1 month is short, 3 weeks is long

Next week, we are going to Denver to see my littlest bro graduate from HS.  The week after that is Corbin's last week of school and our big fundraiser yard sale.  That same weekend is camping for Memorial Day.  And the next weekend, my whole family is coming in town for Corbin's baptism.  Just a few days later (which is 1 month from today) I leave for the other side of the world.  One month is very, very short.

Where am I going?  Well, in case you missed this post, or you didn't get it, I'm going to the 7th largest country in the world, geographically speaking, and THE most populous democracy in the world . . . India.  And I will be gone for 3 weeks.  Three weeks is a long time to spend traveling and living in a quasi third world country and three weeks is a very long time to spend away from my boys - all four of them.  It's a good thing I love what I do and that I have a husband who is so supportive!

If you're wondering exactly what it IS I do, you can check out the HELP International website.  As a board member, I will be doing the administrative site visit to check on our India team of volunteers and their projects.  Here's a little taste of what they did last year (pause the music at the bottom first):

Short but oh so sweet

Last month I made a quick trip to Denver (just me!).  And even though it was short and I got totally sick onthe fight over, I always like being with my family and I LOVED seeing my little brother perform for the first time (my first time seeing him, not his first time performing...).

And since it just so happened that I was there on Earth Day, we also got to spend a few hours at:

It was all beautiful Spring blooms and I got to spend some time with some of my favorite people!

my cute niece

 my best friend from high school

I also got to talk to my niece's girl scout troop (my sis is the leader) about some of my experiences around the world.  They were such great girls!  I showed them lots of pictures and we did a paper bead craft, just like they do in Uganda.  I know I had fun, and I hope they did too!

But the main event I went for was "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown".  Now you have to understand that up until a year or two ago, Mason was a serious soccer kid; all about sports.  And all his life, he's been the most quiet and reserved of all of us (which is not saying much, but he was really kind of shy).  And then he starts doing tech theatre and building stages and sets (which he was totally good at, by the way), and THEN he was IN a play.  And now he is singing SOLOS as one of the LEADS in a musical!  But he will soon be graduating and maybe this will be the end of his acting career.  So now you know why I HAD to see this play!   And I was definitely not disappointed.  Mason was amazing.  I love that boy. 

(Sorry the pics aren't that great, and don't really do his singing ability any justice, but here ya go.  He's the one in the blue & purple striped shirt - aka Schroeder.)

 Mason had a great cheering section that night.  "WooHoo! That's my brother!!"  I hope we didn't embarass him too much. :)

All my siblings - SO great to be all together again!

Spring Break 2011 Part 2

Remember last week I posted Part 1, well, I'm finally getting to part 2 now that it has almost been a month since we went.  Ahhhh!  Time goes by so fast!  I can't believe it is almost summer!!

So on the last day of our trip we spent the morning at the hotel doing what the boys love best:

Then we headed out to the San Rafael Swell to check out the goblins. . .

After a [very] quick picnic lunch, the boys were off exploring and doing what boys do. (Be prepared for lots of pictures - we had lots of fun.)

Climbing and trekking across the rocks...

Playing hide n seek...

Riding their Star Wars Ships (I think this one is a Jedi Starfighter, what do you think?)...

Discovering caves...

Hiking to the top of really steep hills (yes, they are all up there, and yes, it really was that steep)...

Finding lizards and flowers...

And doing all the other crazy things that boys do out in the desert...

Dirt, rocks, and the freedom to just be boys - perfect for these three rambunctious little ones.

Spring Break 2011 Part 1

We had so much fun on our close-to-home spring break trip last year, that we decided to do something similar this year.  We've discovered that the most important things (the only things necessary, really) on a trip with three little boys are (1) being outdoors, (2) a swimming pool, and (3) free breakfast.  So this trip was a great success!  We stayed in Green River so we could be right between the two places we wanted to go . . . Arches National Park and Goblin Valley State Park (see "part 2").

Hiking to Delicate Arch

 We made it!

 It's a good thing Colton had a ride down though (you can say it, "Ahhh")

Then for a quick lunch break at the bottom

Next up . . . Double Arch

AND then hiking to Landscape Arch.

Some where in between we found plenty of time for playing in the dirt

and climbing on the rocks.

Around the Park:

Balance Rock

 Queen Nefertiti

The Fiery Furnace

Parade of Elephants

 Spooky Eyes (not the official name)

One of the Windows?

Best Hikers Ever!

And before we got out of the park . . .

He's gone mad!

Corbin's 8th Birthday was celebrated just his style . . .

A Mad Scientist Party!

1st Experiment: Is it a liquid or a solid?

 2nd Experiment: Magic Milk 

3rd Experiment: Jelly Rocks (sorry, no pictures, but trust me, they were cool)

4th Experiment: Sodium Bicarbonate (according to Corbin) or, to others, "the exploding volcano"

Other party fun:

Playing with Magnets

Balloon Rockets

 Corbin was the only one who blew his up all by himself!

 Thanks to Russ, the other kids got theirs done too.

 And Launch!  Those things flew around the room forever!

Playing with the Scientific Computer Mainframe:

(It's too bad we didn't get a picture of the whole thing, but it had wires stretching all over the "lab" including the ceiling.  It was cool.  Thanks, Russ!)

And we can't leave out the presents!  Corbin got just what he wanted - money, Legos, some books, and a couple other fun toys.  Thanks, everyone!

And Cody was very excited to give Corbin his present that he bought with his own money - a double pack of his favorite gum, and he had money left, so he wrapped it in a dollar!  What a great brother!

Last Experiments:  Frosting Concoction and Ice Cream Slime Drinks.

Happy 8th Birthday, Corbin!  We love you!