Sedona Arizona Vacation

Yesterday we returned from a week long vacation in Sedona, Arizona.  The drive was about 9 hours, and the boys did great.  Phew.  They really are good little travelers.  But when we pulled in last night at 8:00 PM it sure was nice to be home!

Unfortunately, our hotel reservation was from Sunday to Sunday.  We headed our Sunday morning, stopped in Cedar City to go to Sacrament Meeting, and then continued on our way.  We stopped briefly at this Historic Navajo Bridge.

The first two days was a bit of a let-down for me -- mostly due to the heat.  I hate the heat, so why would we plan this for the first week of July?  First, because it was available and the kids were out of school.  Second, because in February I forget exactly how much I hate to sweat!  This part of Arizona is actually about the same temperature as home, so I guess it wasn't worse.

Anyway, at the end of the second day there was a nice, cool rainstorm.  We drove up to the Holy Cross Church which had spectacular views of Sedona.  This ended up being one of my favorite activities.  Short, sweet, and not too hot!

Tanner, for the first few days was wearing his blanket as Superman.   Are you familiar with the Superman/Dad art....the picture below kind of reminds me of that.

After the church, we went to check out some shops -- we didn't actually do much shopping (as is expected with 3 boys.)  They did have these cool xylophones to play with.

On Wednesday we went to "Red Rock Crossing" -- a shallow river where the kids could play.  Very nice.

That evening we went to Blazin M Ranch for a few activities, dinner, and a show.  (This was similar to Bar J Wranglers in Jackson.)  The kids really enjoyed the music.  Andrew tried the lassoing.  Tanner, unfortunately, kept having a bloody nose.  I thought it would never stop.  (Check out Tanner's "picture face" in the second picture.  Also, he seemed to think he needed to prop his leg up on most of our pictures.  ha.)

On the 4th of July, Brian, Andrew, and Eric went on an off-roading adventure with "Sid Vicious."  The boys thought that was great.  Sid told them all about the rocks, plants, and history -- and took them on some bumpy rides in the red jeep.

They don't do fireworks in dry, hot Sedona.  There was a laser light show, but we opted to avoid the crowds and stay at the resort and swim.  Swimming was definitely Eric's favorite activity.  And we all enjoyed the cool water.

Friday morning Brian, Andrew, and Eric went putting at the driving range.  It was their first time at a real golf course.  They had a good time, Eric already suggested that the go every Saturday morning.  

We were considering checking out early and heading to the Grand Canyon on Saturday.  But we decided the boys were enjoying the pool so much that we'd avoid the extra driving and just stay another day.  So Saturday morning we headed out to "Slide Rock."  We'd heard great things, and knew it would be crowded....but didn't know it would be THAT crowded.  The parking was full and cars were lining the already narrow road.  So, we turned around and headed back to town.  We took our picnic to "Mormon Hill" where the local chapel is.  It was a quiet, beautiful spot where we could enjoy a little grass.  

Sunday we drove home -- the kids did so well, we were able to drive 6 hours before stopping for lunch (with one quick stop to use the bathroom at a chapel on an Indian Reservation.)  And, when we got home.....we finally got to see the almost finished exterior of our house!  It's looking much better.

Oh, and my favorite quote of the trip comes from Eric.  We were standing outside of a bakery waiting to leave.  Eric said "I like Sedona.  It's a lot like Japan."  When I asked him why, he said something like "I don't know, I just like it."

Handicrafts

A month or so ago I picked up another quilt from the quilters.  This is probably my favorite yet.  It's from a book -- Simplify by Camille Roskelley.  (Of course, as I spent all this time sewing, I thought, "Is this really simplifying my life?  No, but I enjoyed it!)  I started it a couple of years ago but ended up unpicking several blocks because I didn't like the color combinations.  That's not what I usually do -- usually I'm too impatient and keep on sewing the quilt.  But I'm glad I did, because I definitely like it now.

And here's Eric's quilt for his birthday.  He chose the military fabric.   It's a little busy for me, but he says he likes it.

I just wanted to share this little project I did this past week.  I got the idea from the book Young House Love.  It's some simple stitching on cardstock.  I have these three frames in my entry and thought it'd be fun to do a patriotic theme.  It was very easy and fairly quick.  And free since I had all the stuff.  I think I may do this for every holiday!  Such an easy holiday decor idea - and it hardly takes any room to store the papers afterward.  They look so much better in person, though.  You'll have to come visit to see them.  :)

Eric's Birthday

So I just realized that I forgot to post anything about Eric's Birthday.  Instead of a friend bday party, Eric chose to go to a trampoline jumping place.  He is such a funny kid -- he had a great time, until the last 5 minutes when he could find Brian for a couple of minutes.  Therefore, he will now tell you that he doesn't like trampoline places.  We're working on the whole 'cup half full' concept, but boy it's hard for him.  So despite what he'll tell you now, he did have a good birthday.

Eric's favorite thing year has been Minecraft.  He can just go on and on about the different "mods" and what he wants to create next time.  Because of this obsession, you will find that he has a pretty advanced understanding of rocks and other natural resources.  :)  He's a sensitive guy who likes to be home -- sometimes I wonder why since he has such an impatient mom.  He's a great spontaneous hugger, laughs hysterically with his brothers, and does his best in school.

Learning about others

There is a private Catholic school in our neighborhood.  The other day we drove by and the kids were out at recess.  Eric, from the back seat, says with surprise,  "I didn't know Catholics played soccer!"

It cracked me up.  I thought, it's probably much more frequent (outside of Utah) that someone might say "I didn't know Mormons played soccer!"

Yes, they, and we, are people too.

