Zion National Park

I found this post that I never finished because I was waiting for pictures! It is from October 2010.

Over UEA weekend we wanted to go camping and Steve came up with the idea to go to Zion's since we have never been there together and Zack has never been. We found a really neat place to stay called Zion Ponderosa. You can camp, trailer camp, rent a cabin, rent a covered wagon or rent a room in the lodge. They have a really nice pool, hot tubs and spa. They also have tons of activities you can do like miniature golf, rock wall, zip line, 4 wheelers, etc. It was great and I would stay there again. The best part...showers! Nice, clean, private, hot showers!

Steve planned our whole itinerary and it was full of hiking, and more hiking! He did a good job researching hikes in Zion and had the GPS coordinates for the more obscure ones. Unfortunately we forgot our camera! Big bummer. Fortunately, Steve took a few pics with his phone.

No pics of Steve since he was using his phone camera! :(

The highlight of the trip was our 5 mile hike up to Angel's Landing. I wasn't too worried when he told me we were going to do 5 miles because we did 4 miles in Glacier 2 years ago and we all did fine, Zack is a good little hiker. I SHOULD have been worried. Angel's Landing? Ever heard of it? Apparently I am the only one who hasn't because every time I mention it people's eyes get big and they say things like: "You hiked Angel's Landing with Zack!!?" When I told my mom we hiked it she told me people die all the time on that hike. (Upon further googling, I found that about 6 people have died on this trail in it's history. I am surprised it's not more!)

On our way up, I look like I'm dying.  I was!  Zack loved climbing in the drainage system.

Good thing I didn't know about the deaths before we started. It was a really hard hike for me as I am pretty out of shape and you gain 1500 feet elevation, but I was really proud of myself for doing it. It was nothing at all for Zack and Steve, I probably held them up. It took us 4 hours and that included a half hour break at the top to eat lunch and look around so I feel like that is pretty good time.

After 4 1/2 miles of hiking we got to a spot where a bunch of people were sitting and eating. I thought that was it and was ready to dig into my lunch when Steve informed me that we still had a half mile to go and then he pointed to where we were going. I literally got sick to my stomach and asked him if he was joking. I thought about staying put but my pride wouldn't let me. That, and I wasn't about to let Zack go without my protection.

The last little climb to the end of the hike, treacherous!

The last half mile of the hike is literally along a thin (thin as in a few feet wide) spine of rock with 1200+ foot drops offs on both sides. There is occasionally chain drilled into the rock to hold onto and pull yourself up with but when you are going up and dozens of people are coming down, sometimes you have to let go to let someone pass. It is really hard to describe how scary this path is. If you want to see for yourself this is a good video.

Can you see the narrow ridge I'm talking about?  This photo is a view from the end of the hike, that is what we walked over!  It is as small as it looks.

We made it to the top and were rewarded with fabulous views all around us. It was truly beautiful and I was so proud of myself and Zack (and Steve) for completing the hike, ALL THE WAY! On the way back down, people kept commenting how they were amazed at Zack and his hiking skills. We were all proud.

I highly recommend this hike to everyone. Just be care full!

Here we are at the top!

After the hike down we waded through the river and Zack got pretty wet. It felt good! Then Steve wanted to go on a couple more short hikes. Ha! We had to break it to him that we were done for the day, I was dead and Zack was shivering cold, so we went into town and got some pizza and shopped for rocks. Zack was in heaven with the rocks, but who knew they could be so expensive?

The next two days we did some shorter hikes including the emerald pools (3 miles and a cinch!) and weeping rock. We also found a cool mini-narrows on one of our adventures and Steve and Zack had fun exploring and rock climbing. While in the narrow, I pointed out a dead tarantula floating in a puddle with some weird worms. Steve went to pull it out and found it was alive! We had fun saving it and watching it crawl around and then we placed it in a sunny spot so it could warm up. Boys love stuff like that!

Giardia anyone? On the Emerald Pools hike.

We did have some rain one afternoon so we went and soaked in the hot tub. It poured that night, but our new tent held up pretty well and we were only a little wet in the morning. Steve is a great cook and we had a delicious dutch oven dinner of roast with potatoes, carrots and onions and every morning we had a deluxe breakfast.

