Days 4 and 5

July 6th marked Dwane's 70th birthday.  Since we were there the week before, Mom decided to have his party a week early.  She spent weeks racking her brains  to think of something special to do to celebrate and came up with hot air balloon rides.  So REALLY early in the morning (5:30am!) on Wednesday we loaded up in cars to pick up the balloon guy and go to the launch site out in Washington Fields.

It was really cool watching them get the balloon unpacked and set up for rides.  They used two smallish fans to blow up the gigantic balloon.  I would not have believed it would be so easy.  Although it did take them a long time to get the basket unloaded from the truck and ready to go.  By the time the balloon itself was ready to take off we were all wishing we would have stayed in bed for a while longer.

The balloon guy (never got his name, sorry) said he could do three "hops" with three adults each and then a couple of tethered rides for the kids.  Dwane went up with Casey and Chad for the first hop, Keri, Tim and Paige took the second and Mom, John and McKenzi went on the third.  The trick for those of us on the ground was to follow the balloon so we could be there when it landed to switch the passengers.  We felt like storm chasers.  There was this line of 6 or 7 cars that were making u-turns and cruising down rutted dirt paths trying to catch the balloon.  It was very Twister-esque.  And very fun!

After the third hop, they anchored the ballon to the ground with a rope and did two quick up and down rides with Sam and I and some of the cousins on the first one and then Mike and Rebecca and some more kids on the second.  The kids were not huge fans of the rides, mostly because it was super hot and loud.  The fire they use to make the balloon rise combined with the fast increasing temperatures of St George was painful.  I enjoyed the ride but didn't get much of a chance to look around.  One of my little nephews was in tears so I was on my knees holding him for most of the ride.

The rest of the day was spent resting, swimming and recovering from the early morning- after we had cupcakes with Grandpa that is.

Day four was our first day in the recording studio.  First up:  the kids singing the song Lisa and Keri wrote as well as another primary song.  The kids were excited to be in a studio.  You should have seen Henry (11 years old, brilliant and in love with all things electronic) when he walked into the booth where our tech was sitting.  His eyes where the size of plates and his fingers were just itching to push a button or 12.  It took a while for the recording tech to set up so I entertained the kids by playing hot potato with a (clean) diaper.  (It was all I had!) When they were finally able to record, getting them to hold still when they were singing was another matter altogether.  I think my nephew, TJ, only holds still when he sleeps (and even that is debatable) and he was not the only one that had the wiggles, just the biggest.

After the kids, Mom and I and Keri were up.  Mom really wanted to sing a solo.  For my entire childhood, my mom was almost completely tone deaf.  She would sing all of the hymns at church off key despite our best efforts to teach her otherwise.  On school days she used to threaten us with her singing if we didn't get out of bed.  By the time I left for college, however, she was starting to find her way musically and actually joined her ward choir.  Lately she has even been taking voice lessons.  However, she is not 100% comfortable singing on her own yet.  Mom called me about a week before we were to arrive to see if I would sing her solo with her.  I agreed, but with the arrangement she was using we ended up adding Keri in for the fourth verse so the solo ended up as a trio... until we started recording.  We recorded it once and were preparing to rerecord the third and fourth verses when Keri suggested that Mom try the third verse (her favorite) on her own.  Mom was so nervous I actually held her hand to help calm her.  She did a beautiful job and although tenuous at the beginning, ended strong.  I can't wait to hear how it sounds on the cd!  I am so proud of her!

Once Mom and I were finished, we took the kids back to the house for lunch and to get ready for the water park.  Everyone else who had a solo prepared stayed at the studio to record.  The water park we went to was built just a few years ago as part of the Washington Rec Center.  ( Washington is a suburb of St. George- although I use the term loosely.)   The water park had a hydrotube, lazy river, infant area and some smaller slides and other fun water toys.  The best part is that it was shallow enought that Sam could touch the pool floor everywhere so he just took off with his cousins and didn't need a life jacket.  We spent a couple of hours swimming and sliding and floating and generally having a great time.  It was a great way to relax and enjoy the kids before our looooonng recording day on Friday.

Stay tuned... (get it?!  Ha!  I crack myself up!!  Ok, maybe I shouldn't blog when I am tired.)

Day 2

Day two in Utah- still outrageously hot- we spent most of the morning indoors.  The last few times we have all gotten together, my mom wrangled us into recording a cd.  My family grew up singing and Mom has always been our biggest fan.  She loves these cds so that she can listen to us whenever she wants since we aren't there in person.  Before this vacation we had done two previous cds:  one of Christmas music and another of showtunes.  This year after much debate (via email and phone) we decided on spiritual music.  Keri, our family organizer, ordered and sent out music and practice cds a month or so ago so that we would be prepared for our first rehearsal. This morning was our first practice.

Almost 3 hours later...

The kids, non singing spouses and even most of us singers were beyond done. The kids jumped in the pool to get rid of some extra energy while we got lunch ready then it was off to the dinosaur footprint museum.

