Time with the Bigs!

Since Sophia and Ethan started a whole week earlier than Aubrie and Boston, that left some time for me to do some things with just the two of them.   After camping, I took Aubrie and Boston out for a day of bowling and lunch.  Boston had his best game ever, and all of us broke 100.  The lanes were much different than I was used to, but once I got down how the ball responded to the slickness, I was able to correct and do ok.  These are the lanes Aubrie and Boston had their class on, so they rocked it!  After bowling we spent some time in the arcade, and then we headed out for lunch..In and Out!  I showed them all the scriptures on the cups and wrappers and we looked them up on our phone.  It's amazing how many people don't even know those are there.  We had a good time just the three of us.  It was the last day of fun before school begun!  Boo hoo!

"Our Hawkins" camping trip!

Sophia is so funny.  Some of the things she says are just cute and unique.  One of those is that instead of saying "The Hawkins"  she says "Our Hawkins".   I guess she has claimed them!  Like the Oklahoma Land Rush.  She has staked her claim and they are ours.  Well this year we finally thought things through early enough to be able to book a night of camping at our favorite spot in Sedona...Cave Springs.   The camp sites are shady, there a a lot of bathrooms, and a shower (though we have never used it), there is a small market, in case we need anything, and the river runs right by the campsites.   Because it's so wonderful, you have to book months in advance.  The only night we could find two campsites on together on  a weekend (when we booked the end of April) was the first Friday after Candeo started. So we pulled the kids out of school around noon and headed up there.
Once we got our camp set up, we headed over to the river.  After they spend time there, we started dinner.  We had foil dinners, and the Hawkins had hot dogs.   We then enjoyed some smores, and the kids had fun playing games in the tent, while the adults hung out by the fire to talk.  The following morning we had breakfast and broke down camp and headed to Slide Rock.  I forgot they opened at 8 and filled up quick.  So we had to park about a half mile down the road. (It reminded me of Hanauma Bay).  The walk wasn't too bad.  Once we got off the side of the road (which was very nerve racking) and into the trees, it felt more like a hike.
The kids had fun in the water, and going down natures slides.  I guess I should say most of the kids. The water was cold, and Sophia complained a lot about being cold.  Since she has absolutely no body fat, she had a hard time keeping warm.  After spending a lot of time on the slides, we had lunch, and then the kids convinced us to take them by the bridge where people were jumping off huge rocks.
At first it looked very intimidating, and I was thinking there was no way any of us were going to do it.  Then Dave suggested we all do it.  He took Macy, and Ben followed with our three older, while Tirza and I stayed with the others to watch.   Ben was the first one to jump off the second to highest rock, which was not quite has high as Navajo falls at Havasupai.  Ethan was next.  Ethan isn't too afraid of trying things.  Especially like that.  Boston was a little more hesitant, but he finally did it. Aubrie wasn't even going to try.  She climbed down and did the smaller rock.  After watching Sophia wanted to go. That was surprising.  Once we got there, she complained she was too cold to jump in, but Ben grabbed her and jumped in with her.  I jumped off the smaller rock as well, and Ethan jumped off both several times, with not prodding or encouragement.  If any kids in our family was going to be an X games kid, it would be him for sure!
After the Cliff jumping, we headed back to a lower slide we hadn't done yet.  After some time there, we headed out, and got ice cream at Wendy's.   We were in a huge time crunch, because Aubrie had a 5:30 soccer game that night.  I really loved camping, and I could easily have stayed there a few days.  Some people set up volleyball nets, and bring their kids bikes so they can bike around the campsites.  That's how I grew up camping with my cousins.  It was a 5 day trip, and the campground became our home!  They were great memories!
I didn't take pictures, but luckily Tirza did.  We don't have any from Slide Rock, but non one was going to carry a camera on that hike!

Favorite Pass Time of the Littles

Favorite spot for all the kids!

Real Madrid, BABY!

Well, one of Boston's dreams came true....going to a  Real Madrid game.  Being we are all soccer fans, we all were looking foward to it, but Ethan and Sophia ended up getting lost on our phones, eventually.  The rest of us had a great time watching!  It's such good soccer!!!    The cool thing about it, was the announcer is our friend in the Ward, and he just started announcing at this stadium.   (He is the new Cardinal's announcer)   So we got to hear his voice the whole time.  We had fun texting him and giving him a hard time about all the beer announcements he had to keep making.   I'm glad that the whole family got to go!  It was a fun experience. 

First Day in July??

Ethan and Sophia's first day came way too early!  July 31st just seems so much early than August 1st!  I hated that it started so early.  I cherish my summers with the kids, and I felt like I got robbed of precious summer days with them.  The school they go to, Candeo, is excellent.  So the sacrifice was worth the early start.  Luckily Boston and Aubrie don't start for another week, so that made the transition much easier.  First it was nice having the older two home, because I was dreading Sophia going full day.  I knew I was going to be lonely without her.  So having them here eased that pain.  Sophia and Ethan had a great day.  They love their teachers.  Sophia has Ms. Symchak.  She said she is nice, and has a daughter, Sophia, who is also a first grader.  Ethan has his first male teacher, Mr. Moeller.  He was excited when he found out he had him.   This year the Hawkins are going to Candeo as well.   I will be taking to school and Tirza will be picking them up.  It's fun to see all those kids get out of the car and walk to the playground together.  Hoping this is a great year for them.

