Living the High Life...

Never let it be said that I am not living a high life of full and varied activities! In one week alone. I have been to the boat races... the theatre... where I met a talented actor... I have taken my eldest with a few very colorful friends for his birthday to the racetrack and an amazing golf tourny.... I attended a gymnastics meet... where I met an exceptional gymnast. Then I took my second eldest and a few friends to play at the gym for a few hours. They must have had a great time because the only shots I got were blurred images of children running, jumping, tumbling, flipping etc. The only still shot I got was of kids screaming... So as you can see I am indeed living a life full of varied and amazing events. Between all these educational, cultural and social outings we play in the rain. and the rest of my time is spent hanging out with Super-Heroes. Batman and Superman to be precise. So there you have it folks. The High Life. Or maybe it is You-Have-to-be-High-to-Live-this-Life. I forget which.

Just for Fun!

For Alli's birthday the Rencher family went on a hike to Mt. Timpanogas Cave. We started the morning by kidnapping Alli for a birthday breakfast. At least that was the plan. I mean really who gets up early on a Saturday to go to the gym before they go on a big hike! Alli does. Or so we discovered as we sat outside her home at 7:30 with nobody to kidnap. We also discovered that I am not the best liar in the family. Mitch is. We did eventually find her and "kidnap" her and take her to breakfast. The rest of the day was also great! The weather was perfect. The mountain scenery gorgeous. The kids not too bad. The company delightful and the cave was amazing!

One of the highlights for me included Sara screaming almost hysterically when a lizard scampered out from a rock. She thought it was a snake! Another highlight... Because we are so numerous we had to split into 2 tours of the cave. Apparently we got a tour guide who actually knew a lot about the cave. The other group got group therapy and learned nothing about the cave. I am sure in the long run they will be better off because they will have learned to face their fears. I also enjoyed how our tour guide played to Dave's claustrophobia fears by saying things like... This room is more wet because right above us they believe is another cave with a giant lake that is slowly leaking down on us.... or.... If you feel light headed it is because in this spot there is actually less oxygen than in other areas.... or ... You may feel that this wall is closing in on you and that is because it is the fastest growing wall in the cave! If you stood here long enough you would be encapsulated in these walls... Of course you would have to stand here for 3000 years but still....I am really glad I told her that Dave was claustrophobic, This is the "heart of Mt. Timp" This is a cool pond! Isn't it beautiful. Here is a stalactite and stalagmite which grow together at a rate of 1/4" every hundred years. I am glad Alli got a picture so we could compare in 100 years!

PS Thanks to Alli and Jonathan for helping with the photography. Jonathan's include 1 extreme close up, 1 animal and 1 partial removal of a cousin from her family. Alli's include all the really good ones especially the ones inside the cave! Neato Alli!

Gratitude!

Tonight I was going to go to bed early. I really was. Then I went upstairs and something smelled horrible. I discovered that Joe-Joe had thrown up in his bed. All over his blankets. Which he then apparently threw against the wall. And then out of the crib and onto the carpet down below. He literally stripped his bed down to the mattress. And then threw up again. So I discovered a room that was covered in vomit! So after 1 hour and 15 minutes of both Dave and I cleaning mattresses, blankets, sheets, walls, carpet, bed, pj's and a sad, pale little boy why would I be grateful? This is why.
I am grateful that I have a washer and dryer because if I didn't I would have just had to throw away an entire room full of bedding and clothes. You see I just changed the second load of laundry and the blankets all came out smelling wonderful and didn't have one piece of macaroni or watermelon left behind. I was so grateful that I took out one of my Clorox wipes (for which I am also grateful) and wiped down all the buttons and knobs and shined them up really nice. I think they felt the love. Now I will take the favorite fuzzy blanket upstairs and wrap it around my sweet, pale boy who is now asleep with a pan in his bed!
I hope you had a uneventful night!