Plumb Crazy!

Lexi's Bridal Shower

2011-11-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

September 8, 2011:

Kaylyn and RaLynne hosted the party at RaLynne's house. The theme was taken from the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Of course, girls don't need much of an excuse to dress up. We had fun watching Lexi put piece after piece of bubblegum in her mouth after answering a question about Shawn wrong. And then there was the contest to make wedding dresses out of tp. Most hilarious was when McKenna stood up to model hers and it started unraveling! It was a wonderful evening...thanks to all who showered Lexi with their love and support!

Yummy Treats!

Cousin Molly, Grandma Jenson, Great Aunt Jennette

Haha! Oven mitt...but what came with it?

Zion Narrows

2011-10-13T09:44:00.000-07:00

August 20:
What a perfect day to hike one of our favorite spots! We went with Shawn & Lexi and also our friends, the Stirlings, none of which had been there before. Until you've hiked it and seen it, you can't believe it!
The water was running pretty strong but felt very refreshing in the August heat. In a few places, it was over the younger kids' heads so they had to swim. I absolutely love Zion National Park and it's beauty. It never ceases to amaze me!

1st Day of School 2011

2011-10-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

August 15:

Aleah (15)
Sophomore
Pine View High School

McKenna (12)
Seventh Grade
Fossil Ridge Intermediate

Metal Mouth Mac!

2011-10-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

August 9:
McKenna had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time! Aleah had a retainer check up at the orthodontist and I brought McKenna along in hopes that they could fit her in for a check also. Well, they checked her alright and said she was ready for braces anytime. I said, "What? Schedule it in a few weeks?" and they said, "We can put them on right now!". So, she left with a full set of braces, complete with bands and turbos. At least school didn't start for 6 days...hopefully she would be able to talk somewhat normally by then and not be in too much pain!

Before

After

Park City

2011-10-12T15:53:00.000-07:00

August 4-6:
We spent the weekend in beautiful Park City, Utah for McKenna's soccer tournament. It was so nice to get away from the heat of St. George for a while and enjoy the cooler mountain air. Except for the spectacular lightning storm one night (after we were done playing, thank goodness) the weather was perfect!

It had been a long time since we had been to Park City so we really enjoyed getting back to the Wasatch Mountains and enjoying the beauty of them. SU Thunder did great in their tournament, finishing third which was a huge accomplishment playing against stronger and bigger teams from up north. Way to go girls!

We also enjoyed seeing some of the sights like the Olympic Ski Jumping venue - Wow! Did it look huge! We all agreed that we would never be able to go down that! We also had a blast on the Alpine Slide. Many years ago we had rode on it but it was so much fun to be back and enjoy it with McKenna and her friends. It's pretty zippy and you can get going pretty fast on it. Except poor McKenna didn't have enough weight to push her down the mountain very fast! Ha! I think my favorite part, however, was riding up on the ski lift - I could have sat there all day and enjoyed the beauty and serenity of the mountains!

Yikes! Can you imagine up close?

Go Daddy-O!

We also took in a Real Salt Lake Game with the team which was really fun - and they won!

Girls Camp 2011

2011-10-12T15:23:00.000-07:00

July 19-22:
Another great year at girls camp although we were operating on very little sleep! We got home from our Spokane Trip at 3:30am and got up and left for girls camp at 6:30am. Ahhhh, the things we do for camp!

The weather was beautiful up Cedar Canyon...much cooler this year than last. :) Except for a couple of homesick first years, the week went swell. The "bungalows" weren't as bad as the girls thought they would be ( but the leaders slept in a tent!) although it was decided that thicker pads would be needed next year. The food was all delicious, especially the dutch oven stew and cobbler Bishop (aka Dad) made! :)

We had 13 campers this year, up from 3 last year. Way fun! And our girls won the knot tying competition by a mile! Way to go Quail Ridge Ward Girls! Some other things we did: worked on our walking sticks, decorated hats, performed a skit, played Big Booty, roasted bread on a stick over the fire, had solo time, did lashing and fire building, cooked, and evaded "Snipey"!

The "Bungalow"

Aleah totally schools Bro. Hyde in knot tying!

Playing Big Booty

Aleah works on her stick.

McKenna & Eliza raise the flag.

Spokane Trip

2011-09-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

July 8-18:
It was great to be back in Spokane for Kaylyn's wedding and we had a lot of fun showing Shawn around our home town and state. Here's some of the places we went:

Riverfront Park with our dear friends, The Novakovichs :)

Seattle, WA - University of Washington

Seattle Pier

Of course...Ye Old Curiosity Shop!

Multunomah Falls, Oregon

Oh...the beauty of the Pacific Northwest! Gotta love it :)

Beautiful Day ~ Beautiful Couple ~ Beautiful Wedding

2011-09-30T08:07:00.000-07:00

July 15:
Kaylyn's Wedding Day! On this day, she married her best friend, Garett Johnson, in the Spokane LDS Temple. Everything went perfect: from the wonderful morning at the temple to lunch at Subway with the Bride and Groom (we stopped for a quick bite before setting up for the reception and found Kaylyn and Garett there - should've known they'd go looking for food right away!) to the beautiful reception that evening. We are so grateful for the help, love and support of our family and friends. It was so great to see and catch up with so many dear friends in Spokane!

We are so happy for Kaylyn & Garett and so excited to have such a wonderful SON! We are proud of you two and your decisions, choices and ways that you have lived your life in preparation for your temple marriage. Thank you for being such great examples to your families and friends. WE LOVE YOU!

Kaylyn's Bridal Shower

2011-09-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

July 9
Of course, one of the first things to do when we got to Spokane was to throw Kaylyn a Bridal Shower! Lexi and Krista, Kaylyn's roommate, planned all the food and games and Nikki was kind enough to host the party at her house. It was so fun to reunite with great friends and family. There was plenty of laughter and good, clean fun as we played guessing games, wedding bingo and shared presents. And don't forget the food...a yummy ice cream bar with every topping imaginable...exactly what every girl needs!

Kaylyn with Krista and Lexi

Ice cream bar

Dear friends - Helen & Jill

Grandma Plumb giving Garett's family the low down

There's trouble right there - Grandma & Sandy

It was so great to see Dani Wicks - Kaylyn's 3rd grade teacher

Anything to do with food or fixing food
was a perfect gift for Kaylyn :)

And of course a burger cookbook from
Mrs. Wicks, the Deluxe Teacher!

And then there was the gift that had nothing to
do with food that made the Bride-to-be blush!

Sisters Shop Wedding Dresses

2011-09-19T12:41:00.000-07:00

July11:
After arriving in Spokane, we went to Celestial Selections Dress Shop to pick up Kaylyn's dress and to shop for Lexi's wedding dress. Kaylyn only had to try on 4 dresses to find her perfect one while Lexi entertained us for quite a while before she found the dress of her dreams. And yes, Shawn was there, ready with his input and opinion! Good thing we are not superstitious. :) The whole idea of the groom not seeing his bride in her wedding dress before the wedding is nuts.

It was quite a surreal moment for me, mom...seeing TWO of my daughters standing there in wedding dresses, looking absolutely gorgeous. Who would've ever guessed they would get married withing two months of each other? But we are sooooo happy for our girls and we absolutely love their guys!

McKenna's 12th Birthday Party

2011-09-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

July 5:
McKenna finally gets her pool party! She's looked forward to this for so long. She invited 8 friends over to help her celebrate turning 12! They had a great time playing games in the pool and swimming for hours. And the oreo cake...YUM!!!

McKenna has been counting down the months, days until she turned 12. She asolutely could not wait to get into Young Womens...officially. She fudged a few times and came with mom and her sister to activities but now she was an official Beehive and could go to the temple to do baptisms. Happy Birthday Boo! We love you!

Lexi is Engaged to be Married!

