The Valley of Fire

Last weekend my parents came out to visit- so we decided to finally take a trip out to the Valley of Fire State Park. What a blast! It was SO BEAUTIFUL!! And the weather was just perfect- it actually rained down here- so it was cooler. My kids loved the fact that they could climb and jump as much as they wanted. It was like one big amusement park for them. I love this picture of Ty- he is growing up. He's a handsome little devil, too.
Sorry about the view of Karson's bum... but it's so not like him to be this daring. I learned a lot about Karson on this trip.

This little runt (of course) had absolutely no fear whatsoever. She's running down sides of ridges with all of us trying to catch up to her... she's jumping off of every rock she could... there were even a few times that she almost went off a few cliffs. But that's our Mary!

What a spaz, huh? It was actually really pretty right here- there was a little pond of water down there where he would've fell in.
Pay no attention to the rather huge woman up there yelling at her husband for taking that picture...
This was the only way to keep Mary out of trouble... but of course it was short-lived! We had a really great time, though! Thanks mom and dad for coming with us (and helping our kids not to die)!

Another Life Changing Announcement...

After about 11 years with the company, Kregg gave his 2 weeks to Rite-Aid yesterday. He will be opening and managing a Radio Shack here in town. This is in a lot of ways an answer to our prayers. Kregg has been commuting back and forth to St. George every day since February and we weren't sure if we were going to need to move up there since it has taken quite a hit in our finances. We really like it here in Mesquite and have so many great friends and a great ward. Our kids love it here (Ty says he wants to live here until he gets his drivers license). Our best friends out here decided to open up a Radio Shack here and want Kregg to run it for them. Kregg is so excited!! I'm excited, although I'm not so good with change. We will have to be on cobra while I have this baby, so I'm a little nervous about that. Plus it's hard when you have been with a company so long to make a change like this... Anyway- we've prayed about this and we think it is the right thing to do. And I have full confidence in Kregg- he'll do everything he can to support this family. I don't know what I ever did to get so lucky to have him! Anyway- June will be crazy busy for him since they are aiming to open up the Radio Shack July 1st. So here we go for another crazy ride!!!! What would we do without all these curves?

I'm an addict!!

Okay- so any of you who know me know that I am seriously addicted to going out to eat. I have actually even looked for a "fast food" support group on the internet- and to my surprise there is no such thing!! A few weeks ago I went to the doc to take my glucose test. I was teasing him that I hoped that it turned out alright- since my 5th major food group was ice-cream, and that I love my restaurants so much. So he freaked out and sent me to a dietician (he made the appointment and everything!). He told me that at least I admitted I had a problem... and that he was really shocked that I would have a problem like this, since most people he sends to the dietician have more of a weight problem than me. Anyway- I went to the dietician, and she told me everything that I really already knew... it's okay to eat ice-cream, just eat it in moderation! And with strawberries! Anyway- I know I'm rambling... but I did come across this link that has each restaurant and compares food and says what is better to eat. Maybe it's just another excuse for me, but I was really entertained by it! So here it is if you get a sec...

http://www.menshealth.com/eatthis/restaurants/

What I really need is some self control, but if anyone wants to be in my little support group....:)

Karson's last day of preschool...

So Karson had his last day of school today- he had a great time! They had a picnic, and he got a beach ball, and did a lot of dancing. This pic is of him and his teacher Miss Alyssa. He's really bummed that he won't have school anymore, though. So hopefully we can keep him busy enough this summer!

The Desert

So this is our latest "bloom" in our front yard- I thought it was kinda pretty. I assume it is a cactus, but I have a lot to learn about the plants out here. All I know is that there are a lot of cactuses (or is it cactai?) and palm trees.

So after looking at our plant, we decided to watch the bats that fly around every night. My kids LOVE doing this, so it's a pretty common thing to sit out on our driveway at dusk and watch them. There were about 4 this time. I would love to get a pic of one of them, but they are way too small and way too fast!

So naturally, the next step would be to draw bats!


And then, of course they make dad draw any other animal they can think of. And then Ty draws it after. He's getting pretty good. Great quality family time, anyway! You gotta love the desert- although today is supposed to get up to around 110 degrees. I won't complain until July- when it's closer to 125 degrees!

Adventures in Laundry

So what is the weirdest thing you have found in your washer/dryer while you are doing laundry? This week when I was doing the laundry I found about 20 peanuts (shells and all) in the washer and the dryer. When I asked who had peanuts in there pocket- Ty proudly confessed. Goofball!

I'm stuck!

So I walked into the boy's room to find Mary with her head stuck between the bed and the board. She was just patiently waiting for me to come get her out. I know I probably shouldn't have gone to get the camera first- but you have to capture these moments sometimes!

Family Night at Mesquite Days

So last weekend was Mesquite Days... we had so much fun! I really like these small town celebrations. Everybody knows eachother and it's so nice to get to chat while we are all chasing our kids around. This family night they had a blow up slides, an obstacle course, and a few of the trampoline things (I have no idea what to call them).


Ty had a great time on this obstacle course. He was so excited- he won every time he went. He's a competitive one alright.
Karson was a bit tougher- he didn't want to race, he just wanted to play. Which doesn't work well when you are supposed to be racing. I had to force him through a few times.

Mary (since she doesn't like to wait in line) spent a lot of time here. I love this pic of her in mid-air.
Here they are with their buddy Mav.

Sliding

Ben and Mary

This is Ben and Mary getting into other peoples drinks. Ben is so funny- he is always keeping an eye out for Mary. He's always making sure she is happy- a perfect gentleman at age 2.

Mesquite Days Parade

So a good group of us headed to the parade last Saturday... we had a great time! It was really crowded, but the kids sure came home with plenty of candy! We love going to parades.