Camping With Babies...I Know We Are Crazy!

A couple weekends ago, we went camping somewhere around Payson with Clark and Lindsay. We were nervous about taking the boys, but we knew that they would love it so we thought we would give it a try. Setting up camp, sitting around the fire, eating smores, and chatting with Clark and Lindsay was a lot of fun and we wish that we would have just packed up and went home after that!

The attempt to "sleep" in the tent was horrific! We thought that it was going to be around 40 degrees, so we brought warm clothes and extra blankets, but we did not plan for 20 degree weather...we were freezing (remember, we are used to a very HOT AZ climate)!!! My toes were numb, even in my mummy bag with it zipped over my head...I could find no comfort! So if I felt like that, it is no wonder that little Daners would wake up about every hour crying. We bundled him up really good, but he was only comfortable laying on top of Ben with a blanket over their heads. Logan probably would have slept fine if Dane hadn't kept waking up and releasing his "Banshee" cry out into the wild...neighboring campers must have thought that there was a mountain lion lurking around or something.

I honestly, did not sleep 1 minute the entire night considering Logan was in my sleeping bag with me and constantly elbowing me in the face and changing positions. Ben slept for about a total of 20 minutes, which he snored like an old man the entire time. Poor Clark and Lindsay didn't get much sleep either due to their close proximity to our tent...sorry guys.

We called it a night at about 4 am and got up, made a fire, and started breakfast. It was just too cold to hang around much longer and the lack of sleep was starting to get the best of us, so we were packed up and on the road by 7 am. Next time, Lindsay and I agreed that we will just do the fire and all of the fun stuff then go home and sleep in our own beds...that is my kind of camping at least for now while our kids are little.

We still had a good time and made a lot of fun memories. Thanks Clark and Lindsay for the little adventure:)

A Scorpion...What Else Could A Mother Want For Mother's Day?

Mother's Day was very nice with church, gifts, cards, and extra love from my sweet little family. Until Ben insisted on me taking a "Mother's Day Nap" all heck broke loose! About 30 minutes into to my oh so delightful nap (I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow), Ben stormed into the room in a complete panic yelling, "Dane got stung by a scorpion and Logan is peeing and pooping everywhere!"

You can imagine my jolt of extreme horror/confusion as I flew out of bed to rescue Daners. He had stopped crying and the scorpion was still alive and struggling in a puddle of Logan's pee. As I examined Dane, Ben finished killing the scorpion (it was about 2 1/2 inches long and only the 2nd scorpion we have had in our house in over 5 years of living here) and put it in a jar so that it could be identified if needed. While Ben was on the phone with Poison Control I put Dane down for a minute to gather my composure and he assumed to tip over the night stand and barely dodged the flying lamp from landing on him (furniture straps are definitely a must buy)! At this point, I thought...is the ceiling going to cave in?

Luckily, Dane seemed to be unscathed by the scorpion sting and showed no signs (abnormal eye movements, increased salivation, seizure, etc.) of adverse reactions. The Poison Control called twice to follow up and Dane was doing well so there was no need for a Mother's Day trip to the ER.

According to Ben, while he was half asleep on the couch, the boys were playing and then all of the sudden Dane cried. Ben thought that Logan stole a toy from him or something so he proceeded to yell at Logan who responded with, "I pooed daddy" while standing in a puddle of pee with a scorpion in the middle of it and Dane was holding his hand and bawling hysterically. Things like this only happen when daddy is in charge:)

The Pest Control people (who sprayed a couple days earlier) weren't kidding when they said that after the first spray a lot of the bugs will come out of their lairs for the first few days then start dying off. Hopefully, this will be our last scorpion encounter for a long time!

Ragnar Relay LA

A few weeks ago (April 23-24th), Ben and I participated in our second Ragnar Relay race. This time it was in LA. We started at Ventura and ended at Dana Point. The total course was a little over 200 miles which was spilt among 12 team members running three legs each in about 24 hours (well it took us around 32 hours). I was on a team of 12 girls and Ben was on a team of 12 boys. I ran around a total of 15 miles and Ben about 17 miles. I felt like a had trained enough so each of my legs felt pretty good. Ben on the other hand, only ran about 3 times before the race, but he actually pulled through and did really well on some very hard legs. He actually almost got hit by a car, but luckily he was able to dodge it. Most of my legs were through industrial areas or ghettos...not really what I was expecting, but it kept me on my toes. However, running down Sunset Blvd. at 2:30 am is not something I would like to do again! There were bums and drunk people everywhere...it was pretty creepy and more than enough incentive to run as fast as I could! Luckily, I was able to run with a team member and I had my mace and cell phone in hand...we survived:) Quite the little adventure, right?






Thank you Annette and Katie for flying in to take care of our little guys...they had a blast and were so sad when you left! Also, thanks Sam for watching the boys on Sunday...you did a great job!

Train Park

A few weeks ago, the Bryners came to visit for about a week. We did a lot of fun things like hiking, picnicking, watching movies, and made a lot of yummy gluten free goodies and dinners. We always love it when they come and the boys can never get enough of them!

I wish that I took more pictures while they were here, but I did take a lot of pics while we were at the McCormick Train Park in Scottsdale...the boys LOVE that place!







Annette and Katie were actually just here again taking care of the boys while Ben and I ran the LA Ragnar, which I will post on once I get some pictures.

Easter Time

Easter Evening With The Bryners

Easter Morning With The Ropers

Saturday Community Easter Egg Hunt

Mesa Temple Easter Pageant

Sunday Before Easter Outfits