The Stink Eye

Edison is such a love-able, like-able guy but occasionally he finds someone he doesn't like. And for some reason that person is Chris's brother Josh. We were over there the other night with Josh, his family and some friends when Edison came walking in glaring at everyone. He has perfected the stink eye. I was trying to get him perform for me but I guess he likes me too much!

Random-ness

Today it was 4 degrees (felt like -10 degrees because of the wind.) when the kids wanted to go out and play in the snow. I let them because we have been, for the most, part stuck in this house all week. It was -4 degrees on Monday. I cannot believe how cold it is!!

(Hey boys, don't try to look happy or anything, okay.)

Edison looked so funny in all his snow gear. He loved walking around the house in his boots.

A long time ago (about 4 months) I thought it would be fun to do home-made gifts for Christmas for each other. Now I am thinking--not so fun. Chris and I are both working on the rag quilt for Gordon since that is the one that is taking the longest to get anywhere. This picture was taken in March when I just started cutting out the fabric and I was so excited. Now I have sworn never to sew again! I think I should be embarrassed to admit that I started this project in March but I am so over it.

And I am also making a quiet book for Edison. Which is coming along quite nicely, thank you. I was going to make a headboard for our bed for Chris but we decided the project that he is working on for me will be both of our presents since it is costing more than we thought. He is making a bookcase and it is going to be the nicest piece of furniture we own. Got to start somewhere right?

And finally some good news. We found our camera. Such a funny story. So I decided to wake up at 2:45 a.m. to be at Target by 3:00 a.m. to buy a new camera. This was the first time I woke up really early to do Black Friday shopping. It was kind of fun just because I had my sisters with me. Anyway, at the end of the weekend, Chris decides to go up and check our room one more time to make sure we didn't forget anything. He looks in the big dresser to see if the kids maybe put something in there, and there was our camera!! Yeah! We were so happy. And thankful.

And now, I may just have to post Halloween pictures in December. Would that be too awful?

Meet Puddy

A little introduction to the interview below. This dog/blanket was Gordon's since he was a baby and we always called it Buddy. Gordon couldn't say buddy so he said "Puddy." Even now that he can say buddy, it is still "Puddy." Puddy has always been there, but more in the background, until lately. I think it was around the time we moved, Puddy became Gordon's best friend. Puddy went everywhere and did everything with him. And now without further ado, I introduce to you, Puddy...

M: What is Pudddy?
G: Her's a girl
M: What does Puddy like to do?
G: She likes to pick up movies and put them in their spots. Her likes to play with choo-choo trains and...her likes to play outside.
M: What does she like to do with you.
G: Her likes to hug me.
M: anything else
G: Nope
M: Why do you like Puddy?
G: Because her's my baby.
M: Where did you get Puddy?
G: From Logan. Her just, we didn't even found her.
M: How do you take care of Puddy
G: Her can have a blanket and a picnic. Look at her picnic blanket.
M: Do you love Puddy more than you love mommy?
G: Yep, well Puddy's mommy died. Because her is a little bit much. Her makes a mess for lunch.
M: Anything else you would like to tell us about Puddy?
G: Yep, her likes to play hide and seek.

I've had this in my drafts for awhile now and I think it appropriate to post it now as a tribute and a goodbye. We lost Puddy at a relatives house and it was deduced that the dog took her away and buried her. It was very sad for Gordon (not so much for mommy.) It took a couple of weeks to forget about her but I think he has finally moved on. It happened about a week before his birthday and he kept asking me if Puddy was going to come to his party. I think once she was a no-show, Gordon decided to find a new best friend, his stuffed moose. Moose is no where near the status that Puddy once was. Moose is often forgotten and doesn't have to go in the car with us everywhere we go. Moose doesn't ever get to eat breakfast with us and rarely gets to sleep with Gordon at night. Moose just isn't the same. Goodbye Puddy. You are loved and missed (by at least one of us.)

Gordon's par-tay

I think I am loosing my mind. Well, I am definitely loosing everything else. We can't find our camera. The last time we remember having it was at the Halloween party at my parent's ward...hopefully it turns up.

So I am more than a week late in posting about Gordon's 4th birthday. I had to borrow my sis-in-law's camera. The theme was: BUGS!