2011-09-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

July 4
I'm pretty sure Lexi knew the proposal was coming but didn't know when, where or how. And I certainly don't think she expected it to happen on this holiday. The day started out with our family having breakfast over at Shawn's home with his family. It was delicious and very filling!...so we decided to play a wild game of Kickball at the park to work it off. This was quite entertaining to say the least...Rob calling Lenny an "old man" and then he (Rob) falls to the ground writhing in pain with a muscle cramp! Who's the old man?! Ha! It was great fun but we were really hot and sweaty so decided to go swimming back at our house and have a bbq later in the day.

Lexi knew that Shawn had been working on something that day and it had to do with a scavenger hunt. But she thought it was a date...just more fun time together. After dinner, Shawn gave her the first clue...
...and then she had to figure out where to go to find the next clue. They all had to do with dates they had been on while dating. Some of the places were Chilis, Temple Square, tennis courts, and our house. The last clue took her to the new airport where Shawn was waiting for her. He played their favorite song and they danced. She still didn't realize that it wasn't just a "date"...until he got down on one knee, pulled out the ring and asked her to marry him! Of course she said YES!!!

Lexi will marry Shawn Wallace Jones on September 10, 2011 (9/10/11) in the St. George Temple. Congrats you two!

Sand Hollow Fun

2011-09-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

July 1: What a beautiful day at Sand Hollow! We wanted to beat the July 4th crowds so we headed out earlier in the week and had it almost all to ourselves. The air temp was 100 degrees and the water temp was about 87 degrees. Perfect!

Hershey Track Meets

2011-09-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

May 14: Local Hershey Track Meet
McKenna had a really good time running the 800M in the Hershey Track meet last year so she was looking forward to running it again this year. However, her school this year wasn't quite on the ball and she ended up missing the qualifying race. But thankfully Mr. Mathis, her PE teacher, pulled some strings and got her into the race anyway!

The field of competitors was much larger this year. There were over 40 girls entered in her race! And there was no dividing them...they were all going to run together - Yikes! I could just envision Mac getting trampled to death by 39 other 12 year olds. But luckily, she hustled over to the starting line and managed to line up in the number 5 spot in the front of the pack.

I think Mac was thinking, "Holy Cow, this is a LOT of girls!"

The start was very crowed and McKenna said she got elbowed and pushed around a few times but was able to get out unscathed and settle into a good pace. Just shy of the first 400M, she passed the leader and never looked back. She finished with a commanding lead and a PR of 2:56. First place out of 40?...not too shabby for a soccer player! Way to go Mac! Now it's on to Districts in Richfield next month.

Crossing the finish line!

McKenna's Fan Club!

First place - 800M (11-12 yr old girls)

June 11: District Hershey Track Meet
The top two finishers in the local meets got to move on to Districts, which were held in Richfield, UT.
Now Richfield was a little cooler than St. George, which was nice, however the altitude would prove to be a huge disadvantage to the SG girls. Richfield is 2500' higher than SG, yet lower than most of the rest of the state. So we weren't sure what to expect. Again, the top two would move on to the state meet at the end of the month so we were just hoping Mac could do well enough to be able to enjoy that experience.

Waiting in the Bull Pen

The field of girls was much smaller this time around...4! So no crowed start, no pushing or elbows flying. Mac said she really enjoyed this race and didn't really feel too affected by the altitude. She finished second with another PR...2:52! Man, maybe we should get this girl into a running club! It's on to State in two weeks!

On to State Meet!

June 25: State Hershey Track Meet
Here we are...back in Richfield, UT for the State meet. Although these girls are from all over Utah, they are actually competing against girls from other southwestern states who are running in their state meets today as well. The best times are then taken from the Region and move on to Nationals in Hershey, PA in August. So, even though a girl might win her state meet that does not guarantee that she would move on. You have to wait for a phone call telling you that you are in. If you don't get that call by July 10...don't wait by your phone anymore! We told McKenna just go out and have fun and don't worry about how you do. We knew the competition would be much, much tougher here. But what an accomplishment to make it to the state meet, to be one of the top 6 800M runners in the state!

Mac ended up finishing 5th in State with a time of 2:57. Way to go Boo! We are so proud of you!

Happy 15th Birthday Aleah

2011-07-29T16:14:00.000-07:00

May 25th: Aleah had another pool party with her friends this year to celebrate her birthday. They even did a clothing exchange, which was a great idea. Each girl brought two or three items that didn't fit anymore or they didn't want and they put them in a pile and they each got some "new" clothes.

And of course, don't forget the cake! Aleah requested none other than Costco's Death by Chocolate cake! YUM!

Memorial Day 2011

2011-06-01T15:16:00.000-07:00

We started off this fun day with going out for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel. Rob provided entertainment by knocking over his water glass. I think he just wanted to see how fast Shawn could move to avoid getting drenched. The funny thing was Rob was the only one who ended up getting wet. Anyway, it was great food and we all left very satisfied!

After breakfast we went hiking and spelunking in Snow Canyon. We'd always heard about the cave there but had never been in it before. Normally by Memorial Day, the weather is pretty hot here but it's been a cooler spring and the temperature was perfect for hiking and exploring. The cave opening wasn't as big as I thought it would be but wow, inside was amazing. After going down into the hole, the first little bit is pretty tight but then it opens up into huge caverns. You definitely want to watch your head in there - just ask Aleah.
If you turn off your flashlights the cave just glows because of all the glow sticks that have been broken open down there. It was kind of eerie, but cool. We came back out through a different opening that was much smaller and required one to crawl on hands and knees to get out, but what an adventure. I love exploring caves!

After the cave, we continued hiking to the petrified sand dunes. They are fun to climb on because they have naturally made steps that make it fairly easy. The view was quite fantastic from the top!

Shawn was our pack mule - we had his shorts
pockets loaded with flashlights, camera, and
phones. Ha!

Later that evening, we drove out to the sand dunes and had a bonfire. We ate tin foil dinners, roasted s'mores (and not just any s'mores...these had nutella and peanut butter on - yum!), flew kites and sat around the fire. It reminded us how much we love to camp and how much we miss it!

I guess the fire was still a little hot
for Aleah to get close enough.

Lexi "glued" a graham cracker to Shawn's
face with Nutella! So by eating the marshmallow
and with the graham crackers on his face, he
had a complete s'more! Ha

What a great day with loved ones and a great day to remember those who have passed on and are no longer with us here. We are thankful for them and those who also served our country in the armed forces. I missed not being able to visit my dad's grave but he's always in my thoughts.

Engaged to Be Married!!!

2011-06-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

Kaylyn Plumb & Garett Johnson

These cute little lovebirds are going to be married July 15, 2011 in the Spokane LDS Temple. We are so excited for them! And we are finally going to have a son! Yay!

They met in the Young Single Adult ward in Spokane and began dating in March. Two months later they were engaged. Garett is the fourth of six children in his family and has lived in North Spokane for about four years since moving from the west side of the state. Some of the things they enjoy doing together are being in the outdoors, snowboarding, shooting guns, going to the gym and watching 24. He would like to become a mechanical engineer.

The Proposal: Garett took Kaylyn snowmobiling to the top of Mt. Spokane to look at a little house made out of snow. (Yes, the end of May and there was still plenty of snow - crazy!) When they got there, she discovered he had a fire going, lit candles everywhere, rose petals scattered about, sparkling cider and food awaiting them. He then pulled out a ring, got down on one knee and asked Kaylyn to marry him!

Kaylyn Comes to Visit for Mother's Day

2011-06-01T14:01:00.000-07:00

Kaylyn surprised her mother by showing up in St. George on Mother's Day. That was the best gift ever! It was so great to see her and spend time with her. I practically had her to myself all day for 5 days because the girls were still in school and Rob had to work. We went hiking, shopping, visited Temple Square and saw some films at the Visitor's Center, ate out, and just talked.

