Labor Day

This summer, our bike riding adventures were few and far between. The spring and early summer were cold and wet, and with the high river waters, our favorite bike trail was under water in many places. By the time the water receded, the weather was too hot for the kids.

Ryan and I went on a few rides together, including a 24 mile ride on the Legacy parkway, but the kids opted to stay home.

Now that it is Labor Day the family bike ride was a must do activity. So we loaded our bikes and headed to the trail.

The Family bike ride is not complete without Grandma,

And Grandpa. They add to the fun of the trail.

Valerie still does pretty well in the cart, but she really liked getting out and running around the park.

Ryan and Emily are the top riders of the group, and usually take off at some point and ride a little further than the rest of us. This is usually no big deal, except this year, the trail was still flooded at the stopping point for the rest of us, and I did not like watching my daughter sprint across 12300 south with her bike, because they could not go under the bridge.

She thought it was great though.

It was fun spending Labor Day together doing something we all enjoy.

Tour of Utah

Before I married Ryan I had no idea that there was an actual pro sport called cycling. Where there are pros and sponsors and endorsements and everything that goes along with other pro sports. I knew there was biking in the Olympics, but beyond that, I thought riding bikes was just something you did for fun or exercise. I had never heard of the Tour de France.


For Ryan there is really no other sport that holds a candle to cycling. He raced in high school, and served his mission in Paris France, where he got to see The Tour de France in person.

So 13 years later I am becoming a little better versed in cycling. I am still not very good at remembering names and who is on what team, but I can tell you how it works, who won some of the major races, and also some of the scandals around the sport.

Four years ago one of Ryan's favorites came to ride in the Tour of Utah. So Ryan, Emily and his parents went to watch a stage. Every year after that more and more of the pros have been coming to race. This year was the best yet. There were quite a few names racing that I hear all the time during the big races. So Ryan tried to go to as many stages as he could.

I joined him on Friday for the time trail out at the Larry Miller Sports Park. We got pictures of all of the pros, and a few of the domestics. Here are a couple that I can recognize on my own now.

This is George Hincapie, He has been a favorite of Ryan's for a long time now. He came last year too, but only road the first stage. This year he stayed for the entire race.

This is Dave Zabriskie. Ryan thought the kids would like his Captain America gear, but we couldn't talk the kids into coming to the race. That was okay. It was a fun date.

This is Levi Leipheimer. He rides for team Radio Shack which used to be team Us Postal Service. He came last year without his team and ended up winning the Tour of Utah. This year he came with his team.

Ryan thought it was funny that one of the biggest teams at the race rented an RV instead of bringing their big tour bus.

Levi claimed the Yellow Jersey on Friday at the time trial. and he won the Tour of Utah for the second year in a row.

Ryan went to the Saturday stage with his mom and dad, and really debated going to watch the final stage on Sunday, but he ended up skipping it. I know he was a little sad that he did, because Cadel Evans, winner of the 2011 Tour de France, was at the finish line.

I always have fun going to the race with Ryan, but the fun part is not the race. It is watching Ryan at something he loves.

Look Who's Two

Valerie
It is hard for me to believe that Valerie is already two. She is growing up a little too fast for me, but I am enjoying every minute of it.

We started off her birthday with her present from us. It was not too hard to decide what to give her. Valerie loves real babies and every week in nursery she heads straight for the baby dolls and strollers. She is a good little mommy.

Then it was time to get ready for the party.

As soon as dad arrived home with balloons for the party Valerie claimed them as hers and quickly took them to her room. She then came out and shut the door behind her. We have had a couple of sad experiences with balloons flying away, so I guess she was making sure that didn't happen again. Eventually I talked her into letting me take a few pictures of her with them, and then she helped me put them around the front room to decorate. (After the party she put them right back in her room, and wont bring them out.)

At 3:00pm the Party began. We started off the party with the Dora Bubble Machine, while we waited for the guests to arrive. Valerie loved this, and the boys did too after they decided how it worked.

When the bubble game started getting a little wild, we headed outside for some more fun.

Valerie's latest talent she has been developing has been coloring on all of the blank canvases she can find around the house, like walls and couches. (Luckily she has used washable pallets for her work.) So I thought she might like to play with Sidewalk Chalk.

All the kids, (and a few adults) had fun with this. Valerie liked it so much that by the end she had collected all of the chalk pieces for herself.

We finished off the games with one of Valerie's favorites,

Ring-Around-The-Rosie.

Then it was time for cake. Valerie really likes Dora right now, so My mom and Emily made her a Dora cake. Complete with most of the Characters.

