Paige at Haigler

Paige was invited to attend a week-long cousin girls camp at Haigler Creek. This was her first time away from home by herself, and she even traveled to and from Arizona with people she had never met before (from Jana's side of the family). Lucky for Paige, she is very capable of making new friends. I missed my helper Paige while she was gone, but so grateful that she had this neat opportunity.

Here's what Paige has to say about it:

When I went to Haigler I went with Kim Lofgreen.

 My cousins, step cousins, and I loved to play in the river and cross it over and over again!

Every now and then we would go to the tree house close by the cabin we stayed in with Grandpa and Grandma Jana.

Julie, Kate, and I were the only ones brave enough to come to the very top.  It was much nicer than I remembered when last time I visited it.

We set a goal to finish our totebags by the time it was time to go, and we did it!

When I came home with my step cousins family, (the people that took me home) I saw my Mom and Dad waiting for me outside. You should've seen my face when I saw the poster hung on the door!

The names of the students  that were at camp were:

Paige Blumer 

Julie and Kate Smith

Ellie Greer 

Meagan Allred 

and Afton Allred.

The names of the helpers and leaders were:

Bethany Allred

Faith Fisher 

Dale Porter 

and Jana Allred 

Thank you For reading this entry on THE ROOMER ON THE BLUMERS!

Provo River Halloween Cruise

What a great night for a Halloween cruise!

Glad we went before it turned really cold. 

I'd always wanted to take the family on the cruise down the Provo River, so we finally decided to go for it for our FHE activity. It was pretty fun and leisurely.

We listened to ghost stories and looked at a hundred carved pumpkins reflecting in the water.  

 There was even a pirate that tried to board the ship to pillage our pockets, but instead gave treats to all the kids.

We rocked the rock wall

We went out for our 12 year anniversary to try our "hand" at rock climbing. We climbed until our fingertips didn't work anymore (only took me 3 times up, and 6 for Brian). It was fun to try something new and realize I could actually do it. I'm sure our forearms will be hurting tomorrow - its crazy how much grip strength you have to have.

Wal Mart Bathroom Adventure

Three little boys accompanied me to WalMart this morning. That's an adventure on its own, right?
Well, it gets better.

During checkout the older two boys decided they needed to go to the bathroom and ran off before I knew what had happened.
As I was putting bagged groceries into the cart I could hear screeeeeaaaming and crying echoing across the store. Of course, it was coming from the restroom.
I anxiously waited for the cashier to finish up, swiped my card and hurried over to the restroom.
Of course... they had gone into the Men's Restroom. Now what was I supposed to do?
So, I stood in the entry way talking to the boys.

What's wrong?
Levi tinkled on me.
Why did he tinkle on you?
I don't know!
What do you need?
I need new pants.
Well, I don't have new pants for you. Why is Levi crying?
I don't know!

A couple of men walked out and I asked them if they knew what was going on.
Well, it looks like the littler one peed on the the bigger one. I'm assuming they're both yours.
Is there anyone else left inside?
Yes.

So, I stood in the entry way waiting some more. Trying to talk the boys into getting paper towels and cleaning themselves up. That was a no go.

Eventually I got the all-clear and hesitantly walked into the men's restroom.

There they were. Standing at opposite sides of a urinal. Pants around their ankles. Levi is dripping with tears, and Ashby is dripping with...you know...other stuff. Completely saturated from tummy to toes. Woh.

I grab a bunch of paper towels and start wiping them off. Trying to comfort and reassure them that we will quickly change clothes as soon as we got home. Levi was easy to wipe off. His pants were just a little bit wet. Poor Ashby. It took me two trips to the paper towel dispenser. Plus a few more trips to sop up the puddle on the floor (sorry WalMart, you had quite a mess to mop up today).

I think the boys learned a few good lessons today: Don't go to the bathroom without mom. Don't try to teach your little brother how to use a urinal when he usually sits to go wet. And most important, move out of the way if there is a stream of urine pointed at you.

Lucky me!

I can't believe I got to go skiing two times this winter! Especially since I haven't gone for several years. The best part was that both times were free! - which is really the only way I'd ever get to go skiing. 

