The Rockwoods

Christmas Festivities

2011-01-02T20:35:00.001-08:00

Here we are at the Training Table a few days after Christmas with the Burton family

before Adam, Lindsey, and Julien fly back to Arizona. We had fun spending Christmas

with them!

Katie flew in from Minnesota for Christmas as well. The entire family

was together for Christmas for the first time in a long time!

Cousin play time at Grandma and Grandpa Burton’s house.

Here is Christmas morning at our house—the first time at our house.

I have to admit it was a little strange to not have anyone else with

us besides our little family!

He we are visiting Temple Square with cousins and Grandma and

Grandpa Burton. Madalin Burton, Samantha, Sarah, and Jacob are

in this picture. I wish we would have taken more pictures that night--

this is the only one. The rain may have had something to with that!

He we are decorating gingerbread cookies a few days before Christmas.

The kids love having all sorts of candy to put on their cookie creations.

Pokemon Fanatic

2010-10-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

This is Jacob showing all his Pokemon Cards and figures.

He loves to play the Pokemon card game and look at the Pokedex online (Encyclopedia of Pokemon). If you read the information on a card about a Pokemon to him but omit the name of the Pokemon he could tell you the name of it in one or two guesses. This does not seem that amazing until you realize that he has almost 200 hundred Pokemon cards, each with a different Pokemon on it.

So, if you love to play the Pokemon card game, stop by and Jacob will play with you anytime!

P.S. Lava, Jacob's snake, is in his cage, hiding under his rug. If you look real close you can see him.

Samantha Sings

2010-01-26T08:21:00.000-08:00

This morning, Samantha was "doing the dishes" at the kitchen sink and singing, "These are a few of my favorite things." This was so cute. I said, "You like that song a lot, don't you?" "Yes", she said. "It is Mary Poppins. She is very special and she has mittens." Too funny.

Jacob doing the hula-hoop on the WiiFit

2009-12-14T13:53:00.001-08:00

Notre beau sapin, Roi des forêts

2009-12-08T23:21:00.001-08:00

Last week we got our Christmas tree purchased, set up and decorated. Even though we won't be here on Christmas, our home just doesn't feel right without one. Actually, I don't know if we've ever been in our own home on Christmas morning. Maybe next year.

We used to go to Papas Tree Farm in Mountain Green to cut our own tree, but they mostly have very very prickly blue spruces. Then last year a business decided to bring in trees from out of state for a little lot and they are great. They jacked the prices up this year but I still think we got one of the best trees we've had as a family. Now I can't remember if it's a Noble Fir or a Grand Fir. I think it's a Grand Fir. And I'm pretty sure we've set a new family record for the longest time keeping the tree watered - it's been a whole week!

I guess you can't see how great it is with all of us sitting in front of it. In case you can't tell, the lights are all white LEDs. We're high tech. Then we set up the train of course to handle special deliveries. I was humming 'City of New Orleans' the whole time. The John Denver version, of course.

Merry Christmas from the Rockwoods!

And if you're looking for a new and different and mostly French Christmas album, we just discovered Roch Voisine's Christmas album from 2000.

Quote of the night

2009-12-01T13:25:00.000-08:00

As we were setting up the tree (pictures to come) and generally decorating the house, Samantha and Sarah were taking out the nativity sets. I guess Samannie found the manger when she said,

"I found Baby Jesus' carseat!"

Quote of the day

2009-11-29T22:51:00.000-08:00

Quote of the day:
Em caught me taking a swig from the pitcher of grape juice -
"You think you can grow a beard and do whatever you want."

Quote of the day

2009-11-24T08:12:00.000-08:00

Samantha (picking out clothes): I want this a-one.

Sarah (helping her out): Silly! It's inside-out! Want me to un-inside-out it?

Didn't believe me?

2009-11-19T13:29:00.001-08:00

More of Samantha's poop humor

2009-11-19T13:07:00.000-08:00

So for the past few months Samantha has been using anything as a phone, especially dominoes. Most of her conversations are with her friend Ellie and go somewhat like this: "Hi Ellie. Are you ok? Ok. Bye."
Then today she saw a clip on PBS kids called Every Dinosaur Poops. So not only did she sing it all day long with varying tunes, but she told Ellie about it on her pretend phones a few times:

"Hi Ellie. Every dinosaur poops. Ok? Ok, bye."

Geronimo Stilton

2009-11-16T19:44:00.000-08:00

So Jacob has been reading a series of books about a mouse called Geronimo Stilton a lot lately. Tonight Em asked him 'Who is someone you'd like to be like when you grow up? Someone you admire.'
Jacob: 'Geronimo Stilton!'
Em: 'No, a real person.'
Jacob: 'Geronimo Stilton is a real person. He wrote the books.'
Em: Oh, so you admire the person who wrote the books?'
Jacob: 'Geronimo Stilton did write the books. Who do you think wrote them, Superman?'

Learning How to Use Windows Live Writer to Post this Blog

2009-11-16T09:55:00.000-08:00

Here is a nice picture of Alec while I am at it. Thanks, Andy, for the help. Hopefully

I can remember it all.

Hallway Surprise

2009-11-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

I was peacefully cooking dinner one night, when Sarah came running downstairs yelling, "You've got to come see what we are doing! It is so cool. But don't come yet. We'll tell you when it's ready." Flags should have gone off in my head right then and I should have run up there. But I just thought, "I'm so glad they are playing nicely together." Sarah came down a few more times to report on the progress of the project and finally it was time for me to go and see what all the fuss was about.

They had ripped out almost all of our sheets, towells, blankets, wash cloths, pillow cases and everything else in our hall closet so they could each have a shelf to lay on for "their bed" in their "fort."

