Umbrella Day (March 29)

We got home from St. George to a rainy, wet week. So Monday afternoon Jacob and I decided to go for a little walk in the rain. I thought he looked so adorable in his yellow rain jacket with the big black umbrella that I just had to take some pictures.

Jacob loved that I let him hold the umbrella all by himself! I loved that he was being so cute!

We had a great time walking around the cemetery in the rain. It was a nice diversion from spending the rest of the day indoors and it just goes to show that sometimes even the rain can be fun... as long as you are not afraid to get out there in it!

Having a really big umbrella to carry around and twirl makes it that much better!

Thanks for walking with me Jacob. You sure brightened my day!

Tour de St. George (Mar 26-28)

My parents, Joe and I had been debating whether or not we wanted to do the Tour de St. George for a couple of months. As it got closer it looked like the weather was going to be good, so we decided to go for it!

Friday afternoon we packed up the van and headed south. The boys loved traveling in our new van! Plus there was plenty of room for all of our stuff.

They were good boys on the way to St. George. We even got Ephraim to take a little nap.

While we were driving around in the van, Buzz Lightyear decided to get out and take a look around. I had a fun time taking funny pictures of Buzz around the van. Jacob thought it was pretty funny too.

Jacob thought it was pretty funny. I even took a little family picture as we drove along the freeway. As you can see, Ephraim is still asleep and Jacob is leaning over so he can be in the picture too.

You can even barely see our bikes hanging out there on the bike rack in the back.

Well, we made it to St. George safely. My parents flew to St. George and we met them at the condo we were renting from Andrea's parents. It was a really beautiful condo and we were excited to get to stay there. After we got settled in we had some dinner and then went and played around in the swimming pool and hot tub. It was tons of fun and the boys loved it!

The next morning we got all ready to go. We dropped the boys off at the babysitters and headed for the starting line. Of course I did not have my camera with me, but my mom snapped this picture with her camera phone.

It was crazy how many people there were at the start. It was quite the experience to ride through St. George with that many cyclists before heading out of town. It was nice and sunny the day of our ride, and the first part of the ride was pretty nice. But after the first rest stop we were facing winds of over 20 mph, which that makes it awfully hard to ride. There were portions of the ride where I was going downhill and should have been going around 25 mph or more. Instead I was going 15 mph and I was pedaling to maintain that!

There were wind gusts so bad that I actually saw a Mike Brown get blown over right in front of me. There was one point in the ride where the wind had blown sand onto the road and it was 1 to 2 inches deep at the shallow parts. It was crazy! There was red sand blowing everywhere.

Can you believe that despite the wind, I still had a pretty good ride? The scenery was absolutely gorgeous, the cyclists were friendly and I managed to complete 70 miles. I was pretty proud of myself because I saw several cyclists giving up and heading back to town. My parents even managed to finish 18 miles! Way to go Mom and Dad!

After I finished my ride I waited for Joe to finish. Jacob and I were checking out the fun guitar sculpture they had by the tabernacle.

Ephraim and Jacob had a really great time at the babysitters house and didn't really even seem like they wanted to leave when Grandpa and Grandma went to get them. I was pretty relieved because that was the part that stressed me out the most. So if you ever need a babysitter in St. George, I can recommend one to you.

So my parents and I did pretty well, but Joe is the one that is completely awesome. He did 107 miles on a pretty hilly course. Not to mention all that wind! Isn't he awesome?

We were all pretty tired by the time we finished. Here is a picture that my parents took of our little family after Joe got back.

Here is Joe getting a bite to eat and resting a bit after his ride. Don't you just love his helmet hair?

That evening we mostly just relaxed and spent a little time in the hot tub before going to bed. The next morning we had to say goodbye to Grandpa and Grandma. We took them to the airport, where Jacob and Ephraim got to sit in Grandpa's airplane. They thought that was pretty cool.

They loved pretending that they were flying the plane. They both grabbed the yoke without hesitation and had a great time.

I think Ephraim was ready to push all the right buttons and get this plane moving!

Jacob cried as Grandpa and Grandma flew away. We were sad to say goodbye, but assured him that we will see them again soon! Maybe next time they will even get to take a ride in Grandpa's airplane.

Our ride home was pretty uneventful, which is a good thing. It was pretty pleasant at home, but not as warm as it was in St. George... the home of all those pretty red rocks.

We had a nice time and were glad we went. I think we would like to do it again sometime, and hopefully the next time it won't be quite as windy!

p.s. So here is a little photoshop work I did on that picture of Joe from above. Pretty cool, huh?

Day at the Park (March 24)

You know that the mommies are ready for summer when they take their kids to the park in March! Sure it was jacket weather, but it was sunny and we all wanted to go outside.

So I met up with Melinda, Karyn and Andrea and their kids at the park. We had a great time! We had a little lunch and had a great time talking. There may also have been a bit of silliness and soda drinking as well.

Even though it would have been nice if it had been a little warmer, it was still fun! The kids had a blast too. Of course Ephraim and Jacob love to go to any kind of park. Ephraim loves going down the slide.

Jacob mostly just likes to run around, though he isn't afraid of the slides anymore. It amazes me sometimes how much energy this kid has!

I brought the boys jackets, but they insisted that they were plenty warm. I figure that they were running around enough that it was actually true. Here is one time when I actually caught Ephraim sitting down.

Just look at how big my boys are getting! Here they both are on the little climbing wall. What a pair of monkeys!

It was wonderful to spend some time outside. We are definitely going to have to do this again because the mommies AND the kids all got to have a great time!