I got this idea from Cara. I just loved it. Super cute and pretty easy. The only problem was we made the first batch of bugs too skinny so when transferring them to the cupcakes, they all broke. But once we learned that lesson...easy, peasy.
I made antennae headbands for all the kids and I must say, "Super cute". My twin nephews had the brilliant idea of using them like headset walkie-talkies so everyone kept going around, "Come in commander, can you pass the glue." Aaa-dorable.We made little bug scenes with stickers, markers, glue, and paper while we waited for all the kdis to arrive. Then we played stick the dot on the ladybug with Oreos. Lick it and stick it. That was fun even if the my ladybug looked a little squashed.
Each kid also got a tiny magnifying glass and had to go outside in the back yard and hunt for bugs. Then we did cupcakes and "bug juice." The kids loved that and Gordon still asks for it. Silly, silly. My dad was telling all the kids that they had to squeeze so many grasshoppers to get all this juice. Gross.
I didn't get very many pictures of the opening presents part because the kids kept crowding around. I wish I would have gotten a picture of the garbage truck we got him but I'm not joking when I say that thing was gone before I could blink. The kids loved it and Gordon has been playing with it non-stop. It looks pretty much just like this. All in all, it was a fun time. And I know someone who really enjoyed their cupcake...
Happy Birthday Gordon. We sure love you!!

Gordon

Gordon is now four. Here are some things he is into now-

1. Lying. It is true. We had to have a little talk about lying and now he still doesn't get it. When I tell him I think his shoes are up in his room but really they are in the car, I am a liar. I told him, that's not lying because I just thought maybe his shoes were there. So the other day I asked him if he picked up the movies. He said no so I went and checked. They were picked up. He said, "I didn't lie, I just thought they weren't picked up." Silly boy.
2. He loves watching movies. Anything and everything. He would watch movies all day if I let him.
3. Lately he has really gotten into coloring where before he would sit for about one minute and color. I am loving it. He is getting really good coloring in the lines too.

Gordon

Dear Gordon,

This birthday letter is a little late, but I still wanted to talk about this stage in your life and tell you how much I love you. The move to Heyburn has been hard on all of us. You miss your good friends, as do I. I know it took me awhile to get back to being the mommy you need me to be and I want to thank you for being patient with me and always loving me. You are so forgiving and loving.

You are my big helper. Always have been and always will be I think. You love to "help" with your brother Edison. You mean well, but sometimes I have to remind you that Edison only needs one mother! You are so good with Edison and you guys play really well together (for the most part) because of your kindness and patience.

This year we are doing Joy School with several other moms and kids in our ward and you have really enjoyed it. You are very social and love to have friends. You learn very quickly and love to pick out the first letter of different words. You'll tell me, "Telephone starts with T" and then continue telling me other words that start with T as well.

As always, you love to watch movies. Recently we watched Robin Hood and now you like to pretend you are Robin Hood using a hanger as your bow and arrow. You also have like Peter Pan and love to play Captain Hook and Peter Pan, especially with the pirate hook and sword you got for your birthday. You also saved up enough dimes to go to the local discount theater and watch Planet 51. You love the "big TV" and would probably sit through any movie at the theater.

You are my best buddy and we love to do everything together. You are very obedient and I thank my Heavenly Father every night that I was blessed with such good boys. I love you so much! Happy Birthday Gordon.

Love,

Mom

Good Morning Heyburn!

Good morning everyone. My kids woke up yesterday at 6:30 and today at 6:00. For me, that is too early. Is anyone else having trouble with their kids and Day Light Savings. We are still on "old time" Since we had breakfast an hour earlier, we had lunch an hour earlier, dinner... and so on. I say we boycott Day Light Savings; who needs it anyway. It is just too depressing when its dark at 6:00 in the evening.

Guess who's goin' on a mission

Click here to find out.

A few things I love about this video:

1- all the cell phones with family members on the other end
2- when we all scream after we hear where Katie is going. I tried to figure out who started the screaming and I think it was "Chad's Katie." Can you confirm or deny this.
3- I LOVE my sister!! She will be such an awesome missionary.

We went through the Twin Falls temple for Katie's endowment on Saturday and it was so neat to have everyone there. We are getting closer to our family goal of having all members of our family in the temple. Only three more years!! Anyway, we are so proud of Katie and I will miss her so much when she leaves!!

Murder Mystery fun!!

I have always wanted to throw a Murder Mystery party and when I found out all my family would be in town for Halloween I took that as a go ahead. My family are really good sports to put up with all my crazy antics. I had so much fun I think I will do another one next year!