As I walked by, I said, "Oh that is so cool. That looks so fun" and ran for the camera so I could appreciate their work later as I was a little frustrated at what they had done. I took a few pictures and hid at the safety of the computer until Andy got home a little while later so he could help me clean up.

I was proud of myself that I didn't get angry. We had a new baby and I was having a hard enough time keeping the house clean without any extra messes. Now I can laugh at what happened and even share the pictures with all of you.

Samantha Goes Crazy for the Stroller

2009-11-10T05:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Sarah was playing with her stroller and Samantha wanted to play with it soooo much. I told her that it was Sarah's stroller and that she could go and get the play carseat we have and use that for her baby. (You know how you're supposed to let the older kids have toys that are only theirs, right?) Well, she kept screaming at the top of her lungs. She wouldn't take her nap and was tired so I ignored it. She finally stopped.

At about 2:00 a.m. last night, she woke up crying. We went in to see what was wrong. She was walking back and forth across the room pushing the stroller. All I could do was laugh (quietly to myself, ofcourse). She told us to leave so we wouldn't see her doing it. I guess she REALLY wanted to play with the stroller! Maybe I will let them take turns today.

It's Halloweeny in here!

2009-10-31T23:07:00.000-07:00

So here we are, All Hallow's Eve. What a great time to reinforce the kids' notions that panhandling is a great way to get sweets. Boney here is all set to don the great Pumpkin traditional first Halloween costume.

This year we discovered the joys of led tea-lights. The only downside is that the familiar smell of burning pumpkin is missing. Other than that we love battery operated Jack O'lanterns.

And the costumes were fun as usual. Samantha especially fit her costume of Garden Gnome. Sarah was a ballerina complete with sparkly dress, and Jacob loved being a S.W.A.T. team leader. Since he didn't speak up, Alec gets that good old Great Pumpkin getup.

Pumpkin Time

2009-10-26T21:25:00.000-07:00

Seems like it was just yesterday that I was saying, "Seems like it was just yesterday we were carving these last year!" So two years have flown by like it was two days. Jacob was even trying to replicate his jack-o-lantern from last year.

They don't know it yet but I saved a tub of guts so my punkin will be puking. Don't tell them. (Em doesn't read the blog.)

Nice picture, Jacob! Em went for the uber-creative punkin. It's the middle one - a piranha. We try our best to cut the punkins just how the kids design them. On a side note - check out Em's new Gucci frames!

Halloween pictures coming soon!

Alec's Blessing Day

2009-10-11T00:07:00.000-07:00

We had a great time with the families at Alec's blessing. So sad that Nate and Carrie's car broke down 20 minutes away and we didn't know till 3 hours later.

Here are a few of the captured images.

Thanks for coming everybody!

Hiking the Mormon Trail

2009-09-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

Here we are sneaking in a hike while Jacob was at school. We're on the Mormon trail a few miles below Big Mountain pass. I didn't expect it to feel so much like fall. Snagged one of the oldest caches in Morgan County.

Visit to One-corner

2009-09-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

So I was done a little early yesterday in Coalville and it was kind of nice out. So I drove to the corner of Wyoming. I mean the real corner. Here's my 4-runner in both states.

Samantha develops her sense of humor

2009-09-03T21:09:00.000-07:00

This is while I was putting the girls to bed tonight - Sarah lying on one side and Samantha on the other:

Sarah: How come it smells like shampoo?

(Samantha starts giggling)

Andy: Probably because my hair is near your nose

Sarah: Did you put shampoo in your hair?

Andy: Yes

Sarah: I put shampoo in my hair too.

(All the while Samannie is giggling more and more)

Samantha: I did to. I have brown hair. (She really starts laughing now.)

Samantha: (over and over for the next five minutes) How come it smells like brown poops? (Followed by hysterical laughter on her part)

Phone test

2009-08-26T11:06:00.001-07:00

Just seeing how this looks from my phone. Here's a picture of the new kid.

Alec Rockwood

2009-08-25T18:46:00.000-07:00

We love our new baby Alec, now three weeks old! Jacob, Sarah, and Samantha just love him. They love to feed him a bottle or get him a new outfit to wear. They think it is so fun to have a baby brother.

Dead End Waterfall

2009-07-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

I went on a little hike to find a couple caches in Big Cottonwood canyon. After the last planned cache, I saw on my GPS that there was another one .25 miles up the trail. It was about 30 minutes till sunset so I figured it’d be doable. So I got to .15 miles from it when the trail did a u-turn but the cache was still straight ahead. Or I should say straight down. It looked kind of steep but not too bad so I started down. The brush got deeper and deeper till I was swinging through scrub oak trees and downclimbing a cliff to one side. The only info I had about the cache was that it was named “this is pointless” and the hint said “under the tree at the bottom of the falls”. I could hear a gurgling stream getting closer. Next thing I know I see this:

What your are looking at is the brink of a waterfall between two sheer cliffs. I wasn’t aware of it but it’s called Moss Ledge Falls. I looked really hard but could find no safe way to descend to the bottom. Here’s a photo by someone else of the falls from below.

So I didn’t find the cache. That was the least of my worries. I had to trudge up that hill and make it back down the trail before sunset. The whole time up I’m thinking, “If I survive, Em is going to kill me.” Well, I survived on both accounts and didn’t have to take out my headlamp before I got to my car. I even ran along for a while with a little black bunny ahead of me on the trail. I felt pretty stupid but it’s a good story to look back on. In a few years I’ll even be able to tell Em.

Train ride

2009-07-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

I don’t know what it is with kids and trains. I remember driving across Nevada as a kid in the station wagon counting the cars on trains crossing the desert. From our home in Morgan we can see the train tracks running through the valley so whenever the kids see a train they have to announce it. Driving either way out of Morgan you parallel the train quite a ways so that gives them ample opportunity to scream, “TRAIN!” as well.

