Pond Skimming at The Canyons

After a snowy start, yesterday turned blue skies and we decided to take everyone and head to the Pond Skimming event at The Canyons. If you haven't seen this event before, it's very fun to watch. People in crazy costumes on snowboards, skis, or telemark skis trying to make it across a freezing cold pond.

The kids loved the people mover and the gondola rides. Jake had a perma-grin on his face on the way up the mountain. Kenn met us there, along with Tyler & Stella. Jake had a good time watching some of the participants in the event. One of our friends Chris dressed up as a ninja on telemark skis. He unfortunately didn't make it past the first few feet of the pond before doing a hard face plant. Stevie just wanted to run around in the snow and pick up other people's poles. We ended the event with some expensive french fries and fry sauce. Kenn and Jake took a little ride on the food tray as well before we hopped back on the gondola for the ride back down the mountain.

Zoo Friday

Jake has been talking about the zoo quite a bit lately so we decided to go last Friday. The Bergs joined us, along with Katrina's mother Sonny. The weather was pretty cold (30's and 40's), but I think that helped the crowds stay very low. The animals entertained and were mostly pretty lively. Stevie loved the monkeys and Jake loved the snakes this time.

We went to the zoo with the Bergs late in the fall last year. It's really amazing how much all of the kids have changed since then. We decided to split a membership because the price was so reasonable, so I'm sure we will be going more often.

Easter Festivities

Last weekend was filled with Easter festivities. We enjoyed getting to see so many family and friends. We enjoyed all the food and candy a little too much as well. By the time everything was said and done, the kids did a total of 5 Easter Egg Hunts. We sent the majority of the candy that we accumulated to work with Steve so that we wouldn't eat all of it :-)

On Saturday we headed to American Fork for the Annual Draper Hunt. This is usually held at Grandma Helen's house in Wallsburg, so it was a little hard to adjust to the change at first. Other than being a little cold at times, everyone had a great time blowing bubbles, riding skateboards, eating, playing volleyball, and just catching up. Jake & Stevie were excited to get so many eggs in their baskets this time around. Plenty to go around for sure.

On Sunday we let the kids find their baskets from the Easter Bunny. They really weren't all that excited about that part. But luckily...they did love the bubbles and books that the Easter Bunny left. Before we went to church the McClellands had us over for breakfast snacks and a little egg hunt as well. The kids had a blast hunting with their neighborhood best buddies.

I always love the messages shared at church meetings on Easter Sunday. The kids were wound up with all of the candy and events and I couldn't get them to remotely sit still. So I gave up and went to the Mother's Room, turned the volume up so I could hear the speakers, and just let the kids play. It actually worked pretty well but I know I shouldn't get used to that.

On Sunday afternoon we headed to Heber for the Annual Lee Easter Egg Hunt. Jake & Stevie were excited to see their cousins again and play. Kace and Kassidy helped them find lots of candy on the hunt. The kids stayed in their church Easter outfits most of the day. As you can see by some of the pictures, the clothes were covered in mud, chocolate, food (you name it) by the end of it all.

I'm happy that we got to participate in the family traditions for Easter. It's always something that we look forward to every year.

Steve's Trip to Wallowa Huts

Steve came back last weekend from the Wallowa Hut trip. He went with some good friends - Tyler, Todd, and Dave. He literally came back beaming...said it was the best hut trip yet. They had good conditions, good food, good accommodations, and most of all good terrain. The video and pictures are amazing. I really can't imagine doing all of the hiking that they did over the 4 day span. Here are a few of the pictures and I hope to post some video too if I can figure it out.

Crotch Rocket

Zeke’s nose is a crotch rocket. (Steve came up with that title for this blog entry). For those of you who don’t know Zeke, he is our 7 year old dog. He is a mutt, but we had come up with the name Ger-hound-ita because he appears to be a mix of german shepherd, greyhound, and akita. Anyway…he loves to immediately sniff crotches and bums when people come over. One of his traits that we don’t like…but many of you have experienced this. Zeke has slowed down a little this year, nothing major, just walks a little slower around the house and naps more often. I’m sure he is looking forward to biking season with Steve.

We also have our border collie Tippy who is now 6 years old. She is a very loving dog who can be very mischievous when given too much time alone. Tippy particularly loves my Dad, who was her original owner…and Kenn Whitney, one of our friends. She inches her way up on the couch when they come over for a visit and eventually we look over and she is on their laps.

We love our dogs and try to spend time with them. Unfortunately they have taken a back seat to the kids so we don’t get to take them out as much as we should. Zeke is very strong and hard to hold on a leash, so taking both kids and both dogs proves to be very difficult. I do love it when all 6 of us can go on a walk…me with the kids and Steve with the dogs.

Things I Love About My Kids

In an effort to focus on the positive and funny things my kids do...I'm writing today about a few things I love about my kids.

Jake - I love that he says "last day" instead of "yesterday." I don't blame him for being confused because we don't say "yesternight"...we say "last night." Jake uses that phrase to mean any day in the past, not just yesterday. My other favorite phrase is "That's a really good idea!" The phrase itself is not that funny...but it is the way he says it. He really sounds like he has a deep southern accent when he says "idea." Sounds almost like my nephew Sam McClendon :-)

Stevie Kate - She cracks herself up and everyone else around her when she hears a bodily noise. Such joy in little things that are gross. I can't help but laugh, especially when she tries to repeat the noise and can't quite figure out how to do it.

Steve is Gone...Staying Busy

Steve was gone from Wednesday morning to late last night. While he was gone...I decided the best thing to do was stay really busy so the time would go by fast.

