Jam packed Weekend Away

This past weekend, Ben and I took a trip to California (without kids) to attend his sisters wedding. They were getting married at the Newport temple, which was minutes from our good friends from college, the Hellewell's, who live in Laguna Beach. We stayed with them for our trip. We packed every minute with something. We left Friday, after the kids went to school. It was so weird not having the kids in the car. We listened to some of our old music, and I tried to sleep a bit. I can't believe the only time I can actually sleep, I forget to bring a pillow. We stopped at In and Out on the way, and met up with Matt and Nicole for lunch. We then went over to the Coach outlet. Neither one of us walked out of there with a purse. That is pretty amazing since we are both Coach purse connoisseur's! We hit a few more stores, and then headed out to avoid traffic. We got to the Hellewell's and visited for an hour, and then got ready and left for the wedding dinner.

The dinner was nice, allowing Ben and I got get to know her fiancee whom we had never met, a little better, along with his family. The seemed to be very laid back....a California trait!;)

After the dinner, we headed back to play games and spend the rest of the evening with our friends.

The next morning our friends made yummy crepes and then we headed off to the beach. It just wasn't any beach. It was a private beach where their parent's have property. Its called Three Arches Bay. It was so NICE!! (I can't believe I didn't take my camera!) It was the cleanest beach, and had all the amenities (volleyball, grills, picnic table, and nice bathrooms) and no traffic! It also had great waves, fun tide pools, etc. The kids would have LOVED it. I definitely want to take them there! It was hard to pull ourselves away. We finally pulled ourselves off our towels, and quickly got some lunch at our favorite Mexican food spot in Laguna called Baja Tacos. It seriously had the best shrimp tacos I have ever had. We then rushed home to get ready for the sealing.

This was the first time I had ever been to the Newport Temple. It was a beautiful mini temple. It was a beautiful day for us, but a hot one for the locals. They were all complaining about the 80 degree weather. LOL They made a beautiful couple. Her dress was a lot like mine. Know what that means if that style is coming back around? It means I'm old! Ha!!! (Or that I was ahead of my time! Double ha!) Here are a few shots after the ceremony.

After pictures, we rushed back to go to a reunion of sorts that was going on at a friend of ours. There were several people from college that we haven't seen since college. It was great catching up, and was hard to leave so quickly, after not seeing them for so many years.

We then headed back for the reception. The grooms parents had turned their backyard into a great reception area. They had a tent and a dance floor, lit with white lights and a colored disco light. The food was exceptional, Maggianos and some Hawaiian food. One of the better backyard weddings I have seen in awhile.

After getting some dancing in, Ben and I left to spend some last few hours with the Helewells before we went to bed. We were planning on leaving that night, but decided a full nights rest would be more safe. We were up early, and home before church. Ben took the kids to church, and I stayed home with Sophia. I hadn't slept all night, and the 3 hour nap was much needed. I'm still trying to play catch up around here.

The last two time we went to Laguna I have gotten really homesick for California. I so miss the mild summers, where you can take your kids outside for whatever activity you want to do. I miss the summer bike rides, trips to the park and beach etc. It was so nice driving around with the windows down and feeling the cool breeze on my face and looking around and seeing all the beautiful vegetation. Of course, Ben just looks around and sees traffic and a state that is bankrupt! I guess I'm just still a California girl living in Arizona. Good thing I like it here, too!

Back to School 2010

Seriously, I really have a 5th grader??? How did that happen??? I just can't believe how old my babies are getting. I think that's another reason I have a hard time with school starting up again, besides the fact that they are gone from me so much. I miss them, and the house seems empty.

The first day of school started bright and early at 6:30. I decided that we needed to get up a half an hour earlier than last year, so mornings could be less stressful, and so scripture study didn't feel so rushed. It was a great change. The kids were ready in plenty of time. Piano practiced, chores done, etc with a half an hour to spare. That was worth getting up early.

I drove them and walk with them to campus the first day.

Ethan was more interested in sitting his stuff down and playing on the playground. It was a challenge to get him to stay long enough for this picture. He said, "Why do I need a picture, she was my teacher last year? Can't I just go and play?" LOL

Boston looked around for friends and didn't want me to take his picture.

Aubrie found her friends and chatted till the bell rang.

Then it was off to take Sophia to preschool. She was so excited, and when we got there, she didn't give me a second look as she ran off to play with friends.

When I left I wasn't too sad, probably because I was going to the gym, and would have had her in the daycare anyway. I really started missing her when I went to the grocery store. It was lonely not having anyone with me. I think I chatted it up with the cashier more than I normally do. It will be really hard for me when she goes to Kindergarten. I will admit that preschool will come handy for visiting teaching, dr. appts, and volunteering at the school. But beyond that, I'm going to miss having her around for my daily errands and routine.