Well we finally took them on a real train. We headed down to Salt Lake on Frontrunner this sunny morning. While in Salt Lake we visited Temple Square, the church history museum, the Planetarium and had lunch with Em’s brother Chris.

Fun times were had by all. And please don’t bother pointing out that the two pictures of us in the train are not moving and at the same place. That’s pretty obvious.

What a cutie

2009-07-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

Look at that little ammo can! What a cute little cache. What a pain looking for it in a pile of rocks. How darling.

4th of July Right-wingers

2009-07-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

On the 4th of July we did a little of everything. We went on a hike in Millcreek canyon with Katie and Jake (photos courtesy of Katie)

Next we went downtown and got some gauffres at the Belgian Waffle place (can’t remember the name). Man are they good and expensive.

Next we went to the capital. Em has gotten a lot more involved politically lately. Think twice before you think that that’s a bad thing. I think it’s a great thing. I just have to restrain her from donating our life savings away. We ended up protesting a little and touring the capital with the kids.

After that we headed up to Kamas for dinner on the grill and the Oakley fireworks. The rodeo grounds are only about a mile from Em’s parents so we get a great show just sitting on the front lawn. All in all it was loads of driving but a fun day.

4-wheeling and caching

2009-06-26T14:29:00.000-07:00

Jacob and I had a great time Monday up in the Uintas. We drove a ways up the Mirror Lake Highway out of Kamas then drove about 7 miles along Murdock Basin Road. It got very bumpy and there were a lot of huge puddles in the road – like 100 feet long sometimes. We crossed one stream that probably came 3/4 the way up the tires, maybe 2 feet deep and 30 feet wide. The 4Runner did great. Our goal was the cache "Are you nuts?" that hadn’t been found for almost 5 years. After parking the car we hiked down an extremely steep hill with no trail for just under a mile. I made sure I was always downhill from Jacob in case he fell. He did great the whole way down then up. Going up seemed easier because we knew where we had been and I didn’t worry about what was coming up. The cache was easy to find and was in perfect shape. It was next to the Duchesne river gorge. I think Jacob loved splashing through the puddles the most. He said, “Papa, I can tell when we’re going to hit a puddle because you speed up and roll up the windows.”

We stopped at Marshall Lake to get this cache but it’s on that little island. We didn’t feel like getting wet.

Goals Goals Goals

2009-06-17T09:25:00.001-07:00

So I’ve had a goal for the past month or so to lose some weight. I didn’t develop any particular plan for it but I did set the reward/consequence. I decided that I wouldn’t buy any special cuts of meat for smoking or curing, etc. until I’d lost 10 lbs. I’ve been trying to eat better, exercising a little, hiking a little and thought I was doing well. Then last week I stepped on the scale. So now I’m in the hole and need to lose even more before we get any ribs or pulled pork. Hmm.

Oquirrh Temple

2009-06-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the Oquirrh Temple open house Monday. It seemed a little more laid back than the Draper Temple we went to a few months ago. Maybe because kids are out of school, we didn’t need to take a shuttle there and the weather was actually nice. You wouldn’t know we were in Northern Utah in June from the photo because it has rained daily for about three weeks.

We didn’t know until afterward but I guess Moroni’s statue was struck by lightning a day or two before. It was neat to be able to spot the new Draper temple across the valley as well as the Jordan River temple a couple miles away and pass two other temples on our way there.

Poison poison everywhere

2009-06-12T16:44:00.000-07:00

So until the rain started EVERY DAY lately I've been able to do little hikes here and there when it's slow at work. The springtime is the best time for the foothills above Ogden because they get so hot by July. One day I was coming out of a little draw when something caught my eye on the ground. Turns out it was a mean looking rattler about 4 feet long and 2 inches thick. My camera phone doesn't zoom very well and this is about as close as I felt like getting. He really is bigger than he looks in the photo.

I thought he was dead until I poked him with a stick but it still wasn't enough to get him rattling at me.

Then a few days later I hiked to a cache near some (fake) petroglyphs and after digging around in the lush foliage, finally recognized the beautiful green leaves of three. Way more poison ivy than I've ever seen. It really was growing like crazy. Luckily I got home in time to wash with technu and only got a couple of little itchy spots on my ankles.

I did see another little rattler the same week but since I had left my camera-phone in the car, all I can say is that it was probably the largest rattler in the lower 48.

Nate the graduate

2009-04-25T22:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my favorite photos from Nate's graduation in April.

Time for candy beans

2009-04-12T22:45:00.000-07:00

Easter was a lot of fun as usual. I'm always a little disappointed that the egg dying goes so quickly. I try to get a lot of hardboiled eggs so it will last longer. Em doesn't like the easter bunny to hide the real ones which is also a little sad for me because we always did growing up. So we mainly get plastic eggs filled with candy beans and some with coins, and some with other special candy.

Since we have 9am church this year we had to get up extra early to find what the bunny had left for us. Lots of candy beans. They were good ones too. Starburst, Jolly Rancher and Smarties candy beans. We had so many things of them.

Personally I can't believe how fast the years are going now. I look at last years photos from Easter and it seems like just a few weeks ago.

Climbing Samannie

2009-03-29T11:37:00.000-07:00

We decided to make the basement a little more kid friendly by clearing out some room for them to play and an area that I can use for work (for a small tax writeoff). So the climbing cave had to be dismantled. Before doing do Samantha wanted to give it a go.

Dress Up time

2009-03-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

Having girls is just fun sometimes. I think Em's teaching them modesty here.

