so, we had a fantastic time camping with the Schoenfelds. We ate, hiked, sat around, made smores, went to the Lehman Caves, and had plain old fun. The kids were in heaven too. J was grumpy much of the time probably due to a lack of sleep (nights left a little to be desired in the Shaw tent). He had a great time playing with Elsie, but every once and a while he would storm over to us and say, "I don't like Elsie. She's not my friend." He can be such a brat at times. Most of the time however, they were great little pals.

We left after D got off work on Wednesday. The drive really wasn't bad. Great Basin National Park is right on the Utah, Nevada border and took about 4 hours with stops for us to get to. We drove through a bunch of little podunk towns to get there. You drive across boring desert and then all of a sudden there is a huge mountain and that is Great Basin. It is right outside a little town called baker. I only mention that because we went into Baker the second day to find hot chocolate and were unsuccessful. The only market they had was smaller than a convienence store.

We got up there at about 9pm. D set up camp and we got the children down without too much trouble. Paige woke up that night and cried for quite a while, woke J up and we just had a lot of camping fun. The only way I could get P to go back to sleep and kind of sleep myself was to keep her in a cradle hold and try to lay down. If I just set her down she started crying again. It was pretty sad. I can say this though, each night got better. The second night it was actually J that woke up crying and the last night although I was up with P a few times, she fell right back to sleep. I dressed the kids warmer each night and I think that helped.

The days were about 70* up there and the nights were probably in the 50*s. It was heaven. Such a nice break from hot St. George.

We ate great...yummy big breakfasts of pancakes, eggs, bacon, and sausage and dinners of Carne Asada smoked over mesquite wood, roasted dogs, baked beans, corn on the cob and fruit. And smores of course. What is camping without smores.

The second day we went to Lehman caves. It is this cool cave full of stalagtites and mites and is pretty impressive. I would tell you more about it except that I left early with the two littlest who weren't having the whole cave thing. We sat and played on the grass while we waited for everyone else.

Besides all this we went on hikes, played games and just sat around. It was really relaxing and fun.

Okay, so that is my boring travelog. Now for the pictures and funny stuff.

Here is out little tent compound.


D ready to take P on a hike. She loved being in the backpack and would sleep on and off.
Playing a little Brain Quest

Just chilling by the campfire.


D and the kids in the hammock.
J and is on again off again friend
Waiting to go through the cave. We forgot that it was NV time there and so we were off by an hour.
Adam and Grant. Adam has been Jackson's babysitter for about two years now and J loves him.
Part of the gang.
Me and P. D was in the car with a sleeping J who fell so asleep that he wet his pants. We had no change of clothes so I stood under the dryer in the bathroom for about 30minutes drying his nasty pee clothes. The things we do for our children!!
Audrey is so funny and such a drama queen. I had to put this one in because she was pouting at the time and refused to let us take a picture.
Cute little P...this was her uniform. I raided J's baby clothes to find her some stuff to wear and this is what I came up with...white onsie and jeans. I also bought her some white tennis shoes, but they were so heavy on her feet that she wouldn't even try to walk. I am so glad I threw in her pink sandles at the last minute. She didn't want to walk a whole lot in those either, but it was better that the tennis shoes.
Maryann and me in our twinner outfits.
Lucy Grant
Mike and Maryann

Whip cream for breakfast...

who wouldn't love that. Well, Paige did at least.






and lest you wonder...yes that is a bib smock. It is one of the best discoveries I have made as a parent!

Tagged

I have been tagged by my friend Natasha to share 6 quirky things about myself. How I can limit it to five, I don't know, but here goes.
1) I read magazines from the back to the front.
2) I hate to walk around without shoes.
3) I am a total germ phobe. I try to supress it, but it is there. I have a shopping cart cover, high chair cover and plenty of anti-bacterial wipes in my car at all times.
4) I can barely breathe out of my nose. I have been this way for years and just recently decided to go to the effort to figure out why.
5) I have a major sweet tooth...another thing I try to supress. I would much rather have a large slice of chocolate cake for breakfast than something healthy. Luckily my obsession with trying to stay somewhat in shape helps to quelch that desire.I also limit my cookie making to once a week. Seriously, if I let myself I would make chocolate chip cookies everyday.
6) I really enjoy being pregnant minus the last month. I feel good about myself while I am pregnant...crazy but true.

