haul'n out the holley

Dragging out those dusty basement boxes and pulling out the magic always kicks up the excitement a notch or 2...maybe 3 at our house. Now we just need to get some pretty lights up trimming up our outside. Ellie will not sleep well at night until the exterior of our home is "lit up and glittery and beautiful". She reminds me every day that it is still not the case. Crossing my fingers we get it done before those giant snowflakes fill the sky again.

h.a.p.p.i.n.e.s.s.

Do something that makes you happy today.
Happiness is contagious.

It's only the happiest season of all!

yes my do

Yes my do.
Yes my did.
I don't cuz.


Are the 3 answers you get when you ask Lucy a question.

Did you have fun at school? " Yes my did"
Do you want some olives? "Yes my do"
And when you ask a why question.
Why did you hide my keys? or
Why is there lipstick all over your face?
or like this morning
Why did you go out in the snow in your underwear and boots?
you get.
" I don't cuz".
followed by.
a giant grin....and
"that was so fun"

Really?

I tell you... sometimes all you can do is wonder. :)

summer portraits

I know and love every inch of these three faces down to the last freckle.
life.is.good.

{Stanford University, Summer 2010}

the pier with some seals and ice cream

Is it possible to be walking on a pier past an ice cream shop
and not get a big yummy double scoop on a waffle cone?
yep...it is for me.
You just need some icecream to lick while strolling around looking at
quaint little shops, lovely scenery and seals.
Oh ya... and making pennies into Santa Cruz Pier souvenirs.
Ellie made her's into a necklace with a seashell she found and fishing line.
I love that she does stuff like that.
Mine is still sitting in my wallet....boring.

This is how we stroll. I love that Ellie is holding Brighton's hand while he rides. :)
She loves. LOVES babies. When they are her cousin even more!

Santa Cruz

I love this beach!
it's got a fun vibrant feel.
and the people watching is super...SUPER great.
When we were there there was a gigantic pit dug out in the middle of the beach.
Kind of like a 2 ft. shallow pool right off the beach.
Perfect for little beach lovers.
The downtown area is not to shabby either.
After being in a car for a couple days
A big breezy beach is just what we needed.
And I couldn't have little Lucy sit on the sidelines.
Just because of that giant purple cast.
She tried so hard not to get it wet....tried. :)
That's all you can ask for at a beach.

If I could own any vehicle....

I'm pretty sure it would be one of these.
I'm liking the the pretty blue.
What a dream it would be.
I am already imagining all the places it would take me.
The kids in the back, hair blowing and big smiles
and how it would get us around even in our old age.
back to all the places that hold the best memories, and new places we've never seen.
ahhhhhh. it would be perfect.

How do you know when school is back in?

When your living room isn't a giant blanket fort every morning
and you do more than 1 blog post a month.
I don't think I'm near as good of a side kick as Ellie.
Lucy misses her and her matching morning hair too.

haunted

Once upon a time

Shane told the kids stories of a haunted resort that

is right here near our little valley home.
He told them of empty pools, caves and haunted houses.
Of course they were not scared and wanted to go.
Especially Ellie she just had to see it.
Me on the other hand
I was content laying by the fire wrapped up in a blanket.
And that's when she said.
"If you were 7 you would want to go explore haunted mansions"
And there is defiantly some truth to that.
So I reluctantly went along.
And it is a good thing.
That place was rotten, dirty and down right frightening.
They needed a mother there to keep them safer {than the dad would}
and out of the real scary/gross stuff.
But the pictures turned out pretty cool and I will admit it was fun in a creepy way.
Ellie told me she knows what happened to this place.
"Ghosts came and scared all the families and guests out of the houses.
And when the people were gone they destroyed them
so know one else would come and they could live there forever."
There may be some truth to that. Bwah ha ha ha ha.
I for one would never go there in the dark....NEVER.

Happy Halloween!
{Don't worry I told them to act scared :) }

Yosemite

To get to our destination we drove on a 2 lane highway practically the whole way.
Mostly because I wanted to be in Yosemite National Park again.
The last time I was there before is when Canyon was 5 mo old.
We took a road trip to Yosemite and the coast.
It was his first big road trip.
The first time he sat in a knot hole of a giant redwood tree.
And the first time he rode in the trusty Kelty pack to hike for miles.
{Lucy still uses that pack today.}
I fell in love with this place.
And I wanted the kids to not only endure the 16 hr drive
but also be also to be amazed by it.
Both were accomplished.
They still ask if we can drive that way again next time.
The roller coaster road just before Yosemite might have something to do with that. :)

Lucy went and got herself a cast that weighed more than her the day before we left.
But that is a story for a different day.
It did not slow her down.not.at.all.

Driving....so pretty.
I had to make myself not pull over every second.
We had a long way left to go for heavens sake.
Next stop. Santa Cruz, CA.

16 hours one way: Part 2

We got to visit San Fransisco this summer.
I wrote about the adventurous drive out there a while ago.
But that was just the beginning.
So even though we took the trip in July and it is now almost November
I will still post photos of our trip
because it was wonderful and a 2010 summer highlight.
So for today.
The seasons first snowfall at our home {that actually stuck around for a bit}
and this picture of Ellie flying through the air at the little beach
across the way from Ghirardelli Square.

braving the storm

Clear back in August
Canyon and I hiked to the top to Mt Timpanogus.
He had been working up to it all summer with a club he is in.
His club had the date scheduled and I decided to go along.
It's a lot fun to go with him. He is such a good little hiker. {proud..so proud}
He doesn't even ditch me and chats about this and that with me the whole way up.
On the way up the weather was great.
Not to hot not to cold.
There were plenty of waterfalls and the views...oh the views.