I did have to share her in the evenings though...with her boyfriend! Garett was down here on a job and had had dinner with us a few times. It was great getting to know him better and also meeting his brother, Tyrell. I'm sure part of the reason Kaylyn came down was because she missed Garett but that's ok...I'll take what I can get, right? :)

Kaylyn had never been to the Red Cliffs Rec Area and we had only been there once, and that was in the fall so the water wasn't running, so we decided to go and check it out. Boy, was it fun!!! We had a blast checking out the many pools, and sliding down the natural slides and climbing up the slot canyon with water rushing down it. It was absolutely beautiful and very refreshing on a warm day. And it was just so nice having the six of us together again! :)

Four little monkeys sittin' in a tree!

McKenna - SU Thunder Wins the League Championship Again!

2011-05-31T20:04:00.000-07:00

McKenna's soccer team, SU Thunder, had another terrific season. Although it was a little tougher competition this Spring versus last Fall, Thunder held on to win the championship. McKenna had three goals on the season and numerous assists while playing mostly outside mid.

Goal! by McKenna

What she gives up in size, she makes
up for in tenacity and toughness!

Congrats Thunder on a fantastic season!

Aleah - PVMS Dance Team

2011-05-31T19:44:00.000-07:00

Aleah - Back row second from left

Aleah - center back

Aleah enjoyed dancing on the Pine View Middle School Dance Team this year. They performed at basketball game half times as well as assemblies at school.

In Loving Memory of Cooper: September 13, 2008 - March 29, 2011

2011-05-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

I have been putting this post off because I knew it would be extremely hard and that I would sit here and bawl. Hopefully I'll be able to see through all the tears and pay a loving tribute to an incredible dog, friend, loyal companion, hiking buddy, and protector.

Cooper was the second English Mastiff that we owned, Molly being the first. We absolutely love this breed! They are truly gentle giants. When we lost Molly after nine and a half years we knew we would own another EM some day. So a little over a year and a half later Cooper came into our lives. We were in Tacoma, WA for a soccer game and stopped by a breeder that Rob had talked to, to see some EM puppies. Rob wanted the biggest and bulkiest male they had. They had three males left and two were bigger than the third so Rob couldn't take his eyes off of them. However, I have always been a sucker for the under-dog (pun intended) and couldn't help but notice the littler guy with the red yarn around his neck, whom they called Riley. He kept coming up to me and snuggling and seemed to be saying, "Pick me, Pick me!" He just had such a cute personality right from the moment I saw him. After we left, Rob asked me which of the two I liked best. I said neither! I knew "Riley" was the one - he had picked US!

9 weeks

14 weeks

Carli whispers sweet nothins in Cooper's ear

Training went fairly well - Cooper was a very smart puppy. In fact, we liked to call him Houdini. Twice we came home to find him waiting at the door for us, wagging his tail, when he should have been locked up tight in his kennel. Our first thoughts were "Oh no! The house will be completely destroyed!" But the worst thing he did was chew up a roll of toilet paper. I have to admit it wasn't fun getting up every few hours at night to take him out... it was like being a new mom again. But in the long run, it is sooo nice to have a well-trained dog who only goes "bama" where you tell him to. (I know it's bad but we used the word "bama", as in Obama, to be Coop's command word to poo. Ha! We got Cooper the same week that Obama was elected president. You guessed it...we didn't vote for him!) Of course this would be a winter that we got lots, and I mean LOTS, of snow. We had to shovel a trail for Cooper to get out back to do his duty. Poor thing, you couldn't even see him because the snow was piled so high! But he loved the snow - he didn't like being cold but he loved to EAT it! As the snow was melting in the Spring, he would look for little mounds of snow left that he could eat. It was really cute.

Cooper running down trail through snow - you can
only see the top of his back!

Waiting for the school bus to come.

Eating snow

Some of Cooper's favorites: chasing wild turkeys out of the yard, laying on the trampoline, chasing balls but not bringing them back, treats, fetching stuffed animal from down the long hallway upstairs, wading in the shallow end of the pool, chewing on his bone, taking naps, laying on his back -baring all, spinning round and round in circles until he got dizzy and fell down, walks, being with family, hikes, laying under the coffee table, his friend Carli, playing soccer with a basketball, sitting on the couch, tug of war.

8 months

Couch potato

No shame!

Funny thing about Cooper: He destroyed and chewed up every toy he ever had except a stuffed baby rattle that we gave him when he was a puppy. It had been one of the girl's toys when they were little and maybe he sensed that it was special but he played and played and played with it but never chewed it up or tore it. It was his favorite!

Cooper could always put a smile on our faces. He was just a funny guy and had quite the personality. We often joked that Cooper had "the life of Riley" - absolutely spoiled rotten! He seemed to sense whenever I needed to be cheered up and would start playing and spinning around in circles or go get a toy and want to play. He knew when I just needed some love and would let me lay on his shoulder. He was an awesome hiking buddy and loved the desert and checking out new trails. I always felt so safe with him around. He would check out caves first and lead the way in slot canyons. It's definitely not the same hiking without him.

Cooper at Pet Night at Whitworth University
"Don't worry ladies! There's plenty of lovins to go around!"

Birthday Boys - September 2009

In January, 2011, Cooper started getting really sick. He would throw up almost every night in his kennel and sometimes during the day too. He always tried to get sick on the tile floor or in the far corner of his kennel though, so as not to make too big of a mess. While I kneeled there cleaning it up, he would look at me with those puppy-dog eyes, as if to say "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." It broke my heart. This went on for two months. We took him to the vet and they did xrays and blood tests but couldn't figure out what was wrong. They tried one medicine for acid reflux that didn't work. They tried antibiotics and bland food which he hated. They put him in the hospital for a weekend and hooked him up to IVs, which worked wonders and made him look and feel so much better but as soon as we got him home he got sick again. Then, our vet went to a conference in Las Vegas where they happened to have a little segment on Addison's disease. They even showed a picture of an EM and Dr. Barton thought "That's what Cooper has!" All the symptoms matched. I truly believe it was a miracle - a divine intervention that led us to some answers that we had been praying for. They put Cooper on some steroid meds and alas, the puking stopped, he started putting weight back on (he had lost 25lbs.) and he started getting his spunk back. We had our boy back!

Unfortunately, from what we can figure out, Cooper was feeling so good that he chewed up one of his toys and swallowed some pieces. On that Tuesday morning he got sick again and there were pieces of rubber in it. We thought that that would be that, he got sick and then he would feel better like he always did. But he felt lousy all day, didn't eat and just layed around the back yard. The girls got home from school and went out to see him. Aleah came back in and said something is wrong. By the time we got back out there, he was taking his last breath. He died in my arms with us all around him. We figure that with the Addison's, he just couldn't digest the toy pieces that normally he would've just passed. Words can't even describe how heart broken we all were and still are. He was truly a huge part of our family and loved very much! He has left a huge hole in our hearts and he is missed greatly! We couldn't have asked for a better dog. Cooper, we love you and miss you and look forward to seeing you again someday little Buddy.

Valley of Fire

2011-05-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

During Spring break in March, we went with our friends, the Parrys, to check out Valley of Fire in Nevada. The weather was perfect for hiking, not too hot and not too cold. The kids all had a great time climbing and exploring. We couldn't see all of it in one day so we'll have to go back again sometime and check out the rest of the park. It was truly beautiful!

Lexi's 20th Birthday

2011-05-19T10:46:00.000-07:00

March 13: Wow, we now have two children in their 20's! I'm definitely not old enough for that to be possible. :) We had a great time celebrating Lexi's day with Shawn's family. For those who don't know, Shawn is Lexi's boyfriend - they have been dating since December. They really are cute together and seem to be very happy. So, we had his parents and two sisters over for dinner and peanut butter pie - Lexi's favorite and what she always requests for her birthday! The Jones brought over a Tunnel Cake which was super yummy too. It was an Angel Food cake with pudding in the middle.

Peanut Butter Pie

Tunnel Cake

Lexi received some homemade jewelry from her sisters and a cookbook that I put together for her. She also loved the Miche purse that she got from Dad and me, via Aunt Patti. :) Happy Birthday Lexi! We love you!

Seussical!

