St. George, Sand Hollow and Toquerville Falls

Jake and his brothers (and awesome sister-in-law) were running another Tough Mudder. This time in Phoenix, AZ. They were struggling with travel plans and accommodations. Eventually they settled with stop in St. George for a night, continue traveling to Phoenix for a night, run the event and head back to St. George for the night. We haven't had a vacation for a while so we decided to head down early and have some fun. 

Ellie had been asking about cinnamon rolls for a while and then I remembered about my great grandmother Millie's recipe. So I looked up some conversions (scalded milk and yeast cakes) and tried making a batch. They turned out great so we made some for our trip to St George.

Here's Sammi helping measure flour. 

Fresh, homemade cinnamon rolls

They turned out so good.

We took off for St. George on a Tuesday night. My brother Jeff hasn't been to see the house we stay in so we took him along. Also, it would give me an extra adult to hang out with while Jake and his family were in Phoenix. Stef and JT drove out and stopped in Sand Hollow so they could hang out with us as well.

Wednesday we played around the house for a bit and then headed in to Cedar City to have dinner and talk with some friends. Aaron and Julie showed us this great BBQ joint. We went back to their place for dessert and hair cuts. Thanks Julie.

On Thursday we had other friends come play at the house with us. Darci and the boys came swimming in the pool and played in the tree houses. Later, once Dan was off work, we went out for dinner with them. It had been too long since we had seen them last; probably close to 4 years. We were on our way out to Denver and they were on their way to Las Vegas. I really love getting together with friends.

(Sorry I sucked at taking any pictures though.)

Jake's family had shown up the night before and on Friday they were off to Phoenix. So what do we do? Go have as much fun as possible.

We drove over to Sand Hollow, where Stef and JT were staying. Once there we jumped in the Jeep, 4 Runner, and Razor to head over to the beach. I don't know who had the most fun at the beach; Zoey, Ellie, Sammi, or JT.

Zoey, the great dane, ran everywhere except where the water was too deep because she is a chicken and can't swim yet. However, she doesn't want water to touch her belly either.

What would you do if it was warm outside, the sand was warm but the water a little chilly (53 degrees according to the entrance station)? Ellie would run into the water and splash around then run out and lay in the sand becoming a sand monster and then return to the water.

Gotta warm up

Wash off the sand. 

She didn't want to stay out of the water but when she was shivering uncontrollably, I thought it was best and made her stay out.

Sammi splashed a little in the water or walked in to fill up her cups but she would rather dig and make sand castles. Then either she or Zoey would stomp them. Zoey was always trying to run as close to people as possible. Zoey helped dig a big hole so the girls could sit and be buried. Neither girl sat too long in the hole. Sammi didn't want to be covered and the shape of the hole hurt Ellie's back once the sand was piled on her legs.

We dried them off and dressed them so they could go for a ride in the Razor. Even though we had brought their bike helmets down with us, I left them at the St. George house. They just wore Stef's helmet. ha ha ha

Ellie and JT

Sammi's turn

JT said that both girls just laughed and giggled the whole time. Of course, Ellie kept asking to go faster and even squealed when JT took her to do some donuts. That is definitely something we will need to do again.

We went back to the motor home and trailer for lunch and so Sammi could nap. While she was napping, JT took me on a ride. I have been on 4 wheelers before but never through sand dunes. The razor was a blast. The ride was beautiful. I didn't take my phone or a camera because I didn't want sand everywhere in them but that is such a gorgeous area. 

On Sand Hollow, there is this great cliff jumping place near the boat ramp. We went and hiked around there to splash and throw rocks. The water lever was a little low and the water temp a little cold for us to want to jump in. 

Ellie wanted to do so much of the hiking by herself. She was so excited to explore and learn things. I think Ellie and Sammi definitely threw more rocks but Jeff and JT may have created more splash because they kept skipping rocks and throwing in big rocks to try and splash us. It was time to head back when Sammi stepped on a thorn. It bled quite a bit. Sadly the ranger who had just pulled up to the ramp as we walked out hadn't kept the first aid kit up to date. His cleansing wipes were dried up but Stef and JT made great doctors to clean and bandage Sammi's foot.