Valerie liked the cake so much she did not want us to eat it at first. Luckily we had some cupcakes.

Eventually we did cut into it, and Valerie ate a piece of it too.

She received some fun gifts. My Parents gave her a bed and stroller for her baby, She started playing with it before Grandpa could even get it put together.

Ryan's mom and dad gave her a new trike. When she saw it she said, "My bike!" She and Grandma had a fun time learning how to ride it.

At the age of two Valerie is.................................

Determined to be big. She wants to be like the older kids and does not let them leave her behind. She thinks she is as big as the boys and is not afraid to boss them around a little. She started potty training herself, so she could wear underwear like them. She seems to be afraid of nothing, if the boys can do it so can she. Luckily her brothers don't seem to mind her following them around.

She does not like to be left behind in a literal sense either. If someone is going somewhere, Valerie wants to go too. If she even thinks that you are leaving she runs and gets her shoes on. Then if she does not get to go she gets very upset. Unfortunately this happens more than she would like.

She loves shopping, and prefers the color pink. She is a good shopper and likes to pick things out not only for herself, but also for others. When she sees something purple, she will say, "Oh that's Emily's." Green and blue are either Joe's or Josh's, and when she finds something pink she says, "Oh that's mine!"

She still loves music. She loves to listen to it, dance to it, and sing it. At least once a day I hear her singing a song. Usually it is a familiar tune with her own words as lyrics. She also loves to be sung too. She really likes the song "The Wheels on the bus." Her favorite versus are, The baby on the bus, and the mama on the bus.

One of my favorite times to sing to her is at bed time. She will tell me what songs she wants, and they are usually ones from nursery. So it is a good thing I have subbed in nursery a little, otherwise I am not sure I would know what the "heart" song is. A few of her favorites are I am a child of God, Happy Family (heart song), and The star Song.

Valerie is very good at communicating and uses two to four word sentences, and is very good at telling us what she needs. She is also good at fit throwing when we don't give her what she wants. She knows and identifies the basic shapes. (circle, square, triangle, star, heart, rectangle) Sometimes when we are out on a walk or shopping at the store she will point to something and tell me what shape it is.

As with most Two year olds, Valerie is very busy, and is keeping me on my toes. I knew I was in trouble the day that I called her name to see what she was doing in the other room, and instead of her running out to me, she just called out "What!" She is learning new things all the time and trying things out.

Valerie is a happy little girl and it is so fun to watch her play and grow.

I love you Valerie.

Happy Birthday!

Cedar and Shakespeare

We took a trip last weekend to Cedar City with Ryan's parents. We had a great time and took lots of pictures, so get ready for a long post. (Josh did not like being photographed)

Grandma and I loaded the kids up in her Durango and headed down early Thursday afternoon. Ryan had to work so he and his dad were going to join us later. Grandma and I decided it would be better to get the kids there early so they could burn off some energy before bed.

After we got checked into the hotel, we went to find dinner and a good place for the kids to run around. Grandma grew up in Cedar, so she knows the town really well.

We ended up at East Canyon Park. The kids liked running around, and Valerie, the dare devil, could not get enough of the slide. She kept climbing up the ladder. She was a little upset that I would not let her go down the slide by herself, but I am not ready for that.

There is a river that runs through the park. So The kids went down and got their feet wet and threw rocks in the river. They found a few rocks they really liked and decided to
start a rock collection on the vacation.


When it started to get dark we headed back to the hotel.

I thought the kids would be really tired, but when we got into the hotel room it was like someone flipped a switch inside them and they went into hyper mode. They were all really excited. Valerie Quickly discovered the fridge. It was just her size, she could open it herself, and when she did open it she found a sippy cup full of milk just for her. From then on every time we went in the hotel room, Valerie headed straight to the fridge and visited it often.

Our favorite place to stay when we go to Cedar is The Abby Inn. The kids love it too, because of the breakfast buffet. Emily can't get enough of the waffles you make yourself.

Friday morning we all headed to Brian Head Resort. Ryan and Emily brought their bikes and were heading out for a day on the trail.

They took a shuttle up to Brian Head Peak and then rode (and walked some) to Panguitch lake.

It was a 14 mile ride and they were both pretty tired when they got back.

While they were on their bike ride the rest of us entertained ourselves with some site seeing. It was cooler than we expected there so the first stop was to buy a jacket for grandma. We looked at sweatshirts for the boys, but the only ones they had that would fit them had Utah in big white letters on them. Grandpa has corrupted my children so when they see Utah all they think of is the U of U (which Ryan and I love) and they wont touch it, because they are devoted BYU fans. Grandpa tried to explain to Joe that it meant the State of Utah, but he didn't care. They finally settled for t-shirts that kept them a little warmer.

