News From Moffett Manor

Girls Camp 2009

2009-07-29T17:14:00.001-07:00

Girls camp was lots of fun this year. I promised myself that I wouldn't embarrass Sadie like I did last year by being my spazzy self. I held pretty true to that by staying much more subdued throughout the week. I did however manage to embarrass Sadie and Amina a little by shaving my head which they had begged me not to do. Melanie has been asking for quite some time that I shave it all off, so I decided that, since I had all that extra time on my hands, I would do it at camp. Besides, Bob Eggett was there and he is an expert when it comes to shaving heads. Bob actually helped me shave the back of my head. It felt really weird but it was worth it. I kind of like it. Melanie likes it as well, so it was well worth it

Me and my bald head

Bob Eggett and me - the baldies

Melanie's reaction to the shaved head

Storytelling By:Felicia Moffett

2008-11-30T09:22:00.000-08:00

I got chosen to tell a story in front of the of the whole school, but I refused. My dad talked to the person who was running the storytelling assembly. The day of the storytelling assembly Mrs.Stanger the girl who was running it talked to me about it. I was not prepared for it because I wasn't expecting to do it I said no but she miss understood me. So I ended up doing it. I was very scared. It was in front of the whole school. I told them Marven K. Mooney. I paused a bunch. After
it was over it was time to go home. A lot of people I did a good job. One person Got to go to a storytelling fest able. The next day I found out it was Alison Cool, the person I had guessed was going. She did a really good job. I didn't care that I didn't get chosen, it was just fun

2008-10-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

The Baileys Tagged all of us so I thought I would go ahead and do Maisy's as well (If you hate cheesy don't read it)

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago

1- Playing in heaven with Felicia
2- Watching over my family
3- Zippin' through the clouds
4- Singing with Angels
5- Whispering to my mom

5 Things on my to do list today

1- Take a bath
2- Watch TV
3- Play Strikers
4- Halloween Party
5- Whisper to my mom

5 Things I would do if I were a millionaire

1- Take a bath
2- Watch TV
3- Play Strikers
4- Party
5- Whisper to my mom

5 Places I have lived

1- I lived in Heaven a long time ago it is true
2- In my mom's tummy
3- On my mom's lap
4- In my mom's bed
5- The Baiffett Dynasty

5 Jobs I have had

1- Little Sister
2- Daughter
3- Cousin
4- Niece
5- Grandaughter

She double dog tags everyone.

2008-10-25T14:27:00.001-07:00

Brenda Tagged Me on This One-
5 Things I was doing 10 years ago

1- Mothering a 3 year old and a 2 year old
2- Babysitting
3- Playing outside
4-
5- I guess I was pretty boring, I may have been scrapbooking

5 Things on my to do list today

1- Laundry
2- Soccer
3- Filing
4- Halloween Party
5- Try not to lose it
Still pretty boring I guess

5 Things I would do if I became a millionaire

1- Buy a house with a bigger kitchen (sorry Bailey's but it would be time to move the Dynasty)
2- Saving accounts for college, missions, and weddings
3- Pay off debt
4- Let Ryan take me on a cruise
5- Help Parents like they have helped us

5 Places I have lived

1- Kaysville
2- Flowermound TX
3- Logan
4- SLC
5- Clearfield
(I may soon be entering the looney bin)

5 Jobs I have had

1- Babysitter
2- Scrapbook Store
3- Albertsons
4- Mama
5- Nanny

I tag- Janna, Jordyn, Ojae and Sarah, Brunette, The Allreds- JUST DO IT

First Day of School

2008-09-23T23:36:00.000-07:00

I have been delinquent in posting lately so you are getting a lot all at once (if anyone really reads this crap). So, I would like to end tonights multi- post with the first day of school. Everyone was excited but me. Usually I also get a picture of their new shoes, but no one wore them that day, I think they all wore flip-flops. Rotten kids! Sadie started 8th grade. Amina is in 6th, Felicia- 4th and Maisy has one more year of homespun insanity before she starts Kindergarten. On this day Miss Maddie Poppett joined us in the joy of our daily life. I hate it when they go to school.- Mel (PS- Be sure to scroll down because even if you don't want to read it there are a lot of fun pictures posted)

Rockin' Park City Family Reunion

2008-09-23T23:28:00.001-07:00

We took a ton of family pics while we were in Park City. This is my whole crazy extended family.

This is our album cover for the band my siblings and I will never have. Aren't my sunglasses awesome? We had fun together and I will have to post more pictures. But, for now this is all there is to see. Enjoy- Mel

Fort Baiffett

2008-09-23T23:12:00.000-07:00

So, if you know Ron Bailey it won't surprise you at all to learn that he made this rather large box into a rather small "Fort". If you don't know Ron let me tell you a little bit about the Baiffett Dynasty. We moved into this little village and soon learned that everyone was related. Feeling a little out numbered and overwhelmed by this, we decided to join forces with Bronda (Brenda and Ron) - a couple down the street who, coincidently, were feeling the same outnumbered-ness. Thus was formed, and aptly named by Ron, The Baiffett's. At his own delayed pace came Baiffett number 9- (the cutest part of the Baileys) Luke M Bailey. In December our number will grow by 1 more. Baiffett number 10 will join us adding to the Bailey portion- I am not making any announcements for the Moffetts- we are forever 6. To conclude this rather long and drifting story, this summer Ron took this box, reinforced it and dubbed it "Fort Baiffett". And a mighty fort it is, just like our friendship/family.

