Piano Recital on April 20th

Dallin playing Traumerei by R. Schumann

Dallin playing Little Serenade by Hadyn

Austin playing Wake Up Dance and Minuet in D Major.

Eden playing Minuet in C Major and Show Boat.

Cameron playing Prelude in E Major by J.S. Bach.

Cameron playing Watz in A Flat Major Op. 64 #3 by Chopin was too big to put here.

Bravo Honors Recital

On April 12 and 13 the oldest three kids participated in the Bravo Piano Festival. The all did really well. Cameron was chosen as a winner in her age group and got to play at the Honors Recital on Saturday. She also won $20. Yay Cameron.

The next Saturday the kids had their piano recital at this same location. They all did fantastic. We recorded their performances but I can't seem to figure out how to get them up on the blog.

Sourdough Loaves

I've been experimenting with different recipes and forms for my dough lately. Here are two boules I made with a lame (bread scoring tool) that I ordered from weekendbakery.com. which happens to be located in the Netherlands. I ended up ordering some very large plastic bowls from them too because I needed larger bowls for my dough to rise in and couldn't find any on amazon or any other place here in the states. Anyway, check out their website. They have great tips and recipes.

I also made these boules with a sourdough starter that I left out on my counter a little extra long and mixed with white flour instead of whole wheat. These loaves have 4 cups white flour and 2 cups whole wheat, 2 1/2 cups water, some salt and a little coconut oil, along with the sourdough starter of course. It's a fast and simple recipe but they were light and fluffy and definitely sour. They were a big hit.

General Conference

We got home from our Spring Break vacation late Friday night. First thing Saturday morning I had to have the kids to Orem for a piano lesson. We hurried home to watch the first session of General Conference. Then I headed back up to AF to have lunch with my family for Breanne's birthday and hurried back for the second session of conference. It was a busy weekend.

But we still managed to keep with tradition and let the kids play with playdough during conference. Here are a couple of their creations from Sunday.

Spring Break, the drive home

On our way home from Flagstaff we stopped by Sunshine Crater and then drove past these Pueblo dwellings.

We also took the other highway through monument valley. I'm not sure what this big rock is sticking up in the middle of nowhere but it seemed pretty dark and foreboding to me.

The drive was beautiful. Humor me for a minute. I couldn't get enough of the white fluffy clouds, the red rock and the barren landscape.

My cell phone seemed to capture the colors the best.

Spring Break, Sedona Arizona

On the last day of our trip we went to Sedona, Arizona. This is one of the most beautiful cities in the world to me. Although, I think everyone else feels that way too because it was packed. It's a super small town with narrow roads and they were covered bumper to bumper with cars. Bummer. Our first stop was the church built out of the rock. For some reason I never got a picture of the actual church. Probably because we were too busy checking out this amazing house just below the church. Cameron begged me to knock on their door and ask them if she could have her wedding reception there. Yeah, she's twelve.

The yard was amazing!

The church had some spectacular views that made for a few fun pictures.

Somehow we got Popeye in our picture.

After lunch we went to Slide Rock State Park. I remember coming here when I was 12 with Shannon and Roberta. I loved this place. It was so fun to take my kids. Unfortunately, it was so cold we didn't think it would be open for swimming so we didn't bring our suits.

But temptation got the better of all of us.

The water was only 50 degrees but I was able to convince Treygan to get in and try out the natural rock water slide. (I'm not too sure how happy Kelly was with me about that). But Treygan was all for it!

Eden fell in a few minutes later so we told her she might as well try the slide too. It took a little more coaxing with her than it did with Treygan.

And I think it was a little too deep for her too. Poor thing.

She only tried it once because the clouds came and the wind picked up and we had no towels or change of clothes for her. She shivered as we headed back to the car.

That night we convinced the older kids to babysit and we went to a really nice place for dinner. I wish I could remember what it was called. The food was fantastic. I got duck and loved it!

Spring Break, The Grand Canyon

On Wednesday April 3rd we went to see The Grand Canyon! It was pretty impressive!

We took a hike for a mile and a half down into the canyon with all of the kids. I wish we had the backpack for Evelyn because the sheer drops made me nervous. But all of the kids did really well.

There were a lot of switchbacks but at least the view was impressive the whole time.

Evelyn has some issues with animal droppings ever since she saw the cows at the end of our road pooping in the grass. Ryan explained these droppings were from horses. She said, "No my like horses. Horses poop on the ground. That's gross. Disgusting." I think she believes the animals are unkempt because they can't poop in the potty like she does.

I usually hang out towards the back on hikes so I can keep an eye on all my ducks. But my biggest duck tends to be concerned about me lately and likes to stay with me. It's really sweet. I wish I was as compassionate as Dallin is.

This was as far as we went. I was really worried that Ryan would get too tired carrying Evelyn for so long and she seemed pretty tired too.

When we got back up we were greeted by this fine fellow.

Thank goodness for the trams to take you along the rim.

Somebody wasn't happy with me for a little while. I had to sneak this picture.

As the sun began to set the shadows and colors of the canyon really came alive.

We made up. I love how quickly children can be forgiving. He held my hand the rest of the day.

Unfortunately, later that night we left the restaurant where we had dinner without him. I got a phone call from a sweet older lady telling me she was with Austin. Fortunately, we were just across the street at the Imax but Austin thought we were already headed back on the long drive to Flagstaff. Poor thing. He was so brave. And I was so proud of him for knowing my cell phone number and finding a sweet older couple to help him. (But yeah, I won the loser mom award for the day).

Here are some pictures with Eden's camera.

This looks like it should be an advertisement for Aeropostale clothes.

This one freaks me out. I still have issues with heights.

Ryan and Evan ran back to get the cars and we got the kids some ice cream. I took this picture with my cell phone. I think it's my favorite.