Scooter Ride

Once again... sorry about the quality here!

The other night I was taking a walk with Afton and Jasper. Afton was riding her scooter just ahead of me, and I was following behind with Jasper... trying to contain my laughter so I wouldn't make Afton self-conscious and stop doing what she was doing. It was one of those moments where I wished I had my camera, or at the very least my phone because Afton had some serious moves on her scooter. If scooter-riding were an Olympic sport, she would take a Gold medal, I am convinced!

My lack-of-catching-the-moment regret kept lingering... so this morning I tried to re-create the moment. This, unfortunately (and of course) doesn't capture how hilarious she was the other night, but I thought I'd share it anyway. One of these days, if I get better footage I will be sure to post it. I hope you can see the her signature move at the end:

PS... speaking of Olympics... Afton had her first gymnastics class tonight. She's got potential... watch out 2020 Olympics! If scooter-riding isn't an event by then, we might have a little gymnast there!

Lake Powell (June 20 - 29, 2008)

Oh.. Beautiful Lake Powell. It's even more beautiful when there is only one storm (maybe 2... well maybe 3, but that's where I draw the line).


This was by far the best year we have been, as far as weather goes. We only had a couple small storms, and one BIGGIE (the awning on the motorhome was the only casualty). Thankfully, this year, we rented a trailer with some of Trav's family so we had shelter and A/C(!). Yay!

We had loads of fun. Memories that will stick out in years to come:

• Setting up camp three times (the water kept rising so we kept moving)


• "Ring of Fire" (not that I want to remember the million Neumann-made renditions of that song) (have a listen to it on my playlist, and tell me it doesn't stick in your head for 8 days!)


• Afton falling asleep while riding on the tube (who does that?)


• Crazy music man behind us on day 1 (another reason we had to move camp the first time)


• The word "tooty" used after the name of anyone Afton addressed (Brandon-tooty, Keyan-tooty, mommy-tooty...)


• The big wedding party on Lone Rock beach, and the nice newlweds sharing their cake (and Johnny Cash music over their loud speakers... this is where the "Ring of Fire" obsession was born)


• Afton's fascination with the lizards and frogs the boys caught


• Afton's first hike up and run down the sandhill


• Afton's insistence on not going potty in the water (sure sped potty-training along!). Her sand-toy buckets came in handy on a couple occasions!


• Lori , Afton, and I escaping death by inches! When the "Biggie" storm came upon us, we were the only ones at camp. Luckily when the micro-burst ripped the awning off the motorhome, we were a couple feet away from the "path of destruction." :)

Here are some pics of the good times!

Pretty Lake Powell:

Fun in the Sun:

Wake and Knee Boardin':

Professional Tubers (do not try this at home, these are trained professionals)

Just Chillin'

Moab, UT May 22-24, 2008

Some of you have been giving me crap (you know who you are!) for not updating the good ol' Neumann blogster. Well here it is! Starting with this post of our trip to Moab (I'm only a couple month's behind!). I'm sure it will be worth the wait! (uh-huh, right).

Last Christmas, my dad and step-mom gave all us kids a 2-night stay in Moab, UT at the Gonzo Inn.  So the day finally arrived for us to pack our bags for sunny-reputation Moab and we were really looking forward some actual warm weather (since up in SLC,  spring and winter seemed to be confused on whose turn it was).  Well--- it didn't exactly turn out to be the warmest Moab trip I had ever been on (actually-- it was my first Moab trip EVER... but that's beside the point). Although we never saw or felt the 80's -- we still had a blast. Here are some pics of the adventure (PS- excuse the quality of some of the pics-- I was experimenting with settings and didn't have the greatest turn-out on some):

--Our second day, we took a little drive up a canyon and made some stops to get a closer look at the desert scenery (love Afton's poses!):

  

(That's right, I took a picture of some dirt!)

--Later that day we "hiked" to Delicate Arch. (I am actually grateful it wasn't hot that day! It was a little windy and sprinkled a bit-- thus the rain spots on the lens): 

(Slightly windy... check out our hair!)

(This angle of the arch reminds me of Transformer legs. 

I'm sad about the water spots. Oh well!)

(Our attempt to be artistic...)

(Had to get add a shot of Whit and her cute man, Mike! 

He wasn't in our group shot since he took the pic for us!) 

--Our last day we hung around town for a bit and stumbled upon a little fair. Then we ventured on our way home... but first took a detour and visited Dead Horse Point: 

 

(Every time we passed this sign for the hotel, Afton would ask to get a picture with the lizard. She has an obsession with lizards! Although, she wouldn't get in the pool when she realized there were lizards on the bottom of it. I'm talking tile-mosaic kind, not the real deal!)

(Cute Boston and Afton! This looks like it belongs in a gossip magazine.)

(Ahhhh!!! What nerds.)

Stay tuned for another posting soon! :) I will have Lake Powell and Afton's birthday party to report on (and trust me you won't want to miss the pictures of the cutest cupcakes ever!) (Hint- I am positive the master artist and creator of said cupcakes will have pictures posted much quicker than I will. See Gina's blog if you are curious!)

Early Reunion with Elder North

So this past week Trav was in Colorado on business and he happened to be 50 miles away from our nephew, Tyler, who is currently serving his mission in Pueblo, CO (see Elder North's Web Page in my "Sites & Blogs I Like." Luckily, the stars aligned- and Tyler was able to get an OK from his Mission President, as well as clear his schedule so he, his companion, and Travis could go out to dinner together.

In addition to having great conversation over dinner, Trav was able to see the missionaries' apartment (and assess that they really are focusing all their attention on the missionary work), witness Elder North in action for a brief moment while he took a phone call from a prospective member, and enjoy first-hand the intersting tie collection Tyler has aquired over the last 20 months. Trav wrote a summary of the evening, per Lori's (Tyler's mom) request- and I'm sure it will be posted on Tyler's webpage soon if you have an inquiring mind, and want to know more! :)

Only four more months until the rest of us get to see Tyler. Time sure does fly, and he'll be home before we know it!

Who Needs Pedals?

Sorry about the quality of this video... it's from my trusty cell phone. I just had to capture Afton's special bike-riding technnique. Notice how far up she sits on the seat and how that allows her such great steering control! :) She wears herself out pretty quickly b/c she is basically running while sitting down-- and when I tell her to use the pedals she says, "Just be patient, mom!" Too funny! I wish I had more than 5 seconds captured to share... oh well!

Skiing! April 10, 2008

We scored some cheap tickets to The Canyons a couple weeks ago and thought it would be a great opportunity for Afton to test out the slopes! We weren't too surprised that she really enjoyed it and wants to go again. She definitely has an adventurous spirit. We love that about her! (Personal report: I didn't fall once! I kind of expected to since I haven't gone skiing in 5 years... but maybe it had something to do with being on the bunny slope the whole time-- which was FINE by me!)

Check out the pose (Hee Hee!):

Shaun (Trav's bro) was able to take the day off and join us for the adventure.

Thanks, Shaun! It was fun!

(I love those mini-skis)

Trav is very patient, and quite the pro. I don't know how he can go backwards, hold her up, and not run into a tree, all at the same time!

Afton and I took a break at the lodge and played with the camera for a bit. I'll spare you the shots she got of me, but here's a good one of her!

Here we are on the lift (taken with Shaun's handy Blackberry):

Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008

We had a fun Easter a few weeks ago. Despite coming early this year, Easter was on a beautiful Spring day. The Easter Bunny didn't disappoint (the umbrella was a hit!).