2011-05-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

McKenna was thrilled to find out that Fossil Ridge had a theater program. Last fall, she auditioned for Seussical, a play based on several of the Dr. Seuss books. She was thrilled to land the part of a "Who". For four long months, over 80 kids practiced and learned all the songs and lines. And I must admit, I got pretty good at doing that hairdo with the cone in it. It was a grueling schedule and I am so grateful for friends and carpooling! It totally saved my life and sanity.
The play was fantastic and I'm still amazed at the level of talent - these were sixth and seventh graders! McKenna thoroughly enjoyed all of it and had mixed emotions when it finally came to an end. Asked whether she would do it again?...she said probably not, not because she didn't love it but because it was such a huge committment and very tiring. But she's so happy she got to experience being a "Who" in "Whoville"!

Christmas 2010

2011-03-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I am a little behind on the blog (ok, so a lot behind) but I am attempting to catch up!

Christmas just seemed extra special to me this year; not because of any presents or fun activities or even the fact it was a white Christmas here in Dixie (definitely not that!). Just having all my children together, under the same roof, for three weeks was the only Christmas present I needed. We just enjoyed spending time together and doing simple things like hiking in the rain, watching a live nativity, hot tubbing, doing legos together, driving to Las Vegas on Christmas Eve and eating dinner at the most amazing buffet ever! I love my family!

A soccer ball for Mac - try not to lose this one!

Cooper loved his new bone.

Kaylyn was more than giddy over her HP snuggie!

I think McKenna liked her gift from Aleah :)

A new purse for Lexi

A Plumb Christmas tradition - an ornament for each kid that depicts something from that year.

I surprised Dad with a book of his mission pictures.

Snow in St. George

2011-03-14T10:40:00.000-07:00

December 2010: We're told it doesn't happen very often but we've seen it both winters we've lived here now. The rain sooned turned to snow and then it turned cold so it stuck around for a week or so. It wasn't so bad, knowing that it wouldn't last long, but still it's strange to see snow on palm trees and topiary plants.

Bone Wash Hike

2011-03-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

December 21: Because it had been raining for almost two weeks, I knew that water would be running in the washes and I knew just the place I wanted to take the family! Last summer, Cooper and I had discovered Bone Wash. We had hiked all the way to the end of it (it was dry at this time) and ran straight into a 40-ft. rock wall. I knew that with any decent amount of rain, this would be a spectacular waterfall.

So we donned our rain gear, or black garbage bag in McKenna's case, and headed out. (Unfortunately, Lexi had to work - we missed her.) Even in December, the rain is very refreshing in the desert and it was a very pleasant day. And we weren't disappointed at what we found at the end of the trail!

Kaylyn Comes Home for Christmas

2011-03-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

It's been 5 months since we've seen Kaylyn so we are all sooooo excited for her to come home for Christmas! McKenna and Aleah are anxiously awaiting the arrival of her flight at the airport. We get to have her all to ourselves for 3 weeks! Yay!

She made it!!!

Halloween 2010

2011-03-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

Our first Halloween in St. George was great! Halloween fell on Sunday this year but that was no problem for Utahns...they just moved the whole holiday to Saturday instead. It was just a given that trick-or-treating and any other parties would take place on Saturday night. This was a totally new concept to us - that would've never happened in Spokane. Also, we didn't have to freeze while going door to door either. The weather was super pleasant and the girls had a fun day.

Daughtry Concert

2010-10-31T10:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Lexi and I were able to go to Las Vegas and catch the Daughtry concert. It was a lot of fun! He puts on a great show and the venue was really fun. It was at the Mandalay Bay Resort on the Strip, at their pool area called The Beach. It truly felt like we were at the beach with sand, waves and palm trees. The stage was across the wave pool so we could either sit or stand in the sand or wade into the warm water to get a closer view. We did all the above! It was best standing in the warm water which got us to within about 30 feet of him.

At the end, he threw out his guitar picks. There was no way to even see where they were going, let alone catch one. But then his drummer, Robin Diaz, had four drum sticks to throw out...and alas, Lexi reached up and snagged one! What are the chances of that? Everyone around us was saying, "Wow! What a nice catch!". She was thrilled - not only was it one that he had used during the show but it was autographed as well. What a fun night!

Amazing Weekend!

2010-10-20T14:52:00.000-07:00

I have always loved Fall but I love it even more now that it's not freezing cold and I can still enjoy the beautiful outdoors during October. And that's exactly what we did last weekend! The girls had a four-day weekend, "Fall Break", and we contemplated what to do. Finally, we decided to explore places that we've been wanting to see but haven't had a chance to. And one of the great things about it all? We did it all for under $50! So bear with me and this long blog. It was a weekend that we won't forget anytime soon.

Friday
Dad still had to work Friday so Aleah, McKenna and I hung around the house, getting things ready for the weekend. We had decided we wanted to camp this weekend but with getting a late start on Friday, all the campgrounds would be full. So, we camped out by Lake Plumb (our backyard). It was a perfect night to sleep out - we left the fly off the tent so we could star gaze. Oh, and Cooper also joined us for the night! What an adventure that was: several times he thought it would be a good idea to chase his tail... spinning madly around inside the tent, and in the middle of the night he leaned against the side of the tent and starting scratching...violently shaking the whole tent, and then he must of gotten cold because he ended up stealing Rob's sleeping bag sometime during the night. What a dork! The night was complete with swimming and roasting s'mores, and then a yummy Dutch oven breakfast the next morning. I'm pretty sure this was the best camping site around!

Saturday

This day definitely called for some hiking - sunny and 80 degrees. There's a place just 10 miles up the freeway called Red Cliffs Recreation Area that we'd heard about and wanted to check out. Turned out to be amazing! On a little side trail that we decided to explore, we ended up finding this slot canyon that climbed up about 100 feet. It was only about two feet at it's widest point and proved very challenging but we made it. We couldn't decide if it was scarier going up or coming down - both! I would use the word "Exhilirating!" to describe the experience and we were very proud of ourselves for accomplishing this feat!

Further up the canyon on the main trail, we came to a series of ponds, or really just rock wells. Most were connected by little waterfalls that, when enough water was flowing, you could slide down into the next pool. Pictures can't even begin to describe the beauty that was found back in this remote area! We can't wait to go back next summer and swim in the ponds. Frozen yogurt on the way home was the perfect ending to a perfect day.

Sunday
After church, we took a drive up to Pine Valley. As the bird flies, it's only about 15 miles from our house, but that would be straight up and over Pine Mountain. The 45-minute drive was enjoyable though as we drove past Snow Canyon and then on up through Dammeron Valley and Veyo. I love seeing country I haven't seen before!

Pine Valley is a beautiful little valley nestled at the base of 10,000 ft. Pine Mountain. I felt like I was back in Washington state - it was a little slice of heaven where I now know I can go when I'm missing the smell of pine trees and watching the changing colors of Fall. It smelled soooo good that I almost started crying! I love it here in Southern Utah but I have to admit there are some things I miss and the smell of pine is one of them. We all agreed that we will have to come up here next summer and camp. And I can't forget to mention the Panda Cows. We laughed soooo hard - never seen anything like them before! Come to find out, they really are called Panda Cows! Bahaha

Monday

This was the day I'd been waiting for for a long time - hiking in Zion National Park!!! I was practically giddy. Again, perfect weather - sunny and mid 70's. We started out hiking the three Emerald Pool trails: Lower, Middle and Upper. McKenna and I had been to the lower pool before but not past that. I've seen a lot of waterfalls and lush, green areas around them but the Upper Pool was breathtaking. The waterfall crested the sheer red cliff about 1500 ft. above us and lazily showered into a calm pool below it. It was like a little Garden of Eden up in there - you'd never know it was there from down below on the road. The Pool Trail loop was about 2.2 miles and worth every step of it.

Upper Emerald Pool

Lunch Time

We next took Aleah to see Weeping Rock, as she hadn't seen it before. It boasts beautiful hanging gardens and water showering down from hundreds of feet up. It literally looks like the huge cliff is weeping. It was fun to look up and follow a single drop of water all the way down.

