Fun Friday (part 2)

After the hike, we went to lunch with Uncle will and Catlyn. Then we headed back home to change into our swimsuits and rest a few minutes before heading back to Sierra Vista for TSUNAMI NIGHT!!! The girls were ready to go. We get there a hour ahead of time to get a good place in line. We still weren't the first ones there this time. It was a little chilly outside but we didn't care. We just want to swim!
The next few pictures might be a little blurry. My camera wasn't taking good pictures with the flash on so I turned it off. It took better pictures just poor quality.
The girls swimming away. They're mermaids that's for sure. We are sooooo ready for summer to get here.

The girls by the boat slide. They had so much fun going down the big slides, the boat slide, playing under the mushroom, swimming in the big pool........

The free pizza and drinks were a plus! They would eat a little, go swim. Come back for more pizza and a drink, go swimming again.

Cheers for Pizza Hut and the yummy dinner (that I didn't have to cook or clean up after YAY!).

Inner tubes. Do I need to say more?!

From 7 to 10 PM the place is rockin. Good music, good fun, lots of water and LOTS of people!

About 9:45 we PULL the girls away from the water so they can start drying off to get in the car. It's always chilly when you get out of the water.

Tired and looking forward to changing into warm, dry clothes and heading home. Little did they know we still had a Midnight New Moon party to go to. Gotta love Spring Break and no bed times! The Fun Friday continues!

"The Cave"

No, I didn't have a breakdown! The things kids say, sheesh!

*Don't forget to pause the blog music so you can hear the video*

Fun Friday

Spring Break 2010 is drawing to a close. Why not go out in style! We had a very BUSY and very FUN Friday. This is a three part post because we did so much in one day. This year Spring Break flew by. We're not at all ready to head back to school, but we only have 9 WEEKS of school left!

Our Friday started with a dentist appointment (for me) in Sierra Vista at 7 AM. We had gone to bed late the night before so it was a little hard for all of us to get up this morning. After the dentist we called up Uncle Will and Nana and had them meet us out at Coronado National Monument to hike to the cave (again).

This is the decent into the cave. If you look closely at my moms arm you can see a pretty bad scrape. She took a pretty bad fall going in but was a real trooper and ventured onward!
The girls were so excited that Nana was going hiking with us. They just had to show her the couch! We all took a little rest after the hike up.
The Girls. We had so much fun once we were inside the cave. The hike up was tiring but I'm so proud of my mom for sticking with it and making it. I did a lot better this time around. I didn't huff and puff and have to stop near as often as I had to the time before. Will and Catlyn brought up the rear and were awesome at encouraging my mom to keep going. The girls of course lead the pack and set a very fast pace (as always).
Clay is awesome. He gets to hike every day at work so this hike was a piece of cake for him. We love spending time with him. Girls, I love your Dad!

Will and his girlfriend Catlyn made the trip with us this time. I have to say, my little brother has turned out to be a great guy. We enjoyed their company a lot.

We went deeper in the cave this time, all the way to the back. We saw some really cool formations. Most of the ceiling formations have been broken off by people but a few of the larger ones (like this one) are still intact.

There was so much to see. Really amazing rock formations. Made us want to go to Kartchner Caverns again!

Will and his biggest fans. The girls love to do things with Will. They rode around in his truck all day, forget mom and dad when uncle Will is around.

We always stop outside the cave before we head down for a little snack.

The group on the way down. We had a great day and this was just the beginning.

Last but not least, Will and Catlyn. I think she rocks. We had a good time hanging out with both of them. A camping trip is in the works, so get your gear ready Uncle Will.

Happy Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BROTHER! I LOVE YOU!

I hope you have a great day! We miss you and we're thinking about you!

Chiricahua National Monument

On Monday we went with some friends to the Chiricahua National Monument. It was the first official day of spring break (not to mention Clay's day off and he was being woken up at 6AM), and we were very excited to go hiking. It took about an hour and a half to get there from our house. When we got there the kids went exploring with Clay down by the creek. They had lots of fun throwing rocks in the water. I stayed at camp and visited with our friends. I'd like to say I helped with the cooking of breakfast, but I didn't! Breakfast is served. We had biscuits and gravy, eggs, and hashbrowns! We even had our choice of apple juice, milk or water to drink! Now that's breakfast!! I didn't have to cook or do dishes. Spring break rocks!
After we got all the breakfast put away we went to the visitors center. This tree was right out front in the parking lot. It was huge! We watched a very informative 8 minute long movie and browsed around the gift shop. They had some really cool things to buy. The favorite thing for the kids were these birds that you squeezed and you heard the sound they made. They had tons of different birds. Turkey's, owls, and blue birds just to name a few.

Then it was time to lace up our hikin boots and hit the trail. The kids (Alex and Kade) lead the way and set a very fast pace (again). There was so much to see. The only bad thing about the whole entire day was....... THE WIND! It was so windy. In the morning it was freezing, by the afternoon it had warmed up but the wind made it feel chilly. Not one of the kids ever complained!

Sydney and Alex had a great time. I want to go back, it was so much fun. You should have seen all the kids climbing the rocks along the trail. Man, were they having a good time!

Some of the rocks were just MIND BLOWING. Huge and balancing like nothing I've ever seen. It reminded me of Dragoon and the rocks we use to climb out there.