New Wheels

2009-03-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

Our Subaru finally died. Actually it didn’t die very hard, it just had too many things that needed to be done on it. It needed new tires, ball joint, the main pulley fell off, the paint was peeling off its forehead, etc. So we sold it and got a new used car for me. I love it. I’ll love it even more when I don’t have to commute very far to work. The mileage isn’t so bad but not as good as the subaru. Luckily Jailynn gave us two travelbug stickers. I tried to explain it to the guys picking up the subaru since I couldn’t get it off of it. They just kind of smirked at me and said, 'Huh'. In return I gave them the blank stare. I know it's not usually meant for men, but it seemed appropriate while my nerdiness is being assessed.

Jacob turns 7

2009-03-05T21:00:00.000-08:00

Usually our kids get two or three birthdays at home and/or friends and/or family on the nearest weekend. I just can't believe the little guy is growing up so fast. I think he's wishing in this photo that it would rain all through the month of June.

Em made him a really cool fossil cake for his party at Fatcats.

Then the guys did the iFly for two minutes a piece courtesy of Jimbo. That's me.

Someone gave him a couple water guns that he and Owen promptly took out the door and squirted some scary looking passers-by. I was a lot more scared when that happened than in the flying thing.

Beans and Rice, it’s nice

2009-03-05T11:25:00.000-08:00

I think my parents gave this hotpad to us back when they went to New Orleans. We finally made the recipe on it with the ham hocks of the Burton’s pig from last year and some kielbasa.

Man, was it GOOD! Unfortunately, as with almost all good foods, the kids wouldn’t eat it. It lasted a while after Em got tired of it too so I had it for a good week. Mmm – mmmM!

Meanwhile back at the ranch

2009-02-16T22:59:00.000-08:00

We had a good time at the Babytoe Ranch (Grandma & Grandpa Burtons). Driving around in the snow and whatnot. The alpacas look a lot warmer than we do.

A Belated Christmas Card from Samantha

2009-02-13T21:36:00.001-08:00

I just found this in my violin case. Andy must have put it in there after we played in church the Sunday before Christmas. Is so sweet but I can't stop laughing at her sad, little face. I can just hear the nursery leaders putting the cards together, "Well, its the only picture we've got. I guess we better use it." It is darling but I'm sure they had a happier Samantha in mind for the photo.

Sarah Loves...

2009-02-11T10:31:00.000-08:00

Today Sarah said, "I love to paint my fingernails (as I am painting her fingernails). It is the best fun thing I like to do inside. And do puzzles and jump around and make beds and sleep and do circle cart wheels. Outside, I love to play a game and play baseball. I love to go sledding and jump around and have a water fight. That's what I love to do outside. And I like to go to birthday parties inside."

Happy Birthday to Andy!

2008-12-16T13:11:00.000-08:00

Though it was a little while back, I still wanted to say Happy Birthday to Andy and that we are so grateful that he is our "Papa." We are so glad that he takes such good care of us and works so hard to support us. Thanks, Andy, for all you do! We love you!

Halloween Pictures

2008-12-11T11:05:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are a little late in putting these on the blog, but they are cute nonetheless. The kids had a great time dressing up and trick-or-treating. They look forward to Halloween SOOOO MUCH!

Innocence being lost?

2008-11-08T22:34:00.000-08:00

For some lazy reason Jacob was sitting on the couch with me watching the news instead of being put to bed. He was amazed at everything they were talking about and asking me all kinds of interesting questions like how the weatherman can stand out in front of the earth and what happens to the alligators when there's a hurricane by Florida.

The best comment came afterward when I finally took him upstairs to go to sleep and he said to Emily, "You know what, mama? A lot of BAD things happened today!"

Sarah's Birthday Celebration!

2008-11-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

Sarah is now a big four-year-old!!! We love our sweet Sarah and are so happy she is in our family!

We love how she sings her little songs throughout the day. We love how she wants to take care of everyone and help out--if anyone needs a band-aid, she is right there to open it and put it on for them. It is very sweet. She is so smart and loves to work in her work book. She loves to color and paint. She loves to have tea parties with her dolls. She loves to play with her new baby bath, baby bed, and baby car seat she got for her birthday--no more having to use a basket for her dolls' bed! She loves to dress up in pretty things, especially her new princess outfits that she also got for her birthday.

We are so grateful for our little "Sarah-boots!"

A Lesson

2008-11-01T12:23:00.001-07:00

I realized today how much kids listen to and comprehend what we say. I sat down at the computer to check my email and Sarah said, "Did you get an email from 'Biruck' Obama? I don't think you should vote for him." Wow! I had no idea she was understanding what was going on in the world of politics! She has great intuition, don't you think???

Orderville Canyon/ Narrows Trip

2008-10-02T20:30:00.000-07:00

Andy and I went to Zions' this weekend with my mom, my brother Chris, and Andy's sister Katie. We camped and then took a shuttle the top of Orderville Canyon. We hiked the first ten miles in that canyon and then the last two in the Narrows. It was a lot of fun but as you can see the hike was twelve miles and we were all hurting by the end.

It was kind of funny because at first we were wading in knee deep water which was kind of murky. We were rolling up our pants to try and stay dry. Ha! Ha!

Little did we know that by the end of the hike we would be climbing down ten foot running waterfalls, jumping off cliffs into pools of water as there was no other way down, and using ropes to climb down twenty foot dry waterfalls. We knew there would be areas where we would need ropes but we had no idea how scared we would be going down some of them (we weren't harnassed in so it scary for me!)

Plus, the clouds came in and so no sun! We were so cold. Buuuutttt, after all was said and done it was a beautiful hike and it was fun to be on such an adventure. By the way, my dad was kind enough to stay home and watch the kids for us as he has a broken wrist. So thanks to my dad for that!

Labor Day

2008-09-11T20:47:00.001-07:00

We had a great Labor Day weekend with my parents. On Saturday we went boating. We had a fun day complete with a picnic on the boat and everyone taking turns on the "raft." Even Samantha went on it, really, really slowly. We were sad that Andy had to work that day and so couldn't come with us boating.

We had dinner at the Rhode Island Diner in Oakley Saturday night. The owners restored the restaurant to look like a fifties diner. The waitresses as well as the rest of the decor were all in the same theme. It's a pretty cool place!

On Monday, we went riding around in my parents' new four wheeler that seats six people. We drove up in the mountains near their house. It was a lot of fun! Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures of us doing that. Andy did get to come with us that day. He couldn't fit in the six-seater so he drove their other four-wheeler instead.

Thanks to my parents for a great weekend!

LAVA

2008-08-12T23:31:00.001-07:00

He's already here (or she, we don't really know). Our little corn snake is 10 days old and a lively and friendly little fellow. The kids couldn't be more exited. I don't think little Samannie realizes he's a live animal because she's not very interested. We get to feed him on Thursday. We'll be sticking to thawed frozen food as much as we can. It took a while to settle on a name and I think we're going to stick with Lava. Sarah had a few good suggestions like 'plate', 'cup' and anything else that she could see from where she was. He seems pretty happy in his new little home.

Various Photos

2008-08-11T21:41:00.000-07:00

Here are a few random pics from the past few months. They each probably could have been a post of their own but I haven't been up on posting so here they are.

Pesky pets

2008-08-11T21:24:00.001-07:00

So it seems like over the past few months a lot of you have been talking to us about getting a pet. We have no room for a decent dog, Em's allergic to cats. I'd love to get chickens or some terrific radiant delicious pig or some other pet which would supply us with some sort of food. Then last week Em and the kids went to a little animal show at the library. Since then, about five to eight times per minute Jacob has been on our case about some type of exotic pet. We did a little research (he reminded us to do it, constantly) and have decided on a snake. Yep, a snake. The Rockwoods are getting a corn snake. Stay tunes for all the action.

Pioneer Day Festivities

2008-08-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

We had a great 24th of July. We cooked. We hiked. We read pioneer stories.

We made biscuits and gravy, and honey candy together. It was a lot of work! We appreciated the pioneers' efforts in cooking things like that everyday!

Andy thought it would be a good idea to hike over where the Saints came into the Salt Lake Valley, just forty-five minutes from our home. It was neat to look out over the area and try to imagine where the Saints would have walked and what they would have been thinking as they entered the valley of their future home and the end of their strenuous journey. At the end of our hike, we ran into our great friends, the Rhodes, and were very surprised to see them out in the middle of no where. It was lots of fun to visit with them and talk about old times!

We read about our pioneer ancestors. We read about how our great-great grandpa, Albert Perry Rockwood, was baptised and then two days later went on a mission. Here is a picture of him. We read accounts of how the Saints prepared for the journey west in Winter Quarters. We read how they didn't care that little rivers where running through their tent-homes because it meant that spring was coming and that the "death-like grip of winter's clutching fingers [was] being loosend" and they would soon be able to travel west. We read of the relief they felt in entering the Salt Lake Valley.

I am grateful for all that the pioneers sacrificed in order to come to this great valley. I am grateful for the religion that has come from the efforts of so many. I am grateful for the persecutions and trials all the early Saints endured so that we might have the truths in our lives that bring us so much peace.

Happy 24th of July!

2008-07-22T14:01:00.000-07:00

We hope you all have a great 24th of July! Jacob and Sarah have been excited about it because we are doing fireworks but have had no idea what the holiday is about.

Last night I was reading in my LDS Mother's Almanac and she talked about celebrating pioneer day in order to help the kids understand the reason for the holiday, soooooo, we are going to try what she suggested. I didn't know what the kids would think but they are VERY excited. I was surprised.

Here's what we are going to do: The kids are going to dress up and reenact a pioneer story. They have colored pictures of the story as well. We have been learning some primary pioneer songs to sing for our presentation. We are going to make some pioneer food--homemade biscuits and gravy, and honey candy. Maybe we'll play some pioneer games.

We'd love to know your traditions for the holiday!

Camping

2008-07-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

Well we just forgot to take pictures on our campout last week. I know, I know, if you have a blog you're required to fully document your lives with photos. We had it there in the car but just forgot to take it out. Anyway, we camped up at Ledgefork near Smith & Morehouse for the fourth and had a great time. We just went and lucked out getting a spot with so much of the campground reserved but our site was very nice and even had a tiny stream, aka the 'spring branch' (Jacob and I recently read 'The Education of Little Tree'). Jacob got to go fishing and learned the hard way that his Pop is no fisherman. We didn't get a single bite. Later we hiked a mile up a great trail and found a few geocaches. Uncle Nate came by for a bit on thursday and G&G Burton showed up friday and did a little of the hike with us. We cooked a lot over the campfire. We made biscuit dough and wrapped our hotdogs to cook over the coals which turned out pretty well and roasted corn on the cob and popcorn over the fire too. Probably drank at least a few gallons of Tang. Jacob and I enjoyed the new tent's first night of use and loved it. It was a beautiful trip. Next time we'll bring the camera.

T-ball

2008-06-04T09:12:00.000-07:00

Here are a few nice pictures of Jacob's baseball game. It is fun to watch him chuck the ball from first to home plate even though no one there is paying attention. Luckily he hasn't hit anyone yet. It is also fun to watch all the kids on the team chase after the ball each time it comes to the outfield. The dust flies and the crowd cheers when someone finally comes out of the huddle with the ball. Here are Samantha and Sarah enjoying the game

A snapsot from our album

2008-05-15T16:13:00.001-07:00

The trilogy is complete

2008-05-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

It is finally done! I finished sewing the tarp tent that Em gave me for Christmas today and it turned out pretty good if I must say so. So now I've sewn my own sleeping bag, pack and tent.

