Happy Earth Day!

I love the Earth. I think it's beautiful just the way God made it. I also love this commercial from the Discovery Channel. Awesome.

Just for the record, I didn't take this picture.

I'm not an extreme person. I recycle when it is convenient and I try to re-use or not use plastic bags. (It's amazing how much stuff you can fit into those cloth bags!) I used cloth diapers with a couple of my children - but they had skin allergies, so I was very motivated. For those of you who think that's gross and inconvenient, it's really not. I used Bummis, which is a diapering system that is pinless and uses really thick polyester instead of plastic pants. They're so cute too! It was not a big deal. I heard that 10% of our garbage comes from disposable diapers. That's gross.

I think the easiest tip I could give someone to save money and help the environment (and your clothing) is to use a clothes line. I love my clothes line. I have a five line retractable clothes line - I bought it from a great little hardware store in Durango, Colorado. I admit, I still throw my whites and anything else I don't want the neighbors to see in the drier, but if the weather is nice, my clothes go out on the line. On a breezy, sunny day, even my jeans are done in 20 minutes - not even the fanciest dryer can do that, and without all the wear and tear on my clothes. I never would have considered using a clothes line until my family moved to Canada. Like many Americans, I thought clothes lines were for people who couldn't afford electricity. In Nova Scotia, even the nicest of neighborhoods have clothes lines. I love to see my sheets waving in the wind. I remember making forts and playing shadow tag with my grandmother's sheets. And in New Mexico, my laundry comes out smelling like juniper and cedar. That beats Downy - hands down. Best of all, it gives my an immense sense of satisfaction to see my clean laundry blowing in the breeze. As Cjane would say, "I am a housewife after all." Oh, and that's not my laundry and it's not my grass either (I live in a desert!)

Spring Break (Juli's Take)

OK. That last post was Shon. Thanks for working for me, hon. (He knew it would take me a week to get around to talking about our vacation . . I'm still cleaning sand out of everything.)

Spring Break was awesome. Just for the record, we're really more of a camping/road trip family, but we made a very last minute decision to take advantage of the economy and the travel advisory (no one wants to go to Mexico right now) and get a great deal on a cruise. It ended up being a very family friendly adventure. There was a camp for the kids. We checked them in in the morning and picked them up for meals and again at ten every night (except that night that Bryce and Emily stayed for the party until 3:30 am - way to win the ice cream eating contest, Bryce!) There were some really great activities for all of the kids, appropriate to their ages. They made friends quickly and had a good time. And you should have seen the folded towel origami our housekeeping staff did. Here's a scorpion.

My favorite part of the trip was our stop at the Grand Canyon. We have a national park pass and fully intend to get our money's worth. Coming from a family that stops to read historical marker signs, this is an easy thing.

I learned that the scrubby little pinon and juniper trees in my yard are 200 years old! It was so much fun to drive Route 66. I kept singing the song as we passed "Gallup, New Mexico, Flagstaff, Arizona, don't forget Winona, Kingman, Barstow, San Bernadino." I think the kids are a little sick of "Get your kicks - on Route 66", but I loved it, especially the classic cars.

Catalina was beautiful, Ensenada was fun. I have to say that I never felt anything but completely safe in Mexico. I think the tourist industry is really taking a hit because of a few dangerous people. I had fun shopping. My favorite purchase was a "recycled" hand bag. It's made of wrappers. Yep, I see an oreo in there. Maybe a Capris Sun too. Here's a cheesy pose.

I love the beach.

While we were gone, my running buddies did the Canyonlands Half Marathon. It was my first big race last year. (Read about it here.) I think I'll always love it. I was sad not to do it with them, so I made them some goodie baskets. I threw in some Gatorade, a Runner's World magazine, some Jelly Belly Gu beans, a couple energy bars, a box of pasta (for carb-loading) and put it in a basket (which was cheaper than a gift bag - weird!) - some cellophane and a bow and anything will look good. I wish I had thought to put in a copy of my running mix, but ipods aren't allowed in Moab anyway.

Spring Break

Wow what a great trip this week. We started out driving from home to the Grand Canyon. We started at the East side and went West. It was awesome. The kids loved the tower. It provided an incredible view of the canyon and was awesome inside. The decorating inside was done by native artists and was neat to look at. We ended up near the village and the kids all got their Junior Ranger Park Badges. Here are some pictures.

After the Grand Canyon we drove to Kingman Arizona and stayed in a hotel there for the night. Sarah, Emily, Abby, and Caleb spent some time in the pool there (hot tub). The next morning we drove to LA to see Jason and Alex. It was fun to spend Sunday afternoon with them. We got to their house right when they were finishing church. We decided to go to the beach. The beach was a little windy but that didn't stop any of our kids from getting in the water. They all got soaked, sandy, wet, and cold. We didn't have changes of clothes or towels so it was funny to see what they wrapped up in for the drive home (J's pants were definately too big for Bryce) and jackets got lots of use. Alex said that was the windiest she had ever seen the beach. We all had sand in ALL our crevices without even getting in the water.