Now that we were appropriately attired, we headed to one of Grandpa's favorite trails. The Twisted Forest. The boys had a little snack and were happy to get hiking. The trail goes through a forest of Bristlecone Pine Trees. These trees are the oldest living organism known on the planet.

The trail started out pretty simple and the boys liked all of the funny shaped trees and roots. They found one that they decided looked like a surf board.

A little ways down the trail the hills started getting a little steeper. The boys were still excited to be on the trail though and did not seem to mind too much. But when it was time to go back down the hills there was a problem, The trail is made of loose shell rock, and it is hard to get good footing.

I had Valerie on my back, and was trying not to fall myself, so Grandma and Grandpa helped the boys. They were getting tired and they were also a little scared. Josh fell a couple of times and was not happy about it. When we made it to the easier part again they were happier, but the pendulum had swung and they were not happy little boys.

By the time we got back to the car, the boys were both fighting and crying. They calmed down pretty quickly once we got back in the car. I am still not sure what they were fighting about, but I suspect it had something to do with being first.


After the hike we checked in at the bike shop to see if Ryan and Emily had returned. They were still going to be a while, so we took a drive up to Brian Head Peak.

The boys were getting along again and in a good mood. They liked the view, but were getting a little tired of pictures. Josh refused to let us take any of him. Joe was willing as long as he was doing a silly pose. This is his gangster pose.

When we first arrived at Brian Head the boys noticed the ski lift and asked if they could ride on it. We told them maybe later after Emily got back. I was hoping they would forget about it, because I am not a fan of high places when there is not much to stop you from falling especially taking little kids on those high places. But one thing about my kids is they don't distract easily and they never forget.

So after Emily and Ryan returned from their hike, Grandpa and I (Ryan is really afraid of heights) took Emily, Joe and Josh on the lift.

Joe and Emily rode with Grandpa and at first hung on to him like they were going to die. Josh was relaxed as could be the entire ride. When the lift turned us to go down hill I heard a scream come from Emily and Joe. Josh just thought it was really cool. It was a really pretty ride with a great view.

After the long day the kids were all pretty tired so we headed back to the hotel.

After a little rest we went over to the Green Show at the Shakespearean Festival. The boys were more interested in playing on the lawn, but Emily seemed to enjoy it.

Friday we started our day on the Bristlecone Pine trail. This is a very short, easy and beautiful walk.

The kids were still collecting rocks, and Joe found the perfect shark tooth rock. He announced that when he got home he was going to polish it and turn it into a necklace.

Grandpa carried Valerie for some of the walk, but she was happy to hike a little on her own.

She loved looking at all of the plants, and she began her rock collection too.

At the end of the trail is a great big Bristlecone pine tree. This is Grandpa's favorite tree.

Our next stop was Cedar Breaks. I forget how much I love the red rocks of southern Utah.

The kids were all a little cold and the boys were trying to bundle up in their shirts.

Joe got almost his entire body in his shirt and then announced. "I'm in Minnie mode."

After Cedar Breaks Grandpa and Grandma, the boys and Valerie continued on to other site seeing adventures while Ryan and I took Emily to her first Shakespeare play. "Much Ado About Nothing"

There were signs that said not photographs, but I had to get a picture of Emily in her seat. Ryan kept telling me I was going to get my camera taken away, but I decided it only meant during the show. At intermission we treated ourselves to a tart. Emily loved the apple one.

We loved the play. The cast was great. Emily was laughing almost the whole time and loved it.

After the play we met up with the other kids and had dinner. Grandpa Emily and Ryan headed over to the green show, but the boys were not that into it the night before, so they stayed with Grandma and I at the hotel. Ryan and his parents were going to see Macbeth that night, so when it was time for Grandma to go we drove her to the university and picked up Emily. She got in the car with a giant sucker. Of course the boys wanted one too. They had all brought their money on the trip so they gave Emily money and she went in the gift shop and bought them one too.

While Ryan and his parents were at the play the kids and I had a party in the hotel room. I had gone to the store earlier and bought popcorn and chocolate milk. So we popped some popcorn and found a movie on TV to watch. I would like to say that by the third night the excitement of the hotel had worn off, but the kids were still a little hyper. (maybe from their giant suckers)

After the movie the only way I could get them to go to sleep was to turn everything off, but as soon as I did they went right to sleep.

Sunday we slowly headed for home. I am so grateful to Ryan's mom and dad for planning the trip. It was so much fun and a great way to finish out the summer. School starts next week. I am not ready. There is still so much to do.