are you in the market for a goblin hunt?

**this is a warning
**this is only a warning
**this post contains evidence of a photo junky.
that's right, i like to take pictures.
but, i like them to look good and a slide show just won't cut it this round.
and, i wasn't prepared to make a series of posts.
so brace yourself**

last week we took our final camping trip of the season.
we had such a fun time at goblin valley last spring, that we decided to go again.
we met up with our friends the haight's.

we hadn't decided where we were going to camp. but after we accidentally broke our black water pipe (our pipe sits very low-it was inevitable that it would happen) we decided on the main goblin valley campground.
facilities were a necessity for both families. and besides, the spot we dry camped in last spring was being overhauled by heavy machinery (i hope that it will be back to normal next time we venture that way).

we had a great site in the campground (#18 & #19). we had a backdrop of hills perfect for the kids to climb and take mini adventures within hearing distance.
chase took his first real climb on these hills (tink, wiping of tears).


**i must thank the aleve gods at this time. without you i would have been completely non-functional. head cold + hike= bad combination.

the first evening we were there, we took the kids to see the valley of the goblins.

we had a fun time climbing through the cave in the valley.
my butt was almost too big for the exit.

the kids got dirty bums.


and they had fun pretending to be little goblins.

elephant goblin

peek-a-boo goblin

cutest little pack goblin ever

night starts very early this time of year, especially when you are surrounded by hills. it was dark by 5:00 pm. the kids were crabby earlier than normal (thank-you daylight savings). every evening was a struggle. not to mention the desert gets pretty chilly at night. our only relief in trying to stay up late was the fire.

the next morning, we enjoyed a gorgeous sunrise.


then we were off to hike little wild horse canyon.
it has some very neat slots that the kids loved running through it.

we split from the haight's just over halfway up little wild horse.

we decided to be crazy and try to complete the loop from little wild horse to bell canyon.
and we are proud to say that we did it!
bayli completed her first 8 miler!
pretty good for a 4 (and a big half) year old. she is proclaiming that her reward is a visit to the hello kitty store.
chase was wonderful on the nearly 5 hour hike.

there were some amazing views on the way. we soaked up some beautiful sun. and i think that i might have had a bit too much excitement about the fall leaves in the desert.

when we hit this spot up little wild horse, we thought that it was the end of the trail. we were wondering how we were going to scale the cliffs with two kiddos.


we were happy to find that the trail was just being sneaky and had a hidden tunnel for us to safely make our way. little wild horse winds for quite a ways. you find yourself going from slot canyons to rolling mountainsides of rock. the views were simply breathtaking. each corner of the canyon reveals something new and enchanting.


once out of little wild horse canyon, you travel up a dirt road. you walk on the road for a good 2-3 miles at least. we were glad that the majority of our travels were down hill. if we had started at bell canyon, the story would have been very different.

there were more amazing views to be seen. not to mention more plants for me to covet for my yard.

this is the trail head to bell canyon off the dirt road. we had a nice little break here while jed checked the path ahead. chase was sleeping pretty well by this point.


bell canyon wasn't quite as neat as it's predecessor. but it still had some amazing views and fun slots to run through.


bayli was getting pretty tired by this point. she decided to take a break in the middle of the trail.

the advantage of hiking downhill, you get to relish the views for a lot longer.

bayli caught her second wind (more like her tenth) and had fun running down the canyon.

i must say, keeping a kid focused on a long hike is more exhausting than the hike itself.

unless you are playing the part of pack horse, as jed did.

a beautiful ending to a very long hike.

we only had to pack bayli about a 1/2 mile of the whole trek. and she only had a few meltdowns.
i must say that our adventure was a success!!!

that night we were so exhausted that we turned in at 7:30 pm- yikes!

the next day we decided to hike crack canyon. we wanted to see how the kids would do in a slot canyon with more obstacles. not to mention, bayli likes to say crack and was begging us to hike it. we were shocked. i don't think i would have been up for it if i had hiked 8 miles the day prior with tiny legs like hers.

after you wind down a riverbed wash, you come to this amazing entrance.

bayli was feeling extra adventurous this day. we would turn a corner in the canyon to find her halfway up the wall. some of the spots she climbed were pretty steep and technical for a little gal her size.
such proud parents (tink. sniff. tink. tink. sniff. sniff.)

again there were amazing views to be seen.

and i got to relish in fall leaves a bit more. this cottonwood tree, in particular, was one of my favorites.