Chilin on one of our hikes

I always worry that Zack will be bored on vacation with just his old parents but he always has a good time and doesn't seem to mind. He has fun exploring and playing and has never complained about us. I am so grateful that we are able to take so many fun vacations together, it is something we make a big priority and it is good bonding time for our family. Even if I do get a little grumpy when I camp! (I hate dirt and creepy crawlies!)

Zack wanted to climb every rock and hill!

Daisy Update

A couple of weeks ago our agency rep. told me she would ask for an update on Daisy but that we probably wouldn't get one.

A few minutes ago I got an email from her and the orphanage had sent an update! They said she is doing great and gave her measurments. No pictures though. Here they are:

Weight: 8.5 kg = 18 lbs. 12 oz
Height: 73 cm = 28 3/4 inches
Head: 43 cm = 17 inches
Chest: 44 cm = 17 1/2 inches
Feet: 11 cm = 4 1/2 inches

I looked the numbers up on the growth chart and she was not even on it! So then I looked her up on a Chinese growth chart and she is 15% for weight, 10% for height and 10% for head. She is tiny!

Well, I guess those 12-18 month clothes I bought her are not going to fit! Better do some more shopping before we go!

By the way, we are leaving this Friday! We are so excited!

I will try and blog from there, but may not be able to. If I can't, I will post when we get back. Wish us luck!

We got it!

We were hoping to get our travel approval today... and we did! Right now we are making travel arrangements and hope to leave in a week and a half. We are so excited! Exactly 3 weeks till we can meet Daisy!

She has a name

If you don't want to read this whole long thing, scroll to the bottom...

I don't know about you, but I think choosing a name for a child is a difficult task, made even more difficult by my dear husband.

When I was pregnant with Zack, I thought picking a girl name would be so much easier than a boy name. I had several I liked. Steve wanted Emma, I loved Ivy and there were others too. I just can't remember them because that was over 8 years ago. For Zack, we had a short list and narrowed it down to two, which we couldn't decide on until we met him. When he was born, we knew he was a Zackary and not an Alexander.

As soon as we had a picture of our baby girl back in October, I started looking through the baby name books, even though I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted to name her. I had to be sure, plus, did I mention Steve hated the name I wanted? HATED. So, every night I would read through a book and write down any possibilities. Every once in a while I would read them to Steve and he would listen and say "yes", "no" or "maybe". I made it through 2 whole books and had about 20 names. Steve whittled it down to 4, in about 30 seconds. Lilly, Daisy, Lucy and Ivy. Did I mention that the name I wanted that Steve hated was Ivy? So, really he whittled it down to 3 names. But, I wasn't crossing Ivy off yet, I thought I could still convince him.

For the next few months, when I would go to bed, I would get the list out, and stare at her picture. Trying to decide what she looked the most like. Then the time came (about 4 weeks ago) that we had to decide because it was going on the paperwork we had to send in. We would not get to meet her before we named her.

One day Steve begrudgingly told me that if I really wanted to name her Ivy, I could. Reeeally?! I don't think so. I would always feel like he hated her name every time he called her that. (Did I mention that the reason he hates that name is because of the movie "Poison Ivy" with Drew Barrymore? He hates Drew B. and although I haven't seen the movie the character named Ivy was quite the evil skank and he can't get past it. Weird.)

So we were left with Lilly, Lucy and Daisy. In the end I decided we couldn't name her Lilly because that is a trendy name for girls adopted from China (ever seen Modern Family?) and although I thought she LOOKED like a Lucy, I didn't love the name. So....her name will be Daisy! I really do like the name a lot and so does Steve so we both win! Plus it really doesn't hurt that I know 2 awesome girls with the name Daisy!

Her full name will be Daisy YuChen. Yu Chen is her Chinese name and it means morning rain and we really wanted to keep it to honor her Chinese heritage. I hope it fits her!

Zack Says...

Z: I want to learn how to play the Jello.
Me: You mean the Cello?
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We have put Zack in soccer a few different times because he loves it and asks to play. However, he is really funny because he will run towards the ball, give a little kick at it and then back away, like he's hesitant to really get aggressive and take over.

