Sully is FIVE!!!

I can't believe the time is flying by so fast. Wow.

With our family trip coming up last week, and scout camp for Noble, things were pretty hectic, but I felt like Sully should finally get the chance to have a birthday party with friends.

He had been talking on and on about having a race car party. I think he had a killer time with his boy buddies. We invited his little girl buddies from the neighborhood to meet us for lunch the next day at Sully's favorite fine restaurant (McDonald's). Then, we celebrated again on his actual birthday (Saturday) with the cousins, on our family trip in Colorado. And when we got back from our trip, Grandpa and Grandma Melton took him birthday shopping (for Star Wars bed sheets) and had a birthday dinner with us.  

All in all, he had quite a birthday.

Games by Jessie and Tillman

Red light, green light

 His birthday cake, a stack of "spare tires". I am all about simple.

Opening a gift and letter from Noble (He sent them with us since he was at scout camp and couldn't be with us. What a guy!)

Breaking the birthday race car pinata with the cousins...

Happy birthday to my sweet boy! Sully is such a joy. We are so grateful he is part of our family!

Be a Sport.

The warm weather is here, and summer sports are all upon us.

We have been keeping pretty busy.

Here's a little glimpse.

This year Jessie's riding team has ballooned beyond all recognition. Where we have never had more than about 10 kids on her team (and last year, only about 6), this year there are more than 20! It makes for busy  practice sessions, but our coaches (former team members) have tackled the challenge, and they run a pretty  organized operation. Jessie, in her 5th year, is now one of the seasoned veterans on the team. She had one of  her best shows ever to start off the season a few weekends ago, coming away with a handful of blue ribbons.

Sporting her new chaps.

Warming up her horse

With her friend and coach, Sage,  before an event.

Waiting for her blue ribbon in horsemanship

Getting a little coaching from Dad and Grandpa between events

The fan club in the stands waiting for speed events (Grandma Tiede in town from New Mexico, came over for the show).

Mike took this awesome series during Jessie's barrels run.

Also this spring, Sully has been playing soccer for the first time. They finished an undefeated season last weekend. He loved it. But mostly he loved running around the field making explosion sounds, stopping to play in the small dirt patch that had been worn in the grass, striking ninja poses for his friends on the team, and taunting the opposition (we had to have a little talk about that). I think he scored one goal early in the season, but mainly he was there to pull stunts for the audience, and for the post-game treats.

As we reviewed some of the high-speed photos we took during one of his games, we noticed all the other kids moving and reacting to the ball while Sully stood there like stone in a ninja pose off to the side. Like a cardboard cut out. Undisturbed as the ball rolled passed. 

Like a zen master. 

Check it out (I should say here that this was typical behavior during every game) :

Sully soccer from Angie Melton on Vimeo.

Wow. Now THAT is concentration. 

While he didn't score a lot...or even really chase the ball most of the time... after looking at this picture that our friend took after the final game, is there any question about who the real MVP of the season was? He did it all all for glory.

Rounding out our Spring/Summer sports update, Grace started tennis lessons last week. She has been after me since about Christmas, I think, to play tennis. So... Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings we hit the courts with her coach, John Lin, who, as you can see, is not much taller than Grace. He says tennis is a short person sport, so Grace should be awesome. And best of all? She gets to look cute in her tennis outfit. (Which, believe me, is no small incentive for G.)

Fun stuff.

School's Out...Let's Go Play

The kids had their last day of school last Friday. So far, so good. We have actually had a lot going on this week to keep us busy: chores, library, a cannery assignment for me, hanging with Great-grandma some more, horses, a pool party and friends. Today was our first chance to really get out and live it up in the sun together. So, Mike took the day off and we headed out for what will hopefully be one of many such outings this summer. 

I love that Pass of All Passes.  If you don't have it, you should. 25 bones a piece --- pretty much wide open access to Seven Peaks all summer (not to mention all that other stuff: Real SL games, baseball, bowling, etc). It pays for itself in one hit. Plus, the kids are getting old enough now to make the water park so much more relaxing for Mitch-darling and me. We just have the 4 oldest buddy-up and turn them loose after smearing them with sunblock and establishing  a home base (beach umbrella & towels), while Mike and I take the little boys for some adventure on the tamer stuff. Totally worth it.

