Quote From Garrett!

"Mom I'm ridiculously Good Looking"

Have I ever mentioned......

I am completely afraid of snakes. Apperantely these two take after their dad.

Rim 2 Rim

It seemed like an eternity away when preparations were made for our Rim to Rim excursion through the Grand Canyon. The hotel reservations were made at the end of 2008. Our hike date was September 26, 2009. There were 10 of us that drove up to the North Rim the Friday before the hike. 8 of us hiked (me, my Dad, brother in law Chuck, 3 of the Goodmans, and the Thomas' who I met that day) and the other 2 were kind enough to drive us to the North Rim and then turn around the next day and drive back to the South Rim to meet us. It seems kind of funny that as the crow flies it is only 10 miles from North Rim to South Rim, but it takes 5 hours to drive.

September 26th dawned for us around 4:00 a.m. We ended up hitting the trail a little after 5:00. It was still dark and was somewhere around 40 degrees plus a bone freezing wind chill. I didn't take long to get warmed up though. The trip was fantastic and I have attached a small sampling of the photos that were taken along the way. I would like to note one thing. My Dad always makes fun of Karalyn (my sister) for the amount of pictures she takes, but between videoing and taking over 200 pictures we ended up getting out 2 hours after the last person in the group. I thought at one point about accidentally bumping his camera down one of the Canyons.

The hike starts at North Kaibab trailhead through Phantom Ranch and up Bright Angel (you can also go up South Kaibab trail) for a total of 23 miles. The elevation goes from 8,200ft down to 2,400ft and back up to 7,000ft.

This first picture is at the Supai Tunnel which is 2 miles down the North Kaibab.

This view is right after the Supai tunnel looking down the Canyon. The switchbacks are amazing.

Perspective (Can you see me)

Bright Angel Creek runs with the North Kaibab trail all the way down to the Colorado River.

This was one of my favorite pictures. We get to see the River, both bridges and Vishnu Temple (at least I think it's Vishnu).

The infamous Corkscrew about a mile before Indian Gardens.

I didn't actually take any pictures other than this and a couple of information signs at Indian Gardens. We got here around 5:00 p.m.

Here are a couple of good shots of the switchbacks on the way out of the South Rim. It wouldn't be quite as bad if it wasn't after 20 miles of hiking. Although it is really cool nonetheless. Sorry I couldn't get the pictures to rotate.

Here we are coming out at 8:00. It was a long day, but well worth it. I had a cold Dr. Pepper waiting for me in the hotel room.

Now that a week has past I am ready to start making the preparations to do it again next year.

My Dream Job!!!!!

If I ever had to go back to work, this is the Job. Charm City Cakes (Ace of Cakes, for all you none lovers of the Foodnetwork channel. Shame on you by the way). Totally awesome this place seems to me. It wouldn't hurt that I would be around cake all day either.

Duff is the boss man. He totally cracks me up, and none of his employees get to worked up around him.

My fellow cake decorators. They totally crack me up. They all have dry sense of humors that make me just giggle constantly when I watch the show. A bunch of nerdies which makes me like them even more.




Geoff is my favorite. He is especially dry, which for some reason makes everything funnier to me. (By the way amazing cake!!! Reagan would be pscycho for that cake).





This cake is my favorite for Halloween. Totally awesome!!!!!! So there you go. If I ever go to work, this is at the top of my list.

If you haven't watched the show.

Do it! Do it Now! Hmmmm that quote reminds me of someone pretty great!!!

By the way if you were wondering why all the blogging lately, it's because it's either this, or clean my house. Easy decision. Bummer for Billy though.

Tooth Fairy

Yesterday while waiting in line at Target with Landon and Garrett, I had another moment where I wanted crawl into a hole. We happened to be standing right in front of a Man who I am sure is a very nice man. He was also a man who happened to be missing quite a few teeth. Garrett was so completely taken with this man. The man smiled at him and asked him if he was having a good day. Garrett piped back "Did you Lose your teeth" and then emphatically says "You are a Dad and you lost teeth" I am trying to quietly get him to please pipe down. Then he says "Hey did the Tooth Fairy come and see you? I want the Tooth Fairy to come see me" I am trying really hard to quietly get him to refrain from talking about the poor guys teeth, then Garrett even louder "Hey mom hes a dad and he lost his teeth! Do you think the Tooth Fairy will come and visit him even though he is a dad?" I finally get finished paying for my stuff and am quickly herding Garrett out the door, when Garrett turns around and yells to the poor guy, "Don't forget to put your baby teeth under your pillow, so the Tooth Fairy will come see you!"
I really hope that man had a good sense of humor.

OUR HOUSE AT 3 A.M. THIS MORNING!

HOW COULD YOU NOT WANT TO BE UP WITH THIS LITTLE JOY!