Weeping Rock

View of Angel's Landing from Weeping Rock

Finally, since Angel's Landing was closed for maintenance work (and I'm not sure we've totally built up enough courage to do it yet) we decided to hike the Riverwalk trail to where the Narrows starts. This was a nice one-mile paved trail along the Virgin River. At the end of the trail, in order to get any further up the canyon, you have to hike the river. Now, this is something I've been wanting to do ever since we moved here - I talked about it all summer but we never made it up there. We had no intention of doing it this time but as we stood there watching others come back from up the river, we thought, "Why not?"

So our tennis shoes get wet, so what? We love adventures and being spontaneous!

Beginning of the Narrows

So we picked out our walking sticks and in we went. Oh it was cold - but after a while you got used to it, or maybe it was just that my feet were numb. :) The current was fairly strong but manageable. A walking stick was a must; to brace yourself against the current as well as poke ahead to find rocks and holes. There were sticks lined up against the cliff that others had used - you just picked one out, used it and put it back for others when you were done.

Again, pictures cannot begin to capture the beauty found in this slot canyon, carved by a river over thousands of years. It would have been nice to have my nice camera to get some good pictures but I was glad I didn't when we started trekking up the river. The canyon gradually grows narrower as you progress upstream, eventually forming the Upper Narrows, which requires a permit to hike (that's next year!). Since it was late afternoon when we started, we only made it about a mile and a half upstream but it was a neat experience. When Aleah stepped in a hole and went down (the look on her face was priceless!), we figured we'd better start heading back. It was an amazing day in Zion! I am so glad that we live 45 minutes away from this heavenly playground!

Youth Boating Activity

2010-10-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

If just so happened that our Youth Night fell on Rob's birthday, so what better way for him to spend that day than out on the boat with the kids from our ward! It was a beautiful evening and the water was perfect. We've come to really enjoy Sand Hollow Resevoir: it's close, warm and usually not very crowded. The youth all had a great time and couldn't believe the time flew by so quickly!

Rob with his Deacons

Pres. Graff with the other half of our group

Oops! Spectacular crash but they were all ok!

Me (Cindy) with two of my YW and McKenna

Always the jokester!

Labor Day in the Mountains

2010-10-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

I'm still trying to catch up so bare with me people!

For Labor Day our friends, the Parrys, invited us to go with them to their family cabin. Now, I'd love to tell you exactly where that was but I don't know. :) We traveled about 4 1/2 hours from St. George to somewhere in the central part of Utah. I do know that it was pretty - very different than the mountains of the Pacific NW - but pretty in it's own way. There were lots of aspen trees which did make us feel at home as we had a LOT of those in our yard back in Spokane. And there were lots of rolling hills and little lakes all around.

We had a very relaxing and enjoyable weekend! Some of the things we did:
     * slept in every day!
     * ate great food
     * read books
     * played lots of games
     * rode four-wheelers (a first for our kids - they loved it!)
     * sat around the campfire, roasting marshmallows and eating s'mores
     * watched movies
     * remembered what it's like to be COLD!
     * learned we needed to turn on the water pump whenever we needed water or flushed :)
     * saw a new part of Utah that we hadn't seen before
     * had a great time with friends!

Always a Scoutmaster - teaching the boys!

Grandma & Grandpa Plumb Visit

2010-09-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

Grandma & Grandpa Plumb suprised us with a visit the beginning of September. It was so good to see them and show them around our part of the country. And the weather just happened to be a little cooler (mid 90's instead of 105) when they were here which was nice - we didn't have to hear as much complaining about how hot it was! :)

We took them to see Brigham Young's winter home, the Tabernacle, Thomas Judd's store, Snow Canyon and Zion National Park. Aunt Steph was along for the ride too. I think they enjoyed themselves and realized it wasn't so bad down here in H&#%! haha They actually said they'd like to come back and visit again. Woohoo!

Angel's Landing - some day I will
get enough courage to climb it!

The Narrows

The gang on the shuttle

Weeping Rock

Fall Soccer

2010-09-30T16:30:00.000-07:00

One good thing about it being Fall is that it's time for soccer again! :) McKenna is very excited about her team this Fall - SU Thunder. The assistant coach from last year, Luke, is now the head coach which we are very happy about and think that he will do a great job with the girls. All the same girls but two are back again and we've picked up some talented girls to round out the roster.

At the time of this post, the girls are 5-0 and in first place in their division. McKenna scored her first goal of the season last Saturday - it was a shot from the right side at about 20 yards out and it lobbed in just over the keeper's head!

First Day of School 2010

2010-09-30T16:17:00.000-07:00

It seemed really weird sending the girls back to school on August 11th! There should still be a month of summer left... and I guess there still is because the weather will be warm for another three months. It's just a bummer that the kids have to be in school all day. However, McKenna and Aleah were ready to go back: new classes with new friends, a new school for McKenna, seminary for Aleah, McKenna leaving and getting home before Aleah (very odd) and homework. Back to the grind stone!

Aleah (14) 9th Grade
Pine View Middle School

McKenna (11) 6th Grade
Fossil Ridge Intermediate School

Legoland & Disneyland - Very Spontaneous Trip!

2010-09-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

We've talked for years about taking Aleah and McKenna to Disneyland. Their older sisters went when they were younger than Aleah and McKenna so we figured it was about time. And, being the Lego addicts we are, we've been wanting to get to Legoland too. Now since we're only 6 hours away from Disneyland we decided it would be a great time to go. However, school starts so dang early here so we knew if we were going to get it in this year it was going to have to be soon. So, with school starting the next week, we decided to go the first weekend in August. That gave us about three days to get ready. We love being spontaneous!

First, we headed to Legoland in Carlsbad, California. Although I think it was a park geared more towards younger children, we enjoyed it. Our favorite park was Miniland - it was soooo incredible the things they built out of Legos...whole cities!!! And down to every last detail... Amazing! Rob was, however, disappointed to discover that he already owned more Lego sets than they carried in their shops there. Poor guy!

Rob's dream job! Getting paid to play with Legos all day!

On the way up to Anaheim, we stopped by the beach and got out to explore. It wasn't a super warm day and the girls started out with no intentions of getting wet. But of course the waves were just looking like way too much fun and they couldn't resist! So, clothes and all, they played and played and played and searched for seashells too. We all decided that we are definitely going to have to come back next summer and just play at the beach for a few days! FUN!

We then headed to Disneyland and California Adventure. What can I say? I'm a sucker for anything Disney - always a kid at heart! As well as the girls being new to Disneyland, neither they nor Rob had been to California Adventure either (Kaylyn and I got to go with her orchestra in High School). We had a great time the next three days exploring both parks, mastering the FastPass system and walking miles upon miles upon miles! Ahh, my aching feet...but well worth it!

The girls enjoyed rides like the Matterhorn and Indiana Jones that aren't at Disneyworld. And of course, good old favorites: Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Carribean, Thunder Mtn. Railroad and the Tiki Room. At California Adventure, the girls loved the California Screamin' Rollercoaster...and that is SOME rollercoaster! Also, Soarin' over California, the Alladin play and Tower of Terror were favorites. And can I just say? Their new water/light show called World of Color was impressive to say the least! Well worth the time to wait in line for tickets.

Rob built his own R/C car
in Downtown Disney

The girls had a great time collecting
Disney pins!

Splash Mountain

There's just something about Disney that makes a girl, of any age, feel like a Princess!

Way Cute Giveaway!

2010-09-30T09:38:00.000-07:00

Check out my friend, Julie, and her really cute craft ideas on her blog: http://www.craescreations.blogspot.com/

and enter to win this way cute boot! She is very talented!

Witch Boot Giveaway!

Deadline to enter the giveaway is Tuesday, October 5th at Midnight.

Winner will chosen at random (using Random.Org) and announced on Wednesday, October 6th.

