A way down south in Dixie

We left the literally freezing temperatures in Utah on July 9 to start off on our extravaganza. First stop, West Fork, AR. We got up at 3 AM and were on the road by 4. We didn't' even have to stop until we hit Cheyenne at 10:30. It warmed up in Nebraska. In fact we actually felt heat! We got to Kearny, NE and swam and ate and were asleep by 9 PM. Olivia woke us up at 3:30 so we packed up and head on our way! We stopped at a couple of our Church historical sites in Missouri and stopped to see my friend's boy on his mission about 45 minutes from my Dad.


The Moncurs stop to see Elder Bracken in Rogers, AR. Jordan was one of the boys favorite baby-sitters and JaDee was his scout master and come to think of it, I taught him in Sunday School!

Arkansas was humid! Nothing dried out! My dad has a pool and our suits were still wet every morning. I must have finally acclimatized to the West, but man my hands and lips were so soft! Not a rough patch anywhere!


Yes those are Kangaroos! We went to this awesome Wildlife Safari Park. After a cool Safari like car tour through the park we got to go to 2 petting areas. One was full of Red Kangaroos and their babies in their pouches! Ethan was dubbed the "Kangaroo Whisperer." He spent about a half hour with one kanga and her baby. In fact he was so gentle with them that one family thought Ethan worked with them!





About 6 years ago we got to hold baby tigers and a baby lion at this same place. This time the tiger cubs were only 3 weeks old and too young got hold. After they got all their shots and got a little bigger they would be ready to hold!






We went up to Missouri to a State Park called Roaring Rivers. JaDee, Carter, Ethan and yes, Even I fished the river. Carter got one that got away, but all of us saw it jump off the hook at the shore line. We caught craw fish and had a great afternoon.

Although we did not sample the craw fish as a fine southern delicacy JaDee did shoot and cook up a couple of Squirrels. Yes, fuzzy tailed bird feed robbers met their doom when JaDee and his trusty dog Champ entered the Ozark forest. Olivia even chomped on a leg like it was chicken and loved it. Carter said it tasted like steak. There was even gravy! I alas, could not even sample that fare. And I sucked on this trip with the pictures!

But I did get video of Olivia's new skill. She can swim! Like the full fledged breast stroke! JaDee started taking her around on a noodle in the water and she started letting go and swimming up to it. Then he started showing her what to do with her arms and she started letting go of the noodle to show him how to do it! Then she started jumping off the ladder and swimming a good 10 feet to the middle of the pool. We have an Olympian in the making!


Matthew is a great friend to the boys every time we come to Arkansas. He shares his old toys, video games and all the other cool stuff!


Grandma is doing great! Despite 2 small strokes in the recent months she is still on top of her game! She serves in the Oklahoma City Temple one week out of every month with another sister in her ward. She made her famous meatloaf and homemade mac and cheese!


After 5 days and 6 nights in Arkansas we again started our drive at the wee hour of 4AM to head off to COLORADO!

LITTLE DETAILS
3400 miles all told on this trip
Olivia was the only one who got car sick...3 times
Champ was the best 80 lb lab ever! and only got 4 ticks in the woods
gas was about $3.95 the whole way until Vail then 4.25 there and 4.05 back in Utah
Ethanol gas dropped our mileage from 26 mpg to 21 mpg
It was 90 when we got back to Utah! and it will be 100 by Monday.
it was 55 for the high when we left.
The boys went through 2 sets of batteries for their game boys
We watched Little Mermaid about 100 times
We listened to 2 books on CD: Dealing with Dragons and The Last Lecture
I colored in this cool coloring book called Doodles that I got at Costo for Ethan
Carter got a pocket knife for his souvenir
Ethan got a stuffed snake
Olivia got a sparkly ring and a doll
The kids at a whole variety bag of candy from Costco...I think it was 5 pounds of candy!
Everybody is still alive!

Welcome to Dulock

Dulock is my pet name for Vail valley. For those of you familiar with Shrek you will remember that this is the name of Lord Farquad's kingdom and that he must have order! Vail and its surrounding communities Edwards, Avon and of course Beaver Creek,(slogan: "Not exactly roughing it," my kind of town and as you will see by the pictures we weren't even close to roughing it!) are pictures of order. Right down to the strategically placed doggy poo bag dispensers and drop points along the river at every half mile. There are even HOA requirements that limited construction work on our condos to be done by June 30 and of course everyone's grounds are mowed on the same day and the windows are washed as a community too and flower beds color coordinate with each other. A far cry from Perry who is still arguing over whether a sewer lagoon is still the best way to deal with our waste. If you don't know what a sewer lagoon is don't ask...just know that is the most disgusting, environmentally dangerous way to deal with that kind of thing. Needless to say I have also dubbed Edwards and Vail valley my home sweet home. Finally a community for those of us who uhhhhh... don't exactly rough it!



As you can see from the amount of small children we were all there! Brent and Darlene had all 19 grandchildren and all 6 kids and all 6 in-laws. Blake had to leave before we rolled in from our 16 hour drive from Arkansas. Yes, I said 16 hours! So we missed him this time but we are headed to Phoenix in July.




