Spring

We've been enjoying mostly mild temperatures for a bit now, and we're hopefuly that Spring is at our doorstep. The other weekend we put the grill and chairs into Brian's pick-up truck, headed out to the beach, and enjoyed a BBQ in the sand with our neighbors. There's been bike riding, trampoline jumping, and walks. How nice! Yesterday, the kids decided to go to the "rock climbing" instead of the beach. Attached are some pictures. The desert plants are coming back and starting to turn green and bud. I'm excited to see the desert bloom here in a little bit. The lizards have come also out of hibernation and it was fun to see them again.

Beach in January

It's still cold here, but we went to the beach on Sunday and Monday anyway. Just treated it like a big sandbox, and the kids had a great time. It was in the 40's, but sunny. (a bit windy on Monday, which made it colder.) There was no one around, a dramatic change from the summer when nearly 2 million visitors come through. On Sunday, in fact, practically the only other living creature we saw was a coyote. He crossed our path, turned and looked at us briefly, and rambled on. I forgot there were coyotes here, but then remembered a common symbol of the southwest/desert is the howling coyote next to a saguaro cactus. That makes sense.

Weekend & Front Page

Little Annie and I made the front page of the 'Lake Powell Chronicle'. We go to story time at the library, and the paper came by to take pictures. online at: http://www.lakepowellchronicle.com

The weekend was good, but quiet. We went to a birthday party (a friend's 40th) and little Annie wanted to dress up. She was the only one, as we all wore jeans. On Sunday, we went for a bike ride, did some puzzles and drew on the easel. The two shared one easel rather nicely, only because Annie is right handed and Jake is left-handed. The images in red were drawn by Jake, and they are "him on the sidewalk and a baby" and the image in green is by Annie. They wanted me to take a picture, as they like to display their artwork. In fact, their bedroom has no less than 10 pictures on the wall.

Bedtime Buddies

Annie has recently decided that she doesn't like the dark, and a night-light is not sufficient. We, as parents, have refused to leave the room fully-lit. (Note: Annie & Jacob share a room.) So, in a good big-brother way, Jacob has decided to help her through her fears. We can hear them talking, laughing and Jacob telling her it is "ok" well after the lights are out. One night, Jacob climbed into bed with little Annie to make her feel better. (They both eventually fell asleep, picture #1). Then a few nights later, when Annie was particularly upset about the dark, he told Annie to come over to his bed. (They both eventually fell asleep, picture #2). Then we put a stop to that, since they were staying up too late. But it was sweet, while it lasted. Annie still does not like the dark, but is more accepting of it (mostly.)

Christmas & Snow

We had a great Christmas. Lots of wonderful presents, Aunt Annie visiting (yeah!), and just some relaxing time at home. We also got our first snow, which fell overnight and is now nearly melted (at 12 noon).

Pre-Christmas Hike in the Desert

We decided that we needed to get out and about, so we went on a small 4-mile hike in the Utah desert. Aunt Annie was along for the adventure, which we always enjoy. Besides the rocky scenery of the Bucktank Draw, there were several rabbits who scurried away, two meandering cows, circling hawks, and one owl who hovered over us as we kept interupting its perch. A bit chilly, but we ended up taking off our coats after a little bit of walking.

Christmas Tree from the Kaibab National Forest

We ventured up to the Kaibab National Forest/North Rim area of the Grand Canyon, to cut down our Christmas Tree. (just a $10 forest-service permit.) It was a bit of an adventure, and we all had a good time. We 4-wheeled down an un-plowed, un-paved forest service road, played in the snow, and then picked out a tree. Our tree has some personality -- it's a Charlie Brown tree which can barely support our ornaments -- but it was worth it. It was our first sight of snow for the season, and the kids had a fun playing in it. We also went at the Jacob Lake Inn for lunch before heading back to the desert. On the way home, Brian stopped at Lee's Ferry Anglers to buy some flies, as he is determined to get there to fish before the New Year.