Okay now I tag six people...
1. Mom
2. Anne
3. Kristen H.
4. Rachel my cousin
5. Stephanie M. (maybe now you will update your blog :))
6. Kellie S. (by the way, I need your blog address)

We're back...

we are home from our three day camping adventure. It was a blast, but I am too tired to actually write about it now. Maybe tomorrow. Plus the fact that I should be getting my relief society lesson prepared, but I have wasted an hour checking blogs.

Anyway, on another note...I entered a photo contest and I am one of the finalists. Vote HERE.

off we go...

on a fun, family adventure.

(let's hope we don't go crazy!)

oh what do you do in the summer time?

okay, so I am embarrassed that I have posted this many times...it was just a lot more fun than editing photos tonight.

family home evening from a three year old...

(yes, I know I have posted like a bajillion times today)

Jackson:
"Do we bite?"
"no"
"do we hit?"
"no"
"do we steal?"
"no"
"do we jump on the trampoline without a ladder?"
"no"
"do we climb trees and fall out?"
"no"
"do we wait for momma and dadda to climb up and fly away?"
"yes"
"do we give hugs?"
"yes"
"do we give kisses"
"yes"

The Gospel simplified.

Musings of a three year old...

Paige is finally walking!

still a little jello legged, but doing pretty well.

In our house we like to:

Play with electrical cords:

torture our little sis:

harrass the big brother:

climb to precarious heights:

walk like a crazy person:


our house is FUN!!

and a few more jsut cause I think she is kinda cute:



p.s. I take horrible pictures with my point and shoot.

I am trying to foster independent thinking...

and this is what I am getting. I eagerly await each morning to see what combo he will come up with.
Here is one:

and another:

and a closer shot that also demonstrates the reaction I get when I win at Candyland. I guess if I was a good mom I would just let him win everytime, but the kid has to learn how to lose someday. I always just hope and pray that he choses Princess Frosting because that can really get ugly.


...and yes, his shirt is on backwards.

And in case you are worried, I do make him change if we actually go out in public but usually do so by telling him that we need to put a clean shirt on. He falls for it every time.

and a few more...

remember the pudding on the floor?? Here you have it:
and let me tell you...not fun to clean up.

and lately J has taken to falling asleep around 5pm. Nice...really promotes a 7pm bedtime.


In fact, I just walked out and J's quiet time has turned into naptime again.

Pictures from months ago...

Finally emptied the card on my point and shoot. These pics are from the water park about three months ago and on our way to swim. I so rarely take candid shots of my kiddos, so here you have a few.

maybe tomorrow...

I had a great new post with pictures and everything, but I have been instructed to go to bed. He is right I have been queen grouch lately so I better do it.
Hasta.

Kung Fu on You....

We took J to see "Kung Fu Panda" last night. He loved it. He was doing his kung fu moves in his seat in the theatre.

Today on the way to cafe rio he told me, "If I see a mean Cheeto at Cafe Rio I'll kung fu him."

I didn't have the heart to tell him it was a cheetah, not a cheeto.

Life is always interesting with a 3 year old!

Jackson comes into my office today and says, "Momma, I'm a big boy."
I respond, "Oh yeah?" and he continues,
"Yeah.....I don't cry when crocodiles snap on my fingers."

There you have it.

God Bless America

Well our Fourth was a busy, successful day. We went to the ward pancake breakfast/parade in the morning. I am on the activity committee so I got to help make the breakfast. The kids were great and had a really fun time.

They have a little parade so being the great mom that I am, I had the babysitter help Jackson decorate his bike. I actually would have loved to help him, but something had to give that day. He loved doing it.

But, his beautiful patriot bike was thrown to the side when he caught sight of the automatic car that some kid brought. They switched vehicles and were both as happy as clams. J drove that thing long after the parade ended and luckily only ran into one biker. We are hoping there is no law suit...haha.

