+ a 4th birthday party +

We celebrated Jamin's 4th birthday this past weekend with about 50 of our closest family & friends. That's a lot for a kid's party I know! but I rationalised it by reminding myself that we have just come home from America & it's a good chance for everyone to get together. 

Jamin has been into Superhero's for months now & has only been answering to "Jamin the Superhero" for sometime. If someone asks him what his last name is he will reply "Superhero". Ha, still cracks me up everytime! His wonderful Aunty Lara made him his very own superhero cape in his 2 favourite colours - green & yellow. He looked every bit the birthday boy racing around in his satin cape, saving everyone in sight. 

I had lots of help with the food from baker extraordinaire, Aunty Linda & Mum (Oma). The kids devoured the food & didn't even notice that it was healthy. I love that the fruit skewers are the most popular & the sausage rolls were actually vegetarian. Popcorn, coloured pikelets & homemade guacamole rounded off the food table. Big thanks also to Danny's parents who saved the day by looking after all the tea & coffee, keeping the adults warm on a very cool Toowoomba spring morning. 

My brother Brian was roped into leading some kids games & generally tired them all out. It was so much fun to run around in the sun with a herd of little kids who couldn't be happier.

Those of you who know me well will realise that I was in heaven holding a birthday party under this beautiful tree. I had planned to get the gazebo but someone else had arrived at 6am to secure it (they can have it if they are willing to get up at that hour!). We got the 2nd best spot however & didn't really notice the 6 other parties in the park!

After the games we moved onto the cake which Linda & I had created the night before. Kael had a little run in with it upon arrival at the park but it survived mostly unscathed.

And here is where I gained the award for "Worst Mother 2011". Earlier that morning I had found a bag of party poppers in the cupboard & took them along for the kids. The kids had been nagging all morning  to pop them so I decided spur of the moment to get the kids to pop them at the end of happy birthday. I even remembered to ask if there were any kids that didn't like loud noises. Guess who doesn't like loud noises...? Yep, my own son Jamin. oops.

The kids already had the poppers in hand before I realised my mistake & there was no going back. I covered Jamin's ears & he basically spent the entire song cringing in anticipation of the bangs. Oh dear. Like I said... worst mother 2011 award in the bag.

But all in all it was a fantastic party & I had a very happy, tired little 4 year old to take home.

:: zion national park, utah ::

After a chaotic few days in Las Vegas, we headed a few hundred miles north to Zion National Park. We had heard great things about this part of Utah since we arrived & were not disappointed! The canyons & scenery were spectacular. The little town of Springdale was artsy & outdoorsy, full of interesting coffee shops, art galleries & adventure companies. The national park was not only beautiful but so well equipped with information, visitors centres & shuttle buses. 

Our only regret was being unable to tackle some of the more adventurous hikes because of our two little ones that do not share their parents love for outdoor adventures. Saying that, we dragged them around in the chariot, on the shuttle buses & up a few small hikes.

We spent a lot of time down by the river, where the boys could paddle & throw rocks & we could drink beer & chill out. Everyones happy, except the water was REALLY COLD!

On the shuttle bus on the way up the canyon Jamin kipped out. They introduced shuttle buses in 2000 to reduce traffic congestion & it was a great move. They hook two together & can even load your bikes on the front if you are planning to ride down the canyon. The boys loved them so much that Jamin wanted one on his birthday cake! Now that is a big deal for a 4 year old!

A short hike up to the Emerald Pools with both the boys in backpacks. Made an easy hike a little bit, no a lot, harder! But they did love getting wet after walking under the waterfalls & the object lesson on why they are called waterfalls was educational for the whole family!

The hike back took a lot longer with our budding artist Kael stopping to draw in the dirt every few steps. His brother joined him & then we had two very dirty boys to carry.

One morning Danny took off on his own adventure, hiking up Angel's Landing. Here's the description of the hike but basically it is a feat of engineering that only the bravest hikers attempt. The drop offs each side of the rock below are hundreds of feet!

Danny stopped for snack at the top & this little squirrel tried to snitch some of his food.

The self portrait at the top.

Looking back down the ridge where he had hiked and had to go back down. Scary!

On our way out of the park on the way to Grand Canyon we got to go through a 1.1 mile long tunnel, built in 1830, complete with windows throughout to view the canyons. Apparently it is another feat of engineering & was pretty impressive & popular with the boys in the family.

Zion National Park did not disappoint, in fact we even extended our stay a few extra days to soak up the beautiful scenery. This is a place that we would love to return to if we are ever back in the area, as there is so much more to explore & do. It gave us some wonderful memories to hold onto.

:: home at long last ::

We made it through the maze of airports & roads from America to Australia & arrived home to Toowoomba yesterday morning. The flights were about as hard as expected but I didn't reach breaking point, which is always a good thing. Kael is a bit sick with fevers & they split our seats up but if thats the worst thing that happens on a flight then I can survive. 

The best thing about coming home has been the reunion of the Moes girls - mother, daughters & sisters. It feels so wonderful to be home amongst the people I am closest to in my life, it just feels right & our hearts are so very happy. Danny & I have also gotten in two dates today which is unknown to us. 

This week brings moving back into our house, figuring out childcare & scheduling for our new jobs & lots of catching up with family & friends. Its going to be great!

:: the end ::

Just wanted to put up a quick post to tell you all that I might be a little more sporadic than usual here over the next few weeks. Our beloved iMac sold during the week & after some temperamental problems transferring data, is going to leave us for a new home today. So blogging may be a little bit more difficult. 

