Trip to Pinetop

Every summer my parents escape the Yuma heat and head to their trailer in Pinetop, AZ. We have not visited them there before, so the kids and I snuck a long weekend getaway into the last few days before school. We drove to Phoenix and stopped for a rest and a visit with our good friends the Farars before heading into the higher elevations. We watched anxiously as the car's thermometer showed the outside temperature getting lower and lower, finally dipping below 100. I was nervous about making the trek by myself with the kids, but they all did really well. Thank goodness for portable DVD players, Uncrustables, juice boxes, and chocolate milk! Jonah had his camera along on the trip and took many, many pictures similar to this:

 After a good night's rest (Well, kinda - V decided against sleeping in the pack-n-play I brought for her and ended up in the bed with E and me. Why do little kids always have to sleep sideways?) we started our mountain adventure. The first stop was the Sunrise Park Resort, where the boys and I took our first trip on a ski lift! It was so beautiful and relaxing - once we got on the bench without falling and were safely tucked under the bar. It was such a long way from the bottom to the top. The kids enjoyed waving to the people who passed us on their way down.

Once at the top (and after disembarking safely on two feet) we enjoyed the amazing view and even cooler air for a while. There really wasn't anywhere to walk to unless you wanted to hike the paths down to the base, and I didn't bring any money to buy us a snack at the little shop, so we just looked around and I imagined what the place would look like covered in snow and busy with skiers. I was surprised at how many mountain bikers there were. They would ride up on the lift with their bikes, race back down, and then start all over again. Pretty soon we descended again to where Mom and Dad were entertaining V at the base - and that is no easy job!








That afternoon we went to the family fun park which had go-karts and mini-golf. We had a fun time, but we weren't prepared for the heat (it's the mountains!) so we pushed through the golf course as fast as we could. I got a nasty sunburn on my neck that day. This is the last hole of the course, and it took so long that I finally told the boys to just drop their golf balls into the hole.

The next day was Sunday so we went to church with Mom. Their chapel is a beautiful building surrounded by pine trees.

After church and the obligatory Sunday rest, we went to Mom and Dad's trailer for dinner. They have a nice set up there in the RV park. In their yard is a fountain, and we had a hard time keeping V away from it. She loved to put her fingers in and splash around. That was fine, but when she started putting her fingers in her mouth, we had to put a stop to it. Well, we wanted to put a stop to it.

Monday was an exciting day. The two older boys and I got to go horseback riding! This was a first for them and the first time for me as a grown-up. I think I have been on a horse twice before in my youth. We had a wonderful guide (named Willow - how cool is that?) who even held the camera and took pictures so I could concentrate on staying on the horse. Most of the time we walked at an easy pace, but a few times we let the horses trot while we bounced up and down and held on for dear life. I wonder what it would be like sitting on a horse going full speed, or having to ride a horse day after day as my main means of travel like in the olden days.

While we were on our adventure, Mom and Dad once again had the privilege of watching little V, who eventually fell asleep, as well as E, who got to take a couple of pony rides around the stables. It was one of our favorite parts of the trip, and we had sore bums to remind us of it the rest of the day.

We also drove up to Snowflake to see the LDS temple that was recently built there and have lunch.

We finished off the day by going swimming in the hotel's indoor pool and going out to a nice dinner. The next morning we packed up and headed out for the long drive back home, which again included a visit with friends (this time at Peter Piper), and made it back without any problems. It was such a great way to end the summer and the kids loved seeing where Grandma and Papa go when they aren't here. I am very grateful to them for their generosity that made the trip possible and created such good memories for us. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Working backwards...

I am going to fill in a few blanks from the last six months, starting with N's 9th birthday in August. We decided as a family that in leiu of presents and big parties for the fall birthdays, we are going to take a trip to Legoland instead. Everyone agreed to this, but N had a hard time not doing something with his friends, so we had a no-cost party with a few of his buddies. We played old-school games like Hot and Cold and Drop the Clothespin into the Jar (one of my all-time faves!). I made cupcakes and we opened presents - that's it! They had a good time and it made me wonder why we don't do all our parties like this! I am sure we will do something similar when E's day rolls around in November. 



Working backwards from that... The beginning of August means the beginning of school around here. This year N is in 3rd grade and E started Kindergarten. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this. I absolutely love my kids, but I reach a point with each one where I can't wait to kick them out of the house for a few hours each day. I don't even have to take them anywhere - I just open the front door, say "Goodbye, I love you!" and the big orange bus takes them away. It will be even more exciting next year when E is in all-day 1st grade, but for now I am taking what I can get. They are both doing really well, or at least that is what I will think unless I am told differently at parent-teacher conference next week.





J is in 6th grade this year, and we decided to go a different direction with his schooling. After a lot of thought and research, we enrolled him in Arizona Connections Academy, an online public (= free!) school. So his first day looked like this...


He has been in school now for almost two months and we LOVE it! He has great teachers, he can work at his own pace, we are very pleased with his curriculum and placement, and we know exactly what he is learning and what his progress is at all times. I don't think he misses his old school one bit, and he has been very helpful at home. (Obviously this is the stage where I can handle a kid being around all the time again!) It has definitely been the right choice for us.

Us, Today

The best place to start is what happened today. Big T received an award at work for helping with a project a while back. He says he was just doing his job, but I think it is good to know that he is appreciated for his efforts. And look, three matching medals!

J's good friend (another J) just found out that he is moving. Since our J is doing cyber school this year, they haven't seen each other much lately, so friend J came over to spend some time today. We will miss him - he is a great kid!

Here are snapshots of my other crazies today, doing whatever they happened to be doing when I had the camera out...

For those of you who don't know, that tooth of E's is not a lost tooth, nor is it a permanent tooth coming in. It is his original baby tooth that got shoved back up into his gum a few years ago when his face collided with a countertop. We are patiently waiting for a new tooth to push it back down and out, hopefully with no complications. We call it his "special tooth."

There, see, I have a new post on my blog. Whew. That took a lot out of me! I better take a six month break. ;)

Dusting off the Blog

I made several promises to several people that I would update my blog, and I thought that I better follow through. I actually just noticed that it has been six months to the day from my last post. I guess that is a long enough sabbatical. So I am going to throw out this post as proof of my good intentions and then figure out where to start with the rest. Hope to see you soon! :)