Just after lunch on Saturday, we packed up again and went out to adventure. My uncle Jon had traveled down so along with him and Stef and JT, we drove up to Toquerville Falls.  It had been close to 7-8 years since I had been there last. The first time I went to the falls was with a friend of mine who lives down in the area about 13-14 years ago. Its a great place to have fun.

Just up stream from the falls we had a great place way from others where the girls and the dogs could splash around and play. Besides Zoey, we had Duncan (my uncle's lab) and Buoy (belongs to friends of Stef and JT). Ellie did great seeing her first golden lab since she was bit. She has really learned that each animal, no matter how much they look alike, is different and an individual.

Anyway, the dogs loved trying to fetch rocks and dirt clumps the girls threw. They also ran and splashed in between anyone standing too close to the water.

Girls at the falls.

This is a little better picture of the falls. Ellie and Sammi were on the middle ledge on the right side. Bert the Jeep is Stef and JT's jeep that travels to Jeep and off road shows all over the country for Nemesis Industries (the company they work for). Honk if you ever see Bert around. He's hard to miss.

Bert the Jeep

Falls in June of 2006

We headed back into St. George for dinner and to wait for the Tough Mudder goers to return. We had such a fun time. I wish I was already back there and had been able to spend more time with various friends. But you do what you can. It was so nice to go and have such a good time and do so many fun things.

Friends, food, fun and gymnastics

Do you know when you have good friends? When you haven't really seen or spoken in a few years but they still call when they are headed in your direction just so you can hang out. Tracey did just that thing a few weeks ago. We hadn't seen her or her family for almost 2 years but they were coming up to go to a gymnastics meet and gave us a call. 

We started with dinner at a local joint, where the locals eat, and then headed to The Spectrum. I had looked up the info online and found that entrance was free if you were wearing pink. We had to buy Jake a ticket. 

Don't be fooled by the look on Ellie's face. She loved watching the gymnastics and playing with friends. 

Ellie put your hands down. Sammi look at the camera.

Apparently USU's gymnastics isn't as popular as the Utes' Red Rocks. We showed up late but where still only 5 rows up from the floor.

We has such a good time. We got out of the house, the kids were able to play and enjoy something new, and Jake and I could take with friends and have adult conversations.

Thanks Tracey and Adrian. We had such a great time.

Where do they come up with these things?

Both girls have recently said things that I just don't even know how to react or how to respond to. Of course being a toddler, Sammi always says things that are funny, don't quite make sense, or whatever simply because she is learning to grasp the language. I can understand that. I try to re-phrase what she said making the proper corrections or ask for clarification so I can understand what she is trying to say. However most of the time, I just end up laughing because its just too funny.

Lately Sammi has been telling people, "You're not the most. Jesus is the most." Or similar variations along those lines. Every time it ends with Jesus is the most. I have no idea where she picked this up or learned it but with her goofy toddler accent (which you just have to hear). She sounds like an extreme bible thumping church goer. This makes me laugh almost every time, except when she yells this at someone in the grocery story trying to walk down the same aisle as us.

The other thing she says a bunch is "You're not a mean guy. You're a good guy." Then she proceeds to name everyone she knows as a good guy. "Jeff's not a mean guy. He's a good guy. Frampa's (who she says grandpa) not a mean guy. He's a good guy." She even includes her uncles who she shies away from in person. Again, poor strangers at the grocery store have been told they are bad or mean guys because they want to walk down the aisle. (Do you get the feeling she doesn't like strangers at grocery stores and I that I spend a lot of time apologizing to people because my child is extremely rude?)

As funny as these have been, it's something that Ellie said to me the other day that has me questioning where kids pick up these ideas or phrases. About a week ago, I was making a meal. Ellie was standing there talking with me and out of nowhere she says, "Mom, you won't be there when I get married. You'll be dead." I tried to ask why she thought that or what gave her that idea. Once she answered because I'll be older than grandmas. So I explained that both my grandma's were still alive when I was married and one of them is still alive. However, again she insisted that I wouldn't be at her wedding cause I would be dead. She said it a few more times. Not quite sure what to do or say to that.