"mom, i just climbed up here so you better take my picture!"

i was pretty impressed by some of the paths jed picked with little chase on his back.

i love these sections in a more technical hike. they make me feel cool.

this canyon had so much variation in light. it was fun to capture it with the camera.

jed was pretty excited, he hadn't gone this far the last time he hiked crack. he would have hiked clear to the wash at the end if the kids could have handled it.

this is the entrance to one of the neatest slots i have been through. it is a wind tunnel and gets pretty gusty. it also has more color variation-very pretty.

as sad as we were to turn around and hike back out, we got to see some pretty cool views from a different angle.


that evening, jed stayed back at camp with chase. (chase was fed up with the backpack and needed some serious wiggle time) bayli and i tagged along with the haight's to visit the valley of the goblins one last time.

it was fun having some girl time.

bayli was excited to be in the spotlight and get her picture taken in the setting sun amongst her favorite goblins.

bayli with the plant i covet

sitting on her thrown

taking a siesta

"mom look, i am on a cloud"

riding her camel

catching every ounce of the sun on her long neck

the sun was setting over the valley.
i decided to try and catch me some sun flare with my coveted plant.
i must say, i am very happy with the results.

the setting sun was beautiful. i had a blast catching it's last rays as it magically danced across the valley.

the drive back to camp showed a different view.

i love the desert!!! i can't wait to go back!

18 months already?

his transition from a baby to a toddler, seems to have come overnight.
and it has slapped us in the face, like a scream in the night.

who would have thought that one little body could be so much trouble?
our parenting tactics have had to have a mega overhaul since confronted with this little guy.
with bayli, life was fairly easy. you said no, she listened.
not so with chase. he keeps trying to test his boundaries, and turns everything into a game. a very hard talent when trying to discipline.

he is a thinker. he analyzes everything, like his dad, trying to figure out how it works.
i know that he would be in our cabinets more, if his little fingers were a bit stronger. we have watched him intensely analyze the locks on the cabinets and try to push down on them. i dread the day that he is able to open them, and i fear that it is coming fast.
my poor kitchen will be an even sadder site.

he has learned how to open doors. if we don't lock the garage door, you can bet that you will find him on the steps.
closing the bathroom doors does not keep him from getting into bayli's lip gloss anymore. or the toilet, diapers, garbage, cologne, cotton balls, lotion, contact solution, and toothpaste. but it does deter him a bit.
he has been so used to the bedroom and bathroom doors being closed, that he will close them if he finds them open (after he rummages through them a bit). meanwhile, proclaiming "uh oh," "no no," or "nauny" (naughty).

he loves to ride his sit on toys throughout the house shouting "voom" or "wee".

he finally is starting to like pasta, but bread is still "yutee" most of the time.
a "nack" (snack) is either a cheese stick, graham cracker, or fruit snack.
he does not like fruit juice. thus a "bahbah" (bottle/cup) must include rice milk or on occasion, after he has finished screaming his rejection, ice water.

he loves to be chased and tickled by daddy. as soon as jed gets home from work, chase squeals "daddy" and "ticki" then starts running around waiting for the pursuit.

he loves shoes, and will bring them to us chattering and distinctly saying "shoe" and "outside."
he hates hats, or anything that you try to put on his head.
he still wants oatmeal with mashed up bananas and yogurt for breakfast EVERY morning, otherwise you will get his wrath.