When I picked her up she was so excited to show me her green stamp, and she was so happy. I'm glad that she finally gets to go to school; something she has been wanting to do since Christmas!

The kids had a great day at school. Boston seemed to snap out of his whole "I hate my class", and seemed to be liking it just fine. Ethan is so laid back, he would be happy with anyone. Aubrie likes her teacher, and loves that her best friend is in her class. There is also a new boy she thinks is cute, that likes her back. I keep thinking this puppy love is too early, but when Ben and I think back we remember liking people in 5h grade. Luckily it's not too big of a deal. Today she said, "If he wants to stop liking me, it's ok with me. I'm just a fifth grader you know." I think it was just great for her to know she is likeable... and why wouldn't she be? She is full of personality, and is so cute. Of course, they never take your word for it! ha ha

I think this is going to be another GREAT school year.

Tea Party

Gotta love and record these precious moments, because they won't last long!

The Last Hurrah

The Saturday before school, we spent all morning cleaning the house. I haven't been on top of things during the summer, like I normally am....my attempt at letting go! So we all got our lists of things to do and got to it. I told the kids there would be some prizes for the fastest, and the best. It was no surprise when the first done was Boston. It never takes him longer than an hour to complete any list of chores I give him. Aubrie on the other hand is thorough and takes forever. After some swimming, Ben and I decided that one last night out with the kids would be a good way to end the summer. Some how we needed to reward the winners, so we wrapped it in. We let Aubrie pick what restaurant we would be going to that night (we were counting on Ah-So), and Boston the movie (there was really only one to choose from....the Kitty Galore movie). It was a good time. Sophia sat through everything. It's amazing how much easier things are getting with her. Life is good!

Gotta work the chopsticks (balance beam injury on her eye)

Blessing the Cat!

School starts tomorrow! I hate it. We have had so much fun with the kids this summer and now school is going to get in the way of continuing that fun. I know that the kids are all very excited for tomorrow and have already laid out there new clothes for the first day of school. Boston is really excited becuase he gets to wear his new shoes and clothes. It has become a tradition to give the children priesthood blessings at the beginning of the school year. This year was no exception. The kids all took turns getting blessings. They were each excited to hear what their blessing would be and what they could look forward to.

I started with Aubrie and then blessed each of the children in order. Before we started we spoke about the priesthood and the importance of the priesthood. I hope that Boston and Ethan understand and appreciate the priesthood and work hard to attain it. The kids really enjoyed the blessings. As we finised with the blessings and continued discussing the new schedule for the new year I looked over at Sophia. Sophia had her hands on the cats head and was quietly giving Tilly a blessing. She even finished the blessing correctly. I guess that she had been paying attention to what had been going on! We all got a great laugh out of that. Sophia got a little embarassed, but did not mind and continued blessing the cat. After blessings were done I looked at the kids and told them the only thing that really makes a blessing successful is to finish with ice cream. The kids were all excited and ran into the kitchen to start building their ice cream dreams. We all had ice cream and sat around talking. It was a great time. The kids then ran outside quickly to get one last game of teetherball in before bed. I doubt the kids are going to sleep very well tonight with thinking about school tomorrow. I pray that they will have a wonderful, exciting and safe school year. I am sure they will. We are so lucky to have each of the children that we do. They are all a wonderful blessing to our lives and each one of them is essential to the eternal happiness of our family.

Father and Sons again?

