mirror, mirror on the wall...who is the fairest one of all?

megan loves to get into my make-up so i wasn't too surprised when she came out looking like this. in fact...i thought it was pretty funny so I picked up my camera and started taking pictures. i could tell she was feeling REALLY good about her self because she started posing...

POSE POSE


POSE

then i held her up to the mirror. her face went from this to...

this!

to make matters worse this was my lip STAIN! so when i went to wash it off it would not come off. megan kept saying "GET IT OFF OF ME!" i finally tried vasaline. after about 10 applications of smearing it on and then wiping it off we got it to fade a little. it took a few days for it to completly wear off. maybe this will keep her out of my make-up for a few days.

(meggie...i still think you are the fairest one of all! love, mommy xoxoxo)

this weekend we escaped to...

brian head!

we went to the top of brian head peak.


we played at the playground.

we went to the bryce canyon overlook.

we hiked to alpine pond.

some of the pond was frozen over. the kids had a blast throwing sticks and trying to get them to stick in the pond.

our nights were filled with cool temperatures, yummy hot chocolate from the cocomotion, movies and games of LIFE. we had a lot of fun and can't wait to go back for the snow!

tonight we made a countdown chain...

to DISNEYLAND!!

only 24 days left!

i get it from my dad

i inherited many qualities from my dad. some are...

the dimple in my chin

my looks (most people say i look more like my dad)

my pinky toes that will not MOVE!

my stubborn personality

my no nonsense attitude

my realistic look at the world

the fact that i am NEVER wrong

AND

my intense HATRED for pigeons

i was trained from an early age to tell my dad whenever i saw a pigeon on the house no matter what he was doing. he used to say "you never want to be the pigeon house. they can completely ruin a house." those words still ring in my ears!

brandon quickly learned this lesson too when one day when we came to my house after school and there were pigeons on the roof. i immediately went to wake my dad up from a nap he was taking on the couch. brandon was horrified that i was waking him up to tell him about pigeons. my dad jumped up from the couch, went outside, got his pellet gun and started shooting them off the roof.

so i was beside myself when i started seeing pigeons on my roof!! i threw rocks at them but for the most part they just sat there mocking me. all i could think was I DONT WANT TO BE THE PIGEON HOUSE! i called my dad and he immediately understood my angst. a few days later he brought me a pellet gun and taught me how to use it. (i must admit i am a pretty good shot. i guess that is something else i get from him)

so i am now ready for the pigeons! of course, they are pretty smart birds and i think word has gotten around that i am armed because they have not been coming around anymore but if they come back...I WILL BE READY!

thanks dad...for all of the above!

staff development day = a fun family day

the kids had the day off from school and brandon had the day off from work so we decided to head up to mt. charleston to hike mary jane falls. it is about a 2 1/2 mile hike. we packed a little picnic and set off.

when we first got there it was FREEZING! but when we started hiking we warmed up pretty fast.

the scenery was gorgeous. it is so nice to be out in nature and i was gung ho to go hiking UNTIL... we started and it was all UPHILL!! ( i don't know how i thought we were going to get to the top of the mountain)

i made sure we stopped for picture opps (and so i could get a break!)

i was so impressed with my hunky husband. after awhile megan decided she didn't want to hike anymore so this is how she hiked the hike. he didn't even break a sweat!

when we got to the top the waterfall was flowing and there were iceicles. dallin had fun breaking them off.

there is a cave by the waterfall that we also hiked to. the kids decided they liked it so much they wanted to live there. so this is the view from our new house.

dallin wanted this to be his bedroom.

on the way down the mountain megan's ride was so comfortable that she actually fell asleep!

brandon is trying to get us ready to hike mummy's toe. he thinks next time we will be ready for harris peak and then onto mummy's toe next year. (wish me luck!) i have kind of decided i enjoy WALKING in nature more than HIKING in nature. but i will try.

on the way down the mountain i was telling dallin what a hiking STUD i thought he was. he didn't whine or complain once! he then said "thanks mom but you...you're gonna need a little work." how true that is!

after our hike we went the the old lodge for dinner. i love this place! i love the rustic atmosphere and the roaring fire. the kids got some yummy hot chocolate and we all enjoyed a great dinner.

i love my family and spending time with them. any 'extra' holiday is a treasure!