Liz's post about our girls' weekend was perfect (and she remembered her camera) so I don't really have anything to add except for a few more photos from my mom.

Digging into my incredible slice of Viking cake here

Enjoying the beautiful weather and Seaport Village

A sidewalk artist's stacked-stone designs... amazing!

 It was a perfectly fun weekend.  I can't wait to do it again!

Sledding

Last night we got back (and I was worried for a while there that we wouldn't.... ran into a snow storm, icy roads, several car accidents/road closures) from spending a few days in Pinetop for some adventures in the snow.

I'm not sure why we wanted to leave our gorgeous desert winter and go freeze, but it was fun.

The kids (and Jay) had a great time sledding (I decided to forgo the sledding and just take photos).

I crack up at these photos because of our mismatched, ill-fitting, "vintage" show gear. Since we are desert dwellers we don't own any, so we have to make due with whatever we can find. Beggars can't be choosers. Jack's coat had a ski lift ticket attached to it.... from 1984.

Disneyland 2009

We took the kids to Disneyland for Fall Break. I never get tired of it! I am constantly amazed at what a great job they do, with everything....oh the detail! I wish we could go every year (so far it's been ever other year). But holy cow it's expensive! What's the deal with Collin being an "adult" now that he's TEN??????

We drove over on Wednesday, and stayed at the Howard Johnson across the street. It has a really fun water park which we took advantage of on Friday night.... it was hot and we were tired. It was a great break! We always go in October and it's always been cool, so we were surprised it was so warm.

We spent Thursday and Friday at Disneyland. We were joined by our friends for part of the day on Thursday, which was fun. Since our kids have tons of autographs and photos with characters from years past, we decided that this time we would not stand in line or go out of our way to see them. But we did have a fun moment with Alice and the Mad Hatter....

... and had Woody to ourselves for about 20 minutes.We discovered the best souvenir in the park.... silhouettes! You MUST visit the Silhouette studio on Main Street. It was amazing! This woman cut gorgeous silhouettes of our kids, in less than a minute each, with nothing but a piece of paper and a pair of scissors. Seriously cool! And considering how expensive all things Disney are, it's a bargain at $9... you actually get two copies that are mirror images (the paper is printed black on one side and folded, so you automatically get two) and they mount them for you.
These actually look like my kids!(Sorry for the blurry photos... I was shooting without a flash to avoid glare, and I was in a hurry.)

Some of the other highlights at Disneyland:

1) Riding in the front compartment of the Monorail with the operator... kudos to Collin for being brave enough to ask. The view was great and we got to chat with the operator and she told us a few interesting facts.
2) Eating dinner at the Blue Bayou... finally! We have always wanted to. It was expensive, but worth it. We had a great table close to the water. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. The kids were amazed at the "magic" inside that absolutely convinces you that you are "outside." It was so peaceful and relaxing.... great to get away from the craziness.

3) Making faces for the camera on "Splash Mountain." We rode several times (to get wet... like I said, it was hot) and realized that every photo had all the same expressions (not just us, everyone!).... either big smiling laugh, or freaked out look. So, we decided we would do the opposite... look mad, bored, etc. It was kind of hard because your natural reaction is to laugh. Here is the result.
Jay got reprimanded over the loud-speaker for standing up in the middle of the ride to take this photo. Apparently, there are hidden cameras everywhere.4) Jack's first time on the Indiana Jones ride. It was closed last time we went (he wouldn't have been tall enough then anyway). He loved it... great ride! He did NOT love Space Mountain... the Halloween version was a little too scary for him. We all love Big Thunder Mountain.

5) Fireworks! The Halloween Screams show was spectacular! Definitely worth waiting up for!

We spent Friday at California Adventure. I like the changes they are making to the park. The new Toy Story ride was fun. Jack and Mary were tall enough for California Screamin' this time, and they loved it. (I can only handle once on that ride... I guess I'm getting old!). Our favorite is still "Soarin' Over California." So cool!

Best souvenir at Cal. Adv.? Mr. Potatohead All-You-Can-Fit-in-the-Box. We had fun choosing pieces and stuffing the box full.

Other highlights of California Adventure:

1) Singing in line. While waiting for the Tower of Terror, I heard Jack singing quietly to himself. I asked him what he was singing, and he said, "Oh, just a little song I made up." I asked him to sing it for me. It's to the tune of "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man."

The Tower of Terror has shocks all around.
The Tower of Terror has shocks all around.
The Tower of Terror has shocks all around,
And the hotel is haunted now.

It was so funny. We all sang it the rest of the day.

2) Laughing our heads off (and kind of freaking out) on the giant ferris wheel. Man those swinging gondolas really SWING!

3) The Pixar Parade. Very cute and fun parade. We had good "seats" too.

4) The Genie at the Aladdin show was hilarious. We also had great seats, and only waited about 10 minutes.

5) Drawing lessons. "Drawn to the Magic" is a very fun way to get away from the noise and crowds, and get out of the sun.

When we finished up there Saturday night we drove over to stay the night with our friends who graciously put us up in their lovely home. Thanks guys! We went to church with them the next day and got to spend some time visiting before driving home.

