Talia's Canyonlands Birthday

Look out world, we have two teenagers in the house.  Just over a month ago, our Talia Lily turned thirteen.  My, time flies.

For Talia's birthday, we played hooky from school and traveled to Canyonlands National Park.  Canyonlands is so large and diverse that you could easily dedicate weeks to exploring it..  Since we only had a few hours, we limited ourselves to three short hikes in the well-developed Island in the Sky district.

If you must throw sand, I suppose it's best that you toss it at yourself.

Mesa Arch

The arch isn't large, but approach carefully.

There's quite a drop off on the other side!  I guess that's why they call it Island in the Sky.

For our next hike, Brooklyn was anxious to find a place where she could throw her frisbee.

Our destination?  Aztec Butte.

Following the cairns to the top.  After reading the trail description, we were searching for some ancestral Puebloan ruins.

Our birthday girls looks like she knows the way.

Interesting, but definitely not thousands of years old.

Not over here either.

Brooklyn wonders if we should give up.

At least the views from atop the butte were pretty stunning.

Eureka!  On our way back, we discovered a different path leading to the ancient granaries

Well-done, gals!

Our last hike, Upheaval Dome.  While we aren't certain what caused this giant crater, it certainly is giant!

Back in Moab, we decided to splurge by taking Talia to Thai Bella.  Our Talia sure is Bella as well.

As a birthday surprise, the restaurant treated her to some amazing coconut ice cream.

Afterward, it was back to the hotel to open presents.  Aw, the owl blankie is so soft!

New ski goggles too.

Made in '06 indeed.


Next it was time for a late night swim in the Marriott pools.  That's Talia standing on her head.

Reminds me of when she was nine.

Judging by how long she and Brooklyn stood in the waterfall, I guess she still doesn't mind being cold.

It's hard to find the right words to describe how fortunate we feel to have Talia in our lives.  This gal is bright, inquisitive, hard-working, creative, and ever so thoughtful.  Each day she grows more beautiful both inside and out.  Happy, happy birthday Tally Wally!

Early the next morning, Jason and Annie dropped me off at the trailhead for the Dead Horse 30K, sponsored by Mad Moose running.

I had the beginning of the course all to myself, thanks to my forgetfulness.  I left my timing chip at home and had to wait a bit for a replacement.

While I don't have any photos, the course was just as beautiful as last year with breathtaking vistas and heartbreaking climbs.  The aid stations were awesome, plus I loved the number of runners: enough to feel motivated without feeling crowded along the single track.  While I still walked the steepest climbs, I must have hustled a bit more than last year since I finished in 3:18, a ten minute improvement.

Lest I gloss over the challenge, the race was still hard.  Training was hard.  But it was worth it.

So many thanks to my family for cheering me on.  And thanks to the race organizers for the enchilada at the finish.

After the race, we headed over to Arches for some more fun.  Here Brooklyn found the perfect spot for playing frisbee.

Welcome to Sand Dune Arch.  Despite our many ventures into the park, this was our first time discovering this gem.  What a delightful place to play!

And munch.

Brooklyn and Talia went off on a little adventure with their Daddy.

This photo makes my heart melt.

My favorite crew.

On the way home, we stopped off for dinner at a place called Cowboy's Kitchen outside of Price, Utah.  We were all pretty famished by this point so we were delighted when they brought bread to our table.  Funny story: the table behind us left their bread completely untouched.  When no one was looking, we stole their loaf and devoured it too before the staff could whisk it away.  Yup, we're that kind of people.

So there you have it.  Talia's birthday, Canyonlands, Arches, a 30K, and home in time for church.  We sure know how to play hard.  Now time for another decade of adventures.  Happy New Year, world!

Tidbits of Fall

For all its craziness, life in the Wheeler home is rarely dull.

Sometimes it's the random sights that make me feel the happiest.  Take this mess of books.  At first I thought they'd been dumped, but it turns out Annika counted out precisely one hundred in honor of the first hundred days of school.

Or check out this Magnatile tower.

Truly a toy for all ages.

This stacked washer and dryer may seem pretty random, but this picture makes me really happy too because it means I no longer have to do the splits to move the laundry forward.  Next step is rebuilding the wall.

Good thing I married such a handy fella!

Here's Brooklyn at Utah's Day of the Girl, an event where they connect older Girl Scouts with leaders in the community.

Her friend Tanya was able to attend as well.  I'm proud of these future leaders.

After three years, Talia got her braces off!  Isn't she beautiful?

Of course, she was pretty stunning with them on as well.  Talia drew this lovely self-portrait in her art class.

