Hike up to Dixie mountain

With classes over for all four of us, we used some of our free time to go on a hike. I'm not sure why we've never hiked up to the top of Dixie mountain in the three years we've lived here! This hike was pretty easy (apart from the thoughts of falling to our death in my mind). I am not a fan of heights, so I was happy to stay away from the edge and play photographer... even if someone else had been there, you would not have gotten me to sit on the edge of the rocks for some of those pictures!!!

Some pictures from the fun day we had!































Last day of school!

 We'll have to assume these strange smiles on their faces are just because they are so excited about the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Kara's last day of 6th grade

Brooke's last day of 4th grade

Solar Eclipse

During this rare event, we lived in the best possible location to view the Solar Eclipse! We did not buy any special equipment to watch the eclipse, but we found out how to make our own 'viewers' thanks to Kara's science teacher. We looked crazy and several people honked, laughed, and came by to ask us what we were doing, but at least we saw the eclipse safely! Well, most of us did. I found out after that Jeff, Kara, and Brooke kept peeking directly at the sun!!! NOOO!

Some pictures:

the sun right before the eclipse

how crazy we looked

getting closer!

view from inside the box: the bright crescent is the sun, the dark circle is the moon moving in front of it

any second now....

full eclipse!

during the eclipse, all the shadows were doubled... cool, right?

Brooke's 4th grade program

Every year, the 4th grade at Brooke's school puts on a program featuring information they've learned about Utah's state history. The kids dress as pioneers, native Americans, etc., and sing and dance. Brooke did a great job! I didn't get very many photos since I recorded most of it as video, but here are a couple of photos to commemorate the event!

Brooke dancing in the program

waiting for the program to start

Jeff's graduation

We are all very excited about Jeff's graduation! He graduated with his Master of Arts in Teaching from USC! We are very proud of him and all the hard work he put into obtaining his degree!

I talked Jeff into going to graduation in California... although it was a SUPER quick trip, here are some pictures from the event (there are other, better pictures, but I haven't gotten those from my dad yet, so these'll have to do!).

on the shuttle to get to campus from the parking lot, Kara & Grandma

on the shuttle, Gerald and Judi (Jeff's parents)

Jeff on the shuttle on the way to campus! Look at his new USC tie!



Jeff and my parents in front of the bookstore

waiting to get into the ceremony... it was hot!

Brooke was looking at the hibiscus flowers and being very patient!

Kara was trying to beat the heat by hiding

we found Jeff's name in the graduation booklet

Jeff marching in!

Jeff heading up to get his diploma!

the band came in at the end of graduation and played the fight song and the school song... it was fun!

Kara's orchestra concert

 Last night was Kara's final orchestra concert of the year. We are so proud of how hard she's worked and of how much she's improved! This was only her second year of playing and she was in advanced orchestra with mostly 7th graders (and she made 1st violin!).

Some pictures:

IronMan!

Today the IronMan is being held in St George... we decided to take some time to watch some of the racers on the bike portion. I can't believe they bike for over 100 miles!

We went to a viewing area in Ivins that had a lot of booths set up, including one for the Biggest Loser Fitness Ridge. Last year we saw a lot of contestants who had been on the show in past seasons. This year we met a couple of them (Sione, who we met last year, and Denise). The former Biggest Loser contestants hosted a hula hoop competition.... good thing my kids are good at hula hooping! Kara & Brooke were easily the last two in the competition... so the rules changed to try to get a winner. They asked the girls to spin around while still hula hooping... no challenge! Then they were asked to put their arms in the air... still no challenge! Then when they were asked to balance on one foot while still hula hooping... that's when Brooke's little hoop fell. Kara was the winner! And her prize... the full attention of the crowd! :) Hahaha!

Some pictures of the fun we had: