Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

My mother is an angel, she really is. She came up a couple weeks ago with my sister Tiffany and they spent a week here. Tiff is a beast and ran the Provo Canyon half marathon. Even with some sick kiddos we had a great time. Mariah and Chet loved loving on Baby Briggs.

When my mom was planning to come to Utah she had decided that she was going to take Mariah and Chet with her back to the ranch so Tanner and I could have our own little vacay. Chet got super sick. He had a really high fever and wouldn't sleep at night. Monday morning his fever broke and my mom, still insisting on taking them, left that afternoon. My mom sent me pictures throughout the week: 

 Having a blast with Grandma's teepee 

 Mariah and Bonnie

 Chet and Clyde

Can you tell from the pictures that they didn't miss mom or dad in the least? Grandpa even had them talk on the phone with me and I thought they might cry. But no, they could barely spare a few seconds to say hi because Grandma was going to give them a "sink". Pretty sure I had a much harder time with them being gone. It was only a total of 4 days, but that is a long time for this momma. 

And Bonnie and Clyde (the lawn ornaments, as my brother Dan likes to call them), are the best dogs for little kids. They will take any attention they can get, even if that means getting tackled, pulled ears or poked eyes.

Tanner and I knew that while the kids were gone we wanted to do something that isn't as feasible with children. So we went up to Bear Lake for a night. We played a rousing round of miniature golf and because I was the only one who got a hole in one and we didn't grab score cards I declared myself the winner. But truthfully, there were a couple holes where I had an embarrassingly large amount of strokes (if thats the correct golf lingo), so I'm pretty sure Tanner would have won.

 Pretty sure my ball went all the way off the course on this one. I'm just gifted like that. 

 The man who always wins so his wife has to make up rules so she can win a stinkin' game. 

That night Tanner got to watch the NBA final game while I read a book and ate chocolate and lounged. And we were very happy with how our night went. 

The next morning we played a couple rounds of Bocci Ball and I almost beat him both rounds, without special Ashley rules even. But of course, Tanner always finds a way to win. After that we rented a jet ski for a couple hours and headed out on the lake. This was my first time on a jet ski and the water was icy cold and I was begging Tanner not to get too crazy. Because he is such a dear he made sure we had a good time but he didn't throw me off once. Just another reason why I love him. After a while I sat on the beach while Tanner went out and did the crazy things men like to do. I was content with looking for little shells to bring home to Mariah and Chet. 

Just a little "wind blown"

After jet skiing we headed into town for some pizza. The cook messed up our order so we ended up with two pizzas for the price of one, no complaining from us. After that we headed back home. 

The next day Tanner had to study so I mowed the lawn. It's amazing what you can get done without children. Though after I was done with the yard I started to miss them something fierce. That night we went to the cheap theater to watch Cinderella which was so cute and sweet and had all the right feels in it. 

By Friday morning I was chomping at the bit (just a little ranch lingo for ya) to see my babies. So we picked up our niece Bethany and headed for the ranch. It was so wonderful to hold my babies in my arms again. They really are my everything. That weekend was our annual fishing derby so we had a lot of fun spending time with extended family. Several of my Aunts were there so Mariah and Chet really worked the Grandma system and got all kinds of treats. Aunt Margaret was giving candy quizzes and my Aunt Phyllis was tickled with how many cookies Mariah downed in a matter of minutes. The girl takes after her mother. 

 Bethany was so helpful with the kids and Mariah loved torturing poor "Tiger". 

 Just checking on the livestock. 

 Grandpa took Mariah out on the boat and she loved it. 

Chet...not so much. He lasted about five seconds. Maybe he was as concerned as I was at the lack of a life jacket. 

After it was too hot for the fish to bite some of the men started skipping rocks. Here is a video of Chet trying to perfect his technique: 

 It is always so great to get together with family. I'm grateful for my mom and dad who give Tanner and I opportunities to build our relationship and are so wonderful to our children.

Monday Monday

Tanner had Memorial Day off and that was cause for a little celebration. I've been wanting to go on a hike with the family for quite some time and the day was just perfect for it.

I was assigned Chet as my hiking buddy...and he was fantastic. 

The trail was beautiful but steep. About fifteen minutes into the hike Mariah started asking to be carried. But with a lot of cheerleading we got her to walk longer (like an hour!). She kept saying, "the bumblebees are helping me! They are saying, 'you can do it!' they are pushing my bottom." Yeah, motivational bumblebees, I'd never heard of it either. But we sure were grateful for them. 

For a while Tanner carried Mariah and was moving at such a brisk pace that I knew drastic measures had to be taken. I was wheezing. So I decided Chet needed to get down and stretch his legs out, thats what hiking buddies are for after all. I enjoyed Chet's pace a whole lot more. He had to carry a big ol' stick which slowed him down considerably. I don't know how I survived hiking with Tanner before children; he doesn't really understand the concept of a leisurely walk. 

After about two hours of hiking, with Mariah doing most on her own (yay for bumblebees!), we decided to head back down the trail. By this point Mariah was in the Ergo on Tanner's back and I was carrying Chet on my shoulders. Tanner started off at a jog. This was a steep, rock strewn trail. And I have weak ankles, just saying. So Tanner wasn't very happy with the cautious pace I had going. He kept offering to carry Chet too but my pride just wouldn't allow it. Weak ankles or not I was not going to walk empty handed while my husband carried two children. But then Chet started to fall asleep and lost all muscle control and became a lead weight and I started to really slow down. The boy is almost 30 pounds after all. Without saying a word Tanner turned around, grabbed Chet and kept going.  

60+ pounds and no complaints from the man. And we were only about five minutes from the car, so I probably could have made it. But then I wouldn't have been able to admire Tanner's strength and endurance and Chet wouldn't have had such a broad shoulder to sleep on, so it all worked out for everyone's benefit. 

It was such a wonderful day and Mariah keeps asking when the next hike will be. Maybe we should get another backpack carrier, for Tanner's sake.