Camping in Zion, part one...

For Spring Break, we decided to take a camping trip in Zion National Park. Awesomeness! Well, except for that random insanely cold cold front that moved through the day before, bringing rain and snow to Zion. We could have cancelled, but what's the fun in that? We thought we would go ahead and enjoy the adventure.

We drove up that first day through the rain and really questioned our sanity... but by the time we arrived at the park, the skies had parted and it was an absolutely lovely evening. It was a little cold, but the cloud cover kept it under control... and at least the rain had stopped.

Still, that first night it got down to around 30 or so. We bundled up in our sleeping bags with the kids... Violet shared my sleeping bag and Riley shared Rick's. Sure, it was a tighe squeeze, but at least we were warm... that was, after we layered on long underwear, jammies, two pairs of socks, sweatshirt, and a scarf. lol

Alright, so the first night was pretty sucky... but we woke up to gorgeous, clear skies and a beautiful forecast: cold, but warming up. And the following day was supposed to be AMAZING. 

After cooking up some eggs and bacon and coffee over the fire, we went out on our first of several hikes. First we stopped at the Court of the Patriarchs, where you can see beautiful mountain peaks right in front of you. The one the kids are in front of is called "Isaac". (The other two were Abraham and Jacob)

Then we stopped at Canyon Junction and took the Pa'Rus Trail back to camp. This particular trail is a 2 mile paved walk and it was just lovely.
Back at camp, Liane and Carl had just arrived and were setting up their tent. When Violet arrived, Liane took a little break to teach her some moves on the scooter...
And then Violet taught Liane some moves of her own. Who was the winner? You be the judge ;)

After setting up their tents, we decided to take the shuttle bus all the way to the top of the canyon and check it out. Here we were at the trailhead of the River Walk...
Carl tried to touch Liane's neck...
And we got a group shot...

So that night, while clear and beautiful was COLD. Not as cold as the night before, but still pretty dang chilly. At least this time we prepared a little better and bundled up from the get go. 

We all got up with the sun and grilled some more bacon over the campfire. Mmmm... the sound and smell of fresh grilling bacon was AWESOME. The coffee steeped in the percolator and we got ready for our big hike of the morning... Emerald Pools Falls.

We hiked up through the lower pools where we walked right under the waterfall, and then headed right on up to the middle pools area. This is the place I distinctly remember from my trip to Zion when I was in 4th grade with my A.T. Class and my favorite teacher, Mrs. Richardson. It was kind of crazy in a deja vu sort of way to see it this time.

Rick. I cannot HANDLE your sexiness. 
Of course my favorite part was when Riley had wanted to go in the water and we told him no. Actually my exact words were "No, because if you ingest the water you will have diarrhea for six weeks!"

Riley's response? "What's diarrhea?"
AHAHAHAAHAHA

So of course, moments later when he tried to jump off the rock onto another log but misjudged the distance and ended up butt-first in the water, I was literally ROLLING. I could barely contain myself to document it. But I did. Hopefully you can click on the images to see them better. They are AWESOME.

Somewhere in the abyss that is my parent's photograph drawer is a photo of me on this very log when I was 9 years old. I love that I now have one of my kids. :)

And of course, Liane and Carl. :) To get them to smile I had them say "diarrhea for six weeeeks!"
On our way back down the mountain, we noticed this formation, which we dubbed "Baby Buttcrack Mountain." Not sure why...
And here is the Virgin River, rushing below the hikers...
That night it was MARSHMALLOW TIME. We grilled chicken teriyaki over the fire and had s'mores for dessert. It was an *amazing* evening. Not even cold! Liane and I wore our flip flops for most of the night, and I only put on a jacket right before bed. It was just perfect. 
Mmmmm. Beer and fire.
Happy camping memories :)
More on Monday from our last day in Zion! :)

Kindergarten Field Trip to Tule Springs

Also last month I got to accompany Riley's class on a walking field trip to Tule Springs. We all got together after lunch and Mrs. Viana led the way for the class to walk to the park...

The class did a great job crossing the big road and down into the park. The walk was pretty long for a group of kindergarteners, but they were troopers!

And once they got into the park, they were greeted by some feathery friends who showed off their pretty plumes.

And the kids got to get pretty close to them, too!

Hello there, Mr. Peacock!

The kids spent the day running through the park looking for leaves to add to their classroom leaf collection
And I even got the group to pose for a class picture before heading back. Woohoo! :)
I love how adorable kindergarteners are!

Robin Hood, and The Natural Comedian

So the Missoula Children's Theater came through our school a few weeks ago... Violet audutioned and got a great part - the Comedian in the Merry Band! After a week of intenstive rehearsals (3pm-8pm Monday through Friday), the kids were ready to perform. And they really did a wonderful job!! 

Here's the band saying, "What are we? Chopped LIVER??"

