Wagons Ho!

My sister and her husband participate in a wagon train. We took the chance and tagged along for a few days. It was like a dream for the kids: horses, wagons, dirt, fire, camping, junk food, and no baths. My first born demands that "the next wagon train be 100 million days long." He could not get enough of sitting by Uncle Ty in the drivers seat and talking to the horses. In fact, once we'd get back to camp, the kids would take turns "driving" one another around. "Step up girls, gee over, and haw over."

The scenery was beautiful, the rides were so relaxing, the food and people were great, and the candy cannon was a favorite. Of course the family bonding experience isn't complete without a miserable night in the tent, but the experience certainly earned our family's seal of approval.

Yard Work

For the past month my yard has undergone some major transformations. First, Brent used the backhoe to dig trenches for new waterlines on the area east of our house. Up until then, it was a big weed patch. Most of the area was buried beneath mounds of dirt and it looked concerning. Everyone kept asking what sort of major thing we were doing.

Next, he installed an irrigation system in the new and existing yard. We finally completed it, brought in a belly dump full of sand for the sandbox, smoothed the ground, and got grass planted (as it was getting dark so we could leave on a family trip.) A big shout out to my husband for his long hours of hard work.

Although the yard is far from being complete, we've made some great progress.

Wasatch Back

More drama than I care to remember. Sisters may or may not be the best team members. But things settled down once we were off and running.

I bounced around and ran all different legs than I had planned. (4, 15, 23) I made a last minute van switch and then pinch hitted for my aunt who got sick. I did my part, but rest of the team are the real heroes. They really are Wonders, whether they are Wilkins or not. Many faced injury or were recovering from other setbacks. Some were tackling this as their first major run. Whatever the circumstance, everyone dug in their hills and got the job done.

Ruby Doo got to hang out in the van the entire time. She was awesome and had smiles for everyone. It helped to be sharing vans with Grandma and Grandpa.

Van #1 - White Bread

Want to read more? Go here, here, and here.

I Am

I am the mom of three. One six month that is still nursing.

I am inspired by my mom, our team captain.
I am not fast.

I am fitness and health minded (and sadly enough, size and weight conscious too.)

I am a minimalist. No stretching or shot bloks for me.

I am sick of training in long sleeve shirts and gloves for crying out loud.

I am grumpy when I don't get my run in for the day.

I am apprehensive.

I am not a runner, I just pretend.

I am running in Wasatch Back.

Yikes!

Picking a Fight

As we were dishing up our plates Hudson commented, "I'm not eating peas. I'm just not going to do it. And you can't make me!"

"That's okay," I replied. "Kids who eat their peas will get cookies for dessert."

"So how many do I have to eat?" Without any resistance at all.

Next Time

Bedtime used to be torture. Dalanie would throw a fit if her book and Book of Mormon weren't read first, if she didn't say her prayer first, and if she didn't get tooth paste on her tooth brush first. As soon as she'd start in on her tantrum, Hudson always conceded. It upset me that she always got away with it.

It took a few days, but we started alternating so each kid could have their book read or say prayers first. So when she thought about getting upset we'd remind her "next time you get to be first."

Turns out that "next time" has settled more than one fight.

"Next time me be nice." (Be nice has become her favorite answer to any question in FHE.)

"Next time me get bubble gum."

"Next tim me go to Grandma's."

"Next time, next time, next time . . . "

Half Year Birthday

Holy smokes. Ruby has been with us for 1/2 year now. Her big brother absolutely adores her. He can make her smile and giggle like no one else. He talks to her in the sweetest little voice and tells her funny things. "Who's got the craziest hair? Is it my Ruby?" Hudson is great at helping her in the car and when I'm in the middle of something.

Put the two of these girls together and you've got a lot of wild hair in the mornings. Dalanie is really good at getting anywhere Ruby is- crib, counter, anywhere she shouldn't be.
Ruby turns six months and she think she needs a sippy cup. And boy, does she throw a fit if you try to take it away. She loves to chew on everything. She's a pretty messy eater, but she's enjoying baby food.

Recently she discovered her thumb. It's cute now, I just hope she doesn't get too attached.

She can roll across a room in no time.

She prefers Mom and is getting kind of attached.

Sometimes I think we have a pterodactyl in the house because she can sure screech and squawk.

We all love her so much and can't imagine life with out her.

Meet Duke

After several job interviews and background checks, Duke got the job as our kid horse. He's an 18 year old Appaloosa so the kids are certain he likes apples. He is a very solid horse that you can trust with the kids. You can throw the kids on bareback and even let the take a turn leading (dragging as Dalanie says.)

The kids can not get enough of him. We had to wait for him to dry off this morning before they could go for a ride. Once they finally got on him, we made a loop around the yard and then it started raining again.

Brent thought the new horse was a perfect reason to come up with an odd job for the kids [me.] We went around a field and picked up triticale we missed when we chopped. Duke is a fan so the kids were satisfied with their work.

Silent Movies

Up until recently, the audio for movies was a bit difficult to enable for some of us (like babysitters and me.) Consequently, Hudson would be given the option to watch without any sound or choose something else to do. He always opted to "watch" the movie picture. On more than one occasion he would invite me to watch with him. No thanks, I'm not into silent movies.