Soap Nuts?

I know you all think I'm over the top sometimes with my earthy-ness.  But, that's why you love me, right?


I just ran across this thing called Soap Nuts, which are little nuts that are like laundry detergent.  The testimonials are raving, so I'm wondering if any of you have tried them out?  I'm curious.  Some people even use them with their cloth diapers, which makes me think they must be amazing.

Any thoughts?

Gilgal and other photos

Have you seen this before?  What is it?  Where is it?  Who did this?

Well, just take a little visit down to the Gilgal park, just east of Trolley Square, and yes, you'll get to see the Joseph Smith sphinx.

The park is a sculpture garden full of Mormon based sculptures by a man who really loved big rocks and his faith.  The Joseph Smith sphinx is the most popular/famous piece in the garden, but there are lots of others.  It's actually a cool place to see, albeit a bit strange.

Gilgal Garden

Happy Easter, belated

here are some great pictures of sage, looking a bit too much like an easter egg herself.  she had a fun easter time, mostly spending it with family.  and she got a new/first swimsuit, to celebrate the springtime.  

Calf Creek Falls

For Steve's birthday, he wanted to do something fun and active.  So, we went to Calf Creek Falls, down in the wonderful Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  We took the whole crew down, including the Babcocks (well, really they met us there and had an awesome campsite waiting for us).

It was a fast trip, but fun.  It was Sage's first time in the backpack.  She really seemed to like it.  I liked the workout I got by carrying her, which was awesome, but still not as heavy as Steve's camera gear.  :)

The hike was nice.  Not too hot.  The huge canyon walls were beautiful to look at.  And, there were a number of people hiking, including lots of kids.  So cool to see people out hiking and enjoying nature, instead of cooped up at home in front of a screen (like me right now).

Favorite quote of the trip, given to us by our campsite neighbors.

"Can you keep your campfire smoke in your own campsite?"

ok, lots of photos of me.  it's because steve has the camera.  

This last photo was taken at a place called Devil's Garden.  It's about 10-12 miles down the Hole in the Rock Road.  Fun place to see cool sandstone formations and cute little girls named Sage.

Livin' on the edge

Steve, Sage, Julie and me went rappelling a few weeks ago.  Here's the pics.

are you nervous?  don't be.  she's tied in.  not sure if you can see on the photo below, but the chariot is hooked into the climbing anchors.  and she's strapped in the chariot.  and really, it looks a lot scarier than it is.

and she's so excited to be outside.

and now that i've made you question are parenting.  no, sage didn't actually rappel down, we drove the chariot back down the trail.  she just had to watch from the top.  

Sage, the cute one in the family

This is her first time swinging.  Overall, she liked it!

Tummy time.  Usually shared with some furry friends, like Reyah or Keene.

Sage has lots of cute moments.  We try to either just appreciate them, or even better, appreciate and capture on camera.  I'll keep trying to post them as I get my hands of the pictures.

Antelope Island

So, a couple months ago, Steve and I decided to get out of our apartment and go see something different.  So, we drove up to Antelope Island (it's one of the islands in the middle of the Great Salt Lake).  I grew up staring at it each night (amazing sunsets on the lake with that island in the middle), but had never been there.  It's an interesting place.  Here are some of the pics.

There are a lot of buffalo on Antelope Island.  Here are some more:

and even a few left over from the 2002 Winter Olympics:

And a couple of Sage and her parents.  

We had a nice day.  Beautiful sunset, chilly wind, wild animals (lots of birds there, too), happy Sage, happy Steve and Kj.

Famous

Ok, not totally famous.  But, here's a fun link to a friend who did a blog post about Steve.

Progressive Pioneer

She is our friend Amy.  Steve and her husband, Clay, do scouts together.  Very like minded folk.  And fun to spend time with.  And their son, Sam, is a little genius.

Thanks, Amy, for sharing the good word on Steve's work!