Horses, Rocks, Turning Seven & Starting School

Last weekend we took a little trip down to Torrey, Utah. It's a very small town right outside of Capital Reef National Park. My Aunt JaNae and Uncle Ted live there and also help out at a ranch nearby where they board JaNae's horse. The ranch has an addition in the back of the barn that is a little apartment they rent out. So for three days we called the barn home. We left Friday, the five of us, plus my mom, Sherri. She was going to stay at JaNae's house since Ted was out of town and do some catching up. That night three more family members showed up, Tom's brother Kurtis, his sister Maren and her husband Tim. When we first arrived we went to dinner at Slacker's. A little burger joint and one of maybe five restaurants in the whole town. We did a little birthday party for Lily that night since the whole purpose of the trip was for her seventh birthday on Sunday.
After a quick nights sleep (of course the kids wouldn't go to bed good that night and then were up early the next day) we got up and while we waited for my mom and aunt to show up we played some card games. The kids were so excited to ride Old Oxbow, the sweetest grandpa horse you've ever seen. When it was time to ride the horse, we first brushed him, cleaned his feet, etc. The kids loved helping and Cedric couldn't get enough of the broom. Aunt JaNae gave Lily some quick pointers. The birthday girl got to ride first. Here's Cedric with his Uncles and Aunt looking on. Then Jeff took a turn and was the first to get the horse to lope. And even "stick-out-his-tongue" Cedric rode all by himself. While I was taking a turn on Oxbow, Tim was trying a turn on stubborn, bossy Nikki. She was not going take orders from him if her life depended on it! Tim, having been raised with horses, was trying to show her who was boss, when she lost her footing, slipped and rolled right onto Tim's leg. Long story short, Tim ended up having a broken ankle and was unable to do anything the rest of the day. Here he is before the accident trying his cowboy hat on Cedric.
Later that afternoon the rest of us headed off to Capital Reef. We went for a beautiful walk with sandstone powder that looked like sand that came from a tropical beach, petroglyphs, hundred year old signatures in the rocks and lots of little caves. The kids had so much fun playing in the sand, and climbing into the caves.



Cedric LOVED the rocks and kept pointing to them saying "oh... ooo... wow" in his excited toddler voice. The rocks were pretty spectacular. We also saw some big-horned sheep, including a baby. And later some deer.
That night we ate at a fun little pizza joint complete with darts and the owners dog running around looking for any scraps. The kids thought it was fun, but being after 9:00 at night they were getting tired. It had been a long day. After dinner and a bath they immediately fell asleep the second their heads hit the pillow.
The next day (Lily's real birthday) we went to church at the Torrey ward, then headed home. We did take a little detour to the Big Rock Candy Mountain. We had pre-bought some candy rocks which Tom hid while the kids were distracted. He told them he knew where the special rocks were that you could eat and led them to the pile of candy. He picked one up and ate it, then gave one to each of the kids. We quickly explained the joke as to avoid any real rock eating. Lily and Jeff took some candy rocks and hid them too, then "found" and ate them.
After a long drive home (Cedric only napped about 20 minutes and cried for the last hour) I headed off to choir practice and Tom unpacked and put some tired kids to bed. We had a lot of fun that weekend and were very grateful for Aunt JaNae and her hospitality.
The next day Lily started second grade. Do you think she's excited?
She loves her teacher and everyday this week has come home saying school is awesome! I hope it stays that way as I know she struggled enjoying first grade.
I had my annual preschool open house last night and got to see several of my 32 students I'll be teaching this year. I start my three classes next week. Summer is officially over, but our Torrey trip was a great way to end.
I can't believe my baby girl is seven now! Happy Birthday Lily!

