Labor Day Weekend

We decided to make a quick trip to AZ for Labor Day Weekend. My aunt and uncle were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and having a big party so we hooked up with my parents to attend the festivities. We stayed at Allen's mom's house in Show Low. The kids had a ball dragging out all of the dress ups on Saturday morning.

Doesn't she look like she needs a "Vote For Pedro" tshirt! This picture cracks me up!

Wigs for everyone!

Later that morning we headed to my dad's hometown of Taylor, AZ. They were having their annual Sweet Corn Festival so we went to enjoy the party. First up was a parade where my kids RAKED in the candy through the course of the tiny parade (the single wide trailer as a back drop is especially attractive here):

Parade Baby!

After the parade we were able to participate in the kids rodeo. They had games and relays set up for the kids to participate in. During/after the tug 'o war:

The highlight of the morning was the chicken/rabbit chase game. They saved this for the very end and my kids were so excited to participate. The older kids were separated and allowed to chase and catch chickens and the little kids had a similar activity but they chased and caught bunnies. The winners got to keep the animal they caught (worst prize ever in my opinion). Carter got VERY close to catching a chicken:

We were so relieved that the kids didn't catch anything. Unfortunately they did not share our relief. Of the 200ish kids who participated, our 3 were the only ones crying after the event. We're such city slickers. Ironically, one boy caught and won TWO chickens and his parents were trying to give them away after the chase. There were no takers!

After the kids rodeo we had a fair lunch consisting of Navajo tacos, grilled corn, snow cones and kettle corn. The kids had a turn in the bounce house, we did a bit of shopping and then called it a day. It was super fun! Back at the ranch, the kids took a LONG ATV ride with Allen, we built a campfire and had a good time hanging out.

That evening we were able to attend the 50th anniversary celebration. It was fun to see so much extended family that I hadn't seen in years. My cousins did a great job planning the party and I took plenty of notes since we will be hosting a 50th anniversary party for my parents in 3 years.

My dad with all of his siblings/spouses (minus one couple who is serving a mission):

One other fun surprise of the weekend is that my sister and her hubby ended up being in AZ over the weekend. They flew down from WA to buy their daughter a car and drive it home. Here they are with the cutie cute car! It was fun to spend a bit of time together with them.

We had a great weekend and headed home on Sunday afternoon to get ready for another busy week!

Christmas in Arizona

We were able to spend a few days in Arizona at the ranch over Christmas this year. It was a quick trip because this is Allen's busiest time of year at work as he closes the fiscal year. We left Thursday after work and he had to be back yesterday. After traveling for the past two years at both Thanksgiving and Christmas, we have sworn off traveling for the holidays for awhile.

Christmas Eve

We chopped down our own tree on the ranch and then decorated it. It was a cute, scraggly little thing but it smelled delicious!

Studly:

The kids also went 4 wheeling, we had a YUMMY Asian dinner and then acted out the Nativity and had dessert.

The holy family:

Shepherds, wisemen, angel & holy family:

Addie lying in the manger:

Christmas Morning

Carter was up by 7:30 and we waited until almost 8 and then woke the girls up. They were SO excited for Christmas but we convinced them to pose for a couple of pictures before the excitement began!

Carter - favorite gift was Hogwarts Castle but he was thrilled with his iPod as well!Makenna - over the moon with her new camera and had it in every one's face for the rest of the weekend. She also loved her AG stuff and has spent a surprising amount of time playing with her Tag reader.Addie - would have been happy with just her Disney princess Barbies. She is hugging Cinderella and Jasmine in this picture. She is in loooooove. She has also had a lot of fun with her new stroller.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing, playing, talking with extended family, eating yummy food, visiting Allen's dad's grave, 4 wheeler riding, more eating, etc.