The first time I took Ashby with me to Sundance to teach him how to ski because Brian got a free pass from work. Much of the snow had melted and the slopes were pretty slushy, but it was a beautiful sunny day and we had a good experience.

The second time was up to The Canyons in Park City with one of my best friends. It had just snowed the day before so the scenery was beautiful, the snow was nice and the company was great. It was Elizabeth's first time since she was a kid, so it was fun to share that experience with her. ANd I didn't mind an excuse to go slow. I skied the first half of the day and then snowboarded the second half. And I'm happy to report I didn't fall down the whole day! I was surprised how well I remembered how to snowboard - I even tried a couple of jumps!
It was fun to ditch all our kids and have an adventure on our own!
 
I feel so lucky!

the Running Man

You know that dance move - the running man - where you exert a lot of energy to look like you're running, but never actually get anywhere?


Well, that's what its like to push a stroller through the frozen streets of the Rex Lee Run 5K Saturday morning. 


We woke up early to get ready for the race and was surprised to see so much white outside. I was secretly hoping the race would be canceled, but Brian said the kids would never forget running in the snow.


I actually love pushing the jogger trailer while running because its such a smooth ride. But the momentum of the ride propelled me down slick curbs and made pushing up a slippery sidewalk nearly impossible. 




Our first Rex Lee Run was last year after we had just heard the news that Brian's dad had pancreatic cancer. He died just a few weeks later. And now the race will likely be a new family tradition.





We finished, but it wasn't without freezing and screaming kids. Ashby and Cody were nice and cozy in the trailer, but Levi and Paige (who couldn't comprehend that running would actually warm her up) were ice cubes by the end. Levi was inconsolable and that made our memories of the day not so wonderful.









I wore my old Merrell hiking shoes to run in hoping that my feet wouldn't end up as soaked. Maybe if they weren't 13 years old it would have worked. But my socks and toes were drenched.


I woke up the kids by saying we were going to have an adventure that day. We definitely did have an adventure, and its true, we will never forget running in the snow.

TUBING!

At one of Brian's bike races last summer he won tickets to go tubing at Soldier Hollow. On the last day of the tubing season we finally made it up there. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day. The snow was pretty slushy, but at least we weren't freezing.
The first time down the hill was really slow. We had to stop and push off several times because the snow wasn't very slick.
Eventually we figured out how to work together and each run we got further and further. The kids had a great time and it was a lot of fun.
I just love being towed up the hill while lounging in a big tube. That's the way to go!

Rumor is, I'm not just a mom

I attended my first Relief Society overnighter this weekend!

In the past I've gone up for the evening activities, but I'm usually pregnant or nursing and not able to stay over night. Not this time!

It was such a blast. We made mocktails, ate a delicious meal, I got to play my harmonica, we stayed up til after 3am talking and laughing, I didn't get any sleep, I went on a zipline and played on other challenge courses, caught bugs, made cards, and had a wonderfully fabulous time. It was such a great retreat - a retreat to not have to worry about any responsibilities and feel like a person again - not just a mom. 

Lake time

We tried a new adventure today.
I packed the boys into the bike trailer and rode down to Utah Lake. It took about 15 minutes to ride there and 2 dollars to get in. We played at the beach there for a little while and ate a picnic before afternoon kindergarten.
We had the beach to ourselves, which was nice, but we were unsure of what to expect. The boys were a bit shy about swimming and splashing. We hit a beach ball around and waded out to their waists where the mud grabbed at your sandals nice and tight.
I'm glad we tried it before the summer ended. Next time I think we'll need some kind of raft to play on.

Water park

I don't have any pictures to prove it (because my hands were always very occupied), but guess what I did on Friday? ....
I took all four kids to Seven Peaks waterpark - by myself!
All Summer we have had season passes to Seven Peaks, but I just couldn't figure out how in the world I could take four kids that don't know how to swim to a waterpark.
Well, it was the last week of Summer, so I got my courage up, told Brian I needed the car, and went for it. And we actually had fun. I kept the kids' expectations low - no tube, no big waterslides, no food. They did a good job not complaining and following the rules. I'm glad we went, even though it was a lot of work for me on my own.

Freedom Morning

It wasn't what I envisioned.