The theme was "Class of '85 High School Reunion." And we were all supposed to dress up '80's and in our "character." Introducing:

Chris (aka Danny Drums)- marching band nerd turned struggling musician

Me (aka Molly Ringworm)- drama queen turned Hollywood actress. I even won an Oscar!

(This picture was actually taken at a party the night before)

Zach (aka B.A. Barricade- the high school punk turned body guard)

I am so sad this picture didn't turn out. He had is hair dyed orange! And those are tattoo sleeves.

Sarah (aka Terry Johnson)- the hall monitor turned traffic cop (and she is like 5 months pregnant in this picture)

Craig (aka Bailey Babble)- school gossip turned journalist
Ryan (aka Joe Nebraska)- jock turned high school basketball coach

Teri (aka Natalie Nebraska)- cheerleader turned lying tramp (sorry Teri!!)
My dad (aka Byron Keaton)- math nerd turned accountant and hugely wealthy

My mom (aka Myra Keaton)- math team cheerleader (didn't know there was such a thing) turned accountant and devoted wife
I totally did the stretch pants with stirrups and over sized sweater in the early 90's. Love it!

Katie (aka Pamela Abdul)- Dance Captain turned famous choreographer (Katie is holding Elyse, not a doll.)

Jake (aka Nick Nixon)- class president turned Presidential hopeful

Lexie (aka Nancy Nixon)- class vice president turned supportive wife dying to be the first lady

Chad (aka Steve Spielson)- audio visual geek turned mega Hollywood director

Katie (aka Cindy Crawfish)- class flirt turned class flirt (somethings never change!!)
Brett (aka Mike Majesty)- prom king turned working a dead-end job and hating life

Maren (aka Mallory Majesty)- prom queen turned controlling wife (such an opposite role for her if you know Maren at all!)
Austin (aka Bobbie Bright) - Valedictorian turned conniving lawyer

As the night went along Chad ended up being murdered. I killed him because he was going to leak out my dirty past and ruin my chances of staring in the new Disney movie! Zach blackmailed the most and ended up with the most money. No one solved the murder, Craig ended up with "Best Costume" award, Brett or maybe it was Dad got the best "Acting" award. All in all in was a fun night!

Halloween 2009

Halloween went way to fast. I didn't get many great pictures. Gordon was too excited to get going and Edison wouldn't sit still for a second. My dad gave me the idea for construction worker costumes and I just loved it. I couldn't find any tool belts for the look and price I wanted so I decided to make them. But it actually turned out that Chris made them. (He would be so embarrassed that I told you that.)

I added a little eyeliner "goatee" to Gordon and I think it was a nice touch. Don't worry I don't actually use that eyeliner. I is old and got all orangey on me.

Kids are so spoiled these days! My dad took all the grandkids out trick or treating on the four-wheeler.
They had way too much fun! It went by too fast though because we had to get to my parents' ward Trunk-or-Treat/Chili cook off. But it was a good thing we went because my mom's chili won!!
This is the only picture I have of Edison with his hard hat on. It kept falling off even with the beanie. And I just had to throw in this picture of my nephew Fisher. He was a chef and his chef hat (homemade) was so cute.
We had our whole family together for the Halloween weekend because Katie went through the temple for her endowment and it was also Elyse's (Brett and Maren's) baby blessing. Having a big family is fun but crazy!!

September came and went

Wow. Here is one of those really long posts about what I did for the WHOLE month. Get ready!

I read Harry Potter 4, 5, 6, and half of 7. I know, I am a little late hopping on the band wagon here. I was getting sick and tired of everyone giving me the shock, "You haven't read the Harry Potters!!!!" But, really I do love them. I have also been watching the movies in between each book. Pretty fun stuff.

I threw a totally awesome, tubular, rockin' DANCE party for my family. It was fun. I just love throwing parties. We danced, we sang karaoke, and we ate way too much food.

I started a Joy School pre-school with some ladies in my ward for Gordon. I do not like being in charge of things like this but I wanted a home pre-school, so instead of waiting around for someone else to do it, I started one. I don't know yet what I've got myself into. We'll see how it goes.

Started a few posts, but never finished them. You know how it goes... All of our favorite TV shows started up again, so my time for blogging is limited.

The family went on a little weekend trip to Las Vegas. My old roommate from college got married and Chris's sister lives about an hour from Vegas so we got to spend some time with her and her kids. Gordon had tons of fun and can't wait to go back again...maybe next year! Chris and I also got to see a fun show in Vegas thanks to his sister for watching our kiddos.

