture taking. We missed Tosh, Erin, and decent pictures of Bostyn. If anyone has any from that day pass them on to me. Also, sorely missed were Brianna, Cayde, Jaron and Isaac (they were traveling the world, but with us in spirit).

Teacher's Rock!!!

My kids had such great teachers this year. I can't believe how quickly this school year went. They all loved school, but I'm glad to have them home now.Jacob had two wonderful kindergarten teachers. He started the year with Mrs. Allgood. She left around Christmas time due to cancer and the treatments that go along with it. What an amazing lady she is. Ms. L. (her name was even a challenge for me to pronounce) took over after that. She was lots of fun. We happened to catch them both on the day after school cleaning the classroom. He sure had fun. I'm not sure that I'm ready for him to be in school all day next year! I jokingly told him that I might just come pick him up after lunch because I'll miss him too much. I thought he'd fight the idea, but I later heard him bragging to someone that he wouldn't have to stay all day. Maybe I'd better be more careful about what I say!

Arianna had a wonderful time in second grade with Ms. Yeates. She was so kind. I've never seen anyone give more homework. Ari would have 3 or 4 worksheets and night, plus reading. But she was a trooper and seldom complained. Arianna loved math and reading this year. She said she's scared for 3rd grade because this is the year when you have to square dance - with a boy!!! (Of course, it's not until the following spring that this occurs.) I love that she loves school.What a blessing Mrs. Alexander turned out to be. When I was told that Miranda was going to be in a 4th/5th grade split class I had a lot of misgivings. They were all put to rest when I met her great teacher. Mrs. Alexander had such a wonderful perspective and was so excited about something that could have been completely overwhelming. Her theme for the class was "We are all part of a community of friends, my teacher, my classmates, and me. We are all part of a community of friends, a caring and safe place to be." Miranda is just relieved that she'll be able to see her teacher again next year. She's also really excited to be the oldest in the school.

Sabrina also had a great preschool teacher. Mrs. Paskett was very patient as Sabrina learned the rules of the school. With Sabrina being the youngest in the class, she was very patient with her and excited about her advancement in learning. We're glad we still have her next year. (I'm not sure where their picture went, I'll keep looking and add it later.)

Thank goodness for wonderful teachers and schools!

Do You Have Scents?

I guess it's time to make it official here. Last month I was looking for something to get me out of the house and to be able to have fun with. Since Rory already has the golfing hobby all tied up, and I can't draw like Miranda, or perform like Arianna, or play basketball like Jake, I went web surfing to find something that would be completely mine. That's when I came across Scentsy. They are wickless candles and other products that make your life smell sweet. It's been so much fun. The first day I got the sample testers (for people to be able to smell the 80 different scents we offer) the kids made towers with them and arranged them in a rainbow according to their color. The kids have had a blast with this (especially Miranda).

The part I've enjoyed the most is watching people test our scents out. It's fun to watch them re-live certain memories, and oohhh and ahhh if they like it or shudder if they don't. People's tastes are so diverse and just when I think I have somone pegged, they surprise me. It's made me push myself out of my box a little, and while it's sometimes uncomfortable, I always love it in the end. I even have a website that tells all about it. You can check out http://www.candlesfromangie.com/ to see our products. If you have questions about it or want to order give me a call or email me. I'm going to be having open-house launch parties this Friday, June 6th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm and Saturday, June 7th from 10:00am to 12:00 pm. If you're interested come join me!