I envisioned finding a good parking spot close to the start line of the Freedom Run.
...all the roads to get anywhere were already blocked.
I envisioned getting there in plenty of time to stretch and find my running buddies (maybe even use the bathroom).
...I was dropped off a few blocks away and was running against the flow of runners to make it to the starting line.
I envisioned my shin splints and hip throbbing with every step.
...they didn't start hurting til after the race.
I envisioned running along side my husband and kids.
...they caught up to me on the last uphill stretch after sprinting past everyone.

I envisioned having to walk some of it.
...I didn't walk (except at the water station - and that was a welcome break!)
I envisioned passing out at the finish.
...Nah, I was fine - just sweaty.

Some of the girls from stake aerobics.

Paige and Ashby rode their scooters while Brian pushed the little ones.

I envisioned heading out to find a spot on the parade.
...we stayed and played on the playground instead.

I envisioned watching the whole parade.
...It took us a long time to walk from Kiwanis park all the way to the University Ave. But it took us past the parade staging area, where we looked at all the parade floats up close - even better than just watching the parade!

Paige loved seeing all the princesses.

1944 Hellcat tank destroyer

I envisioned a nice shady spot on the parade route.
...that, of course, is hard to come by. We crowded in on the sunny sidewalk next to a large group. Eventually they unroped the large grassy spot they had saved earlier that was COMPLETELY empty. They even let us use their umbrellas and camping chairs. SO NICE!
 I envisioned Cody sleeping in the stroller through most of it.
...He didn't

I envisioned a nice long nap at home for me afterward.
...Ya Right!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

Our "Brave" Weekend

 

Saturday, June 23rd, was an adventurous day for our family. We began early in the morning by heading up to Sandy for a free screening of the new Disney movie, "Brave". Radio Disney was hosting the event and invited a bunch of clients or hopeful clients to attend. At the entrance the kids got to have their faces painted like warriors - that was a special treat. The movie was fantastic and very entertaining. The kids sat through it pretty well, and even Cody cooperated most of the time.

We had a couple hours to kill before we needed to be at our bike race in Park City. So, we grabbed some lunch and headed to Temple Square to keep the kids entertained. We walked around the temple grounds a bit, and then played in the children's section of the Church History Museum.

(Of course, everywhere we went throughout the day people asked where we got our faces painted so their kids could have it too.)

Then we braved our way up Parleys Canyon toward Park City. We were hoping to arrive at the Round Valley race site in plenty of time to get the kids registered and ready for the kids race. We got there in time, but we had to rush to the starting line. This was Paige and Ashby's first real race with number plates. Brian rode along side to make sure they were okay. Apart from a little whining on the uphills and not wanting to do a second lap, the kids had a good experience.

The venue also provided little strider bikes for toddler to ride. They are bicycles without any pedals that you just sit and push along with your feet. Brian had been wanting to get one for Levi (but they're a bit pricey), so this was Levi's first time sitting on one. I thought he'd take off right away because he is so stink'n fast on his wiggle car, but he really didn't get it. Levi entered in the toddler race and made quite a show bringing in the very rear of the pack.

Below is a little video of our day at the race.

Brian was also excited to participate in this race. It was a new course for him which added some extra nerves, but he did great (as always). He biked a good race and ended up 2nd in his age category.

The racers were very happy about the results of their day. Look at all the medals!
And even though we were at a bike race from 3pm - 8pm and away from home for 11 hours, we all survived and found out we are very brave!

Ashby turned FIVE

For his birthday, Ashby chose to go mountain biking with his dad. Ashby learned how to ride his bike in February but since that time he has been jumping curbs, riding with one hand and other tricks that made Brian think it was time to hit the dirt. Ashby was pretty excited to pack up his bike and head to the mountains. Brian took a head-cam and videoed the whole thing. Here are a couple of pics from it. 

At one point Ashby crashed in the bushes, but he ended up with a scrape but only cried a little.

Ashby plans on doing some mountain bike races this summer with Daddy too. Should be fun!

Our first swim lessons

When I signed the kids up for swim lessons earlier this year I picked March. I looked at the calendar and it was completely empty. I picked Saturday mornings because I don't usually have a car during the week and on Saturday's I would have Brian to help divide and conquer. Plus March was a month when nothing really happens, right (its not warm enough for a lot of activities, but it was close enough to Summer that they might actually remember how to swim when it comes).