We were able to go to church on Sunday and then Allen's mom hosted an open house for Jake and Erica (the newlyweds) that we were able to stay for most of. We headed home in the late afternoon and were home by bedtime. We were so happy to spend Christmas with some extended family and missed those we weren't able to be with. We had a truly joyous Christmas season this year and are ever grateful for the Savior's birth and mission on earth.

Christmas Day!

I have a few posts to get done before the new year. I am determined to be caught up before 2010 hits! Christmas this year was super fun and BUSY. On Christmas Eve we got together with two families in our ward for dinner and to act out the nativity. It was so much fun. So fun that we all forgot to take any pictures. Ah well. We did it, it was great.

We were really prepared for Christmas this year so on Christmas eve all we had to do was stuff stockings and put everything beneath the tree. We watched a movie together and were in bed by 10 p.m. An early record in our marriage for sure! We took bets on when we thought the kids would wake up and guessed it would be around 5:30 since Carter commonly wakes up that early anyway. To our surprise they didn't' get up until about 7:00! It was crazy fun opening stockings and presents after that. The kids were thrilled with their loot this year, even though we felt like we were cutting back a bit because of our Disney trip.

Before stockings:

Before the unwrapping frenzy:

Carter + loot:

It was the year of Wii games for Carter. He bought several sets of Legos as his souvenir on our trip so we cut back on the Lego sets this year. He also received a giftcard to pick out another set of Legos. His favorite present was probably the entire set of Harry Potter Books he got from my parents!

Makenna + loot:


She loved everything she got. Favorites are her American Girl doll, Hello Kitty Slippers, princess scooter and her Sugar Plum Fairy Nutcracker.

Addie + loot:

She for sure LOVES her new bike a ton. If she is awake she is sitting/playing on it. I also found some bristle blocks (had them myself as a kid) and she has loved those too.

After unwrapping, breakfast and a little bit of playtime we jumped in the car and headed to Show Low for a few days. We literally piled all the boxes and wrapping paper in the middle of the room and left it there. So unlike us and so not fun to come home to. However, it was SO fun to be in SL for a couple of days. Allen's mom, his youngest brother Jake, younger brother Joel plus wife Ami and son Dane and his sister LJ and husband Adam were all there. It was great. We did what we do best at the ranch - eat and hang out! On the 26th we played in the snow and rode the 4 wheelers. The adults went to dinner and out to see Sherlock Holmes (ALL of us loved the movie)that night. Sunday we went to church, had lunch together and then headed back to ABQ. It was a super short visit but very fun! I was able to read Hunger Games and The Help over the weekend and LOVED both books.

Roasting marshmallows in the snow!On the way out of town we stopped to get gas and got this late Christmas "present." Ugh. A lady backed right into us as we were pumping gas. It was no biggie and we already have the claim all worked out and an appt. to get the car fixed next week.

Since we've been home we've been getting things back to normal and played lots with our new toys! We've also been to the rec center to swim, out to lunch, to the Children's museum and still have a couple things to squeeze in before school starts next week.

It was a very merry Christmas here and we hope yours was too!

Easter Weekend

We had a super fun Easter weekend up in Show Low with Allen's family! Allen's mom flew into Phoenix on Thursday night and stayed with us overnight. On Friday morning I got up early to workout with my friends. When I got home, Al's mom informed us that Addie had been up most of the night with the stomach flu. She had bathed her a couple times and changed her sheets - all while we soundly slept in our beds. What a nice mother-in-law! So sad for Addie though.

Anyway, we decided to drive up to SL anyway and just hoped for the best. Al's mom has a timeshare up in Pinetop so we stayed there on Friday night. They have a couple of awesome heated outdoor pools and a huge hot tub so we got to swim/hot tub even though it was cold.

Carter especially loved being thrown around in the pool by his dad and uncles! That night I fixed a big family dinner and we had birthday cake for Allen's mom's bday. Addie did pretty well and slept on and off for most of the day. Luckily, we had lots of adult help so we could still do some fun stuff with the big kids.

