A Fun Fiesta

 A couple weeks ago we went to a birthday party for one of Desert Girl's friends. They strung up a Minnie Mouse pinata. It was slightly disturbing seeing Minnie Mouse hanging there.

 I love this photo of Desert Girl. She's holding a stick.

 Sandra and Julieth, the birthday girl. She loved prancing about in her 'princess' dress and butterfly wings.

 All the kids are growing up so fast!

It cracked me up how most of the guys sat on 4-wheelers or leaned against vehicles.

 It was a good party with lots of smiles!

 A family photo.

 After some delicious food, it was time for what all the kids were waiting for: pinata time!

 First, a photo where everyone looks different directions.

 Desert Girl was making some faces. The light was getting dim, but I couldn't resist taking a few more photos.

 Carmela loves to get Desert Girl to pose like this.

 We thought it was going to rain, but the clouds went around us, providing a beautiful sunset. We danced to the music and stayed till it got dark.

Happy Birthday, Julieth!

Preschool

 I can't help but take photos when I'm at preschool, all the kids are just so dang cute. These were a few weeks ago. Addelyn is above.

 Aysa. She looks like she enjoys driving.

 Teacher Gwendy and Desert Girl trading secrets.

 Evan. He's being safe. Or getting ready for football. Or maybe both!

 I love this photo: while the boys are all pushing to go through the window, Ava finds a better way off to the side.

 Snack sharing is very popular.

Oh no, maybe the window is a little tight for three little boys at the same time!

A Birthday Celebration

We have a five-year old in the house now. He knows a lot. About trains. About airplanes. About cars and trucks. And about everything else. He is happy to share his copious knowledge. He is a hoot!

Desert Boy wanted a BIG birthday party so Sunday evening we had friends and family over. The weather cooperated and we were able to have it outside.

The following photos are a little out of order as they upload alphabetically and I didn't feel like renaming them after I had named them. Of course, the party was a bit chaotic, so it's only right that the photos reflect that!

Ava and the pinata. The pinata was a huge hit (ha, ha!). Thanks to our wonderful babysitter for bringing it.

The big kids had no problem entertaining themselves.

Blow those candles out!

Emptying the pinata. My husband gets very nervous around pinatas. Or more correctly, he gets nervous around kids with deadly weapons swinging wildly while others dive for candy.

It looks like Charlie and Sam were having a good conversation.

Desert Girl enjoyed her cake. That was after she ate all the candy off one cake and we had to redecorate it.

The cakes were supposed to look like trains. Desert Boy wanted plain frosting and lots of candy and helped decorate them. He was happy, so I was happy.

Isaac and Desert Girl had a good time.

Young GQ.

Back to the pinata.

Besides the pinata, the only semi-organized activity we got to was the obstacle course, which included the cardboard cave. The cave was definitely kid-sized--I tried to go through it but had to back up.

It was a great evening, and Desert Boy loved it.

Now he's ready for his next party.

Up to the Snow

 I'm taking fire training this weekend, so I took Friday off so I could spend more time with the kids. We decided to go up the Wheeler Peak Scenic Drive at Great Basin National Park, as the road had recently opened and I was eager to look at the high country. Anna and Evan joined us, and on the ride up I thought the trees looked funny. We took a second look and found that they had icicles on them! We pulled over to take a closer look.

 Apparently the weather had been just right after our recent snow to make these wonderful decorations on nearly all the trees. It was spectacular.

 We had thought about walking the quarter-mile nature trail, but we weren't the best equipped for snow, so opted instead for the recently plowed but still closed Wheeler Peak Campground.

 The kids liked finding their very own icicles.

 The walking was easy until we  got to a shaded, icy patch.

 We found that it was so icy because the creek had jumped its banks and was making a new channel through the snow. The kids threw snowballs into the water and watched them float downstream.

 The water had carved a two-foot canyon through the snow and ice. It was moving fast and sure looked cold!

 Around on the other side of the meadow we found a bit of color.

 The snow might have only melted in this spot a few days ago, but the plantainleaf buttercup (Ranunculus alismifolius) couldn't wait to catch some rays.

 The aspens didn't look like they were even thinking about leafing out. Even so, this spring is so different from last year! We had so much more snow and cold all the way into June last year, and this year the campground is already plowed out before May.

 On the way back (amid complaints from Desert Boy that he was starving--I think he's going through a growth spurt!), we wrote our names in the snow and made footprints. Desert Girl and Evan had their shoes on the wrong feet, so their footprints were a little strange looking.

 Finding the biggest icicle was a fun diversion.

Then we made it back for a big snack break. Afterwards we weren't quite ready to leave. We still had to take out the sled.

 The boys nearly crashed on their first run together.

 Evan doesn't look too sure of this bigger hill. It's slightly higher than the picnic table behind them that's mostly covered with snow.

 Then Desert Girl decided she wanted to get in on the fun.

 Their expressions are priceless!

 I'm not sure if these kids know how lucky they are! I grew up in such a flat spot that I called a three-foot high rock on the other side of the block my mountain. These kids have such an awesome backyard!

It's cooled off this weekend, but I don't think the snow will be around for much longer. This could be the last sledding trip for awhile. It was great to have one more winter adventure and then descend 5,000 feet in elevation and enjoy the warm spring weather.

Hope you're having a good weekend!