What I've been thinking about....

A couple of months ago some neighbors of our decided to move to St. George.  3 days later this young father, Kevin, suffered a major brain hemorrhage.  He was flown back to SLC and after tests and surgery, it was discovered that he had 12 brain tumors and one large liver tumor.  The cancer is Stage 4, terminal -- a couple of weeks ago he started chemo and radiation.  They're hoping this will keep him alive for a while.

This family is so cute -- his beautiful wife lives life with such faith, and has the most genuine smile.  His kids are the similar in age to mine -- we used to car pool the kindergartners together.

The medical costs have been expensive, of course.  They do have good insurance.  But some of the more daunting costs are those of long-term care.  He is at home with his family now, and doing quite well as he learns to live with partial paralyses.

Anyway, one effort to help with costs is an online auction where many friends and businesses have donated items.  There are some great things -- including some great gift cards.  I also donated some cards and quilted items.   Knowing that my skills are not on a professional level, I'm hoping the recipients won't be disappointed!  :)

I wanted to let you know of this auction so you can bid if you'd like to.....but just now I discovered that the auction ended yesterday!  oops!  I didn't notice the end date, and I we were having too much fun at Sister's Weekend to send it out over the weekend.  Bummer.

There is another way to help, though -- there is a drive where you can just donate money.  To do this, go to: http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/kevin-norris-family/49342

You can check out details on their lives -- it really is inspiring:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kevin-Norris-Cancer-Battle/156251287869758
Reminds me to be grateful and brave.

I'll end with a few pictures of the kids primary classes -- someone in my ward started a "Team Norris" thing where she's asked people to take pictures holding "Team Norris" signs to show their support.  Our primary did this.  See if you can spot my kids:

Spring Break - The Zoo

We stayed home for Spring Break.  It ended up being pretty productive.  Brian took off a couple of days of work.  One day we did some yard/garage clean-up.  Another day we went to the "local zoo."  (Each time we're going to the zoo, Eric corrects us by saying "You mean the local zoo?"  I think that's what they were calling it at school in preparation for a their fieldtrip.  :))

It was Tanner's first zoo trip.  He loved it!  He could have watched those animals all day long.  At one point he was face-to-face with a chimpanzee for several minutes.  They were just staring at each other.  So cute!  Unfortunately it was too dark for a good picture.

Easter 2013

We had a low-key Easter this year.  Spring Break was the week before, so I had hoped to go to Rexburg.  But Mom and Dad were not in town, so we hung out at home.  On Saturday the kids enjoyed an Easter Egg Hunt in our backyard.  The weather was beautiful.  

Sunday morning the kids found their Easter Baskets -- surprisingly the Easter Bunny forgot the traditional chocolate Easter Bunny.  I had to smile at how things get so much more.....unplanned?  hurried?  Lax?....... as the kids get older.

Brian attempted to take pictures of the boys in their new church clothes.  You can see how well they cooperated -- Tanner wouldn't let us take off his Superman sweatshirt all day.  And he decided he needed to wear his "Ho! Ho! Ho!" hat.  The older boys were just being goofy -- there were only a few pictures that someone's not doing bunny ears.  Now that I think of it, bunny ears are quite appropriate for Easter.  We should have encouraged it!

Mr. Scared

Andrew turned 8 this year.  This meant he was baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  The weeks coming up to the baptism were a little stressful -- not because of big preparations or something, but because Andrew was not very excited about the attention he would be getting.  

But on the day of the baptism he was in good spirits.  This was probably due somewhat to the kindness of family members and friends who were so excited for him.  At the baptism he was a bouncing ball of energy.  But he was still nervous -- telling a few people, "You can just call me Mr. Scared."  It was pretty cute.

Three quilts

I just got back from the quilter's -- I picked up 3 quilts.  My 2-year-old has been carrying around our camera, and now I can't find it. (Smart of me to let him carry it around, I know.) So I took these pics with our video camera -- they aren't that great.  But I'm posting them anyway.

The first one, my BOM quilt that I did at a local quilting shop.  I was most excited to see this one, but also worried because I had a plan for how I wanted it quilted, but at a suggestion of the quilter I changed my mind.  Not her fault, but I should have gone with my first instinct.  Turns out -- I don't love it.  Bummer.  I hate having spent all that time and money and not loving it.  Anyway, here it is:

The second is a pendant quilt -- my first time doing applique.

 And the third is a baby girl quilt for which I got the material for a few years ago, in hopes that the baby I was carrying would be a girl.  Turns out, it was another boy.  But I eventually finished it -- maybe I'll just call it a really small spring quilt.  I should have cropped it so my bedspread wasn't showing.  (:

Andrew's quilt

I just finished a quilt for Andrew's birthday (shhhh....he doesn't know about the quilt yet.)  My boys have asked me for quilts before, which makes me happy.  This is the first I've made.  I've always struggled to come up with something that I think they'll like....and like for a while.  For example, a couple years ago Andrew would have loved anything Superhero.  Today he would be embarrassed to have a Superhero quilt.  I couldn't convince myself to spend time and $$$ on a quilt that they might hide away in a year.

So the conclusion I came to was to
1- make a simple quilt that wouldn't take me a lot of time and
2- choose one fabric that they'd love and find coordinated pieces to go with it.

Turns out, I love how it turned out.  I chose "Star Wars" hoping it'll have a little more staying power.  (We all know adults who still love Star Wars.)  I just did 5 wide strips of fabric, added a reverse applique "A", and had it quilted in swirls and diamonds.  I love the diamonds, particularly on the corduroy section.

Anyway, that's a lot of talk for such a simple quilt -- but here it is: