worth remembering:

In an attempt to play catch-up on the blog, I was sorting through our pics from this last year.  Between the shots of smiling little boy faces and grotesque mid-surgery hips and knees, I kept seeing photos like this:

and this:

and realized, I should probably document this little beauty, seeing that it means so much to one of us.

The dreams for this car started way back in med school with RB's fellow med student and good friend, Jason.  They had it all planned out.  After residency they would get together, head out to some dealership, and tell the dealer something along the lines of, 
"We'll take two, please.  Here are our demands..." 

I'm not sure if either one of them thought that would ever really play out, but when Jason joined a practice 20 minutes away from us in Pennsylvania, it almost began to seem possible.  Then, mother nature stepped in and helped the process along.  Sending these hailstones:

to beat down on our trusty twelve year old Golf.

After insurance claimed the Golf totalled, two happy little boys ran off to the nearest Audi dealer they could find.  I wish I had a picture of them together, but here's Jason playing it cool in front of the dealer:

Needless to say, everything worked out exactly as planned.  And they lived happily every after.

Antelope Canyon

Shortly after Grammy, Grandpa, and Trevor arrived at "the Kanab House", we set out for Page, Arizona.  Home to not much but Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, both pretty spectacular spots.

A guided tour is required to see Antelope Canyon and it starts off with a very un-promising walk in the desert.

The sand then stops as you see a small crevice in the rocky ground.

You then squeeze your way through the crack,

walk down quite the precarious staircase, 

and then find yourself in an entirely different world.

This slot canyon was formed by erosion in the sandstone from all of the flash-flooding in the area.  We had scheduled the time of our tour perfectly, according to our Navajo guide, for lighting- the sunlight filtering in changed the colors of the sandstone from yellow to orange to red to purple.  Truly, it was incredible.  Even the boys were impressed.

(mostly, anyway)

Zion National Park: Day 1/ "Where's the Car?"

   Our first attempt at "real" hiking was planned for Zion National Park.  As RB was the one calling the shots on this adventure, he advised we get a good breakfast in before starting off bright and early.  Theo was more than happy to oblige with a giant bowl of Lucky Charms (just the marshmallows).

  Here we are about to start off on the Observation Point trailhead. As is evident by our happy, at-ease demeanor, only RB was aware that this trail was 8 miles round-trip and would take the entire day ahead of us to complete. 

       

While I don't agree with his "strategic sharing of information", it was probably necessary.

I was worried it was going to be a little cold, but it turned out to be perfect hiking weather, especially when we hit the sunny spots.

The boys were all about their new CamelBaks and put them to good use... I'm pretty sure they were mostly drinking so that they could mark more of their territory along the way.  Those boys now OWN that trail.

Thanks to the distraction provided by a never ending game of "Guess that Pokemon", Theo managed to walk the entire way up, not bad for a three year old.

We kept a slow, easy pace,  and stopped for lunch and Hi-Chew powerups as needed.

... and many hours later, we made it to the top.

Toward the end of our ascent, Theo began to question if this "walk" was ever going to end.  We kept telling him that we were almost there, just around the bend, now just around THIS bend...  

When we finally made it and the rest of us were celebrating/enjoying the view/finally sitting down, in his most not-impressed-adolescent-ish voice, Theo asked, 

"Where's the car?  I don't see the car."

He was not too happy to learn about the necessary descent and kept insisting that he be driven down the mountain.  He finally agreed to be carried on RB's shoulders, where he promptly fell asleep, and stayed there the entire way down.

While at Observation Point, the boys made a few friends: 

After we made it down just in time before sunset, we asked the boys what their favorite part of the hike was-the beautiful surroundings, quality family time, learning how to push themselves even when they were tired,etc.  

We received a unanimous answer- "the chipmunks."

First Attempt at biking in St. George

Over Thanksgiving break, we headed down to do some exploring in southern Utah.  With a dog, six bikes, and four little boys, we made our way to St. George to test out some trails.

The first leg of the trip was great- even Theo on his balance bike was able to keep up a pretty good pace.  

Then we decided to stop and get a few pictures off the paved trail...

  

 as luck would have it, as we were busy coaxing smiles out of our boys, some of the biggest thorns you've ever seen were coaxing air out of 4 of our tires.

So, the second half of the ride was not quite as enjoyable as the first.  Theo couldn't/wouldn't ride any longer, and since RB had taken a couple boys, with now flat tires, back, I got to carry him the whole way.  He must have been exhausted because he fell asleep on my shoulders.  And, as comfortable as this looks, this is how he stayed for the last few miles...  

Good times.

Champion of the World

Yes, that's right.  Calvin is now a World Champion... at least if you ask him.  

While playing on a PeeWee football team may seem like a minor commitment, I assure you, this was NOT.  A weeks after we moved in, Calvin started practices... Monday through Friday, 2 1/2 hours a day.  

These practices were unlike anything Calvin had ever experienced.  To say those coaches worked the boys hard is a major understatement.  There were kids puking and crying and bleeding at most practices (Calvin included).  Calvin has no hesitation saying that being on this team and working through those practices is the hardest thing he's ever done. 

Being one of the smallest kids, I found it hilarious that his best friend on the team just happened to be the biggest.  (You can't really tell by this picture, but Calvin is about half the size of his buddy, Sam.)

 So, after four months of grueling practices and intense games- broken bones and concussions included- Calvin's team won their division and can now claim the title of PeeWee Division Champs.  After the big win, Calvin led the team to a rousing verse of "We are the Champions", of course.