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!).

Reminiscing Cancun (2/24/08-3/2/08)

Well we have been back from Cancun for a couple weeks now, and of course I'm barely getting this blogged (shocker!). I have yet to post our NYC... I'm guessing it will never happen. But the good news is that blogging on a Mac has become easier. Three Cheers for that, yo!!!

  

We're still adapting back into reality. Of course it's hard to get back into a routine, but it's also really hard to come back to 40 degree weather after a week of mid-80s. But thankfully, Spring is on the horizon! It won't be long until I feel like I'm back in Cancun... minus the beautiful aqua ocean, white sand beaches, mariachi bands, and time-share stalkers (Cancun does have that one imperfection-- but it wasn't that bad!) So here is a summary of our trip and a look at few of our 500+ pictures! If you want to see a bigger selection, click HERE (there were too many to post on the blog!)

Sunday: We arrived in Cancun, checked in at our hotel (the Hilton-- very nice!) and had an early dinner by the pool(s) and enjoyed a nice evening swim (pretty much had the whole pool to ourselves).  

Monday: We spent the day shopping in the city at the market and had ourselves what turned out to be one of the best and cheapest meals of the whole trip (if you go to Cancun- be prepared to fork out a lot of moola for food- holy smokes!). We cooled off at the beach and pool when we got back to the hotel. Just another day in paradise.... 

Tuesday: We hopped on a "luxury" tour-bus to Chichen Itza (one of the New 7 Wonders of the World) and stopped along the way at an old Mayan village and swam in an ancient cenote where once upon a time Mayan leaders bathed (something like that- it was hard to listen to all the tour-guide's details with a 2-year old vying for our attention). Speaking of our tour guide- he was wonderful! His name is "Manny" -- if you ever get the pleasure of going on one of these tours you can try to request him. :) We were fascinated with the ruins and to learn about those who built these amazing structures.   

Wednesday: This was kind of a "chill" day-- literally and figuratively. It was windy and overcast, and did rain for a brief moment. It was probably only 70 degrees (chilly for Cancun standards) so we just hung out at the hotel, and later took a bus closer to town where we hung out at a mall and had dinner. The most exciting part of the day was when Trav had a brawl with a hidden rock under the waves he was trying to play in. The rock won. Ouch!

Thursday: We decided to

live dangerously and venture off on our own. We rented a car and drove to Tulum. (The pic at the top is us at Tulum). These ruins were awesome as well- and in a location we would prefer to Chichen Itza's, (had we lived 1500 years ago and been in the market for a seaside-village home). Really- it was very beautiful and we saw a lot of lizards, which made Afton's day, and probably whole trip! Later we went to an "Eco Theme Park" called Xcaret. It was pretty cool, but really just a glorified zoo. I think if we had more time there it would have been a better experience (most exhibits and activities closed at 5:30- and we didn't get to the park until 1:00). But we did have a nice refreshing float down an underground river - and we saw some Jaguars that Afton is still talking about. So-- overall it was a great day!  

  

Friday: This was probably one of our favorite days. We took a ferry to a small island called Isla Mujeres. We played at the beach, and wandered the colorful streets. We ate at an awesome little restaurant right on the beach where Trav and Afton enjoyed their seafood and I had some pretty good chicken fajitas. I enjoyed the one-man band the most. He didn't stop smiling the whole time he sang. It was so cute!  

Saturday: Despite the last-day-of-vacation blues creeping in, we still had a great day. We debated on doing another "excursion" but ultimately decided it would be best to have another relaxing day enjoying the beach, pool, and the town. We went to a huge mall and spotted an aquarium that we ended up visiting. Afton touched a "shark" and saw turtles and that was all she could talk about the rest of the day. I love that she has no-fear and that she has such a love for animals. We finished our souvenir shopping and had a nice dinner prior to the dreaded packing.  

Sunday: We had to wake up early to finish packing and to 

get to the airport. But I snuck a couple more pictures of Afton on the beach in this cute dress my mom bought for her. It was a little windy- so she had the great "tousled hair" look goin' on... she worked it! :)  

We loved our trip and can't wait to go back some day. We hope next time we get to enjoy it with more people! (Hint-Hint). :)