What happened for thinking for ourselves?

Can someone explain this to me because my logic is getting into the way?

We signed up for a service and agreed to a 12 month contract with 12 months of a promotional price. This month the bill went up (and we've lived in our place for a year) so contract and promotional price over right? Wrong!

After chatting with 2 people and having 2 different phone conversations with people from 2 different departments, this is what I learned. According to the company, the promo pricing ended with the bill that started at the end of Jan. This makes sense because they bill a month in advance (so the end of January bill covered the month of February). This bill is for the 13th month, however the contract and the promo pricing are still on the account until next week. Because of this, they can't cancel the contract or give new promo pricing until next week when that information "falls off the system" so I will need to call back next week to change the contract, try for new promo pricing, and try for a credit for the bill they are going to auto-deduct from my account even though I cancelled auto-pay (because they won't guarantee the auto-pay won't pull the money if you already received your bill).

What bothers me:

1. Not a single person, of the three I spoke with about my questions, seemed to understand (or if they did, they no longer cared) that if the pricing was for 12 months and the contract were for 12 months why did the pricing end last month but the contract is in force until next week? Why if the promo pricing was still on the account (it won't "fall off" until next week), why wasn't in affect for the price of the services? If the contract was over, why couldn't changes be made simply because there was information just sitting and doing nothing on my account?
2. How is it that people who work there haven't ever questioned this so they can best deal with customer who are going through this issue? I was always trying understand and learn how or why things worked the way they did. I felt it helped me to know how to explain things to customers or work out solutions that worked best for both sides. 
3. This company built they're system this way and the underlings don't have codes or control to do or change anything. It seems as though it were built in such a way that would cause extra work for both the employees and the customers just so that when people aren't paying attention to their account, they can make some extra bucks. 

Is my logic wrong here? Am I the one who doesn't understand? 

My Public, Health Service Announcement

If you have a vacuum with any kind of filter, wash or change it regularly (depending on your filter). If your brush slows down on a regular basis or the belt appears a little over-stretched, buy a new belt and replace it.

I have 2 filters on my vacuum; one is washable foam and the other is a hepa filter. I wash the foam one regularly because I can see when it is dirty. I tend to forget about the other one. I change the belt out when it breaks and the brush stops spinning. So why did I start this post like I did? I am about to tell you and completely embarrass myself in the process.

First I noticed I had to lower the brush on my vacuum in order to make sure it was really brushing the carpet. I could run it over areas and look like the brush was only touching 2-3 spots. Small amounts of hair wrapping around the brush would cause it to slow down and I was cutting hair off about every other use. Finally the brush just stopped spinning altogether however the belt was still intact. So I decided it was probably a good time to buy a new one and while I was at it buy the hepa filter.

Because I am totally cheap and sometimes still think things should cost less than they usually do, I almost didn't buy the filter.  I was buying 2 belts for $4 but 1 filter was going to cost $9. It's just a stupid filter, right? Not a big deal. But I decided I should just spend the money for it. Especially cause our family has been getting cold after cold lately.

I got home and switched out the belt and noticed the old one was really stretched out. Then I switched out the filter which was really dirty. Then I started vacuuming the 2 rooms I hadn't been able to vacuum the other day when the brush stopped.

The slots in the filter should be white and that's the new belt inside the old one.

Before I explain what happened next, I promise, I vacuum on a regular basis. Usually once a week, sometimes more, however a few times it is less frequent but never longer than 2 weeks between vacuuming (unless we aren't home).

As I started vacuuming, I noticed that I could change the brush setting back and the carpet looked great. When I moved items to vacuum under them, the brush straightened out the carpet that has been lain flat under the pressure. At this point I realized I probably needed to change the belt a little more often than when it breaks or when the brush stops. Then slowly I became more and more disgusted with what I saw and heard. It truly sounded like I hadn't vacuumed in weeks. The dirt and dust catching bucket was filled with dirt and dust bunnies.

