Sarah's 5th Birthday

Since Sarah's birthday falls on or near Memorial Day every year, it's a natural time to gather with cousins. This is the only type of party she knows or wants. Grandma and Grandpa Dastrup were out of town on her birthday this year, but they popped up early and surprised her one night with her own little guitar. Hearing her strum--no chords--and sing "Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me" is about the cutest thing we've ever seen. We gathered with the Thompson cousins for a birthday lunch on Memorial Day. Sarah was very happy to have grilled hot dogs, play with cousins, and blow out candles on her special birthday cake. Travis and Emily quietly realize that Sarah has had less-creative birthday cakes than her older siblings--especially early on. I'm sure we're not the only ones to let the quality of birthday cakes deteriorate as we've added to our family. We've been moving or Emily has been sick and pregnant on three of Sarah's four birthdays, and since Emily was sick and pregnant again on her fifth birthday, Travis took over. He spent many hours with Sarah planning a giraffe cake, which is what she wanted. And not easy, as it turns out. Travis had big plans for this cake. It's hard to appreciate its size, but it's four sheet cakes! Most of it was tossed after the birthday, but Sarah sat by Travis for hours as they decorated the cake. That's what made it worthwhile.

If Lucy could talk when this picture was taken, she would have said, "I don't care that we have matching outfits and that Mom actually washed my hair and even considered putting a clip in it--not a finisher that Mom of mine. I just want down."

Anna is a great re-gifter. She is embarrassed when we comment on her re-gifting, but she passes on much-appreciated gifts to her siblings. Sarah was thrilled with Anna's old Easy Bake Oven. Grandma Thompson helped Sarah, Piper, Mia, and Sammie cook buttered and cinnamon-sugared toast rounds in the Easy Book Oven, and everyone was happy to get a turn. Sarah also received a Lady Bug Dream Light, coloring books, paper dolls, a new story book, and a styrofoam glider from Michael. She was very happy.

Goblin Valley

We talk a lot about wanting to take more trips within Utah, but we have a hard time making it happen. Travis took a whole hour off work on a Friday in mid May and we went to Goblin Valley. The original plan was to leave Emily home with Lucy, but we felt left out and included ourselves at the last minute. We were happy that Jed was willing to come along with us, which tested a trip with all seven seats filled in our van, as it will be after baby arrives. There wasn't a single moment of bickering from the backseat! Sarah was thrilled to be back with the big kids. Our van with over 190,000 miles did fine too, and we're grateful for every day that it continues to run. What a gorgeous, unique place Goblin Valley is! Our kids scrambled up and down the rock structures while we tried to relax and still keep people safe. Anna especially made us nervous with her need to climb everything in sight as fast and as high as she could go. Sarah felt left out when she couldn't keep up with Michael and Anna, so there were some tears. She refuses to acknowledge the five and a quarter years between herself and Michael.

Jed rescuing Sarah when she tried to follow Anna and Michael and got stuck

Emily, 16.5 weeks pregnant. She doesn't believe in rounding up or down when it comes to a pregnancy calendar.

Lucy kept licking the rocks. She wouldn't keep a clip in her hair, and the wind kept it in her eyes even more than usual.

We decided to go to Arches too. It's such a magnificent place--its beauty is really beyond description. Michael said, "I feel really small." The weather was perfect and we had such a nice time being together. There isn't a better or easier traveling companion than Jed. He's lower maintenance than the rest of us, and you can always rely on him to quietly be helping someone (like Sarah) who needed some extra attention. Our simple Super 8 in Green River worked perfectly for our group and had a nice pool and jacuzzi that was open late. Food was hard for Emily, as it always is when she's pregnant, but she held up much better than expected with all of the driving. Quite refreshing to be out in nature where she could spit and spit and not have to carry around little plastic spit cups. We discovered we're ready for a new camera lens and some editing software like Light Room. The Sunday clothes were lying on the back of the couch, ready to be packed last so the group (sans Emily and Lucy) could attend sacrament meeting in Green River or in Orem, but they were still lying over the back of the couch when we got home Sunday night. Woops. We had the chance to sing many Sunday songs in the car and didn't need to spend any money, so it did end up being a nice Sabbath though we didn't get to go to church. We have got to get away together more often as a family. 

Muddy Yardwork

We didn't think we would plant a garden this year, but I feel better outside in the fresh air. We just began pulling a few weeds and found ourselves sticking with it and planting a garden. It was in much better shape than last year when we cleared thousands of onion plants from the huge garden. I seriously think the former owners moved because their onions had taken over their yard and they couldn't deal with them! We didn't till it, but we added a few bags of good dirt and our vegetables seem to be growing.  I'm pleased at how much the kids wanted another garden this year. They really enjoyed eating out of it last summer. We planted more beets because they were a favorite when we roasted vegetables. Lucy was in mud heaven. She ruined her leather shoes, but she couldn't have been happier. Is there anything more irresistible than a hose and a lot of dirt? My kids are good workers. It helps us to see that the investment in teaching them to work is paying off. 

Temple Square in the Spring

It turns out that it's easy to move back to Utah and rarely visit Temple Square, even though it's only a 35 minute drive from our house. We decided to visit on a Sunday in April. Once Emily survived the drive, it was pleasant to be outside among the flowers and beauty of the Temple grounds. We also had a tour of the Conference Center, and it was wonderful to have time to enjoy the inspiring artwork. We even had a tour of the roof, which is only possible to visit with a tour guide. Lucy wasn't real happy because we skipped her nap. There was some good parenting involved with taking our kids to Temple Square and discussing scripture stories and historical events depicted in artwork. There was some poor parenting by starving our kids and then feeding them crackers to litter all over Temple Square and asking them to smile with cracker-filled teeth for pictures. Then we took pictures of them running where they shouldn't run, and then asked them to get down and be more reverent.  Hope the good parenting outweighs the bad.