The scenery was so beautiful. There was still snow on the ground in some spots. It was amazing all the wildlife we saw, the birds, the plants. We are planning a return trip when the weather is a little warmer!

The whole group (10 seconds!). We went with our friends the Nelson's. This family is AMAZING. They took their five kids (3 month old included) out for a hike. Not once did I hear whining, complaining, or grumbling from the adults or kids! WOW, that's all I can say.

Our family (we rock), standing by a really big rock (it rocks)! Like I said MIND BLOWING. These rocks were HUGE. Hopefully you get the hint. Well worth the trip out there to see some of these amazing rocks!

I liked this picture. Clay is an awesome photographer. I had more fun than I thought I would. It was really hard to leave (and to convince the kids it was time to go) at the end of the day.

We stopped at the Faraway Ranch(I think that was the name) for lunch. We were in charge of lunch. Nothing like the Nelson's breakfast but it was still good. We had sub sandwiches, potato salad, granola bars, chips, and lots more. By the time we stopped for lunch we were a little behind schedule. The Nelson's had to hit the road for an appointment. We stayed behind and explored the ranch house, the barns, and the ranch. It was a lot of sight seeing. They weren't giving tours that day but we enjoyed being able to walk around and see all the sights. We couldn't go in any of the buildings but we could look in windows. There were some really cool things to see. Very old things.

What a great start to our spring break! We have many more adventures planned so stay tuned. If anyone is now planning to go to the Chiricahua's to go hiking (which we highly recommend), let us know. We'll go with you anytime!

We got our blog book!!

I can only say one word.......FINALLY! It was like forever ago that I got the blog book making info from Amie. It took me this long to get my book done. It didn't take me this long because it was hard, I just had to sit down and take a minute and do it.We love our book. You forget the things that can happen in a year. I wish I had a blog going when my kids were little. We look at this book all the time. This is our 2008 blog book.

I already have the 2009 blog book on the drawing table. I'm so excited to get it printed as well. This is what got me back into the blogging mood. I didn't want to forget anything about the kids and our fun family life.

2010 is shaping up to be a very blog worthy year. Now, when I die there won't be any fighting over our family blog book. As long as I make an even number of books then the girls will have nothing to fight about!If any of you are considering making your blog into a book, all I can say is DO IT!

Farm Day!

Saturday was one busy day. It was so busy in fact it gets two posts! After the primary activity at the retirement home we went to the primary presidents house for a light lunch and lots of fun. At her house she has new baby sheep, baby goats, horses, a chicken, and dogs! She kept saying, we should have called this a farm day. Well I'm going to call it just that. The kids enjoyed getting to pet this baby sheep. The owners grandson was in charge of catching the babies. He did a great job. It was fun to watch the little guy run like crazy. As soon as he was put back in the pen he was yelling for his mom. So cute!
Then it was on to the goats. One mommy goat had twins and the other mommy goat had triplets. We had lots of goats to pet. The baby goats were so soft. The momma goat (Annie) was very calm and just walked around grazing and letting the kids pet her. The goats were a big hit with all the kids!
Here's the twins. I love their little floppy ears. What cute babies!

Here's Annie being mobbed by the mob. She was a great sport!

Then on to the horses!! I personally don't like horses that much, they scare me. As long as there is a fence between us, I'm fine. The kids didn't like the smell of all the horse poo, but the horses were very friendly and stuck their heads through the railing to get closer to the kids. Lots of sniffing and snorting going on!

Then a group photo. Too bad a chicken feather was on my lens. Actually, it was too bad I didn't notice until we were on our way home. The next few pictures might be kinda fuzzy!

These kids have very tame chickens at their house. This chicken that their holding isn't use to being held at all. I think they may have a career in chicken whispering. Sydney helped look for eggs. They found one and she got to bring it home. We're excited for yummy eggs in the morning for breakfast!

Much to our surprise Sister Ogao had a light lunch for us. It was yummy. We had sandwiches, fruit, cookies, brownies, and juice . We had a very exciting day! We can't wait for the next primary activity day!!

Primary Activity

Yesterday we had a Primary Activity Day. We went to a retirement home where one of the elderly ladies in our ward was moved to. We went more to perform service and missionary work than to have an activity.

We sang three songs. The residents faces lit up as soon as the children started singing. They loved it. The kids did so well!
This sister was once in our ward. She was so happy to see her primary kids. All the residents were so excited to see a baby. They all wanted a turn holding him. Good thing he came along with his family. His sweet spirit brought so much joy to the people we sang too.
Sydney and Alex did great. They were a little apprehensive of the people because they thought we were in a hospital and the people were sick. I explained to them that they wouldn't get sick and these people were just like their grandparents. After that they mingled well and were very friendly with everyone.
Afterwards we got a group shot of everyone that went. I was so proud of all the kids. They were all great singers and were very brave and friendly with the elderly folks we visited.

More Blankets.

I love making blankets! We were so busy during the holidays I didn't get pictures of the blankets I made for people for Christmas. Here are a couple of my most recently completed blankets.
This blanket is going to Araya. We love her so much and miss her, but it's a surprise so no telling! Sshhhh.

This next one I made last weekend with my Aunt Bev. The pink one I started and finished yesterday. What a way to spend Spring Break!!

This blanket is for James and Tanny's little guy that isn't here yet. It's also a surprise so SShhhh!