Landon giggled, smiled, jumped, and snuggled from 2:30 - 4:00 this morning.

Oh how I love this little man!

I Can't Believe It's Been 5 Months!

It seems so unfair to go to all the work to get these cuties here,

then they just grow up so fast! Landon is soooo much fun though,

and pretty dang cute too!

General Conference

Today conference was wonderful! I always look forward to listening to our Church Leaders.

I love to have my family surrounding me in our home and listening to Conference. We don't do anything special, just relax and watch. Our kids had their packets from the primary and it really helped a ton with the wiggles. I was actually able to listen to every talk without much interruption.

Garrett woke up at 1:00 in the morning running 103 fever. Aargh! I hope his fever doesn't last as long as Dallin's. Dallin missed 4 days of school with his.

These are the cuties that didn't quite make it through the second session.

Karynn's yummy knot rolls, she made between sessions. She is getting pretty good at it.

NO SWITCHING HANDS PLEASE!

Take a good look at Garrett! Disgusting I know, but I couldn't resist snapping a pic before I made him go wash his hands and get a pair of pants on. I love mornings in the Rowley household. I also love that Landon loves his feet! Too cute!

Landon's Blessing Day!

Today was a great day! Landon was blessed today. I can't believe tomorrow he will be five weeks old. It is funny how it seems just like yesterday that he joined our family, and yet he has already taken such a hold that I can't imagine him not being here with us. We are thankful for everyone that came to support Landon on his day! It turned out really nice. We are so thankful for our Little Landon!

Not quite Cinco de Mayo but Cinco was born in Mayo

It was a long time coming, but well worth the wait. We are so excited to have

Landon Wade Rowley join our family. He was born May 4th, weighing 7 lbs. 12 oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. We are so happy to have him with us. Here are some pictures of his Birth day.

First Bath

All 5 kids

Reaganism

Grandpa Kim says we need to name little things Reagan says as a Reaganism. She tends to have quite a lot to say, and when it comes out I just to remind myself that it came from Reagan. So here is my Reaganism for today, or at the very least this morning.......

Reagan: "Mom, Karynn says that if I watch T.V. all the time I will get fat."

Me: "It isn't good for you to watch T.V. all the time"

Reagan: "On Meet the Robinson's, there is the guy that watches T.V. all the time and he is very fat."

Me: "Well Reagan it isn't good for your body to watch T.V. all the time, your body needs exercise."

Reagan: "So mom, you must watch T.V. alot."

I think springbreak is going to kill my self esteem!

Another Great Birthday!

Well I celebrated another birthday, 32nd to be exact. If is funny, I remember when my mom turned 30 I thought she was ancient. I have decided ancient is fine with me. Thanks to a great husband and kids my birthdays are always awesome. They surprised me this year by taking me to Flagstaff to play in the snow. We really like to take a trip to the snow every year to go sledding and such. I was in no condition to sled, so I got to just relax and be in charge of the hot chocolate! I love spur of the moment trips, when we pull the kids out of school, and just spend some much needed family time. What was even nicer is that I didn't have to do any of the prep work. Billy talked to all the teachers and took care of all the arrangements. All I had to do was check suitcases, (Billy forgets to pack some pretty essential things when he is in charge), and we were off. We like to stay at a Best Western there that has an indoor swimming pool, so we would play in the snow and then go swimming. It was the best. I didn't cook a lick, I didn't clean a lick, and Reagan made sure that I got sang to when we went out to eat. Anyways it was a blast, and I so appreciate my kids and especially Billy for making my birthday really special. I love you guys!

Building the Self Esteem

Yesterday Garrett (3) and cousin Macee (3) are sitting and talking......

Garrett: Macee you are a princess

Macee: (Matter of Factly) I know!

Garrett: My mom's a princess too

Me: (Thinking ) AAAWWWW!

Garrett: She's a REALLY BIG Princess!

Me:(Thinking) for the sake of my self esteem I'm going to stop listening to these conversations

This is for Karynn

If you have talked to Karynn in the last few months chances are most of your conversations have revolved around this.........

So Karynn this is for you. (Grandpa Kim would be so proud).

A conversation with Reagan (These are always interesting)

One day last week......

Reagan walks in the room sad and pouty

Reagan: Mom I really wish our baby is a girl

Mom: Reagan when your baby brother comes, you will love him a ton, and you will be happy he is a boy.

Reagan: Mom when you are all done with dad and you get a new husband then can you have a girl.

Mom: Reagan daddy will always be my husband forever.

Reagan: Hey thats not fair. When will it be my turn for him to be my husband?

Mom: Reagan, daddy won't be your husband, he will always be your daddy.

Reagan: RRRRRRRRRHHH!!!!! (She then roles her eyes and walks out of the room)

Hmmm, that went well. I hope that someday she finds a patient husband.