One night as Steve and he were getting ready to go to a game, Steve was giving him one of his pep talks.
S: Tonight, I want you to be really aggressive. I want you to go after that ball and kick it hard! I want you to take over and be mean and aggressive! OK?
Z: Well, I don't know about being mean, but I can do the rest of that stuff.
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As our trip to China gets closer, a lot of people have been asking me things like: "Is Zack just so excited!?"

At first I would just smile and say "Yep!"

But lately I've just been telling people the truth, which is: he is nervous and worried and not very happy about the whole thing, to the point of not wanting to even talk about it. Here is why:

1. He is smart enough to realize that his life as an only child is about to be rocked.
2. He is peeved that he is getting a sister instead of a brother.
3. He hates drawing attention to himself, being stared at, talked about, laughed at, etc; and he realizes that our trans-racial family is going to draw attention.
4. He is nervous about the actual trip to China (we are taking him with) because he gets homesick and misses his pets terribly. Also, I warned him (I didn't want him to be in shock when it happened) that strangers in China might stare at him, get in his face and ask to have their pictures taken with him. (See #3) The horror!

In an effort to address some of his concerns with out actually sitting him down and talking it out (he won't), I went to the library and got some books about kids getting new siblings through international adoption. (In case you are wondering they were: Just Add one Chinese Sister, My Mei Mei, Waiting for May and Jin Woo.)

We read the first three and while they were sweet, none of them was really what I was looking for.

On Sunday, we had some time so I told him we were going to read the last book. It was the one called Jin Woo. It is about a family of three including a brother around Zack's age. They find out that the baby boy they are adopting will be coming to them the next day on an airplane. (Sometimes people opt to have their babies brought to them instead of going to the country but only a few countries allow this and I think it is 'no bueno'.)

The book is from the boy's perspective and he talks openly about how he is nervous to be getting a baby and how he doesn't really think it's that great. He's really nervous until they get the baby and he makes him laugh and holds him and likes him and decides he's great after all. It's very honest and realistic and similar to what I think Zack is feeling right now. I hope our story ends the same way, with Zack really liking his sister once he gets to know her.

At one point in the book the parents are pressed up against the glass at the airport trying to catch a glimpse of the baby and the picture shows the boy looking all sad. I asked Zack how he thought the boy was feeling, he said something about how the boy was feeling bad. I asked him why he thought the boy was feeling that way and he said very matter of-factly: "Because he knows his parents don't care about him any more, they just care about the baby now."

WOW! It was the saddest thing I have ever heard! I explained to Zack about how it's possible to love more than one person, he loves me and daddy and grandparents, etc. Just like that, Daddy and I have lot's of love to give to him AND our new baby. He started to zone out and look around and was NOT enjoying our conversation. Then he told me he didn't want to talk about it.

Sigh.

I sure do love that boy, but he really does push the limits of my parental creativity! Would it be too much to ask for this baby be an "easy" child? Probably, but one can always hope, right?

***If you have any experience with older children being upset about new brothers or sisters and how you handled it, I'm all ears!

From Geek to Chic

This is the first mouth guard I have ever purchased. I knew nothing of mouth guards before starting roller derby 13 weeks ago so I went to the store and picked one in the middle price range and made sure it had a strap for easy in and out. As you can see, it is big, bulky and bright. The strap cut into my cheek, I couldn't talk, at least not clearly, and I had to take it out to quench my thirst.

Geek!

The other day I heard about a great mouth guard via my favorite social network. I decided to try it out.

Chic!

I know, you're probably thinking "Where's the new mouth guard?" I'm wearing it! It's thin, comfortable, I can speak clearly and drink easily. There is no need for a strap because I just keep it in the whole time! The package also claims that it is 30% stronger than conventional guards and that germs from your hands won't stick to it. It was extremely easy to shape to my mouth, especially while looking in the mirror. The Protech Dent Mouth Guard is the only mouth guard for me from here on out. A two pack sells for $39.99 and it's worth every penny. You can get yours at www.protechguard.com.

