New Mexico

After spending a few days in Flagstaff we drove to see Tawny (my best friend) in New Mexico. Her husband is in the Air Force and deployed in Afghanistan and she is pregnant for the first time. Talke about a lot to deal with at once! It was so great to see her and get to spend so much unrushed time together. That hasn't happened in years! We stayed up way too late every night talking. I'm pretty sure my kids had fun too. She got a slip 'n slide that they loved and played on for hours.

 Ethan was much more interested in eating Swedish Fish at first (I dont' blame him him), but eventually he warmed up to the slide and loved every second. They also loved blowing bubbles in the bakyard.



One day we took them to a local zoo and I was surprised at how entertaining it was. She lives in a pretty small town, but the zoo turned out to be pretty awesome. It was way bigger than I expected it to be and I was definitely ready to be done by the time we got to the end.

Just a cute pic of Brayden and Ethan cuddling on the couch. They do this all the time and I finally got a picture of it.

Flagstaff Part 1

Me and the kids took a trip up to see Grandma Wanda in Flagstaff. The weather so nice and we had so much fun with her. We went to a lot of different parks, which the kids loved, especially Ethan.

 Maddie wasn't quite as impressed, but was still really good. She turned two months old while we were there (she's two months in this photo).

 We tried to have a picnic one day at the park, but we got rained out. Luckily, they had a covered picnic area. It rained nearly every day we were there.

 Grandma Wanda took Tawny for a pedicure and manicure for her birthday. Tawny thought it was so awesome and didn't stop smiling the entire time. She picked bright blue with white flowers.

 We also played a lot of games. Grandma taught the kids how to play mexican train. They had a great time, especially Brayden.

 There's a train station right in the middle of Flagstaff and over 60 trains go through there every day. So we sat and watched a few trains go through. Ethan was a little unsure at first because of the noise, but quickly got over that fear.

 Another day we took the kids to Bearizona, a drive through wildlife park. It was awesome because we got to see the animals up close, even better because my animals were contained inside the car. Our favorite animals were the bison and the bears. They also had a zoo you could walk through at the end. I tried to get a picture of the kids by the bear statue, but Ethan would not have anything to do with it. Even as I'm typing he's point at the bear and saying "no, no, no". silly boy!

My Birthday

I forgot to include my birthday and skipped right over it! Normally it wouldn't matter but this year my mom and Greg threw me a surprise party. It was really sweet and so much fun! Such a great way to turn 30.

E Rex

E Rex- It's the perfect nickname for Ethan. Why?

• he's destructive. If we go more than two hours without him breaking something it's only because I haven't found what he's broken yet
• He's loud. I mean really loud. He even makes noises that sound like a dinosaur
• It's a great play off his full name: Ethan Rex
• He's constantly hurting someone (at least he doesn't bite)

He's also adorable and I love every little thing about him.

• He holds his sippy cup up to his eye and walks around saying "shoot couch. shoot mommy. shoot door". whatever he points his sippy at he "shoots"
• He swims by himself with help from his swim jacket. He takes a big breath, put his face under the water, flattens out, kicks super hard for about three seconds then pops up gasping for air.  All that effort moves him about 12 inches. But he loves it.
• He sings like nobody's business. ABC's, Twinkle twinkle, itsy bitsy spider, wheels on the bus, all the kid classics. He also know some current songs like rock party anthem and every single song in either Cars movie.  And if he doesn't know the words he hums along. so cute.
• He can count to ten and is always super excited when he gets to ten. You can tell because he screams it as loud as he possibly can.
• He loves his "puppy" and takes it with him everywhere. It's the Leapfrog puppy named Scout that Grandma Hebdon got him. He really really loves that thing.
• He loves shoes and hates clothes, which is fine with me. It that much less to wash.
• He has such enthusiasm for everything he does. Everything is exciting and awesome to him. I love it!

Summer Fun

So besides having babies and family visits we've been busy doing lots of other things too. We take lots of naps (or try to),

 made skittle bracelets (that's marker on Tawny's face, not bruises),

 fingerpaint (Ethan prefers his skin as his canvas),

 play in summer rain (Brayden and Tawny were so cute jumping in puddles together),

 (Ethan hated everything about it- the thunder, lightning and why there was water falling from the sky)

 (Brayden's boot got stuck)

 and lots of time hanging out with Maddie during her playtime, which usually ends with all the kids mauling Maddie and her crying.

We also swim nearly every day. I very rarely get pictures because I'm out there all alone with the three oldest and don't dare take my camera. Last night we swam after dark. The kids think swimming in the dark with the pool lights on is so cool. This time they each got a few glow stick, which they really loved.

More Family!

Brian and Kaylyn came down for Austin and Kaylyn's reception and Maddie's blessing. My kids loved playing with their cousins!

They played pirate...

had a movie night and sleepover (my mom is very brave!)

planted pumpkins...

played in the sandbox...

hung out with Papa (Maddie and Kelsey had matching outfits for the 4th of July. It wasn't even planned. Great minds just think alike!)...

ate ribs (Super yummy)...

and went to the fireworks show here in Blythe.

you can barely see their profiles but for some reason I really like this shot.

It was such much fun having family here. My kids were exhausted, cranky animals by the end of the week. It took them a few days to get back into the swing of things. And lots of extra naps.  Thank you to everyone who made the trip to celebrate with us. We appreciate you making the sacrifice and loved seeing you all!