This fall Brooklyn started private cello lessons with this amazing woman, Dr. Lauren Posey.  She truly has a gift for teaching.

Even better, Brooklyn upgraded to a full-size cello of her own.  We're hoping this beauty brings her decades of musical joy.  Brooklyn's worked really hard and made a ton of progress.  Just today we found out that based on her jury performance, she's been invited to play at the GMS (her music school) Honors Recital.  Great job, Buttermilk!


Here she is again performing with the Youth String Ensemble.


Talia is also progressing fantastically on violin.  Here she is with her studio pals at the fall recital.  We are so sad that her teacher, Caryn Bradley, is leaving the music school, but we are happy for her to spend time with her new baby and three year-old twins.


Both girls got to sing "If the Savior Stood Beside Me" at the Assembly Hall with the Young Women during stake conference.

Meanwhile, Eli and Annika did a great job with their parts in our ward Primary Program.  They were pretty excited about the Salt Lake City Temple cookies they received for their efforts.


Speaking of the temple, we spent a lovely Saturday morning doing baptisms with our friend Hannah, followed by french toast at Kneaders.


Here's Brooklyn singing the national anthem at a Grizzlies hockey game along with A'Cappella, her school choir.

Annika liked the hockey, but loved the cotton candy.

We finally got around to planting bulbs.  Hopefully we will have tulips and daffodils come spring.

Naturally Annika gravitated toward the wildlife.

Thanks to the  inspiration of our neighbor Yangsuk, our kids got to learn the joy of service by raking leaves at different homes throughout October. 

Sometimes they came home a bit messy after jumping in the leaf piles.

October' is Uncle Justin's birthday month.

Ruby prayed that all his birthday wishes would come true. 

Annika enjoys some afterschool trampoline time with a friend.

In November, Eli earned his Arrow of Light.  This boy loves scouts.

The Stake Presidency came to support.  On the far left we have President Brown, the man in the suit is President Pickett, and next to him is President Ernsten.

Back to our Arrow of Light scouts...

...they came up with their own troop name--the Lightning Spiders.  Their adorable leaders drew this for the boys.

Well-done, Eli.

He was also recognized as student of the trimester at Emerson for demonstrating leadership.  His teacher talked about how he is willing to be flexible and do what it is best for the class even when it is not most convenient for him.  What a great quality.

Jason and Justin did some brotherly bonding over microwave installation.  With tile to be cut, it was serious business.

Yasss!  Success.

Now for Brooklyn's new passion.  This girl loves, Loves, LOVES Ultimate Frisbee!  She's learned so much and made such great friends.

Darting around as Dorothy at the Halloween Hat Tourney.

Brooklyn and her best throwing buddy, Jasmina.  These gals get together to play every chance they get.

The Krakens B Team at the state tournament.

Cheering from the sidelines.

Grandma Susie and Grandpa Charles drove down from Logan to help cheer.  We love the support!


Go Krakens!

As for Annika, I got to accompany her cute class on a field trip to the Natural History Museum.

How many first graders fit in a dinosaur footprint?


Her teacher, Ms. Blank, is a teaching Superhero.  Seriously.  I've never seen a person manage a classroom so lovingly and effectively

Plus, they make the most adorable projects.

That digestive tract must be working well because Annie really needs to go potty.

Annika did a great job singing in her school Veterans Day concert.

Plus, she lost her first tooth!  She was SO excited.  Apparently she bit into something really hard during her school lunch and it came right out.  I asked her what it was, expecting her to say an apple.  Nope.  It was a stale cookie.

Okay, more randomness.  Brooklyn and Talia were thrilled to go to a book signing with Shannon Messenger and Brandon Mull.  Currently they are obsessed with Keeper of the Lost Cities and continually argue over whether Fitz or Keefe is better.  Eli recently joined the craze as well.  Surprisingly, Keeper of the Lost Cities is the first book series he's really gotten excited about.

Speaking of Eli, his class recently took a field trip to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.  So does shipping a glass box around the country and watching the cracks appear qualify as art?

I'm not completely decided, but this certainly does.  This was Talia's submission for the PTA Reflections Contest: Look Within.  It's certainly a reflection on the quality of Salt Lake's air.

But there is so much beauty here as well.  This picture was taken at Red Butte Gardens.

Last but not least, wrapping it up with one final picture of Annika spontaneity.  Because every pet needs a tissue paper blankie--naturally.

Whew! There you have it--all the random tidbits of fall, courtesy of the Wheelers.  You're welcome.