We also went to a fun swim party that afternoon. J loves to swim around the pool and P can't get enough of the water.

We also had a family party and I was in charge of that meal. We had carne asada which D bbqed, with cheese, guac, sour cream, tortillas, you know, all the good stuff.

Saturday was my grandma's 92nd birthday and we celebrated with another great family meal that my aunt put together. I had a lot of cousins, and aunts and uncles here to celebrate and it is nice to catch up with everyone. J is always in heaven with so many friends to play with. He taught us many interesting things such as coming out of my tummy by me swallowing, being born in his dump truck t-shirt, and many other humerous little Jacksonisms. I love to ask him questions just to see what answers he comes up with. All the older kids were so good about letting him tag along and it is fun to see how "grown up" he becomes when he is with them.

Well, another week is going to begin. I sort of dread (okay really dread) Mondays. I feel like all the hard work from the past week is gone and I have to do it all over again, especially laundry. YUCK!! And, D leaves for work. I always get a little blue on sunday nights...

And a few pics to top things off.

J riding as fast as he can (see, I take blurry pics too!)

His trade in. It took him no time to figure out how to drive it.

And holy cow, have you ever seen a cuter little girl?? After my last sad post about her I have to tell you that she has been better and she has become the BEST little snuggler. I LOVE IT!! If I ask her to snuggle with me she will bury her head in my shoulder. Is there anything cuter?

And thank you to Nana for the darling outfut. We got tons of compliments! And her hair is getting so curly....

What's going on??

You all wonder. Well, a lot. Here is the list:
1. D went to scout camp
2. my children got up at 6am while D was at scout camp
3. Went to the cabin to visit family while D was at scout camp
4. Had a horrible night sleep with J waking up crying every 30minutes while we were at the cabin
5. Left first thing in the morning from the cabin because after that night my kiddos still got up at 6:30am
6. Got a speeding ticket on the way home from the cabin
7. Took J to the Instacare for some mysterious HUGE welts on his head...they turned out to be mosquito bites that he got while at the cabin and he was having a reaction to them
8. Was super glad that D got home from scout camp although I am also glad that he had a good time. He tore his feet apart though
9. Took lots of pictures for others
10. Finished all my ironing (seriously, took me all day since I have put it off for about two months)--it definitely deserves a place on my list of happenings
11. Helped put on the ward pancake breakfast this morning
12, Went to a bbq pool party for the fourth
13. Put a family dinner together at my gma's house for the fourth
14. Saw Hancock which I enjoyed minus all the swearing
15. Have a really messy house because life is crazy busy as usual
16. Have cute kids that I adore...most of the time
17. That is about it.

Some more Jacksonisms

We asked J if he wanted a small piece of cake while we were at a party to which he replied, "no, a big one."

Our friends have twin girls, Veronica and Roxanne. J refers to them as Veronica and Roxanica.

So which do you like best??

I had someone design a logo for me. What do you think and which do you think best suits my style??

Baby Steps...

she is finally taking them. Is it bad that I have to bribe her to walk with jelly beans??

and why do I stay up soooo late when D is out of town??

Don't forget the "one"...

Our lesson in church last week was on this conference talk. I think Jackson must have been listening in because he is probably remembering those who are truly forgotten when it comes to prayer time. Namely:

Bob Squash Pear Pants

Patrick (seriously, how does he know all the characters?? He doesn't watch it...must be his Gogurts I guess)

The "Mean Three Stooges" (he has been watching this old school cartoon VHS that has the three stooges cartoons(who knew they did cartoons too) and D had to explain that they hit because they are mean.)

Spencer (Douglas' college friend who somehow ends up in all of J's prayers.)

Mom's cell phone

This little girl...

may seriously be the end of me. I love her and I love having a little girl, but she is such a challenge for me.

Unless I am holding her in the afternoon she cries. She has been crying through nap time. I can't handle any more crying!! And it is just me because when D watches her she is a gem...until she sees me or hears my voice and then she starts crying.