Thanks for being our "made up family down the street". We love you guys.- Mel

Amina and Her Big Fat Birthday

2008-09-23T22:57:00.000-07:00

Ryan took these pictures for Amina's 12th Birthday party invites. She didn't pick these ones but they are some of my favorites. I was thinking about how much she and I have grown and learned together, how much she has taught me and I wrote the poem at the bottom of this post. How lucky am I to have 4 beautiful daughters? If you didn't get an invite but would like to come, call me and I will give you the info.

What a goofball.

This is Our Amina

Amina has got courage, That’s an indisputable fact..
Of the many fears she’s conquered just one of them is to act.
She’s climbed mountains with her father, had a rock dropped on her head.
Though the stitches were traumatic, neither she nor I are dead.
She is tiny but she’s feisty and at all cost’s wins the game.
In soccer she’s fought giant’s and found out…. they fall the same.
There is sweetness in her being and a kindness to her heart
She was my cuddliest baby. Cuddling still is Amina’s art.
She’s a tough little cookie. She’s a leader and she’s smart
She likes to try out all new things, she’ll get in and take a part.
In the last 12 years she’s learned and grown. Found where she likes her hair parted.
But my beautiful Amina, get revved-
The real adventure is just getting started

Blessing Day

2008-09-23T22:44:00.000-07:00

This is Claire Cable. After suffering through 3 boys (wink wink) our good friends the Cables got their girl and she is beautiful. When I found out the baby was a girl I knew that I was going to have to get her a Shar Jackson original for her blessing dress (I traded for it). Doesn't she look beautiful? Not that she needed any help.
Shar even embroidered Claire's initials on the back. That is quality hand stitching friends.
Look at her with her little hand over her face. I think that she had had enough of the lovin's. Congrats Cables! Thanks for letting us be a part of Claire's big day.

POKER by: Amina

2008-09-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

Park City was a lot of fun, but one of the most memorable things that happened was when I learned how to play poker. All of my uncles were playing and thought that they would beat me very fast, but as soon as I got Chad out, they really started to play. I got my uncle, Ojae, out next, then John. It was only me and Dad. He was winning but I caught up to him and took all of his chips. I was the CHAMPION!

I Got My Ears Pierced!!!

2008-08-17T14:40:00.000-07:00

On Friday, my dad took me to get my ears pierced! I wasn't nervous at home, but once we got in the car, I got butterflies in my stomach. Once we were in the mall, my hands started to shake, And once I was on the chair, My teeth started to chatter! I got to choose my earrings, and I chose the Sapphire Daisy, since sapphire is my birthstone. When I was sitting on the chair, ready to get my ears pierced, Dad kept talking to the lady about how earrings are supposed to be lined up when you look at them. Finally, the lady said 1...2....3! And shot something through my ear! It didn't feel so great, but better than I thought it would. She said that I would have to clean them 3 times a day, and I couldn't change them until 6 weeks, and 6 weeks is my birthday!!!!!!!!
-Amina

DISGUSTING! BY:Felicia

2008-08-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

When I was 8, a really funny thing happened. One night I was very tired I went to go brush my teeth. I picked up my tooth brush and what looked like tooth paste. It tasted familiar. later that night maisy went to go brush her teeth with the help of dad. He showed maisy the kinds of tooth paste there was. I showed dad the tooth pasted I had used. He said, thats acne cream! HE HE we both got a good laugh out of that one. At prayer that night me and dad told the rest of the family what happened they got a good laugh out of it to

Girls Camp at Island Park

2008-08-10T19:46:00.000-07:00

Mesa Falls panoramic shot taken by Ron Bailey

I had the opportunity to attend Clearfield 4th Ward's Girls Camp this year. We went to Island Park, Idaho. The girls really roughed it and stayed in Amy Huggin's cabin. The Priesthood leadership camped outside where the temperature dropped into the upper 30s during the night. I'm not complaining though. We all had tons of fun.

I spent most of the past year regaining my dignity from last year's girls camp where I donned a purple Wendy's wig and made a fool of myself during a So You Think You Can Dance skit. It didn't take long this year for me to loose any dignity that I had built up. This year I did it by squeezing into yellow high heels, at least 3 sizes too small, strutted like a pompous girl, and talked like a little miss sunshine. I couldn't see it myself, but I am told it wasn't pretty. I'm pretty sure cross dressing is not an approved church activity, but at least the Bishop was there, so if a confession was needed, it is already taken care of. The high heels reappeared a couple nights later when Ron Bailey and I put hoodies on to do a turkey war. I came out as a turkey in yellow high heels. Ouch! I was so unbelievably sore the next day.

Poor Sadie must have been humiliated. I think I need to tone down my craziness next year or Sadie will decide she doesn't want to go to girls camp again. She was, however, a good sport as always.

Me wearing my yellow high heels and accessories.

One day we went to Mesa Falls. I found out later that my Dad was involved in designing the walkway that overlooks the Falls. It was absolutely beautiful. The walkway looks directly down on the Falls. There is a permanent rainbow and beautiful cliffs covered in green moss and bright orange lichen. It was picture perfect.

Sadie and Me at Mesa Falls.

