El Jardin, Part I

When we were trying to find a new house, Andy asked me what I HAD to have in a home. One of the top items was a place for a large garden. So here he is, making my dream a reality. And I just want to say, who knew a minivan could hold 8 rail roads ties?

Last fall, the grass was cleared away. You can't tell, but it's on a pretty steep hill.

After many hours of measurements and cutting of the ties, it's starting to look like a garden. He has to stack the ties higher down low to compensate for the hill. What a pain.

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The border is not quite done, but we have to get the dirt we bought into the garden before it rains.

Who knew a pile of dirt could be so sexy? And I may or may not have forgotten it was there as I backed out of the driveway. (Hence the tire marks.) Oops!

To be continued.....

Goblin Hunting

Anyone who has taken a baby camping had better sympathize with me today. It's HARD! But totally worth it when I see how excited everyone is to be out there in the dirt and grass. Ella and Zoe start bouncing off trees when we go camping, they are that excited. So this week we headed down south and camped in Greenriver State Park (okay, so we were basically in a golf course, it was still camping.) and then down to Goblin Valley the next day. Ella's a list maker. She had her list of what to bring and one of everything that had to be done while we were there, right down to the "spooky stories by the campfire." ("But make sure they are funny at the end.") During the stories, Zoe said, "Daddy, I'm scared of the spooky trees. They look like my hand." And she showed him a claw hand. Yes, they did look like that. Max and I slept in the van, thinking it would be easier. WRONG. He was so scared and screamed like I had never heard him scream before. I had to hold him on my chest the entire night, so no sleepies for me. I couldn't wait for day to come.

The next day we made it to Goblin Valley in beautiful weather. If you have never been there, you should really go. It is so cool. I've been before, but never with kids, and it was crazy how much the loved it. They hiked and climbed and pointed out "goblins" until they couldn't keep their eyes open, and even then they wanted to keep going. Once we got home, Zoe says to us, "I smell like a ladybug!" We asked her if that was good. She said, "No, it's so stiinnkky!" Well, we all smelled like ladybugs. And we were all so stuffed with RedVines that we'll probably poop red for a week. WORTH IT!




My two favorite goblins!

A video of Ella and Zoe going through a rite of passage....helping Dad put up the tent!

Beautiful Disaster Averted

Zoe screams bloody murder at the suggestion of sitting in a sled. Even to be pulled along the yard, no hills involved. So you can imagine my hesitancy when Andy suggested taking her skiing. I figured a "beautiful disaster" would be inevitable. I am still reeling from the shock of her absolutely loving it! Max and I sat warmly in the lodge at Deer Valley last Wednesday and watched as time and again Ella came zooming down (completely on her own) and Zoe followed, with her dad and a huge smile on her face, and wanting to go again and again. My kids are so much braver than I ever have been. What I wouldn't given for some of that fearlessness. Of course, when it comes time for them to drive, that very fearlessness better disappear quick!

Taking a granola bar break. They were hot from all that exercise!

That's Ella riding by herself in the background. Pretty, hu?

Race to Las Vegas

Another triathlon season has begun, and it came in with a bang! We spent the weekend out of this freezing cold weather and went to 75 wonderful degrees in Las Vegas to watch Andy race. The race was at Lake Las Vegas, in Henderson, and it was so gorgeous. We drove down from St. George where we had been relaxing the day before with my sisters and got there an hour + before the race and this guy tells him we're too late to check in, he can't race. People don't tell Andy "no". Especially with his new hair-do, they should be too scared! After a few minutes of panicking, they let us in. Andy's brother, Matt, his wife, Nicki and their kids Matti and Nick drove an hour and half to come cheer him on, which was so great. It was the prettiest venue we've been to, lots of grass and shade for the kids and perfect weather. And it was one of the funner ones to watch, because people actually cheered the racers on! I can't explain why, but in Utah, the spectators usually just stare as people make their way across the finish line, and only cheer on their loved one. It's so lame. The cheering here really pumped everyone up. The race was tense a couple of times because my man had a few small directional inconveniences (he went the wrong way!) but despite those, he came in 6th overall, and 1st in his age group!!! He is so amazing. He is training mode for his IronMan Tri in Florida this November, so to him this was just practice. Imagine how great he'll do when it's more than "practice". The only downfall of the day was when I set Max on a table in his carseat, and when I turned my back the whole table tipped over and he hit his head on a cast iron chair! I think I cried harded than Max did, and put quite a show on for the people eating outside at the next door cafe.
Well, Andy probably won't be happy with my description of the race, he can tell split times and distances and all of the technical stuff that actually matters, but all I can tell you is how proud of him we are. That's MY man!

