This is a Harper's world and we're all just living in it.

Harper is hilarious and exasperating at the same time.

First, there is OCD habit of dismantling, cutting, or crumpling anything that is sitting in front of her. This results in confetti from a paper I actually wanted. Or some glop that was once perfectly edible food.

One recent moment, was when Hudson couldn't find the shirt that she had recently bought because she was returning it, she asked Harper. Harper replied, "Oh, yeah, I loaned that to a friend." Something she does a lot.

I know this picture makes it look like Harper is an entitled brat, but I honestly don't think she realizes everything that is around her. I think she just looks over and says, "Oh, great. A parking spot."

Here's another pic I took when I saw her car while leaving a basketball game. Nice park job.

The Acadia is no more

Here are the final moments of the GMC Acadia.

By far the most frustrating automobile we've ever purchased.

The problem started years ago with an epic fail on our way back from Mexico. While driving through Kingman AZ, the Acadia completely died. We had to tow it to a dealership and stay in AZ for a couple days while it got repaired. I don't even remember what the problem was.

Then other things started to fall apart. The back hatch hilariously would start to open, then start shutting again. I would have to pull on the door, then it would start opening again, then start shutting again. It would do this several times, then shutter and go limp. I would have to prop it open with a stick.

Then it completely stopped working about a year ago. After 3 trips to the mechanics and months and months of replacing numerous parts we figured out it was a timing gear. 

But that victory was short-lived , this week, it just threw a rod and completely died.

We have an unofficial rule that we don't get rid of our cars. We drive them til they're dead, so with the Acadia, it was like have a chronically ill relative that finally bit the dust. While it's a bummer, it's probably for the best. 

I said a few times, I wish I could combine the body of the Acadia with the engine of the XC90. That would be a very good ride.

He's a lover...

Reece has a huge heart.

The other day, he got the idea to do everyone's chores for them. It was so kind. He even left little notes for everyone to let them know he had already done them.

Also, I talked about Reece getting bit by a dog about a year ago. At the end of the post, I said how we saw him letting a dog lick his face shortly after. We laughed he hadn't learned his lesson.

Well, a month ago, Reece came running into the house and wouldn't let anyone see him. We found he was playing with a neighbor's pup (a different neighbor) and it bit his lip. He was embarrassed to show anyone. While it did puncture the skin, it was a much smaller wound and didn't leave a scar.

This kid can't help himself. He just loves everything.

Mr 3D Printer

We got Gideon a 3D Printer for Christmas last year. He did a few prints initially, but then it sat for some time.

Then he got a bug in him and started printing again. And the printer has been running continuously for the last 3 months. 

I'm shocked at all the things they've come up with to print; from dinosaurs to bracelets for Tate's cosplay. He even printed a crock shoe.

Recently Reece has been buying these prints and selling them to kids at this school.

Going all out for Cosplay

Tate loves video games; especially ones with good stories. Among those Zelda would be one of this top video games.

When Tears of the Kingdom released this year, he was on the waiting list. There was even a countdown on our board.

Tate really enjoyed the game and decided he wanted to Cosplay at Link for this year's ComicCon (FanX).

 

His costume turned out quite well.

He did work really hard on it. He 3D printed all the arm pieces, sowed the clothes together, and painted his arm.

He was really popular at the convention.

The Narrows 2023

I have really wanted to take the kids down the narrows for years. We attempted it years ago from the bottom, but Tate got sick and the kids were so little we didn't make it very far.

This year I got permits to hike it from the top down; which is a significant hike. It is 16 miles but those are very hard miles.

Unfortunately, Tate had a work conflict and couldn't make it, so it was just the younger four kiddos.

Right as we got into the narrows, it did start raining on us which was a little concerning, but it didn't last too long. What was annoying was the rain was sporadic, so we tried to hold off on putting our ponchos on. When it finally started raining hard, we finally stopped to up them on; then the rain stopped shortly afterward. Of course.

Last year saw heavy snowfall, so the water level was very high. In fact the Narrows were closed for most of spring. This made the hiking extra challenging because the water was considerably deeper.

The kids weren't prepared for how long/hard this hike would be. They were pretty frustrated with how slow we moved across the map. With that said, the kids were awesome. They were troopers.

