Ice Cream, Camping, Walks, Moments

I was going to blog a bunch of stuff last week and then I got derailed with computer stuff, cleaning things out, plugging things in, excavating office space. And then what do you know? Another 5 days has passed. Whatever!

Harry loves his little sister, and so does Julia.

And this was a funny moment. Zach just came into our room and was trying to tell us something and apparently it really cracked him up. He could barely get out what he was trying to say, he was laughing so hard. Yes, Zach is generally a pretty hilarious kid.

And then sometimes it is just really nice to slow down and get down. I was able to do that this past week as well. Rinar took all the other kids out somewhere and I stayed home with my little sweetie. I just watched her wiggle, squirm, grab, roll, and just move non-stop. This was my favorite move. She was working on her yoga form and really had the downward dog looking pretty darn good.

Raef and Zach went on their second Scout overnighter and it was at Spanish Fork Canyon. They have hot springs up there and it seemed like it would be a perfect camping weekend, until the rain and snow hit. I don't think they brought enough warm stuff. I was a little worried for them. But they came back the next day all in one piece. That was a relief. And they still like scouts and camping.

But while they were gone, we took the littles to the newest restaurant in Draper, Leatherby's. I have to say, I highly approve of this joint.  The ice cream looked amazing and Rinar and I shared a fish and chips entree, which was really good. Noelle had her first little bite of ice cream and the first time it went into her mouth, her eyes popped wide open. She was pretty darn happy.

And so was everyone else. Julia was a meticulous connoisseur, keeping it neat and even all the way around. She also was pretty speedy and had hers polished off in no time.

As for the boys, it was a melty mess by the end. But they loved it all the same.

And this was my view on the way home from church on Sunday. I am really committed to walking every week, as long as the weather is not wretched. Looks were very deceiving, as it looked beautiful but was freezing cold. I think it was actually colder at noon when we went home. And then I checked the temperature when I got home and it was 40 degrees, with a wind chill. Whoosh. But my kids were troopers and didn't even complain. 

St. George Arts Festival Trip

We had a fun weekend in St. George for Easter. Rinar didn't work on Friday so we headed up to spend time with the family and to go to the arts festival. St. George has a wonderful arts festival. I really enjoyed perusing the booths and I even indulged in a few prints for our house. We drove over there with Grandma. We were hungry and headed to the food court and she just cruised the exhibits. The only problem was that we couldn't find her later on. We looked and looked. Finally my cell phone rang and it was Grandma calling from home. That's right, people. She walked home. My arthritic-ridden Grandma couldn't find it and hobbled home. I know I will be getting the granddaughter of the year for that, huh? She also lent me her cute blue sweater and I forgot to give it back to her. I hope it doesn't get too cold up there. I am just racking up the brownie points with her these days, I tell you.

At least I have cute kids that she can squeeze.


Eli had fun at the festival also. He has a cute little habit of holding beverages in the crux of his arm. He will walk around for hours holding it just like that. What a sweet little thing he is...most of the time.


Here is Zach in a silly picture.

We can't forget Raef.


Then we had dinner with Rinar's parents and the whole family. They have a pecan tree in their backyard and Raef went to town collecting pecans. He gathered an entire grocery bag full of them. Then he was cracking them and eating them.


So the only logical thing to do would be to make a pie...pecan of course.

I have to tell you what happened on our way home. We left unusually early on Sunday, around noon. I was anxious to get home and it is a pain to load and unload five kids all the time, so we pulled into Vegas around 2pm. I happened to look at the caller id and I noticed that there was a Hawaiian phone number that called two times in three minutes. I wasn't sure who it was, but I figured it could be a family member passing through at the airport. It happens all the time. If they have a big layover, we will go get them so they can hang out with us since the airport is very close to our house.

I call the number, which I usually don't do, and it was Beth, Rinar's cousin. Yes, she was really stuck at the airport... 16 hour layover due to a little miscalculation on her part. Just remember that Hawaiian Airlines uses military time! Anyways, we rescued her and she was soooooo happy. It was fun hanging out with her. She even got to take a three hour nap on our couch. I took her back to the airport at 12am.

There you go, Beth. Now you have made my blog as well! Make sure to tell your mom.