Miranda came to visit and stay with us on Wednesday night. We had a good time catching up and the kids got along great. The only dilemma was that Maya and Jake wanted to sleep in the same room. That proved to be a bad idea after about an hour and a half of play time before Maya moved to the guest room with Miranda and Gavin.

We went to Discovery Gateway Thursday morning and met up with Katrina, Denett, and the kids. The place was so crowded, and I think we all had a difficult time keeping our own children in sight. Anneclaire and Maya tended to be the "lost" ones most often. Independent girls :-) It was fun to see all of the kids explore and play together. My camera didn't work but I know Katrina and Denett got some good pics.

Friday morning we went to the Field House and met up with all of our neighborhood friends. Stevie loved to jump in the blow-up houses and Jake loved to run around and play tag with his buddies. After we had lunch with the McClellands.

We continued the fun later in the day with a movie. Jake and I went to see "Horton Hears a Who." Cute cute movie. Jake ate a huge bag of popcorn all by himself and giggled throughout the entire movie. Luckily Stevie was able to go run errands with Grandma and Grandpa instead of sitting through a movie :-)

Saturday we kicked off Easter with the annual Park City Moms Easter Egg Hunt. It was a very strange event this year because of the 2 feet of snow still at the park and the low temperatures. The snowstorm stayed away until the afternoon...so at least we didn't have snow falling from the sky too. Jake and Stevie were more interested in seeing their friends and running around than actually picking up eggs. They both only picked up two eggs and that was with help from Mom. The Easter Bunny paid a visit, but they were both too nervous to go near him.

Saturday night we decided to have a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Quite a few of the Draper clan showed up around dinner time to visit, so it was fun to see everyone. We went to church on Sunday to hear Grandpa give a great talk to remind us all to spend more special family time together.

Leap Frog DVD

I have to give it to Aunt Krissy...she gave the kids an awesome DVD for Christmas called Leap Frog Letter Factory. THANK YOU! She told me Cooper really loved it and learned quite a bit. Even with that information, I am in amazement at how much Jake and even Stevie have learned from what they call the "Froggy Movie."

Jake now sings the song from the movie and can say every letter and what that letter says. He has been pointing out various letters on signs and in books. Amazing progress. I know he has been learning letters at preschool as well so I know that is part of the progress too. Yesterday Stevie and I were looking at an alphabet book and she pointed out "A" and "B" before I could read that part to her. Anyway...I highly recommend that DVD.

Update on Baby Hough

Almost two weeks ago I felt this little baby move inside my tummy. That is such an amazing feeling and one of my favorite parts of pregnancy. (Yes...even when it keeps me up at night :-) I have felt the same movement three or four times now and I really look forward to those times. I'm almost 18 weeks now and just finished pulling all of the maternity clothes out of storage and into my closet. It's really strange how your belly pops out really fast on the third pregnancy.

We have an ultrasound scheduled at the end of the month to get a full check up on Baby. We are thinking about taking Jake because I think he would enjoy it. He keeps saying we are having a boy and I have tried to let him know that it could be a girl. We'll all have to wait until August to find out.

Stevie's Outfit

Stevie is much more particular about her clothes and shoes than Jake is. Girl vs. boy trait. This morning Steve was getting ready to ski and Stevie wanted to join in the fun. She brought me one of her hats and Jake's ski boots. We put them on her thinking she would hate the boots. Not so...she kept this outfit on for about an hour and I finally convinced her to take the boots off when she couldn't walk upstairs.

Happy Birthday Dad!

My Dad, a.k.a. Grandpa D, celebrated his 59th birthday yesterday with a ski day. He still loves to ski and gets out when he can...aging gracefully :-) Skiing is something that our family has enjoyed for so many years (thanks to Mom & Dad who put us all in ski lessons).

Quite a few of the Draper clan went to Deer Valley to ski and enjoy the warm weather & being together. The blue sky quickly went cloudy and the wind picked up, but we mostly made it out before the snow started in the afternoon. The guys definitely pushed Kace to go off many jumps and do many mogul runs. Lindsay and Tracie joined in that quite a bit too. I only skied a few runs with Jake and then my Dad. This pregnancy has started to make me a little bit wary on skis. I tipped over twice yesterday just standing still on my skis :-) Jake was bribed with a big Deer Vally cookie when he finished skiing.

Congratulations Katrina!

On Wednesday we went to the Wasatch County Library to see Katrina's art exhibit. I love her paintings and I'm in awe that she finds time to paint among all of the other responsibilities and hobbies that she has. Congratulations! Here are our 2 favorites. Uncle Woodrow's house brings back so many memories from my childhood :-)

Love for Dairy Keen

It is really hard for me to go to Heber or through Heber without stopping at Dairy Keen a.k.a. The Train Place. Not only do I love it (frozen yogurt shakes) but Jake and Stevie LOVE LOVE it. It's one of only a few places to eat where my children are completely entertained and quiet during my whole meal. Now they generally don't eat much until they are in the car on the way home...but at least everyone is happy :-) On Wednesday we stopped in for lunch and played on the train outside for a few minutes before going in to eat.

Steve's Skiing Prep

Steve has been doing quite a bit of skate skiing and back country tours lately in preparation for his upcoming hut trip. They are going to Wallowa Huts in Joseph, OR in about 2 1/2 weeks from now. It looks like a great trip, check it out at www.wallowahuts.com. Last Friday he told me that he, Todd, and Tyler were going to leave the house at 5:30 a.m. and do a "dawn hike" to ski a peak in Parley's Canyon. When does Steve ever get up before 8 a.m.? They didn't end up going because the conditions weren't right, but he was seriously considering it. Skiing truly is his passion.