I tried, I really did. I coudn't even upload one picture. I'm so sorry. We haven't shared a single picture of our family since March. I don't want to let this blog go to pot just because I can't share pictures yet... so, I'm still going to keep a little trail of what we're doing on here.

Today we ventured out one step further than just finding all the neat local parks. We set off on a hiking trail of sorts today- and the top of the hike offered such an amazing view of the city, strip, surrounding mountains, etc. (I'm so sorry I can't share the pictures!!). It was terribly windy, but the weather was perfect and we all had a lot of fun. Someday soon we would like to go to the Red Rock Canyons- if anyone has been there before please share any advise or experience with the area.

The girls and I were whisked away to visit CA by my sister Dana last week. I love any opportunity to visit over there. She has 11 children- so if you think your nieces and nephews grow fast try and keep track of that many in just one family. The youngest 4 are 1-yr olds now and are crawling/walking/getting everywhere all of the sudden. I WISH I could show you a couple snapshots of them when they are given a moment out of eye shot. Most episodes included either mud, trash, or toilets. I know we have all been there and experienced those moments, but there are so many right now with so few hands and eyes to keep watch over them all. It was very fun for me- and my girls wouldn't stay out of the backyard from sunrise to set, literally. Ah, what it would be like to have a yard OR grass again....

Madelyn will be in nursery come church next week, I'm so excited she's finally of age... but now I have to accept the fact that I no longer have a baby. Our entire family was able to make a visit to the dentist in the last few days. For Darrick and I it has been a long uninsured time since we've had any dental work/cleaning. Between the 4 visits we had 6 fillings performed on the spot, 9 more scheduled for the next weeks, one bridge scheduled, and a very sorry outlook on the crowding of Katlyn and my teeth in the future if some extractions are not done. The amount of expense even with insurance is overwhelming. Anyway, it has really motivated a new, more strict, dental plan- but I'm afraid it's mostly bum-luck on the genetic scale.

We had our first "driving by" visitor that stopped conveniently on the way from SLC to CA (perfect mid point) and stayed in our guest room. It was very fun to see our friend from college and his new beautiful wife. We are hoping for lots more, so don't forget to at least say hi- a meal, stretch, nap, shuttle from the airport, or a night's rest is always waiting for anyone that would like to take us up on that. We really are the first exit just off the I15 (which you'd have to drive on) and very close to the airport.

I think I'm trying to accommodate for the lack of pictures by this lengthy post- as far as my kids growing or changing- Madelyn still has no hair- in fact her hair growth rate has been slower than either of my older kids if you can even believe that to be possible. Utterly frustrating if you ask me. She is beginning to look rather odd- so old with no hair to show for it. It's like a walking talking newborn/infant. It's hard to watch my sweet Katlyn and Lauren look so grown up on some days. At least they are still into dressing up "girly"/pink/pigtails/fancy. I'm just waiting for the day to come when they venture into their own style without looking back. We watched some home videos the other day and it was shocking to see how quickly the years have raced by.