Tomato Toast

I love garden fresh tomatoes! I think we went a little overboard with planting tomatoes this year. They've taken over our garden.
On Saturday I was able to pick the first batch of red ones and found well over a dozen red juicy tomatoes!
This weekend I also watched the movie "Julie & Julia". It was a very cute movie, but I couldn't relate much since I find no pleasure in cooking especially experimenting with cooking. But there was one meal I saw that just looked mighty tasty, so I thought I'd try to duplicate it. I call it Tomato Toast.
First, take a slice or two of bread and butter both sides (the thicker the better, although I just used regular sandwich bread). You will also need mozzarella cheese either cubed, shredded or sliced. Then get a tomato or two (of course, garden fresh is the best) and dice the tomatoes. Sprinkle them with salt, pepper and Italian seasonings (my spices included: basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage and marjoram). Fry the bread on a medium to low setting. When you turn the bread over to fry the other side, put the cheese on to start melting. When the underside is toasted, remove from pan and cover with a lot of tomato pieces. If your tomatoes are not freshly picked, you can throw the toast in the toaster oven and broil for a minute to get them warm. Immediately eat and enjoy!

The Life as a Cedric

Cedric will be two in less than two months! I can't believe how big he's getting. Every time I change his diaper he says "poo" and runs into the bathroom. He's never once peed in the toilet, but it's cute that he's starting to show the first signs of potty training.
Another funny quirk Cedric has is he likes to stick his hand up peoples sleeves, shorts or in his pillowcase. He must like the feel of the material, although he doesn't actually "feel" the material, he just sits there with his hand on your shoulder. It reminds me of my brother, Nate who loved to feel the end of his pillowcase as he'd go to sleep. Cedric still sucks on his tongue too. I always wonder how old he'll be before he gives that up.
Although life as a toddler has its perks, it's not all fun and games. Cedric has just figured out how to open doors and I am always finding him stuck in places like the garage or laundry room. Or I'll find a bathroom decorated with soggy toilet paper.
And last Sunday, right before we were heading out the door for church, Cedric slipped and fell. He hit his head smack on the corner of the piano bench. It immediately swelled and reminded me of last summer when Jeff got a similar goose egg from his cousins playground. Luckily Cedric's swelling went down a lot quicker.

Fountain Green

Friday we went down to Fountain Green to camp with about 70 of my other relatives at my aunt and uncles ranch. Tom originally was going to do the Spudman Triathlon the same weekend and I was just going to go by myself with the kids, but after everyone else Tom knew who was supposed to do the triathlon was no longer doing it for one reason or another, he decided to go with us instead. I'm very glad he did, for it was much more fun and it's always nice to have the help with tents, kids, etc.
Before we left, the kids and I made banana muffins to take with us.
We decided to leave at nap time in hopes that Cedric would nap the whole way in the car. However, after it taking him and hour to fall asleep he only napped for 20minutes and then woke up crying the rest of the drive. Once we got there though, he was fine.
One of the first things we did when we got there was take the four-wheelers for a spin. Jeff absolutely loved them and I don't know how many times he rode them over the two days.
We also visited, the kids chased around Bangkok and Max the dogs,
Tom played volleyball,
we just had a lot of fun.
Because we don't camp too often, the kids were very intrigued with the whole tent idea.
They all did very well sleeping that night too. Before bed we had a big barbecue and watched an old classic movie on the side of the pavilion.
The next day we did more volleyball, and four wheeling. The kids also had a treasure hunt, we played Uno and on the playground and rode the horses. Cedric rode with his cousin, Aubree.


I also decided to take a horse for a ride, and boy did I get one! Little Bar didn't have a bit in his mouth and I was warned he was harder to control. Well, he decided to go as fast as he could through the entire camp! I was galloping through the camp yelling at people to watch out, bending down to dodge tree branches, getting my foot rammed into the fence and people yelling back to tell him to stop. Well, I was trying to get him to stop. I was pulling on the reins with all my might, but without the bit, the horse didn't care. He finally stopped right at the end of the barn, he knew where he was going. I felt dumb when I had to ask my cousin to lead the horse back to the point where others were waiting after unsuccessfully trying a few times to get him there myself. I didn't realize how tense I must have been until today. I am so stiff and can hardly walk without my muscles screaming. Even my arm muscles are sore. However, I still love riding horses and can't wait until I can again. Only this time I'll make sure the bit is in.

We had a great time with everyone and it was hard to go. However, we again left around nap time to head home and Cedric was asleep before we even reached the end of the road. He didn't even finish the giant marshmallow he was eating. He and Jeff slept almost the whole drive home.
We are so grateful for Uncle Brent and Aunt Nancy letting us stay at their beautiful ranch!