Chris's brother Kolby left for his mission to Buenos Airies, Argentina. Good luck Elder Tatton!

My sister-in-law had a little baby girl and she is so precious. You forget how tiny babies are. Was Edison really that small?

We had some friends from Logan come up and stay a day with us. We had tons of fun seeing the sights. You know, the sights...we've got a ton here. Come and see us and we'll show you what we mean!!

Entertain ME

Gordon has to be constantly entertained. He rarely plays by himself for longer than 5 minutes. Since I am always trying to come up with fun things to do I thought I would share what I've come up with if you promise to share your ideas too!The other day Gordon and I made some vanilla pudding and I found this great idea to put the pudding in a muffin tin and add different colors to the tins and do some finger painting. It really was fun, fast, and easy to clean up.Then when they were done painting, I gave them graham cracker sticks to eat it all up with. If you think this is gross you should see what else they put in their mouths.Another easy way to entertain kids, especially boys, get some flour or oats and pour it onto a large cookie sheet and let them dig around in it with their little cars. Gordon loves this. The first time we did this he would play for the whole time I made dinner every day for a week. It was great. Now he only plays for about 15 minutes to a half hour depending.In this picture he is telling me to stop taking pictures so he can just play. Hence the angry look. So what are some fun things you do to keep your kids entertained?

How Emily Got Her Groove Back

Finally, I feel like I am myself again. Yes, it took awhile. For the past month I have been ornery, lazy, tired, nagging, blaming everything on everyone but myself, and being just plain, old grouchy. But now I have energy (well, at least more than I had before. These boys still wear me out) and I actually do things with my kids and I am happy when my husband comes home from work instead of complaining that he is late. What has caused this wonderful change in my behavior? Well, a few things: 1)Chris and I got to go to Boise for a business trip. Just a nice overnight vacation to rejuvenate and spend a little time with my husband who hasn't had a day off since we moved here (excluding Sunday) 2)and yeah! he has this Saturday off! We are going to clean this house from top to bottom! 3)I think I just realized that I've got to get with it. No one can make my circumstances better but myself.
But there is one thing I cannot do for myself. Get commenters!!!! I think I left half of my four readers in Logan. Now lets see how many people can comment on this here post. Who's with me?!

Its a good thing I didn't go into child psychology

Could someone please tell me WHY-

• it is so much fun to throw food on the floor
  
• my eighteen month old drools so much he needs a new shirt by midday
• Gordon likes to stick things in the back of his underpants and keep them there. (It tickles his bum, he says.)
  
• my almost-four year old has to tell me he needs to go to the bathroom EVERY time before he goes (he doesn't want my assistance just the knowledge that he needs to go.)
  
• but he cannot ask my permission before he gets any food out of the fridge
• kissing an owie makes everything better (not complaining about this one)
• it is fun to throw toys down the stairs or dump all toys on the floor- not to play with them, just to have them all over
  
• and what is so enticing about screaming in the car? Happy or sad. Edison loves to scream in the car
  

Name them one by one

I am having a hard time here but instead of listing the many things that are keeping me down I am going to try the opposite. As my friend recently reminded me, "It's count your blessings not your trials." So here goes:

1. We live close to family- Brett and Maren, Josh and Katie, My Parents, Chris' Parents, Justin and Ellen
2. I love our kitchen, it is so big!
3. We have linoleum flooring in the dining room- no more carpet!
4. Gordon is so grateful we live on the bottom floor and can go outside all day
   
5. I am thankful that a hose with a sprinkler head can entertain my kids when I am too worn out
6. We live about two minutes drive from Chris' work
7. Chris enjoys his work
8. Chris has a job
9. For the most part I really do have wonderful kids
10. We live one block from the park
11. There is absolutely no temptation to spend more than our budget because there is nothing to do here or no where to shop other than Wal-Mart
12. Our circumstances are forcing me to be more creative in entertaining our children
13. We have what really matters- each other, our health, happiness, and a loving Heavenly Father who knows what is best even when I don't
    

And...We're Back Online

Finally we have the internet again! Life here in Heyburn is slow but we get to see a lot more of Chris so I'm not complaining. Gordon and I have had some great conversations. Here is one we had yesterday.
(We could here our neighbor girl screaming and so Gordon said she was throwing a fit and got locked in the tower FOREVER. After discussing the many ways she could escape, Gordon told me a dragon knocked down her door and saved her.)