The amount of dirt and dust after vacuuming the house twice.

 I ended up vacuuming to whole house at least twice and then borrowing our neighbors carpet cleaner. I was beyond shocked at how dirty things were. Each time I vacuumed before, I had  to empty the bucket because of dirt and just assumed that things were ok. I had no clue that my vacuum was sucking at sucking up dirt.

I apologize to those who have visited my house recently (if the grossness of the garbage can picture bothers you). I learned a valuable lesson. I now know that no matter the cost of the filter, buy it and change it out every few months. Regardless of the cost, there are some things we just have to do on a regular basis to have healthy, safe, and clean lives. Hopefully this will help the runny noses and coughs go away.

Sammi Says

Lately Sammi has been on a roll with funny things she says, does, or sings. She loves to sing primary songs that she learns in nursery. The funny part is that sometimes she gets stuck on a singing lop or she sings mash ups like, "I love to see the Temple. I going there some day. Jesus wants me for a sunbeam..." 

A while back she told me that spiders were biting her hair and sharks were eating her legs. Then last night after dinner, she told me a story. In order to record it, I had to prompt with some questions but you'll get the gist of it. She is talking about the reindeer who live behind our house. 

Ellie has a crush

I was a little worried about Ellie returning to school after the stitches were removed. I wondered how the other kids might react. My fears were unfounded though. Especially when a few days after, Ellie climbed into the car and told me Colby liked her. Her teacher then leaned in and told me that Colby also told her that he likes Ellie and thinks she is nice. 

Later she told me that when they play house, Colby and her pretend to be married. If you ask her about Colby, she just smiles and giggles. I told her not to tell her dad any of this (because he is a little over protected and very concerned about the safety of his daughter). He played the upset dad game very well, which made Ellie giggle even more. 

This past week, I went on a field trip with the preschool. So did Colby's mom and I was able to meet her. I can't tell you how glad I am to know that Colby has been telling his mom the same things. I guess when Ellie told him we would be gone for Christmas (about 2 weeks), he mistook it that we were moving and told his mom, "Well I guess I can't marry Ellie then." 

One of the other teachers told us that while Ellie and Colby were play "House" and pretending to get married, another friend in the class, a boy, said to them, "I am not playing that marriage game, ever." 

Of course, Colby is just like any other boy. Sometimes Ellie is said when he just wants to play with the other kids or ignores her to play with the boys. 

Seeing her with a crush makes me a little excited for what lies ahead bu also scares me with the emotional turmoil it will bring. But, hey, that's life right?

Thanksgiving and giving thanks

I love holidays. I love making fun and exciting foods. I love been near family, talking, joking, playing games and all the other good stuff that comes from being surrounded by the people you love. Yes, they can be stressful times as well but only if you let small things pester and annoy. I am trying harder each year to focus on the good parts of holidays and so "oh well" when those small pests try and ruin good times and relationships.

We enjoyed 2 dinners again this year. First up was with the Watterson's, who I am pretty sure have never started a Thanksgiving dinner at the time they say, ever. Regardless, they are tons of fun. Jake's cousins hosted again this year and held, what will probably be a tradition from now on, a dessert contest. Luckily for us living so far away and generally staying with family for the holidays, we generally receive easy assignments. Because of that, we try to make up for it with dessert. For that reason, we won the dessert contest this year. However, in the 2 years we've had the contest, both our desserts were more Christmasy because of peppermint flavor but who cares, right?

Watterson dinners are just like the ones I grew up with so its easy for me to feel at home and comfortable. There are lots of people and most of them are talking. Plenty of conversations going on and plenty of good food to go along with it.

I am so grateful to have married into such a great family, who enjoys spending time together and who tries to do it often. They always try to be the best support and offer such great help to us.

After winning the dessert competition, we packed up and headed down to spend some time with my family. We had been invited to eat with my uncle (dad's brother), his family, my family, and my dad's sister's family. My girls love going to their house. They have 2 different kids play areas tucked underneath stairs with toys to spare and a dog. Sammi enjoys smaller animals but Ellie loves all animals, big or small.