Another day we all floated/walked down a stretch of Henry's Fork Snake River. The water was so shallow that you could walk nearly the whole way down the river. Also, the wind was blowing in our faces so instead of floating down the river, we would stay stationary. It was a serious workout to go down the river. Often, it was easier to get out of the boats or off the tubes and walk. I started in a horrible canoe with the Bishop. We must have swamped the canoe 3 or 4 times before I traded it in for one of the tubes. Part way down the river, the girls and leaders ahead of me saw a moose. Apparently Sadie's canoe drifted about 5 - 10 feet away from the moose. They were very calm, but the group after them freaked out. I didn't know anything about it but I guess the boat I ended up in stopped along the bank right where the moose was coming out. I wish I had seen it.

I did see about 5 moose during the whole trip. One time, the Bishop, Ron and I were on our way into town when we saw a moose. We stopped at the side of the road, got out and began looking at it through binoculars. Within 2 minutes there must have been 30+ people gathering around us. Some of them were pretty stupid and were trying to get as close as they could for pictures. We left before we had to clean up after a trampling.

It is so much fun to see my daughters growing up. I am glad that I am in a position to attend the Young Women's activities. Not a lot of dads get to see their daughters in these types of situations. Sadie is an amazing young woman and I consider myself blessed to have gone with her to camp. Thank you Sadie for putting up with me.

The Baileys at Mesa Falls

I was also glad that Ron and baby Luke came with Brenda. Ron and I slept outside in their tent. Ron, I am going public with this, you snore like crazy! The ceiling fan and light was great though. Thanks for the good times. -Ryan

Our Luke is MIA

2008-08-10T15:06:00.000-07:00

Luke is across country visiting a new cousin and we are missing him. He is the light of the village. Here are some pictures, you can see why we adore him.

Girl's Camp

2008-08-09T12:37:00.000-07:00

Girl's camp was so much fun this year! We stayed in a leader's cabin so we didn't have to sleep in tents and we stayed up all night. We went boating, hiking, and got to see Mesa Falls. We told tons of stories around the campfire and made too many s'mores to count. Our bishop nearly killed everyone by pretending to be a bear one night while everyone was sitting around the campfire. Everyone pretty much got trampled while trying to get inside. Later on we forgave the bishop and laughed about it but it was pretty scary when it happened. We all had so much fun together at camp!
-Sadie

Gasp!!!

2008-07-28T10:30:00.000-07:00

My roots are growing out and I found a gray hair! Man, I am getting old. I can't even blame it on my kids 'cause they are so great. I better get my hair colored again soon before that one gray hair gives me so much trauma that it causes twelve more. - Mel the apparently old Lady

Moffett Reunion 2008

2008-07-26T22:44:00.000-07:00

Maisy loved helping me carry the tube to the different slides at Seven Peaks.

The Pruitts ready to slide at Seven Peaks.

Ally, Chelsea and Chelsea's friend chillin' on their tubes.

Chase rolling Seth around inside the tubes.

If Melanie doesn't think she has hot legs now, she will tomorrow!

Everyone made it to this year's Moffett Reunion-- including a future Moffett, a potential Moffett and a couple of wannabe Archuletas (you are always welcome at the Moffett get-togethers.) We went to Seven Peaks water park in Provo to start off. I thinks that was the first time our girls have been to a real water park. Sorry if you feel too sheltered girls. They had an absolute blast! I was amazed at Maisy's love of the big slides. She could not get enough. I took her on most of the slides and at the end of each ride she would say "again! again!" She tried hard to talk me into letting her ride more at the end of the day when the park was closing. The other girls loved hanging out with their cousins. Some of us got a little more sun than others. Melanie took a nap... in the sun... with no sunscreen. Ouch! Those legs are going to hurt. But I think the worst burn award goes to Tim. You should see the blisters he has today. He had one blister so bad you could see it bulging through his T-shirt. I told him he had to keep his shirt on because I was not wearing the proper eye protective gear just in case it popped. His whole face was covered with blisters. He did, however, seem to be taking it like a man. I never heard him complain. Good job Tim! Congratulation for being so honorable despite unwise circumstances.

After Seven Peaks we all went to the Marriott in Provo where we stayed the night. The next day we packed up and went to a park east of the BYU campus. There we played games and visited before Boyd and Josie had to take off back to New Mexico. Krystal and Jake brought a game to the park called Mexican Horseshoes. It was quite addicting. Terrell and his boys had played the game before so we used the rules that they were familiar with and made some minor adjustments for our own version. I need to make one of those games for us. I think it would be fun, not to mention cheap entertainment.

We rushed from the park to Chuck-a-Rama in Bountiful just in time for Lunch. Five minutes later and we would have had to pay the dinner price. Well, we wouldn't have had to pay because Grandma and Grandpa treated us all to the dinner. They wanted to do that because we missed our traditional New Year's Day dinner because most of the family was traveling to Shae and David's wedding in New Mexico. Thank you Mom and Dad! Dinner was great!

The rest of the night was spent visiting and playing games at Ardel's and LeiLani's home in Bountiful. It was really a lot of fun. It was great to see the cousins mingling. Sadie told me that she saw Maisy go up to Rachel and tell her "we are going to be best friends-- ever" (instead of forever.)

