So You Think You Can Dance

Went to the So You Think You Can Dance tour again this year. It was so much fun! The dances were amazing, as usual, and it was just really great to have a night off with the girls. At one point, while standing up and clapping, I completely lost my head and waved at my favorite dancer. Like I expected him to recognize me as the one who voted for him every week, and come down to say hi. Very embarrassing.



I feel a tradition in the making.

I Went A-Shootin'

I went shooting the other day, for the very first time, at at range in Springville with some ladies from my ward. I'd never even handled a gun, so it was a little scary at first. I shot a little .22 that wasn't too intimidating, and then tried a .9 mm that had quite a bit more kick to it. That felt awfully dangerous in my hands, so I only shot a few rounds.

with the .22

Some other patrons at the range offered to let us shoot their big guns, and this one scared me to death. An AR-15, I think.

This is Stephanie, the gal who organized our trip, with the AR-15.

Amy, the girl next to me, hasn't ever really shot before, but she was awesome. Don't make her mad. Hers was the .9 mm, which is why her holes look so much bigger than mine.

Gardner Village

We visited Gardner Village yesterday with Patti, Stephanie, Erika and Claire. It was so adorable! They go all out decorating and have witches walking around in full costume. Riley is going to be a witch for Halloween this year, so she got some good tips.

Iris on a witch's bed

What a cheese!

These women were hilarious!

Aside from the horrible snow and cold, we had a blast! Thanks, Patti!

We've Been (in no particular order)...

• cheering Stephanie on while she ran her first marathon
• attending "The Scarlet Pimpernel" musical at the Hale Center Theater
• dreading and then surviving the first snow
• having our first roller skating experience at Classic Skating, which was a blast from the past for me
  
• loving General Conference
• dealing with Riley's THIRD self hair cut, the day before school pictures
  
• getting ready for Halloween
• making a road trip to Cheyenne to surprise my bestie, Cheryl. Had a blast and took no pictures, of course
• sick with croup (Iris), strep throat (Riley), and pneumonia (me) all at the same time
• experienced our first ever parent/teacher conference, and feel way too young for that business

As for me, personally, I'm preparing to be cold for the next five months, and to see the play "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and the tour of "So You Think You Can Dance" next week. Can't wait!

Iris is Two.... and a bit

Our sweet Iris turned two in August, and I'm just getting around to writing about her. She is such a fun girl, and she adds so much to our family. It's so amazing to watch as she becomes more and more her own person each day-- she definitely has an independent streak! As far as the "terrible two's", things haven't been too bad. (Hold on while I find some wood to knock on.) She has her grumpy moments, but compared to the ride Riley took us on, this is a breeze!

The best of friends... mostly.

She loves all her aunties.

Iris loves juice, her sister, books and being read to, Nursery, snacks, her stuffed monkey, her winter boots, binkies, Mommy's phone, showers, pink, and her family. She is talking more than ever, and is such a mimic- especially to Riley. She doesn't like being made to sit in her high chair, the idea of ever sitting on the potty, naps- sometimes, when Mom is reading, hair clips, and most vegetables.

We love her so much!

End of Summer

I'm playing catch up.... again. We had a great month of August, including (but not limited to):

My birthday, full of relaxation and wonderfulness.

Iris's birthday- more to come later. Can't believe I have a two-year-old again!

Riley starting kindergarten. She loves it! Also more on this later.

A trip up to Deer Valley with Stephanie and Alyssa to listen outside the gates of an Avett Brothers concert

A day at Seven Peaks with the kiddos. Look how jealous Noah looks about Iris's drink.

Onto September, and Patti's birthday. We managed to get a picture where they both have their eyes open!

And yesterday, a trip to the zoo. Been meaning to go all summer, and finally made it. Had a blast!

How hard is it to have us all look at the camera at once? Apparently, very hard.

Iris asked for the tigers the whole time, and we made it to them right before closing time. Very impressive, and made her day.

All in all, we had a fantastic summer! We are glad to be back in our house, and are having a great time fixing and painting. Eric began school again, and, as always, we are much refreshed after the summer break.

We are blessed

Westwater Trip

This past weekend, Eric and I were able to go on a trip down Westwater Canyon, on the Colorado River, with my family. It's only an 18 mile stretch, so we do it in two days and take our time. It's got some pretty good size rapids, so we left the girls in the wonderful care of Grandma Pat and Aunt Stephanie, who were good enough to take on the job. Eric and I haven't had any time alone together like this since I was pregnant with Iris, so it was much needed, and much appreciated.

My little brother couldn't come this time, so we were in need of another boatman to row his boat. Eric was more than happy to take that over. It was his first time rowing a stretch as technical as this, so there were some nerves involved. Of course, though, he did fantastic. In fact, another family we've been rafting with for almost thirty years came on the trip, and they flipped. Eric was going to tease them about how the rookie didn't flip and the old timer did, but the boatman seemed kind of disheartened (understandably) so he held off.

My wonderful mother does such an amazing job planning the food and the gear. We almost never want for anything.

My sister and Lad recently bought themselves a fleet, and this little baby of a boat was included. It's just a tiny little thing, but Liz is a master boat(wo)man, so everything was fine.

The original old timer himself, my dad, with Terry (Lad's mom) and my oldest and shortest sister Annie

Just keep in mind that the life jacket adds 10.... or 20 pounds. It's very thick.

It was so great to have that little break, and we're indebted to Patti and Stephanie (plus Daron, who house-sat the house we're housesitting for, to take care of the dog) for making it possible for us to go. Does anyone have any ideas for something extra nice we can do for them? It's crunch time this week, as it's our last week sitting for this house, and we're moving on Saturday. The plan was so do as much spackling, sanding, and painting as possible this week. But, of course, the head cold I got while on the river turned into an ear infection, sinus infection, and now pneumonia. Of course it did. So I'm not as much help as I should be. Fantastic.

Wish us luck!