20 years? Can't be!

This past weekend I attended my 20 year reunion.  I can't believe it came up so fast.  The ten year seemed to take forever, and the 20 year came in a flash.  At first I was excited to go, when events started to be planned.  Then I wasn't sure if I wanted to go.   Ben decided to go with me, and to make a fun trip out of it.  The first night was a mingle at the Prime Bar.  At first it was a little weird, since Ben didn't know anyone, and also for the fact that I hadn't seen these people, outside of facebook for 10 to 20 years (depending if they came to the 10 or not).   Ben and I hadn't eaten dinner, we basically landed, went to the hotel, and got ready to go.  So we left around 10 for dinner.  The music was way too loud to talk to anyone, anyway.  So we took off.  After dinner, we stopped at Braums and continued my summer ice cream addiction.  Mmmmm I forgot how yummy Braums was.  Oh how I miss you Braums!  Unfortunately, my stomach caused me to miss out on some fun.  Fun I'm not sure Ben would have been up for anyway.  A group of people went to Beverly's pancake house later that night, and had a blast.  Oh well.   I needed sleep for the following day, as we were taking a trip up to Tulsa.
        Before I left Phoenix, I contacted Courtney's husband and we arranged a surprise lunch.   They were in Tulsa for her sons, Reid, birthday.   So they were seeing a movie and getting lunch afterward.  We waited at the Abuelo's for them. When she walked in, I walked up behind her and covered her eyes.  When she turned around, she seemed more stunned than excited.  It was a weird delayed reaction.  She kept saying later that it wasn't registering with her at first, because she saw all my posts in Oklahoma City.   Luckily, her Uncle Brian, who we use to run around with all the time, happen to come out for the day, not even knowing we would be there.  So it was a nice surprise to have the old gang back together.  It really felt like old times, and like we hadn't missed a day....except for our age, and kids, etc..   It was so nice seeing them, and made me a bit home sick.   After lunch, we went to Braums (shocker), and caught up some more, before we headed back to OKC.  Of course, on the way back we made a stop at Eskimo Joes.  We picked up a few shirts.  Can't believe the anniversary shirt is 38 years!  I remember when it was 16!
       That night the reunion was a dinner and drinks at Pearl's Crabtown down in Bricktown.   The food wasn't very good, but it was fun to mingle in an environment where we could sit, relax, and actually hear on another.  They also had a photo booth, which was a great idea!   I volunteered to work Registration that night, so that was a good excuse for me to park it for an hour, and let people come talk to me.  Am I getting old or what?   Ben was a good sport, sitting around listening to me talk to people he didn't know.  He was clever with his name tags, being "Rachel's Sex Slave" the second night.  My friends thought that was clever and funny.  He only wishes.   The dinner was over at 11:00. By the time we got back to the hotel, Braums was closed:(   Oh well.   Our flight left at 10:30 so we didn't have time for one last Braums stop in the moring. haha  The flight was uneventful, which is good.  I'm glad I went.  I knew I would regret not going, and glad that Ben got me to go.
    These past couple of days I have been very nostalgic, going through my Yearbooks, and such.  I realized how much I missed those years, and I have been melancholy.   So weird, right?  Aubrie found this and put it on.  Talk about weird...and the life circle!

Our Old House on 99th St. 

Last Day of  7th Grade at Hefner

Senior Prom

Aubrie in my old uniform!

Ohio Trip

My Mom has been in Ohio almost two years now, so I decided it was time to visit her.  I have never been to Ohio, so I was not only looking forward to seeing her and where and how she lives, but also to see Ohio itself.  The girls and I flew there, and the boys stayed behind with Ben to do fun things like golf, go to the beach, and Magic Mountain.  So I didn't feel bad at all for leaving the boys behind.  There was hardly enough room for the girls and I in my Moms apartment, so there was no way I could bring all of them.  It was fun to have just a girls trip, for sure!
Before we got there, the temps were in the 70's and it rained for several weeks.  My Mom prayed it would stop, and it did.  Of course, the hot weather always follows me.  The temps were in the 90's and with humidity that is no fun!
The first day we didn't get  in until 5.  They picked us up from the airport and took us to dinner.  After dinner we took a drive through one of the cute towns close by.  The towns are so pretty.   They have old houses and buildings, and they have beautiful flowers everywhere; in planters on the ground, in planters hanging off the street lights, etc.
We spent a week there, and my Mom found things to keep us busy.  We went to beautiful parks, the zoo (which was incredibly hot), the Easton mall (where we bought a ton of American Girl doll clothes), and an Art Festivial.  We also ate A LOT of ice cream.  Graeters was our favorite.  Their chocolate chips are basically chocolate chunks.  Their Black Raspberry and Banana nut were my favorite.  So Yummy!   My favorite day was when her brother Fred drove us to Amish country.  It was a long drive, but it was worth it.  It was so beautiful!  We stopped at this one market, where they had a petting zoo.   Aubrie was in Heaven.  (Sophia too).   They got to see all kinds of chickens, pigs, bunny's goats, and horses.  Sophia had a pony ride and Aubrie got to ride a Draft horse.   We also got to enjoy the some baked goods.  I bought some rhubarb fry pies, and yummy homemade bread.   I could gain a lot of weight living next to Amish country because their stores full of baked goods!  All such yummy stuff.

