Lake Powell 2011

Oh, I tell you, its been too long. Dear Lake Powell, how I’ve missed you! Gone are the days when Seth and I could sneak in 3 or 4 trips a year.  These days we are lucky to get that many trips to the bathroom (without a child attached to my leg, that is……)

Anywho- as luck would have it, we managed to sneak away for a much needed fall vacay- sans children!  It was great to see old friends and spend a few days relaxing in the sun.  I hope I don’t have to wait two more years this time to ski again!

Here are some of the highlights:

Relaxing with my MG ladies.

floatin

Jumping off the houseboat, and the “O” face

Enjoying an evening campfire

Oh yes- its karaoke time! I love this picture of Liz because she looks exactly like Bret Michaels, minus the eyeliner. 

And now its Zumba in the sand time.

We rented some paddle boards because Seth and the hippies (whitemyers :)  were dying to try out this new craze.  It was actually really fun.  This is a hilarious picture caught by Michelle right as Liz was falling off of hers

I think this is the only picture of me & Seth, so even though its not great, I have to use it.

Going exploring

Inside “Seth’s Crack”

Hiking up the Moqui Sand Dunes

And Men acting like enormous children on the way down…..

 

Catching up with the mission wives :)

And last, but certainly not least….. Oh, how I’ve missed you waterskiing! Until next year!!!!

Seeing Past

I found this story linked to a friend’s blog who has suffered enormously in the past year.  It is so amazing. You won't be sorry you read it. Everyone has or will feel this way at some point in this life.
We should be more Gentle.

Little Grand Canyon 1/2

Last week we ran a really fun race down here in our new ‘hood.  It was called the Little Grand Canyon Half Marathon, and if you enjoy running at all (or hate it, but do it anyway so your bum isn’t quite so jiggly…..), I definitely recommend this beautiful, scenic course!

We were lucky enough to have company.  Earlier this year, I convinced the Polad’s and the Buss’s to come stay with us and run the race.  Its always better with friends, right?  And I’m lucky to have had them, because otherwise I would have been running alone.  Seth is just too fast for me these days.  In fact, he took 3rd place in his age group thank you very much!  Our friend Jason took second.  And we must give an honorable mention to cute Ken.  If there had been a Clydesdale category, we’re sure he would have finished 1st for his size :)

Anyway- a great time was had by all.  Now if I can just get through the next 2 weeks.  Seth and I are running the St. George Marathon.  (gulp.)  I’m not sure how we got suckered into this.  I just hope we survive.  Only two more weeks and I can retire my running shoes for the year.  Momma’s gettin tired!  Need breaky.

6:30 a.m.  Getting ready to board the bus- heading for the desert!

Pre-race.  Still so excited!

 

Yea!  We made it!

And now we’re dancing.  You adore my pink scrunchee, right?

In Other News……

Just a few random events of the last few weeks that I wanted to jot down in the Wallace Family archive:

We finally made it out to see the Prehistoric Museum at C.E.U. here in Price.  The main event at said museum is this Mammoth they have on display (which incidentally was found while they were excavating a dam up on Seth’s forest).

The kids had a great time and absolutely loved all the dinosaur bones.  A guy in our ward works there and he said it is the largest collection of authentic dinosaur bones in the state and I said “What about Thanksgiving Point? They claim to be one of the largest Dino Museums in the WORLD.” He said most of their bones are fake.  Ok- he said “Replica”- but I think that means FAKE.  Huh.  Interesting.

 

Next up:  We managed to get in a few end of summer boating trips during a weekend back home before school started.

This was especially great for me because I hadn’t been out on the boat ONCE the entire summer.  (Seth managed to sneak up a few times with the kids, but I was always left home on baby duty :)

We took our friends the Whites out for an evening spin around the lake.  We also took my sister Janna’s family up for an afternoon, and finally, I got to have my annual birthday luncheon with friends out on the water.  Just us ladies lounging about, eating and sunbathing.  THAT was fun!