The Narrows were so beautiful! I love the Narrows and I loved sharing it the kids. I hope they appreciate this hike at some point. 

Something I didn't realize was that our campsite was the very last campsite and was significantly further down the narrows. We ended up getting hiking the last hour in the dark which was no fun.

We actually never made it to our campsite, camp 12. We were having trouble finding the way forward when Gideon lost his shoe. He was pretty upset so we decided to call it a night and backtrack to a clearing we recently passed.

The next day, the water was a dark chocolatey shade because of the rain the day before. This had be concerned that we might get caught in some flooding. We left super early to get ahead of any problems and while the water was definitely higher, there was no danger.

We even found Gideon's shoe.

Some memorial moments:

• Harper's 15 outfit changes. No joke, this girl has a different outfit in every picture. I have no idea how she packed this much clothing. When we stopped to camp, she kept lending out dry clothes to others.
• Reece sliding down the hill. When we were trying to get to campsite 12 and struggling to find the way forward, at one point, Gideon was climbing a steep hill. Reece followed him, but the earth fell away and he slid all the way down to where the rest of us were standing. While we were slightly alarmed, we thought it was hilarious the way to fell. He just slid down like a rag doll. He even rotated around while sliding down. His head spun down and nearly touched our feet. We wall just started laughing.
• Gideon falling down 12 times. Gideon the was the trailblazer. He was at the front for the majority of the hike. It's extremely helpful to have someone path finding because there are often false paths or areas where it's unclear which way to go. As such, Gideon "discovered" a few hidden rocks in the river and took a few falls. It happened so many times, we kind of got used to it. We would just hear a "Frick!" from up ahead, some yelling and then he'd move on.

As a testament to this, he bent both his hiking poles. 

• Hudson's mental breakdown: At some point, every had a moment of frustration with the hike. Hudson's was the best. At the end, she took a fall. She was fine but as she approached the rest of us she started crying and venting and said, "I guess it's my turn to have a mental breakdown", then proceeded to laugh.
• Reece hates Dad: This hike was particularly hard for Reece. The water came up much higher on him so he was much wetter than everyone else. He actually had the best attitude of all the kids for most of the hike but on the second day he hit his breaking point and started complaining endlessly. One moment that made me laugh is when I had just crossed the river and was looking back to see where everyone was, Reece rounded the corner. He paused and assessed the river crossing, looked at me, and mouthed, "I HATE YOU".

It's all gone now

it's crazy to live down the street from the house you lived in for 14 years. Last year, the new owners remodeled the kitchen and it was so trippy to see.

But just last week they chopped down all the trees in the back yard. It was so trippy to see. The back yard looks so naked. The tree house and the tire swing are gone.

Big changes like this always make me a little sad. It just reminds me that life marches forward and that brief moment we lived there with our little children is now gone.

One weird thing is the excavator "discovered" a massive hole in the back yard. It turns out it was the septic tank installed when the house was built; apparently they framed them from wood back in the day.

I was quite surprised I never came across that with all the digging I did in that back yard.

I got Castle Crack

I've done a couple blog posts about Tate and his castle crack before, but now I got it myself. 

Castle crack originates from Tate building sand castles on the beach at Bear Lake. In order to keep him protected, Megan would make him wear a swim top but since he bent over for so long, he would burn his back between the shirt and his shorts.

I was working out in the yard weeding for a few hours and, you guessed it, I got castle crack. (sorry for the nearly R-rated crack shot).

Cardboard Regatta

I learned that Morgan was having a Carboard Regatta the Day before the 4th of July.  This an annual event where people float boats made only of cardboard and duct tape down a portion of the weber river. I couldn't resist participating so I rushed to Costco and stocked up on supplies.

I worked on it that night and the morning of. I even transformed an ironman model into a captain Jack Sparrow.

We showed up and sent Gideon and his cousin down the river.

While they did lose Captain Jack and the mast (and one oar), they did make it to the end (with a foot of water in the boat. 

They both agreed they want to do it again next year.

Adventure Mode

When Megan talks about her childhood vacations, she always mentions how her Dad would transform from a quiet, grumbly guy to a chippy, boisterous, energetic cheerleader. They would call him Ranger Bob because he wanted to pack the day with everything there was to see and do and he wanted all his kids to do it with him.

