A gift

Monday was rough. I woke up with inexplicable pain, which has tormented me for the past few days, in my wrists, ankles and lower back. I lost my glasses at North Shore on Saturday, so had eye over-exhurtion pain in my head.

Muad'Dib went to work like a good little boy and I tried to positively face the day which would consist of cleaning my horribly cluttered and disarrayed home. We recently rented a storage facility so I could feel like I had more "living space." So for the past few days I had been cleaning out our closets of the more seasonal use items (seasonal also meaning "when a baby is little"). This, despite making more closet space, made less floor space because do you know what I found? LOTS OF JUNK!

It was every where. Junk in our files (from like, before we were married), in my drawers, in pockets of old jeans.

At the end of my rope and at the edge of sanity I tearfully call my neices. And guess what? Two of them came running to my aid. For an hour and a half, Michex and Mayflower took Lemur and Rivulet for a walk to the park. I was able to clean every room of my home while they were gone. There are not words capable of describing how grateful I was and am. My sanity saved, I offer gratitude to my wonderful neices. Thank you, you gave me a better day.

Welcome to Existance!

Yesterday, Nelson Baby Girl was given her name, by her father and the other men in her extended family. We all welcomed Jane Heather Nelson to the clan, and what a party it was!!Happy little family!
Then, well, back at the Watts house, there was just so much cuddling going on . . .
Naturegirl with Rivulet
Scout and Trailblazer

Taun "loving on" BigBlue, who was adorable all tuckered out.

NatureGirl couldn't get enough of new Jane, or as she is called in some circles, She Who Loves Her Fists.
BigBlue with Little Fists
Even Mayflower got to snuggle Litte Fist. Jealous yet, Bethany? Soon it will be your turn!!!!

Dinner at Mountain Road Ranch

Anyone curious as to what transpires during a typical dinner at the Mountain Road Ranch? Well, beware, ye of non-Nelson lineage - for the conversation is deep, rarely murky, but full of unexpected laughs.
Topics?
~What were we before "intelligences?"
~When is it appropriate, if ever, to skinny dip?
~Was the sacrifice of Jesus altruistic?
~What does "altruistic" mean?
~Sacrifice
~Self-interest vs. Selfishness
~Is there exchange in "heaven?"
~Being complete
~I AM
~Euphamisms for skinny dipping (we always seemed to come back to this concept of floating naked in some water feature or other!)
~Euphamisms for everything else.
~Government
~Pushing Buttons
~"Chelsea is so cute!"

There was also alot of quiet giggling and girlish slapping between Wildbound and Muad'Dib. Weird to see those two as siblings. I can barely imagine them sharing a childhood . . . of course, if they never sat in a back seat pulling faces until the other laughed so hard they were crying (in complete silece so as not to get in trouble) I'm not sure it can be called a "childhood."

I was - in turns - in awe of the thoughts and questions of these people, and shocked by their more colorful comments. So in the end I can say, the dinner was good, the conversation was great and the company was fantastic.

There's No Place Like . . .

A common morning at home with the two spawnlings: Lemur comes upstairs to show me a "present." I help him wrap the puppy in a blanket and ask if the puppy has a name. Lemur thinks for a moment then exclaims the name: Roman. How adorable is that?!

Rivulet always looks like she has just gotten away with something. In this case, she had unwound the chord of an x-box controller and was attempted to wear it like a necklace. She already loves jewelry!

Moosehorn Lake

Camping at Moosehorn Lake, Uintahs. We were inspired by Dreampacker and Trailblazer to set out on our own and go camping for the first time in two years. This is a view of the cliffs just to the right of our campsite.

Doesn't he look happy?Lemur wasn't up for pictures, be it nap-time, hike-time or bed time.
But Rivulet always has a ready grin. Even in the fading warmth of twilight, surrounded by mosquitoes.
So the scoop: We arrived at Moosehorn around noon on Wendsday, set up the campsite and decided to go for a hike to Fehr Lake. We packed the kids back up and set off.

Now, perhaps a stroller was not the best mode of transportation . . . but I couldn't find the baby back pack and wasn't sure about carrying Rivulet the whole way. She seemed to like it. Always going, "ahhhhh" along the bumpy parts.The hike was .5 miles basically downhill to Fehr Lake. It was a beautiful hike of rivulets (the person and the water feature) and meadows full of wildflowers. Oh. And Lemurs.

I am actually standing in Fehr Lake. I can't seem to walk around water. I must go through it. What does that say about my personality? Muad'Dib and Rivulet at Fehr Lake.
Rivulet sure loved the rocks. Apparently they tasted good, too. (Yep, I'm still standing in the lake.)

For Trailblazer, Desertbound, Wildbound and Wanderful (I've heard the YW camp story, Wanderful). Apparently, my daughter is following in the shameful Nelson tradition. No one's around? SKINNY DIP!

Me and Rivulet at Moosehorn.

Below are pics Muad'Dib took. I really love Indian Paintbrush, and it was everywhere. It wasn't too hot, there was a breeze and we were surrounded by beauty. What more could we ask?
See Muad'Dib's blog for more pictures.

My Kidlets in Lake Powell

Everyone else has done a fantastic job of documenting LP. But here are three pics that HAVE to appear on my blog. Pictures by DreamPacker (I think). for more, see Dreampacker, Wildbound and Desertbound.

Me and Rivulet. She had been very grumpy the last evening in Willow Gulch so I took her out to really experience the slickrock and lake - minus the life jacket. She ate a rock and splashed a tasty piece of jetsom into her mouth, but look how happy she is! Here is my morning ride with Lemur. I took it very slow with him that morning, and he just looked around - not feeling quite safe. It wasn't until Iceberg on the last evening that he was yelling, "Mom, we have to run faster!!!!" and sqealing with glee as we sped across the waters. I loved hearing his little voice, "Mom I have a great idea!"

That is a Life Moment. My arms wrapped around his to control the Runner, supporting him with my legs, I felt his utter trust in me. We raced from one place to another and he always trusted me. This was something that we shared together that we couldn't have shared any other way. Thanks, Kevin!

Learning is Fun

Today we celebrated Muad'Dib's day off with a trip to the Logan Aquatic Center with Wildbound, Wildman and the four kidlets. Highlights include:

~Muad'dib skipping across the top of the pool using the momentum of the "fast" waterslide.

~Wildman skipping all the way across the pool using the selfsame momentum.

~Rivulet discovering that she could touch the water.

~Lemur testing the waters of the "big person" pool and exclaiming, "It's like the lake!" He was right, that water was freezing!

~Rivulet diving out of her floaty chair, trying to be a big girl.

~Watching my children laugh and play in the water.

~Teaching Lemur some basics of swimming. I had forgotten how great it feels to spend quality
time with my son. We laughed so much, even when he got water in his eyes.

~Playing "Squint" with Wildman and Wildbound. A rematch is requested.

~Figuring out that the only way to get Lemur home was to bribe him with seeing Crouching, Tiger, Hidden, Dragon and Ninja.

And to top it all off, our children came home without a single spot of red on their lily-white bodies. If only I could say that for me and Muad'Dib, who had to slather eachother with aloe when we got home. Red as the day is long!

Thanks for the day, W&W!!