Monday, February 1, 2016

Fall Break!



Normally when a big school break comes I get all grumpy.
I have to deal with whining kids proclaiming that they are bored!
Lately school breaks have been more welcoming to me.
I don't know if its because they are older and can entertain themselves.
Or if its because they have friends in the neighborhood to play with now.

For most of the Fall break we bummed around and did nothing.
It was kind of nice!
On Thursday we went and saw Pan at Fat Cats with cousins.
We smuggled in Soda Shop drinks and got free popcorn.
Afterwards the men meet up with us at Gecko Grill for dinner!
It was super fun!



We did plan a fun excursion to BEARIZONA in Flagstaff for Friday!
I had never been, so I was excited to see these bears up close and personal.
It was pouring rain on us the whole drive up.
I was super nervous we would get there and the bears would be off in hiding.
I kid you not, as we were nearing the park, the rain stopped and the most beautiful blue sky appeared with fluffy white clouds floating around.
I quickly yelled at the kids to hop out of the cars so I could take a picture!
You can see that the ground is still wet from the rain minutes before we arrived.


We met up with Stephanie and her kids, and Sunni and Travis and their kids.
I am not an animal lover, but I must say  it was so intriguing to see these
wild creatures out and about.
Lindi would NOT get out of her car seat!
I would tell her to come sit on my lap in the front so she could see better.
Nu uh, she was going to have nothing to do with those animals!
The other kids were practically spilling out of the windows trying to get a better look!






I sent this in the group text saying I got a good shot of Casey, hehe.


At the end of the drive through portion, you can go see a bird show.
Dang, those things fly close to your head!!
Hence Lindi grabbing onto Casey for dear life!
I was about to join her, I hate birds.



The weather was starting to get dark and stormy again so we hurried and
got our pictures in front of the giant wood carved bear!
Once we got in our cars it started down pouring again.
I cant believe the only 2 hours in the day it didn't rain was the exact time we
were there.
A bear-acle! (miracle:)


We checked into our rooms at the Little America.
Such a cozy, quaint hotel. I love it there.
We decided on some good BBQ for dinner.
We looked up some suggestions on yelp and come to find out
Stephanie had eaten at this certain one that looked promising.
She said it was in a weird location, in the basement of a mini mall.
And it shared space with a clothing store much like the Closet in CA.
Sold! Say no more. We are on our way!

The food was GO-OD.
We got the meat sampler and went to town!
And of course we had to do some shopping afterwards:)
This pond with fish kept the littles entertained.
Of course we picked up Dairy Queen for dessert then headed back to
the hotel for the rest of the night.



They thought the pack n play was a great toy.
They would jump in and out then I joked saying it was time for bed and
that they both were going to sleep in there together.
They seemed fine with that!


For breakfast we went to this AMAZING restaurant with big plates of
homemade food. I wish I could remember the name of it!
Hot chocolate cheers all around!
And right behind Lane was a corner with a toy kitchen set for kids to play with.
Kept Lindi occupied most of the meal.
It was a 2 thumbs up experience!


I found a pumpkin patch on-line that I thought would be fun to go to.
I guess this was the first year Flagstaff has ever had a pumpkin patch!
Say what?!
That explained the crowds.
As we were handing over our credit cards to pay for the astronomical pricy
tickets, a man said that they had a groupon.
Thanks for the tip buddy!
Half off was waaay better and totally worth it.
As we waited in line for our hay ride, the kids ran around and looked at the horses.



The driver was nice to let each child take a turn at the reins!
It was a long hay ride, 30 minutes!
But it was really fun and the kids didn't get bored.
Plus being in the forest surrounded by big green trees made it an authentic ride!
Way better than Mother Natures wimpy hay ride!




Afterwards we picked pumpkins and rode the pony ride and chilled in the gorgeous weather.




On the way back to the hotel we picked up Sonic and hit the hot tub!
We were there a good 2 hours.
The old people were starting to hate us that they couldn't come soak in peace and quiet!
And to dry off they played soccer in the wet, cold grass!
Crazy kids.


We got dressed and ready for dinner.
Travis and Sunni had to go home that night but we ate at
Someburros before they hit the road!

We went back and had a pj party!


It was 10pm and they were begging for cheetoh's, why not?!


Dallin literally fell asleep with his hand in the bag, lol!