Thank you Natalie and LeiLani (and Kerry and Ardel) for putting so much into this reunion. We enjoyed every bit of it. -Ryan

More Fiery Furnace Pictures

2008-07-23T22:32:00.000-07:00

We met some very nice people on our Fiery Furnace hike in Arches National Park. One of them was Amy Carlson. Amy took some great pictures and emailed them to me today. Here are some of them. Take a look. Thank you Amy.

I was thinking, isn't it weird how we spell fiery? Why don't we spell it firey or firy like any other word to which we add a y? Like smiley or whiny or better yet, wiry. I mean they completely changed the spelling of the word. can you imagine smiely or whieny or wiery? I think if they are going to stick with fiery, they have to go with wiery. Otherwise, they need to spell it firy. Afterall, firy isn't taken yet. Firry is, but firy isn't. Just a thought. -Ryan

A view of Arches National Park from the Fiery Furnace.

The Fiery Furnace has lots of gorgeous rock fin formations with tall narrow openings between.

An amazing view from the inside the Fiery Furnace

Felicia, Maisy and me hiking through one of the narrow pathways inside the Fiery Furnace

Amina making her way through the Fiery Furnace

Felicia, Maisy and me climbing through the Fiery Furnace

Looking down the narrow stairway toward the end of our hike

Hurray For The Sessions

2008-07-20T20:02:00.000-07:00

Tim and Timary Sessions were in a play called "Honk!" this summer and being the ever supportive mom and wife, Heidi was right there with them.
Our family went to see them on a Monday night. "Honk!" is the story of the ugly duckling. My favorite part was when Timary came out as a snotty teenager, filing her nails with a stick and talking bratty to Daddy Duck. Tim was hilarious as a bad influence on the daddy duck and as a hick farmer. We had so much fun watching them and laughing our behinds off.- Mel

Backpacking with Dad

2008-07-20T14:29:00.000-07:00

On Friday, me and my dad went backpacking to Malan's Peak. It was a lot of fun and I went on some of the hardest hikes in my life. I am super sore now, but it was worth it. I saw a rattlesnake and got stung by stinging nettle. There were lizards all over the place. It was one of the greatest backpacking trips ever, even though it was my first one. I really hope I can go backpacking again!
The whole hike up was so steep. It took a while to get up to the campsite, and we had to take a lot of drinking breaks.
Malan's peak was beautiful and you can see all of Ogden. It is so high up, you can see practically everything!
At the campsite there is a stream that you can play in, wash your hands in, and filter water from. THe water from the stream is about10 times better that tap water!Our campsite used to be a two story hotel! All that is left from the hotel is a boiler. It was really cool to see something that old, just laying in the middle of nowhere.The hike back down was long and steep. I got blisters on my feet and my legs are so sore. But I had a great time and want to go backpacking again! -Amina

Backpacking to Malan's Basin

2008-07-19T19:57:00.000-07:00

Amina and me backpacking toward Malan's Basin.

Friday, July 18 and 19 I took Amina on an overnight backpacking trip to Malan's Peak. The trip was sponsored by the Clearfield 4th Ward Elders Quorum. Our good friend Tim Young, also the Elders Quorum President, planned the trip and even loaned us equipment that we were lacking. We couldn't have gone without his help. Thanks Tim! the only other two people that went on the trip were Matt Lloyd and David Allred. the numbers were small but we had a great time.

We started at the top of 27th street in Ogden. From there the trail went 3 miles up, and I mean UP, to Malan's Peak, then about 1/2 mile down into Malan's Basin. The hike up to the peak was brutal! I was huffing and puffing every step thinking I was going to kill over at any time. Somehow I was able to keep putting one foot in front of the other and finally made it to the peak. Hallelujah! From all of the backpacking trips I went on as a kid I can not remember such a difficult hike. My body aches all over today (Sunday).

This was the first backpacking trip for Amina. She did an amazing job. I just need to get her a real backpack (not just Dad's knapsack) so that we can take more trips in the future. It did wear her out as well. After the trip she showered, laid on her bed and crashed. she woke up for a little bit just before bedtime. Then today (Sunday) she slept in and got even more sleep.

One of the great views from the trail.

Cresting the summit of Malan's Peak

Standing on Malan's Peak

Looking over Ogden from Malan's Peak.

On top of Malan's Peak

We arrived at Malan's Basin just before sundown. We set up camp, ate some Cup-o-Noodles, listened to Tim's mad harmonica skills then turned in for the night. Before we went to sleep, Amina and I stayed up and played the best Farkle game EVER! Felicia and I played Farkle when I took her to girl's camp with me a couple of years ago (yes, she went to girls camp before Sadie ever did) so I think Amina made sure she didn't miss out on that experience. It was great fun. For the record, I won 2 out of 3. We didn't take anything to write on so we kept score on our hot chocolate packages.

Our Farkle score cards because we didn't have anything else on which to write.

Amina and me at Malan's Basin.

Our fearless guide Tim Young.

Saturday morning we all set off on a search for the boiler, the only remaining evidence of the old Malan's Basin Resort. We didn't have to look far. It was only about 100 yards down from where we camped. After we found the boiler, Matt and David went home and Tim, Amina and I went on a hike down the stream to see if we could find the top of Waterfall Canyon. The hike was awesome! The trail was very poor and very difficult in some spots. We made it to the rocky cliffs that lead to Waterfall Canyon but we decided not to make the decent all the way down to the waterfall. We did however see a rattlesnake. I heard the rattle and saw the snake slithering under a rock. It must have only been 5 feet or less away from us. It was quite small so I think it was a juvenile. Anyway, I stopped Amina and had her walk up a different way. I had never seen a rattlesnake in the wild before so that was pretty cool, but I was also a little freaked out. I would hate to think what would happen if Amina got bit by one. We have not had super great luck with overnight camping activities with Amina. Explaining that one to Melanie would have been interesting.

