CANYONLANDS!

Another wonderful camping trip for the Harker family this fall break weekend. The weather was perfect! I am in denial that this is the end of the camping/hiking season. We have had some great adventures this spring/summer/fall and I don't know if I can wait another 6 months to do it again. Here we are at the entrance to Canyonlands National Park. This was our first time here.
The scenery is absolutely amazing. We were at a place called "Island in the Sky" because it is a big mesa raised up above the rest of the canyon where the Colorado and Green river cut through. We were on the edge of cliffs most of the time looking down. Good thing no one fell off!

We hiked our little tails off. This first one was called "Grand View," and yes, the view was grand!

As always, my boys have to have a snack break at the end of the trail.
Next was the "White Rim Overlook Trail." This was probably my favorite one because you could see for miles and miles in all directions. Got a little nervous though with my boys so close to the edge.

By the end of that one, Miles was pretty pooped and Mike had to carry him back. Even though he looks dead, he isn't.

The last hike of that day was to "Mesa Arch." You are supposed to hike this one in the morning to get an amazing view of the sunrise through it, but evening was pretty too.

The next morning it was back to the visitor center to claim our Jr. Ranger badges.

Our first hike of day two was to some ancient Pueblonean (sp?) granaries where they used to store their food and such. Really amazing to think that people actually lived off the land here since it is just desert with little water.

Next was "Whale Rock." Pretty much a bunch of very steep slickrock that took us way up to another amazing view.

At the top!

After that we did another hike to "Upheaval Dome," and then drove into Moab for some dinner and ice cream. Mike, always the adventurer, wanted to drive back to our camp on a unpaved, crazy dirt road that went up and down cliff faces and over rocky, unmaintained road. He loved using his 4 wheel drive and felt like king of the cliffs. (I on the other hand had white knuckles the entire 2 hour drive!) This is one stop where you can look down at the Colorado River. Gorgeous!

So once again, it was an amazing adventure! Utah really is a beautiful state and it is no wonder why people from all over the world come to visit. We met people from Texas, Wisconsin, and France. I am so glad to call this state home. I can't wait for the end of winter so I can get out with my boys and have more fun adventures! Grand Canyon in April for spring break. I can't wait!!

Max's Baptism

Max was baptised on October 8, 2011. He has been looking forward to it for a long time. When I asked him if he needed to pray about it to ask Heavenly Father if it was the right thing to do he said, "I already know it is the right thing to do because Jesus was baptised." What a smart, righteous young man Max is!
It won't be too many years in the future when Max will be as tall as his dad. I am so glad he has such a righteous, priesthood honoring, man to look up to.

Max's Grandpa Miller gave the talk on baptism. He threw a baseball to Max at the beginning to get his attention, then talked about how life can be compared to a baseball game. He told Max that keeping the commandments is like hitting a solid hit and that his baptism is putting him on first base. Eventually, his goal will be to return to "home plate" with Heavenly Father and Jesus. He also told him that we are all his coaches and fans. It was a really good analogy and I think Max understood what Grandpa was telling him.

Grandma Harker gave Max a talk on the Holy Ghost. She gave Max a white bag filled with things to remind him of the roles of the Holy Ghost. There was a compass, a flashlight, a heart, a brain, an ear, a blanket, a cell phone, and the scriptures.

When the baptism was over, Mike confirmed Max and gave him the gift of the Holy Ghost. He gave him a wonderful blessing that told Max to stay on the right path and to listen to the promptings he would receive throughout his life.

Afterwards, all our family joined us at the church for a luncheon of sandwiches, salads, chips, soda, cupcakes, and cookies. Yummy! It was wonderful to have everyone there to share this special day with Max.

Fall Sports

Each of my boys has been participating in a sport this fall. It makes getting to each game and practice a challenge, but somehow Mike and I manage to tag team pretty well and get everyone where they need to be.

Mitchel has been doing Taylorsville Rec basketball on the 5th and 6th grade team. Mike is his coach. I don't have any action shots because they never turn out very good on the court. Mason has been playing Taylorsville Rec soccer on the "Green Grasshopper" team. He LOVES it and is actually quite good. During this particular game, he scored 3 goals. YIPPEE!

And Max has been playing in the Taylorsville Babe Ruth league with the the 8 year old Taylorsville Team. He usually plays right or left field.

I have loved watching all of my boys play each sport. I don't know if any of them have any "natural" talent. but for now they are all having fun and learning a lot. It is a joy for me as their mom to cheer them on. Each boy's season is almost over, then we'll take a short break until Jr. Jazz season. All three of them want to do that. Go Harkers!