The best part about having all those people there was the sweet set-up we got at Beaver Creek. We had 2 condos at the Highlands Slopeside (part of East-West Resorts). Each family had their own bedroom and bathroom to pile up in. We were literally feet from the pool, clay tennis courts, and of course the chairlifts. We also had a den of foxes, a porcupine, a deer and best of all BEARS! Like right out our door! In fact JaDee and Olivia had to stay in the pool while one wandered its way up the hill.

We had access to the Spa and fitness center at the Park Hyatt. The Park Hyatt is amazing. They host marshmallow roasts activities every Friday night (called Fridays at the Park). EmRee and I went and got pedis after everyone left and had to valet park the trusty Ford minivan because that is the only parking they offer. Yeah.

Anyway the real reason we were there was to celebrate Allie and Anna's 8th birthday and baptism. It was so special to see the girls make this choice. they were beautiful, just glowing with happiness, innocence, and joy! They have wonderful friends in Vail. We just love them. So the organizer of this event was EmRee. She planned food activities and accommodations for all of us! Remember 19 kids ages
12 years to 9 months. 14 adults (ages not acknowledged) equals 33 people all together. It was the first time we held an event of this magnitude somewhere else besides the farm. THANKS A TON FOR THE GREAT TIME EMREE!





Our Room


The Great Room




The Kitchen was nicer than anything any of had at home! I guess that's what vacations are for!


Olivia and Marin got Groovy Girl Dolls in Vail. They are posing and I think trying to smile!



Uncle Travis has all the nephews entertained with a trailer for the movie "Hancock"


Marin, Marie, Becca and Olivia. Someday these 4 girls will be best friends and laugh at this picture! Right after this was taken Olivia was done holding Becca and pushed her off the her lap!


Ethan and Allie are 2 of the Best Buddy Trio! Where is Anna?


Check out the slopes behind the kids! We (I mean JaDee and the boys) actually skied this in January and we will probably be back again this winter!

Other activities not pictured were the mountain biking that the brothers did up and then down that mountain behind us; a sweet skate park for the kids to skate and scooter; parks and of course SHOPPING! I can't think of a better place to spend money! We took Carter and Mykelle and all EmRee's kids to the Rodeo, we ate and ate and ate. We took nightly hot chocolate runs next door and kept an eye out for bears. CaMee and Ethan were quite the scared cats! Although one night a loud bang did suggest something large in the dumpster around the corner! Jana, Cara, and I kicked butt in the fitness center. Dar and I hiked the hill to actually get closer to the bears.

In Honor of our trip

I recently got a preview of the latest fashions from Arkansas in an e-mail from my dear friend Ranae! Thanks for the heads up on what to pack for my trip! I would be so embarrassed to show up without one of these on hand. I will be sure to get Olivia a couple too! Oh, and since my boys are very recylce conscience they will be happy to donate all the necessary garments needed in order to make this haute couture piece. Ethan will be especially pleased to know that the brown stains get cut out before wear! He knows all about getting hand me down briefs! I'll let you all know how the adventure goes! See ya June 22 with some great tan lines from this little baby!

On the road again

It must be summer because the Moncurs are not home! I picked the kids up from the last day of school on Friday and drove the 8 hours to the JaDee's parents to drop of 4 chickens. JaDee stayed home with church stuff to do and cleaned the storage room in the basement for me. No small job either! Thanks so much honey!

While we were there the Mastiff puppies were born! My crazy sister-in-law (she even says she is crazy!) is raising 6 kids and breeding English Mastiff puppies! They have 2 150 pound dogs and this weekend 7 pups were born. Carter and his cousin Mykelle were out helping and even got to see one born. Carter almost threw up!

We are home for a week and then off on a 2 week extravaganza to Arkansas and Colorado. We are also planning a trip to Arizona the end of July!

We had a fabulous but small Memorial Day Gala this year! It was raining so our numbers were few but it was still very fun!

I've been tagged

Tonya tagged me to answer this...She says she is tired of the dogs. So am I!

Five things on my to do list
get fathers day cards out
find a new babysitter
go to the bank
get my bikini line waxed
find our dog! he escaped this afternoon...

What were you doing 10 years ago?
I lived in Delaware with baby Carter, I was Primary president and JaDee was in Detroit 4 days a week...EVERY week!

5 of my favorite snacks
Ben and Jerry's Creme Brulee ice cream is my new crack habit!
Guacamole and triscuits
apples
string cheese
and a bowl of cereal

What would I do if I suddenly became a Billionaire?
Buy an island and go live on it or buy my school district and run it my way!

Three bad habits
1. bite my nails
2. sleep in instead of working out
3. procrastinating

5 places I've lived
Seattle WA (I was 2)
Liverpool, NY
Provo UT
Wilmington DE
Perry UT

5 places I've worked
Ponderosa Steakhouse
BYU Deseret Towers cafeteria
BYU Testing Center
Utah State University Brigham City
Home with the kids

5 things no one knows about me
Well most of you know I have a tattoo of a lizard on my right hip but the general public doesn't know it!
I am a huge Stephen King fan but hate scary movies
I love the movie "Dodgeball"
My first concert was Metallica when I was 16
I played the violin for 9 years and someday will pick it back up!

So now I tag Linda, and Cara and Naomi!