Then Monday we headed off for the cruise. The kids loved it. We spent a day at sea, visited Catalina Island, Ensenada Mexico and then headed back to LA. On Friday since Jason and Alex had to work we went to the beach until they got home. The weather was awesome. The kids said it was one of the highlights. They played and played and played.

After the beach we went back to Jason and Alex's house (awesome house by the way) and had dinner and then Juli and Alex went shopping while the rest of us stayed home and played video games and watched movies. Finally on Saturday we made the entire drive home. We did it in 13.5 hours including Caleb's 10 potty stops and an hour plus at the Petrified Forest National Park. That was cool!

Hello, my name is Juli. (Hello, Juli) and I'm a blog neglector.

Yes, it's true. I frequently ignore my blog in favor of other more "exciting" pursuits: laundry, cleaning up after Caleb (who is obsessed with water - not a good thing), nursing sick children, a Love and Logic parenting class, soccer practice, recycling (trying to make myself sound respectable now), running (and taking a nap later), reading, and (under my breath) watching TV.

Yes, I admit it, I watch television. This is kind of a new thing for us. After 12 plus years of marriage, we finally got cable last year. It has been very entertaining and very distracting. I have to say that in general, my children seem less creative than they were in our public television years. There were a couple of things we just couldn't get on the two stations that came in. The first is Biggest Loser. I love Biggest Loser. As someone who struggles to maintain my weight (lost 50 lbs, still checking in to WW once a month), I love the inspiration it gives me to see other people succeed in their efforts. This season is awesome. There are a couple of teams that Shon and I just LOVE. Dane and Blaine, and Sione and Filipe. They were such hard workers and just nice guys who were family oriented. I was not surprised to see Filipe's wedding picture in front of the Salt Lake Temple, and after Blaine went home to AZ for the birth of his fourth child I was not at all surprised to learn that both teams are LDS. Read here about it. I think many of the teams this season have shown moral character.

Alright, I admit that I've been in the middle of a Jane Austen book binge. Pride and Prejudice rocks, but Persuasion is my favorite. I even read a couple of sequels. Mr. Darcy's Diary was interesting, as was Mr. Knightly's Diary. I also read The Independance of Mary Bennet. Don't bother! That was poorly written and junk. I confess I stopped reading and skimmed the last three quarters of the book. The new BBC films of all 6 books have been very good. I even liked Northanger Abbey (shock)!

Typing with child on lap. Here he is on my lap again.

I am taking a Love and Logic parenting class. I love it. I read the book "Parenting with Love and Logic" after my first two children were born. It was so helpful. I absolutely recommend it to anyone with children, but especially young, strong-willed children. The biggest thing I have learned is to stop giving warnings, be firm, be loving, be consistent, and be sincere. The website http://www.loveandlogic.com/ has been very helpful. Seriously.

I'm still running. I have a couple of marathons planned for the future. The City of Los Angeles is on Memorial Day weekend. We'll be in LA that week. I wasn't planning on doing it, but I heard that people were skipping it because they changed it from Sunday to Monday this year. Thank you. Do you know how hard it is to find a marathon that's not on Sunday. They have my support. Unfortunately, I have to train for this one by myself. I am really excited though. It's a big marathon (20,000 people!) with pace groups and entertainment and the whole shebang.

Shon and I celebrated Valentines Day this year by participating in the Mount Taylor winter quadrathlon (cycle, run, ski, snow shoe up a mountain and then back down again). It was awesome. It was hard. I love my husband. He rocks. When our cross-country skier couldn't make it, he volunteered to change from cyclist to skier. Cycling is his speciality. He had never cross-country skied before. A couple of Saturdays in Colorado and he was set. He can do anything. I did the run. That was the longest 10 miles of my life, but I was so glad I did it. It was hard (I already said that). We had fun and came back with an awesome T-shirt (very important).

And it's Friday Night, which is Family game night at our house. Cranium Family Edition and Moose in the House are favorites. Gotta go.

Merry Christmas

The Robinsons are doing great this year. Here's the wrap:
Bryce is 11. We can't believe he is that old. he excels at soccer and plays goalie. He also played basketball for the first time this year and did well on defense. He started 11 year old Scouts and is excited for the Klondike campout in January. He continues to do well playing the piano and seems to have it come to him naturally. Bryce also won the inagural Robinson Family March Madness Tournament. We'll see if he can repeat this year.

Emily (9) enjoys piano and will play basketball for the first time next year. She enjoys crafts and Activity Days. She is also a great gymnast. I'll just say I can't do a back walkover can you? Emily has loved reading this year and recently moved to share a room with Sarah. She is tender hearted and loves to do secret things for people She is excited to ski this winter. She totally bombs the runs and just goes straight down. What a speed demon.

