Ready, spring BREAK!

We kicked off our Spring Break in style - we went to Zion's National Park for 4 days of hiking and exploring.  We went with our BFF's Kristy and Chris and their family. 

All a boy needs is water and rocks to throw in it...  they probably could have done this all day.

Skyler is a mama's boy - I think I should enjoy it while it lasts.

Skyler thought he was just as big as everyone else.  He got REALLY mad every time we put him in the pack.  Sorry big guy, your pace just isn't quite fast enough despite your ambitions.

Danny thought he could carry Skyler to help out...

We sat by a river and just played in the sand, threw rocks, and relaxed.  Honestly - it was sooooo wonderful to just enjoy where we were for the moment!

I love this pic because it shows how Skyler was constantly watching Em - he loved being by her side!

Every night after dinner, we would go to the local school playground and just play.  Skyler invented a game of "follow me" and Max obliged and played it over and over and over again -- Run, spin, fall to the ground - repeat.  

What Kristy and I did the whole time...  lovin' our cameras!

Chris, Sarah, Shayne, and Hunter hiked Angel's Landing while the rest of us did a low-key easy hike/walk.  I'm so proud of Hunter for doing this big hike!

Look behind them, that big long ridge - HE DID THAT!!!

  

Oooh, I'm so tempted to post all the silly-faced pics I have!!  But here's just one...

taking a break...

The "lot" of us!

Loved this vacation and loved being with Chris and Kristy - I hope we have another adventure together soon!!!

 

You're not a man...

This was a conversation in the car on one of our recent family trips:

Danny:  I chose Winnie the Pooh
Cole: What? You're weird and you're not a man.
Danny:  You aren't a man either.  To be a man you have to grow up and grow a beard and you don't have a beard, so you aren't a man.

Just a lot of randomness

 I asked the boys to be quiet in the house since Skyler was asleep.  I was working in the yard and found the boys in the garage doing this...  do you see their project in action?  Popcorn popper on the cooler - and in the garage of course, so they wouldn't be loud.  Super thoughtful and funny boys!

Snakey - is his name.  Danny LOVES LOVES LOVES him - a little bit too much in Snakey's opinion.  But, Danny did throw on his snake costume and let him play inside the costume with him for hours.  Poor snakey. 
PS Snakey hid quickly when he was finally released back into his home (in the raspberry bushes), and I forgot to snap a pic of when we found him again - along with another buddy snake.  Danny walked around our neighborhood with two snakes for the next 3 hours.  Poor Snakey again.

 

We were over at Grandma & Grandpa's one afternoon and couldn't find Danny.  I found him...  that's a new napping spot I won't recommend.

Cole made Daddy and Mommy breakfast - he's so thoughtful and sweet.  The problem is, Daddy is not a fan of breakfast.  But even more, he is not a fan of waking up.   (I think the cereal was soggy when he finally woke up)

Look, there's Hunter!!  Can't you see him?  Middle section, third stripe up, top right - yup, there he is!

This was at the Hope of America performance done by 5th graders in the area.  It was a fun event - but the best part was having Grandma and Grandpa watch the little brothers.  I was SOOOOOO grateful.

Last, but not least, this is the spider that freaked me out in the garden.  No, it's not a good picture.  But I was scared to even go within 5 feet of the guy.  I've seen spiders jump, and I didn't want to be in jumping radius - it was awful.  All I had was ant poison - and that didn't spray even 6 inches from the can.  Lucky for me, he crawled up the fence and went to the neighbor's yard... and unluckily, he did that maneuver while the same neighbor was kindly walking over to my yard to help me.   I HATE spiders.  I hope Snakey eats him up.

Better than Vitamin C

Look what Danny learned to do!

We rode over to a friend's house and I heard him yelling out to Sophie, "I love riding my bike, it's better than Vitamin C!!  I must have misheard him, he doesn't take Vitamin C...  but he's right, it is better than Vitamin C, any day. 

A little hiking too

We had a little adventure with the cousins, Aunt Cherae, and Grandma & Grandpa - honestly, spring break was the best week of weather EVER!  We were so lucky this year!

THIS is the place

** The blankie situation is a little ridiculous - I try to keep them at home, in the crib, but sometimes THEY do make it into the car... how did we end up with more than 1 beloved blankie?

 

I took the boys to "This is the Place" Heritage Park.  It was a great day - perfect weather, not crowded, and they weren't sure if they'd even like it, but in the end we all had a GREAT time.  Check out all the fun activities we got to do.  (PS I didn't take the big camera, phone pics are growing on me while on the go)

 

Panning for gold

Check out the gold we got Mommy!

And this pony ride is significant - we've done many pony rides at a place close to our home and Skyler has always REFUSED to ride one.  This time, he hopped on there like he was a cowboy.

Making rope - which was a lot more interesting than I realized!  The boys loved helping this gentleman.

April Foolery

 Daddy took Hunter and Cole's clothes out of their drawers and left them one option.  Cole threw the biggest fit and ended up wearing his shirt from the previous day.  Hunter thought it was hilarious and was happy to wear his newest shirt.

What else did Daddy do?
Let's see if I can remember all the FACTS:
He put a "cracked screen" app on my phone
Changed my phone to Italian
Hid my shampoo, conditioner, toothbrush, and toothpaste
Covered my (white) deodorant with cream cheese - that was a gross discovery
and he hid my favorite orange juice - that's really mean.

What did I do?  I play the game NICELY and made a pie.  2 pies actually:

The one on the right was what I served first - a "chicken pot pie" that was actually made with pudding, cut-up pieces of Mike & Ike candies (to look like peas and carrots) and bananas (to look like potatoes).  It was a fun prank.  And Danny exclaimed, don't ever make your other pie again, this one is the best one EVER!

Now, let's start planning for next year, with Daddy in mind, of course.