The next morning we ate the most amazing breakfast buffet at the Little America.
I'm still dreaming about it. Even the oatmeal was heavenly, and I don't like oatmeal!



Then we packed up and headed home!
It was a great Fall break.
Now we are waiting for Spring Break to get here!






Summer odds and ends




Welp, when you loose your hard drive to your computer you get WAY backed
up on blogging!! Here is my attempt at catching up!



The Barton's invited us and the Yamamoto's to a day at the lake!
They rented jet ski's and boy, it was a fun filled day!
I am a water girl.
I LOVE the sun and this was a day in paradise for me.
We left early, around 6am and stayed until about 4pm.
We found a perfect grassy, shaded area on the "beach" of Canyon lake to set up camp.
We took turns tubing behind the jet ski's and relaxing in the big blow up couch.
We ate and played, and swam and ate, and relaxed and ate... you get the picture:)











 Before we got all wet, I had Misty take our family picture with her nice camera.
It ended up being our Christmas card picture!


This girl has been the busiest child out of the 3.
For some reason she thinks its super fun to dump out her hair rubber bands...
every flipping day!
I made a mental note to stop buying the package of 1,000!!!


We met up with my seeesters and my mom to try the new
hopping breakfast joint in downtown Gilbert, Snooze!
It was good, not super spectacular.
But I'll eat out anywhere if I don't have to cook:)
Lindi sure loved those blueberry pancakes.
My shirt took one for the team.




I took the kids to our old neighborhood pool for variety.
They love to run then jump over that step.
Boys and their never ending energy!!

 Besides being a stinker, she sure has an imagination!
I caught her taking her babies to the movies.
I love the set up and how she got all dressed up with her high heels on.
She makes life fun.


 
And this, lol!!!!!
Besides being a stinker and having a wild imagination,
she is an observer!!
I had to pee in a cup for my yearly exam (TMI?:/)
She took note and just HAD to follow suite.
Learning the ropes early!


Scarlett was blessed!
Anything having to do with baby Scarlett we are all over.


Somehow these 2 get a photo shoot anywhere we go!



Swimming all the way through September!
After school the neighbor kids all liked to take a dip:)


Kid soup:)

Lane played Fall baseball for the first time.
Sadly I don't have any pictures of him playing, just these cute kiddos who
came to cheer him on!


Grammy and Papa had a fun water day in their backyard.
They rented this huge blowup slide and had pizza and ice cream!




It was all calm and dandy until the big boys decided to show up on the playground
(Casey and Travis).
Then somehow it became a game of who could kick the person down the slide!
See Peyton going down backwards?!
It was not for the weak and no mercy was shown!


Here I am getting tossed down

At one point there were so many of us at the top trying to tackle them, the slide almost tipped over!

And this is epic, both Sunni and I getting thrown down at the same time!
Haha, our stomachs hurt from laughing so hard!


 We planned a little get- a- way to a rodeo in Tucson with Sunni and Travis.
We picked up some snacks to eat on the drive.
I think we were worried we would starve, lol!

We stayed at the J.W. Marriot.
It was nice!!
We got a suite with a living room so we could stay up and play
games at night.
We hurried and changed into our swim suits and went swimming for a couple of hours.
Then showered and headed to dinner before the rodeo.
We went to Flemming's.
Holy yuuuummm!
I've never had a steak that was so good in my life.




The rodeo was a blast!
It was my first time at a legit rodeo.
I loved the clown that would dance around and interact with the audience.
We hit up a homemade ice cram parlor afterward then headed back to the hotel for games until 2am!

We slept in, ordered room service for breakfast and played some more games.
The plan was to go home that afternoon, but we weren't ready to leave!
I text Alison who was babysitting for us to see if we could stay another night, she said no problem.
Yay!
We went and saw a movie, then had dinner and played more games.
It was a much needed vacation, without kids!!


We were babysitting Olive Bo- Bolive one day.
Usually these 2 play great, which they did.
But they were being a little too quiet  so I went to check on them.
When I came upon this, I gasped.
Not only was conditioner slathered all over Olive head to toe, but they smeared the whole
shower! I had a good chuckle, sent some pictures to Stephanie, and cleaned her all up.


Not 30 minutes later did they get quiet again.
This time it was the bathtub with the body wash!
I wish twins upon no one!!