Well, March didn't turn out the way I had intended...

Week 1: I had YW regional basketball tournament in which I was heading up. Brian was brave and took all 4 kids to swim lessons. That was difficult since he couldn't go in the Ladies' locker room and Paige couldn't go into the Men's.
Week 2: I was on a Stake YW camp retreat all weekend. Again Brian was brave and Paige and Ashby were grateful. They've never had swim lessons before, so this was much needed.
Week 3: We skipped lessons to run as a family in the Rex Lee Run (race for a cure).
Week 4 & 5: We were in California on a last minute, week long trip to visit Granddad and Grandma.

Not such a successful swim lesson month. Think there's a way to get our money back?

Marathon Saturday

It was a very busy Saturday but filled with fun stuff.

At 7:30 am I left the house with Cody in tow to attend the YW regional basketball tournament, which lasted until 10. The tricky part was finding a ride (since we are still down to one car) and getting everything ready the night before so Brian could get the other kids to their first swimming lesson without me. Swimming lessons were tricky because Brian is not allowed in the ladies locker room and Paige is not allowed in the men's locker room. Hmm...I tried to mentally walk Paige through everything she needed to do. For the most part she got it, but the report from Brian was that it wasn't perfect.

The basketball games were fun and entertaining, of course. We had a GREAT turn out of girls from our stake, which I was thrilled about, and I'm so glad I bought extra drinks and muffins. We had about 15 girls show up for each game! Which meant a lot of substitutions and not as much playing time, but I think everyone still had fun. Even with such a great turn out it was still a bit discouraging because it seemed like the other stakes made total All-Star teams filled with ginormous and athletic laurels while we had first-time beehives. The scorekeeper stopped keeping track after it was 4-40 at half time. Oops.

At 11:00 am Brian took Paige to her friend's baptism. While they were gone I got everything ready for our next activity. It required packing all our snow gear, snacks, and hot chocolate.
At Noon a babysitter came over to watch Cody and Levi. I walked her through the routine. It was supposed to be a pretty easy babysitting job because the kiddos should have napped most of the afternoon. But apparently Levi decided to cause trouble. She babysat from Noon - 5pm while Brian and I took Paige and Ashby on a date.

At 12:30 pm we went out to lunch on our way up Provo Canyon to Soldier Hollow. Last summer Brian won 4 passes to go tubing and we finally had a chance to use them. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and surprisingly toasty when the sun was out.

From 2-4 pm we were able to tube down the hill. Two hours actually equated to only FOUR runs down the hill. The rest of the time was spent standing in line, or getting slowly towed up the hill. Crazy! I'm so glad we didn't have to pay the $70 it would have cost us. The kids absolutely LOVED it! They were so giddy! We've never done anything like it and it was actually a very laid-back, exciting experience. I thought it was very fun to speed down a large hill and not have to worry about going straight, or running into trees, or breaking your tailbone or anything. And then I didn't even have to hike up a big hill. So nice!


We got home around 5 pm which gave me just enough time to give everyone a bath for Sunday, make dinner (but not enough time to eat it) and get ready for my girls night out. I've never really had a girls night out before, so I was very excited!

At 7 pm I picked up my dates for a night out. This was another freebie in which Brian got tickets to the Hale Center Theater. The show was Xanadu (which he was not really interested in seeing) so I invited three of my friends to go out with me. Two of us were already familiar with the movie from when we were kids. I couldn't remember much about it, but I knew it was one of the only movies my grandparents had at the cabin and I loved watching it when I was little. So I kind of knew what to expect - a lot of cheesiness and a very strange plot! I thought the play was so funny. It was basically making fun of the movie but with all the great music included. I was smiling the whole time. I'm not so sure what my dates thought of it. Its kind of a lot to take in if you don't know what your getting into.

At 9:30 we continued our girls-night-out with frozen yogurt and lots of visiting. Its so nice to get away, relax, and enjoy great company for a while. Thanks to Brian for letting me have the night off, and for making it so I knew everything was totally taken care of at home.