Nicki, Matti, Zoe, Nick, Ella, and Matt (sorry for the cut-off). Andy should be coming by any second!

This is a very important picture, notice how many other bikes are there when Andy finished his bike part of the race!!!!



If you look close you can see Andy on the other side of the lake, the little white dot running along the lake, right in the middle. Isn't it pretty!



Hanging out at a plaza fountain, waiting for the results.

Ella Turns Six!

Another birthday! Ella and Zoe's birthday's are only 6 days apart which makes for a very busy week every March. We couldn't very well tell Ella she couldn't have a party since she hand-made invitations back in October and gave them out. She's been telling us for MONTHS if so-and-so is coming to her party. And since she had already given out invitations to every girl in her class, it made for one full house of girls. 16, actually. She had a great time, but the funniest part of the whole day was Ella being so grown up. Every girl that came to the door was greeted with, "Hi [Tiffany], come on, let me show you around." And was quickly given a tour of the house. EVERY girl! It was cute. And then when everyone was there (she wouldn't start anything until they all were there) she seperated them into church friends and school friends. Then she had them line up and introduced everyone. What 6 year old does that??? It was all a little too much for Zoe. She's so used to keeping up with Ella that when she got lost in the fray she became pretty overwhelmed with it all, the poor thing. But all in all, I think we survived unscathed. We have been birthday central lately and, I don't know about you, but I could sure do with a nap!

I miss the days where I could be entertained by a good game of Duck Duck Goose!

Blessings and Birthdays

We had quite the day at our house last Saturday. First of all, Zoe became an official "big girl" by turning the ripe old age of three! It was something she has been so excited about, but that I have been dreading for 365 days. Can't they stay little for just one second!!?? But we also took that day to bless Max. I really liked doing it on a Saturday in our home, it felt more relaxing but the Spirit was still strong and it was a wonderful feeling to have all those preisthood holders in our home. There were fifteen men in our baby's circle! And a total of 53, yes 53! people in our house. And that was immediate family only. (So please don't feel bad if you are reading this and we didn't invite you!) Amazingly, it was very nice. Not chaotic or too overwhelming, it was perfect! We tried really hard not to take away from Zoe's birthday, so she basically had a party with 18 cousins. Plus, hallelujah, I couldn't have asked for a prettier day. So I will use this page to thank everyone that came and helped with food and for helping to make such a special day for our family.












Four Generations! My grandma, Anna Backus, Max, me and my mom, Carol Beardall


Digging into one of many cupcakes.

So, I think Zoe may have had a big day. She fell sound asleep in the middle of her second bite of dinner. It's still in her mouth!


I loved this picture. Earl and Anna Backus, my grandparents and my niece Teagan and Max. It isn't too often you can catch my grandpa smiling for a picture.




Many of you may know how beautifully the Avery family sings. Well, birthday's are an exception. They sing as AWFUL as possible. I don't know why! And, how kind of him, Andy has passed this tradition on to my family. So here are both families singing "Happy Birthday" for all to experience!

Max with cuz, Shamri, the best babysitter ever!


Just a couple candid shots of the crowd!

Thanks again!

Snotty Bananas

So the other day Zoe asked for a banana and promised once again to eat the entire thing. After she abandoned the thing after nibbling off the top ( Not that I blame her. Bananas have the same texture as snot.) I hated to waste it and decided to try out Max on eating. So this is my baby boy eating his first food, and no it didn't make the cut, but he had fun trying!

"Get that out of my face!"



"Oh, that's what I'm supposed to do!"

"Mom, you're doing it wrong. It's supposed to be like this."

He just turned four months old, and since he weighed 18.4 lbs you would think I had already started feeding him steak. We'll try the old stand by rice cereal after this.