Walking along that last ridge line was getting a little spooky.
Clouds rising up from below surrounding you.
But we were so close..and there was no rain.
Right when we got to the top the clouds cleared.
We got to take in the view of the valley and take this.

We made it! Our names were added to the shack walls at the top
and we started our decent down.
We did not make it to far when we felt the first raindrops.
Rain coats out and on now. We picked up the pace.
This was the last picture before the storm practically swallowed us alive.
You could barely see one step in front of you.


Being on the tippy top of a really high mountain is not the best feeling.
Especially when your with one of your favorite little people in the whole wide world.
Before we knew it the storm was SO bad....SO.SO. bad.
Freezing tempatures, Howling winds, thunder, lightening.
Hail that made your skin hurt when it hit.
I held Canyon's hand and we ran as fast as our legs would safely carry us
over a giant boulder field for shelter a few miles away.
Once a gust of wind almost carried my handsome son away.
I did not let go of him the rest of the way.
We were freezing.
Probably the most cold I have ever been.
And poor Canyon had on shorts.
Luckily for us we made it to the shelter.
There we hunkered down for hours.
With about 20 other hikers and backpackers.
Those nice backpackers boiled us water.
and lent Canyon a sleeping bag.
We got him down to his skibbies
and stuck him inside the sleeping bag so he would stay warm.
I filled a water bottle with that hot water and wrapped my frozen feet around it.
and then we waited....and watied
and got lots of texts saying.
"Are you okay it's pitch black that way"
"Are you alive the doppler is going nuts above Timp"
I know...believe me....I know.
After a while there was a break in that big bad storm.
We made a run for it.
And it turned into a new day.
It had to be a new day. It was once again beautiful out.
See.

The whole way down we talked about our "survival adventure".
About the extra stuff we would bring just in case next time.
I thought about how glad I was I was with Canyon up on the tippy top braving the storm.
I would have been a basket case if he was up there without me.
So we made it back down. With a story to tell that will never be forgotten.
Canyon still talks about it. And when it storms he looks up at the grand Timp
and wonders if anyone is up there in that shelter like he was.
And we are both happy we aren't :)

we're suckers for a good rope swing

We have found a few rope swings in our days.
But this is one was by far the best.
So. so. so. high.
And the view from the top, through the trees, when you couldn't go any higher.
Amazing!

{Top: Shane, me, Canyon.}
{Bottom: Ellie, Lucy}

{The View}

It's been a warm September

Maybe it's been a little too warm down in valley.
But up here in the mountains.
Not one complaint from me.
It's been near perfection.
Perfect weather for enjoying those beautiful colors.
Quite possibly the prettiest time of the year.
The kids most favorite part is gathering up their favorites to take home and savor.
{mine too...I love a perfect leaf bookmark. }
happy. happy.

Ragnar Wasatch Back {2010}

I know my blog is all over the place. There is absolutely no rhyme or reason. This is because of my horrible blogging this summer. But there are a few events that I wanted to catch up on. So every so often a random summer post will be made. :)

I ran the Ragnar Wasatch Back this summer.
I had the best time!
And the best team!
I love them all!
I also had a 7 mile run up a mountain pass that I was scared to death of.
It was a long, hot, dusty run..but it wasn't as but as i thought it would be.
I was ready for it! in a fast...ish sort of way. :)
When that was done I thought I got the hardest part out of the way.
Come to find out a 5 mile run
on 4 hours of sleep in a 48 period with a wounded knee is hard to.
And that is when I found out that...
if you eat a whole bar of shot blocks and a gu energy and a few Ibuprofen
that you can go from extreme exhaustion to all hopped up and ready to go in no time flat.
Also, I forgot how funny things are when delusion sets in from lack of sleep.
Way funnier than they should be. :)
When all is said and done running that many miles for 2 days with no sleep should not be fun.
But it was.
And were doing it again.
I thought I was going to be dead to the world the next day.
But I did not crash until 2 days later.
I guess I was still feeling the after affects of those shot blocks. :)
Can't wait until next year!

{Starting line in Logan}

{our ride}

{our whole team at the finish..minus one }

{Zions} feeling good.

Every once in a while
we get the chance to go to Zions without kids in tow and explore
some areas that we have never seen.
It's good to have a camping trip every now and again
that you can sit around a campfire for hours without worrying if someone is going to fall in.
Or having to dig dirt and rocks out of a small nose.
It's nice to go on a hike without packing a small child on your back and food for 5.
{Wait.... I still think we accidently packed food for 5.}
To be able to choose a hike that is a little more adventurous.
One that requires some ropes and some swimming through freezing cold waterfalls
just because it is just you and him....and you can.
It was beautiful and wonderful.
I love going and seeing new things and places. I. crave. it.
Sometimes you just need to do the things you did when you were 20.
And feel like you are 20.
It's good for the soul.
But in the back of that fake 20 year old mind of mine all weekend was the image of
3 little faces that make me happy to be exactly the age I am.
We will go back this year before it gets to cold with those 3 faces.
Because being there made me want to go back with them.
Zions is good for every soul young and old.
And the Fall season in Zions is out of this world pretty.

{the ladies...minus 2}

{me. birch canyon. 2010}

{To: Lucy} {From: Ellie}

Ellie gave this to Lucy for her birthday this summer.
It's good to know that even if they squabble over ownership of lip smackers
and what song they want to hear in the car
that Ellie's love for her little sis still runs deep.
Maybe that's why she usually always gives in, and Lucy claims victory.
Little Lucy sure is a lucky gal to have Ellie in her corner.
With letters like this from a beautiful older sister
Lucy will never be lacking in the self-esteem department. :)