Kite Flying Take Two

After Daddy and Jacob got to go and fly Jacob's spiderman kite last week, we spent the next couple of days looking for Daddy's kite that we used last year. Eventually we found it... right in the hall closet where we thought it should be (and where we had already looked!). Turns out our "Hungry Hungry Hippos" game was trying to hide it... perhaps to eat it later!

When Tuesday (Mar 23)  turned out to be a windy day, Joe decided to take Jacob and Ephraim to fly kites. I had to leave to go to work, so I sent Joe with my camera to document the event. I was pretty impressed with the photos that he managed to take while helping both boys with their kites!

Here is Jacob flying Daddy's kite. I think this type of kite was a little easier to get going than the plastic spiderman one. This next picture is the one that really impressed me. Look! Both boys with their kites in the air. Way to go Daddy!

In case you can't tell, that is Ephraim closest to the camera and Jacob further down the field. Impressive, huh?

Apparently helping two boys fly kites and taking pictures was not without it's adventures though! Joe told me that at one point he was concentrating on Jacob and when he turned around Ephraim was no longer holding the kite string. He was just looking at Daddy like, "I don't know what happened!". Luckily Joe was able to find the kite on the far side of the cemetery by the trees! It did not go into the trees or any powerlines... whew!

Ephraim and Jacob both had a great time flying kites with Daddy. Thanks Joe for being such a fun Daddy and taking care of the boys while I work at the library!

Evening at the Lake

Sunday morning we were all getting ready for church. Jacob is getting pretty good at getting dressed (at least his pants) by himself. So I told him to go take off his clothes so we could get ready for church. Next thing I know I found Jacob in my room like this:

What a silly boy!

Then on Sunday evening we decided to go for a walk down by Utah Lake. I took a ton of gorgeous photos that I just have to share.

We were lucky enough to see someone out with a sailboat on the lake!

The boys thought the sailboat was pretty cool, and so did I.

This last picture of the sailboat is my favorite. Isn't it just gorgeous with the mountains in the west for a backdrop?

Here are the mountains to the east, reflected in a pool of water:

Jacob and Ephraim know when mommy is on a picture taking expedition. The funny thing is that sometimes now they will find rocks to sit on and tell me to take their pictures. Or in Ephraim's case, he will sit on the rock and say "pictures.... cheese!"

And of course if one boy gets his picture taken, the other one is sure to follow... no matter who started it!

It was nice to walk down by the lake where it was calm and quiet. The views were pretty amazing too. I love the look of the cattails at the edge of the lake.

The sun started to go down too, and the clouds hid it just enough for me to take these great pictures.

So if you are ever looking for something nice to do on Sunday afternoon, I know just the place down by the lake where it is oh so lovely!

Spring Bike Ride and the Cocoa Krispies Boy

Today (Mar 20) was a sunny day, though not particularly warm in the morning. It is especially not warm when you are flying down the road at near 20 miles per hour!

Saturday morning Joe and I got up early to go on a ride with the Utah Velo Club. Joe has been on several rides with the club, both last year and this spring. So he decided that it was finally time for me to go too. Especially since we were gearing up for our ride in the Tour de St. George where Joe is doing 100 miles and I am doing 70!

So we hired a babysitter and rode our bike over to the Bike Peddler in AF to start the ride. Joe assured me that each time he had gone on a ride this spring there had been a couple of girls. Well, this time it was only me!

I have to tell you that those guys ride fast! I managed to keep up for the first little while. As long as I was in with the pack I was doing fine. Then I fell off the back. Luckily Joe slowed down and rode with me. What a guy! In the end we did 55 miles. We rode down by Utah Lake, and then up to Redwood Road and over into Bluffdale before heading back for home. It was a good ride, and I was pretty tired when we got home. I felt a little bad that Joe did not get to ride with the rest of the guys, but he assured me that I did great and that he did just about as well a few weeks earlier.

What a great hubby I have, no?

So that took up most of our morning. We spent the afternoon getting our regular Saturday chores done. The weather had warmed up nicely, so the boys spent part of the afternoon playing in the sand. Oh how I love the sandbox!

Then in the evening I was inside with Ephraim making chocolate rice krispy treats for my primary class. Ephraim decided that the cocoa krispies were YUMMY, so I let him have some.

Hey, cute dimples!

These are YUMMY! Can I have some more?

Are you still taking pictures of me?

Fly a Kite

March is a great month! My flowers are starting to bloom, the lawn is greening up and the days are getting warmer. Of course March also come with some capricious weather. Sunny one minute, cold and rainy/snowy the next. I guess it makes life more interesting, right?

Today the weather got a little cold and windy, so we have decided to make the best of it by flying kites. Jacob is in LOVE with kite flying. Day after day he kept asking to fly his kite, but we told him it was not windy enough or it was too wet and cold. We eventually had him watching the neighbor's flag so he would know when it was windy enough without asking. Finally last week we had the perfect day!

Daddy was helped Jacob out while Mommy took pictures. We were having limited success at first. The kite kept swooping to the ground.

Then we figured out we needed to move away from the opening of a street that was making the wind weird and unpredictable. Then Joe got the kite flying high!

Once he got it up in the air, Joe handed the kite of to Jacob.

I spent my time figuring out how to take pictures of Jacob (or Joe) and the kite at the same time. Finally I figured out I had to practically lay down on the ground, which is how I got these cool pictures.

Of course Joe thought I was pretty funny out there laying on the ground. But hey, I got this really nice picture of him too!

Jacob, Joe and I all had a great time. Jacob liked flying his kite so much that I am sure we will be doing it again sometime very soon!