Done Deal

Today we were finally able to adopt Dylan into our family. For the past six months Big D has certainly gained a permanent branch in our family tree, but now everything is legal and binding. I'm always amazed at how clinical a court proceeding can be. Our lawyer was very formal (except for showing up 30 minutes late!) as he questioned us concerning our relationship with Dylan. Both Tara and I testified that we felt our home was a good place for Dylan to be raised in and the judged agreed. Six months of waiting, twenty minutes of a hearing and it was over - Dylan Noble is part of our family.

The kids are super excited for their little brother and both of our families couldn't be happier for our special guy. I know that we have to go through these formal proceedings, but we've known Dylan was part of our family from the first time we saw him. It's wonderful to know that he'll be with us for the rest of our time together on Earth, now on to the blessing and the sealing where Dylan can be part of our family Eternally.

Casting Call

Yesterday we continued a fun little tradition we've had with each of our little ones. Around the six month mark Dick has come over and made a plaster mold of the kids' little fists. It's been fun to watch as each little hand is place in the mix and the mold is taken. We figured it was finally time for Big D to immortalize his massive fist.

Dylan handled it pretty well. Since he is generally a pretty calm kid, he kind of wondered what was going on. Still, he didn't make too big a deal out of the slimy mix. In less than one minute the mold was set and Dylan could put his fist back into his mouth. It will be fun to see the finished product, proving that Dylan really was the biggest of the kids.

I'm really glad we keep these little mementos of the kids as babies. We haven't done any bronzed booties, or kept any locks of hair from the first haircut - but I still want to have a few little keepsakes from the early years. Having the collection of tiny fists is a good reminder of how lucky we are (and how quickly kids grow!).

Summer Fun

This summer has been extremely busy, but mostly with fun stuff. We have been swimming at least once or twice a week (which is once or twice too many times for me!), but the kids have loved it. Luckily we have had lots of offers to go to private pools because I don't know if I could handle chasing the kids and trying to keep track of them at the local pool.

We have spent every Tuesday at Park days with the kids in the neighborhood. I've really enjoyed this weekly event, just to get to hang out with the moms in the neighborhood and have some adult conversation. The last couple of weeks have been especially fun. Last week we went to Liberty Park. The kids loved playing in the seven canyons water feature and swinging at the playground.



This week, our neighbor invited us up to her condo at Snowbird. We spent the day swimming, eating and playing at the cute little playground. The best part was that it was 100 degrees in the valley and 80 degrees in the canyon. That made the playground much more bearable.

We also went to Kennecott Copper Mine on Monday with Char, Candace and Heather and all the kids. We had a great time there. The kids loved the huge dump trucks and looking into the huge open pit. After Kennecott, we went to the cute little town of Copperton for lunch at the playground. The kids had a great time and it was fun to see the family. No pics, I forgot my camera, as always!

It's been a fun summer so far and I'm glad we have a few more weeks left to enjoy the freedom.

TV Obsessions

I know it's not a big surprise that I like to watch TV now and again. What will surprise you are two of my favorite programs: Top Chef and Man vs. Food. I am totally addicted to both of these food inspired programs, but for very different reasons.

Tara and I picked up on Top Chef several years ago and immediately became hooked. So much of reality TV is getting unwatchable (anything on VH1 and most of the networks), but this little show from Bravo has just what the diner ordered. Great drama, fun personalities, elimination challenges - truthfully, I don't think that either of us really care that much about the food, it's too fancy for our naive palettes.

This summer they've had some of the headline chefs from around the country competing in a version of the show called Top Chef Masters and it's been great. One of the downsides to the regular show is the cut throat nature of the competition. Since the contestants are relative unknowns trying to make a name for his/herself the tension runs pretty high (the language can run pretty hot as well). These master chefs they already have a name, so it's fun to watch them enjoy the cooking process and cheer one another on.

Our latest obsession is the Travel Channel's Man vs. Food. There is no fine dining here. This is pure comfort food: hot, greasy, and plentiful. The host, Adam Richman, travels the country to take on various food challenges. So far we've seen him tackle a 72 oz. steak, a 5 lb. hamburger, and the hottest ramen on the planet. The best part of the show is the fact that sometimes Man wins and sometimes Food wins (we watched as Adam couldn't keep 15 glasses of milkshake down - not a pretty sight).

Still, I love the variety of food and the fun hang outs you learn about on this fantastic show. I know there's no way I could finish a 12 egg omelet, but I can certainly enjoy watching someone else take a crack at it.

Torrey 09'

Most of the family spent the 4th of July weekend in Torrey, UT. We were just missing Jared this year. No biggie, right? Well we missed him, but he had fun with his buddies on the east coast. Anything to get out of the Houtz reunion, right? We survived without daddy, anyway.

Torrey is a cute little town outside of Capital Reef National Park. We spent four days in Torrey and really enjoyed it.

Friday was a fun day and we mostly relaxed around the campground, playing games, doing crafts with the kids and going swimming. Kennedy has been our little water baby this summer and I couldn't get her out of the pool.


Alex was happy to hang out on the edge of the pool and shoot people with his squirt gun. Dylan did okay in the water, but didn't last too long.

The evening was spent doing a quick hike to see the sunset (which we missed), but it was still beautiful. Did I mention that Dylan is heavy, even if we are only going 1/3 of a mile!

Saturday, the 4th of July had big plans. We were going fishing, four-wheeling, picnicking, hiking, etc. We ended up at a beautiful lake that Chris took us to and within 10 minutes of getting a fire built, we had a huge downpour. Luckily, Kennedy was able to catch her first fish ever with Uncle Phil before the rains hit.


We waited it out a while, but decided to pack up and head out. Our big day fishing and playing wasn't so big after all.

When we got back to camp, a few of us decided to do a fun four-wheeler ride that took us up some beautiful red rocks. I had Alex and Char on the back of my four-wheeler for the almost 2 hour ride. We encountered several large "streams" that everyone said didn't exist before the rainstorm. Anyway, we got a little muddy, but we had a blast. I'm not sure how we ended up with the only four-wheeler without mud flaps, but we had fun anyway. When we got back to camp, Alex said, "I wanna go again". The kid loves to ride four-wheelers.



Most of the family headed out on Sunday, but we stayed an extra day with the Duncan's. We spent Sunday driving to a fun little place called Calf Creek. We didn't have time (and I have too many kids) to do the fun hike that is there, but we played in the river, fished and chased baby fish with Alex. It was a great afternoon and the kids had a blast.


Monday was our last day in Torrey. We played in the pool in the morning, then headed to the local malt shop for lunch and headed out. I was sad to say goodbye to my family. I have always loved the annual trips that we do and I'm thankful to my parents who put it together every year and make it possible. Thanks, mom and dad for a fun trip.

Here's a few of the highlights of the trip:


Uncle Paul giving Alex a tool from his tool box. Alex was in seventh heaven and pretty much stalked Paul after that. He kept asking me, "where Uncle Paul". Uncle Paul still gets included in Alex's prayers every so often!


The kid races. They loved it!


Alex fishing with Guncle, before the rainout.


Reading stories with Aunt Char every night before going to bed. Ya Ya was lucky enough to get to stay with us!


Dylan hanging out with Grandma. Luckily, everyone pitched in to help the single mom for the weekend.