rain.

Today was cold and it rained all day, in fact it is still raining.

It was the first sign (for me) that winter is on its way whether I want it to come or not.

I let the children stay in their PJ's all day.

We baked cookies, took long naps, played Go Fish, painted with watercolors,  and stared out the window at all the passer by's. 

Today reminded me of a poem from one of my favorite authors/poets 

Shel Silverstein

titled 

 Here Comes

Here comes summer,

Here comes summer,

Chirping robin, budding rose.

Here comes summer, 

Here comes summer,

Gentle shower, summer clothes.

Here comes summer, 

Here comes summer--

Whoosh--shiver--there it goes. 

Thats truly how I feel today.

Just yesterday the kids and I and Marshall spent the afternoon outside playing in the dirt collecting bugs. And lounging in the golden afternoon sun.

I was thinking how nice it would be if everyday could be like this,

perfect temperatures and sunshine.

As opposed to today, we never left the house.

Here comes winter...!

Happy Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday Mom!

We love you.

We loved celebrating your special day in our home.

You make everything merry and bright!

 We celebrated with Blueberry muffins for breakfast and a Sour Cream Blueberry pie complete with candles.

off with the cast.

It's been 3 weeks and we are finally cast free.

Yay!

They never figured out what was wrong, other than it could have been multiple things.

I'm excited to finally put her in her fall wardrobe! She has been wearing the same dresses over and over again. They are the only clothing that her cast will fit through. 

This removal has happened just in time for a dip in temperatures at the end of this week.

Bring on cardi weather!

 We brought Chamberlain along and he was facisnated by the saw that removed her cast. 

He was so interested in what the assistant was doing. He did not like that they made his baby cry. But he was so amazed at what they were doing to her arm.   I wish I took a picture of him holding her hand while they removed the cast but that was before I thought to pull out the camera.

So far she is a happy camper.

the Hike.

A friend of ours Mrs. Lacey Jean, invited us to hike The Subway in Zion and we jumped at the chance.

I love hiking and haven't really done much in my married life, which is sad. 

 Both Josh and I really like being outdoors and what a great way to spend 10 hours together without the kids. 

Since this hike Josh and I have committed to hike more often and for sure do a big hike each summer.

The Subway was great. 

It was long at times, since we got off to a late start, which meant no stopping to play in the pools.  We needed to get out of the canyon before dusk. I did not want to get caught in the canyon climbing up a steep cliff in the dark.

There were 10 of us total in our group, Lacey and Nate, Josh and I, and then a few college students who drove down after the BYU game. It was refreshing to be with such young kids. They have so much energy and just kept going.  It's crazy that we are like 10 years older than them. I sure don't feel that I'm old. Well maybe the day after the hike I did when I could barely move, and every muscle in my entire body is screaming at me.

The best part of the entire day was really just being with Josh all day long side by side, enjoying each other's company. Although, there was icing on the cake. We had planned to meet my parents and the kids at The Pizza and Noodle company in Sprindale. Due to the late start we did not get up out of the canyon till past 6 pm. I figured my parents had already done their thing and probably took the kids home. Nope.  About one mile left in the hike Josh jumped back and I thought for sure there was a snake and out popped my Dad with Chamberlain. They had taken the kids to St. George to the splash pad and carousel and decided to meet us at the end of the trail. 

 I nearly cried I was so happy to see them.

You see I had a great time the whole day until the last hour or so when I fell and then it seemed that the end would never come. I realized two things that day.

1. I can still do hard things. 

and 

2. I love my husband.

Since I fell and landed on an exposed root in the the middle of my back. Josh, the strapping, handsome, strong man that he is, carried my pack the rest of the way out. Yep about 3 miles over boulders and water and oh a cliff. He never complained and helped me out the rest of the way. And did I mention he carried his pack too that had all the rope, and he carried mine. 

I love that man.

Josh and I decided that we were going to take Chamberlain when he turns 8.

Thank you to Lacey and Nate for inviting us. 

And an even Bigger thanks to my parents for watching our kids so we could go.

It was an awesome and unforgettable day.

The host and hostess of the hike Lacey and Nate. 

 One big happy family!

Oh yes and these shoes...are gone.  They were great in the water, light weight but man they had no traction. In fact I think my right toe nail will be falling off shortly like in the next couple of hours. 

So they didn't make it back. RIP cute shoes. We had some good times. Like remember the hike we took to Horse Shoe Bend. I'll never forget...the views.

the childrens museum.

Goodness I can't believe its been over a week since we have been home from visiting Shelbie and the boys.  It feels like we were just there yesterday. We did so many things and had so much fun, but the one afternoon that I find myself remembering the most was the Children's museum. 

It was very cool. Everything made out of recycled stuff, which I love. 

I think what I enjoyed most of all was how much fun ALL the children had. 

Yep even baby Lex and Siri had a ball...literally. 

It was a quick and air conditioned way to spend 5 hours or more of our day.

It went by so fast.  If you are in the Phenoix area and you are looking for something to do with your kids that will take up an afternoon or more definitely go there.   

The pictures below are proof that kids of all ages will love going there. 

Not one child was unhappy at any minute during the duration of our time there. 

Although rounding them up to go home was a different story.

 Can you spy Chamberlain?

musical flip flops

noodle forest

 Dear Utah, 

Why don't we have something like this in our great state? We have a plethora of children, do I dare say more than the state below us! We even have all the materials we need right here in our own back yard to make/build a spectacular Children's Museum {which I think could be bigger and better}. And I'm pretty sure we have an old school building needing to be restored and brought to life again. Its a win win win situation for all. And on top of that I'm sure there are people out there willing to step up to make this happen. 

Sincerely,

Ashleigh

a blue cast.

Back to Dr. B. we went and had more x-rays, and elbow tests done.  So far there is nothing that they can see. However, when they move her arm she is still in quite a lot of pain. 

Dr. B did say that there could be a crack and they just cant see it. 

So to be on the safe side they put a hard cast on her arm for the next few weeks.

Dr. B said its better to overprotect her elbow rather than letting it get worse.

In which Josh and I concur.

Since the only appointment for the week happened to be on Chamberlains actual Birthday we let him pick out her cast color. I mean lets be honest here, Siri does not care at this point in her life what color of cast she will be wearing and if she did I'm 99.9% sure it would be turquoise.

Chamberlain thought this idea was the coolest EVER. 

So of course the color that he picked (since turquoise was not available) was Cougar Blue.

Which is actually turning out for my benifit. 

You wouldn't believe how dirty a cast on a 14 month old can get. 

With the darker blue the dirt and spills are camouflaged quite nicely.

We call this dress her Grandma Laura's dress.

My Grandma Laura wore these all the time and in all different colors.