Kitty

Heather' s cat, Ruby, had kittens. For some unknown reason, even though I hate cats, I fell in love with this one. We had a connection. I was this close to bringing him home with me. We didn't though, Matt felt no connection to Sunny and said absolutely not!  Luckily for me, I don't think I will ever be able to find another soul kitty again. 

Swan Valley

One of the most exciting things my parents could have told us growing up was "We're going to get square ice cream!"

Jemma, Jacks, and I headed to Idaho to meet up with everyone. I had the brilliant idea to surprise the kids by introducing them to square ice cream cones in Swan Valley. They were unimpressed with the square ice cream cones! 

 It was no big deal to them!  

What? 

Kids these days! 

 So exasperating. 

They did say the ice cream was good and they always love being around cousins. So I guess it was a win after all. 

Horse Ride

Well, they were actually suppose to be hiking. Our friends Brian and Stephanie Oland decided to go scout for areas for the fall elk hunt. They invited Matt and the kids along. The Olands decided to take horses for when all the kids going got tired of hiking. Jacksen and Jemma were so excited to be on a horse again!

Bennett wasn't among them because on our way home from Arizona, we dropped him off in Utah where he met up with Grandma Julie and Felicity and headed to Idaho to spend time with them. 

New Happenings

Back in June Jacksen also got his braces!  He was so excited. Now he just will need to learn to chew with his front teeth!  They are trying to move his bottom jaw forward, so his back teeth don't meet for right now. The first few days he could only manage smoothies. He didn't seem too upset by that! 

July 4, 2017

We made it to our condo in Tempe without melting!

 When we arrived in the evening, it was a balmy 118 degrees. To be honest, I was hot, but not uncomfortable. I think I will always consider myself an Arizona girl!  

The next day was the 4th of July. We all went to Glen and Julie's house for some fun family time. The kids were suppose to have a water balloon fight that ended up with most the adults getting drenched!  Glen also pulled out a big black tarp and put the sprinklers on it so the kids could slip n' slide. Another big highlight for the kids was the large tortus that the Arizona Washburns have. It mostly hid in its tunnel, but came out every once in a while. 

That evening we headed back to the condo that was in Tempe to get ready for dinner and fireworks. Jacks, once again had a major headache and immediately fell asleep. As everyone was getting ready to leave, we woke Jacks up. He could barely lift his head so the others left while jacks and I had a quiet evening. The others had quite a story about riding a trolley around Tempe, trying to get to the fireworks.  

The next morning when Jacks finally woke up, he asked if we were going to the fireworks and was a little upset when he found out he missed them. I did cheer him up with the mention that I had bought him an orange soda the night before in case he had woken up. He happily guzzled that down, extra happy when none of the other kids got a soda. (It's the small things, right?)

The next day we spent at Lake Plesant. I don't know why I don't have any photos of our day? We spent a lot of the day sitting on the shore while the kids played in the water. They had so much fun together. They even sunk Grandpa Tom's raft and cheered! ( Go figure). All the while Glen, Matt, and Tyler were in the main part of the lake boating. They would come around and pick up some kids from time to time to take them out on the tube. 

The next day we all decided to hang out at the condos and swim. We all had a relaxing day hanging out and taking it easy. Once again, Jacks missed half the day sleeping off another headache. 

This migraine really took a toll this trip. I've promised myself that the very next migraine episode he has, I am taking him right to the doctor. 

Katie and Tyler's family left that afternoon to head back to Idaho. That night as I was sitting by the pool, I got a call from Brother Whiting. They were releasing me from my calling as Primary President after 3 1/2 years. I was a little shocked, and a little sad. I love being around the primary kids and the primary music. But I was also a little relieved. I was getting tired of having to deal with finding teachers and then having to find subs for when the teachers didn't show up. I was also called to be the new Relief Society secretary. It will be fun to get to do something new. 

The next day we headed to Lake Pleasant again to do some boating before we took off. We had a great afternoon, all the while Glen and Julie were trying to convince us to stay another night. We decided we couldn't, but as we parted ways and began to drive away, we changed our minds. We canceled our hotel plans for the night and showed up on the Arizona Washburns doorstep. They seemed thrilled and excited to see us. We went to dinner and then went back to their house and played games. We woke up the next morning and sadly left Arizona to head back home. 

The North Rim

Sadly, when Jacks woke up the next morning at Jacob's Lake, he had a terrible migraine. He has gotten migraines from time to time and from experience, I know how painful they can be. 

Our plan for the day was to take the kids to the North Rim. We headed to the lodge first to see if we could get any food or caffeine down Jacks. While he and I searched for a Pepsi, pain killers, and darkness, Matt, Bennett, and Jemma headed for the overlook. We also had in the plans to go on a small hike down the North Face of the Canyon. Jacks was a trooper and did his best. We were going to hike down to the first water station, but about a mile away from it we decided that Jacks had gone far enough and we needed to get on the road to Phoenix. 

The kids enjoyed it for the most part. Bennett kept giving me a heart attack every time he would try to get ahead of and disappear. At one point he had though it would be funny to hide off the trail and scare us as we passed by. We had to emphasize to him the importance of staying on the trail to avoid falling to his death at the Grand Canyon. (10 year olds *eye roll*)

Matt has plans to return when the kids are older and hike deeper into the Canyon. We will see how adventurous they are during the teenage years. 

Jacobs Lake

We decided to make a stop before heading to Phoenix. We drove down through Southern Utah and made our way to Jacob's Lake. We kept it a secret from the kids that we were camping in a tent. They are always begging Matt and I to go camping in the tent. As we pulled into the camp ground and revealed to the kids we were camping, we were met with disappointment and whining. They apparently had their hopes of getting to Phoenix at break neck speed to be with cousins. They did, however, warm to our great idea as we started setting up the tent. 

After we set up the tent, we made our way to Jacob's Lodge where we were able to order ourselves a delicious meal. 

We headed back to the tent and got ready for bed. We had to conserve room in the car, so Matt and I opted to just bring blankets. Bad move for the middle aged ones! Sleeping on rocks is not a must do for the back and hips. Lesson learned!

(P.S.  I have never been so tired that I could not finish eating my candy before I fell asleep. Those must be some exhausted kids!)

Jacksen

Jacks had completely out grown his little 18 inch wheel bike he got for his 5th birthday, so he patiently waited until Matt found the perfect bike for him. We picked it up in Utah as we dropped Grace off and then made our way down to Arizona for the 4th.

 I don't know if there could be a boy more thrilled and excited to get a mountain bike. 

Summer Begins

Summer vacation began with a visitor. 

 Yay!! We love visitors!!!

Grace came to stay with us for a few weeks the first part of June. She ran track with Bennett and Jacks. She took a tumbling class with Jemma. She participated in swimming lessons with all 3 of them. They rode bikes and made money on a lemonade stand. They played at the park, and basically just enjoyed being a kid during summer time. 

Who doesn't love summer time?