G: And then the dragon will come and eat you.
M: I thought he was a nice dragon?
G: He is. He only eats fat people.
M: I'm not fat.
G: Yes you are.
M: Gordon, do you even know what fat means?
G: Yes, it means you are like an elephant. And you are like an elephant and you have an elephant nose.
I stopped the conversation after that before he could come up with even more insults!

Let's Be Honest

The real reason I haven't been posting (or posting anything real) much because I have had only one thing on my mind as of late and it wasn't really a subject I wanted to share with the world. As most of you know, Chris graduated in May in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning. Finding a job has been tough.

Plain.
old.
no.
fun.

After about a month of rejections (about 5-10 a day) Chris decided to give it one more shot. (Now you have to understand here: Chris had NO job once school let out because during school he was a teacher's assistant so we needed something quick.) He applied to an international company hiring in the middle east, specifically the Kingdom of Bahrain. At first I was like, "Yeah, okay, apply for a job in Bahrain or whatever. It is not like we are going to ever move there!" Then I started to really consider it when the company was actually considering Chris. We did a lot of thinking and praying, talking and fasting, back and forth-ing. Right around the same time my brother Brett offered Chris a job at the family business. Now things were heating up. We had to make a decision. Chris and I both felt that Bahrain was the right thing for our family. We were so excited and started dreaming of our life abroad. When they finally offered Chris the job we were ecstatic. We both have never wanted something so bad. This was the biggest decision, since marriage, that either of us had ever had to pray over. We felt everything was falling into place. Then the contract arrived. The company was not willing to pay more than they would pay a middle eastern worker which would definately not support our family. Chris was very disappointed and had to turn it down. Why then, did we both feel it was the right choice? After months of stress, wondering, hoping, praying...we were left broken hearted. I told Chris we had one day to be angry about it and then we are moving on. We came to the conclusion that maybe the reason we felt it was right was because if we hadn't put all our effort into getting the job we would have always wondered, "what if?" Now we can move to Idaho, moving forward with no regrets. Knowing that we gave it our all.
So...Chris has been living and working in Idaho (and loving it!) for the past month or so and I have been here trying to adjust to single motherhood, pack, and find a place to live 135 miles away. It has been a little hectic around here. In fact I have had this post for about two weeks with no time to finish it up. Well its time because we are moving in two days to little, old Heyburn, Idaho. I mean, I don't even know if they have internet there! =)

My Hero

Gordon was sitting on the rocking chair pushing against the desk with his feet. "Mom, look at me. I am so strong. I am growing so strong and healthy I am going to be big like daddy and never bleed." I responded with, "Dads never bleeds, huh? How come?" "I don't know, they just don't." He said it so matter of factly it was precious.

Oh, The Cars I've Had

I saw this done a long time ago and I can't even remember where but I liked it so I'm copying...
I have had a lot of cars in my life so sit back and relax as we take a little drive down memory lane. My first car was a 1991 Pontiac Bonneville = grandma car!
And it was pretty much like that except for it was light blue and no where near as shiny. I think it was my dad's business car if you can believe it. Then my mom's run around town car. Finally, it was my first car! Then I drove this lovely '94 Geo Metro, looked like this except no spoiler. I really liked this car for the 2 or 3 months I drove it. My parents bought it for Sarah for when she got back from her mission so I had it until then. Along with this '94 Subaru Legacy they bought for Chad before he came home from his mission. Mine also had a ski rack on top and tinted windows.

I think I drove this 1990 Jeep Wrangler for about 2 weeks. My parents bought it for the "teenager car" when my oldest sibling started driving. It went through 1 sister and 3 brothers before it got to me and it just couldn't go anymore. I felt a little cheated. For years I looked forward to driving the Jeep and my time came and went before I could get any good use out of it. (By "use" I mean, having a wild good time and picking up hot guys!)But then my parents bought this. A 1995 GMC Pickup Truck. Mine was white with the truck bed going in on both sides of the tires for like little steps. Does anyone know what I am talking about? Anywho, I loved it and the guys did too! In college I got around town using these:
When I got married I inherited "Brandi." Why is it guys name their cars? Chris had purchased this car when he came home from his mission. A 1998 Nissan Altima. He loved that car. And I did too until it broke down on us the first thing after arriving in California.