We arrived shortly after dinner had started but because we had just eaten we mostly just snacked. The girls took off and played without eating. After everything was cleaned up, we played a few rounds of Telestrations and then ate dessert. We have a traditional family dessert; steamed chocolate pudding with a sweet cream sauce. It has a different taste and texture so isn't always popular. Sammi loves it though.

About this time, things start to take on a surreal feeling in my memory. I don't remember how much time passed or even what I was doing at the exact moment when it happened. I remember sitting in a chair, watching the kids play with the dog, a golden lab. I remember a vague sense of knowing I am surrounded by family. I look up to see Ellie kneeling on the ground and reach up to give the dog a hug around the neck. Without warning, the dog turns, bites down on Ellie's cheek, and starts to shake his head back and forth. In what seems like both seconds and minutes, the dog has released her, she is in my arms, my aunt is holding her hand to Ellie's cheek walking with me out the door. Jake has run to the car, my sister has grabbed a fresh, damp wash cloth to cover her cheek, and we jump into the car to rush to the hospital. Jake is about as panicked as a worried parent can be, however I feel as though I am in a daze. Ellie sits in my lap almost in hysterics.

As we drive, I ask Ellie if we can say a prayer. I begin to pray; asking for safe passage to the hospital, asking for a calm reassurance over us and the hospital, asking for comfort for our families, etc. During the prayer, Ellie quiets down and sits calmly in my lap. We arrive a few short minutes later as the hospital isn't very far. I walk in with Ellie as Jake parks and we are immediately taken back. Amazingly, there isn't another person in the ER waiting room.

I won't detail too much more. My parents showed up to the hospital little bit later. Jake and my dad gave Ellie a blessing and then my parents left to take Sammi to their house. Ellie ended up with at least 20 visible stitches on her face. After the prayer, the only time she cried or acted scared was when they put in and took out the IV. She was laughing and giggling by the time we arrived back to my parents' house and making jokes about how funny she talked (they had put her completely under and deadened the cheek while placing the stitches). Four days later, the plastic surgeon removed the stitches.

Through all of this, I haven't felt angry, annoyed, or upset with the dog or anyone in my uncle's family. Mostly I have felt grateful for all that I have learned and sometimes sad knowing the pain and sadness other feeling knowing Ellie had to go through this. Ellie still loves dogs, has petted several large ones, and even still asked for one for Christmas (however my sister's kids who witnessed this removed dogs from their lists). She is a little jumpy if a larger dog startles her or one jumps a little too quickly without warning towards her face but she still loves to scratch, pet, and give loves to just about any dog that she sees.

I feel I am a little closer to my uncle, aunt, and cousins and in subsequent conversations have learned that they feel like they have received blessings, learned new lessons, or gained something of spiritual nature from this experience. I share the same feeling. I hope as I share a few things I learned, I can explain them well and hope you can recognize the same things in your life.

Ellie, and almost all children, act and react to situations based on how adults treat them or react to those same situations. The day after this happened, Ellie wanted to come with me to a wedding shower. She had a giant bandage on her face to protect the stitches. I was worried how she would react when people asked what happened because we hadn't really discussed with her what happened, I wasn't sure what she remembered, and I had barely slept the previous night for every time I closed my eyes I saw the dog turn on her again and again. I also wasn't sure how she would feel as people looked at her cheek instead of her eyes or any other part of her face. As we walked, I tried to prepare her and talk with her about what people might do or say. She told me she knew what happened and understood that people would ask questions. The first person we see stops and asks what happened. Ellie glanced at me for reassurance so I nodded at her and she tells them she was bit on the face by a dog. It was so matter of fact and so brave. She still tells anyone who asks and she doesn't seem bothered when people are curious and want a closer look. She bases the way she acts on the way Jake or I react to how people ask or treat her. I realized that she has a greater understanding of who she is than I did from about age 8 until almost 20.  

