Sunshine In Dixie

Bailey's Birthday

2009-08-02T21:01:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to our little princess Bailey! Bailey had a fun 4th Birthday. She enjoyed helping me make her "Princess" Cupcakes with purple frosting and pink sprinkles. She enjoyed eating them even more! We had a fun party at the park with a few close friends. All the kids thought it was the best ever to run through the splash pad, chase bunnies, and have pizza and cupcakes! Mom and Dad thought it was the best ever that everyone was happy and there was not a huge mess to clean up after.

We love our Bailey-bug! She is 4 going on 14! She is so smart and a good big sister. Some of her favorite things are anything Princess (obviously), the colors pink and purple, riding her bike, playing with friends, going to Sunbeams, snuggling, and eating "crabies".

Fourth of July

2009-07-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed another great year of celebrating our country's independence and great family fun over the Fourth of July Weekend in Delta with Andy's family! It was a blast as usual with all the great festivities; including the parade, jet fly-by, an afternoon at the "Res." on Stephen's boat (notice the hot new wake tower Andy helped him build!), tons of delicious food, fireworks, and the first ever Hintze Games! It is always a party at the Hintze house, especially on the 4th of July. We love it! We all party until we drop! Now this is what Summer is all about!

Toquerville Falls

2009-07-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

This was our fun Saturday at Toquerville Falls a while back. I had been there a couple times in college, but Andy had never gone. Some people we knew were having a party there and asked if we wanted to go. We didn't join in for their lunch, but went up later for a little adventure.

As the bird flies, it is only 5 miles from the main road, but it is a very remote and narrow rocky road to get to the falls. It would have been a lot funner in the Jeep, but the kids wouldn't have done that well with that much sun and heat, so needless to say Andy wasn't that thrilled with effects on his truck. He was excited to take the family to a new and fun place though.

The Falls have 3 levels. The lowest level, where it is deepest; many people were cliff jumping. I have jumped it before, but we didn't feel the water was still high enough to risk it. It is a slow trip out if you were to break a leg or worse! It is a fun rush when the water is higher in the Spring though.

The kids had a good time splashing around in the pools and playing in the sand. On the way home we went the back way through Levirkin and Hurricane and got refreshing ice cold treats at Dairy Queen with our dinner!

Day in Vegas

2009-07-10T12:43:00.000-07:00

Andy had to go to Vegas for work last Friday to pick up some materials for work, so he brought us all along and we made a day of it! I really wanted to take the kids to the Shark Reef at Madel e Bay, but over-ruled that since we had a loaded truck and trailer. He did not want to deal with the Strip or worry about the inventory while we were where we couldn't see it for an extended amount of time. He had a good point, so I agreed. We still had a fun day though.
We had to go to 2 of his suppliers and pick up all the stuff first. After, we searched out a couple Filipino markets and got some rice, mangoes and a bunch of treats. Then we went to Filipino Restaurant for dinner. The owner made a us a ton of extra stuff and didn't charge us and it was all delicious! We even brought home tons of left overs. (For those of you who don't know why we love the Filipino food-Andy served his mission in the Philippines)
Just before the sun went down, we were heading out of town near Nellis AFB. We saw this HUGE Bomber come in for a landing so we went over by the fence to get a better view. We saw it along with jets, and helicopters Which Bailey thought was really great! Hey, nothing better than cheap entertainment on the road! Look at the size of that thing! It is amazing it can ever get off the ground. Those are jets lined up behind it and a truck on the tarmack.

Swim Lessons

2009-07-10T12:23:00.000-07:00

Bailey has been taking swim lessons this summer at the Community Center. So far she has loved it! I have to really prod her to get her stuff and get ready to get out the door to be there on time, but we are working on that to be ready for Pre-School in the Fall anyway; so I am hoping this will kind of get her in the habit by then.
She liked seeing her friend Brookelyn each day eventhough she was in a different class. She was very excited to get her passing certificate on the last day of class! She has been very timid around the water, but with all the time we spend on the boat and at the pool and lake; swimming and being comfortable around the water is manditory. We are happy she has been doing so much better and enjoying learning.

Kitten Krazy

2009-07-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

Our Peppermint "Pepper" cat had kittens! This is actually the second time she has been pregnant, but the first time; she only had one kitten and it died. After that Bailey would always pray for Pepper to have more baby kittens. Heavenly Father must have agreed, cause we got 4! We have already found a home for one of them, but the other 3 are growing like weeds and need to go! They eat way more than Pepper! Of course Andy swears she has an eating disorder, cause she will not eat any table scraps, and never totally empty's her entire bowl of cat food. She has been such a loving part of our family. It is hard to let her kitten's go, but we can not keep them all. In the meantime, Bailey and Haden have a ton of fun playing with them!

