Tennis season

Max is in the thick of the high school tennis season right now.  He plays JV, and has matches Tuesdays and Thursdays, and has a 4-2 record so far (one of those losses was SO CLOSE). 

It is really fun to watch him play.

Action shots taken by JB. This is out west at Bingham High School.

This is at Bountiful.

This is at Highland's courts.

Pre-haircut, last month at Highland, when Papa and Nona came to watch.

This is over at Liberty Park, when they played Rowland Hall.

Max goes to practice early and stays late, always jumping in with Varsity if he can. He has improved so much in the year since he first picked up a racket. I am glad he has found a passion and new friends.

(and to think I thought he was tall in this post)

Easter chicks and eggs

 While the big boys and JB watched the Priesthood session of General Conference Saturday night, I hard boiled exactly 6 eggs so that these three little kids could dye two each.

I was not doing any more because they don't like to eat hard-boiled eggs! Well, Andrew does. And I do and Ben does, but when you decorate your own, you get territorial about who would eat your masterpiece.

They wanted to draw on them, so I got out the sharpie...which probably soaked through the shell and was dangerous to eat, but too late now!

Easter morning was nice and simple. We did our annual jelly bean search around the house, each child got a little new toy or treat. We don't do big baskets. But I wouldn't mind some of the amazing things that other churches do all week long. I feel like I could talk more about Christ all week.

Speaking of eggs, our friends one street over got chicks to grow up to hopefully be egg-laying chickens. We love walking over to check on their growth.

There's lots of "MY TURN!" and I apologize for these two rough and tumble boys, but our friend says she wants the chicks to be used to humans, so I guess we are helping!

Bryce Canyon

 Our last day of Spring Break we overlapped with Suzanne's family for a few hours at the cabin. I love when cousins get to spend time together.

We drove over to Bryce Canyon National Park for a quick visit of those gorgeous views. We have a fourth-grader this year, so we get into national parks for free.

It is a long drive (5 hours), but I pick the movies so they don't fight about it. Then it was back home in time for General Conference! 

Speaking of General Conference, in between sessions on Sunday, my special aired that I finished producing before we left! It's called Preaching in a Pandemic, and I absolutely loved speaking to current and former missionaries about how the gospel is still being taught around the world. You can listen to it here. Or, if you want the audio with a transcript, that is here.

Covered Wagon and Cedar Wash hikes

 Our last adventures were close to each other so we did them the same day. And we had a baby Conrad and a cute Dozer dog with us.

Covered Wagon Arch is a great hike for kids. Really short and with a fun place to play under the shade.

Here was everyone trying to help Carver and Conrad smile

Cedar Wash Arch turned into an adventure. I think JB had seen online the hike where you walk a short ways and see the arch from above. We followed Kim's All Trails app and hiked down the slick rock to the wash itself and then walked over to the arch. I thought we were going to die for a hot minute but JB was never worried.

Here we are above the wash. We got down to those trees below.

The kids at the arch

Little legs got tired on the way back to the car

Max is a good hiker helper for me. I remember how he encouraged me last year at Spooky/Peekabo on the rocks, and he did the same this time. I think he understands how the brain can lock into a fear cycle, and how you have to remind yourself you are doing just fine.

Willis Creek Slot Canyon hike

 JB did this hike last year with the big kids, so we thought we'd just go together this time. But then I suggested bringing James, who didn't go last year. I really just wanted to break up the little boys because I didn't want them fighting while we were gone all morning. James didn't want to go, but Andrew did. It was fun to spend time with him.

It was a chilly morning, and the creek was frozen when we started hiking. It started to flow on our way out.

Look at the thick ice

A tree root growing through the rocks

A sunny spot for a snack

We started to see some people on our way out, and they took a picture of us

This is a great, easy hike to do with kids. Cool and beautiful!

Broken Bow Arch

 On Monday we did a four mile hike to Broken Bow Arch. This is probably 1 1/2 hours down Hole in the Rock Road, but it is really cool and a fun adventure with kids.

Here are some of the cattle we saw on the way.

You start at Mortarboard Rock

They found a frog/toad and were obsessed.

This boy got a bloody nose but was a trooper about it.

However, he was NOT happy with the mud in the canyon or ravine. His shoe got sucked off and Max had to retrieve it with a stick. A lot of us slipped or even fell. But we loved the view at the end!

This part at the end was a great spot to eat lunch and play.

Here is a tiny spiderman back pack hiker

This is the hike back up to that mortarboard rock. You turn left to go back up to the cars. It's hard to tell here, but it is pretty steep as you leave the ravine...and it's all sand. It was hard.

It was great to get back to Millie at the cabin. She would have wanted to be carried. Carver is her age and walked so well the whole time.

Upper Calf Creek hike

 JB took the big boys to hike Upper Calf Creek on the first day (we have done Lower Calf Creek on previous visits to Escalante).  He told me I wouldn't like it, and based on the pictures, I would not. It is very steep!

JB says it was hard not to be able to jump in to the water. But they knew it would be super cold.

Lots of steep rock.

Taking a water break looking at the view

Meanwhile, these kids just kept playing at the creek below the house.

Oh, here's a shot JB got of me sitting on the bench by the creek reading a book. I would take a book and read when I wasn't stopping fights or putting bandaids on tiny scrapes they got from sticks or rocks. I learned to carry a bag with a water bottle and snacks and bandaids if I didn't want to keep hiking back up to the house for these little whims.