he thinks that all dogs are "ditsie" (dixie, grandpa john's dog).
speaking of grandpa, he loves grandpa john and will either call him "dada" or "bapa."

he still SCREAMS for everything, whether happy or sad. and his screams are loud, death awakening (we were in fear at his first funeral appearance).

he loves to go "ba bye" in the car.
he LOVES being "ousi" (outside), and spends many hours of the day proclaiming that he wants to be OUTSIDE.

he calls his blankie his "nigh nigh" (night night). and gets every chance he can to tote it around the house, we discourage this. nothing like sweeping the floor with a blanket.

though he is still very much a handful, we love this little guy and can't get enough of him. his round, dimply face keeps getting cuter as he gets older. we cherish every smile and giggle. the screams...we could live without. but, that is chase.

Happy 18 months Little Man!!!
(back on october 23rd)

can i just say i'm in love?

with my photographer.
oh, and her work.

we took our little family
to the sugar factory
and had a fun, but chilly time.

here's a little peak
at some of the results.

thanks to katherine,
and her brown bear.

oh, and special thanks
to the marshmallow gods.
without you, life would be...
well, you can only imagine.


(check the slide show at the bottom of our blog for a better view)

halloween fun

once upon a time there was a little cheetah. she was the cutest cheetah in the land.





this cute little cheetah had a little brother who was called the tawny scrawny lion. who would have been the cutest lion in the land if he would have worn his mane and hadn't grown too tall over the last month. at least his tail was cute.




the day before halloween, we headed to the church for a trunk or treat.
which, by the way, we only went to because bayli begged and pleaded.
i hate trunk or treats.
jed hates trunk or treats.
but most of our neighborhood seems to like them, so they occur every year.

i hate that the traditions of halloween, that i remember as a child, have faded away.
what happened to the effort and drive that we had as kids? not to mention, how great our parents were to take us around the neighborhood.
if we were freezing, we walked the streets. if it was snowing, we walked the streets and filled our bags. if it was raining, we plodded through puddles to fill our bags. if we were puking, we filled our bags.
i want my kids to know the joys of trick or treating that i had. i want them to have that drive to race to the next house. to put forth the effort to fill their bags.
not walk through a packed parking lot and fill their bags to the hilt in 20 minutes time.



so when bayli bailed after two rows of cars, i was sad but happy. sad that she couldn't take the cold for very long. sad that we went through 150 pieces of candy and only got about 20 in return (i really don't care that she didn't make off with much candy, i just don't want to run out on the big day. her bag is always the backup candy.)
happy that i didn't have to wade in and out of the crowd hustling from car to car. happy that i didn't have to pack chase through those crowds. happy that we could actually stop and chat with friends. happy that i didn't have to freeze anymore.

when i was getting the candy for myself, i could totally handle the cold. it was like some super power that turned on just for that big day. furnace girl. heater girl. radiant girl.
now that i am older and wiser (candy makes you fat and your teeth fall out-my momma was always right) i don't have that drive to combat the cold.
i know that if my daughter did, i would match her drive. but when she bails, i will happily bail.



on halloween we took the kids to trick-or-treat at their grandma's. we first stopped at grandma bev's, where chase helped himself to all of her treats.



then we headed to grandma carol's where chase started to get this trick treat thing. he again tried to take all of the treats.



we tried getting pictures of his mane. he was a very grumpy lion indeed.



we took the kids home to have home-made clam chowder, before heading off to trick-or-treat in the neighborhood.
they were too hungry and couldn't wait for soup, so they settled for hot dogs instead.



grandma carol came over to trick-or-treat with the kids and i.
we were so proud of bayli. she had become as we were as kids. she was a ravenous trick-or-treater. she wanted to go everywhere. she ran from house to house with excitement in her eyes. i was so happy to see that she enjoyed the REAL halloween more than the alteration.



and the instincts of our little lion shown bright. after 2 houses, he knew what his job was.

