Its Harvest Time

When I moved here, I really hoped to find a group of moms willing to do a co-op preschool with me. I did one with Taylor when she was 3 and I really wanted to do one with Will as well. I wasn't sure with being new to the area that I would find people fast enough to start one this fall. Some moms in my ward heard about my interest and invited me to join them. I in turn invited two other moms who were also new to the ward making our group complete with 6 cute little 3 year olds. I feel blessed not only to have Will involved in a fun little preschool but it has also been a great resource for me to get to know other moms with common goals and interests (giving our kids a chance to learn and grow for one).

This week was my turn to be teacher. Our theme was Harvest and we made pumpkin cookies and played a harvest sorting game at my house on Tuesday. On Thursday we went to Gilcrease Orchard. I was truley amazed that this valley I live in could produce crops! Will had so much fun picking his own pumpkin as well as some apples. I hope to come here again with all of my family and pick even more.

First Day of Kindergarten

Taylor started school on Monday, September 15th with Track1 at Smalley Elementary School. She has the morning session. It is taking some time for us to learn we can't lollygag in the morning anymore but this is a good thing for Mommy. Taylor has been looking so forward to this day and I was excited for her as well because she could use the structure and friendships she will develop.









We only live a half mile from the school so we have been walking. The weather is too hot by the time she gets out of school at 11:25 and since the school isn't so crowded, I go ahead and pick her up in the car.

It was good to see a familiar face at school. This is a picture of Taylor and one of her friends from Primary who she has had a couple of play dates with.


Taylor says, "I loved my first day of school!"









Taylor is such a poser. This is inside her classroom. Kindergarten rocks! The last picture is the face I saw on Taylor as I was walking out of the room. I was afraid she was starting to feel some emotion which was in turn getting my emotions going so I turned and left the room promptly as I didn't want her to see me cry. After school when she had told me about her day, I asked if she had cried when I left and she said she got some tears in her eyes just because she was tired. I think my kids are couch potatoes and the 1/2 mile walk was a bit much. This morning she complained about the walk and I decided to be firm and let her know that her legs will get stronger. We after all are going to Disneyland shortly and she won't have any fun if she's not more used to walking!

Happy Anniversary at Orderville Canyon

We went on the most amazing hike for our anniversary. We traveled to Zion National Park where we got engaged. Shaley Schroeder came over Friday night and stayed with us in St. George so that we could get up at 4:30 Saturday morning to head to the park. We met up with Ethan and Scotty around 5:45 in the morning in La Verkin at the LDS Chapel. We then went on to the Zion National Park Visitor Center to meet up with Brandon Worrell and Jennifer Winfree to round out our party. Our shuttle van arrived at 6:30 in the morning, taking us through the park and down a BLM dirt road to a corral about 1.5 miles from the Orderville Canyon trailhead. Because of the slight rough nature of the road, the shuttle would not take us any further. We set out just after 7:30 in the morning, and spent about 45 minutes walking down the rest of this "very rough" road.
When we got to the actual trailhead, the road basically ended and we dropped down into the wash. We followed the wash for a while until we got to a very large drop off.
Unfortunately, rappelling down the 100 foot waterfall was not in the cards as our rope was only 50 feet long, so we wound around the side. The canyon was awesome as it narrowed and widened. There was no water in the upper part of the canyon, though there was evidence like this small log that water had traveled here before.After a relaxing morning stroll, we arrived at the park boundry and the first obstacle around 10:30 in the morning. This was a short rappel down the side of a large choke stone into a pool of rank, stagnant water. Though we have traveled through worse pools of water, they have been few and far between. Much to our chagrin, we did not encounter clean water to rinse off for some time.
Eventually the water started to enter the canyon, and we started to have fun climbing over obstacles and splashing through the water.
There were some nice wide sections of canyon, and some very deep, narrow sections as well. This little slot was so tall and narrow we couldn't get a picture of the whole thing from top to bottom. There were some other groups behind us, so we trudged on through some absolutely amazing narrow sections of the canyon in and out of the water.At times the slot was so amazing there was little else to do but look up in amazement. Around 12:30 we came to the second major obstacle, the guillotine. There was a large choke stone suspended in the slot above a second large choke stone. The choke stone on the top had obviosly been there for a long time, and there was even a tree growing on the top of it.
On the downstream side of the bottom choke stone was a nice little rappell into a pool.Once we got down, the canyon turned into a natural water park. Because of the water, we were able to take very few pictures, but we had a great time.
The natural waterslides never stopped coming. There were many pools we had to swim through, waterfalls that had to be carefully downclimbed, and slippery rocks to navigate. Scotty lost his hat with when jumping into a pool we never found the bottom of.The water was very cold, and it was hard to find sun in the bottom of the canyon to keep warm. The cold finally took its toll, and the fun started to wear off and the shivers settled in.Finally we got to the confluence of Orderville Canyon and the Zion Narrows. The narrows were wider than Orderville, and though the water was more plentiful, so was the sun. And the swimming was over. Like so much of the area we had traversed, the Zion Narrows was a brilliant contrast of red rock and luscious green. The canyon seemed to have more water flowing into it than either of us ever remember, and the foilage was both plentiful and striking. While this isn't a trip Cydnee will be embarking on anytime soon, we would be shocked if Eric doesn't visit again next July to cool off from the Vegas sun. Perhaps with a quick juant down Birch Creek at the begining to mix things up?