Being stuck in CA with no car and needing one badly, we bought the first car we felt was a good buy: a 2002 VW Jetta. The guy was selling it for super cheap so he could have money for college. It was a nice car and I would have liked it better if I was single or newly married with no children. It was just too small. We sold it as soon as we got back to from Cali. And got this beauty. Ours was black and Chris fell in love with it at first sight. He went to an auction with his dad and got it. But soon we had to face the reality that it was just too much gas money. Chris's parents ever-so-kindly took it off our hand for us.

We bought this little Toyota Corrolla with our tax return. The only reason I love it is: its paid for! Chris drives this one around, back and forth to work. Oh and it is the ugliest shade of green ever. And I get to drive our 2005 Chevy Malibu Maxx. I felt kind of bad insisting we get a newer car but I wanted something stable and one I wouldn't have to worry about it breaking down everytime I was on the freeway! Can you blame me?
And that ladies and gentlemen is the history of the life of Emily's cars. Thank you for joining us.

Country Anyone?

I have liked country music now for about a year or so but I need some new songs. I am sick of playing the same 40 songs over and over again. So of course I enlist your help. What else is the Blogging community for except to help each other through our crises. Am I right Ladies? Anywho, tell me who your favorite hidden artists are, songs you sing in the shower, old songs you used to love, tell me everything. I mean I obviously know who Taylor Swift is and Rascal Flatts, I mean obviously!! Oh, and go ahead and throw in any songs (not country) that you LOVE to listen to. Please do not include any songs that have lyrics: "Sssh baby, shut your lips, do the Helen Keller and talk with your hips." Dead serious, heard it on the radio today taking Gordon to Pre-school.

Marriage Math

Five Years of Marriage Equals:

5,437 Kisses
168 Date nights (not nearly enough!!)
74,382 Smiles
3,867 I Love Yous
985 I'm Sorrys
730 Dinners made with love
4,745 Diapers changed
264,398 Tears dried
276 Late nights
86 Plans for the future
15 jobs
7 hospital visits
4 different apartments
2 angels to cherish
1 man to love forever

A Mother's Nightmare

Once again, we spent our Saturday evening in the hospital. I sat there feeling so awful, wishing I could take away my little boy's pain; beating myself up thinking I could have prevented this. Am I really that bad of a mother that my children are in the hospital every other month? Gordon HATES hospitals ever since last December when he had to go in for dehydration and we had to pin him to the bed to get an IV in him (it took 4 tries because his veins kept collapsing). He was so scared and I just wanted to take him in my arms and make it all go away with the power of my hug.
What happened this time, you ask. We were finishing a wonderful day at the local swimming pool, I had just wrapped Gordon tight in his towel to keep him warm; he took two steps and fell flat on his face, with no arms to catch his fall. There was a lot of blood and tears but over all not a big deal. We stuffed some tissue up is nose and in his mouth and started to head for home. And then the nightmare began. This was our conversation in the car ride:
Gordon: What happened?
Me: You fell down.
G: Where?
M: At the swimming pool, remember?
A few seconds pass
G: What happened?
M: You fell and hurt your nose.
G: Where?
M: At the swimming pool. Do you remember swimming?
G: Yes. (Few seconds.) What happened?
M: (I'm really starting to freak out now, too many medical dramas on TV pop into my head) Honey you fell down. Where did you fall down? Do you remember?
G: Where? Tell me.
This went on and on for about 5 minutes. Then we told him he was going to the hospital and he started crying. After a few minutes he asked where we were going. Again, to the hospital. Crying.
Long story short. A lot of waiting at the hospital to find out, after the Cat Scan, everything was fine. Just a concussion. Phew!!

The Wind Caves

The Tatton family decided yesterday to take advantage of all this time we have with daddy right now. We went on a hike to the Wind Caves. Yes, we took Gordon AND Edison. Gordon did such a good job. It took us about 2 hours to hike up and only 1 hour to hike down. The hike is 1.8 miles one way. To say the least it was much easier for Gordon on the way down. I kept asking him if he wanted to take a break and rest seeing as how we took one every two minutes on the way up. He kept telling me, "No, we have to get home." I have to say, the hike down was much harder on me. I felt like me knees and hips were going to pop out. I am not supposed to feel like that yet!

About half way down Chris rolled his ankle and said a few choice words. It really scared Gordon and he kept saying he didn't want daddy to die like daddy's grandma did. (We went to a funeral on Saturday for Chris's maternal grandmother.) He was really quite distraught about it even after Chris got up and started walking. He has such a tender heart!

I am really quite amazed at how well Gordon did. Edison did good too but all he had to do was sit in a front carrier the whole way. It was a fun but exhausting day!