Harper Casts a Long Shadow

Harper's been gone to Alabama for a over 6 months but her siblings are still heavily influenced by her.

The other day, Reece showed my his wallet, which consisted of an Altoids can; something that Harper did as well.

Also, recently, Gideon has been producing lots of baggy pants. He sows them from other second-hand clothing or blankets. Also, something was doing before she left.

It just proofs that Harper can be thousands of miles away but still in the hearts of her family.

Dramatic changes

Reece showed me his yearbook pics from the last 3 years. It's crazy to see him go through so many changes; especially his hair. Quite a few phases there. But I feel like I can finally see what he will look like when he's an adult.

What's wrong with Gattaca?!

When Harper and I went to Hawaii, we began watching Gattaca one night but never finished it. I have a library of movies that I like to watch with the kids and Gattaca is one of them.

We never got around to finishing it and now Harper is on her mission in Alabama so it's going to be a while.

Then the other day, Hudson and I decided to watch it. We got to about the exact same place and then stopped because it was late. I think we stopped in the exact same place as we did with Harper.

Why can't we finish this movie!?

Spoiler: Hudson and I did finish it later.

Beastmode unlocked

 

Ever since the kids and I went and did puruna weep canyon before Harper left, Gideon has demonstrated himself to be a very strong hik
er.

Since then, Gideon has been on a hiking kick; setting up numerous excursions with his school friends. I joined him and a few friends on overnight hikes through the narrows, up to Kings peak, and then recently to Gideon, Hudson and I summitted the Grand Teton.

Gideon is now a faster hiker than me, even with a full pack, which is remarkable. It's a stark contrast to when he and I summited King's peak only 4 years ago.

The Rise and Fall and Rise of the Titanic

Another 4th of July, another cardboard regatta. This is our fourth one and I'm not sure if we're getting better or worse but we're having more fun for sure. 

This year we decided to do the Titanic. It was a big hit with the crowd. The boys kept shouting how the Titanic was unsinkable and the crowd egged it up. They even had their cousin Claire at the front doing the posing as Rose with Celine Dion playing My heart Will Go on.

We designed the boat to be able to split the two pieces. The boat definitely lived up to its name. It started off strong and the boys did split it but only seconds before they hit the first rapids and both sections of the boat immediately fell over filled with water. 

Not all was lost though, cuz we won the "best crash" award. It's the first time we've won in an award. 

Spring Skiing

It was undisputedly a pretty crappy ski season, but we still got a few days in. By far, my favorite was our last day of spring skiing.

It was a warm day and we all got into it. Eventually, we were all shirts off (Harper inspired)

We even got fit in some tailgating with Hudson's 4Runner.

Barefoot Hiking

In February, most of the kids (all except Gideon) went down to a Southern Utah to do a hike I've wanted to do for a long time; water canyon and the white domes.

It was a great day hike. The kids were awesome. The main canyon feature is very reminiscent of subway. The white domes were amazing too. 

The hike even included a stop to make and castles and do some yoga.

Not far into the hike, Reece and Harper got it in their heads to start hiking barefoot; which they did for the remainder of the hike. I couldn't believe it because it wasn't soft sand the entire way. There were rocks and sticks and all sorts of debri along the trail. Crazy kids!

Nostalgia gone wrong

Harper's always been a very nostalgic girl. She easily grows attached to things that remind her of past events or memories. This would include rocks (or even cactuses) that she would put in her pocket from hikes. So much so that she had to be limited to one container of memorabilia (that container eventually overflowed into a couple more but that's okay).

The other day she was finally cleaning out these containers and going through things she had collected over the years that were significant to her. 

There were lots of things you'd expect; several journals and diaries. Even the body of an apple head doll she had made.

However, here are some of the more interesting things that she has held on to for years. WARNING: It gets a little weird.

Her criminal mischief charges from Utah State Second District Utah Court. Luckily, she got off with no jail time.

All the phones she's ever owned (and destroyed). Mind you, she's only 18 and didn't have a phone until she was 15. It's a lot of phones.

This is a scrap of carpet left over from the remodel of the Bountiful tabernacle where she has gone to church all her life.

This is the uncleaned food bowl of Zoey; the dog we had before Tucker.