Sorry no action shots, the only good place to take pictures was at home base while we rested up between tours of duty on the slides.

Abner was AWESOME today. He was loving every minute!

Even this moment, when he fell head-first into the doughnut hole and needed Grace to extract him. Ha ha ha ha..I wish I had a video of the time Sully was jumping on the tubes and did a  full gainer / face-plant / roll. After I made sure his neck wasn't broken, we had a good laugh.

Much to my delight, we capped off a great day by stopping in for our favorite Mexican, Mountain West Burrito. We were pretty hungry. I needed that.

The little boys looking cute enough to nibble, outside MWB.

My absolute favorite shot of the day. 

ha ha ha. Priceless.

A really good day.

Putting Out Fires...And Starting Them SPECTACULARLY

Being a mom you get to contend with a lot of crazy scenarios. Take today. Right after I got off the phone with Poison Control (The little boys had managed to get into a bottle of Children's Tylenol while I was cleaning. No worries. I found out they could have safely downed twice as much as they did. Good to know for next time. Plus I am now on the radar of DCFS again. It's been a few years, but they know me. ha ha ha.) I had to break out the steam cleaner (best investment I ever made) to sterilize the rug in the little boys' room because Sully has a thing lately with peeing in random spots. I discovered this latest deposit while wrestling with the boys in their room, and I rolled face-first into urine-dampened carpet. That was awesome. Earlier this week he used the garage as his personal latrine, and then the bathroom garbage can. He doesn't seem to have a preference, except that it NOT be a toilet.

Then there was yesterday.

As the kids piled into the car after school, Noble launched into a casual story from the back seat about how their Science teacher had mentioned that it was possible to make PLASMA - the cosmic, state of matter kind - with a grape and a microwave. To which I responded in disbelief, "Whatever. No way."

Turns out it's a real thing.

** I have to say right here, that telling a pack of 6th Grade boys how to create plasma in a microwave is about as responsible as telling them how to build a bomb with household chemicals. They will be compelled to try it...especially when they have lunch immediately after, where someone is bound to have grapes in their lunch box,  in a room with microwave ovens.**

Apparently, Noble and his friends gave it a shot, with great success and peer-adulation....... and then spent the remainder of their lunch period in the office with the Principal. I am glad she took it so well, and refrained from calling HAZMAT (creating plasma like that produces toxic fumes). She told them she could understand their innocent curiosity,  but expected them to never do it again.

So, I can't say I didn't learn something new yesterday. We all did. This video will give you an idea of the type of fireworks Noble & Co. created in the school lunch room yesterday.
Pretty impressive.

Making Our Way the Only Way We Know How...

Tagging along with dad one day on his commute

Life can be complicated. 

I started to post about the life-changing events of the past several months that have completely preoccupied us...and then I realized I was writing a book. And I thought, "They probably don't want to know all the details, and if they do they can call or message me for the extended version." 

Long story really short: For a while, Mike has felt prompted to make a really risky move with his employment, and recently a series of unfortunate events has been a POWERFUL (kind of frightening) motivation. 

The thing that makes this all so difficult to express is that it has not been just one big profound experience, but years of prayer and struggle, culminating these last few months in hundreds of mini-experiences, impressions, revelations, mercies, quiet kindnesses, prayers said in our behalf, mental and spiritual work, small steps of faith, and miracles. 

Let me just say this has been a watershed experience for us & we have gained a deeper understanding of many things... FAITH, patience, hope, persistence, courage, trust, the power of heaven ... you name it, all things we thought we had a good grasp on... It turns out we didn't know what we didn't know. That's life.

In the past several weeks doors have been miraculously opened & Mike is moving on in a new job. We aren't out of the woods yet, but we have watched in astonishment as the way has opened up before us. 

This is what I know: There IS a God in Heaven, and He is good. He is more aware of us and our needs than even we are. He knows what we lack in terms of character, faith and capacity for happiness (i.e., living in gratitude and communion with God), and He gives us each personally-suited opportunities to help us change. I know this more profoundly than ever. He knows my heart, and how it has changed. Miracles come after the trial of our faith, and He is the one who knows, not us, when the lesson is learned. I don't think I really understood what that meant before. Trials will always be a part of life, but I know more than ever that these experiences are a means for the Lord to, as David says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
-Psalm 139:23-24 

This has been an AMAZING experience. All of it. I can truthfully say that I am grateful for it all...because of what I have learned, because of the closeness I feel with God after all, because of how it has changed my family and my relationship with Mike, because it has made me happier. And that is what Father in Heaven is interested in: the realization of our potential and our complete happiness.