Sarah (6) is in first grade and turning into a great reader. She is awesome at soccer and scored from the goalie position with an awesome kick. She kicks HARD!!! She also loves crafts and is always coloring and using her imagination. She did gymnastics this year and was quite good. She lost 50 teeth this year and hopes to repeat next year for the extra income. She went skiing for the first time last year and loved it. She is excited to go again this year.

Abby (4) is so entertaining. She sings all day long and seems to prefer "opera style". She can do everything herself and loves to be magic. She can appear dressed or finish a chore quickly if you ask her to do ti magically. She loves preschool this year where she is learning tons. She has her favorite books memorized so if you read it wrong you get corrected. There is a Monster at the End of This Book is her favorite right now.

Caleb (2) is a busy little guy. He started preschool this year and for the first time in 11 years we are celebrating no diapers in the house. He moved to a big bed and lovces to be a "helper" around the house. His favorite pass time is being quiet and making big messes. This year's signature messes were the mural he made on the living room wall with permanent marker and pouring all the water out of the bathtub (don't worry it drained out the light downstairs).

Shon coached Bryce's soccer team again and served on the soccer board. He still loves his short commute to work and living in Farmington. He did the bike part of a quad-rathlon and his team medaled! He trained to do the Ironhorse but it was canceled this year because of snow. He is training again for the "quad" so wish him luck.

Juli started the year by having her tonsils out. Ouch. In her "spare time" she enjoys running and reading. She completed both a 1/2 marathon (13 miles) and a full marathon (26.2 miles) for the first time in her life this year. She read 265l4.4 books and another highlight was going to the Twighlight Premier. She is serving in the Young Womens at church and loves her calling. She is excited to ski this winter.

Our family made 5 trips North this year to visit family. The kids are pro travelers. We visited Sand Dunes National Park and went on the Polar Express this year. Both were great family trips. Shon and Juli spent their anniversary in Loagn, Utah where Juli ran a marathon (Shon ran with her from mile 20-25.5 where he died, I mean went to watch her cross the finish line). They also got to go on an overnight trip to Santa Fe, NM. Thanks to those that helped make those possible. Both trips included a temple visit which was great. On a sad note we lost both a guinea pig and a gecko this past year. If anyone wants a gecko or a guinea pig you know where to come. Merry Christmas,

The Robinson Family Shon, Juli, Bryce, Emily, Sarah, Abby, Caleb, a gecko and guinea pig

When October goes. . .

Ok. It's been a busy month. Here are a few of the things going on:


This year for Halloween, Bryce was dirty laundry (pretty scary eh?), Emily was Rapunzel from Rapunzel's Revenge (really, your girls will love this book), Sarah was a witch (Elphaba from our favorite musical, Wicked), Abby was a turtle, and Caleb was a stink bug. Yep, a stink bug. He picked it, not me.





Shon thinks I look like Sarah Palin. I think it's the glasses. That would have been a great Halloween costume.

Fall soccer is over. The kids had fun, but it's nice to not have so many practices to go to. Bryce is a great goalie. Abby spent a lot of time running around, waving to the croud. Her favorite part of soccer was giving the other team a high five. (I think four might be a little young for some kids to play soccer.) Sarah did really well this season. She is one quick kid.

October also brought our first frost, which means my garden is dead. It was an awesome garden year. Here's a picture of the tomatoes. They completely overgrew my white picket fence. We're still eating tomatoes that I picked green off the vine before the frost and set in the window. In addition to tomatoes, we also had peppers, pumpkins, watermelons, spaghetti squash, acorn squash, peas, carrots, onions, beans, corn, basil, cilantro, strawberries, cucumbers, purple potatoes, and yellow and red raspberries.

Here's Emily with a funny carrot.

Caleb is officially potty trained, which means for the first time in 11 years, no one in my family wears diapers. I wish I could take credit, but he's really the one who decided it was time. We were watching Bryce play basketball, the score was tied and there was a minute left and Caleb says "I need to go potty." I said "wait just a minute, ok?" to which he said "I need to go potty." I put him off again. Then I heard giggling behind me. I looked at Caleb. He had taken off his clothes. Ok! Let's go potty! He's got a lot of great role models to show him the way. It's nice. No bribes, no potty chair. Just a two year old saying "I do it self" every ten seconds. One tip I learned that I think really did help was that I started changing his diaper standing up. I don't know what that does, but it seemed to really help him take charge of things.

Here's Caleb on his first day of preschool. He LOVES his back pack. He even took a nap in it the first day. He's still my baby, so it's hard for me to see him growing up so fast. It's a good thing he's such a snuggle bug.

You've got to see this video. It pretty much sums up how I felt on Sunday.