Loving September

The weather this September has seemed absolutely perfect to me and a great way to wind down the summer. A few weeks ago, we got a Friday off of school, so to me that means it's time for an outing. We spent the morning running errands with my sister, then took a drive up Big Cottonwood Canyon to explore around Silver Lake. I was hoping for some fall colors, but the leaves hadn't changed quite yet.
My boys are so lucky to have such an awesome Aunt and I am lucky to have such a good friend who will come and hang out with us! We all love you Tracy!
I needed to get a picture of Max to display at his baptism. I love how the sun is sparkling off the water.

There are docks out on the lake that people come and fish off of. Right when we came by, two men caught fish at the same time. They let my boys real them in and touch the fish. Mason was so excited. He had never touched a real, live, squirming fish before!

The men said we could keep them, but since we didn't have anywhere to put them, we just threw them back in the lake. I hope they survived.

It was an absolutely gorgeous afternoon. I am so glad we live so close to the mountains and can enjoy them whenever we want.

(As a side note, the next weekend we drove up this same canyon while listening to General Conference and ALL the leaves had changed to a bright, golden yellow. Apparently, I was just a week too early for the photo shoot with my boys.)

Brace Face #2

Look at the new BLING Mitchel got! What a cutie! Mitchel's teeth were actually aligned pretty well, but he did have an overbite. Since the opportunity came our way, we thought we might as well fix it while we could. Mike had to take him to get them on since I was at work. When I saw him for the first time I was blown away. 1) He looks so cute with them and 2) He looks so much older with them. It's like I have a teenager in my house! It is nice that I can empathize with him since I've been through it too. The first few days are pretty rough. But he has adjusted quite well and hasn't complained a bit (unlike me who complained about them every day!)

Max Turns Eight!

Max celebrated his eighth birthday on the 7th of September. It was a crazy, busy day, but he managed to have a great birthday. Birthdays at the Harker's always start with some presents in the morning. Max had to hurry this year because he had to get to school.

Presents are followed by a birthday breakfast of Mom's famous Bisquick pancakes. Then it was off to school.

When Max got home, he headed straight to the ballpark for his game. He is playing on the eight year old Taylorsville team. It wasn't Max's best game and he struck out on the last ups, but he still had fun.

Right after that we headed out for a family party at Fat Cats for bowling and pizza. Grandma and Grandpa Miller joined us for this one. Max bowled an amazing game and almost beat everyone.

He got what he wanted the most from G&G Miller, a real, flying, remote control helicopter.

By the time we got home it was time for showers, brushing teeth, and going to bed, so we didn't even get to eat the cupcakes I had made for him. So we saved them for the next day and he was able to blow out his birthday candle and make a wish.

I'm so glad to have Max in my life. He is so affectionate and loving. He makes me feel like I do a good job as a mom. I am glad we got to share his eighth birthday with him and we are looking forward to his baptism in a few weeks.

First Day of School

Is summer really over? School started so early this year (Aug. 22) and it really felt like our summer was cut short. Oh well. Everyone was excited to go back and begin another year of academic growth. Mitchel is in 5th grade this year. It blows my mind because I can remember my fifth grade year like it was yesterday. I was so boy crazy by then, I had the most fabulous teachers, and that was the year I knew I would also be a school teacher someday. I hope Mitchel loves it as much as I did.
Mitchel's teacher is Ms. Miller. He also will rotate into Ms. Laver's class for some of the subjects. His cute friend Hayden is in his class so that will make it nice for him.

Of all my kids, Max was the most excited to go back to school. He is so social and loves being around people. He is also very smart and loves to learn. Max is in 2nd grade this year. He is by far the tallest and most people think he is in 3rd or 4th. His teacher is Mrs. Duckworth. Mitchel had her too and we absolutely love her! She is so kind and caring and fun. I love how she makes the kids feel and she gives them so much confidence in themselves. He is going to have a great year with her.

My sunshine Mason started Kindergarten this year. I had him all signed up to go to morning Kindergarten, then my principal wanted me to switch to working in the afternoon. Luckily, Mason had qualified for the "advanced" Kindergarten and they wanted him in that class in the afternoon.

He was so excited to go and be like his big brothers.

His teacher is Mrs. Andrews. She is a short little lady who loves these little Kindergartners. (The sun was shining right in their faces when I took this picture.)

And I had my first day of school too. Like I said, I switched to afternoons, but I'm not sure what I will be doing yet. The 4th and 5th grade teachers are trying to decide how they want to use me the best, so we shall see. My classroom is all ready though for whatever they throw at me. So another year begins. I hope we all have success and learn a lot. School is a great place to be!