Our Back Yard

Paul and I had set aside last weekend to go on a family trip. We wanted to go down to Moab to hike Arches and check out the main street shops but it wasn't to be. We decided to save money and stay home. This turned out to be the best thing that could have happened because it forced us to explore our own back yard - which it turns out is JUST AS COOL as Moab - and it's only 20 minutes away from our house!! So let us show you our back yard!

Split Mountain in Dinosaur National Park. Split mountain got it's name for the way the mountain has been split in half by the green river. It also has one of the largest caches of dinosaur bones in the world - with 11 different species found in just a small radius.

This is the small visitor area that is still open. The monument was condemned and shut down 3 years ago because the ground underneath was shifting and caving. They gave palentologists, who had devoted 30 years of excivating and research, 24 hours to pack up all they could and leave the site because of the danger it posed. But hopefully when the new site opens the work they are doing will move forward better than ever!

This guy walked around the site greeting the children dressed as a dinosaur skeleton. He scared Rachel to DEATH - so much so that she clawed my earing off trying to climb up my face to get away from the dinosaur. She had been begging to go to the dinosaur park all weekend and when we finally got here she said, "I HATE DINOSAURS! I'M READY TO GO HOME AND I DON'T WANT TO EVER COME BACK AGAIN!!" sheesh!

Petroglyphs - these things are EVERYWHERE in Vernal.

Rachel is posing outside a historical spot called "Josie's Cabin". A single woman built this home in the early 1900's. She lived here alone raising cattle and sheep, farming the surrounding area, and literally living off the land. She got her water from natural springs, irrigated her crops, and survived on her own here till she passed away in 1964 - I believe she was 90 years old. WHAT A WOMAN!!

This is the hike up to "Hog Canyon". Josie would lead her cattle and hogs up this canyon which had tall walls acting as a natural corral to keep her cattle from wandering off. It was a fun, easy, STUNNING hike. We had our own personal park ranger to give us the grand tour. Thanks Brian!

Fresh natural spring coming out of the mountain. Paul and I drank some of the water (which tasted so good we could bottle it and sell it). If we end up with Giardia come visit us in the hospital!

There were rocks for climbing...

Sand washed out by the river for digging...

And caves for hiding in!

Here is the beautiful Green River that tourists come to run from all over the world.

Here are our kids "running" the Green River themselves!

So next time you feel like an adventure COME PLAY IN OUR BACK YARD!!

We HEART Vernal!

County Fair

COME TO THE FAIR!!

Tip to Bozo the Clown for the balloon flower and dog.................$1.00

Corn Dogs and Tacos.......................................................................$14.00

Family Size Snow Cone....................................................................$4.00

Tickets for rides...............................................................................$12.00

Seeing your kids enjoy a ride THIS MUCH................................

PRICELESS.

So next year if you want to come to Vernal, be sure to come out for the county fair. You'll have

LOADS OF FUN!!

BEWARE!!

When you give your two-year-old a snack and then sneak away down to the computer to blog...

He MIGHT just give you something to blog about.

Becoming

As I sat on the floor contemplating my life, my three year old brushing my hair into tangles, my one year old driving his red Hot Wheels car across my face, I thought to myself, "Is this it? Am I fulfilling some divine role as I act as a human playground? Am I really on the path of some eternal destiny as I change diapers, wipe faces, and clean up mess after mess after mess (of course only to find another mess there 5 minutes later)? Where is that premortal sign up sheet... are you sure I really signed up for this?"
And then the answer resonates in my heart. YES.

Because even when it seems like you can't play one more round of Candy Land or Memory, even when it seems like you can't answer another 3-year-old "WHY" question, even when it seems like you have done the same thing, eaten the same breakfast and lunch, seen the same Disney video 938,487,276,593,000 times, something is happening. Little brains are growing, little personalities are developing, relationships are solidifying, people are BECOMING.

And that's what life is all about anyway. Becoming. It's not the "getting there" that matters - because we will ALL get there eventually. It's WHO YOU ARE when you get there. Who you have become.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks illustrated this principle so eloquently,

"The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires us to become.”

"Now is the time for each of us to work toward our personal conversion, toward becoming what our Heavenly Father desires us to become. As we do so, we should remember that our family relationships—even more than our Church callings—are the setting in which the most important part of that development can occur. The conversion we must achieve requires us to be a good husband and father or a good wife and mother. Being a successful Church leader is not enough. Exaltation is an eternal family experience, and it is our mortal family experiences that are best suited to prepare us for it."("The Challenge to Become," Ensign, Nov. 2000, 32).