Several years ago one of the local landowners had been turning over his land getting ready to plant and had discovered the single largest group of dinosaur trackways- so now there is a museum in St. George.  James is totally obsessed with all things dinosaur so this was a special request from us.  Of course, when you think of a museum you think of several floors and wings where you could spend days getting lost looking at all of the amazing artifacts, art, etc.  Nope.  This is a small building that takes about 20 minutes to look at all of the prints on display; perfect for the attention span of our group.  It was pretty cool, though.  After the museum we headed back to the house and the pool.  After a couple hours of swimming we got the kids cleaned up and fed and the adults headed up to the Utah Shakespearian Festival in Cedar.

I have been going to the festival since I was a kid.  This was my first time back in about 10 years.  Before the evening performances there is a Greenshow with singing and dancing and juggling and jokes while strolling vendors sell fresh tarts and fancy programs.  My sister, Lisa, actually performed in the Greenshow when she was in college- it was an internship that she had set up through Bryn Mawr.  The Greenshow has definitely been downsized since I was last there.  Instead of the traditional three stages of performers with live musicians.  There was only one stage with prerecorded music and a fiddlist hooked up to a mic.  Still fun though.  The play we saw "Much Ado About Nothing" was spectacular.  They really played up the physical and literary comedy of the show and Benedict and Beatrice were perfect for their roles.  The guy playing Prince John (a role played by Keanu Reeves in the movie) was wearing a black leather coat straight out of The Matrix.  It cracked me up!  The play was performed in the outdoor Globe Theater: a replica of Shakespear's famous Globe Theater in London.  John was even impressed- which really says something.

On the ride home from Cedar (about a 45 minute drive) TJ and Henry, my two oldest nephews, were riding in the car with Mom and Dwane and Lisa, TJ's Mom.  Henry was telling jokes and reciting silly lines from the show to make TJ laugh.  Just as TJ took a drink of water Henry told a perfectly timed line.  TJ choked on the water and threw up all over himself and the back seat.  He spent the rest of the time trying to blow chunks of raspberry tart out of his nose.  Lisa and my Mom spent the rest of the drive trying not to crack up while Dwane drove the car ever faster with each noise from TJ (who was sitting right behind the driver's seat I might add).  Mom, Lisa, Keri and I had a good laugh about this after we all got home (and cleaned the car out).  Actually we were doubled over laughing until tears rolled down our cheeks.  I love my family!

SGU Day 1

Mom and Dwane's house is a real home.  The moment you walk in the door your are enveloped in a sense of warmth and well being.  They are both such loving people that the house radiates that feeling as well.  The only thing that improves on the feeling in their home is when all of us are there visiting

When we woke up Sunday morning (7:00 as usual despite the time change (James has an impeccable internal clock.)) we were welcomed with hugs and kisses and finally had the opportunity to introduce Matthew to all of my siblings and to his cousins.  After a yummy pancake breakfast (John cooked) Mom laid out the plan for the day.  She had, as is usual for when we are all in town, arranged for us to sing in sacrament meeting.  This time she had also arranged for our kids to sing in primary.  Lisa and Keri (my two incredible sisters) wrote a Primary song this year and Mom wanted them to teach it to her primary kids.  Then she had volunteered Lisa and Keri and I to sing in Relief Society as well.  Mom can go a little overboard sometimes.  =)   Sunday evening was reserved for family pictures. 

Going to church in my parents' ward is a little strange.  I know maybe a handful of people.  Mom and Dwane were married two days after Mike (my step bro who is my age (actually, technically he is 6 months older since I got to retain my status as the baby of the family)) and I graduated from high school.  This was never my home ward since I went to the college ward that summer and then moved to Philadelphia.  However, we are welcomed with open arms whenever we are home for a visit and Mom and Dwane are loved and looked after by everyone, so as far as wards go this one is pretty great.

Anyway, all of the singing went well and watching my boys fearlessly sing a solo (Sam) and a duet (James) in front of a large group of their peers made my heart burst.  Church down, family pictures to go...

The plan:  All of us as well as all of Dwane's kids and grandkids would meet in the park at 6:00pm to get a new family photo of the WHOLE family as well as individual family photos. The last time we had done this was in 2002 when I was barely pregnant with Samuel and my brother, Jared, wasn't even married yet.   I have been after John to get some real family pictures done for a while so I was looking forward to this.  I think that the pictures turned out well. Sascha (my step brother Casey's wife) picked the color combinations for the family- a task almost more difficult than arranging the whole group for a shot.

What we didn't take into account:  the 117 degree heat and the poor saps (us and Ty and Becca and Theo) who were still on east coast time.  Two photographers and two hours (and several melt downs by kids and adults) later, we were more than ready to go splash around in a nearby fountain built specifically for that purpose.  The small amount of cold water bottles and half melted popcicles we had brought barely helped to combat the heat but the water fountain reduced Samuel to blue-lipped shivering.  I had him lay down on the pavement to warm up since no one had thought to bring towels.