Saturday morning we woke up to about 6 inches of snow. Surprise!! I was totally ill prepared for snow, even though I had checked the weather before packing. Allen's mom made some makeshift ponchos for the kids out of a trashbag to take them to the clubhouse while we were still sleeping. We still went out and swam and sat in the hot tub and had snowball fights in the pool. It was really fun!!

Yes, that is snow, on the pool chairs. And yes we are sitting on them. Brrrrrr....

On our way to the ranch we stopped for lunch, where Addie proceeded to throw up all over the table. Nice. She had been acting so much better all morning but she was obviously not better. We quickly headed to the ranch where she slept for most of the rest of the day. The rest of us took 4 wheeler rides, played in the treehouse, chopped wood and decorated Easter eggs:

Easter Morning before church:

Addie seemed to be better again this morning so we decided to take her to church. This isn't the best shot of her but it give you a decent look at the girls' dresses. I adore them {x a million}. I had them custom made again and just love having my girls in something totally unique! Carter got his very first suit and loves it. Here's a close up shot of M so you can get a better look at the amazing fabric {you can tell how cold she was!}

Allen's little brother Jake reported his mission during Sacrament meeting and did a wonderful job! It was fun to see so many familiar faces at the homecoming.

The Easter bunny came while we were at church! I did color themed baskets with the candy. They loved it. Here's the kids with their loot:



Carter got a new board game and a cool math activity board

Makenna got a set of 3 Disney Princess Polly Pockets and a magnetic wooden dress up doll.
Addison {with her post nap bed head} got some wooden stacking toys and some lacing cards. I kept it very educational this year :)

After a huge {and yummy} family dinner, we had a few Easter egg hunts and visited Allen's dad's grave before heading back to Phoenix.

It was a wonderful weekend! Today Addison is throwing up again so we will watch her for a few more hours and possibly head off to the pediatric ER. She is very hungry but then throws everything up but is otherwise acting pretty normal. Poor sweet thing!

Laurie's Wedding

Last weekend Allen's little sister, Laurie got married. We got to spend the weekend in Al's hometown and had so much fun. A ton of his extended family came into town for the big event so that made it even more exciting. Here's a "few" pictures from the reception and wedding.

The happy couple arriving at the reception (which they held the night before the wedding):

LJ decided to have a circus themed reception which had me a bit nervous. Her friend did all the decorating and it was F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S. It was all vintagey and totally amazing. Here's some of the decor (which of course my pictures do absolutely no justice):

(I'm still Jonesing for these amazing vintage pennants. I want them for my playroom SO bad!)

She served cotton candy, shave ice and popcorn as part of the refreshments:

She had the most beautiful floral arrangements everywhere:Sample centerpiece- every table was differentCarter picked Laurie a "bouquet" out of the lawn at the church and he was so excited to give it to her:Cute cousins - so excited to eat their cotton candy. They all ate SO much junk that night - I think Carter had about 7 snow cones alone!

She had all kinds of fun cakes and wanted to serve milk with it:Adorable airplane and banner hanging from the ceiling:

Our family at the reception:My mom and dad just happened to be coming to town at the same time as the wedding. My dad's 50th high school reunion was the same weekend (my dad and Al's dad graduated from the same HS)

Our family at the temple. There were clearly about 10 cameras trying to get a picture at the same time and no one knew where to look. I can't wait to see what the professional photographer gotCute cousins with the bribery candy from the photographer (brilliant). In M's other hand is her very first lip GLOSS that I bought her last week. It hasn't left her hot little hand since - LOLMakenna was OBSESSED with Laurie's wedding dress. She told me repeatedly, "Mom, I've got to have that same princess dress. I'm going to put it on my Christmas list. Tell Santa I HAVE to have one too!"

The rest of the weekend was great fun playing on the ranch - four wheeling, rope swing, treehouse, hiking, hanging with family, etc!

We're so happy for Laurie and Adam. They are a great couple and compliment each other wonderfully!