It was a great trip!

Utah Trip - part 2

After spending three days at Brighton for the reunion, we headed south a little to visit my good friend from college. It was so fun to see her and her family.... it had been years. I wish we lived closer to each other. She has kids the same ages and genders as my kids. They had a blast.

Then we were off to Provo to visit Christian and Stephanie. I hadn't seen Stephanie since she was in the hospital here. It was so great to visit with them. Stephanie looks so good, and gets around so well. She really is a miracle!

I wanted to show my kids where I went to college, so we walked around BYU for a while. We took Claire and Jane with us. We would have taken Oliver too, but he had fallen asleep in the middle of playing with Jack at the house. (Claire took this photo. She did a great job!)We went to the Bookstore, and everyone picked out something from the candy counter. Then we walked around campus eating our candy. Then we ate dinner (after the candy) at the Cougareat. What memories! Campus has changed so much, but it is still so beautiful.Collin has several ASU (Jay's alma mater) shirts that Jay has bought him, so I thought it was only appropriate that we get Collin a BYU shirt. Of course, Mary and Jack wanted one too, so I obliged. Then Jay insisted that I get one for myself. I chose this one in pink. Thanks Jay. I wouldn't have gotten one otherwise, and would have had regrets.Since Oliver didn't get to go to BYU with us, and since our hotel this time had 3 beds instead of two, we invited Ollie to spend the night with us. We went swimming in the hotel pool (the first time my kids had been in an indoor pool.... that was a very foreign concept to them) and stayed up late eating BYU Creamery ice cream and watching TV. The next afternoon we headed back to Arizona, but not home yet. We drove through the corners of Colorado and New Mexico (4 states in one day) to the eastern part of Arizona to the cabin, where we stayed for the next week. Lots of my siblings were there with their families, so there were lots of cousins to play with and fun times. We spent the 4th of July in St. Johns, like we usually do, for all the small town festivities, and watched the fireworks in Show Low from the church lawn... the perfect spot.

It was a fun trip, but it was very long (2 weeks, the longest trip our family has ever taken) and we were ready to come home!

Utah Trip - part 1

The day after Mary's musical theatre performance, we started off on our trip to Utah for a family reunion. We decided to just drive half-way the night before, so we stayed at a really cheap (translation: dumpy) motel in Page, AZ. Yuck. The kids were astonished at how old and gross it was.... we had just stayed at a fancy resort the weekend before, so I think they had raised their standards pretty high. They were also pretty disappointed that the three of them had to share a bed. (They are getting kind of big for it, so I don't blame them.) Thankfully it was only one night.

The next day we drove the rest of the way to Brighton sky resort where we stayed with Jay's extended family. His uncle had arranged for wonderful accomodations, but there were LOTS of people, so the kids still had to share a bed. Though it was much better this time. (Mary is going to be pretty embarrassed if she ever sees this photo with her nightgown scrunched up to her waist.)
We had a great time in Brighton, visiting with family we don't see very often, eating lots of good food, taking hikes, and having talent shows. We went on lots of short hikes nearby with the younger kids, but Jay took Collin and an older cousin on a longer hike up to where we could there were patches of snow. Mary and Jack were disappointed that they weren't able to go on that one, so I took them for a walk around the lake. It was beautiful! We saw moose and deer, a family of ducks......... and snow! They were delighted, even though it was disgusting and dirty. (Those little desert rats are easily impressed.)

Staycation

We had a fun "staycation" this weekend at the Westin Kierland Resort. (They offer great summer rates for locals, since it's so stinking hot that no one wants to come here in the summer.) We had a blast hanging out by the pool, relaxing on the lazy river, and riding the water slide.
Yes, I had a blast on the slide too, but I'm not going to post that video.

The kids also got a kick out of the cottontail rabbits hopping all over the resort. They were so cute!

Fall Break

My kids are out of school this week for Fall Break, so Jay took a couple of days off work and we took a little trip up north. It was nice and relaxing. I did some sewing (a bunch of new pillow covers, and duvet covers for my boys' beds), we walked around the lake, sat by the fire and drank hot cocoa, did lots of reading, and Mary and I made this paper house from this cool website. (Yes, I know it's in Japanese or something, but you can still figure it out.... I did!) It was really fun. (Don't forget to save and print both the cut-outs and the instructions... they are two separate files.) It's not perfect (a little crooked), but I thought it turned out cute.
Today I visited Christian. He has made improvement in just the few days since I last saw him, looking better and getting stronger. He has talked to the kids a few times, seen Stephanie a few more times (though not as often as he would like), and doing lots of physical therapy. We spent most of the time talking about current events and the election. Fortunately, we agree on all issues, so it was a pleasant conversation.

Tomorrow night Jay and I are going to celebrate my birthday (which was this week... bleh! I'm getting old!) by staying at "Jay's Hotel." (I've been looking forward to this for about 3 years! Staying at the hotel... not my birthday.) And then we will stop by the fundraiser on Saturday. And my brother and his wife will be in town from Seattle. And on Sunday Marcus will be reporting on his mission to Germany/Austria. And then we'll have dinner with the whole family. Busy weekend, but a good one!

