Checking out the solar eclipse

We went down to Bryce this weekend with Ruby and Anil and Andrea to do some hiking and see the eclipse on Sunday night. The path of the 'ring of fire' passed right over Southern Utah. Pretty spectacular...we were not the only ones with the bright idea to camp down there Saturday night then drive home late Sunday - there was lots of traffic heading back on the highway, and one hour-long logjam, but a couple cups of coffee got us through...reminded me of weekends coming back from Tahoe!

Some cool pictures of the eclipse viewings around the world: 

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2012/05/ring_of_fire_eclipse_2012.html

Going for an early morning walk to the Rim from our campsite. Hiking in our fuzzy PJs as it was still chilly.

Hiking the Navajo Trail (down Wall Street) with Anil, Andrea and Ruby.

We saw lots of deer

Last day of the ballet session...

A few pictures from my sleepover party with grandma and grandpa

Arches

Instead of cairns, we hiked past 'toast piles' on the trail

Hiking with Jenna and the boys

Us plus Jenna, Erika, Gail and the boys

Family shot!

At the musical park...isn't this fantastic?

A happy Haas reunion

Anne & Lena (7)

Some leg presses with Tony!

Rolling down the hill with my new friend Zoe

Clarke and Phoebe

Rebekah & Amelia (4)

Hanging with my cousins

Is this right, Uncle Justin?

Wait up boys!

Watching a little TV before dinner

Amara-isms

Pecticle = dry, hurting feeling in your throat after you've swallowed food and need water. As in 'Mama, do you have a pecticle?"; Also another word for buffalo with horns.

"I have 5 favorite colors: pink, purple, red, shiny, and sparkly."

"Mama, how does the rain know when the plants need water?" Good question...harder to answer than you would think...

This was Amara doing a great job floating, just before she threw up in the pool :-). She was not happy about having to float and while crying, apparently drank enough water after her big pre-swim snack, that it all came back up...oops. Hopefully next week will be better!

Dying Easter Eggs

We went over to our friend Mary Anne and Greta's house for her second annual Easter Egg dying party. Last year, Amara and I showed up on the wrong day so this was the first time we actually attended :-) Amara LOVED hiding and finding the eggs. In fact, we did it some more when Lila came over to play last night.

A new dress

I had to show off my most recent project since its been ages that I tried to sew anything successfully. I promised her a pink and purple dress and luckily she loves it (for now)! Below I tried to capture her in the steps of doing a twirl...

Ballet anyone?

Amara is a bit more interested in waving to camera than doing the moves, but hey...she's having fun.