My Uncle Stan is a sculptor by profession. I have been to his shop on several occasions and there are often multiple mountains of clay - each having it's own grand scheme, all ready to BECOME something. I have seen one mountain change over night as he carves away massive chunks of clay to get the basic form of the statue. Then is seems to sit and sit for months on end, never appearing to change much because the change is in the fine details. Tiny tools are used to carefully turn faceless spheres into recognizable figures. True god-given talent spins "matter unorganized" into masterpieces. But it's a long tedious process. Especially if you get stuck in the details and forget to step away from the clay for a moment to see how it's all coming together.

"Calm as a Summers Morning" sculpted by Stan Watts and Kim Corpany

Kinda like parenting. It can be a long tedious process sometimes when you are trying to use your God-given opportunity of being a parent to spin "matter unorganized" aka "children" into a masterpiece. And it is SO EASY to get stuck in the details. A peanut butter jelly sandwich sliced in triangles - not squares. A hot dog, served cold, cut into bites, with mustard and ketchup, and a toothpick. The 15th load of laundry TODAY. Those are all tedious, time staking, mind numbing actions whose monotony can drive ANYONE to the loony bin - - - UNLESS YOU STEP BACK. Take a look at the sculpture. Take a look at what they're BECOMING - and what YOU'RE BECOMING TOO.

And hopefully what you will see is "the image of Christ engraven on your countenance"(Alma 5:19). And when I think of THAT, things like THIS don't seem that bad.

Because it's all about BECOMING.

"It's Okay!!"

There is a new phrase in my 3-year-old's vocabulary, "It's Okay Mom! It was just an ACCIDENT!"



Let me illustrate how she uses this phrase on a day-to-day basis.


BANG!
Rachel: "It's Okay Mom! It was JUST AN ACCIDENT!"
Me from upstairs: "WHAT HAPPENED HONEY?"
Rachel: "NOTHING! It was JUST AN ACCIDENT!"
I came downstairs to find one of my African wood sculptures had been knocked off the bookcase - good thing those things are totally child proof solid.


SPLASH!
Rachel: "It's Okay Mom! It was JUST AN ACCIDENT!"
Me from the other room: "WHAT HAPPENED HONEY?"
Rachel: "NOTHING! It was JUST AN ACCIDENT!"
I came in the kitchen to find juice all over the floor - she had attempted to pour the juice into her cup all by herself - she's getting big, but not quite THAT big.


CRASH!!
Rachel: "It's Okay Dad! It was JUST AN ACCIDENT!"
Paul from downstairs (do you see a trend here?) :"WHAT HAPPENED RACH?"
Rachel: "NOTHING! It was JUST AN ACCIDENT!"
Paul went upstairs to find THE DVD PLAYER lying on the floor. Why you may ask? We don't know. She still hasn't come clean about that one.


Ben adds his two bits to the mix with stunts like this one...

But IT'S OKAY! It was JUST AN ACCIDENT!


AY YAI YAI.

The Perfect Summer Night

It's the perfect July evening. The sun is packing up and heading home after a long hot day trailing ribbons of gold behind it which sweep the ground like a child pulling his blanket off to bed. The wind decided to stay home tonight so the air is a nice warm constant 75 degrees - just like I like it. The grass is soft and cool beneath my feet. The kids are riding their bikes around the driveway and picking raspberries from the patch along the fence, and, gently rocking, I watch them. Then the faint sound of twinkly music fills the air and the children playing in the street fall silent.

THAT SOUND.

THAT GLORIOUS SOUND!

Children begin to appear from everywhere as if being coaxed from their hiding spots by a mystical Pied Piper. And then I see it round the corner onto our street.

The Sprosty's circa 1950 Ice Cream Truck. PURE BLISS.

So the kids (jumping up and down as if it's Christmas morning) choose these cheerful beauties.

And I go back to reading my book in this.

YEP. PURE BLISS.

Friends

We have entered into a new phase of life. This phase is called "having friends". Not friends for us, friends for the kids. Our kids have had friends for a long time, but it's been more of the babysitting, nursery, primary, library friends. Now Rachel has "Mom-can-I-play-at-so-and-so's-house-friends". Weird. My baby is growing up. The phrase I used so much in my childhood, "Can you play?" has become a part of her language. She has a couple of friends on the block and they come here to play or she goes there - - - and it has really thrown me for a loop. Not a bad loop, but a loop none the less.