Happy Birthday Haden!

2009-06-16T14:44:00.001-07:00

We can hardly believe it! Our sweet baby boy is one year old already! Where does the time go? ... countless dirty diapers and sleepless nights, I guess! We are so happy to have Haden in our family. He brings us so much joy. He is so different from his sister, yet so much the same. He got very excited to open his gifts when they started making noises from inside the wrapping paper. He had a lot of help from his Sister and Best Buddies, Kobe and Mae.
We call him our "Wide-Mouth Froggy Boy", so I made him the cute frog cake. He made short work of the cupcake eyeball and soon screamed for more! The photos show his face right after, but not the color of his bum the next day! It was fun time. Happy Birthday Baby Boy! We love you!

Her, She, Him's

2009-06-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

Bailey is having a hard time understanding when to use which word lately. Her vocabulary is expanding, but let's face it-English is confusing! How do you explain pronouns and possessives to a three year old? No matter how you try; it still comes out sounding crazy. When I hear her say something like..."She is just on she's bed". I'll say..."you mean, she is just on her bed." Then Bailey will say, "why do you always say, ""her, her, her, she, she, she""? It can be very frustrating for her, but she has been doing better. We are trying to keep explaining it the best we can as well!

Cookie Monsters

2009-05-29T07:09:00.001-07:00

What's better than cookies for dessert?....When your sister gives you half the box of cookies for dessert!

Cotton Days

2009-05-21T13:27:00.000-07:00

Every town has their yearly celebration. The thing that they are known for; the thing that people associate with that town; the thing that makes your town special and let's you enjoy it's heritage. For Washington, that celebration is held the first part of May and is called Cotton Days.
Yes, cotton is part of our local pride and heritage because Washington was settled by Pioneers sent to Utah's Dixie by Brigham Young to the Cotton Mission. Now that you have enjoyed this little tidbit of history...here are some snapshots of us having fun at the parade and carnival in the park!

Easter Camping

2009-05-13T17:23:00.000-07:00

I'm still trying to catch up as far as my blog is concerned, but here are a few snapshots from our Spring camping trip to Red Cliffs. We usually go there at least once a year if not more. It's near buy, it has water and outhouses and it is way fun for the kids. We all really enjoy it. This year we had an added bonus with my parents added to the mix of Andy's family.
The weather was cool and only one day was rainy. We all had a blast and wore ourselves out...as you can see from the shots of Haden after the hike, my frazzled hair, and our Bailey-bug- in the chair half the afternoon! Nothing beats Spring time in Dixie, great family fun, dirt, smoke, bugs, and horny toads!

2009-05-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

Seth getting a different perspective. Can you see him?

2009-05-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

The Colorado River far below. What you can't tell from this photo is how big the river really is. The bunches of green on the banks are trees and the "ripples" in the water are white water rapids, but you can not hear them at all.

2009-05-01T15:33:00.000-07:00

Seth being braver and getting a better view.

While he was checking out the drop; this California Condor was checking out Seth! It was only 15-20' above him. We told Seth to look up and he said,"whoa! I'm not dead yet!". If you look closely; you can see the I.D. tag on his wing.

2009-05-01T15:30:00.001-07:00

Seth, Lacinda & Marchello cautiously checking out the view.

2009-05-01T15:26:00.001-07:00

Bailey & I exploring on the rocks.

Turoweap Grand Canyon

2009-05-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

We got a kick out of the sign at the Ranger Station! We don't even know if there is a full time ranger there.

In mid-March my Brother, Seth and Sister-in-Law, Lacinda, came to visit. It was a big deal because he has only been down here once to see us and she had never been here. They're stay was extended because of major car problems on their way down. This was good and bad because, we had more time to spend with them, but we spent more time dealing with the whole car ordeal(an entirely different story), than we did playing. It was o.k. though. We had a good time with them-except for their Wiener-dog pooping on my bedroom carpet!

We hung out and did a few little things around town, but we did get to go on one bigger outing to the Grand Canyon. The North Rim known as Toroweap or Tuweap- is most of a day's drive there and back mostly on what can be some pretty nasty dirt roads. We packed a cooler and everyone up in the truck and headed out for adventure.

Andy & I had done this trek once before when we were first married, that time however; we went in the Jeep the long way from the Arizona Strip, over Mnt. Trumbull and around. We had no idea what we were in for that time! 90 miles of dirt roads and reckless exploring took their toll on both our spines and the Jeep. It was fun though, we just went more prepared and in a vehicle with smoother suspension this time.