**Full Disclosure: I was given a 2 pack Protech Mouth Guard to review for this post. It did not affect my opinion of this product.

**Also, if you are my friend and you wear the 1st kind of mouth guard, I do not think you are a geek. Don't be offended!

One more step

I have been sick in bed this week and just got up for a bit to work on adoption stuff. It's a good thing I did because I found out we got our I800 approval on Monday, the letter should arrive today. I called and talked with our dossier specialist at the agency and she thinks it is reasonable to assume we will still travel in May. I sure hope so because airfare to China DOUBLES at the end of May and into June. Paying over $2000 for airfare is not in my plans. Pray for us that all the paper work will go quickly! Thanks!

LOA Baby!

This afternoon I went to open the door for my mom and there on my porch was a Fed-ex envelope! I was so excited and sure enough it was our LOA (final approval from China)! We waited 45 days which isn't too bad as the average wait is 52 days right now.

According to my calculations we will travel to China sometime in May! We have lots to do to get ready, I better get to work!

Our Valentines Project

This year is the first year that Zack had to make a valentines "box" for school. I asked him what he wanted to do and I pulled up a bunch of ideas on-line for him to see that we could maybe copy. I had a few boxes saved from Costco that would be perfect.

Well, he glanced at my "cute" ideas and firmly stated that he wanted to make R2D2. Um...really? We can't just paste some red and pink paper on a box and call it good? Apparently not.

So, I spent a whole day trying to find a garbage can in the shape of R2 and the rest of the supplies and then we had a super busy day scheduled so we had a total of like 3 hours to get this puppy done, the night before the big party.

I think it turned out pretty cute! I promise this was not one of those projects I took over and did. Zack actually did most of it. He was pleased with it and now he has a cool trash bin for his room. Win-win!

(Notice the shirt, he loves anything Star Wars)

I need your help

I am having trouble coming up with a roller derby name. So, will you take this survey and help me out? Thanks!

Our baby is 8!

Zack turned 8 years old on January 30th. It is a party year (we do them every other year but I may have to change it to every 3!) so I researched a few options and he picked the exotic animal presentation. Since my house is too small to have 14 crazy kids AND exotic animals, I decided to have it at the church and it worked out really well.

I am so lucky to have my mom and sister to help me with this stuff! Thanks mom and auntie Ally! (It's a good thing Ally was there because it turns out that my mom and I have a balloon tying handicap!)

I came up with the idea to blow up about 150 balloons, two of which had a special paper inside that said "you win!" While the kids were waiting for the animal presentation they went into the room with the balloons and had to pop them all to find the ones with the prizes. It literally took about 1 minute and was sooooo loud! Then we made them clean it up!

We ordered 6 animals and I think it was perfect because it lasted a little over an hour and I don't think the kids could have sat still much longer. But it was really hard to choose which ones we wanted her to bring. Below is the giant snake (a python I think).

She let all the kids touch or pet each animal. The kids loved it! Here is the giant bunny, who is still not quite fully grown. He was very cute and I would love to have one as a pet, if we didn't have a dog.

The striped salamander could only be touched with wet hands. I passed on petting this one.

This is a giant Tegu lizard. He actually broke out of his box at the very beginning while she was introducing herself to us! He was very curious, I think he smelled cake.

This is a chinchilla, the softest animal I have ever felt! It was adorable and I would also have one of these for a pet. Maybe when the guinea pig goes to GP heaven. Zack got to feed it some raisins.

Lastly was the chameleon lizard. The picture doesn't do justice to the pretty turquoise color he had on.

I think the adults enjoyed the presentation just as much as the kids. It was really well done and I would recommend this company to anyone who wants to have a fun, interesting party. They are called Wild Things Science. (Zack with grandma Bernice.)

I have a friend who lives down the street and she does cakes. I wasn't up for making the cake this year so I called her and told her Zack wanted a Poke Mon cake and asked if she could even do that. She was like "no problem". I wasn't expecting too much because, well probably because my imagination is stunted. Anyway, I went to get the cake and this is what she comes out with: !!!!