A Visit from Ron & Lois

2010-08-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

My brother, Ron, and his wife Lois called in July and said they would be here in a week! That was a pleasant surprise - we hadn't seen them in about a year so it was fun to visit and catch up and show them around our new home.

We took them to Snow Canyon, Kolob Canyon, and Zion National Park. They aren't much for hiking but they sure enjoyed driving through the parks and enjoying the scenery from the car. They also took the time to drive around St. George and take in the historical sites as well. I don't think they cared too much for our 100+ degree weather but they sure enjoyed cooling off in the pool! We told them next time they'd have to come visit in the "cooler" months - especially when they want to get away from all that rain in Everett, WA!

Kolob Canyon

View from Kolob Canyon to the main part of Zion NP

A few mountain goats take a moment to pose for a picture.

I always wondered how they got the rocks soooo red!
They PAINT them - doesn't it look like their paint ran a little?

Mt. Whitney Hike

2010-08-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

Rob had the awesome opportunity to summit Mt. Whitney with the Young Men and leaders from our ward. He didn't know at first if he wanted to go because he knew it wouldn't be a piece of cake: 45 miles in 3.5 days, carrying a 45 lb. pack, 10000 ft. elevation start to 14505 ft. summit, likely altitude sickness, eating tortillas and peanut butter for 3.5 days, bears, sore knees...need I say more? He's not an avid hiker but because he's in such good shape he faired really well. Asked if he's glad he went? Absolutely. Would he do it again? No way. It really is quite an accomplishment to be able to say you've summitted the highest peak in the continental United States at 14,505 feet! Way to go Rob! Not bad for a 45 year old guy.

On the way to the trailhead, they stopped in Death Valley.

Within 3 days, they went from the lowest point in the US

to the highest.

They thought they definitely better start

this hike with a word of prayer if they

were going to survive!

There's Mt. Whitney in the background.

"Boy, we've got a LONG way to go!"

Washing up a bit...couldn't

bring deodorant because

it attracts bears.

Travis & Rob

Guitar Lake - aptly named, don't you think?

They descended the mountain a different way in order to get

back sooner but it meant that it was very steep and rocky!

Look at the switchbacks.

YW Girls Camp 2010

2010-08-20T16:06:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't skip a beat with going to Girls Camp! I was worried I wouldn't get to go since we were in a new ward and stake but, alas, Heavenly Father heard my pleas! It's always fun and interesting to see how different stakes run their girls camp. The Buena Vista stake holds camp on a stake level but the camping is done on a ward level. I always thought this would be kind of nice - having a smaller group would allow us to do our own cooking and other things that you can't do with larger groups. It worked out great. We had 3 yw and 4 leaders - yup! more leaders than girls! ha

Setting up camp

Sis. McRae, our camp director, takes a well
deserved break!

Enjoying some yummy
dutch-oven stew

We cooked, ate, slept, did most of the certification, carved our walking sticks, played games, did crafts and just plain ole had FUN in our ward level. I don't think we stopped laughing the whole time! Oh, and we also took our 1st year on a SNIPE hunt - never seen anything so funny in my life! Except maybe when we taught Bishop and Bro. Yardley to play "Solemn Occasion" and "Big Booty".

Bishop Wilson and Bro. Yardley join in on a game of "Solemn Occasion"

The girls made buckets before camp
to keep their things in. They also
doubled as seat with a
cushioned top.

As a 3rd year, Aleah needed to build
the fire for dinner

The rest of the time was spent together as a stake: certification games, crafts, morning and evening flag ceremony, camp songs, ward camp calls (we had to come up with a different one each morning and each evening - it kept us on our toes!), skits, firesides and "Faith Walk".

Dr. Aleah "saves" Katie from a case of the DOTS during our skit.

Sis. Jourdain teaches CPR to the girls.

The camp was at Little Thunder Camp located up Cedar Canyon, outside of Cedar City. It sat at about 8000 ft above sea level amidst aspen trees and majestic rock mountains. It truly was a beautiful place and we had a great time. Can't wait for next year when McKenna can go! We'll have 6 girls by then - Yay!

Boulder Mountain Hike

2010-08-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

In the middle of July, Rob was able to go with the Young Men on a two-day, one-night hike to the top of Boulder Mountain in central Utah. This was to help prepare them for their upcoming 45-mile hike to summit Mt. Whitney in California. More to come on that later.

Over the course of 15 miles, they hiked from 7000 feet above sea level to 11000 feet. Rob said he could definitely notice less oxygen in the air at that level! But they had a great time and are looking forward to climbing 14,500 ft. Mt. Whitney in a few weeks.

I think Rob would prefer to stick to camping with the Scouts but our Bishop is a huge fan of hiking and had these trips planned before we arrived here. However, Rob is glad he had the opportunity to spend this time with the boys and see some beautiful parts of the country.

The views were spectacular!

On top of Boulder Mountain

Plumb Family Reunion

2010-08-20T11:18:00.000-07:00

All the Plumbs flocked to Spokane over 4th of July weekend for a family reunion and to celebrate Grandpa Plumb's 80th birthday and Grandma Plumb's 78th birthday. We had upwards of 60 family members there. It was great to see everyone again and catch up. We enjoyed silly games, ultimate frisbee, eating, volleyball, bingo, campfires, dutch-oven cooking, and just spending time together!

Mom & Dad Plumb and their 6 children:

(L to R) Mary, Patti, Rob, Sandy, Jim Stephanie

I love my sisters! (Jimmie's Angels)

The "Dreaded" Family Pictures

2010-08-19T15:05:00.000-07:00

What is it about taking family pictures that stresses everyone out? Well, after all the stress we actually ended up having a great time! It had been many years since we'd had a professional family portrait taken of us so we decided the time to do it was when we were all together again in Spokane. I had seen some of my friend's pictures that these photographers had taken and I loved them and knew I had to have them take our pictures. Julie and Arah (madelinejamesphotography.com) were wonderful and really made our photo shoot a fun one. After we were finished, even Rob said that that was kind of fun! :) And I LOVE the pics we got!

Here are some of our favorites:

McKenna's 11th Birthday

2010-08-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

McKenna was soooo excited to be able to celebrate her birthday in Spokane and get together with all her good buddies there. She said it was the best Birthday ever! After much deliberation, she decided she wanted to go to Triple Play with her friends.

Some of the things they enjoyed:

Go-Carts: Luckily, 3 out of the 6 girls were tall enough to drive so it worked out well. The other 3 got to take their lives in their hands and be passengers. :)

Rock Climbing: They all cheered one another on as each reached the top and rang the bell.

Laser Tag: What could be more fun that getting to shoot your friends? Even though they came out a little sweaty, they had a great time dodging all the lasers.

Bumper Boats: This was absolutely hilarious!!! The girls had all made a pact together before they got on the boats to not get wet because it was a little chilly outside. So, for the most part, they kept their ends of the deal... however they forget to take into account the poor driving skills some of them possessed. Luckily Shayla had to suffer the consequences alone and the others were able to stay pretty dry.

Bowling: I'm surprised at how well these 11 yr. old girls could bowl. Several of them broke 100! I'm lucky if I can break 100. :) Of course, they did rely heavily on the bumpers and also rolling the ball down the alley with two hands... backwards!

Cadie, McKenna, Zoe, Charli, Cheyenne & Shayla

Ice Cream Blizzards at DQ: One of McKenna's favorite desserts!

The girls all had a great time at Triple Play, but honestly, they could have been in somebody's backyard and had just as good a time. They were so happy to be back together again. McKenna really misses her good friends but I know they won't let distance stand in the way of life-long friendships! I'm glad she has such wonderful friends!

And thank you to my bestest friend for tagging along with me and keeping me company while the girls played! I loved our time together again!

Pioneer Trek - Youth Stake Conference

2010-08-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

Aleah finally got to participate in a Pioneer Trek after years of watching her sisters and parents go! She was thrilled when upon moving here, she found out they were going to have a trek for their upcoming youth conference.

