Emma's Birthday

Emma turned 3 on Monday! I can't believe how old she is. With our upcoming move we decided to postpone a party with family until after we're settled in our new place. I don't think she'll be too upset with me or hate me for that. =) We wanted to do something fun with her though. We went bowling and mini golfing. It was her first time doing either, and she loved it.


She was so cute while she bowled - carrying the ball and struggling a little under the weight. She is a perfectionist, because everytime the ball hit some of the pins, instead of being excited or happy she just wanted to knock down the remaining pins. She was almost mad and upset that they had the audacity to remain standing. It was funny. Eric won the bowling, but Emma and I didn't do too bad (I guess it's all relative - maybe you're laughing at my score thinking how pathetic I am - so rude).



The miniature golfing was glow in the dark, and so pictures inside were not allowed. It had a dinosaur theme which she loved. I made up for my bowling performance. Eric and I both came in under par, but I beat him by 7 strokes. Yea me!! I lost count with Emma. Either she got a hole in one (by dropping the ball into the hole), or had about 30 strokes or so. She had so much fun. Afterwards we decided to go to Chili's. I think Emma enjoyed her cake a little too much. What do you think?When we got home we gave her a few of the presents we had for her. And yes, if you look closely enough that is Christmas wrap. My house is chaotic right now...I was lucky to find that! And yes that's a winter sleeper she's wearing in the middle of August - she's just been cold lately...even on 100 degree days. What can I say, she's wierd. As far as her presents go, she got a new purple moon chair (which she wanted to sleep in), some playdough, a fishing game, some coloring books, a doctor's kit, and of course some goodies. After we move we'll give her the rest of her presents (as soon as we unbox them). I think she had fun, because she kept singing the happy birthday song to herself all day.

Canoe Trip

Last week Eric went on a canoe trip in Canyonlands. This was the first main trip our canoe has been on. There is a company that works out of Moab that rents equipment if you need it, but this time he brought ours. He did the same trip last year with my siblings, and this year was joined by my siblings again along with my sister-in-law Heather, Michaels girlfriend Melissa, Jill's in-laws and their kids, and Eric's brother Nathan. It sounds like everyone had fun. I didn't go (last year either) because Emma is too young to sit on a canoe for 5 days. I was glad Eric was able to go and that he had so much fun. Here are some of the highlights.

Getting ready to start

Along the way they stopped and hiked up to see different things like caves or old abandoned structures.

Of course, the scenery was always flawless! You just can't beat southern Utah.

After long days of working hard (hee-hee)...

...they camped in a different spot each night and tried to relax.

One night they had a visitor. He convinced several people to get out their tents. A few people remained out in the open, but before you start thinking about how brave they were, check out the barrier they created to keep their "friend" away.

The last day they went on a hike before being picked up by the same company that dropped them off. According to Eric and Nathan, this was the hardest hike they've ever been on. That's probably due to the fact that it has a 1,000 ft climb in just a 1/2 mile of trail. The total hike is about 6 miles long. The view from the top and along the way seems to indicate that it's worth it, although it might take more to convince me. Besides the views, the hike contains some narrow parts and old structures. Did I mention the amazing views?!!

You can see the trail in the bottom left of this picture and can follow it right on up the middle of the cliffside. Yup, this cliffside was the really hard part.

In the picture below, if you look really hard you can see some of the hikers at the bottom of the main climb. It gives you some perspective as to how big it was.

After the hike they were picked up and taken back to their cars. Ahh! I bet those cold drinks tasted beyond delicious.

Worthy of a Gold Medal

First of all, if you have seen this I am sorry for the repeat. I saw this on a friends blog (thanks Christy!!) and she saw it on another blog, so it's made the rounds. These are hilarious videos. I actually saw this guy perfom when I was younger at a U of U gymnastics meet. He's even funnier in person. Anyway, enjoy!!

The Many Faces of Emma

On Wednesday we went to dinner at the Roof with my family. My cousin and his wife from California were on their way to London and had a layover, so we got together to see them. Just for fun we decided to take the Frontrunner train instead of driving. Emma loves trains and had a great time. On our ride home, she was pulling lots of different faces, so naturally we documented them.

Normal & Sad

Happy & Shark

Mad (even though she's smirking) & Fish

Dinosaur & Scared

Monster & Sleeping

Scary & Concentrating

This type of concentration as seen in the last photo only occurs when her entire being is totally focused on something hugely important... like drinking chocolate milk. This was only a sampling of the faces she made. She's very entertaining to say the least.

Ralph Thomas Meadows

Last Sunday Eric's grandfather passed away. He had a great southern accent, and always had a smile on his face. I wish I could have gotten to know him better. Here is his obituary.

Ralph Thomas Meadows, 82, was born November 8, 1925, in El Dorado and passed away Sunday, August 10, 2008 at the Medical Center of South Arkansas.

He was the son of Claude & Evelee Meadows; a veteran in the United States Marine Corp, serving during World War II; and was a unit and shift supervisor for American Oil Co., where he retired after 37 years of service.

He was a longtime member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, where he served as Branch President and two times as Bishop. He and his wife Dee served three missions for the church.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his first wife of 46 years, Eddie Rae Meadows.

He is survived by his wife, Dolores "Dee" Meadows of El Dorado; three sons, Mike Meadows and wife Mary of El Dorado, Larry Meadows and wife Debbie of Loveland, CO and Randy Meadows and wife Donna of Loveland, CO; and one daughter, Marsha Hunter and husband Jack of California.

Also surviving him are two step-sons, Rick Charon and wife, Dorris of Missouri and Paul Charon and wife Diane of Chino Valley, AZ; two step-daughters, Laura Kalinski of Washington and Rebecca Sherwood and husband, James of Missouri; 25 grandchildren; and 50 great-grandchildren.

The funeral service will be at 10am Thursday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints with Bishop Spencer Singleton and Counselor Richard Lowden officiating. Interment will follow at Rest Haven Memorial Park under the direction of Young's Funeral Directors.

Chugga Chugga Choo Choo

We recently took Emma to a train museum close to us. She loves trains and always notices when there are tracks near us or when a train passes us or blows it's whistle... anything to do with trains. She loves playing with her trains, and always enjoys seeing her cousin who also loves trains (probably more than she does). So we were really excited to see what her reaction would be to the museum. She loved it. She was able to get on several different types of trains and other vehicles made for traveling along the tracks. There were small trains she could watch up close, and a model of a Kaboose she could climb in. She already wants to go back!

Airplane Museum

A couple days ago Eric took Emma to an airplane museum not far from us. Emma loves planes, and so needless to say she was very excited. She loved them! It was funny to see the pictures of how small she is next to these huge planes.

Moving Again

Okay, so we're moving again. I know, I know, we just barely moved!! It just hasn't worked out like we had planned to live up here. We will be out by the end of August. I don't have any idea where we will be moving to exactly, but I hope to soon. Oh boy, I can't wait to start packing again. Can you feel the sarcasm? It won't be as hard as last time though simply because half of our stuff is still in boxes. We have never had enough room here for all of our belongings (a lot was left by the owners). It will be nice to know where all my things are again. Wish us luck in finding a place we like really fast. Uggh!