Hovenweep

About 40 miles south east of Blanding is Hovenweep National Monument. In the middle of nowhere is a little canyon full of ancient ruins. It is a cool place and an easy hike to see some history. Curtis and Kristin were able to come with us and we had a blast. The Anazai people were incredible builders(and a little crazy with their cliff dwellings). Building round buildings out of sandstone perfectly straight with no modern tools is amazing.

At the beginning of our adventure the kids were asked to participate in the Jr. Ranger program. They had to complete a number of tasks such as: connect the dots activities, decorating pots ect. Chandler chose to do the connect the dots activity and circled all of the number fives and drew a big letter A. He is a real overachiever.
When we finished our hike we went back to the rangers station where the kids were sworn in as Jr. Rangers. It was so cute and they were all so proud of themselves.

Jr. Rangers Chandler, Ethan, Maggie and Ben.

If you are ever down south you should head on over to Hovenweep.

Arches National Park

Arches is really an incredible place. I had never been their in all of my years of being from Utah and really wanted to go. Dave had been a few times and didn't mind taking another trip into the park. First we stopped for quick potty breaks and water refills at the visitors center and then we were off.

There are so many cool things to see. The middle picture is a place called down town(or something like that) it really looks like a city. The arch at the bottom is the arch Daver hiked/ran in to. I should have known I would love it so much since Monument Valley is one of my most favorite places in the world.

Against better judgement, the advice of the in laws and common sense we decided to hike to Delicate Arch with the kids. It was hot, they were tired and we didn't have the patience to make it all of the way. At the half way point(you know right before you start going straight up hill on the face of red rock) David says "I will just take the kids back to the car, drive around and come back to get you." Really? So big mama hiked to the arch by herself and enjoyed every minute of it. It really is amazing, and I am so glad I did it. Thanks David for being such a stud and taking the kiddos!

One year of Brinners!

Our little baby Brinlee is one year old (yesterday the 20th).
Please enjoy one year of Brinlee in pictures.

Isn't it funny what entertains children? Chandler and Brinlee would be content just to dump out all of the toys and just play in the baskets. Brinlee especially loves doing this. Anytime she finds a basket, box, or anything she can sit in she plops herself down and plays.

Over Labor day we headed up to Kaye and Matt's. While we were there we went to the Willow Park Zoo, had some yummy pizza, did a little shopping and went fishing. Chandler was the mighty fisherman catching the biggest fish. It was his very first fish and he was excited and a little frightened.

Mirror Lake

This weekend we were invited to stay in a cabin near Mirror Lake. We had a great time hanging out with Mike, Emily and the kids, Matt and Kaye, Jill and Jodi. No fish were caught but we had a great time eating delicious food and catching up. Thanks for the invite Mike and Em!

Learning to eat with(out) a spoon.

Love is in the air.

Love is really in the air lately. Kaye and Matt were married July 30th, and had the BEST WEDDING EVER. Can't go wrong with soft serve ice cream and some serious dancing.
Way to go love birds!

Plus, my sister Hailey and her true love Justin were engaged yesterday!. They will be getting married October 2nd. We are so happy for you guys.

Binny is already TEN MONTHS! Can you believe it? This little girl is such a joy. She is a little ball of happiness and delight in our family.
Brinlee at ten months:
Loves to bath and splash her big brother.
Loves to crawl around all day (and eat things off of the floor).
Loves to pull herself up and squawk so we can make a big deal about it.
Loves to take short naps.
Plays patty cake with the best of them.
Claps for everyone (especially the men giving the lessons in elders quorum).
Loves being sang and read to.
Loves when we have company over. She is already quite the little preformer.
Is the happiest baby in the entire world!
Sleeps all night.
Weighs 17 pounds
28 Inches long
Has a below average head size(I am okay with that).

We love this little gal and so does her big brother!

Hill Air Force Base

Chandler loves the to watch the jets that fly over our house. So the other day we took him up to the Aerospace Museum. He loved seeing all of the big planes, helicopters and war birds. The museum is pretty cool and we have been up there multiple times. They have recently put together a children's center where the kids can learn all about how planes fly, how a pilot is trained and lots of other fun things. They have a station where you can put on a flight suit and sit in the cockpit of a jet. Chandler loved it so much he wanted to take the suit home with us! It was a great day and we had a fantastic time.

What is up with th Black Family?

So what is up with us? At the request of a few sister-in laws I have decided to finally update a little(I am sorry you didn't like the dinosaur museum post). :) We have been having a great summer just playing, relaxing, a little hiking and biking, getting ready for Kaye's wedding , and figuring out a new schedule with David's new hours.

This is a picture Marcia took of me and Brin. I forgot to post it so now I will. Isn't Brin such a little cutie? She is getting big so fast, she is almost ten months! My little sister McKenzie competed in the Miss Utah pageant and did an excellent job. David and I were able to go the night she preformed her talent. We were both so impressed with her total awesomeness! I have been so proud of that little sis of mine. Love you Kenzer!

Brinee is finding out quickly that "Pain is Beauty". I trimmed her hair into a little bob and now we roll it up on Sunday mornings for the perfect hair do.

She really doesn't mind too much.

Since it is summer the kids are always super dirty. Bath time is a must and the kiddos just love it. Look at that handsome boy and he is squeaky clean to.

Brinlee really loves it. Her face says it all.

Did you know that we didn't have any grass in our backyard last year? Well we didn't and it really wasn't fun. We got a little more ambitious this year and planted seed.

Look at it now. Isn't it beautiful? We also have a garden. I really enjoy the yard work and the gardening. Now if we can just get everything to grow!

Chandler loves playing outside. He loves the sandbox, coloring with sidewalk chalk, riding his spider scooter, playing with all of the neighbor kids, eating ice Popsicles, swimming in the pool, and just playing so much that he sleeps all night long.

Brinlee is a sweetie. She is contented to just crawl around and play with whatever toy is on the floor. She is now standing up on everything and thinks she is such a big girl.

I have tons of pictures I need to develop so keep your eye out for more updates!

Happy 28 Daver!

Happy Birthday Daver! We love you and all you do for our little family. *Birthday last year, please forgive the Tiger Woods cake it was pre-affairs. :)

Dinosaur................ahhh scary.

They are not scary, their happy. -- Chandler (referring to the dinosaur that dad said was scary)

Eight Months

True Love

Today we have been married 5 years! I still don't know how I got so lucky. I didn't know it when we were first married, but I am almost positive I have the greatest husband in the entire world. Happy Anniversary Daver!