To answer your most likely questions: you use a groudsheet to sleep on instead of having a floor, you use sticks or trees to hold it up (I used my trekking poles here), and I'll most likely be making a screen setup thing to keep out bugs when they're bad. You set it up higher or lower depending on the weather - if it's windy you put one side down to the ground on the windward edge. Right now (without the groundsheet and before seam-sealing) it weighs 1lb 7oz including stakes. So it will probably be about 2lbs total. In comparison, our 2-man REI halfdome is 6lbs 12oz, and our three-man Sierra Designs AlphaCD is 10lbs 8oz. With my pack weighing 9.5oz and bag 2lbs 6oz I'd say I'm getting a pretty light setup. My pepsi-can stove is just under an ounce too. Now I just need some time to get out and use it all.

Little Samanni Turns One

2008-04-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

After two family parties for April birthdays, Samantha finally had her own. This time she got to really tear into that cake. It was nice having my sisters there as well as Em's parents. Fun times, and the ribs only took about seven hours. I don't know what was up with the smoker tonight, just couldn't get it over 225.

Delusions of grandeur

2008-04-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

Last week Jacob and Sarah were playing with their new percussion instruments (marracas, triangle, etc.) and he says, "My friends have guitar hero, which is alright. But I'm the Triangle Hero! I like this version better."

Calf Creek Trip

2008-04-22T22:15:00.000-07:00

We had a great time camping in southern Utah near Boulder this past weekend. Thanks to Scott, Emily, Beck and Gibson Walton for a great trip! We had a pleasant six-mile hike up to Lower Calf Creek Falls on Friday but it was a couple miles too long for little Jacob. He got his first blisters!

Both nights we enjoyed some fine dutch oven cooking. Scott and I had a good time reliving the good-old days with our guitars at the campfire. Of course the kids had fun running around the campsite, climbing the boulders and roasting marshmallows.

After we got home Jacob said he wants to "GO CAMPING ALL SUMMER LONG!"

2008-03-17T15:46:00.001-07:00

Jacob just explained Samantha a little to me:
"She did a lot of stuff in one age. She learned to stand up, she learned to crawl, and she learned to talk (uh oh, mama, papa), she can crawl backwards and stand up...and that's probably it. The next age is going to be hard mostly because of all the clothes. It's harder now because you have an extra kid."

I'll join in the fun

2008-03-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

Since we were both "tagged" I thought I would answer too.

1. What was I doing ten years ago? I had just returned from my mission in January and was living in California. I was helping my grandparents while my grandpa underwent treatment for Cancer. Andy and I had gone on a date in Utah (he was there for the skiing). A few weeks later I was in CA where Andy lived at the time. We were engaged two months later. (We had gone on a few dates before my mission but were not "dating" when I left.) Pretty much what I mean to say is that it was pretty weird how we finally ended up dating. (We even met at a Stake Dance when I was fourteen).

2. Five things to do today? Go to church. Play mouse trap with the kids and Andy. Put the kids to bed. Read. Play violin.

3. What snacks do I enjoy? Macadamia nuts. Cheezits. Also, those chocolate peanut butter Girl Scout cookies we just bought, plus all the other kinds of Girl Scout cookies. Andy and I bought 12 boxes of the cookies, total, because we didn't know the other was buying cookies. We have some in the freezer now so they'll last us all year.

4. What would I do if I was suddenly a billionaire? I would help out the ladies in our ward who are divorced and have lots of kids. I would get a new violin. I would pay off our debts. I would try really hard not to spoil our kids. Then I would probably spend, spend, spend just for fun.

5. Three bad habits? Negative thinking. Slow to make decisions. Control freak.

6. Things people don't know about me? I enjoy eighteenth and nineteenth century novels. I egged a girls' house with my friend and the girl found out about it. I never, ever did it again. I also toilet papered peoples' houses with my friends, especially the homes of boys we liked, back when I was in elementary school. I traveled to Europe with an orchestra and played in eight different countries when I was in High School.

7. Five Jobs? Taught violin lessons, Taco Bell, Taco Time (moved up in the world), Main Street Station (waitressing), Server at Helaman Halls at BYU, Payroll Technician and then Benefits Specialist at Professional Staff Mgt.

I'll tag my mom, Katie Peterson, Katie Burton and CarrieAnne Rhodes.

I've been "Tagged"

2008-03-09T10:54:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Julie for 'tagging' me. At first I wasn't going to do it but I figured I could manify, as in 'to make manly', some of the questions. For some reason I'm one of the only men of my friends' families that maintians a blog. I was kind of following Scott's lead, but he posts even less frequently than I do now. Three of my male Rockwood cousins post, so I don't feel too lonley. So anyway, here goes:

1. What was I doing ten years ago? Let's see it was 1998, Emily had just returned from her mission and was about to move to her Burton grandparents in San Jose. I was working at Hyseq, a biotech place. Since I had no debt from college and was living at home, now making a little money and was quickly tiring of plucking colonies of E.coli from agar plates. So I had planned the "Summer of Andy". I was going to quit my job and drive around the west, camp out of my truck and explore new and familiar places such as the Colorado Rockies, Southern Utah, Mt. Whitney, Yosemite, and the Wasatch Mountains. A couple months later Em and I were engaged and the Summer of Andy kind of withered to make room for something even better.

2.Things to do today? Lead the music in Sacrament meeting (I told you it was manly) and I'm working on a really difficult puzzle cache.

3.What cuts of meat do I enjoy? I'd have to say a perfect filet mignon (like the one I'll be having at Spencer's on Wednesday) cooked rare to medium rare. A couple years ago I was intrigued with by brother Nate's love of rare steaks and I started cooking mine gradually less until now I love it red and juicy. On the smoker it's hard to beat baby back ribs. My favorite rub recipe is BRITU (Best Ribs in the Universe) with KC Masterpiece.

