What gets me out of bed at 6:30 on a Saturday morning when, ironically, my early-rising kids are still peacefully snoozing? Our very favorite Cedar City tradition: Skyfest.

I don't know if it's the excuse to start my day with liquid chocolate; knowing that on this one morning, I can go out in public with a ponytail and no makeup without feeling like I need to conjure a lie involving early morning workouts at the gym; or, more likely, the magic of a balloon-filled sunrise, but Skyfest eve brings holiday-esque anticipation in the Burt home year after year (excluding Andy; apparently he has hard time channeling his inner child when it's still dark out).

This year did not disappoint, and from the Lions Club pancake breakfast to the thwarted photo attempts, I'd say our early morning venture was a success. The highlights included...

1) No less than 37 photo opps ruined by a last-minute turn of the head (and an ugly orange cone that I somehow failed to notice until now);

2) The only time I will ever be ok with my son shoving an entire syrup-soaked pancake into his mouth with bare posing for photos, it can be hard to see your fork through from stabbing to mouth when you're picnicking in a field of hot air balloons),

and 3) Having a child old enough to articulate all the random thoughts that stem from this once-a-year dreamworld experience. This included naming the balloons as they rose off the ground. Without further ado, meet

the boring balloon (he said it didn't have enough colors)

the circus one (I'm guessing because of the flags)

and, my personal favorite, the bumpy peach.

For the grandparents, this was the best shot I got of Porter. One millisecond before this, he was smiling into the camera, then a balloon launched just behind me.
Nora, who has not yet mastered the art of selective hearing when it comes to parental requests, did a little better (unfortunately, the big orange cone struck again).
In all, a great way to kick off the weekend.

Wedded Bliss times Six

That's right, last weekend marked year six for Andy and I.

Clearly a weekend worth celebrating, September 12th also marked the first night I have been away from my kids that did not require a hospital stay since Porter was born (It was wonderful - I slept in until 10:30 Saturday morning!).

That's right, my sweet-when-he-wants-to-be husband surprised me with a weekend getaway that closely mimicked a little trip we took nine years ago, when we were dating. And when I say surprise, I mean I came home from work Friday, and our babysitters (we love Aunt Crystal & Uncle Layne) were already there, with a list of instructions on the kitchen counter (not that C&L needed it, but Andy knows his OCD wife all too well). Andy was packed and an empty bag was waiting for me in our bedroom with a packing list that read, "one cool weather outfit, one hot weather outfit and some good shoes," and after a quick change and kisses for the kids, and we hit the road with our windows down and the radio up (at least until I started yammering on about how great it was to get away and didn't Andy agree and by the way, where were we going and did you see that cop on the side of the road and is this a new CD and did you see that deer and was Andy sure I only needed outdoorsy clothes and I hope so because I didn't bring hair spray or cute shoes...).

Don't we look foot loose and fancy free?

We snapped this shot just before heading off for a night hike to do a little stargazing (and to revel in the child-free silence).

In all, we hit two national parks (Bryce Canyon and Zion), one gas station, five rock shops (turnaround is fair play: Andy's sly romanticism earned a long-awaited trilobite for our newest home decor), two beloved restaurants (Ruby's at Bryce Canyon and Oscar's in Springdale), one candy shop, hundreds of bugs, and came close to hitting a family of wild turkeys in our whirlwind 24-hour celebration, and we came back to our little home in Cedar and our two cute kids to begin the seventh year of our version of wedded bliss.

And just for fun, here's an engagement pic of our much younger selves.


I would have posted a wedding pic but, sadly, my wedding photo album seems to have gotten lost in the move last year. So all I have now to mark this time is the proof CD from our engagement pictures session. Boo. If any of you have pics from our wedding six long years ago, we'd love to get copies.

Eight Months and Crawling

What better way to celebrate your eight-month birthday than to start crawling?

That's right, the youngest Burt is officially mobile.

And though it starts off in the standard crawling position, Nora's swagger is unlike anything we have ever seen.

Instead of pulling her legs forward once she moves her arms forward, she pauses for a little yoga, 

And then moves her legs forward as she flops down.

A little flirting, and then she starts all over again.