Checking out the Boiler in Malan's Basin.

A tree growing around a rock we found on the hike down to Waterfall Canyon.

Hiking down from the mountain was much harder than one would expect. I didn't have the problem of constantly trying to catch my breath, but it was nearly as difficult. My legs felt like rubber and, with all the pressure on my toes, my feet were killing me. We did, however, make it back safe and sound- exhausted and looking forward to going on another hike. -Ryan

Taking a break during the hike back home.

The Bedroom Makeover Surprise

2008-07-16T17:19:00.001-07:00

Ready to leave for Kansas City in my beautiful, red, Skills USA blazer at 4:00 AM.

So this is a bit of a flashback to the trip that I took to Kansas City. Check out my nice red Skills USA blazer! I had to be at the airport at 4:00 AM, thus the excited look on my face. Anyway, the day before I left Melanie and I purchased new bedroom furniture from IKEA but I did't have any time to put it together. So, I went on my trip knowing that I would have quite a chore when I returned. When I did return, 6 days later, Melanie brought up the unpleasant reality that when we got home we would have to put the bedroom together. The worst part was thinking about how we were going to get that old massive desk out of the room. That thing weighs a ton! When she brought that to my attention I immediately deflated, thinking "time to get back to work." I missed my family so much while I was gone (6 days is a long time) but thinking about all the work that needed to be done was not pleasant. She apologized for bringing my trip to such an abrupt end but that didn't help much.

When we got home and I finally made it downstairs I couldn't believe what I saw. The furniture had all been assembled, that old ugly desk was gone, and the best part, the room had been completely painted and redecorated! The colors are perfect, the furniture looks awesome, the bedspread and pillows are gorgeous, everything is perfect! I was so incredibly happy and very surprised. I did not think that Melanie would find the time to even begin putting the furniture together let alone paint!

I learned that Melanie had lots of help to pull of such a mammoth task. Thank you Heidi. Thank you girls. And of course, thank you Melanie. You did a fabulous job. I love you. -Ryan

Melanie painting the walls of our master bedroom.

Amina helping with the bedroom makeover.

The Welcome Sign that was hanging in the window.

Me surprised at my new gorgeous bedroom.

Very First Pepper

2008-07-16T09:58:00.000-07:00

Today we got to eat the very first pepper from the garden! It is called a Fooled You, because it looks like a jalapeño, but tastes mild. My favorite type of pepper is the Gypsy pepper. They are starting to grow and I am super excited. I am really glad that I talked Dad into planting a garden this year! -Amina

Wasp Nest (continued)

2008-07-15T16:25:00.000-07:00

Although Fancy got so close to that wasp's nest and they didn't do a thing to her, my situation is a little different. Even though I was so far away from that nest, one of the wasps stung me and made my finger swell up this big! This picture shows my swelled up finger next to my normal finger. The results were not pretty.

My dad decided after this experience to spray the nest and all the many other ones in our yard. He used a whole can of spray getting rid of all the nests we found. -Sadie

Felicia Conquered Her Fears

2008-07-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

I Conquered my fears by taking pictures of the giant wasps nest in our back yard. My Dad helped me. He taught me how close to get and how to use manual focus. The first one was really bad. So I had to get a lot closer. It was a lot better but not good enough. I stepped a lot closer. Then I clicked really fast it was all blurred. So I took one slow. I was so happy that I took a good one, I ran in to tell Mom.
This is one of the good pictures that I took. I had to get really close and zoom in. It was really scary, but I did it. This is when I conquered my fear. But the picture was still focused on the fence.
I had to use manual focus on this one so that it wouldn't focus on the fence. I had to put my hand really close to the hive. This was my best one! So I ran in to tell Mom. She was so happy with me!
-Felicia

Arches Family Vacaton: Part 2

2008-07-13T21:58:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning the girls and I went on a hike through the Fiery Furnace in Arches National Park. This hike requires a ranger guide because there is no marked trail and it would be quite easy to get lost. Also, the minimum age is 4 years old, just perfect so Maisy could go. Everyone on the hike with us was impressed with how well Maisy did. She is so small for a 4 year old that I think most of the people there were a bit worried about her coming on the hike. She showed some mad rock climbing skills and on the parts where we had to shimmy across crevasses .eaning against the rocks with both hands, I just flung Maisy on my back and away we went. It was really a lot of fun. Unfortunately Melanie was still not feeling well so she stayed at the hotel. We missed her. The hike was absolutely beautiful.

Here the girls are standing in front of a natural bridge. This is not an arch because it was formed by running water.

Sadie is crawling through Crawl Through Arch. Pretty clever name for an arch, isn't it?

The hole above their head is an arch in the making. It is not quite an arch because it only measures 2'11" at its largest opening. If it were just 1" larger, or 3', it would be classified as an arch. Maybe in a few hundred years it will make it.

Taking a break for a snack at Twin Arch.

Felicia and Maisy stop to pose before they hike through the narrow opening leading to Surprise Arch.