Turoweap is not exactly what you envision when you think of the typical vacation photos of the Grand Canyon. You are approaching it from the North Rim, where it is not as wide across, but just as deep. This is a very remote area with no facilities what so ever, I'm not sure that the camp ground there even has an outhouse. Basically it is the edge of the earth! If you are familiar with the end of Thelma and Louis -Ya, this is what I am talking about! No gate, no fence just walk to the edge of the cliff and it's thousands of feet down! It is very breathtaking and well worth the trip however. There are lots of unique rocks and wildlife and the vast depth of the canyon and the entire area is just amazing! It is one of those places that you visit that makes you say a little prayer of gratitude for the beauties of this world Heavenly Father and our Savior created, and the awesome plan and power that was in the works long before we came here! It was a fun time!

Yes, I'm Still here!

2009-04-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

O.K., I pretty much dropped off the edge of the earth as far as blogging is concerned after Christmas. Sorry, I really am still out here. I just couldn't seem to get going again for a while. I didn't make anymore time to sit at the computer. I have been checking out what you all have been up to though.
I have just really been if a funk. Spring has been well underway for a couple months now, which usually lifts me out of the Winter doldrums, but I just get going with a project or a trip, or Someone comes to visit-then I get sick, or the kids again! Ugh!! It really messes with my momentum. I could just scream about being sick constantly! I must not be the only one, cause my Dr. said, "If I could tell you how many moms have said they wanted a bug bomb type sterilizer for their entire house!" That's exactly how I feel! I just keep cleaning and cleaning yet the sick bugs just keep coming back!
I just am so tired of it!
We have been trying to have some fun this spring though. I will try to get some photos up too and get back into the groove of things( around the house and blog wise). Seriously, I was trying to remember what it felt like when I had Mono in High School, that is how lazy I feel lately. I will quit complaining now and just say it is good to be back at it again!

Jack Frost?

2009-01-09T19:34:00.000-08:00

In case you were wondering how cold it was at my parents for Christmas...
It snowed and blew so hard that it stuck to the kitchen window and iced on. We couldn't see out! This is the face Seth drew on it from the outside!

Christmas (not) in Dixie

2009-01-08T16:20:00.000-08:00

So, we braved the snow and cold and took off to both our Parents for the Holidays. Bailey got to play in more snow than she has ever seen in her life! It really piled up at G&G Weeks' It was quite an adventure. The kids had a lot

of fun spending time with their cousins! Some how Santa found us clear up there in the cold.

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas!...

2008-12-18T10:04:00.000-08:00

...In St. George!???

We got snow last night and we have 4" this morning. The district canceled school. It took like a foot and 1/2 of snow to cancel school for us as kids. It's a lot for here though.

This is Bailey's 1st snowman! so that tells you how often she has seen enough to play in it.
She was bummed that we were out of carrots, so she could not have one for his nose, but she was pretty stoked about the berries from the bushes for the mouth and the pecans for his buttons. She had to have the perfect buttons! I had fun helping her. It's been a long time since I've made a snow too. We had to be fast though cause she doesn't have boots-she would out grow them after wearing them once, so what's the point? Her hands and toes got cold pretty fast. That was fine though cause I didn't want to leave Haden inside alone looking out the window. (I was not going to mess with bundling him all up for the 10 minutes it took for Bailey to get cold.)
The crapy part about it is Andy had to drive his truck and a trailer to Bryce Canyon to do some work today :( He has his crew with him, but I'm sure the free way and up over Panguitch will be nasty! It will be a long day for him.

2008-12-18T10:01:00.000-08:00

Chomp!

2008-12-11T15:07:00.000-08:00

There is no question about whether Haden is cutting teeth now. Truth-be-told I still think he is fighting a bit of a cold as well, but both bottom teeth are just popping through his gums and he has been having good naps the last couple days. Hooray! I love being able to have both hands to do something during the day. With out a time limit before he starts to fuss. He hasn't had much fever just been a crank bum, especially at night when he gets tired. I have kept the Tylenol handy.
I can't believe how fast he is growing! where does the time go?!

A Day of Thanks

2008-12-03T09:08:00.000-08:00

This year we went to Andy's parent's house to celebrate Thanksgiving. It was a fun time with lots of pigging out. We went on a personalized tour at the power plant where Andy's Dad works. It was really interesting to see all that goes into making our power. The plant is very complex. Afterward, we all met at the Community Center -type place that is actually part of the power plant and had pizza, played pool, ping pong, racket ball and hung out. It's a neat place that was built before the power plant was finish for all the workers there and you don't have to pay to do any of the activities. The boys went hunting rabbits and shooting one day and another we got to take some 4 wheelers out to the sand dunes and cruise around that was great! (Thanks Stephen and your Inlaws!)
Of course all the feast was delicious. Everyone contributed with a desert or side dish, or more! I'm never going to lose the extra baby weight at this rate; everything is just too tasty! I can't believe that it is already Holiday time again! Each year seems to go by faster and faster. I am very thankful for all I am blessed with. I am so lucky to have a wonderful husband and family along with all the trimmings! I can really sound like I'm a not happy for what I have, cause I tend to vent a lot, but I really am grateful for all I have been given.