Am I going to survive??

You know, sometimes I read blogs where people have what seems like perfect lives. Their kids obey, pick up after themselves, never pester one another, and basically seem perfect. This isn't my life. I find motherhood to be such a challenge. I love it. It is what I want to be doing, but sometimes I just feel like maybe I am doing something wrong. It is dang hard to be a mom. Please tell me I am not alone.

and please tell me this stage with P will pass.

P's slideshow

Finally uploaded it. View it HERE!

Jumpin maniacs

So they opened this new place in town called "jumpin jacks". It is basically an warehouse full of bounce houses. I told J Wednesday night that we would go when he woke up the next day. Probably shouldn't have told him because he was at D's bedside at 6:45am informing him that we were going to Jumpin Jacks.

It was an absolute hit. J and P LOVED it. P would cry whenever I would take her out and put her back in her stroller. When I let her get on one she would get on her knees and bounce. She is going to be just like J I think--thrill seeker. We had a great time bouncing until a group of 15 teenage boys from some behavioral service showed up. My friend and I looked at each other and we were out of there. What were the people thinking...D worked in a group like this so I know better. Just seemed kind of short sighted.

Anyway, life in the Shaw house is HOT. I remember every year that I don't like Southern Utah summers. On a good note, however, our apricots are ripe and I will be jamming tomorrow. We also have tons of tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and a lonely jalapeno. I love growing my own food. I made zucchini lasagna tonight and I think I will make some zucchini bread tomorrow. I made a goal not to let my food go to waste.

So I am reading the book "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" which is a very interesting book about Chinese customs and what not. Kind of disturbing I must say. Just makes me feel so grateful to live in this culture and to be able to clomp around on my size nine feet. Wow...my personality + oppressive culture would have = disaster.

We had our first photography workshop last weekend and it was a great success. I think everyone left feeling like they could use their camera in manual and understood what everything meant. I really loved teaching it. We have more planned for the future so check our blog and check mine in the next few days and I will post some of the pictures from the class.

I am slowly getting on top of the house again. I sort of let it go when I was dealing with the class. The downstairs is more or less clean...counters disinfected, floors cleaned and mopped, laundry almost done, ironing--well I am not that on top of things.

Well, that is about it. P still refuses to walk. She will stand for five minutes and then sit down and crawl. I want her to walk because she is trashing her clothes...I know dumb reason, but come on. She has the custest little gap tooth smile. She is still a total momma's girl which can be extremely tiresome. Afternoons are the worst. I have to put her in the backpack so I can cook dinner. Good thing she is so cute. She loves her bobba, thumb, snugglie and having her toofers brushed. She is dang cute if I do say so myself.

J now dresses himself. Cute little guy wakes up, puts undies and clothes on and then comes to find us. He has put together some sweet outfits. At least he is putting undies on too...that is new this week. He continues to make us laugh and laugh. He is stubborn as can be. I have NO idea where he gets that from. He loves friends and socializing.

Well, in a moment of insanity I scheduled a dr. appt tomorrow at 8:30am. I guess I should go to bed.

What a day...

you know, the kind where you wake up to find pudding powder all over your kitchen floor and you have grandious plans to finally get the house in order yet you spend the day with tech support trying to get your computer working. You know the kind where your baby cries instead of naps, and when she finally does nap wakes up with a major blow out. You also have a splitting headache probably from days and weeks of no sleep. Today was the kind of day where your baby does so well walking with her toy until it gets caught and she goes head first into a metal milk can. Then to top the day off you get to have four cavities filled.

That is what kind of day today was. Whew...glad I will get another try tomorrow.

Learning about Jesus

Teaching a three year old about Jesus can be amusing at times. Today I was explaining to J that Jesus died for us so that we can be with our families forever if we make good choices. So, at dinner he informs D that Jesus died so that we can be with our mommy and daddy at night time.

Night time probably seems like an eternity to a three year old.

