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.