Canyon, what Canyon?

The real reason Grandma came to visit wasn't to celebrate Evelyn's birthday or even to take Elizabeth to the zoo. She came to give Eric and me the weekend off so we could spend some quality time together killing ourselves physically:) Eric and I flew to Las Vegas, that wonderful city of lights & crazy people & Deloreans (no pictures but you know the Back to the Future cars?) and met up with my dad and brother to drive out to the Grand Canyon.

The true purpose of the trip was to fulfill our pilgrimage to Mecca aka In-n-Out.

Along the way to the south rim of the Grand Canyon we passed over the Hoover Dam with a plethora of dam jokes spoken. Here's a picture of the highway that has been under construction for a decade to help with the dam traffic.
We got to our campsite after dark and set up, had dinner, wandered around to see where we needed to be the next morning, then fell into blissful sleep only to be woken up at a very early 4am.

We hit the trailhead happy (must be adrenaline).

Saw the sunrise over the Grand Canyon with beautiful color.

We made good time to the bottom of the canyon where a River runs through it--imagine that!

And then we started up the other side. Why we didn't take one of these, I don't know.

It was a gentle incline for awhile following a creek and then we hit the switchbacks. By the last bit, we were beat so it was hard to thoroughly enjoy the fall colors and vegetation around us.

We made it! 22 miles and 6,000 feet elevation gain in 10 hours. Now the legs just need to recover.

Fieldtrip to the Zoo

Another grandma moment--she got to chaperone Elizabeth on her first fieldtrip to the zoo. Rachel, Evelyn, and I tagged along too.

Elizabeth's little group
Almost as tall as a polar bear
Climbing on the rhino
Proof that Grandma was there

More Birthday Girl

We officially celebrated Evelyn's birthday when Grandma came to town so here are some more pictures of our cute little one-year-old.

The mini cake
Doesn't quite get the opening presents thing yet.

Birthday Girl

I can't believe one year ago I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, making a trio of estrogen. Oh Evelyn, how we love thee, let's count the ways.

We love you because you have a unique crawl.

You know the proper way to eat a cupcake--frosting first!

You are my first thumb-sucker.

You are just all smiles with lovely blue eyes.

So many ways, we can't even count (or document) but thanks for blessing our family and Happy 1st Birthday!

Let it Snow!

Yes folks, it's September 21st and this is going on outside. Lovely huh?

Lucky #13

Yesterday I ran the Southlands 5k. Only about 140 people ran it and I saw some people from my ward and my neighbor there so it was fun. The best part was I came in 2nd for women with a time of 22:36 (The 1st place woman whooped me by 4 minutes) and won a $250 Southlands gift card. Time to go shopping!

Early Indoctrination

Go Cougars!

Cheesecake--only the Best Thing on Earth!

If you don't know, Eric and I love cheesecake. Eric is the cheesecake maker in our house and he's made some pretty good ones. When we heard about the chance to get "free" cheesecake slices from the Cheesecake Factory, we jumped at the chance. On Monday (Labor Day) on our way back from Lookout Mountain, we heard about Mix 100 and the Cheesecake Factory at Park Meadows Mall for you locals, joining together with Feeding America where you bring two cans of nonperishable goods for a free slice of cheesecake. Since we were passing by Park Meadows on our way home, we stopped by King Soopers, bought 6 cans of food, and traded them in for 4 slices of cheesecake. I know 6/2 should equal 3 slices but they gave us an extra so Rachel & Elizabeth could each hold one. HEAVEN. I know it was a marketing ploy for their new Red Velvet Cheesecake but I'll trade cans of food for cheesecake any day!

Labor Day Weekend

I only wanted to do one post and these pictures aren't related except that they happened over the Labor Day weekend so here you go.

We found this beautiful critter in our backyard.

I put Evelyn's hair in a ponytail for the first time and here was the result.

We went for a nature walk up at Lookout Mountain and got a beautiful view of Denver.

Rachel had just woken up from a nap so she was grouchy but Elizabeth was all smiles. Love the gap on the bottom of her smile; she lost her second tooth.

Ahh, the Mormon Culture

Articles of Faith of Mormon Culture

1. We believe in SUVs and minivans, as the form of transportation, and in knee length shorts, which are always nice, and in the multilevel marking.

2. We believe that church ball players should be punished for their own fouls, and not for unsportsmanlike aggression.

3. We believe that through bread crumbs, cheese, creamy soups, and rice all casseroles can be saved through obedience to ward cookbooks and creativity in the mixing bowl.

4. We believe that the first layers and ingredients of the Dip are: first, beans; second, cheese; third, chopped tomatoes; fourth, the gift of sour cream; fifth, olives; sixth, salsa; seventh, guacamole, that is, if you have it.

5. We believe that a Mormon should have a distinguished or a cute name, that it is appropriate to name a child after a church leader or a historical figure including an ancestor, that alternative spellings and French prefixes only add to a name, and that when referring to the names of General Authorities, middle initials should be a part thereof.

6. We believe in the same wall decor that exists in many Mormon homes, namely, framed family proclamations, vinyl lettering, inspirational word signs, family photos, pictures of temples and Jesus, and so forth.

7. We believe in the gift of the re-gift, church books, crafts, family photos, baked goods,
emergency supply kits, and so forth.

8. We believe in sparkling grape juice so long as it is nonalcoholic; we also believe in bringing root beer and sprite to ward parties.

9. We believe in all that we have scrapbooked, all that we will now scrapbook, and we believe that we will yet scrapbook many great and important things pertaining to our family, friends, pets, and vacations.

10. We believe in the literal mixing of ketchup and mayo and in the generous application of ranch dressing; that CBAs (church-based acronyms) will be used to describe YM/YW, PEC, the Y, NCMO, and CTR; that Mitt Romney will get Mormons to vote for him any time he runs; and, that the Mormons will enjoy reading Twilight and The Work and the Glory.

11. We claim the privilege of trying to identify common acquaintances with any visitor at church, and allow all other people at church the same privilege, and let them name drop the names of Famous and general authorities how, where, or what they may.

12. We believe in being subject to scoutmasters, pampered chef hostesses, and the writers of the U.S. News and World Report Rankings for professional schools, and in obeying, honoring, and sustaining Glenn Beck.

13. We believe in being above average, good at crafts, optimistic, and being fifteen minutes late everywhere we go. Indeed, we may say that we follow BYU football. We believe rumors about famous people joining the church, we hope to meet the three Nephites, we have endured many pyramid schemes, and hope to be able to endure all pyramid schemes. If there is anything cheap, free, sold in bulk, or given away when somebody is moving, we seek after these things.

Rough Day

Up way too early for the night owl she is or maybe coloring pictures is hard work.