And Violet being the cutest ever...
Showing off their entertaining prowess for the others... (you can see that Robin Hood is not convinced)
There was singing and dancing...
And all over merriment...
My girl was right at home on stage... you should have seen her shine :)
The final singing number was great (can you spot Violet?)
And of course, the curtain call was all sorts of ridiculous :)
Way to go, Violet, on a great show! I am so very proud of you. :)
Violet was also in another play at the school... a spring play with the 3rd grade music classes, which I will share in an upcoming post. And she's still taking part in Drama Class after school and that play is coming up at the end of May! I think she has found her passion!!

The Great Blog Update #2 - Friends

Violet has been friends with a super sweet girl, Crystal, all school year. They love to play and laugh and boss each other around and generally have a good time. 

Last month, Crystal moved to another school and they no longer see each other every day. So before she left, we all headed out to the park near our house for some bike riding and good times. 
I just love their smiles!

Hopefully they will keep in touch, but I am not sure... her phone service has always been pretty spotty and Violet has left some messages, but we haven't been able to get the girls reconnected since the move. I am glad that no matter what, we have these photos to remember what a sweet friend she has been to us. :)

Earth Day, Cirque Running, and the beginning of my return to blogging. lol

First of all, I have decided to add a badge here from Facebook, since that is where I am usually hanging out... so feel free to click on it over there -------------------------> and say hi to me over there. NOW. back to blogging. 

There has been SO MUCH going on. I realize I am about a month behind, so for the next couple weeks I will be posting some catch-up posts and things like that. :)

Before I start to catch you up, I wanted to wish everyone a happy Earth Day! We are celebrating by riding bikes today (I rode with the kids to and from school). Violet went around the house and made sure all non-essential things and lights are turned off and/or unplugged, and rather than running the a/c, I have opened the windows in the house and hoping for a nice breeze. It's supposed to be 95 degrees today. We'll see how that goes. lol

SO. First on my agenda with the Great Blog Return of 2009 is telling you about Violet and her run with Cirque du Soleil at the Springs Preserve! Mama Lali called last month and invited Violet to join her for this fun run, and of course Violet thought it would be fantastic! Violet spent that night at Mama Lali and Papa's house, and the two of them got up reeeeeeeally early to get to the race in time for warmups, which were led by the Cirque du Soleil acrobats! AWESOME!!

And what's a little fun run without a face painting done by an actual Cirque Makeup Artist??

After the race, Violet and Mama Lali visited Abu. She loved seeing Violet's face and hearing all about the race. 

And finally, the two racers themselves, after a wonderful day!! :)

Alright! One post down in the Great Blog Update of 2009! Thanks for sticking with me, and be sure to check me out on Facebook if you haven't already! More soon!!

Bring Dorothy Home Quick! This is the LAST WEEK!

One of my plans this year is to join my friends in India as they adopt their daughter Dorothy and to photograph the adoption for them. You can see (and click on) a link to their site on the right sidebar of my blog over there ----------------------->

They are in the FINAL WEEK of their fundraising with a long way yet to go to reach their goal. There are a whole lot of amazing prizes to be won for those who donate, too! Please check out their blog and consider making a donation to this very worthy cause! Even the smallest donations help! http://lifetrain.blogspot.com/2009/04/drawing-1-tonight.html

(I am paying for my own trip to India to photograph the adoption. All donated money goes directly toward the adoption process and not to me at all)

A different kind of a birth

For the past couple years, if you asked Violet what she wanted to be when she grew up, her answer has been, "A veterinarian!" She loves animals and loves learning about them and caring for them.

Papa knows this, too... and he also knows someone who raises horses for a living. And a few weeks ago, he heard some very exciting news: A mare was about to give birth! Papa gave us the contact information to these wonderful people and told them we should call and maybe, just maybe, Violet would get to see a baby horse being born!

Well, we got the call early one morning that the mama horse had indeed gone into labor overnight, and the baby was here, having arrived at about 4 am... and, although we missed the birth, maybe Violet could come by to participate in the little guy's very first checkup with the vet so she could see just how it's done! UM YEAH!!!!

This first checkup is done when the foal is 12 hours old, so at 4pm we headed down to the ranch to meet Mrs. Bonnie and some of her other prize cutting horses. One of them that Violet met was a little guy named Cookie who had been born last month...

And then we walked over to meet Mama and Brand New Baby Boy...

Violet was completely fascinated...

I loved it when the baby stuck his tongue out at us... HAHA...

And also how Mama was so protective of her little guy, staying right by his side.

Violet got to be the first kid ever to pet the baby, and she learned to make slow, gentle movements so as to not frighten him...

We couldn't believe we were there with a tiny horse only hours old!!

The veterinarian came by and brought Violet her own stethoscope to use! He said Violet had to be his assistant today, so she helped him out. Here he is checking a little hernia in the horse's belly and showing Violet how to do it...

And then it was Violet's turn....

She also had to check the baby's heartrate with the stethoscope...

And listen for the breath sounds...

The vet showed her how to check his gums and make sure they were properly pink...

And she stood back and watched as he drew blood right from the baby's neck!

Finally, it was time to check out the placenta and amniotic sac (SUPER COOL AND GROSS!).

HA. Violet thought that was pretty disgusting, but in a cool way. lol

She's probably the luckiest 8 year old ever. Hopefully next time she will get to actually watch the birth!