Side Note by Cydnee: This was a bitter sweet experience for me. While the hike offered some incredible beauty, I couldn't shake the chill that put all my muscles and joints in a frozen state during the last mile of Orderville. I was a little worried about the repelling opsticles within our hike but they ended up being no big deal compared to the "natural water park" part. This was the longest mile I have experienced in my life! I never expected that with temperatures hovering near the 100 degree mark in the Park, I would have to wear a wet suit or even a jacket. My limits were definitley challenged and now that its over, I'm glad I can say I did it but...I think I will keep to dry hiking and slot canyons in the future. :)

Just some funny things I love about my Reagan

Reagan has been timid about walking and would maybe take some steps when Eric or I coaxed her but not much otherwise. And then...one morning she woke up and seemed to decide that walking was her preferred form of transportation. Now she is walking all over the place and if she falls down she just gets back up again. I love seeing babies in the new walker stage. They are just so precious to see toddling around. She has a love for blankies, towels, and any fabric she can get her hands on. She has a particular love for a little blankie her Aunt Dawn gave to her. She likes to put it on her head and walk around this way until she bumps into something. She is also a pro with climbing up and sliding down her little tot slide. A couple of weeks ago, I found some cheap little Disney shirts and I thought it would be cute to buy matching shirts for Reagan and Taylor that have Minnie and Daisy on them with the words "2 cuties" so that they can wear them when we go to Disneyland. Reagan clung to this shirt in the store and when we got home. The next day when I chose it for her to wear, she got so excited to put it on. Later after it had gone through the wash, she found it in the laundry basket and brought it to me so excited for a chance to wear it again. She's a funny girl and I love her little fat face!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day weekend we got to see Grandma and Grandpa Schroeder. They spent a couple of days with us before heading back east on an extensive road trip to Florida and up to Maryland to visit other relatives. We also went on a little hike to explore a narrow slot canyon just off the Lake Mead road. This was fun to do with the kids because it was short and very family friendly. Eric and I got a kick out of watching Taylor lead the way through the slot and we knew that she was getting the same excitement from this playful slot canyon that we get when we explore slot canyons. Both Will and Taylor gained confidence in their abilities as they climbed up the rocks and insisted on doing it themselves. Reagan giggled as she could feel the bouncing motion sitting in the pack on her daddy's back having a great view of all of us around her.

This weeks rambles...