My Dad

I have a great dad. I don't think he reads my blog so I will just let all of you know how great I think he is. He has so many qualities that I admire. He is kind and generous, non-judgemental, hardworking, and fun. There are two qualities that stand out to me the most though. The first is that he is totally family oriented. He loves his family and always wants us to visit and wants to know what is going on in our lives. The other is that he is very wise. Sounds dumb maybe, but seriously, we like to discuss big decisions that we are going to make with my dad because he always has a great perspective on things and typically when we take his advice, it leads us in a great path.

One quick story about my dad...he has "intuition" about things. My mom told me that after he met Douglas for the first time my dad told her, "I have a good feeling about this one." It is unusual for him to make a comment like that and typically when he does you should listen...and he was right.

Anyway, I love my dad. He is a great man that I look up to very much. Happy Father's Day!

A few of my favorite things!

A few of my favorite things:

1.
My brother and sister in law introduced me to this wonder. I LOVE it. I hard cook eggs in it, steam veges...heck you can cook chicken in rice in it too. What more do you need?



2. Shorts. I don't think I have worn short since before my mission. Really I just remembered the shorts my mom wore in the early nineties (no offense mom) and really, they weren't very cute. Now they are in style again and cute this time. I picked up a few pairs at Target and have been enjoying my cool legs. I think they might even be getting a little tan too.

3. Frozen chocolate chip cookies. It's true, I am semi obsessed with CCC so I always think I will eat fewer if I freeze them. Truth is, I think I like them even more frozen. Actually, I think I will go grab one now as I finish this up.

4. 30 Rock--the TV show...hillarious. I just finished the first season on netflix while I edited photos. Sheer entertainment.

5. My new mattress. Haven't even slept on it yet, but I know I will love it!!

6. Kids who sleep well. My sanity. Lately (knock on wood) J has been sleeping until about 7:30am. 7pm-7:30am. Yes please. I pop him in my bed with some clifford and get ready before P girl gets up at 8am. I am not a morning person so this is heaven.

7. My crockpot. I pop food in it in the morning and come 5pm, voila, dinner is done. Now if I could just remember to cook the other stuff that goes with it.

8. My FUNNY three year old. It is a good thing they are so dang funny otherwise I don't think we would both survive. He constantly is coming up with hillarious things to say.

9. Good friends. I have such a social bug that I need to have friends to hang out with and talk to. I will drop any household task to hang out with friends and you never need to call before coming over. Visitors always welcome.

10. Amazing families. Seriously D and I married into great families. They are concerned about our lives and great friends. What a blessing.

and of course, 11. My amazing hubby. He is the best.

P's birthday and more!

This is such a P look...you know how your kids have "those" looks that are so them...this is one of them. J took charge and open, inspected and played with all her gifts for her. He is so helpful.

P is trying to figure out her new house. I had no idea what to get her and this got great reviews on the internet. We will see if it ends up being a winner or not.

P's baby doll from her Nana and Papa.

Look at that maternal instinct. She is a natural.

Just crawling through the door.

With their mama. Seriously, I don't see myself in pics often and I really don't recognize the girl I see...I look like I am getting old or something.

Douglas told me if I didn't put pictures of myself on then my posterity would think I was ugly or something and that is why I never put pictures up...now they will know how stunning I truly am (was.)

Happy bday P. By the time we got around to cake she was done and went to bed without really eating any cake...

Just a little blue....

Do you ever have those days when you are just a little blue?? Today is one of those for me. I have just been a little sad...don't know why exactly. Okay, well it probably has a lot to do with being tired. I have stayed up too late the last few weeks and it is really taking a toll on me. I haven't been the mother or wife I want to be. I also think it has to do with being so busy getting ready for this class, trying to keep up with sessions I have done and trying to keep up with a house. I feel a little unbalanced right now. I know it will be past soon, but it makes me sad.

I want to be better and sometimes it is so hard not to have the time to devote to doing the things I love. Then I feel sad because my kids grow so fast and even though I love what each new stage brings I miss the past one.

Oh, so I don't know what it is. I am just a little blue. I like it better when I am happy. Hopefully tomorrow will be one of those days.