Our Canyon Vacation....

The last time the kids were off-track we decided to actually go somewhere. So it wasn't just 3 weeks of me home with the kids. Mike got the idea of going on a mini-vacation. He invited his parents, Grandpa Jake and Grandma Kitty as they are known to the kids, to join us. We left Wednesday, May 13th and met Jake and Kitty in Kanab. We met some of Kitty's aunts and uncles. The next day we headed for Bryce Canyon.

Mike and the girls in front of the Bryce Canyon entrance sign.

The girls loved Bryce. Katelyn called the formations "castles." It is an absolutely beautiful place. Breath-taking would be a good term to use also. We stayed in Bryce only for only the day.

The next day, Friday, we started the drive down to Williams, Arizona. We stayed in Williams that night. The girls went swimming and ran around and had fun. Saturday morning we boarded the "Grand Canyon Express." It is a 2 1/2 hour train ride that takes you into the Grand Canyon. We got to the Canyon around lunch time. The Grand Canyon is surreal. It is so massive that it really looks like all the pictures that you have seen. We just spent a few hours walking around there. I am not much of a hiker (not since all the hikes we did for Girls' Camp) and we have small children, so really exploring it did not appeal to me that much. The funniest thing was an Asian tourist that approached us, amazed by the amount of children that we had. Much more by the fact that they are all girls. He asked if he could take our picture. I said sure, why not. His friend joined him and also took one. Obviously he needed to go further north and into Utah. He would go crazy taking pictures of the hug families. I should have suggested he visit Temple Square. ;) Any hoo, we enjoyed the Grand Canyon and boarded the train and headed back to Williams. The kids were exhausted by the end of the day. We said good-bye to Jake and Kitty on Sunday morning and headed home. The kids still had Monday off before they headed back to school on Tuesday, so they had a day to relax before school. And they needed it! The girls in front of the spectacular view!

Katelyn taking a break from walking and getting a ride on Daddy's shoulders.

The girls and Mike in front of one of the cars of the train that we rode on.

It was a great trip and we were glad that Grandpa Jake and Grandma Kitty were able to join us! I think they got to know the girls better on an individual basis. There is also another National Park that is off the list of "Parks we need to visit!"

Plays...

I have been to a couple of really good plays recently. Both have had my children in them. At the end of April, Megan had her class puppet show. They have spent a couple months making their puppets themselves. Then the parents were asked to come to the performance. Katelyn, Mikayla and I quite enjoyed ourselves. Megan's puppet played the part of Rose White in the fairy tale of "Rose Red, Rose White." Her whole class did a very good job!

Megan and Katelyn with Rose White.

Megan and the rest of the cast of "Rose Red, Rose White."

The next play was the Syracuse Elementary production of "The Wizard of Oz." Karly was a member of the ensemble. The play was quite good. It was an elementary production so I wasn't expecting much. They had 2 different times with 2 different casts. Megan and I went to the first one. It was during Mikayla's nap time so Mike stayed home with Monica, Katelyn, and sleeping Mikayla. Mike went to see the second cast with Monica and Katelyn. I stayed home with Megan and an awake Mikayla. We just didn't think Mikayla would be too interested and more disruptive then it was worth. We found out that we should have left Katelyn home too, because she wasn't interested either and a little disruptive. Karly did a great job in both casts. Ensemble character were in both casts. She was quite upset that she was not cast and a character munchkin. But we found out that there were only boys cast for that and they weren't very "munchkin" like. Karly got over her disappointment and was quite pleased that a number of our friends and family came to see and even brought her flowers.

Karly is right behind the chair on the left and to the right of the "munchkin" with the green wig.

Karly is in the very center of the picture. To the right of the blond girl with pig-tails.

This is the whole cast of the play. This is from the first performance that I went to. I really couldn't tell you exactly where she is. I can't remember where she was standing. I am assuming that it is somewhere in the front because of her height. If you really want to find her, think of it as a "Where's Waldo" type game but just change it to "Where's Karly." :)

Katelyn's 4th Birthday...

So I am behind in posting this....oh, well. On April 14, Katelyn turned 4. My sweet little girl is growing up on me! Her two favorite characters at the moment are Cinderella and Spongebob. Two ends of the spectrum I know.

She is very excited about her birthday. Can't you tell?

Katelyn got a cute shirt from Norma, who works with Mike.

She got a cute Cinderella doll from Grandma and Grandpa Schwartz.

Here she is blowing out the candles with help from Monica.

Yes, it is a Spongebob and Patrick cake. She loved it!!!

I love my Kat-lyn. She is a good girl with a sweet heart.

Sleeping Beauty....

My darling Katelyn loves the Disney Princesses. So I have discovered a theme in a lot of pictures that I have taken of her. She is my "Sleeping Beauty." She has fallen asleep in such different places and positions that it's funny. Here is a sample of what I have.

Okay, this one is in her crib. But she went through a phase of having all her "peeps" with her in bed. I just don't know how she was able to sleep well in her crib surrounded by so much.

This was after an open house for Mike's new warehouse. This was within 5 minutes of coming in the house, in the middle of the great room. She was exhausted!!!

Katelyn was having a "fit" or tantrum right before she fell asleep. And yes, she is on the bathroom floor with her feet propped up on a stool. And she slept this way until we had to wake her up.

Apparently, she was tired and needed to take a nap. I just don't get why her feet are up in the air. And they stayed that way for awhile. But still very cute. I had to get a picture!

This is an interesting angle I know. She was crying over something while playing downstairs with her sisters. She did not want to be consoled. So she kept crying and fell asleep on the stairs. Yes, she fell asleep on the stairs! I just don't think that that can be too comfortable!