Grandpa's Garden

But, no matter how much he loves that garden, this woman is (and always will be) the true love of his life:

And this is what keeps us coming back for more:

Katie Knievel

After the parade at the Freedom Festival we walked through the little carnival they had set up and let each girl choose one ride to go on. McKenna chose the Barrel-O-Fun. This is what Katie chose. She had the hugest smile on her face the entire time. Who knew she was such a thrill seeker?

Table Manners

13.1

I did it!

I finished my first half marathon yesterday.
I haven't gotten my official time yet, but it's somewhere around 2:17. Just over a 10 minute mile, which is what I was planning on. What I wasn't planning on were all the uphills along the course! The race went through Hobble Creek Canyon and ended in Springville. I was thinking (and hoping) it would be mostly downhill. I was wrong. The whole course was up and down hills. Yes, there were stretches of downhill, but I would not say the majority was downhill. It was a challenging course, but it was awesome. SO beautiful and peaceful through that canyon.

At about mile 8 the whole thing hit me. I kept saying to myself, "I'm doing it! I'm actually doing it! This is what I've been training for." It gave me the extra boost I needed to finish strong. And I have to say, for the record, that I actually ran the whole thing. I did not walk. That was my goal - 1. To finish, and 2. To run the whole 13.1. It was a great feeling to finally accomplish something I've been working toward for so long.

The highlight of the whole race was the last .1 mile. At mile 13 I saw Dave & the girls parking and getting out of the car right at the last mile marker. I ran up to them to say hi. Katie & McKenna took my hands and ran with me all the way to the finish line. We finished together and I felt on top of the world. The race really couldn't have ended better and I was thrilled to share that moment with my girls. I ran the race alone, but I finished with two of the most important people in my life. I am one lucky mama to have so much support from my family.

Hobbler Half Marathon, July 10, 2010

She Walks

Brooke Is In Love With Elmo

We Heart Thanksgiving Point

We have a family pass to Thanksgiving Point this year (thanks Mom!) and are absolutely loving it! I am determined to have one every year while we are still living in Utah. So totally worth it.

Last week I took the girls to the Children's Discovery Gardens, which is also a splash park in the summer. There is this large sculpture/fountain first thing as you walk in that the kids can play and splash around in. It's perfect for our little family because the area is small, the water is shallow, and it wasn't very crowded. Easy for me to keep an eye on all three kids at the same time.

There also are a few small splash pads, a garden maze, two "bear caves", a kid-sized lighthouse, animal sculptures that the kids loved, and of course - beautiful flowers.
We LOVE Thanksgiving Point and can never get enough of it.

And on a hot summer day, it makes these kiddos mighty happy:

Oh, and did I mention guests get 1/2 off when you come with us?

Anybody wanna come?

Welcome Home Elder Steve

The last weekend in June we headed out to San Jose, CA to welcome home Dave's brother Steve from his mission in Spain. We drove straight to the airport to meet up with the family for the homecoming.

Here are all the cousins anxiously awaiting:

Brooke was excited to meet her Uncle Steve for the first time.

This was the best (and only) picture I got of all the excitement.

Hey, at least you can see the smiles, right?

Once again, I didn't get many pictures from our trip, but I did get copies of our family pictures (minus Arthur) to document that we were all there. Good looking group!

Cute cousins!

They had a blast together all weekend.

So big!

Open your eyes Katie :)

On the way home we stopped to see the Golden Gate Bridge, as seen on Little Einsteins :)

Annie's Toy Plane episode, in case you were wondering :)

Roadtrip Part 3: Moab Brewery - Wooo-weee!

This is the Moab Brewery.

This is where we stopped for dinner in Moab after our hike up to Wilson Arch.
We were extremely sick of Dairy Queen and McDonald's, and so we decided to find a sit-down restaurant where we could find some real food to eat. I tell you this story because how we found this place is a story worth remembering + one of my favorite quotes of the whole trip.

When we stopped to get gas at Maverick, I went inside to ask for a restaurant recommendation. The lady working there, who I think was a female, recommended the Moab Brewery. I asked her if it was a family friendly place and she assured me it was.

She then said: "They've got a mean hard drink and their Jack Daniel's burger....Woooooo-weeeee!"

I assumed she thought it was delicious.
So the Moab Brewery it was.
And it was delicious.

No, we did not get a mean hard drink, but we did enjoy their homemade root beer, and it sure was the meanest I've ever tasted.
Brooke liked it too.

McKenna was reminiscing her cowgirl days in Texas.

Roadtrip Part 2: Wilson Arch

We were hoping to take a little detour to Canyonlands or Arches National Park while we were driving through Moab, but unfortunately we made it there without enough daylight left for either of those excursions. Luckily, we found Wilson Arch right off the side of the highway. A perfect little hike for our little family up to a gorgeous natural phenomenon. What a beautiful world we live in!

Just for the record, becoming a mother has made me incredibly afraid of heights. It took a rediculous amount of self-control not to cling to that rock, freak out, and refuse for me or anyone in my family to move. For a second I thought someone was going to have to call a helicopter to fly us out of there. The most frequently said phrase on that hike was "Do NOT move!"

Can you see how terrified I was to climb down that rock with my baby? We sat down and scooted our way down the whole trail. And we were both fine with that.

Roadtrip Part 1: In the Car, Apple-turkey, & Fry Bread

Dallas is a 20+ hour drive from Provo.
So, we spent a lot of time in the car.
But it was worth it.
Great memories.

We drove the straight 24 hours on the way there.

On the way home, we split it up into two days.

The first day, we drove from Dallas to Albuquerque, NM.

This was the conversation we had the whole way there.

McKenna: Moooom. When are we going to get to Apple-turkey?

Meg: Do you mean Albuquerque? After lunch, after naps, and then we'll get there for dinner.

(an hour or so later)

McKenna: Mooooom. When are we going to get to Apple-berry?

Meg: After naps, then we'll be there to eat dinner.

(an hour or so later)

McKenna: MOOOOOOM. When are we going to get to Applebee's?!!!!

Meg: {{laughs}} We are almost there.

We got to Apple-turkey in time to settle in our hotel, have some dinner, find an ice cream parlor, and read a bunch of books. The girls were thrilled to stay in a hotel.

The next day we saw this sign on the side of the freeway and had to stop:

What is a New Mexico experience without a stop at a Navajo Reservation and some Indian Fry Bread? The girls sure were pleased.

We also bought some dream catchers, a beautiful turquoise necklace, and a handmade arrow.

Oh, and did you know the Sphinx is located in Moab, UT?

And according to McKenna, the Eiffel Tower is somewhere between Dallas + Moab.

Actually, there are a bunch of them.

Other people sometimes refer to them as radio towers. :)

Texas Pride

McKenna developed quite a Texas Pride during our visit to the Fort Worth stockyards.

She requested a flag as her souvenir and proceded to wave it at every opportunity.

As you can tell, she treats it with much pride and respect.