There were approximately 75 youth and leaders who set out to trek 13 miles through the Kiabab National Forest in Southern Utah. The weather was fabulous for them and they had a great time. Some of Aleah's favorites were hearing true pioneer stories, learning how to make scones and seeing a new part of the country. One of the neatest things?... ending up at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon!!! Breathtaking views + newfound friendships + spiritual edifications + greater appreciation of forefathers = absolutely priceless experience.

Aleah and Katie, the only two YW from our ward,

stick together.

Aleah's "family"

Aleah said they came over a crest in the trail and this

is what they saw. Can you say, "Wow!"?

Utah Summer Games - June 2010

2010-08-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

Every year, Utah puts on the Summer Games, which take place in Cedar City over the course of two weeks. It's quite a big thing, with an Opening Ceremony, Gold/Silver/Bronze Medals, Award Ceremonies, etc. They included sports such as soccer, basketball, table tennis, swimming, baseball, softball, and many others.

McKenna and her soccer team participated this year and took home the Bronze! Way to go Thunder! They were soooo close to playing in the Gold medal game against a team that they had already beaten, but it wasn't meant to be. But despite the windy conditions and sporadic rain, they had a great time and are proud of their medal!

As you can see, size is still an obstacle. :)

McKenna receives her Bronze medal.

Way to go SU Thunder!!!

The Medals Stand: Bronze, Gold and Silver

Memorial Day Fun 2010

2010-08-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day, we invited our friends, The Parrys, over to enjoy some swimming, some water wars, Blongo ball and, of course, eating! What a great day!

Boston gets caught with his hand in the dip...

Good thing he's such an adorable kid!

Brecken asked me to take his picture with Cooper, which is
HUGE, because he's been absolutely terrified of Coop.
But I think he's come to see that Coop is just a big teddy bear.

Travis and Rob enjoying a relaxing day.

Aleah's 14th Birthday Party

2010-05-22T19:15:00.000-07:00

Sun + warm weather + lots of food + presents + pool + 20 girls = Great time!

Goodbye Braces!

2010-05-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

The day finally came when Aleah could say Adios to those braces! She wasn't sure she liked how slimey her teeth felt afterward though. :) But she quickly got used to that feeling and absolutely loves her new smile. Mom and Dad aren't liking how grown up she looks now though! But it truly is a beautiful smile on a beautiful girl!

BEFORE...

AFTER!

Whitworth Graduation

2010-05-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Rob and I had the privilege of flying up to Spokane for Kaylyn's graduation from Whitworth. It was sooooo good to see Kaylyn again! It had been 5 months since we'd seen her, which was way too long. The Graduation Ceremony was very nice and we are very proud of her accomplishments. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Business Management. It was fun to see what the graduates put on their caps. Each department decided together what to go with and then each student decorated their own. Kaylyn's business department went with "It's Business Time" along with business socks attached to the cap. There were some very creative caps!

Kaylyn's cap

Grandma and Grandpa Plumb, a very proud Dad...

Jim & Jill...

proud Dad again, Joy & Jeremy (friends)...all came to help celebrate.

President Bill Robinson spoke at his last graduation ceremony.

He's retiring after 17 years at Whitworth.

Could that smile get any bigger?!

Receiving her Degree

Kaylyn's good friend Krista Deitz, goalkeeper on the soccer team.

Another fellow soccer player and friend, Kelly Lunde.

Although she enjoyed school very much, she is relieved to be done...at least for a while. Her plans are to keep working the two jobs she currently has and possibly put her mission papers in this Fall. We're all trying to get her to move to St. George but no luck yet! :)

We also got to see and visit with some of our dear friends in Spokane and spend time with family too. We are looking forward to being back in Spokane in six weeks for the Plumb Family Reunion. Next time, however, we're driving! Between late and cancelled flights, we spent more time in airports than doing all the things we had planned. I like flying but sometimes it would be quicker to drive! But all in all, we had a great weekend in Spokane with our Girl!

Hershey Track Meet

2010-05-10T14:23:00.000-07:00

This was a fun, new thing that McKenna was able to do here in St. George. They have what's called The Hershey Track Meet and it's for ages 9-14. They have to place in the top two from their school to move on to Districts. McKenna ran the 800M about three weeks ago at Sandstone and placed first in her age group so she got to run this weekend in the Districts.

She discovered that she got a lot more nervous before her race than she does before soccer games. Ahhh - that's the difference between an individual sport and a team sport. In a team sport, the whole team has to shoulder a win or a loss but those who have competed in running, wrestling or any other individual sport know that it's a lot different being out there on your own! However, this aside, she decided she really likes running track and can see herself as a distance runner.

It turned out that there were twenty 11-12 year olds racing in the 800M race (And really, McKenna is still 10!) which was too many! And most of them were a whole foot taller than Boo! I thought for sure they were going to trample my baby when they started. Luckily, she got off to a great start and ahead of most of the pack.

She would need to finish first or second in order to move on to Regionals but after seeing what she was up against, her dad and I were just praying that she would survive and possibly make the podium! We were amazed at how well she did. She ran in third place up until the last 200 meters and then the fourth place girl caught her but she managed to finish 4th and beat her best time by 5 seconds! She set a personal record of 3:00 minutes flat! Definitely nothing to hang her head about and look out for her next year! Way to go McKenna! We're proud of you!

Running a strong 3rd on first lap

4th place girl catches her on last turn of last lap

Getting her 4th place ribbon

5th Grade Field Trip to Zion National Park

2010-04-27T08:11:00.001-07:00

All the 5th graders at Sandstone Elementary were treated with a field trip to Zion National Park. When McKenna brought home the permission slip and it asked for chaperones, I put in a big YES! It was absolutely gorgeous and was a beautiful day to go hiking.

We started first by watching a movie about Zion on the big Imax screen at the visitor's center. It was very interesting and told about some of the history of the park. Then the buses took us up to the Lodge where we ate lunch under a huge tree on the grass, surrounded by majestic, towering redrock cliffs. Pictures just don't do it justice. I just sat there in awe, thanking my Heavenly Father for creating such a beautiful place for me and my family to enjoy. If this is only the Telestial world, I can't even begin to fathom what the Celestial Kingdom must be like!

After lunch, we had planned on hiking part of the Narrows Trail, but because of an accident, it was closed. So we hiked to Weeping Rock which was very refreshing because you get dripped on. There is constantly water running down the side of this big cliff and then it drips off the overhang, thus Weeping Rock. From there we had beautiful views down the canyon. We also had time to hike to the lower Emerald Pool. This was a beautiful and serene place with waterfalls running off into a brown (not emerald :) ) pool. The trail went behind the waterfalls and continued up to the middle and upper pools. I wish we would have had time to continue on but I guess I'll just have to bring the whole family back to experience that! I'm pretty sure one could spend two weeks in Zion and not see everything!

It was a great day spent with McKenna and 75 other kids, parents and teachers. How lucky we are to live in this beautiful part of the country and get to explore and discover new wonders!

Friends and Family Come to Visit

2010-04-05T08:05:00.000-07:00

A lot of people told us when we moved here that we would have a lot of visitors - friends and family calling and saying they're passing through town, can we come visit? Well, so far that's proved to be true and we LOVE it! Rob's sister, Stephanie, and her family have come a couple of times. Next my brother, Dale, and his family stayed with us. And then, we've have three families from Spokane come through.

This last week the Bises stopped by on their way home from California. We didn't tell McKenna they were coming and boy! you should have seen the look on her face when she opened the door! She was sooo excited to see two of her best friends, Cadie and Charli. They hugged and hugged and then they were off - we didn't see them again for over an hour. Even though we couldn't talk them into staying longer, we enjoyed visiting with our friends for a little while. And hopefully we talked them into coming back soon!

Also this last week, our long-time friends Jeff & Trisha Jamison and their family came to visit. We spent three great days showing them around St. George, hiking, swimming and checking out historical sites. The kids had a great time together (ours got to skip school, which they thought was fantastic!) and we're pretty sure they'll be back to visit. They loved the beauty of the red rock and especially the weather! It was 80 degrees when they arrived in St. George.

