Jack and the Pinewood Derby...

Time for Jack and Pinewood Derby.  Merril's not the kind of Dad that makes the car for his son so that he can win.  If Jack makes a slow car, so be it, as long as he did the work himself.  Jack's car is driven by a Lego guy.

Jack said the backwards cap makes him more aerodynamic.  *raised eyebrow*

It must have worked because he won in the 1st place in the Bear division!

The winners' plaques have dowels to hold the car in place.  I think they're pretty awesome!

Mikayla's Easter dress...

Mikayla wanted this dress for Easter.  Since I prefer dresses to have sleeves, I decided to buy a larger size, cut the excess off the bottom and then alter it to have sleeves.  I also purchased the most amazing sewing machine and was dying to try it out.

Before:

After:

My new/used machine is a Babylock.  It is computerized, does small embroidery, threads the needle, cuts the strings.......it almost sews itself.  If it ever goes kaput, there's no way I'd go back to a regular machine.  It.is.amazing.

Odds and Ends of Spring Break...

Some other odds and ends from Spring Break included a trip to the brand new Fiesta Fun Center.  They built a new facility with bowling lanes.  Maxine played in the arcade and won a mega jackpot!  Everyone who didn't win the jackpot was upset about her luck and made sour faces.

Merril purchased a snowmobile and went to play in the snow with his buddy Jason N.  I'm glad he has friends who like to do those sorts of things.  I'm more of a sip hot chocolate in the lodge type of gal.

And lastly, a traveling exhibit of the Vietnam Memorial Wall came to town and we took the kids.  Merril's great Uncle Maxwell died during the Vietnam War and volunteers were able to help us locate him on the wall.  I was more moved than I thought I would be.  I'm sure the original is even more so.

Goblin Valley and Capitol Reef National Park...

Merril had some work to do in the middle of nowhere Eastern Utah and he suggested we all go and visit Goblin Valley.  It was Spring Break so we loaded up in the Tahoe and headed out.  We got Arby's for dinner and Mikayla was so tired, she fell asleep chewing her Arby's sandwich.  I hope she doesn't choke.

Driving through little towns with small populations always makes me wonder, "Who lives out here?  Why do they stay?"  I guess you can get Netflix anywhere with an internet connection.  You could watch it 'till the cows come home, for realsingtons.  So we stayed in a motel in Caineville and then got up and visited the goblins.

I guess it was originally named "Mushroom Valley" which makes more sense to me. Not sure why they changed it.  I know Galaxy Quest, a space movie, had a portion of it filmed here.  It does look like Mars or something.  This area was totally open to hikers, which made it fun for the kids to explore.

Then we visited Capitol Reef National Park.  It had some nice Native American pictographs or petroglyphs.

It was a quick little getaway and we had a good time.  :)

Maxine and ZPPAF-Zion Piano Performing Arts Festival...

My friend and Maxine's piano teacher, Sara G., offered the opportunity for her students to perform at ZPPAF, which stands for Zion Piano Performing Arts Festival.  Maxine practiced her piece, Watch My Fingers Rock!, for months.  It was a catchy, swing tune and she became really good at it.

She performed and then the judges critiqued her piano technique and told her how to improve.

She did so well in her category that she won a $25 gift certificate to a music store in town.  :)

Tub time...

The tub is one of the happiest places for my little kids.  There are several cars in the tub that hang out on a permanent basis.  Oh, I'm in love with his eyes.  They rim in a blue/green but the centers are yellow, which makes them seem more green.  I find it unusual but very handsome.

He likes to try and stick items in the faucet.

He's been cutting eye teeth for a while but they're finally in and he's back to his happy self!