She is amazing right?! Zack loved it and I was sad to cut into it, it just seemed wrong! There must have been like 6 cake mixes used to make it because it fed everyone and then there was a ton left over. Unfortunately it was delicious too and I pretty much ate most of it by myself due to the fact that Steve doesn't really love cakes.

All the kids were begging to eat the ears and tail so I gladly handed them over. Imagine their surprise when they bit into...Styrofoam! Yuck.

It was a fun party and Zack was happy and I am happy to have it over and done with! (I have a party throwing phobia you know so I must reallllly love my child to do these kinds of things!)

Love you Zacky! You're my best boy!

I love it!

I just completed my 4th roller derby class on Thursday last and I LOVE IT!

My back is finally healed enough that when I lay on the damaged part it just hurts a little. I can now move around normally without wincing in pain or crying out. So I guess I didn't break my pelvis after all!

This week was the most fun so far. Instead of breaking into two groups (veterans and new girls) we all stayed together and literally skated around the track non-stop for over 2 hours. It is a really good work out, more than you would expect.

First we did a time test. We had to skate 25 laps and see how long it took. Eventually we have to do it in under 5 minutes, to pass the minimum skills test. I came in last place at 8+ minutes. I would have been really embarrassed but everyone is so freakin nice that they all cheered for me the last lap. Everyone is very supportive and encouraging, it's really great.

Next off we paired up and took turns pushing each other around the track like shopping carts. Imagine the front person (cart) crouched into derby stance (see derby stance photo) and the rear person pushing them around by their hips.

Next we learned how to whip each other around corners. I was so scared but it turned out to be doable and really fun. Whenever the teachers tell us we are going to do something I immediately think "there is no way I can do that!" But then, I try it and am amazed that I actually CAN. The whipping was really fun.

Lastly we all got in a line and started skating, fairly close to each other. The front person had to skate really fast around the track to catch the back of the line and then weave in and out of every person and then skate around to the back again and the new front person would do the same. It seemed like it took forever! By the time we were done I was so tired I couldn't skate anymore and it was almost 10:00 (class is supposed to be over at 9:30). Some people stayed a while longer to do the exercise again but this time with some hip checks thrown in. I'm glad I didn't stay for that because I saw a lot of falling down going on.

All in all it was great and I can't wait for next week. I am hoping to get some good practicing in this week so I can get better.

Here are some pictures from last week and this week:

This is derby stance. We practice this for hours, until our legs are jelly. Wanton Rebellion has no mercy!

More of the stance. It really is amazing how much more stable you are while skating with this posture.

Our team logo which was artfully designed by one of our teachers "England's Glory". Love it!

Last weeks practice. Not sure what I am concentrating so hard on, probably just not falling!

This weeks practice. The track is bigger than it looks in this picture. Trust me.

I really need to get some cool derby clothes. (It's just sooo cold in there!)

**Oh yeah, I was going to ask: if anyone can think of a good derby name for me I am taking suggestions. I have a couple of ideas but I am not sold on them yet. The one I really wanted is already taken (you can't have the same or similar name to any other derby girl in North America).

Did somebody say "Roller Derby"?

Alright, it's time for me to confess. Don't laugh.

I signed up for a ROLLER DERBY class.

Here's how it happened:

I had never even heard of roller derby until a few years ago when I heard about a movie called "Whip it". Soon after, I rented the movie and I loved it! It looked really fun and bad-A.

One night at work I confessed to my friend Brooke that I had always wanted to do roller derby and she was like "no way! I'VE always wanted to do roller derby!" I told her to tell no-one of my deep, dark secret. Of coarse I could never actually do it, I can't even roller skate!

Sometime around the end of December, I took Zack to get his haircut at some cheapo dollar cuts place. As I was waiting I perused one of those alternative newspapers and there was an article which told of the upcoming RED ROCKETTES roller derby classes for ALL levels of skaters to participate in.

For the next week I couldn't stop thinking about it and knew I had to do it. But, to go alone? Never! Then I remembered my friend at work and so I told her about it. She was excited at the prospect but didn't say much more. The class was set to start on the 6th of January and as the week progressed I grew more nervous. Should I do it? Could I go alone? Finally at the last minute Brooke contacted me and said she wanted to do it. Yes! I rented skates and we bought cheap pads at Play it Again.