We are so very thankful for our friends and family and hope that they know they are welcome to visit anytime. Come enjoy the sunshine!

"Pour me a Bridge!"

2010-03-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

So we're playing a card game the other day and after the hands were dealt, someone made a comment about how lousy their hand was. Aleah pipes up and says, "Oh, pour me a bridge!" We all just about busted a gut laughing so hard. Pretty sure she got confused between "build me a bridge" or "cry me a river". Not sure where "pour" came in but that's Aleah for you. She's such a goof!

Spring Break

2010-03-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

Spring break comes early in Utah. At least in Southern Utah it's a little warmer and nicer so the kids can get outside. My brother, Dale, and his family (Anna, Derek, David and Arianne) came to visit us. We had a great time showing them around our new area. Dale, Anna and Derek live in Kansas City. It was also the first time we had met Arianne, who is David's wife, so that was exciting. David and Arianne only live about 3 1/2 hours from us in Arizona, where he is going to school.

Some of the things we did:

Church Historical Sites -

We had all just finished reading the book "Undaunted" about the Hole-in-the-Rock Pioneers so we wanted to go to Jacob Hamblin's Home. He played a big role in the pioneer's relationships with the Indians. (Great book - would highly recommend!)

We also took them to see the Temple and temple grounds. About this time,

our visitors were able to experience a desert windstorm. Wow, was it wicked!

Here is some of the evidence of the storm.

Celebrated Lexi's 19th Birthday at Red Robin -

Ahhh, Chocolate Cherry Cobbler for a birthday cake. YUM!

Backyard Fun -

Hiking in Snow Canyon -

These lava caves were amazing. Some were very large and fun to explore.

Atop a petrified sand dune.

Let the games begin! -

Our families have always liked to play games so there are always

numerous games played when we get together. Our favorites this

time were Ticket to Ride and Bang.

The young man to the right of Lexi is Richard Wiley. He was serving

as a missionary in our ward in Spokane and just returned home the end

of February. He lives in Hurricane.

Richard says, "Bang!"

Crazy Hair Day

2010-03-06T15:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Crazy Hair Day at McKenna's school. Lexi and Aleah helped her "fro" her hair and whew! was it crazy! She was a little nervous about going to school like that, wondering if the other kids here really got into doing wild hair-dos. But when she got to the bus stop, her fears were put to rest. All the other kids had wacky and wild hair too!

President's Cup

2010-02-19T14:55:00.000-08:00

McKenna is excited to be playing soccer with her new team and can't believe that she's playing outdoor in February! The beginning of the year we knew we needed to find her a competitive team to play on so mom did some checking around and there just happened to be one team that was holding tryouts to fill two spots for the Spring season. So, having not had any touches on the ball since last November, she headed to tryouts to compete against three others for the two spots. Luckily, it all came back quickly and she made the team!

The team's name is the Thunder and crazy enough, they are the same colors as her old team; red and black. And they also have a yellow jersey which McKenna thought was really cool. She also thinks it's pretty funny that anytime it LOOKS like it might rain, they head indoors to practice! She calls them all sissys and has told them that in Spokane, they played outdoors come rain, snow or hail! Well, I suppose in a year or two she'll be just as big a sissy!

Last weekend, which was President's Day weekend, they played in a local tournament here in St. George. The weather was absolutely perfect for soccer: mid-60's and sunny! They played well together and against some tough teams and ended up taking second in their division. McKenna loves her new teammates and is very excited for the upcoming Spring season which starts March 6. Go Thunder!

As you can see, she is still going up against much larger girls.

Mac, you really need to put some meat on those bones!

She scores!!!

Family Update

2010-02-01T20:05:00.000-08:00

1. Kaylyn finished up her Bachelors Degree in Business Management at Whitworth University in December. We are looking forward to attending her graduation in May and celebrating this great accomplishment with her. She is now enjoying working two jobs: one, she is working as a personal assistant to the owner of a company in downtown Spokane. She helps plan special events, does research for future investments and puts together budget plans, and two, she works in the catering department at Whitworth. Her knee is healing up well and she is looking forward to being able to play soccer again in the fall, as well as beginning her Masters program in Business. It's hard being so far away from her but we are very proud of her and her desire to be independant and work hard!

2. Lexi is in her second semester at BYU in Provo and is enjoying her classes. She's getting the hang of things a little bit better now and has discovered that it's quite a bit easier to do well in the classes when you actually listen to the lectures and not try to just figure it out on your own! Go figure. It's also been the "Suite Life of Lexi" the last month. Unfortunately, a few of the condos in her complex had frozen pipes burst during a few days of freezing cold weather and her and her roommates had to move into a hotel for a month. But how bad could it have been?...having a maid to make your bed every day for you, simply walking downstairs for a gourmet breakfast every morning, getting money from the landlord for lunch and dinner every day, not having to do any cooking or cleaning or washing dishes. Rough, huh? But she is ready to give that all up and move back into her condo this week.

3. Aleah is very excited about the upcoming Pioneer Trek our Stake is doing in June. She has heard in the past about the treks her sisters and parents have been on and is thrilled to finally be able to go herself. Mom is jealous and would love to go too! They will be trekking in the Kiabab National Forest and ending up at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Cool! This month in YW they are going to be sewing their clothes that they will be wearing and she is looking forward to this a lot. She's also nearing the end of her orthodontia treatment and is looking forward to getting her braces off soon. She gets to wear the wonderful rubber bands that snap your mouth shut every time you open it. Hey, I'm not sure that's a bad thing!

4. McKenna is thrilled to be playing soccer again. She tried out for and made it on a competitive team here and she will be playing in her first tournament with them this weekend. They are the THUNDER and she is really enjoying getting to know her new teammates. She still can't believe that they can play year round outside here in Southern Utah but is loving it! Other than soccer, she is keeping busy with school, Activity Days at church, taking Cooper on hikes and playing with her neighborhood friends. At school, they had a field trip to the intermediate school she will be attending next year and BOY! is it big! She came home and said she didn't know how she was ever going to be able to find her classes at Fossil Ridge. And she doesn't think that it's very neat that she will have to start her school day earlier than Aleah next year!

5. Rob is off and running with real estate and is really enjoying it. Houses move pretty quickly here it seems, so it keeps him on his toes. He also was recently called to be Scoutmaster again, which I said was great because then I wouldn't have to update his profile. Ha! His first campout with the boys was last weekend. It was the Klondike Derby, held up Cedar Canyon where there was about five feet of snow. So much for getting away from the snow! But they all had a great time: they made a huge snow cave to sleep in, dug a fire pit all the way through the snow to the ground and carved benches out of snow around it to sit on, and of course, had great Dutch oven food! They learned quickly that Brother Plumb's cooking is the BEST! The other leader that went with them said he didn't really like chocolate, but after tasting the Chocolate Cherry Cobbler, he had TWO big servings!

6. As for me, I am still trying to unload the last of the moving boxes. I think I'm just about there but now I have to find a place to put everything and put everything in it's place! Also, I have not one, but two callings in the ward. I am the sports specialist for YW and Relief Society (a calling you would only hear about in Utah!) and also a Primary teacher. I'm thrilled to be back in Primary! We are really enjoying our new ward, which is huge and grows more and more each week. I'm also excited that I found some ladies that like to play volleyball as much as I do. We get together every Monday morning and play for about three hours. And, I'm definitely enjoying all this sunshine!!! I've found a new love: running. And I never thought I would say that but running in the beautiful red rock country on trails of soft sand has been good to me. My knees don't hurt and the drier, higher altitude agrees with me!

7. Cooper is definitely loving life in the desert! He cannot wait to go on his walk/hike every day. In fact, he will follow me around the house and just stare at me until I take him. Funny thing is, I'm not sure who enjoys it MORE; him or me! He thinks he's died and gone to heaven - the very idea of being able to pee on whatever bush or rock he sees, chase after bunny rabbits and be off the leash and go at whatever pace he wants is just too good to be true!