Nine Mile Canyon

About a week after everyone left following the reunion, Grandpa Art and Grammy Patty came for a visit.  They brought their cute little dogs, Buddy and Maggie, which the kids thought was great.  While they were here we took them to Nine Mile Canyon.  It is a canyon not too far from Price that has tons of petroglyphs.  We hadn't ever been before so it was a great opportunity.  The entire road was under construction which meant that the signs telling us where to find each site were down so it was a little bit of a wild goose chase.  It was fascinating when we did find them though.  We were glad to have a chance to visit in the car with Art and Patty, and happy they made the long drive to come see us and our new home.

Oberholtzer Family Reunion

This year it was our turn to host the Oberholtzer family reunion.  I look forward to this every year because we always have a great time together.  It is getting a little more tricky to plan as the family gets bigger and the ages are so varied.  The best part about planning it is knowing that your turn won't come around for a few years! The reunion began in Moab where we stayed the night at a hotel and then had a fun time hiking around Arches National Park.  Those of us coming from this side of Moab went down early and stopped at Dead Horse Point State Park before continuing on to Moab.  We met up with the rest of the family and had dinner on the lawn of the hotel and then enjoyed a nice dip in the pool.  

The next morning we loaded up and went into Arches.  It was a fun activity and nice for a group with such varied hiking abilities.  Everyone was able to do as much or as little as they wanted.  It was mid-afternoon when we finished up in the park and then we all came back to Price for Big Don's Pizza and relaxing.  It was fantastic to have enough room to host everyone.  I am so grateful for our home! 

The next day was more centered on the theme of the reunion which was a boot camp.  We had activities in the field behind the school that I teach at since we don't have a yard yet.  There was an obstacle course, a hunt for wounded soldiers (green army men), and my favorite, a marshmallow gun war.  I hope everyone had a great time I know I did even if I did collapse and take a 2 and a half hour nap the day after everyone left.  I am so grateful for the wonderful family bond we share.  It doesn't seem to matter what we are doing, this reunion is always a blast.  What a wonderful blessing to have my siblings as some of my closest friends.  Love you guys!

Darin and crew at Dead Horse Point 

Nice view of Dead Horse Point State Park

Janelle, Afton and Haylie in the pool at the hotel

Digging in the red dirt

On a short hike to an arch.

Cousins

More hiking

Finding some shade

At Sand Dune Arch

Dave and Zander on a big rock

Every was so tired on the way home!

And after we got home!  Tired enough to use a bum as a pillow!

My cute niece Afton at the Marshmallow war

Zander going through part of the obstacle course

Discussing strategies of war.

Brother in Law JD eyeing his target

Learning how to use the gun

My dad waiting to assaulted with marshmallows by the firing squad.

Great Brain

At Castle Heights, the school where Haylie attends and I teach, they have a program called the Great Brain.  Kids can choose a topic to learn more about outside of school and then prepare a presentation on their topic outlining their research to present to their class  Haylie decided she wanted to do one this year in kindergarten and chose penguins as her topic.  It was a little slow in getting started because most of last year was super busy with the house building and everything else.  We finally got our act together and Haylie presented hers during the last week of kindergarten.  I had her take notes on the books we read about penguins, choose pictures to include in the presentation including some hand drawn ones, and type most of the words on the power point.  It was a great learning experience and she did a great job of presenting and answering questions asked by her class.  Afterwards she was presented with an award and certificates for free items at businesses around town.  Great Job Haylie!!

Zander's 4th Birthday

Zander turned 4 on April 10th.  We had a small family party on the day of his birthday and then he had his first friend party the following Saturday.  He doesn't know a whole lot of kids that are his age.  It always seems like we know a lot more people with kids Haylie's age.  Anyway, we rounded up a few friends and everyone had a great time at his Jake and the Neverland Pirates party.  The guests were Grant Sherman, Molly Staley, Kaden Butler, Thomas Baric, and Haylie. We played some pirate games including Toss the Coin and X marks the spot, had cake and ice cream and, of course, opened gifts.

Learning how to run the remote control dump truck he got for his birthday.

The pirate cake.  I was impressed with myself with this one because I only had about 15 minutes to decorate it.

Playing Toss the Coin

Waiting for cake

Zander is a wonderful part of our family.  He has a fantastic sense of humor and a kind heart.  He loves Angry Birds, Mario, and watching sprinklers.  He also loves to eat fruit and vegetables.  He can be pretty stubborn at times (like potty training) but we love this little guy SO much!  Happy Birthday Zander, we love you!

Easter

Grandma and Grandpa Oberholtzer came down over Easter weekend this year to help with the house and see the kids.  It was fun making Easter treats and coloring eggs.  On Easter Sunday we went to church and then later in the afternoon hunted for eggs and Easter baskets.  This is also the last holiday we spent in the apartment.  When I look back at pictures of that place I am reminded of how small it was!  We had stuff jammed everywhere.  I am so grateful for the new house!!

Making Twinkie chicks in nests.

Chubby little rooster created by Haylie

Grandma O helping with Easter egg coloring

Zander hunting for eggs

Haylie on the hunt

Baskets Found!!

Soccer

Haylie decided she would like to play soccer this spring.  So we signed her up and then they called the next week looking for coaches.  I was just crazy enough to say yes.  We both learned a lot about soccer and Haylie was a lot more confident with her mom as the coach.  They play 3 vs 3 so they were lots of opportunities for everyone to kick the ball.  The coaches are on the field during the game to help guide everyone in the right direction.  Since I was on the field every game and Dave was usually working on the house I don't have too many pictures.  These were taken during the one game I couldn't be there for so someone filled in as the coach and Dave was there and snapped a few shots.

Paint Sprayer

Here's what happens when you paint a house with a paint sprayer.  Fun Times!