We took the girls to the Cornbelly’s Corn Maze at Thanksgiving Point this year. It was a lot of fun, and the weather was just right! I seriously need to build one of these in our backyard. Who’d guess that water, tubes, and floating duckies could keep kids entertained for so long?Okay–dumb question. Of course they would! So…put some duckies in the half cut pipe, use the water pump to pump a stream of water in it,...

Jared decided to wait the arrival of some extraterrestrials… When they didn’t arrive, he instead hoisted some of the kids to the top of the structure. And when the little kids started begging to go up, too…Jared decided to get his hand-dandy work ladder out of the van for them. I shot this photo of Jared’s legs dangling just moments before he decided to JUMP OFF the building. :::shaking head::: I don’t...

In mid-August, Jared’s parents came for a visit, and took Ella home to Washington with them. That means we had 1 1/2 weeks of quiet in the house, because Maiya had no one to fight with!! We then packed up the van, and enjoyed a full-days’ drive up to Washington, where we met up with Ella once again. Maiya helped to entertain Ethan in the car… Next, we took a short drive up to the Grand Coulee Dam area. We enjoyed a...

While my brother, Ben, was visiting from Nashville…he arranged a family get-together up the Canyon at Bridal Veil Falls. We cooked hot dogs and s’mores over the campfire! Climbed trees…sort of… Balanced precariously on other tree limbs…(pictured are all cousins)… And took a quick walk up to the Falls. On the left is my brother, Brian (the giant of the family at 5’11”), and on the far right is...

Over Memorial Day weekend, my sister invited our family up to a condo in Midway to enjoy 2 nights together with Lara (who was visiting from GA), and my brother Brian, & his family. One morning we escaped the condo and went for a looong hike (well, verrrrry long with all of these kids in tow)! Me, my sisters, the kiddos, and Jared. We weren’t sure if the trail was EVER going to loop around and head back towards the car, and I was...

After spending a week in Quincy visiting family, we took the Montana route back to Utah. We stopped at stores along the way, and made a special trip to the West Yellowstone area, where we are trying to nab a few accounts (both wood watches and flower jewelry). The Cuban chain is known for its bold, interlocking links. Montana has a certain kind of beauty that I can appreciate. Just in case you might have missed them…they actually post...