I got a call from my good friend Brett Jarman saying that he wanted to take his boys camping up at Fossil Creek and said that I should bring my boys along as well. I agreed and we decided to head up Wednesday afternoon and then return on Thursday. I was able to get some work done early that morning and then returned home to pack the truck and get Ethan. Ethan and I packed everything up and then headed to Wal Mart to get supplies. Lots of candy and fun food. I even got some nectarines! what is wrong with me? Boston was at a birthday party for his friend Brigham. We picked up Boston and then headed up to the camp site. The camp site is up toward Strawberry. It took us an hour and forty minutes to get to the camp site. We got there and got our things out and set up. We had a quick dinner and then headed to the river. I had no idea what to expect. Brett was going on and on about how cool it was. We appeared to be in the middle of the desert without much around. When we got over by the river we were all blown away. It was amazing. There was a river with lots of little waterfalls and lots of cool pools to swim in. It was cool that this was here and we never knew about it. We were able to swim and go on a rope swing for a couple of hours. The boys had a great time. We headed back to camp and changed into dry clothes. Brett brought his Ipad up and we hooked the sound up through the Titan and the boys sat in the car and watched Cloudy with a chance of meatballs. They thought that was pretty cool. Brett and I stayed out by the lantern and watched the shooting stars and talked. It was a good time. The stars were brilliant out there in the middle of nowhere. The movie finished and the boys were ready for bed. It was still very warm. I thought for sure that it would cool off, but it pretty much stayed warm all night long. I had fun wrestling the boys for position on the air mattress all night. We woke up and had donuts for breakfast and then headed back to the river for a longer hike up the river. We drove a little farther up the river this time and got out. We found the river and began hiking. It was amazing. We would walk up the river to a waterfall and then go over to find a swimming hole. We kept doing this for over an hour. Finally we came to a large waterfall. It was roughtly 30 feet high. The boys were very impressed as was I. We hiked up and jumped off. I jumped off with Ethan and Boston jumped by himself! I know I would not have jumped from that height when I was his age. No way! You could also sit inside the waterfall and it would push you off the edge. It was really cool. We stayed there and swam for a couple of hours. I had to get the boys back to Phoenix for a 2:00 p.m. dental appointment. We started hiking back. On the way back we found a snorkle mask and a frisbee. It was fun to find stuff along the way. The only bummer about the trip was all the trash that people had left behind. There was trash everywhere. It was too bad to see so much garbage everywhere. Brett said that we was going to bring the priests back up there for a service project and clean it all up. The boys and I got back to the truck and then headed back for home. It was a great trip and I was glad to have done that with the boys. We got back home and changed quickly and then ran over to the dentist. I then headed out and got some work done. I love my boys very much and had a great trip with them.

Looking to the Future

So another interesting conversation with Boston while talking about birthdays that went something like this....

Boston: "The Sixteenth birthday is the most important"

Me: "Isn't the twelfth? That's when you get the priesthood!"

B: "I know, but when you turn 16 you have the priesthood, get to drive a car and date."

Me: "Your not thinking about dating now are you?"

B: "Well of course I am, I have to find a wife and get married and have a family you know".

Me: "But dating before your mission should be practice at getting to know people"

B: "Well I'll find someone and they can wait for me while I'm on my mission. Hmmm, but maybe they won't be there when I get back. Or maybe they will. But if they won't I guess I'll just have to find a new girl and CHASE her! Ok, maybe I'll just date in groups"

Me: Well you don't have to always date in groups. Maybe you and a buddy can ask two girls out and that way you can practice your dating skills, have fun, and see what kind of girl you like. You know just have fun"

B: "I know Mom, that's what I was saying"

Me: "Ok, a quiz before you get your sandwich (its lunchtime). What is the most important quality you need to look for in a girl?"

B: "Ummm.......(Pause).......that she is BEAUTIFUL!?"

Well...at least he is thinking about his mission and having a family!

What is the worth of a soul?

I have to record something funny Boston said yesterday. He got ten dollars for reading one of his books, and as he was seperating his money into tithing, mission etc, he started to count up his mission money. He had saved and additional 54 dollars to put in his mission account. He was feeling pretty good about that, and then I told him I proud of him saving for that, because he is making it a priority, and he'll be glad when he is older because its expensive to go. He asked how much, and when I told him it was about 10 thousand dollars, he had a look of disbelief in his eyes. I said, "Isn't that a small price to pay if you can save ONE soul?" He looked at me and said, "Well, maybe two souls, but not one!" I tried not to laugh!

The dreaded Meet the Teacher Night!

So earlier this week I realized I could check Power School (a progam online set up to monitor your kids work progress) to see who the kids teachers would be. Aubrie got a teacher she didn't want, and Bostong didn't get Aubrie's 3rd grade teacher. He was really disappointed with that. Ethan wasn't signed up for pwer school, so his would be a surprise. For Aubrie and Boston, the anticipation came with who would be in their class.

Ethan's meet the teacher was first. I thought he would either be in Boston's first grade teachers class, or he would have his Kinder teacher who moved up to first. I would have been happy with either. When we got there, I realized how much I wanted him with his Kinder teacher when I realized how happy I was when I saw his name on her list. Not only was his name onher list, but so were all the other Mormon kids that were in her class last year, along with two other Mormon kids from our ward. So there are 5 kids from our Ward in his class. There were a few other Moms that I knew from last year, whose kids were back in Ms. Nebel's, aand we were all smiling ear to ear, elated that we got to spend another year together at parties, fieldtrips, etc! Ethan surpisingly seemed indifferent, and was more interested in playing on the playground, and getting the free ice cream in the Lunchroom. I had fun catching up with parents I hadn't seen all summer.