We've been in Henderson now for 10 weeks! I think Taylor is starting to get bored of this new place and keeps asking when we will move back to Utah. She misses her friends (her cousins) and I'm a little worried. Most of the kids started back to school today but her track (only choice if I wanted the morning session) doesn't begin until September 15th. I hope she can meet friends then and that meanwhile, I can be a little more proactive about arranging playdates with other kids her age. Fortunately, I received a visiting teaching assignment and visiting teachers in the past couple of weeks and this has given me more resources in getting to know more people and finding out more information about the area (ie: what doctors do you recommend, where do you take your daughter to dance, etc.) I really hope I can start providing Taylor with more opportunities to make friends besides church. Thank goodness though for Church as I don't know how I would meet people otherwise. I really want to extend myself to some of my surrounding and immediate neighbors because its really important to me to KNOW my neighbors but the hot weather keeps us all inside and I'm seriously afraid of walking across the street to knock on someones door to invite their family over for dinner. I'm afraid if they said "no" that I might choke up and have to run home to cry! :) Unless I think people might need me, I'm very shy in approaching them. Any advice from those of you that have moved away from family?

We have continued to make some progress around the house including the organizing and cleaning of the office. That's a big relief! We have some new furniture for our family room downstairs but I need some help accessorizing including a room size rug to go on the tile. I sure don't want to have to spend over $200 for that. Any recommendations?

Eric got me a Wii Fit for our anniversary (gave it to me early). I've been looking for one of these forever and he finally came across some in stock when he went to Fry's Electronics for some computer parts. It is a lot of fun and is helping me be more motivated about exercising which is important since we have a big hike coming up on our actual anniversary day. I am really looking forward to our adventure down Orderville Canyon. Every year that I'm not pregnant, I select a big hike to do without the kids. In the past it has been an overnighter but this one is just a day hike. It will be a great way for Eric and I to celebrate our 7 years together. Read more about it on Joe Braun's amazing pictures of Orderville Canyon.

A Great Weekend Getaway!

Nana and Papa flew down to Las Vegas to spend our extended weekend with us. We left on Thursday morning to head to a condo in Flagstaff, AZ. Flagstaff sits at an elevation of around 7,000 ft., so this was an escape from the heat as well as an escape from day to day living.

The first day we were there, we took an historic train ride to the Grand Canyon (South Rim). Will and Taylor thoroughly enjoyed this chance to ride on a train. Though most of us had visited the Grand Canyon from other vantage points, none of us had seen it from the South Rim which happens to be the most visited part of the Park. We spent the 3 hours the train gave us to explore, to hike along the rim, and eat lunch at the Bright Angel Lodge. We also got the kids hats and spent a lot of time planning out in our minds and in our conversation a future trip in which we will hike from the North to the South Rim. Someday. That evening we ate dinner back at the condo and took the kids for an evening swim. Always one of their favorite parts of any trip!






























The second day, we went South. There is SO much to do between and around Flagstaff and Sedona that we may have to make another trip to get it all in. Some of the things we ended up doing: the drive through Oak Creek Canyon (gorgeous and probably a lot of great hiking to be done though we didn't get a chance), Montezuma's Castle and Well (Indian ruins from around 1100 AD), grocery shop in Sedona (needed some lunch supplies--such a beautiful area by the way but very hot like LV so we won't go there again to explore more unless its spring or fall), 4x4 drive down Schnebly Hill Road (SPECTACULAR scenery!!), and Slide Rock State Park (the best swim hole with natural water slides--don't try and go on a Saturday like we did). We've had some great fun this past month of July and now we need to get serious about getting settled into our house. That is what I hope will happen during this month of August. No plans--no excuses. Hopefully we will have our common areas decorated and furnished (I'm no good at this-decisions) downstairs and have our office cleaned and organized by the end of this month. Now that its in writing, I'm more likely to accomplish these goals especially since you will all hold me accountable!