What's funny is that the girls were speaking about Mom and how she goes into "Adventure Mode" when they are on vacation and wants to drag them to do all sorts of things.

Ha. Like Father, Like Daughter

Finally, the wait is over

No joke, Reece started and diligantly maintained a countdown til on our press board for the release of Nintendo's Tears of the Kingdom two months out (64 days)

The anticipation hit fever pitch last week when it released. Tate set up the back patio to play it and even hacked his switch so it would release a couple hours early. The kids have been playing it non-stop for a week now and seem to love it. Worth the wait.

San Diego Trip

For Spring Break, we took the kids to San Diego. After a long winter, we wanted to go someplace warmer. In fact, this is what it looked like on our way out. To be honest, I was a little depressed from all the snow.

Here are some of our favorite moments from the trip.

1. Dad's hair

My longer hair poses a problem sometimes. This is compounded by my refusal to do anything about it. It got a little out of control during our trip. I'm essentially just waiting for the family to do an intervention.

2. Melting all our sleeping bags with our exhaust.

Storage space was definitely an issue. It's been a while since we've had the whole crew back together and I forgot how tight it was. In addition, we brought paddle boards and camping gear on our trip so we had to resort to extreme measure. I borrow a torpedo for the top AND a hitch carrier for the back. I loaded our wetsuits and sleeping bags into rubber totes in the back and assumed everything would be fine. However, about the time we entered California, we found that our exhaust turned our rubber totes into molten plastic.

Luckily, we discovered it before it did too much damage to the sleeping bags. Wow, who knew the exhaust would be so potent.

3. La Jolla Sea Caves and Snorkeling

We hung out at La Jolla beach. some of the kids did some snorkling. I think they all hated it because of all the seaweed. Also, even though the kids had wetsuits, getting in the cold water initially is always a shock. I did convince Gideon to swim over to the sea caves. While it did stretch Gideon a bit, it was really fun.

4. Eating lunch on dead people

I found out about this park that used to be a cemetery and had the head stones removed a long time ago. I kept this to myself and brought the family for lunch. I waited til they were well into the food to tell them they were eating over dead people.

5. The Dark is Rising:

During past road trips we have listened to audio books like the Candy Shop Wars and Beyonders. This time we listened to a shorter story titled, "The Dark is Rising" by Susan Cooper. The audio book was done in a full theatrical production with sound effects and different voice actors. The book was okay, but it was the intro song that stuck with everyone. The dark. The dark is rising. The dark, the dark.

6. Everything in California is trying to kill us.

We must have seen 100 signs and labels telling us that this thing "known to the state of California" to cause cancer or hurt us.

7. The creepy RV park and Bubbha

Our last night we stayed in a KOA-like campground in pio pico (close to Mexico). While the gate attended was super friendly, the rest of our stay there was kind of eerie. We saw like 2 people the whole time even though the site was packed with RVs and trailers. We quickly started a rumor that nobody ever escapes this RV park.

One of the few people we met was a drunk guy (who we nicknamed "Bubbha") at the pool who volunteered to watch our two younger boys while Megan and I ran into town. We weren't quite comfortable with that so we had Hudson hang out at the pool. Bubbha was all too pleased with that; which only made me more uncomfortable.

When Hudson and the boys were leaving, he came up to Hudson and said, "Have a Great Weekend."

Hudson replied, "Thanks. You too."

Bubbha then said "I don't know what I did to deserve that, but THAAAANK YOU!"

The kids all had a good laugh at that.

8. Cliff Jumping

On our way out, we did a cool hike to Cedar Creek falls and I was overjoyed when the kids voluntarily cliff jumped in to the freezing water. It was actually super refreshing. I'm quite sure California had some rule that prohibited us from doing that. Oh well.

Triplett Family Motto Officially Retired

When our children were little we adopted a saying, "Triplett's Try". We iterated this often at the dinner table or whenever the kids were intimidated by something new.

Well...now that are kids are teenagers and things like drugs, sex, and other addictions are on the menu of life, we quietly retired this saying.

He's got a job

Gideon is an official referee and reffed is first game already.

He is such a go-getter. On his own, he did all the paperwork, completed all the training, and ordered his uniform. 

On the way to the game, he mentioned to Megan, "I've always wanted a real job ever since I was little. And that day has finally arrived."