The most stressful part for me was waiting to see who was in Aubrie and Boston's class. I asked around and got postive feedback about their teacher, so that made me feel better. It just came down to who they had in their classrooms. As we were waiting, Aubrie's best school friend found her and they both had the same teacher. Aubrie was quickly much more relaxed, and opotomisitc. Suddenly the teacher she didn't wan't was the teacher she did want. She had fun running around finding her school friends as we waited for the doors to her hall to open. Once the hall was opened, it was funny to see the kids run around to each classroom checking out to see who was in each class. After meeting Aubrie's teacher, I rushed down to the 3rd grade hall, hoping to get there before Boston (he was playing a game of chess with his chess teacher in the lunch room). My timing was perfect as we both got to his hall at the exact moment. Good think I got there when I did, too. Boston was so dissapointed that none of his freinds were in his class. He started to look at the other teacher's lists and kept asking me to switch him to this teacher, and then another, teacher, etc. After looking at all the other classes, the tears started to swell. I felt so bad for him, but felt confident that he was placed with the right teacher. I told him that Heavenly Father knows where he needs to be, and he needed to have Faith in that. This is the first year Boston has EVER cared about whose class he is in. Luckily Boston makes friends fast, and I know he will be ok. It's just heartbreaking now. Overall, I feel good about this year, except for the fact that class sizes are SO BIG! Wondering where all that tax money we voted for the school's is going? Grrrr!

First Family Campout

While the boys have been on many camp outs with Ben, Aubrie was starting to feel a little ripped off. We realized that Sophia was old enough for camping, and so we decided it was time for our family's first camp out. I do have some requirements when it comes to camping. First I need a bathroom, and secondly I need a table. So I brainstormed at what the best camp experience would be, and I called and made reservations for a campsite by Slide Rock. We decided a practice run would be the best idea, so one day would be a great way to test the waters. I quickly realized, as I started getting ready, that there is a lot to camping. Figuring out the food, alone, is quite the chore. And all the stuff you have to bring fills up the car quickly. The car was completely PACKED. All of us had things at our feet, even. I told Ben, when we travel elsewhere, its not like we have to pack our beds, oven, furniture, etc! The camp site by Slide Rock that I chose turned out to be amazing. Our site was right by the river, and so while we were setting up camp, the kids got their water shoes on and played in the water.

Sopia didn't waste anytime getting in her swimsuit!

It took longer than we expected to get up our tent, but besides that, camp was up and running pretty quickly.

Ben and the kids (minus Aubrie) got their suits on and went swimming in the river, while Aubrie and I went to the general store and walked the camp grounds.

We then started dinner, which was shish-kabobs, salad, and fruit. The shish-kababos turned out great.

Ben brought this game where you have to throw two weighted balls attached by a rope over bars. I'm sure it has a name. The kids had fun playing that.

Before it got dark, we took a walk, and then came back for S'mores.

Ben got this great Popeye shot of me, as smoke got in my eyes!

flaming marshmellow!!

a mouthful!

After S'mores, the kids and Ben sat around the fire, while Boston and I played that game. Then suddenly we heard Aubrie yell, "Skunk!" Before we knew it two skunks were walking around our camp ground. They then ran over the embankment that went to the river. When we looked over, there was a whole family of skunks. There was six in total. Ben quickly ran and got our neighboring campers to check it out. They hung around our campsite for about 10 minutes. At first I was really worried one of us would get sprayed, but after awhile it was fun to watch them.

"please don't spray our tent".....what we were praying for at that moment

After the skunks left and it got dark, we all piled in our tent, and played video games. Great camping activity, huh? LOL I do have to give Aubrie some credit, as she thought to bring her book and catch up on her reading!

I passed out early, and woke up around 4:30 to a deflated air mattress, and having to use the restroom. Besides that is was an uneventful night, thankfully. Sophia slept the whole time and no kids woke up complaining of cold, bathroom breaks, etc!

We finally pulled ourselves out of the tent around 7:30. We started breakfast, which was pancakes, eggs and sausage. The eggs and sausage turned out great, but the pancakes were a little doughy! We'll have to try another method with those next times. After breakfast, we broke down camp and headed to Slide Rock.

Slide Rock was fun, but the water was very cold; 65 degrees! I've been wanting to go to Slide Rock since we moved here, so it was nice to finally do it with the whole family. We stayed there for a few hours and then headed home.

The hike to find a good spot!

Checking out the "slide"

First time down for Aubrie

.....and Boston

Ben and Sophia

Trying to walk on mossy rock

We chalked the experience up to a be a success, and defiantly want to do it again. On the way home I really took in the scenery, and was amazed at how beautiful Sedona is. Even though the summers are torture, Arizona has some pretty amazing sites. As I saw licence plates from all over the country, and people from other countries, at Slide Rock, I realized how great it is that I live close to so many amazing sites, ie: Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zions, Sedona, etc. How someone can deny that there is a God when there are so many amazing natural wonders is beyond me!