 

Moving on to school news:

I know I have already posted the kids 1st day of school, but about a week later, Mr. Smurfy also got to join the ranks of the school-bound as a fresh new preschooler.

awwww……isn’t he cute! 

 

Allrightee then, and last, but certainly not LEAST;

We celebrated both Kenni & Sparky’s birthday’s during a quick visit back home over Labor day weekend. (Yes, Sparky’s birthday was over 2 months ago, but he was feeling picked on because we moved during his fiesta, and he claims he never got a real “friend” party, so we made it a combo…..)

Just a side note- the frosting on this cake made me suicidal……

The GIRL party

The BOY party

BFF’s.  Miss you Buggy.

Ten Years Ago Today

None of us will ever forget.  Where were you on Sept. 11th, 2001? Everyone has a story.  Mine is a little unusual.

I was here.

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby girl.  My first child- 10 years old. She loves to commemorate 9/11, and is surprisingly introspective for a 10 year old.  She thinks about those brave men and women each year, and we talk about what it means to live in a free country and have so many blessings. She is especially sad this year because her old school was having a special assembly for the 10 year anniversary, and she so badly wanted to be there.

So, I guess we’ll have to do our remembering here, as a family.  Thank you to all who serve our country. Thank you to those who put their lives on the line for our safety, and for our freedom.  To those who lost loved ones on that terrible day- we will never forget. 

For the Wallaces, though- we will never forget for another reason.  It was the day we became a Family. And isn’t that what its all about? (Life, that is?)

(p.s.- just in case you were wondering; yes, I am aware that I look like a 12 year old child in these pictures.  For the record, I was actually a mature twenty-two :)

Sunday Drivin

So here’s how our Sunday afternoons go here in Price.  (After Church, of course :)

Seth: “Kids- get in the car, we’re going exploring!”

Kids: “Groan.  Whine.  Complain. Murmur.”

Seth: “C’mon!  Its going to be fun!”

Kids: “How long is it going to take?”  “Am I going to barf this time?”  “Can we get ice cream when we get there?”

Seth: “Not very long, No! and No!”

Kids: “Groan.  Whine.  Complain.  Murmur.  Ok, I guess we’ll come.”

 

Several hours, and five TIRED kids later, we are heading home.  All have had a great time, and all are glad we went, but sometimes we’re not sure about that Daddy of ours.

This time our destination was the Little Grand Canyon.  If you have never heard of this little gem (I hadn’t before we moved here), its located in the San Rafael Swell, and its just a hop and a skip from our home here.  Seth and I are running a race that goes right through it this next weekend, so we wanted to go & check out the course.

Its so, so beautiful!  There was a lot to see and do.  I definitely recommend exploring this lesser known part of our great state.  There is so much we don’t know is right under our noses!

We found this old bridge right at the end of the marathon course.  It is the last of its kind.  The only remaining “swinging bridge” in the state of Utah.  Seth kept trying to scare the begeebe’s out of me by jumping up and down and making it sway.

There is a great pictograph panel down Buckhorn Wash (?) that we will run right past.  We met some really nice folks from Orangeville while we were here.  Real Country folk.  Salt of the Earth.  Honestly some of the nicest people I’ve met.

BTW- this is also the spot where we realized we had left Molly (our dog).  We realized the last place we had seen her was back at the swinging bridge, so we headed back in the car to find her.

…And this was where we found her.  Just wandering down the middle of the road.  (The DOG, not our baby.  We’re not that neglectful…..)  We just let Baby J out to roam for a minute because she was sick of the car :)

There is just a little glimpse into the Wallace’s life on a Sunday afternoon.  I’m starting to realize that a year is just not enough time to see everything there is to see down here.  (At the same time that I am realizing that a year is WAY TOO LONG to be away from all that we love so dear).  Anyway- we are hoping to make the best of it by seeing all that we can and broadening our horizons, so to speak :)