Trip to Prescott

We took a little trip to Prescott with my parents and stayed at Point of Rocks.  It was beautiful mixed in with some warm! The kids had a great time as they always do. Running around, getting dirty, climbing these amazing rocks, hiking to the lake, and eating treats.  They are just so adorable.  

I'm thankful my parents schedule these little getaways and then invite us to come along.  The kids love being in the motorhome and camping in general.   

These are precious memories for the kids to make with my parents and I know I will treasure them and they will too!

A Day at the Zoo

I let Cole skip school on Thursday while we went and spent a day at the zoo.  It was a nice surprise for him.  I should have expected it, but their behavior getting out the door and on the way to the zoo was rough.  Spawned out of excitement I'm sure.  Once we arrived it was much better.  Grammy and the 3 littles went on the train and the big kids and I went to pet the sting rays.  They haven't had a chance to do that in a few years, so they didn't even really remember doing it.  They really loved it this time.  They were finally big enough to get their hands in their and really pet them as they were swimming by.  There were lots of them and they were active because it was nearing feeding time. There were also three babies in the pool also.  

I learned a fun fact while we were standing there.  In order to mate the male sting rays, which are smaller, bite the females fins, flip them over and mount them for a quickie.  Sometimes, if the female is too large, two males will flip her and then take turns.  I thought that was so interesting.  The babies then come out rolled up like little burritos and then unfold when they hit the water.  There is then no maternal connection after birth.

Then the kids got to ride the carousel, which they ask to do all the time.  They had a great time with that.  After the sting rays and the train and the carousel we headed to the rear part of the zoo, where we seldom go, to see the animals on the way to the kids farm and petting zoo.  That ended up being a sort of flop because they really wanted to see (as we always do) the big cats and monkeys. We'll have to save that for next time because by 2:00pm they were all tired and ready to go (except for Cole of course).  

Overall, they had a great time.  We did some things we haven't done in a long time which was so fun.  We are thankful for Grammy and her buying us a membership.  THANKS GRAMMY!

Father Daughter Campout

We've done Legacy Adventure Camp with the twins and Cole and this time it was Brynn's turn.  She was SO EXCITED to spend two days with daddy.  It is such a neat thing.  They go up on Saturday morning, grab some breakfast on the run, and meet up with the group in Payson.  This time they went to Tonto Creek.
There was a nice quaint little group.  With the boys the groups have been about double, maybe 40 kids and adults together.  This time there was maybe 20 dads and daughters.  They make a craft, shoot bows and arrows (which just happened to be pink), hiking, fire starting and so much more fun.

They slept in Justin's truck rather than a tent, since the weather was getting a little bit chilly up there.  She would have preferred the tent!  They had a wonderful time and made some special memories.

In the evenings the dads gather up to talk and share, and be encouraged.  They also have a time of sharing in which the dads speak to their daughters.  It really is special.

They get a t-shirt, water bottle, group picture, craft, and all the food is provided.  It's really such a stellar experience (so they say of course).  It's also very affordable. You can see more about Legacy Adventure Camp here.

Father Son Campout with Cole

Cole went with Justin to Legacy Adventure Camp.  It was his turn.  They had a great time throwing hatchets, shooting arrows, starting fires, hiking by the lake, geo caching, and making notebooks.  One on One time with Cole is always so good. He thrives on it.  It is challenging I'm sure to be the oldest of 6 kids.  This quick time away is refreshing for them all.  

It is a fun tradition we've started and the kids love it.  Next up is Brynn then the twins again.  They run enough camps each year for everyone to get a turn to go with Daddy!

Justin said Cole cried when it was Justin's turn to share with him in front of the group.  My tenderhearted, tough exterior boy! Sure love him.

Rained Out

We went up to Flagstaff to spend the day with my parents, who were camping, and hopefully go to the county fair up there.  This is an annual trip we've been making for years, going all the way back to when I was a kid. 

We were RAINED OUT! So, the kids couldn't go to the fair but the weather was nice and cool.

We let the kids play and hike in the rain and get all wet and muddy.  They had fun...we tolerated the mud and the rain!! 

Landon was up there too, a friend of Cole's, so the kids had a great time playing together.




I happened to remember that NCS had their first game up at the NAU Skydome after seeing a school bus from another school in the Target parking lot while we were grabbing some lunch.

So, we decided we would go to Target, buy fresh clothes and shoes for the kids and Justin (that is not the cheapest thing to do by the way!), and head to the game at the dome.  It was very fun to be there, out of the rain, with what is now Cole's school too, and cheering on the Crusaders!