This experience has also reinforced what I have recently started to figure out about God's plan. Enveloped in God's all encompassing plan are individual plans for each of us that are interconnected. Sometimes we experience trials because they are for us. Sometimes others experience trials so that we may learn from them. Although Ellie, me, Jake, my family, my uncle's family all have had to go through this, each of us have something to learn and to gain. Its hurts a little to know she experienced this but I know that both she and I would choose to go through this experience again, feel the pain and fear and anything else that happens because of this experience if we knew and understood what benefits, lessons, and blessings it would bring to all the people involved. If given the choice, Ellie would sacrifice and do this over and over again just so others could learn and grow and become better. Because she is that kind of girl and she has that kind of love for others. I have gained greater insight to what the Savior must feel for us because of this trial.

I am grateful to Heavenly Father for answered prayers. Our prayers wouldn't be able to change this experience or make it so it never happened but because of faith and prayers, those involved have been able to move past this experience, learn something they may have never learned any other way, and Ellie's cheek is healing faster and better than I could have imagined. She may or may not have scars, but I hope that either way all of us will remember the things we learned because of her trial to which we were all witnesses.

Halloween

For months I looked for good looking Else and Anna costumes for the girls. Ones that they could continue to dress up in after Halloween was over. I found an Anna one but it was Ellie's size not Sammi's. Then about 2 weeks before Halloween, Ellie tells me she doesn't want to be Elsa. She wants to be a mummy. (Apparently while playing with her friend Hazel, they pretended to be mummies.) So I showed her some mummy costume pictures online. That changed her mind. So we looked at different costumes for about another week before she settled on a witch. Done.

Then I had a thought, "maybe I should try the Anna costume on Sammi just to make sure." After 3 different attempts, she was decidedly not going to wear the Anna costume. So with just a few days left, we started looking for a costume for Sammi. Luckily for me, she decided quickly on a Sofia the First dress that instantly became a regular dress up costume and has already needed to be sewn back together because she wears it so much.

This is also the first year we didn't do most of our trick or treating at a trunk or treat. I think I was more excited about it than anyone. Jake took the girls first around the inside circle in our neighborhood. I took the latter, 2nd circle. We were home by 7:30 but were the youngest family out walking the latest. Then about halfway through my loop I realized that while I was growing up and out trick or treating, we never knocked on doors and waited for an answer to say "trick or treat". We walked up to a door and yelled "TRICK OR TREAT" as loud as we could. After one yell, if there was no answer then we might knock. I began to wonder, what happened to that tradition? Was that just something our neighborhood did? All of the kids who came to our door knocked first.

The kids got a good amount of candy and because I am a bit of a candy nazi (they can only have 1-3 pieces a day and only if they ask, I don't remind them), they still have Halloween candy that is now mixed with Christmas candy.

I wish I had pictures available that I could use, but they are all on Jake's phone which I don't regularly have access to in order to retrieve pictures.

Ellie's 5th birthday

I guess with the holidays, the blog gets ignored. Yes, Ellie turned 5 years old. Because of her late birthday, she only just started preschool but has loved every day of it. Also, because it was her 5th birthday, she had to receive booster shots at her annual check up. She hated those and had stiff legs but she rode her bike to help ward off the stiffness. Based on the child growth charts, she is a tall (43" 73%), skinny girl (37 lbs 36%).

She has grown so much in the last year that it is hard to believe. She has started walking to friends' houses to play. She learned to ride a bike and to hula hoop. Ellie also loves to try new things. Sometimes she becomes discouraged quickly and other times nothing will stop her. She has been learning letter sounds and how to write those letters. She loves her sleep so hasn't completely given up taking naps but I feel that day will come all too quickly. 

Ellie is a wonderful girl. She is kind-hearted and tries to make friends with everyone. She is very curious about things and I encourage her to ask before trying stuff but there are plenty of time curiosity wins out before she can ask. Then she learns about dealing with consequences, like having to finish drinking punch with salt in it. 

I love watching her grow and learn. I love trying to see things the way that she does. I don't have any super good pics to go with this post because as I play and do things, I often forget to snap a picture. 

Happy super belated birthday Ellie.