1) run/climb, do whatever you can to get to the door

2) knock

3) say hi

4)walk into their house

5)
wait back up to 4. yes, chase walked into almost every house he trick-or-treated at. he was ready to make himself at home.

5) take or receive a treat. if they wouldn't stop him, chase would empty their bowl.

6)say bye, and wave like a mad man

7)climb down the steps

8) look in his bucket and ask for a num num

9) run down the sidewalk to the next house.



it was so cute to see him run along with his little tail flapping behind him. and he ran much further than we thought he would be able to.

when we had reached one of our friends, chase did step 4 and didn't want to leave. he wanted to take their ride on car with him.
so poor grandma got to take a kicking and screaming chase home while bayli finished trick-or-treating.
thank-you grandma!

soon after, bayli was ready to head home herself. "my bag is too heavy mom, you need to pack it."



she loved handing out treats to visitors at our home for the rest of the evening.
tank, on the other hand, enjoyed harassing the visitors. our little attack kitty.

autumn senses

fall fills me with happy thoughts. it is my favorite season. i love the dramatic changes, crisp air, aging smells, and grayer skies. most of all, i love the memories that it charges in me.

while jed was off on a boys day trip to the sand dunes, i had a fun filled day with the kids.

it was a rainy morning and the skies had dark gray clouds.
what could we do?
we thought, let's go to the aquarium.

after i finally got our little group of 3 ready, we looked outside and the weather looked perfect.
the sky was a lighter shade of gray, there was a light breeze, and the pavement was drying.
we decided to take advantage of this weather break and head to gardener village to hunt us some witches.

the kids loved running up and down the pathways to spot the spooky witches. chase mostly liked shouting at the ducks in the pond "dutee, dutee."

no witch hunting adventure is complete without a stop at the Naborhood Bakery. chase and i treated ourselves to chocolate chip cookies, while bayli devoured an orange frosted cake donut. it was a tasty good time.

after our witch hunt/bakery run we headed to subway to get ourselves a little picnic (doesn't dessert come first in your household?).
bayli picked west jordan city park as our destination "it has a beautiful princess castle." (it's really a mighty fort, but i can't tell her that).

the weather was perfect for a fall picnic. the air was crisp and clean smelling. there were gold and orange leaves scattered everywhere.
the kids had a great time running through the fort/playground. of course, chase frequently got side tracked with the fallen leaves and branches.

we walked through the park and found some large piles of leaves and had ourselves a mini battle. chase and bayli were so cute trying to clobber mom with tiny handfuls of leaves. we mysteriously found leaves in our hair and clothes for the rest of the afternoon.
it was a wonderful day with memories i know that i will never forget.

the leaves smelled so delicious. they reminded me of one my favorite trees in my yard, the london plane tree (a type of sycamore). they have a distinct, yet sweet smell. until my trip to the park, i could never quite identify what that smell was. now i can say that it reminds me of rotting fall leaves. a smell that i can never walk away from without getting flashes of good memories.
besides their wonderful smell, these trees have amazing bark. it flakes and peels to show lighter contrasts in color, looking almost like cracked paint.
we planted 3 of these beauties 2 springs ago. they are a very hardy tree with large beautiful leaves. they are fairly fast growers, ours have over doubled in size in just over a year.

it is wonderful to know that i get the smell of fall in my yard as soon as my london planes let out their leaves next spring. and that smell will last into late fall.
the london planes keep their green color longer than any other deciduous tree in our yard. they have barely started to turn a lighter shade of green with a touch of brown.


as our yard has matured, we find ourselves enjoying every change that it undertakes. during the spring we love watching new leaves and shoots develop. during the summer we love watching the branches stretch and the fruit develop. but it is during fall that i find myself wrapped up in the color and beauty of many of our plants. i love the dramatic changes in color from plant to plant.

much of our yard is xeriscaped (more drought tolerant). this leads to more dramatic textures and color between plants.