4.What to do if I were suddenly a billionaire? Write a check out for a hundred million dollars and hand it to the bishop then sneak around outside the clerk's office and listen for the screams. Then I'd pay $375000 in tithing every month after that (if I was very safe and only got 5% interest).

5.Bad Habits? I can't get myself to go to bed. It's not insomnia, it's procrastination. And that's my worst habit of all. A good quote I heard a while ago: "Procrastination is the coffin in which opportunity is buried." Em says I have a bad habit of teasing people too much so I've been trying to cut back on that too.

6.Jobs I've had: Making dentures, beveling glass, cloning bacteria infused with human DNA, building crates around manipulators, shipping foreign language courses, washing windows, shipping stuff and calling to expidite orders of electronics crap and eating out every lunch with my fiancee's father, operating robots to sequence human DNA, mixing the stuff to sequence said DNA, washing windows again, and finally, an eye doctor.

7.Five things people don't know about me? Can't think of anything nobody knows but I guess most people don't know that I've never danced with the devil in the pale moonlight, I can cook and sew better than my wife, I haven't worn a watch more than half of my life because I can sense the time with my seventh sense, I have a hard time counting things that people don't know about me, I'm a weak swimmer but a fast sprinter, I had a 4.0 GPA until I got contacts then had a 3.0 after that (tis' true, ask me mum), and I've never been to Boston in the fall.

8. Furthest distance I've gone on this earth: West - Eureka, CA; North - Lethbridge, Alberta; East - Salzburg, Austira; South - Jacksonville, FL (I think it's further south than Encinitas, Mexico); elevation (by my own accord, as in not in a plane) 14,161 ft - Mt. Shasta; lowest - does 10 feet down snorkeling count as below sea level?

OK, now that that's done I congratulate you if you've made it this far. I've never written so much on our blog before. I'll just tag Chis Burton to see if he really contributes more than we'll ever know to his blog. Come on little guy - you can do it!

From a Childs' Eyes

2008-02-27T23:43:00.000-08:00

What a lovely view of our T.V.

This one of Jacob and Samantha on Christmas morning is pretty good!

Samantha at her best

We got the kids child proof cameras for Christmas. It is so interesting to see the pictures they take. I'll look in the memory of Sarah's and find five pictures of the T.V. all from different angles. Jacob seems partial to peoples backsides. : ) I have finally convinced them to take pictures of faces so that "we know which body goes with which head" and because I really do plan on being able to print some of their pictures! Here are a few of Sarah's. I'll have to wait for Andy to upload some of Jacobs' since I have no idea how to do it. Yes, I know I need to learn how to use the electronics in our house!

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-24T09:07:00.000-08:00

We had a nice Valentines' Day. The kids enjoyed some nice gifts from their grandparents!

Here are some pictures from the month. Samantha has taken her first "crawling" steps. She enjoyed her new Valentines' apparel from her grandparents. Andy and Jacob enjoyed borrowing my parents' Wii. It was extremely difficult to get Jacob to eat let alone go to school while we had that thing in our house. I'm glad we don't have one, though I did enjoy playing Mario Party 8 with Jacob a whole lot! I don't normally get into games like that but while I was helping Jacob play it, I realized it was really fun!

Waking to a Nightmare

2008-02-03T08:34:00.000-08:00

I didn't think the snow would be so deep but man, this is the worst yet. The real nightmare I woke to was Jacob with his new Scholastic magazine (book orders). He said, "Papa, you need to make a hundred and nine million patients come into your room so we can buy this Pokemon game." I was hoping we would be immune from the wierdos. Later he told me, "Pokemon is the only thing that I don't know about. It's the only thing I don't understand. That's why I want it." Funny thing is that's why I don't want it. Well, I'm off to shovel. AGAIN.

Happy Groundhog Day

2008-02-02T22:52:00.000-08:00

Em was explaining the whole concept behind Groundhog Day and Puxatawney Phil when Sarah observed, "Summer is after Spring. Then we can go to Summer. It takes thirty minutes to go to Summer."

What's that green stuff she's standing on? I can't remember - must be some type of herb under the HUGE PILES OF SNOW all around our house! Let it stop let it stop let it stop!

Look what I found

2008-02-01T07:32:00.001-08:00

Sarah just walked in and said, "Look what I found - a tootle shoot (closest spelling I could guess). All of us have tootle shoots so we can go out in the snow. They keep our necks warm."

My Life has been Changed!!!

2008-01-28T16:04:00.000-08:00

Here is my second blog post ever. I am finally logged in--after Andy had to come up and get me signed up with a new password since I forgot the last one he made for me. He made me write it down so maybe I won't forget it this time.

Anyway, I am so excited about this new book that I have been reading. I am so pleased with what I have learned that I wanted to share it with everyone I know.

This book is called Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood. (They have Love and Logic books for dealing with older children and teens as well.) Reading and applying what this book has taught me has literally changed my life and relieved so much stress. If any of you out there have children, grandchildren, or even deal with children for only a short time here and there, this is the book for you.

Here is a picture of Jacob and Sarah when we went to the Dinosaur musuem back in November. Boy do they LOVE dinosaurs, especially Jacob. They have a huge park with life-size dinosaurs "roaming" around. They have an inside museum as well with an automated T-Rex and Triceratops that are sooooo realistic.