Hiking along the ledge to Surprise Arch.

The girls looking up at Surprise Arch.

After our Fiery Furnace hike we went to Sand Dune Arch. Maisy loved playing in the sand, well they all did. You should have seen the sand they dumped out of their shoes when we got back to the motel. I don't know how Maisy's feet could even fit in her shoes!

Wednesday night I went to Turret Arch and the Windows Arches with Sadie and Amina to watch the sunset. We got stuck behind some sight-seeing motorcyclists and thought we were going to miss the sunset. Luckily we got there just in time to see it set. We walked around the North and South Windows before we settled on watching the sunset while sitting inside Turret Arch. It was gorgeous! I would love to see the sunrise and sunset at every location in the Park.

Sadie and Amina thought it was a little weird that I was taking so many pictures of them. They really just wanted to enjoy the sunset and not be models. Crazy Dad. Someday they'll understand.

Arches Family Vacation: Part 1

2008-07-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

We went on a family vacation to Moab and Arches National Park July 7 - 10. Other than Melanie being sick the whole time, we all had a blast. The scenery is so beautiful there. We only did about half of what we had planned so we are excited to go back again. We took tons of pictures so here are some of the best ones.

We began our trip by stopping at Goblin Valley. From everything we saw in pictures as we planned for this trip, this was the thing that Melanie was most excited for. It turned out to be as cool as we thought it would be. It did get a little hot. We didn't quite make it out the door as early as we had hoped, so we were a little later in the afternoon getting there, during the hottest part of the day. Yikes. But it was way worth it.

We stayed at the Moab Valley Inn where we swam every day. The girls don't mind where we stay on our vacations as long as there is a swimming pool. I have not done very well at continuing the Moffett tradition of camping on vacation. I can't say that I really miss it. I like the convenience of staying in a hotel as long as I can get out into the wilderness to take in the view.

We went on this amazing boat ride up the Colorado River. When we asked Maisy what her favorite part of the trip was she said, "this part," and she waved her hands above the air. What she was talking about was the part where the boat guide showed us all how to get rid of the mosquitoes on the boat. He told everyone to raise their hands above their head and wave them. For some reason, Maisy thought that was pretty funny. Melanie also thought the boat ride was the best part of the trip. I just wish that the boat would go faster. We went upstream as it was getting dark then as we cam down, they had a light show on the sides of the cliffs. The light show was quite amateur and it went on too long but it was beautiful.

Two of the mornings I took Amina and Felicia into the park to watch sunrise. No one else was willing to get up that early. The first time we went we decided to hang out at double arch. We were behind some rocks so we didn't actually see the sun come up. It was still pretty though. The girls really liked climbing on double arch. The other time we got up a little earlier and hiked all the way back to landscape arch for sunrise. It was absolutely amazing. The sunrise was beautiful, the colors were fantastic and the whole experience was breathtaking. It reminded me a lot of the time a couple of years ago when Me, Amina, Grandpa Moffett and Jared got up at 2 or 3 in the morning so that we could go see the sunrise at the Grand Canyon.

Felicia's Turning Nine!

2008-07-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

It's my b-day! My cousin Maddie got blessed today too. Yesterday I had my b-day party. I got Hannah Montana hand soap, a Hannah Montana shirt, and white shorts from Brenda and Ron. I got white flip-flops with black pock a dots, really cool sun glasses,and a pixie stick from Lizzy,Jordyn, Ben, and Aunt Bret. I also got Hannah Montana pins,a purple shirt,and a pink pair of pants from Grandma Janet. Money from Grandma Allred. Today I opened some more presents. I got a Hannah Montana swim raft,Hannah Montana goggles, a Hannah Montana beach ball, Heelys, and went on a scavenger hunt and found a giant stuffed dolphin. I've had a great b-day.
-Felicia

Bailey Bash 2008

2008-07-06T05:53:00.000-07:00

The Baileys thew an awesome party at Hess Park on the 4th of July. They put a hose on top of the death slide then they put a slip and slide at the bottom. Here are some of the pictures from the best waterslide ever made. We all had a blast. Thank you Ron, Brenda and Luke!

Felicia flying off the water slide slip 'n' slide before she changed into her swimming suit.

Maisy needed a little help Ron is holding her hand.

Sadie went the fastest and furthest of all of us.

Maisy had no fear this time. A little out of control but no fear.

Felicia got at least 3 feet of air this time -- Gosh!

Amina was pretty hardcore once she got her swimming suit on.

Here I am going head first. The landing was hard and I didn't do it again.

Amina took Maisy down the first time for a splash into the kiddie pool.

Again, Sadie perfecting the art of slip 'n' slide sliding.

And here is one of the hosts of the party, Ron Bailey. He flew right past the kiddie pool landing area and onto the grass beyond.

Amina sliding and running past the kiddie pool.

4th of July Parade 2008

2008-07-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

This year Maisy was the only munchkin that watched the parade with us. The other girls walked in the parade with Marcie West, our friend that is running for Utah State Legislature this year. They walked along the parade route handing out candy with her. They got very hot and tired but enjoyed the popularity that comes with being a candy giver.

Maisy liked filling her bag with candy. She also said that she liked the princesses, the horses and the mermaids. I don't think she realized that the mermaids were old men cross-dressing as mermaids.

