Rander Ranteth

Rand: I'm gonna eat all my vegetables, because they make you get big and strong like the Hulk. Then I'm gonna kick your butt.
Cole: I'm your dad! Why are you gonna kick my butt?
Rand: Because the next time you spank me, then I'm gonna kick your butt.
Cole: Why don't you just listen to me when I ask you to do things? Then I wouldn't have to spank you.
Rand: Because I don't want to. So I'm gonna eat alllllll my vegetables.


Are those fairies, or is that just the sun moving around?

Me: Oh crap. Dad's gonna kill me.
Rand: He won't kill you because I love you so much!

Me: Gross! Why are you spitting in the tub?
Rand: Mom, it's the only way to battle the evil bubbles!

Tomorrow I'm gonna be fweakin' 5 years old!

I am litewally wiping your kiss off right now. But.... I still love you.

Me: That's Maverick learning how to ride a skateboard. Isn't that cool?
Rand: Yeah, I uhspect that.

To Cole: Don't make mom go down the stairs first! I don't want anything  to happen to my mom, because I like her better than you.

Me: Let's do it!
Rand: Yes! But we better ask Dad first. He's the boss of this town. His head is bigger than anyone's!

You know what's great? My butt is NEVER itchy!

Run! The kapwice [police] are coming!

Your face is weird. It's all white. Did you dwink dwugs?

I farted one time but you didn't hear it so it's called siwent but deadwy.

Cauldy was being naughty, so I put on my war paint and went to kwill him. I totally fweaked him out!

Rand: This is where Ellie the cat brought me. 

Me: you shouldn’t come all the way up here unless someone is with you!

Me: But I did. Ellie the cat was with me. 

Me: Are you okay?

Rand: I’m perfectly fine. Actuawwy, I’m never better. 

Caulder: Would you rather be a bird or a dog?
Rand: I don't know, because I want to be a bird, but I really want to eat dog food.

June Is Already Almost Over?

I'm not sure how it can feel like this has the been the longest year on record, and yet the months still fly by. 

Last week our primary sponsored a cotton candy party. You had to sign up for a time to ensure social distancing, but it was still fun to see the leaders and stuff our faces with straight up flavored sugar. 

Tukk chose a narhwal, Rand got an octopus, and we bought Yaya a bunny. 

My running buddies and I explored Bear Canyon in Nephi. So pretty! I'm loving having all these new trails to explore.

It was such a gorgeous trail. I'm going to force my family to come with me and hike down it from the top.

We also ran a new trail up Payson Canyon and ran into a herd of elk.

But best of all, look who showed up this weekend!

They made a last-minute trip down to meet Daisy. I guess they honestly thought I'd share her? Ha!

We celebrated their glorious arrival with fireworks in the driveway.

Kolby and I taught the kids the fine art of dancing to the strobe lights. And yeah, we might be old and exhausted and lame, but we still got the moves.

Caulder worshipping the gods of dance.

 Klive was all about the fireworks. Rand and Benja weren't so sure.

About halfway through Rand said to me, "Is this fun?" 😂

At the end of the night, he - once again - fell asleep on his face.

It's been a big week.

Just Stop It Mother Nature

We've had Sahara dust storms influencing our sunsets lately. I don't understand how all this works. But it's 2020, so why wouldn't dust storms in the Sahara desert be affecting us? 

We had an absolutely incredible sunset one evening last week.

My neighbor's daughter snapped this picture of the temple.

Well done, Mother Nature. Well done.

Summer Fun

We've been trying to get outside as much as we can. Covid cases are spiking in Utah like crazy (we're at over 20,000 cases right now, with 1,365 hospitalizations and 167 deaths). We're one of the few states around here allowing visitors to our national parks, so we've had lots of tourists coming in and lots of new cases. 

Anyway, because of all this we've still been avoiding a lot of public places and trying to just enjoy nature. We're lucky to live in such a beautiful place where it's easy to do that.

We took these dudes on a bike ride out in Genola. Rand had a close call with a car and we are so, so thankful he was protected. It was a good (and scary) reminder that your life can change in an instant. We're also very grateful Cole's been doing some cardio or he probably truly would've had a heart attack from the experience. 

Yikes. 

We had a cousin slumber party after Daisy was born while Andrew was staying at the hospital with his girls.

Benny Hulked out - not so much to protect us from bad guys, but more to destroy us with his massive muscles. He tried to so hard to look fierce in this picture, but I swear you cannot keep a smile off this dude's face. He's the best.

Genola did fireworks this year - hooray! Check out this sunset from the top of the lift. Gorgeous.

We invited the Bucks to join us this year, so of course we had to take them on a ride to the top of the lift. And we were grateful to have a few more people there with us to help us eat our traditional cinnamon caramel corn. But don't worry - we all still had stomachaches after, so it there was plenty to go around.

We celebrated Father's Day with the perfect gift: a propane torch for burning weeds.You can never go wrong with a gift that allows your testosterone-fueled counterpart to wield fire. 

More bike rides and amazing sunsets.

And Rand was able to have a playdate with McCoy. They rode the John Deere, jumped in the bounce house, stole a bunch of treats from the pantry and escaped by climbing out the Costco door, chased the cats around, and then as soon as McCoy went home Rand fell asleep on his face. 

Log & Maple Canyons

We met up with Karah and Mark, Kristin and Carl, and a couple of Karah & Mark's friends for a side-by-side ride a few weeks ago. We went up Log Canyon. I've never been up that canyon and I can't believe how pretty it is! There were tons of pines and aspens all mixed in together. It's beautiful!

There's an old ranger station up on the mountain. We had lunch near it, and Rand and his new buddy explored it with Sherman. 

 If you look clear up on the top you can see Rand having an adventure while we stopped for a break.

Look at that view.

Tukk loved this cool root system. We went up Log Canyon and down Maple Canyon. It was such a fun loop and a nice, relaxing day. I'd love to load a tent in the back of the T-rex and find a spot to camp up there!

She's Here!

Daisy Ann Rosenbaum made her grand entrance on  June 17.

She is the cutest, sweetest, tiniest little thing.

Look at those chicken legs! 😍

We were dying to meet her.

We're so so glad she's here and healthy and so stinking cute. Welcome to the family Daisy Ann!