Vacation 2009 - It's a Doozy!

Wow! What a trip! We had so much fun on this vacation. These first two pictures are Hoover Dam. The first being a look at the beautiful canyon and the second one of the new bridge they are building. Notice how high it is!

Here's Mom and Dad's house where we all stayed. It was great! The kids were able to run around and they had a great time together. I love how they just meld together so quickly and thoroughly. I know my kids were not ready to leave when the time came.

So, the big boy's project (one of them) was to finish the shed. They worked really hard and got a lot done and I think they enjoyed it as well. Here's how it looked when we left, waiting for sideing and touch ups.

What project would be complete without a mishap? Daniel ran into the house asking for a hot glue gun one morning. We were a bit confused about that, wondering what good a hot glue gun would be on the shed. Emily and I decided to be nosy. Turns out, Andy cut his leg and needed a first aid kit and super glue (which worked pretty well for keeping the would closed). Then we decided a big crowd around the invalid would be just the thing :)

Bekah had a ball with Rachel, who is just short of ten months old. She was pretty shy with the adults but loved Bekah.

The girls were so cute collecting rocks...from the driveway! In fact, Em's family arrived while the others were at church and we had just got back from church. Alexis and Bekah proceeded to find a bucketful of rocks for Grandpa. When Andy's van arrived, their first question was "Where is Grandpa?" Below Bekah and Ellie show off their rock collection, which was later sorted into rocks to keep and rocks to give to Grandpa. Thankfully, they all stayed there!

We did go to the pool one day. But it was crowded and not as much fun as we had hoped. The kids enjoyed it though...until some started getting cuts and scrapes on their toes. We were definitly ready to leave when the time came.

Chipmunks were everywhere at the house. Catching them turned into a favorite pastime. No chipmunks were harmed in the process.

They had a bucket rigged up to a string, food under the bucket and the chipmunks could not resist. They just kept coming back for more.

One day we drove up to Lamoille Canyon. It was beautiful. The kids had a great time walking the trails, even walking up high enough to find snow. Dad said Bekah just wanted to keep on going and going.

I love this picture of Dan and Paul.

Here's Dad taking the girls up to the snow.

Great picture of Thanny throwing rocks into the stream. And the sexy legs behind him, of course!

Ben, Tim, Audrey and Megan.

Another precious picture of Bekah and Rachel.

Mom and Dad and all their grandchildren.

Roasting marshmallows! We had a great big bonfire in James' firepit. Great fun and good eatin!

James and Ellie

I like this picture of Mom and Dana.

Dad playing with Thanny.

Paul, Dan and Audrey at the firepit just before we left.

Okay, these crazy girls decided they wanted to get up early to go on a hike. They set the alarm for 5:30 am (but didn't go to sleep until 10:00pm). They actually woke up at 4! They did have their early morning hike and then set out later in the morning to have a picnic before we left. Needless to say, Bekah slept a lot in the car that day.

Family photo which Mom and Dana managed to not be in.

Waving goodbye.

Tired kids!

So, we had sooooooooo much fun. Thanks Emily for bring the Twilight books and Phase 10 Dice. I now have two new addictions. :) Thanks to all the cousins for the awesome time playing and exploring. Especially great for Paul and Bekah because we live in town and don't have the ability to that too much. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us invade your house...hope it's still standing :). And let me just say, when we got home at 12:30 am Monday morning and it was still 95 degrees outside, we were wishing we had stayed a little longer!

Wizard Teeth

Paul was talking to me about teeth today (he's recently lost one). He asked how many molars I had (???) and then asked if wizard teeth are molars. I did a double take and asked, "Did you say wizard teeth?" "Yes," he replied. "Are they molars?"

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaahahhahahahahahahahahhahahah

After I had a good laugh, I explained to him that they are called wisdom teeth. Then he had a good laugh. I wonder what he's been reading, watching, playing lately.

And yes, they are molars :)

Last Day of School

Sigh......
It's a relief and a tear. I'll be so glad to not be on a schedule for awhile. But the kids had such a great year in school and we loved their teachers so much it's a little bittersweet. I feel like I get to be such good friends with their teachers that it's like breaking up a friendship. It's really hard to keep that relationship going the next year.
Anyway, Bekah's class did a little breakfast and Paul's class signed pillowcases, had class awards and then pizza. Then we all went home early. I crashed on the couch...combo of antibiotics and allergies dragging me down and the kids played.
Bright spot - vacation in less than two weeks! Yea! I am soooooooooo excited to see my family and for the cousins to play together and for us all to hang out. Paul and Bekah are excited to see everyone too. Since it's only been a year this time they remember how much fun they had last time.
Well, I have lessons to prepare for Sunday so I'm signing off.

Geology Field Trip

So, what a fun trip this was. This post may only be interesting to those that enjoy rocks and flowers. This particular rock is called Llanite and is only found in two places on the planet! You can see the little blue crystals that are in it, that's what makes it so special. It is very hard and the samples I brought home were picked up off the ground. The lab guy couldn't even make a dent with his rock hammer...in fact, the hammer was dented, not the rock!

Here is some Texas Pink Granite. Pretty stuff and to show off my knowledge, it is comprised of quartz, potassium feldspar and biotite.

Bluebonnets, of course. This picture was taken specifically for Bekah who loves flowers and bluebonnets especially.

This is graphite schist with an igneous intrusion running through it. That was pretty cool. And there were lots of "schist" jokes going around :)

My prof took this picture of me (left) and my classmate Hannah on either side of a fault. I think faults are neat. And I am now a geology geek!

Various Pictures

Tim and Bekah enjoying some delicious wild pig ribs that Tim cooked. Tim had a great time with the hog hunting this year...like two or three times a week fun. Geesh!

All the Hefner cousins at Easter. Don't they all look thrilled? Zack is the only one smiling. I think they were hot and tired.

Some more delicious ribs from the master chef.

Paul and Bekah on St. Patricks Day. These are the green outfits they chose to wear. Bekah had just started soccer and Paul had just finished football so they were especially attached to their uniforms. Thought...I may have already posted this picture. Oh well. They are still cute :)

Bekah warming up before a game. She absolutely LOVED playing soccer. We plan to play with the same team in the fall.