we have a variety of grasses.
fall is the perfect time to see the color and texture of ornamental grasses. our pampas grass turns a purplish hue. and its tassels tower as high as our eaves. it has a magical sound when the wind hits its drying stalks.
we love blue oat grass, and have graced our yard with its beauty abundantly. i love how the tassels turn golden against the blue-green stalks. we were surprised to see new seedlings scattered throughout the flowerbeds.

jed nurtured and prepped our yard so well before we planted our lawn. now it is very vibrant and beautiful through all of the seasons. but in the fall, it is such a great addition of color.


i love gambel oak (aka scrub oak). it is a beautiful addition to every yard. i have loved watching it stretch taller and taller this year. it bares vibrant hues in red, yet still hangs on to green undertones. i can't wait for the year when it will produce acorns. imagine the loveliness of that event, acorns scattered amongst the falling leaves.


if you want a plant that will always bare bright reds and oranges in fall, look for a sumac. we always wanted sumac. we were able to get some smooth sumac from jed's grandparents the first year that we started planting our yard. it has been beautiful since. it is extremely drought tolerant and hardy.

we have been pleasantly surprised by our staghorn sumac. it doesn't stand up to high winds very well. it's limbs are more dainty and break easily. but it always comes through in the fall. revealing beautiful yellows, oranges, and reds. it is definitely an eye stopper.

now to a very controversial plant in our household. the amur maple. i love it, jed does not. ours is in clump form (more like a bush). it had a hard trip this year. we had such a rainy summer causing it to get water logged and droopy. when it's seeds began to develop, it was again overwhelmed with heavy limbs (the kids and i helped it out by pulling them off and throwing them in the air causing them to spin like helicopters-it was a great game a month ago). though it does get kind of gangly looking, it always delivers. it has the most lovely bright red. which looks wonderful with the green contrast of our vinca on the hillside.

we love smoke trees. in the fall their color turns from a dazzling purple to a stunning maroon.

this year we have had an extra special gift from our yard. we planted 3 blue atlas cedars on our hillside 2 springs ago. i must say, everyone needs an evergreen in their yard. these in particular are stunning. they have a whimsical appearance, with very elegant limbs. and their blue-green needles add such a BAM to every landscape.
sorry i love this variety so much i could type about them forever, back to the special gift. our marvelous blue atlas cedars developed cones this year!!! it has been delightful watching them form the last few months.

i love autumn and the joy that it brings to my yard and my family. i hope that every fall will be as memorable as this one has been.

how would you like your pumpkin?

the week before halloween, we went to schmidt's pumpkin patch to pick us some pumpkins. bayli squeals every time we drive by it, "i want to go there and get some pumpkins!" this year, we finally followed through with her demands (we usually get lazy and pick one up at the grocery store).

she decided that she didn't want to carve her pumpkin, so she drew on it. the problem was, she picked washable markers. not the best idea for a pumpkin, her art turned into a smudgy mess.
she enjoyed the messy art for a few days before we decided to carve the remaining pumpkins.
check out this preview of our halloween cheetah, what a cutie.


carving pumpkins is always a family favorite. we can get pretty creative, or gross, around here.
we started with my pumpkin. we were VERY disappointed to find that nearly half of it was going rotten. we went ahead and cut out it's face on the good side.
time for some improvisation.
jed suggested, "let's cap it and blow it's brains out." typical male suggestion, but perfect for the situation.
so, my pumpkin took a forty to its forehead and got capped.


bayli decided that carving a pumpkin was a good idea, and decided to lay into her 'piece of art.'
only condition being, "it has to be a cat!"
we washed off the smudges and began her masterpiece.
carving in whiskers is a pretty tough job, but it turned out okay. she was ecstatic with the results.


jed had been rolling his pumpkins design over in his head for a while now. and since everyone got their own pumpkin this year (chase gets to share with everyone), bayli couldn't stop him from creating his dream jack-o-lantern.
it consisted of getting the axe while puking.


overall a pretty productive carve-a-thon.
hopefully our kids aren't morphed for life.