The Grand Canyon

Recently my mom and sister, Sarah came to visit. I showed them around St. George some, but we were a little limited as to what we could do since most days were over 100° F (It was June after all). We went on one hike to see the Petroglyphs (I'd show pictures, but Cameron didn't come and took his camera with him to work). We also watched Tarzan at the Tuacahn. That was AMAZING. My favorite was the acrobats on wires acting like apes.

The crowning point to our adventures was going to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. My brother, Brent, came for that as well. For any who haven't been there, the North Rim is much colder than the South Rim. It was cool enough that we needed jackets in the evening and also sometimes during the day.

Eli with Aunt Sarah

Brianna enjoying the hike with mom.

Eli scaring mom by getting too close to the edge.

All of us (except Cameron, he's taking the picture) a little wrapped up because of the rain.

 Uncle Brent keeping Eli from getting too close to the edge. Much to Eli's dismay.

This is how Brianna kept from getting wet.

We had the privilege of being there during a thunderstorm. Most of us went to hide in the car (after all, our hair was standing on end when we were too close to the rim) but Cameron and Eli decided to hide under a rock until it passed over. This allowed Cameron to get some BEAUTIFUL shots of the canyon. If you'd like to see those, check out his Flickr site. Not all of the pictures are from this trip, but all the ones that have rain, overcast skies, rainbows, etc. are.

The Further Adventures of the Dynamic Duo

Eli and Cameron love to go out on adventures together. Hiking, camping, fishing, you name it! Some of their adventures are less than thrilling to me, the mom. But they are having tons of fun!

This is on a hike together. About three days after I bought this hat, they lost it in the cliffs. But when grandma came she bought Eli another one just like it.

This is the cave that the Gila Monster went into.

These two pictures are of a camping trip they took together. Eli came back very excited to tell me that he got to sleep in the SUV

This one was a little bit creepy for me. Not that I dislike snakes, I don't. And not that I'm afraid of snakes, I'm not. But when I see a WILD snake wrapped around the neck of my TWO year old... Well, I'm sure you understand.

Eli found a desert tortoise!

And a chuckwalla.

 Ok, so this one isn't really an adventure. We were out on the deck eating chocolate chip cookies together, and I think he looks cute with chocolate all over his face.

Mom, I need my own post!

After all, look at how cute I am!

I'm learning so many new things! I can roll onto my side from my back, and onto my back from my belly. I can scoot around in circles on the floor, and I like to show off my dimples with my cute smiles and giggles. It's not my fault dad hasn't caught it on camera yet!

 I really like to sit outside with you on our deck. Especially on days when it isn't too hot.

Sometimes, when it is really hot, I like to just sit around in my diaper. Don't you just love all of my cute baby fat?

Ok, mom. We can have one picture with big brother in it too. After all it is kind of funny. He does make me laugh a lot even though he can be a bit overzealous with his hugs. I'm sure one day, when I'm older, we'll be good friends!

Cameron Tried to Kill Me!

Since Cameron's parents were here last Sunday, Cameron and I decided to go out on the four wheelers together. This was the first time that we had gone out together since we got them and I was excited to go. Little did I know what was in store...

Remember, this is our back yard:

Not too intimidating, right? Wrong! Cameron proceeded to take me up and down the steepest hills he could find! There were times, going up, I thought the four-wheeler was going to flip over backwards on top of me! Once, going down, I started to veer to the right. I tried to correct it, but it didn't work and, panicking, I started to bail off the side while putting my brakes on at the same time. I ended up halfway down the hill and halfway off the four wheeler. Cameron had to walk back up the hill to take my four wheeler the rest of the way down!

So, when Cameron asked, "Do you want to hike too, or would you just like to ride the four wheelers?" I thought to myself, "Oh, hiking is safe. Both feet on the ground." So I replied, "I want to hike too." Well, do you see those cliffs in the background? That's where he wanted to "hike." Straight up the side of those. Some of the highlights:

• Me clinging to the side of a cliff, unable to move out of fear. Cameron has to pull me up.
• Several repetitions of "I can't do it! I don't want to die!" With the exasperated reply, "You won't die."
• Climbing over a gaping chasm.
• Thinking to myself, "I can go through natural childbirth, but I can't climb a cliff?"

I have to admit, though, there were some pretty awesome views from the top. And it was nice to find out I could do something that I didn't think I could do. Not to mention finding out Cameron has much more confidence in me than I have in myself. Overall was it fun? Yes! But it was also VERY scary!

Yes, I know I'm a wuss.

Thank you for...

Recently Eli has been saying prayers mostly by himself. He gets the "Thank you" part, but needs help with the "Bless" part. Here are some of the things he has said thank you for in his prayers.

Soap

Lightning McQueen

Mommy

Daddy

Shrek

Brianna

Cars Movie

Chairs

Grammy Teena

Grandpa Juicy

Kitchens

SUVs

Fences

Lizards

Food

Apple Juice

Pizza

I'll add to this list as needed.

Like Father Like Son

I suppose it was inevitable that Eli would inherit Cameron's love of all things creepy crawly. Just yesterday I called Cameron's cell phone to find out when he and Eli would be back from their hike. About 30 seconds into the conversation I heard, "OH MY GOSH! IT'S A GILA MONSTER! .... Click" A few minutes later he called me back to apologize for hanging up on me and explained that it was trying to run back into it's cave so he had to catch it. That's right, he picked up a poisonous, very large lizard, whose bite is probably the most painful in nature. Then he handed the phone to Eli, who proceeded to tell me excitedly about the Gila Monster.

 Gila Monster headed into his cave

This is a horned lizard they also caught yesterday

This one they caught a few weeks ago when we went to Joshua Tree National Park together. It's a collard lizard.

Cameron is teaching Eli not to pick them up, right?

On a side note. We have been slowly teaching Eli to use the potty. He usually gets a reward every time he goes, and recently the reward has been a fruit snack. This morning, though, he had a better idea. He said, "Eli go pee-pee in potty get a GIFT CARD!"

Happy Mother's Day