It's like we've had to kick the parenting game up a notch. How long do you let your kids "play" at a friend's house? Am I the type of mother who other mothers feel safe letting watch their kids (because I don't care what you say - if they are playing at YOUR house YOU are ultimately responsible for what happens and you instantly grow an extra set of cautious ears when there are more little lives to look after.) Do others feel safe and feel the spirit in my home? Are my actions consistent with the teachings of the gospel?

Paul was watching the All-Star baseball game on TV downstairs and the kids and their friends came down to watch too. I instantly thought, "would their parents let them watch this?" Silly - I know - it's baseball! Chill out! But seriously, I felt the burden of the need to not only implement OUR family rules, but the family rules of the OTHER kids family too! I don't want to undo anything their parents have worked hard to teach them at home. Do their parents let them snack? Do their parents let them play in the front yard or just the back? What is considered appropriate behavior in THEIR home? Are MY kids bad habits going to rub off on THEIR kids and vice versa?

So then you start thinking about the kids in general - are they the type of kids I want my kids hanging out with? Then the whole agency thing comes into play. Then I bring myself back to reality and say, "Calm down. They're 3 years old. There really aren't "bad friends" and "good friends" at this point (at least none that we know) and this is the time where you can really influence them for good. Teach them HOW to be good friends and their friends will follow suit. Smoking and drinking are not on their radar. Sharing and hitting are. So you referee, watch from a distance, let them figure things out, and jump in to call a foul and pull a yellow card when you need to.

Then you stand back and let them play the game.

Walton Salsa

By popular demand the recipe for "Walton Salsa" aka "Cowboy Caviar" aka "Black bean salsa" is out. This salsa was first introduced to us by the Walton family - hence the name. It goes a little like this:

1 can black beans - rinsed
1 can white shoepeg corn - rinsed
2 tomatoes diced (romas work well because they have more flesh than seeds and hold their shape)
2 avocados diced
1 green onion chopped
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro chopped

combine all ingredients.

in a separate container mix...

one packet good seasons italian dressing mix (I like the Zesty italian but regular works fine)
1/4 cup olive oil (vegetable oil is fine too)
1/4 cup white vinegar (I've tried other vinegars and it gives the salsa an off flavor)
1/4 cup water

shake up the dressing and pour over the other ingredients mixing well.

ENJOY!!! (I'll post a picture later)

p.s. for the MOST DELICIOUS Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa recipe go HERE. I followed her recipe but I left out the hot sauce - after the cayenne pepper and the ancho chili sauce I thought hot sauce would make it JUST TOO HOT and I've got tiny kids to feed. It tasted great without it - sweet with a little kick at the end. I think this time I'm going to put a little ketchup or tomato paste in as a substitute for the hot sauce to thicken the sauce a little and give it some acid from the tomatoes. I'll let you know how it goes. It's a long process but the steps aren't hard and the result is fantastic. I had enough pork for 5 meals! I just pulled out what we needed that night from the crock pot and portioned the rest out into ziplocks and froze them. To thaw them out I just threw the frozen pork into a sauce pot with a little water so it wouldn't stick to the bottom and presto! Dinner in 5 minutes! LOVE IT!!

p.p.s. for the recipe for the RICE go HERE. When we eat this meal we layer tortilla, sour cream, Rio Rice, black beans, Pork, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, and anything else you want. (Taste it before adding extra hot sauce.)

Dun da da DAAAAA!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen, she did it!...AGAIN!!!

My amazing mother, Emily Watts, wrote another book you should all be DYING to get your hands on (I know I am). "I Hate It When Exercise Is the Answer" hits Deseret Book stores next week so be sure to CHECK IT OUT!

The premise of the book came from the idea of no short cuts, "diet and excercise", sunday school answers are STILL the answers and will ALWAYS BE the answers type of approach to life. There is no "quick fix" or "diet pill" or "spiritual steriod", but instead constant, consistant exercise is what yields the greatest results and greatest JOY. Exercising FAITH, SCRIPTURE STUDY, PRAYER etc. etc. strengthens our spiritual muscles.

So go get it. Read it. Tell me what you think about it. ENJOY IT!

AFRICA

My sister-in-law sent me this MOST AWESOME VIDEO. It combines one of my all time FAVORITE songs, "Africa" by Toto, and one of THE most incredible earthly experiences -
AFRICAN RAIN STORMS.

enjoy.