We also saw our good friends Tim and Timary Sessions in the parade. They were promoting "Honk!", the play that they are in this year in Clinton.

The Baileys saved us a spot so we sat next to them. Luke always keeps us entertained.

After the parade, the Baileys did their traditional free snow cones in their front yard using the snow cone machine from the church. We had lots of fun.

The Garden

2008-07-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

I decided that I was not going to do a garden this year because I was really busy, it was late in the year and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with it. Amina overheard me talking to Melanie about my decision and was quite upset. She told me "the prophet said we should plant a garden." Uhhggh! Plus, she wouldn't be able to eat her gypsy peppers if we didn't have a garden. That was all it took. So I got my butt in gear and planted a garden.

This year we have lots of different peppers, 4 different types of tomatoes, yellow straight-neck squash, spaghetti squash, cantaloupe, watermelon, giant sunflowers, blue lake bush beans, sweet basil and tomatillos.

I want to take pictures of it every other week to document its growth. That way the whole world can see how horribly we weed. Hopefully I can keep up with it better than I did last year. Thank you Amina. This garden space would be a massive weed patch if it weren't for your inspiration. -Ryan

Amina's Summer

2008-06-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

This summer I went to Camp Invention. I had a lot of fun and made new friends. We planned our mission to mars, saved Sludge City, and took apart a radio and used the parts to build a Rube Goldberg machine that pops a water balloon. As we planned our mission to Mars, we designed a rocket, living quarters, and a communication device. Sludge City is a very stinky and polluted city. We had to re-make Sludge city and re-named it Slatter City. Also this summer, I had a soccer tournament. We lost two games and tied one. I knocked over two people on the last game and got a huge bruise on my leg because someone kicked me really hard. On Tuesday I went to Camp Kiesel and had a bunch of fun. This summer has been really fun so far!!!!!!!!!!!! -Amina

Ryan comes home tonight!

2008-06-28T15:10:00.000-07:00

Love ya babe. I can't wait to see you. - Mel

Kansas City with MHS Students

2008-06-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

I brought four of my students to Kansas City to compete in the National Skills USA Championships for Broadcast News. We flew from Salt Lake City on Monday and will be returning on Saturday. The weather is great and we are having lots of fun with little sleep. My students finished their competition this morning and won't find out the results until the never-ending awards ceremony which will be held on Friday.

The convention center entrance where we competed has huge coil sculptures by Jun Kaneko. I love his work! When I was teaching Ceramics, I would teach my students all about Jun. Later we went to the Crown Plaza today and there was an Alexander Calder stabile (stationary mobile) outside. There was an amazing sculpture hanging in the Hyatt Regency hotel where the dance was tonight. Tomorrow I am taking my students to an an art museum. All this art exposure is bringing back memories of the passion I once had for creating art. I want to make something! Now that I am teaching all video production classes, I think I am missing that connection to the art world that I once had.

Six days is a long time to be away from Moffett Manor. I miss the Crazies. I missed out on Amina's soccer game today. They tied 1-1. I missed out on taking Felicia and Amina to Camp Kiesel yesterday. I missed out on Sadie's Young Women's activity. I'm sure that I have missed out on a thousand hilarious Maisy moments. Most of all, I miss Melanie. It will be nice to come home. But don't get me wrong, I am having a blast. I love visiting other cities.

My students keep me laughing. This may not be as funny in writing, but today we walked into a candy store and the girl working there explained that everything was $7.50 per pound. So I asked her if they had cotton candy. Can you imagine how much cotton candy you could get for $7.50? Anyway, I asked and couldn't stop laughing. I was crying, squeaking, hurting in the gut, etc. Good times. -Ryan

Maddie

2008-06-22T00:59:00.000-07:00

The girls got to hold and love on their new cousin for the first time today. We are all finally healthy enough to be around the tiny princess. She is adorable. Love you Maddie!

LUKE!

2008-06-22T00:50:00.000-07:00

So, Maisy told me that she is going to marry Luke and if anyone else tries to marry him she will take him away. She tries to hide him when Brenda or Ron come to pick him up after he has been playing at our house. For the record- Standing in front of a baby or holding a blanket in front of him is not a successful way to hide him. Just so ya know.

Science Camp

2008-06-19T15:44:00.000-07:00

I went to science camp for four days. The first day I went to science camp I went to the Ogden Nature Center. We went on a tour then we went to a fish farm, we went fishing and made rockets there. My Rocket went the highest. The next day we rowed boats, made rootbeer and Ice cream, made leaf t-shirts and dissected grasshoppers. The next day we saw two movies. My friend Elizabeth bought me popcorn. We also went to the kids museum. Finally, on the last day we hiked up to Handsome Cave, Middle Cave, and Tipanogas Cave. It was very tiring. But the cave was very cool. Then we went to Cabelas. - Felicia

SUMMER!!!

2008-06-19T14:38:00.000-07:00

It is finally summer! I don't know about everyone else but I say it's about time. I love the heat. And, my flowers are finally blooming. It seemed like a long time that they just looked like tall green weeds out there. I waited most anxiously for the Daisies. They finally popped yesterday. Ryan got his garden in also, despite our pessimism's. We weren't sure it was going to happen with everything else that has been going down around here. Amina reminded him that "the prophet said to plant a garden", so he did. He is very happy about it.- Mel

Home Tag

2008-06-17T22:53:00.000-07:00

Janna tagged me with this fun post idea. You have to take as-is pictures. You're next Krystal. Hee Hee

#1- Kitchen Sink- My only excuse is not having a dishwasher. Unfortunately, this is not the worst that it gets.