Ranch Trip - Part 2

We spent 5 days at the ranch. Of lot of that time was spent in the kitchen (a big giant open room), cooking, eating, washing dishes, visiting, and making crafts. A lot of the eating including the bounty from the huge garden (it looks more like a small farm!). Yum!
There was so much zucchini (enormous!) and we discovered a creative way to use it.... "Apple Crisp!" You would never know it was zucchini and not apples. It was delicious! It was so much fun to watch people eat it, and then see their shocked faces when we told them what it was. (see recipe below)

The younger girls spent lots of time making jewelry from the plethora of beads....
... and the teenagers and women made tote bags. Here is one of several I made.
"APPLE CRISP" aka "Ranch Apple" Crisp

8 C. zucchini, peeled, seeded and diced (about the size of canned pineapple chunks)*
2/3 c. lemon juice
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

In a large saucepan, cook zucchini and lemon juice over medium heat until zucchini is tender. Add sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and cook for a few minutes more. Remove from heat and let sit.

Crust:
4 C. flour
2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. cold butter
1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix flour, sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Stir 1/2 of mixture into the zucchini and spread in 10x15" jelly roll pan. Top with remaining crumb mixture and sprinkle on additional cinnamon is desired. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Serve warm with real whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

OPTIONAL VERSION: Cook the apples in a very large cast iron skillet and just bake it in the same pan.

*Make sure to peel the zucchini completely and remove ALL of the seeds!

Ranch Trip - Part 1

I have been so wrapped up in everything going on with Christian and Stephanie that I never finished posting about July and the beginning of August. Since this is my journal, I need to do some catching up, so, here goes:

The day after Mary's birthday (end of July) I worked at registration at the school. I am the treasurer of our school's parent organization so I had to collect dues and money for shirts. (I am so glad our school just collects $20 dues from each family once a year, rather then send the kids door-to-door selling junk.)

The next morning we left for the ranch. We took our time, making a couple of stops... first in Holbrook, where we visited the 100+ year old county courthouse that is now a museum. The building is beautiful, and was used until the mid-1970's. (the kids on an old wagon out front)
We explored the courtroom and the kids got to pose in the judge's bench. The had a law library still filled with old law books.
But the coolest part was the old jail. Here the kids posed in one of the cells (gross). They posed for the camera and smiled as usual. We told them to look sad instead. "Pretend you are in jail!"
Later we exited the freeway and drove part of historic Route 66, stopping in Gallup to visit a local historical society there.

We finally arrived at the ranch in the late afternoon. The ranch looks so good! It's been in our family for several generations so it's been showing it age. But my dad and brothers have made a lot of improvements over the last few years. I have to admit that I really enjoy going to the ranch now; I didn't used to because it wasn't very comfortable, but it is now... and lots of fun too!
P.S. See Stephanie's posts about the ranch trip here, here, here, here and here.

4th of July Weekend

We had a fun weekend up north, away from the heat. We drove up Wednesday evening to my parents' cabin in Pinetop. Then we spent the day on Thursday hanging out with Jay's family at his parents' place in Vernon (about 30 minutes away).

Grandma's latest acquisition

The cousins all played baseball on the front lawn

And of course they loved riding Grandpa's "four-wheelers"

We spent Friday (July 4th) in St. Johns (another nearby town) where we have every year since I can remember. My mom's sister lives there, and it's fun to visit with family and enjoy the small-town activities, like the BBQ and foot races at the park.

Jack took 3rd place.
Here is Jack showing off his prize quarter (1st place wins a dollar coin, 2nd place a 50-cent piece, and everyone gets a box of Cracker Jacks).

Mary took 2nd place last year, but didn't place this year. Same with Collin (for some reason I didn't get a photo).

I think Jay probably won't race again after he took a spill this year and may have cracked a rib! (Darn those sneaky pot holes in the grass!)

Mary had to climb her favorite tree... like she does every year.

On Saturday, we had a reunion with my dad's side of the family in Snowflake (yet another nearby small town). I have many happy memorizes of summer fun in Snowflake. We met at the park where all the cousins enjoyed playing together, and we did lots of eating, playing, visiting, etc. Jack with his buddies Sam and Juliette

Jack and Sam with their precious water balloons

My cousin took all the little kids for rides in the pony cart. What a treat!

Jack was too afraid to ride one of the big horses, but he finally got brave enough to ride the pony... with plenty of assistance from my awesome cousins. (The one in front in single... any takers?)

Here is Collin riding. Mary rode too, but apparently I didn't get a photo (though I did get some video). Hey, I even rode a horse for the first time in at least 15 years! Thank goodness there are no photos of THAT! (I think there is some video though... uh oh.)

Sunday we went to church in Pinetop and enjoyed more visiting and nice cool weather! My favorite thing to do when we go to the cabin is hang out and talk on the porch swing. Ahhh.

We decided to drive home Monday morning instead of fighting the Sunday afternoon traffic. Back to the heat. Bleh.