Before we left for vacation, Haden had a little surgery to remove the skin tag on his ear. I was a nervous wreck about turning over my baby to strangers and having him go under anesthesia. It's no big deal compared to having open heart surgery like a baby in our ward that was born just before Haden needs, but it worried me just the same. He has done well and he has a followup tomorrow with the Doctor for the official word. We have had some rough nights this week though with him having a very runny nose. I'm not sure what the deal is with that. He doesn't seam to have a fever; I can't see any signs of teeth popping up and the rest of us are feeling fine (except for lack of sleep), but he is so snotty, he is not sleeping well and wants to be held all day!
I'm not quite sure what his problem is, but I hope it's over soon.

Show Me Some Sugar!

2008-11-22T09:30:00.001-08:00

Today is the big rivalry game between the University of Utah and BYU. You may or may not know that I am a huge football fan. I have loved it since I was little. My favorite NFL team has always been the Redskins; so this time of year, I can usually be found in front of the T.V. watching along with my husband instead of complaining about "all the games" like many other gals I know. I Can't be sure, but "to become an avid Ute fan" may have been slipped into my wedding voes somewhere. If you know Andy's family-you pretty much can't be part of the family unless you are RED. It did't take much convincing for me since I was already such a football fan anyway.
So here we are 4 years after the outstanding Fiesta Bowl Championship, looking for another BCS bid. Some media say the Utes have a great chance at busting into the championship series again with an invitaion to the Sugar Bowl. Here's to a great game with the best team winning and a little something sweat on top of the conference championship sundae! GO UTES!

Sick Sucks!

2008-11-18T13:53:00.000-08:00

Ahh.....Nothing like the smell of vomit at 3:30 in the morning!
We just got back from a trip to see Andy's parents and came home with a flu bug-tis the season! Bailey woke up at 3:30 AM Monday crying and throwing up. So here we are a couple days later and Andy has started in. Bless his heart; he is so great to help with sick kids! He has had a crazy work schedule lately and has still answered nonstop work calls while he has been home in bed.
Bailey finally had something to eat this morning and it wasn't long before it came back up on her father's lap, but he took it all in stride and sat there holding back her hair and saying, "it's o.k." while I dove for the bowl and the towel and scooted Bailey into the bathroom. While they both rinsed off the smell; I started in on another round of gross laundry and going all over with the Lysol and the bleach. I have a feeling my turn is coming and I pray Haden can somehow escape it. I am paranoid that my kids with throw up in their sleep and aspirate it.
I just hope we can all get it "flushed" out of our systems and appetites back for Thanksgiving.

Halloween

2008-11-04T14:08:00.000-08:00

Here is our sweet princess Snow White and her brother the "Little Devil" Bailey had fun Trick-or-Treating and Haden had and evening nap as we strolled around the neighborhood! Bailey said that next year she will be Cinderella and then the next year, Sleeping Beauty, and the next, Belle. She is a BIG fan of the Princesses right now!

After the kids were in bed; I forced Andy to watch Something Wicked This Way Comes with me. I searched around town to find a video store that still had it. I have tried to tell Andy every Halloween about the creepiest Halloween movie I ever watched as a kid (in the school assembly no less) and he had never heard of it. I had to ask around just to find out the name. All I know is it really creeped me out in Middle School. Of course he thought it was lame, but even though the special effects are cheesy compaired to today's movie making magic, it's still scary enough for me! Then again- anyone who knows me also knows that I do not like scary movies! Dark Disney is enough for me!

Camping In

2008-11-04T13:48:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, we all really wanted to go camping, but Andy had to work on Saturday. Bailey settled for putting up her play tent in her room one night and in the living room the next night because she wanted to go camping so bad! She slept in it all night both Friday and Saturday, but on Sunday her Nursery Teacher said that she asked for a blanket about five minutes into Nursery and curled up and fell fast asleep in the corner for the entire class. She loved her little camp out, but must not have been that comfortable! Andy thrilled that at the age of 3 is already a die hard camper girl!

2008-10-28T12:30:00.000-07:00

Ta Da!

After much awaited anticipation...Introducing... the World Premier of my blog!

I have enjoyed so many friends and relatives blogs; I decided I should give this a try. Just be patient, as I am a beginner and the contents are still under construction. I hope mine can be a bright spot in your day as many of your posts are in mine!