Thanks for all of your support on this blog as we shared the adventure over here in Utah. At times it was challenging beyond what I thought that I could cope with but I feel like a much richer & stronger person returning home to Australia. Danny summed it up well when he said that the highs were not quite as high as we hoped & the lows were much much lower. Still, I don't think it will be something we will ever regret.

Danny & I are both going home to start new jobs, which for me is very exciting as I have been out of the workforce for the 2 years since Kael has been born. I am going to be the Counsellor 2 days a week at My Midwives, a private midwifery practice in Toowoomba & Danny will start a new position as General Manager of a few departments at RME. Jamin is going to be starting pre-prep next year as well so there will be big changes for all of us. All we have to do is get through the flights from SLC to Brisbane & we will survived!

Talk to you all again soon, in the meantime, I will be packing...

:: yellowstone national park - part 2 ::

Our 2nd day at Yellowstone National Park was even more eventful than the 1st! As we were driving into the park I was telling Danny & the boys how much I wanted to see a bear. I had high hopes but you can't plan these things... 

Here's the map if you want to have a look at the upper loop that we followed. We went from Madison, up to Norris, over to Mammoth Falls, then on to Tower Falls, Canyon & back to Madison. It was a fantastic drive & here are the highlights. 

First off we stopped at Gibbon Falls...

...and the boys used up some energy climbing the rocks.

Then as we were driving onto Mammoth Falls we were held up by a "Wildlife Jam" (a technical term used for when all the tourists stop to look at an animal & create gridlock).

There was a bear just down the embankment from the road! So we got out, had an amazing close up view of a grizzly bear walking around down by the creek digging for food. It was AMAZING! He was totally uninterested by all the people standing there with cameras. Kael learned to say 'bear' & he kept on signing 'more, more'. After about 10 minutes we decided to move on & as we were driving away a ranger was coming down the road to create some order of the chaos.

A beautiful view as we were driving over the ranges. 

We came to Mammoth Hotspring Terraces & did a small drive through them while Kael had a short sleep. 

Then we drove on down to the town & spotted a family of deer. The fawns were so small & I loved their spots!

We went for a short hike up to the terraces.

They were spectacular & quite steamy too.

There was something beautiful about the formation & colours of them. 

After lunch we drove onto the Tower Falls & on the way were held up by another wildlife jam for 2 bears meandering along the river. The ranger here is trying to get the traffic flowing. 

Then we drove over Mount Washburn at 3122m & there was still a lot of snow beside the road.

On the road between Canyon & Norris we spotted a elk from the roadside. These people looked a bit too close & the boys were done for the day so we kept driving.

Nb: We recommend iPads for any parents driving long distances with children. They WILL save your sanity!

Another Bison spotting, this time meandering along the road. 

The next day we were packed up & ready to head off home through the South entrance of the park. Over the 3 days that we were in Yellowstone we had a great opportunity to see pretty much all of the park & its spectacular wildlife, scenery & natural wonders. It was such an amazing experience & worked so well for the stage our family is at. 

A beautiful early morning picture as the sun was rising in the sky over the river.

Another Bison! & this time he was just walking in the middle of the road, totally ignoring the traffic that was carefully driving alongside him. It was great to get such a close up view of one!

We drove home through the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. It had a different feel & look to Yellowstone but the Teton Ranges were just spectacular. 

It was a long day in the car, starting at 7 o'clock & not getting home until 8 o'clock that night. But we had some fun stops along the way to break up the day. Check out our 4th July Festival in Jackson, Wyoming here. 

:: yellowstone national park - part 1 ::

This last weekend we made the grand trek to Yellowstone National Park. This iconic American park was everything & more than we could have imagined. I would have to rate it as one of my favourite parts of our time here. 

We drove all day Friday to reach our campground just 7 miles from the West Entrance to the park. From there we settled in the for the night & were raring to go Saturday morning. 

Heres a link to the main map of the park in case you want to follow along with the photos. We did the bottom loop on our first day, from Madison past the Lake & the canyon, then back to the West Entrance. The boys loved being able the get in & out of the car, spot the wildlife, look at interesting things & have a run, then another rest in the car. 

We stopped in at Madison first off because we thought there was a visitors centre. No centre but there was a huge Bison scratching himself on the picnic tables. I was blown away by the size of it. There is a video at the end to show you a closer look plus some amusing commentary. We were probably a bit close to him considering that they can be quite aggressive but he was very uninterested in the people around. 

We drove past some small geysers on the way to the famous 'Old Faithful' geyser.

The visitors centre had a great kids area explaining how a geyser works & lots of other interactive things.

The entrance to the world famous "Old Faithful". In true Danny & Al fashion we totally fluked being in time for the next eruption of the geyser & only had to wait 30 minutes. They can now predict the eruptions give or take 10 minutes & the occur every 90 minutes or so. 

The boys found their own front row seat.

Old Faithful shot water about 130 feet in the air - impressive! There's a video further down.

Next we headed over to Yellowstone Lake which was beautiful & blue. It also had a few steaming pools  from the active volcano that erupted 640 000 years ago.

Stopping to look at some rapids alongside the road. Kael wanted to go swimming. 

Jamin spotted a flower field so we stopped to let them have a run. It was gorgeous & a lot of fun.

This video makes me laugh.






We made our way past some more Bison.

Then on to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

On the way back out of the park we spotted some deer grazing next to a bridge so we got out to have closer look. They didn't take much notice of us.

Here's a video with a few highlights. The Mud Volcano's were very smelly from the sulphur but rather cool as well.




Check back here for Part 2 of our Yellowstone adventure tomorrow.