#2- Favorite Room- Ryan and I did this room together. I like it best when it is clean but, we live here.
#3- Messiest Room- This is the girls bathroom and I was sorting laundry. It looks really bad I know. They have an aversion to cleaning off the sink.

#4- What are your kids doing right now? We are all playing a friendly game of Farkle. Maisy did get mad and start her own game with dice on a rubbermaid container on the other side of the room.

#5- The inside and outside of my fridge- It is covered with clutter. I like to have everyones pictures out. If you look close you are probably up there.

#6- Is supposed to be a picture of my toilet but I forgot to take that one. Sorry

#7- My favorite shoes. Don't look to close, they are well used. They only cost me $3. Gotta love a great deal.

#8- This is my closet but if you go by possession, Ryan owns 4/5th's of it. He can't get rid of anything. On the other hand, if it doesn't fit me- I don't want to see it.

#9- Self portrait. I thought this would save me from the shame of showing an old face with no make-up..... instead you see my cowlick that looks like hair loss.

#10- Favorite vacation- Cancun. It was such a blast to watch the girls in the ocean fighting the waves and snorkeling (I was too chicken). The water was beautiful and the weather was gorgeous. We went with Krystal and Jake and it was such a blast. They are really good to us.
That's it. I am tagging Krystal cause she is the only one I know in blogland besides Janna. Love ya- Mel

Lagoon

2008-06-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

We went to Lagoon Monday with our good friends The Sessions. It was perfect weather and everyone had a good time. The Dad's took the bigger kids to the bigger rides and the Mom's stayed with Maisy and Mazie for all of the fun little rides. Thankfully, Hayden stuck with us for most of the time and helped with the girls. We got back together for dinner and a few rides we could all go on (although Grandma Leslie and I opted out of most of them) including Rattlesnake rapids! This was the first time our Maisy was tall enough to go on it. She got drenched and after it was over told me we shouldn't have done that. I asked her if it was fun and she said, "Yes, but we still shouldn't have done that cause we got all wet. She and her "Best Friend Mazie" were so funny of all of the rides. The older kids shocked me with their courage. That Samurai ride was CRAZY. I couldn't even watch and they all came out jumping up and down and shouting about how great it was. We didn't get out of the park until ten o'clock and the Sessions had school the next day, but it was all worth it. I am just glad that Lagoon only happens once a year around here.- Mel

Felicia is a Star

2008-06-01T01:59:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun watching Felicia dance at the Browning Center Saturday night. She and Lizzy both did a great job. It is hard to combine Hip Hop and Egyptian into one dance but they succeeded. They were adorable.

Bracelet Assembly Line

2008-05-29T20:36:00.000-07:00

Monday Night for family home evening we set up an assembly line to make bracelets for Felicia's Economics Fair. We made 20 awesome bracelets in one hour. Sadie and Amina were the designers, Felicia and I assembled and Ryan tied the knots. Maisy was an independent manufacturer. We are an amazing team!- Melanie

Fun with Photo Booth

2008-05-29T19:17:00.001-07:00

The girls love to play with Photo Booth on my laptop. Here are some of our favorite pictures.
Ryan

Sadie's Pitch

2008-05-26T10:33:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

We made this for a digital photography class I took through UEN. We had to make a slideshow so I decided to make something that could be used as a teaching tool in my TV/Film Production classes at Murray High.

This slideshow illustrates how a filmmaker chooses what shots to use.

Enjoy,

Ryan

We Blog!

2008-05-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our blog. We thought that this would be a fun way for me to combine my two great loves- my family and writing. Ryan sat here and patiently showed me the ropes and I warned him that he will most likely have to show me again. So.... this was the haps this last week; I broke Janna's car (very unawesome) by ramming it into an unsuspecting SUV traveling in the opposite direction. Sorry Janna. Sadie played her last soccer game of the season last week. She would like to do a soccer day camp this summer, it would be good for her back. I can't believe we survived 7th grade and I can't believe I am old enough to have an eighth grader. She is a great kid and the negotiations are fun (probably because I always win). Amina's soccer season ended as well (2nd place) but they will still practice. They have at least 2 tournaments going on this summer. So, Maverick, you will still be filling my gas tank weekly. Amina is going to miss being in 5th grade. Her teacher this year has been spectacular. Amina is a hilarious kid and I am sure Mrs. Marchant will miss her too. Felicia is getting ready for her hip hop recital next weekend. Her costume is cute and they just got pictures taken. She is quite the adorable girl with definite opinions and a dance for every occasion. Being the 3rd daughter she often finds creative ways to make herself heard. We are trying to get Maisy on a better bathroom schedule so we can take care of the constipation/release issue and hopefully be going to preschool this fall..... for both of our sakes. She is definitely the baby of the family. I am watching Luke for one more week and the thought of it ending makes me want to cry. I love that boy. Good thing he lives just down the street so that I can visit daily in between his naps. He is so happy and growing so fast. Ryan has had a good school year but, as always, will be glad to see it end. It is going to be a busy summer, good thing Ryan is up for it because I don't know if I am. Big Love to Everyone!
We are very proud of Ben and his decision to be ordained. It was great to be there.