Free Family Fun

One goal of ours this summer is to get lots and lots of exercise. The other is to not spend a fortune entertaining the kids. This is a free and really fun activity to do. We went on this walk just north of my house. It is The Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve. This is so close to my house and has taken us 3 years to make it too. I am sad we waited so long.

Anyone in my neighborhood knows that you can see this tower out in the distance. It is kinda like a tree house with a great view of antelope island. The walk is about a one mile loop on a boardwalk. Their is information through out the walk telling you about the preserve and the animals that live there. We were lucky enough to see lots of birds and were surprised by seeing a fox.

I would recommend walking during cooler weather and not during a time of night when bugs would be out. We went the other day at 10 am with no problems. That is one thing we can thank this crazy spring for. It is definitely cool enough to enjoy some of this stuff.

And the other front tooth of Leah's finally decided to come out.

The girls had their dance recital. It seemed to take over Saturday. We had a 2 hour run through in the morning. And the recital that evening. They both did a great job. The costumes are of course the funnest part. But also crazy for me. I had to do 5 costume changes each within just a few minutes of them going back on. It was quite the rush. In the mean time I tried to get some good photos. Only to find out when I got home that my zoom lens was set to manual focus and my image stabilization was off. Darn. So don't mind the blurry photos while the dances are going on.

Cute kitty cats warming up

Little ballerinas

Eva the frog. They danced to a cute song about a frog that knows how to tap dance.

Leah tap danced to "Working at the Carwash."

I really wish this wasn't blurry because Eva is cracking me up. The kitty cats danced to "I Wanna Be A DJ on the Radio."

Leah's ballet dance was a beautiful classical song

Leah's jazz number was "Me and My Shadow."

Funny story too. When we were watching back the performance on the video camera Leah said, " I didn't do very good, look I didn't even cross my feet there. It felt like I was doing a much better job."

Memorial Day

This year we had the traditional Memorial Day. In the past we didn't think the kids were old enough to understand that mommy's sister had past away. But this year they kept asking why we had a day off school and seemed to be ready. We went up to Logan and really had the most beautiful day.

Aggie Ice Cream. A must. Ronan is enjoying Aggie Blue Mint.

Daddy took us on an adventure instead of a boring old hike.

Papa joined us for all the festivities of the day. I loved hiking with him because it brought back all the memories of being a little girl. Every nice Sunday we went up the canyon on a hike. Because me and my sisters just like our children had a ton of energy.

Leah was so excited to go that before we left the house she packed the backpack. Without my help she added in toilet paper, which we needed. And she put in a first aid kit, which we needed. Way to be prepared Leah.

It was the perfect day. Beautiful weather, the canyon green as it will ever get. I love being outside.

So in order to get to the Goblin Caves we had to cross a river. Dave made it across with only getting his shoes wet.

Here is the log we attempted to cross. Well I went first and got my foot stuck and totally fell in. My whole shorts were wet for a hour afterward. The best part was that after hiking around we found a bridge that went across.

We watched a movie that had pictures of Tara. The kids were so little that they don't remember her. But there is pictures of Tara holding Leah and Eva. Eva remarked that she cant wait to see her and when would that be. We also had a little bit of education of the correct way to say someone died. Leah and Eva kept saying we are going to the graveyard to see all the dead people. We had to keep correcting them it was passed away.

Saturday we attempted the Real Game with all the kids. To my surprise they did really well. It totally helped that we had the Carmack's and their big kids to watch mine. And the seats on the first row behind the goal were very exciting. Not to mention the cotton candy and popcorn.

A Bath Tub

This is apparently what happens when you tell Ronan to wait awhile to take his bath. I came in from working outside to find water all over the kitchen. He had used about 10 different cups. Filled them up in the sink and then poured the water into this sled. I kinda thought we were through this big mess phase.

Baby Birds

We raised some baby birds. Alright mama bird did but I am not sure they would have survived without us.

Here they are as tiny babies. Within 2 weeks they were grown and jumping out of the nest. I was surprised how fast they got big.

This is the start of where I am sure that we saved their lives. The birds jumped out of their nest but couldn't fly yet. I was confused isn't that how it works. The birds jump out and then they fly off. Well not ours. The 3 chicks sat in the grass I was sure that they had broken a leg. But no they were fine. Soon they were walking around our yard. They would go from the back to the front. Jump in the window wells and get stuck. I had to rescue them over and over again. Until Leah set up a plank of wood so they could walk out. One even spent the day in our shed. Mama bird was still around squawking at us from the rooftop. She kept those birds fed. Then about a week later they were gone. I am told from the girls that they learned how to fly.

Here is Dave preforming what we thought was a rescue mission. I was too freaked out because I thought this bird was close to death. Dave put on his soccer goalie gloves and attempted to put the bird back in the nest. It then jumped right back out. It was an adventure for sure.

Animal Sitting

I have to admit since we sold poor Lucky Leah has been animal deprived. She jumps at any chance to play with anything that has 4 legs. She spent the afternoon yesterday delivering notes to our neighbors. She wrote this herself I just typed.

Leah's animal watching. Available everyday starting June 5th. Any type of animal. Call 801-544-9942 ask for Leah Ratchford. Charge is 25 cents per animal to get watched.

Thank You,
Leah

SWAGGER WAGON

You know we are all so cool in our minivans thought you would all enjoy this. If you need a good laugh this morning watch.

Mothers Day Festivities

Leah's teacher hosted a Mom's and Muffins on Friday. They had made us the cute flower pot Leah is holding, a necklace. Also a darling book about why mom is special. Titled my mom is special because....Leah said, "She plays Wii with me, she teaches me how to color, she makes money for me, she takes me to swim, she show me how to swim, she loves it when I do her work." I loved being with Leah and having her read the books she had picked out for us.

Eva's preschool teacher hosted a mini singing program for us. The kids served us lunch. Then they sang some of the songs they have been working on in class. She had designed a flower pot for me too. I am well on my way to a garden with all the flowers.

Also one last thing I wanted to share. Leah wrote me a song she sang to me when I woke up on Sunday. I just wanted to write down the lyrics for you all to enjoy.

The best mom in the world

To Rachel

From Leah - It's a song.

My mom Rachel is good and kind to others

O Rachel O Rachel you are sweet like sugar

She is nice and beatiful she loves me and you

Rachel it Mothers Day this is your present

I made you this because I love you

Dance Photos

We had a great photographer come do our dance photos. I am excited with how they turned out. I decided to buy them since this may be the last year of dance for awhile. Unfortunately they are not dancing queens and complain about going every time I take them. In Leah's words, " I am just more of a sporty girl. And when I get older and go to dance when a boy asks me I already know some moves I can do." Funny that is what she remembers about our talk of why she should take dance. I didn't dance when I was little and always felt so embarrassed with my lack of coordination. At high school dances, when I was in our "glee club", and in musical. Anyway I always wished I had taken dance. So I tried with the girls. This is Leah's 2nd year and still she is not a fan. We are going to try something different next year. We will see with Eva I can't tell if she is following big sisters lead or if she really doesn't like it. I am kinda thinking it is the first. But it is documented here for when the girls are in high school and complaining that I didn't put them in dance classes.

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day Rachel! We waked up early this morning and recorded this masterpiece. This was our 7th take. I was producer, Leah was director, Eva was the Set Coordinator and Ronan was the Grip.

You are the best mom ever. All the kids were excited and fought over the nice things they were going to say about you. Hope you have a great day. French toast will be delivered shortly to your bed along with some fresh fruit.

You are wonderful and thanks for all you do. You keep everything together in our crazy lives. We are so blessed to have Rachel Ratchford as our mom.