Amish Country (Who Mows this??)

Big Ben

Chicken Mariachi from Donatos...YUM!

Three Generations of Feet!

This is what 90 degree humidity all day at the zoo will do to you!

Baby Gorilla..2 months old

We were so intrigued by these....Hummingbird Moth

Catching Firelies...an evening highlight!

Graeters ice cream chocolate chips!

Because of the three hour difference, we were up late for most of the trip.  The girls had fun catching fireflies, and watching TV shows they never watch, including Lets Make a Deal, in the mornings.  Since we always got a late start.
We also had an opportunity to meet Fred's daughter and her daughter.  They are great people.  It's crazy how there are so many people on my Mom's side of the family I still haven't met.   That's what happens when your Mom comes from a family of 16 kids.   I only met Fred when I was a baby, so basically I have never met him.  He is so great!  Funny, nice, outgoing, and thoughtful.   I enjoyed getting to know him, and its great knowing my Mom is in such good hands.   She has nice friends there!
It was a great trip!

July Fourth 2013

Ben flew in Tuesday night, which was the most hectic day of them all.  After I picked the kids up from soccer, I noticed that my car said something about low air in my tires.  I called Ben and he said he would check them when he flew in.  I had a lot of laundry to do so the kids would have enough soccer clothes for the next two days of soccer, so I decided to get that done, before I took them to Boondocks. When we finally got out to the car, I had a flat tire.  Luckily I called my service rep from Infiniti and he gave me the number for the Infiniti Roadside, and they sent a guy out to put on my spare.  Then my service guy, Matt, called around to find out who was by Boondocks that could replace my tire, if it needed it.  So I raced to Boondocks, and paid for the kids, and than ran over to Discount tire.  Luckily it just had to be patched.  I was out of there in an hour, and then I picked up the kids just in time to head over to the airport to get Ben.  After we picked up Ben, we headed back, since Boondocks closed at 11:00 and we had day wristbands.  The kids had fun doing more laser tag, and go carts, and then we finished up with a round of Golf.
   The next day was more soccer, and then we spent time at BYU and went and saw the Lone Ranger. The moviwe finished in barely enough time to get over the OWLZ baseball game.  Our hotel was giving out free tickets, so we got a few extra, and we invited Hans and Priscilla.  It was fun catching up with them, and seeing their daughter Bianca, who I had never seen.   Our tickets came with free meal vouchers, so it was a sweet deal!

   The Fourth we had big plans, that DID NOT include the Provo parade. This year Grandma and Grandpa didn't go, so most of the family didn't go either.  We wouldn't have gone anyway.  I'm not a big fan of small town parades...looking at school band, after school cheer teams, followed by cloggers, and police and firetrucks.  Instead, we slept in and watched the famous hot dog eating contest on TV, until we headed to Dave and Marilyns for the 4th of July BBQ.   Within minutes of being there, Boston got stung several times by a wasp, as he was trying to get a basketball out from under a truck.  The old truck had a nest in it, and Boston was their victim.   He was pretty tough about it, and soon he was out swimming, and having fun again.  The kids had fun with their cousins in the pool, playing basketball, and the little ones had fun diving and swimming with Aunts, Uncles, etc.
After a few hours, we left to get ready for the stadium of fire and dinner.   This year the Stadium of Fire included a performance from  Circ-du-soleil, Carly Rae Jeppson, and the main performer was Kelly Clarkson.  All the performances were great.  We really loved Kelly.  She was so friendly on stage, and her voice really is amazing live!
Friday the kids had one more soccer day, and I forgot to set my alarm, so they got there an hour late.  They were over at noon, and after Ben walked out of there with a huge amount of BYU soccer clothes for the kids, we rushed back to the hotel, so Aubrie could get ready for her patriarchal blessing.   Steve and Lorriane took the other kids mini golfing, while we stayed with Aubrie for her blessing.  It was a beautiful blessing, and some of the things in there were things I had recently been telling her.  She mentioned that to me afterward, and I told her the Lord uses many venues to relay personal things to us.
After the blessing we picked up the kids from Trafalga, and headed over to get dinner where Hans is the chef. The food was really good there.  I had some delicious Salmon, and the pies there were very good!   Hans was so nice to pick up the bill.  While there, Ben recognized one of the guys from Kid History having dinner with his wife.  After he was done eating, Ben grabbed him and asked if Boston could get his picture with him.  He was super nice about it.  After dinner, we headed to the mall to try and see Despicable Me 2, but they were already sold out.  We walked the Mall for a bit, and then headed home to  pack up for our early departure the following day, but not before we got one last scoop of BYU ice cream:)   It was great trip!  I love Utah in the Summer!