Yes, It Does Snow in Arizona!

Our family took Monday off from work and school and headed up North in search of snow!! We found some about 2 hours away and had a blast! For a while it was just us. It was so peaceful, and the view, breathtaking. We even had a picnic in the snow. My kind of picnic--NO BUGS!! It wasn't very cold either, which was nice. At one point I just had short sleeves on and felt great. The kids did get a little cold, though, since they completely soaked their clothes. I packed plenty of extra clothes, but the one thing I did forget was sunscreen. Poor Daddy, Lincoln and Shiloh suffered from some sunburns. All in all, it was a super day. A day our family needed very much!


SLEDDING: We bought some cheap, round sleds that made for a lot of hill-sliding fun. I was first to try out the steep hill, and goodness me, I had no idea how FAST I could fly. It had been a while since I had been on a sled. My backside is a bit sore today, to say the least. Didn't stop me from sledding a bunch more times, though! Mullin and Lincoln were so brave climbing way up the hill to sled half way down and then bust!! Shiloh loved flying down the hill in Daddy's lap.

PLAYING: There is just something about seeing a little, pink bundle in the snow. Shiloh liked eating it. Lincoln tried making a snow angel, but the snow was just packed too tightly, which, thankfully, kept our feet from sinking with every step.

SNOWMAN: It sure has been a very long time since we built one of these. Some of it had already been done by someone else. We just finished him.

BATTLE WOUNDS: I was trying to show off my owies, but they didn't really show up very well. When sledding down the hill one time, I forgot to push my longsleeves down, and I ended up busting. Basically, I got "Snowburn"--sort of like rugburn, ya know.
SNOWBALL FIGHT: The snow was packed pretty tightly, so it was somewhat difficult for the boys to form snowballs. One time, Daddy hit Shiloh right in the buns with a snowball. I am sure it felt like a love pat, but she didn't like it and let everyone know with her crying and whining.

What a fun day this was. I hope their will be lots more of these trips in the future!

Memphis Friend

I was so excited when I found out that my friend, Cathy, of 13 years was coming out for a visit!! Her husband had some business meetings out here, so they decided to make a trip out of it.

She got to spend a couple of days hanging out with me and the kids, but now she and her husband are enjoying a nice, quiet Sedona/Grand Canyon adventure. I hope she is liking the beautiful desert scenery!!





The kids thought they had found another playmate. In the mornings Shiloh would ask "Where's Caffy?" Even Lincoln grew quite fond of her and wishes she was still here!



Shiloh was so afraid of Calvin, Cathy's husband! It was kind of funny!


Here is a photo of Cathy and I now, and below is a photo of us 13 years ago while in Destin, Florida. I don't even think my skin can turn that shade of tan anymore!!



Having her come for a visit was a great way to celebrate my family's one year anniversary in Arizona!

Vacation Day

Actually, I don't think there is such a thing as a vacation if your kids are with you. Anyway, I let the kids have Friday off, and we all went swimming at my sister's house.

Of course the kiddos had a great time, but couldn't understand why mommy and aunt didn't want to get everyone back out in the pool after lunch. They just have no clue how much work it is especially when there are 4 out of 7 who can't swim!! Lincoln is almost there, though!

Shiloh loves Care Bears and she knew exactly where to go to find her cousin Livi's Care Bears!

Our Trip to Flagstaff

We went on our very first family vacation over Thanksgiving weekend. Here we are, all packed and ready to go!



Most people think of Arizona as one big, hot, dry, barren desert, and where we live that is true. What some may not know is that there are lots of green places, too, even areas where it gets really cold! Flagstaff is one of those places, and it's way up in the mountains where pine trees and evergreens abound.
We took the 31/2 hour scenic route on the way up, and it was just breathtaking.




Friday evening after dinner (it was nice not having to cook, but taking 3 kids out to eat all weekend was a lot of work!) we went to the Lowell Observatory. That's the place where Pluto was discovered. We all got to gaze at an exploding star many light years away through an amazingly powerful telescope. It was really neat and worth the long wait in line where we had to stand outside in the freezing cold. What a great field trip for the boys since we are already studying astronomy this year. I think it is so sad that places like this don't give God all the glory.

The earth and the heavens are amazing to study, and I am so glad that I can just sit back and marvel at God's creation instead of wondering where it all came from or how it all began. I get teary sometimes just reading my child's science book. Probably weird but true.


This is a lookout on the way to the Observatory. It was so neat looking down at the town below.

The same lookout during the day


Saturday morning we took the kids to a museum. They enjoyed it for about 10 minutes. After looking at real dinosaur bones, viewing sloth poop, and touching meteorites they were pretty much done. Fortunately there was a nature trail right outside. Of course, the boys loved it!!



Mullin climbed every rock he could find.




Pretending to find some shelter for the night.
Poor Shiloh couldn't wear shoes due to her blistered heel. We had to carry that heavy little princess everywhere we went!



Linclon cracks me up-- he loved striking all sorts of hiking poses!
Daddy, Mommy and Shiloh

Our last night there, we went to a charming little restaurant in an old hotel. With a cozy fire in the background the atmosphere was so perfect, and the food delicious.

All in all we had a fun time, but it was a lot of work. Sleeping in the same room with the kids wasn't exactly my cup of tea, but I had my sleeping pills, my fan, and earplugs to help me cope. The very loud train whistles would wake the kids up all throughout the night, too.
I am glad, though, that we went. Good memories made!!

River Rats

The boys had a blast at the river: staying up way past bedtime, tubing, swimming, and Lincoln even took a stab at kneeboarding. Mommy and Shiloh had a nice quiet weekend at home!!

Arizona Trip

We had such a fun time visiting my desert family!














































We like to pick, eat and juice Grandma's homegrown apples. Even Shiloh liked them. She would stand under the tree and make the sign for "more" over and over again!!

















Lincoln had fun feeding Grandma and Grandpa D's turtle. Shiloh was fascinated by this little creature.

































Both my sister and my brother have pools, and the boys absolutely loved swimming. Even Shiloh liked the water.

















Mullin and Lincoln loved playing with all of their boy cousins.
















We celebrated Grandpa D's birthday while we were there.
















My Grandpa came out to see me and the kids. Pictured are my sister and her 4 kids, me and my 3 kids, my brother's wife(expecting twin boys!), my mom and my grandpa. Shiloh and her cousin, Olivia will be so outnumbered!!!















Having fun with bubbles!

We love and miss everyone!!