We showed up that cold night to an even colder warehouse in an industrial park. We were freezing! There were about 20 girls there ready to go. We all geared up and then were told to warm up by skating around the track. WOW! Within 5 minutes my shins were on fire. Half the girls were whizzing past me, weaving in and out of the pack, the other half looked like me, stumbling along, trying really hard not to fall down.

After our warm up the class began. Let me just say that everyone was so nice and so welcoming. The girls teaching us are great and very encouraging. We did a bunch of exercises to get us comfortable on the skates, practiced derby stance, practiced stopping, etc. Then we played a game with everyone and it was time to go. It was 2 hours long and tons of fun.

A few days later I went and ordered all my gear. Elbow, knee and wrist protection, helmet, mouth gaurd, and skates.

This last Thursday was our second class. As I sit here writing this 2 days later, my body is one big mass of bruises, sore muscles and possibly one broken coccyx. I am beat down!

This second class we focused on learning how to fall. A proper derby fall involves falling on your knees and elbows or a side-slide fall. An improper derby fall, which I specialize in, involves falling backward and slamming your tailbone into the concrete. I did this three times. The first time was so hard it kind of knocked the wind out of me and I just laid there in shock. Wanton Rebellion (our teacher/leader) came right over and told me to get up. I was like "um, are you crazy? I think I'm paralyzed"! She insisted. I got up and felt like I was going to faint. She told me to skate around the track a few times. I was like "I think I'm done for the night". She told me in no uncertain terms to "skate it off"! I'm not one to argue with a derby girl so off I went. I was surprised that I could actually still skate and it did feel a little better. Then she told me to come back to the class and practice my falls some more. In my mind I was thinking "there is no way I can do this"! But, Wanton was so encouraging and so sure of me, she made me think I could. And I did! Yea for me! I'm tuff! And then I did the improper fall two more times. And I kept going.

Who knows, maybe I have ruined my tailbone forever. Time will tell. But I sure hope it is better enough by Thursday that I can go back to the class because this is really fun stuff and my excitement about it is getting me through the most awful month of the year. January - bleh. Plus, I now have an excuse to buy leg warmers, love them!

Thanks Red Rockettes!

Zack Says...

Zack: If I ever DO get married someday, I want to cut the babies cord.

Me: Oh yeah, that would be cool huh? So you MIGHT want to get married now? Who would you want to marry?

Zack: Well, Allysa said she loves me, but she's not my type.

Me: Oh? What's your type?

Zack: You.

Cute huh? I think this conversation was inspired by my brothers new baby. We were all speculating before the birth if we thought Uncle Sean would be able to stomach cutting the cord. Actually we were wondering if he would be able to stomach being in the room while the baby was born. It turns out he did great, even though his wife needed an emergency c-section. Everyone is doing great now!

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I was putting Zack to bed the other night when Steve came home from the gym all dripping with sweat. Of coarse he had to come smoother us with hugs right then and so Zack and I were yelling at him to get off us and go take a shower and ewwww!

Steve pretended to pout and said we didn't love him and he was going to go find a new family that did. I said "good luck with that!" sarcastically and Zack said: "Yeah, maybe a family of werewolves!"

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(I forgot to post this one with our new bathroom update post earlier.)

As soon as our bathroom was finished, Zack wanted a bath. He was sick of showers. I got it ready for him and he got in and started laughing hysterically and then giggling he said: "Why am I laughing? He he, Oh, it's because I'm so happy!" Then he laughed some more. He really missed his baths!

Our Dossier

All of our hard work over the last few months is finally on it's way to China as of yesterday! Yea! I am so happy. We are waiting to hear our LID (log-in-date of dossier) and then we will be officially waiting for LOA from the Chinese government (FINAL approval to adopt our baby). LOA is taking an average of 51 days right now but I think it will be slowed down by the holidays, especially Chinese New Year which happens at the beginning of February, so we will see how long it actually takes. Pray for a speedy LOA for us! Merry Christmas!