One of the fun or bizarre things about my family:  Since we are so rarely all in the same place (the last time was in Philadelphia in 2006) my Dad and his wife Anne are included in most if not all of the family activities.  Family pictures were no exception.  They showed up at the end after Dwane's kids left and we got our pictures taken with them, too.  Don't even ask how the bill is being split on that one!

Home

Last week we went out to Utah to spend a week with my family.  As we made the evening drive from Las Vegas to St. George all I could do was stare out the windows at the mountains and try to keep from drowning in memories and waves of homesickness as they crashed over me.  Don't get me wrong, I like Philadelphia, I love our home and our friends and I have no intention of EVER returning to live in St. George, but there is something about the towering mountains and the glowing sunrises and sunsets and the orange dirt that never washes out of your socks that just fills my soul.
The drive from Vegas to my childhood home is a familiar one.  The airport in St. George is on top of a small mesa so you have to spend a small fortune to fly there directly.  Las Vegas is the closest major airport.  Also, it is where my Dad moved when my parents split so we spent a lot of time as kids making the trek there and back.
During the first part of our drive the moon rose and sat perched on the mountain to our right, larger than normal and slightly orange in color, welcoming me back.  Then the millions of stars came out one by one reminding me just how many are hidden by the smog and the trees back east.   
A small portion of the drive between the two cities is through the Virgin River Gorge.  It is a four lane highway (two lanes for each direction) that runs parallel to the twisting path of the Virgin River between towering canyon walls.  With "watch for falling rocks" signs and frequent big horn sheep sightings the path can be trecherous to say the least.  The speed limit through the gorge is 55 mph.  My Mom, who used to make the commute to Vegas for graduate school 2-3 times a week, takes it at 90.  As I drove through On Saturday night a week ago with my four sleeping boys, I was driving a conservative 65.  There are so many twists and turns that driving on a dark night is more than a little terrifying.  The curves are hard to see and the road is alternately bordered by steep drop offs or solid rock walls.  Driving the gorge in daylight is less frightening and more intoxicatingly beautiful- which poses the danger of distraction.
St. George is a small basin surrounded on all sides by red sandstone cliffs or black lava rock hills with the rocky mountains in the distance.  From the surrounding hillsides you can see for miles in any direction- with very few trees to block your view.  The wide open space gives you a feeling of insignificance but also one of gratitude for the overwhelming, breathtaking beauty of it.  Never has the odd color combination of green (grass), orange (sandstone) and blue (sky) been considered gorgeous until you have seen it here. 
It was good to be home.  And HOT.  We took family pictures outside on Sunday and the thermometer read 117 degrees.  Most days it hovered around 108.  Mom and Dwane's pool felt like a bathtub.  It was still refreshing though and we took the kids swimming twice almost every day.  The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and John and I had fun hanging out with my brothers and sisters and their spouses.  It was insane and hilarious chaotic and entertaining and stressful and silly and I did not want to come home yesterday.

I left my computer at home due to airline limitations on bags and needing every extra bit of room for baby stuff and I was kicking myself from the moment we landed for not bringing it.  The next week or so will be blogs about our trip that I composed in my head.  Stay tuned...

Famous Quotes from Myrtle Beach

James:  (10 minutes into our 10 hour drive to MB)  "Mom, are we in Myrtle Beach now?"

Matthew:  "Mamamama"

Samuel:  (about his new 20 questions digital game)  "This thing is awesome!  It knows everything!"

James:  (We went to dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise)  "Mom, what is paradise?"
Mom:  "Picture the happiest place you can imagine where you can be with all the people you love:  your friends-"
James:  "Oh, so like school!"

Samuel:  (when saying goodbye to his friend Haley)  "You made the best Princess Leia ever!"

Matthew:  "Dadadada!"

James:  (10 minutes into our 10 hour drive home)  "Are we in Philadelphia now?"

Myrtle Beach

We are getting ready to head out to the family vacation in Utah so I am trying to catch up on all my posts.

Last week was our fourth annual Myrtle Beach vacation.  It is the perfect place to go with young kids- especially my boys who LOVE the water!  We had a great time with John's family (minus Dave who was too cool for us this year.  =))  We also got to meet up with Aunt B, Laura and Haley again and they brought newbies Dallin and Chase to join the party.

Here are a few photos of the fun!

Needless to say, we had a great time!  Want to come next year?

ten months plus some

The day before Sam's birthday was Matthew's 10 month mark.  I swear he gets cuter by the day!  He also gets more mobile!  Matthew at 10 months had figured out how to climb the four steps from our family room to our kitchen.  He also got two more teeth so he now has eight.  Now all he has to do is figure out what to do with them.  He still chokes on anything that isn't puree so we are hoping over the next few weeks while we are on vacation to get him used to chewing.

Look at this boy, I know I am not biased when I saw he is adorable!  =)