Ok fine

2008-01-14T21:27:00.000-08:00

At the Aquarium

2007-11-23T21:56:00.000-08:00

Whilst in California to visit my parents for Thanksgiving we got to go to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium, one of my favorite places. I spent two months living in Monterrey and participating in BYU's marine biology program in 1996. It was fantastic. A few years later my sister Katie went as well and even returned as a TA. So it was great to be there with her and my parents. We even found four nearby geocaches! If I could choose anywhere to live I think it would be in Monterrey overlooking the ocean a short walk from Cannery Row (even though it has become way too commercial but that's a whole different subject.)

Here are a few photos:

This is actually two photos sewn together - and it was one of the hardest ones I've done becuase it is a very low frequency gradient. Really fun to play with but hard to make it look good (still looks bad to me but good enough to share.)

All Hallows' Eve

2007-11-02T21:17:00.000-07:00

Here are the kids all set to start panhandl...I mean trick or treating. Jacob was Peter the high king of Narnia and Sarah was Glinda the good witch of the North but just called herself a princess.
And Samantha was the traditional pumkin for her first Halloween.

Pumpkin carving

2007-11-02T21:09:00.000-07:00

Due to the unusually warm temperatures we've had this October we had to wait until a couple days before Halloween to carve our Jack-o-Lanterns. Em was a little more faithful to Sarah's design than I was with Jacob's. We decided it was easier to buy a couple than to grow about 10 of our own and carve them all like we did last year.

2007-10-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

It has been a good month. Sarah had her third birthday and Samantha turned six months old. She weighed in at 14 lbs. 8 oz at her doctor visit and had a good check up. Jacob takes good care of his sisters and we are adjusting to a new baby in the family. All the kids got their flu immunizations last Thursday--what an ordeal! We had to promise a treat at the store if they would hold still and then all three cried and cried after it was over. Now we just have to go back for the second dose of their immunization in six weeks.

Soccer Dude

2007-09-20T08:38:00.000-07:00

Jacob started soccer a couple weeks ago. I'm surprised how much I get into the games even though all six (three per side) just kind of run around in a pack with the ball.

Toe Toucher

2007-09-12T00:08:00.000-07:00

Lately the little scoots has been grabbing a lot of stuff - toes, faces, glasses. When it's just her the toes get the most attention.

500th Cache

2007-08-27T22:18:00.000-07:00

On Monday we went on a nice family hike up Burch creek to get my 500th geocache find. It was really nice little shady canyon with water in the creek (rare in late August) but Emily and Jacob got over 30 mosquito bites between them.

In case you don't know, one of my hobbies now is Geocaching, which has been described as a stupid outdoor sport for nerds. Basically, geocachers like me hide and find little containers and stuff all over the world using our GPS recievers. The question you want to ask now, I know, is "What do you find in them?". I guess that's for me to know and for you to find out. But I can almost guarantee that there are a probably five geocaches within a mile of where you are sitting right now, full of gold ingots, diamonds and rare coins. Whoops, I gave it away!

Sarah's favorite part, the fruit snacks. Actually the kids probably enjoyed throwing rocks in the creek the best.

This is Em's 'Don't look like you're posing' face. Samantha slept for a little while but didn't cry at all. No bites on her.

I am so happy.

The cache was in this rock slide of 1.5 billion year old Gneiss. As old as the rock at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. I'd estimate the total value of the cache contents at around only $5000 dollars. The gold was only 14 karat so we left it.

My favorite video

2007-07-25T21:58:00.000-07:00

I'm figuring out how to post video on our blog - here's one of my favorite videos of Jacob.

This was about Sept of 04 in Sandy. Notice Em's about 7 or 8 months pregnant and Jacob is freshly shorn. I think the downfall to screens on video cameras and digital cameras is the kids constantly saying, "Can I see it? I wanna see it."

The cousins at Brighton

2007-07-11T22:46:00.000-07:00

Samantha and the kids were able to be with all of their cousins except one on the Sunday before the fourth of July. Here are some pics:

The Sailor outfits - Joshua (4/2/07), Samantha (4/25/07) and Simon (3/30/07)

All of the Rockwoods

The Burtons

Renowned Mr. Brown

2007-06-22T23:05:00.000-07:00

I spent a good 17 hours smoking five Boston Butts then pulling it for sandwiches. I have to say I'm pretty proud of the end result - hence this photo on our blog.

Little Samantha growing up

2007-06-11T09:31:00.000-07:00

This purple blanket was crocheted by Emily - she finished it the day before little Sam-I-am was born.

She's getting bigger - seems like she's gaining the weight faster than Sarah did.

Memorial Day

2007-06-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

Here's Jacob going crazy on the tire swing. I thought for sure he'd toss his cookies after but he was ok.

Five Days old and Three Weeks old

2007-05-18T22:40:00.000-07:00

Here She is at five days old

And here she is tonight at 23 days old.

Her sister Sarah had the same sleeping habit -
smashed up next to whatever is there.

First Bath

2007-05-18T22:30:00.000-07:00

Taking a bath with Grandma Burton

Here's Samantha to begin our family blog

2007-04-29T10:35:00.000-07:00

Here we are in the hospital enjoying the new baby Samantha

Not much snow at Brighton

2007-01-26T12:29:00.000-08:00

When we last visited the cabin in the fall it was pretty warm for October so Jacob hung his coat up on the wall. So now it's January and I'm taking the opportunity to do some cross-country skiing and retrieving the coat. This is a pretty low snow depth for January. I also noticed a big tree fell in front of the outhouse - probably 3 feet in diameter. It could have smashed the outhouse or even fallen on the cabin. The weather was beautiful and I had a great time. I can't wait till the kids will be able to ski with me.

Volcano time

2007-01-05T12:10:00.000-08:00

We started off the year with a bang by making Jacob's volcano that he got for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa Rockwood. It was a lot of fun and Jacob loved the 'eruption' when you put the baking soda and vinegar in the cup at the top.

It starts

1972-11-11T21:06:00.000-08:00

Today I was born.