At 11:15 pm I arrived home and got ready for Sunday - including figuring out Singing Time.

It was a very busy Saturday, but everything turned out really great!

Rumor is I haven't been to the dentist for a long time

Six years. I haven't been to the dentist since Paige was born. Seriously, who has time to go to the dentist after having kids anyway? Well, we've decided to be better about it. So Paige and I went on a Mommy-Daughter date to the dentist today (fun date, right?).

This was Paige's first time to the dentist. We checked out some books at the library for Paige to read and prepare.

I went first so Paige could see how it was done. I was hoping that after six years the dental community would have come up with a new way to clean teeth. I hate that little pick tool. My gums are still hurting. But I put a brave face on and was glad Paige couldn't see me wincing under the sunglasses the technician gave me to wear (that was new and weird - I guess it was so the light wouldn't shine in my eyes so much). I was pretty worried about Paige having to sit in that chair for her turn.

I've never seen Paige sit so still and be silent for so long. She did such a fabulous job. I was totally amazed. They cleaned her teeth and filled her back molars with sealant. Luckily they were much more careful with the little pick tool. No cavities for Paige! And she was thrilled with the new toothbrush and toys she was given.

Paige said she wanted to go get some ice cream after the dentist appointment for doing such a great job. Then she stopped and decided that the dentist probably wouldn't want her eating ice cream. Pretty smart little girl.

My dentist visit didn't end up as great. I guess after 6 years, I couldn't expect any different. I have a couple of small cavities to be filled and I need a root canal and crown. :( I'm actually looking forward to the root canal, because hopefully it will get rid of the pain on the right side of my mouth. But with the pending $800 bill coming my way, don't blame me if I don't go to the dentist for another 6 years.

Summerfest Fun

This weekend was the annual Orem Summerfest. Ever since we lived across the street from it 5 years ago, we have always make it a highlight of our summer. This year it was on the top of the kids' list of things to do this summer.

Tasha's family even drove down from Clearfield to spend the weekend with us. Tasha informed me that all the rides at the Summerfest are the cheapest she's ever seen. In fact they have taped paper over the original ticket plates. Instead of 4 tickets, rides were 2 tickets. I can't imagine having to pay that much. Guess I'll stop complaining about it.


I told the kids they could go on 3 rides. But then they did some "money chores" earlier in the week and, of course, wanted to spend it on more rides.

Paige's rides: Swings, Ferris Wheel, Spinning Strawberries, Obstacle Course



This was the first year Levi got to go on rides. We probably should have saved our money cause he wasn't really that interested. We tried several different rides, but he just cried.
Levi's rides: Race cars and Boats

Ashby's rides: Space Rockets, Ferris Wheel, Giant Slide, Spinning Strawberries and Boats (he took Levi's last ticket so Levi would have someone to sit by).

The parade was Saturday evening. I set out a tarp on Thursday and staked it down. We arrived at the parade about an hour before start time with all our snacks and chairs in hand. When we got to our spot, our green tarp was not to be found. Well, I did find it crumpled up on the side. I couldn't believe it! I asked the people around me, "Who's stuff is this?" pointing to the blankets set in our spot. Nobody knew. I hate confrontation, I hate being difficult. Usually I think I'd say I'm a pushover because I just don't care enough to fight. Maybe its pregnancy, but I did not want to put up with it. I said, "Well I guess I can play that game." And I took the blanket and crumpled it up on the side to make room for our stuff. The amazing thing was that I found OUR stakes being used in the corners of the offending blanket. Now that seems very deliberate to me! You have to know those are not your stakes! Plus the stakes got totally bent up and our tarp was ripped. Ugh! Why can't people just be more considerate? Unbelievable.
Well, we made ourselves comfortable - but, always wondering who around us thought we were the bad guys. Part way through the parade I saw somebody come pick up their blanket, but they didn't say anything. Too bad, 'cause I was actually ready to stick up for myself this time.

Brian surprised Tasha and me by bringing candles and doughnut holes. He set it up during the fireworks and the kids sang "Happy Birthday" to us. Tasha and I are turning 30 on Wednesday, but this was the time we would actually be together. That was very thoughtful Brian! Thanks for the surprise!

Have you seen Utah Lake lately?