All is well.

Short and Sweet

I haven't been in a blogging mood for some reason. Well, I guess part of the reason would be that we've been preoccupied with some stress with Mike's work... Helping out some friends with some hard things going on....my mind has been turned to other matters. More weighty matters.

Suffice it to say, there's been a lot of prayer, time in the temple, family history work, long talks with family and neighbors, some tears and laughter too. It is a growing time.

In the midst of all these cares of life, we had a short over-nighter to the yurt in Goblin Valley (our place of respite) planned.  It seems like the last few times we've gone, we have been in desperate need of solitude and perspective. Those hours in the desert are like medicine. Or, as Mike repeatedly commented, "balm of Gilead".

We left Friday morning as early as we could...9:30 was the best we could do after Mike worked all day, and late into the night Thursday. We got to Goblin Valley about noon, and headed straight to Crack Canyon on the north side of the reef, eating lunch on the trail. It was a bit chilly, only in the low 50's, but with the sun and a little exertion, that wasn't too uncomfortable. We met a group of family and friends on horse back in the canyon, which surprised us, because we had passed through some tricky stuff. We had a pleasant conversation with them about where they were from, how they had come into the canyon, etc. Cool people.
The wind REALLY started whipping up after a few hours, cutting right through our layers of clothes. The last mile of our 5 mile hike, facing into the wind, Abner started to cry a lot. So we took him out of the packer, wrapped my fleece around him, zipping it up around his face, and Mike carried him in his arms shielded from the wind. All in all, it was an amazing hike. Not as difficult as Little Wild Horse/Bell of last year, but challenging enough for little feet (Sully walked pretty much the whole way).

Heading back out of the canyon

In one of the tight spots. (Abner was starting to melt down, mostly because he'd just had his head dinged on an over-hanging rock. It's tough for little guys.)

 Some of Jessie's instagram shots from Crack...

After the hike, we drove back to the yurt and got settled in. The wind was pretty much howling by this time. So the kids didn't do much exploring around the cliffs, as they always do. I needed some coals to warm up our empanadas for dinner, so I set to work lighting a fire in the fire pit in hurricane-force winds. Mike and I would crouch, eyes tightly shut, next to the fire pit, trying to shield our tiny flame as the wind came roaring across camp, sandblasting us, and nearly knocking us down, electrical sparks shooting between us if we touched. We finally got a good fire going, and soon had a warm dinner.

Sully and Mike did venture out before dark to do some quick exploring...long enough to take this picture.

The rest of the night we hunkered down in the yurt, cozy with our fireplace heater. Mike worried about the kids having to stay cooped up all evening, and wondered if we should have brought some games or something. But it turns out, we had more than enough to entertain ourselves with...

Abner was entertained opening and closing the door about 500 times...

The rest of us were happy sipping hot chocolate and joking around, & laughing at the pictures we'd taken... as long as you like each other, you don't need much.

The wind had died down (mostly) by morning. So I was able to light our propane stove outside and cook up some Ziploc eggs.

Abner venturing out first thing

Noble lighting a small fire in the morning.

Getting in a little journaling/thinking time while breakfast cooked. Just what the doctor ordered.

 We visited the Valley of the Goblins proper after breaking camp, but within about an hour and a half, the wind had kicked up again, making things uncomfortable. So, I made a tail-gate lunch there overlooking the Valley of the Goblins, the Expedition facing into the wind, to shield us as we ate at the back end. The kids huddled in the shelter of the family car, eating as fast as they could, so they could get out of the wind and back in the car. Other than the wind, it was a gorgeous day. Clear and bright. The kids laid claim to an amazing castle in the valley. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of exploring the goblins this time. Too busy having fun, I guess.

The view from the yurt....the reef way out there, with Crack Canyon beyond. 

So glad we got to go. On the drive home I was thinking how really sad I was to have to leave. But that's alright. I came back with a better handle on life. We all need things like this.