Our Weekend Adventure

These 4 kids wanted to go camping.

And even though weather.com predicted rain the entire 24 hours that they would be there, a campout was in order.

It rained and rained.

A gorgeous double rainbow appeared.

They played hard.

Cried hard.

Ate out - no cooking for these campers!

Had smores.

The new tent leaked.

They got really dirty.

Memories were made.

The end.

Female VP?

So what do you think of Mrs. Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate? After reading Jess and Mike's blog about her being "a gun slinging, hockey playing, snowmobiling, basketball star, beauty pageant, Christian - mother of 5," I had to look a little closer into who she is. Here is an interview with her that really helped me get a feel for her. I think I like her!

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1837536,00.html

What do you think?

AHHHH!

I started school this week. What was I thinking??!! When do I have time to read and write a paper about 30 children's books (some only 30 pages while others are 200+ pages), along with reading a big ol' textbook and preparing several in-class presentations?! I was thinking today that if I was still in college mode then it would be a pretty easy class, but I am not used to this. In my "homework time," I like to blog, read novels that I choose, go shopping, out to lunch or socialize with friends. Is it really worth it to keep my teaching license current? I don't plan on ever teaching again, but what if something happened and I needed to go back to work. Any former teachers out there with any input?

Cousin Fun

Tonight we got to watch cousin Olivia for a couple of hours. The fun was never ending!

We had spaghetti for dinner so of course they had to get naked to prevent that mess! :)

It was "only" 104 degrees so the park was calling our name

That was one dirty bathtub after the 3 of them got out!

We are so glad they have moved to AZ!

Friday Fun

I had such a great Friday so I had to share:

Met up with Niki and Shantel for lunch and shopping at Scottsdale Mall
Came home and took naps
Picked up a sitter for the kiddos
Went on a hot date with my hubby to Target :) and the D-Backs game

Sorry, I forgot to take any pics - TGIF!

Oh how I missed you!

Trader Joe's, that is! I haven't gone there for a while for no particular reason other than it is not too close and now that Fresh and Easy is open right by us (my other love), I shop there instead. After going tonight back to TJ, I remembered why I love it. Here are just 3 reasons:



Tell me this is not going to be the cutest preschool snack ever: Alphabet crackers and "farm juice," as Maya calls it.



These are dessert for dinner swap this week - YUM!



And how could I pass up alphabet pasta. Had to have 2 bags, one to eat and one to string as necklaces with kids' names next time we have friends over!

I will not stay away so long next time!

Done!

I know I am 2 weeks late in finishing and the rest of the world has already read it, but in my defense, I have been busy and now I just want to get Kyle off my back (luv ya Kyle!) and let you know that it is done. Loved it, although I must admit that it got really intense for the romance/comedy lover in me. What did everyone else think of it?

So now I will anxiously await the Twilight movie which I read on a friend's blog is now coming out early, November 21st. I will be attending the midnight showing!!

Aunt Tiff

Aunt Tiff came to visit this week and we have loved having her here. Maya asked tonight if Tiff could stay forever. We keep telling Nana that Tiff is moving in with us to finish her last 2 years of high school. Here are some fun pics from our great week with Tiff!

One day we pricelined a resort in Phoenix and got a Hilton resort with a water park for dirt cheap! We had the best time swimming and vacationing right close by.

Any chance he can get that boy is putting his face in water.
There is always fun when Jared joins us!
Our friends, Andy and Kiara, live close to the hotel so they joined us for a night of swimming fun! Kiara and I originally met through an online hair care group and she is now one of my dearest friends! Maya LOVED the water slide. She would get all turned around on her way down and come out head first!

Ridin' the Lazy River

On the way home from the hotel - completely worn out!
One night we went to Kiara's and helped take braids out of her Mya's hair.

These 3 girls are all 3 years old and all feisty! :)

Maya getting her fingers and toes painted while we got pedicures and manicures.

I loved, loved, loved having her help with Maya's hair. While we were doing it tonight, Maya was falling asleep so I gave her my legs to lay on and she was out! (Don't I have such a mean look on my face???!!!)

Tiff is always taking this same shot :)

Of course we ate at In N Out!
And this is only some of what we did. We also shopped and so much more! Thanks for coming to see us and Happy Sweet 16 next week Tiff!!!

Then I have to share some pictures of the cutest kids around.

I love this face!

Jeremy put his work boots on him and he was signing "ALL DONE" over and over until we took him out!
He found this empty box and would get in it and say, "WEEEE!"

Maya started preschool this week and is absolutely loving it. She was so bummed that I went with her on the first day since it was an open house. That girl was born to go to school! Her teacher sent an email yesterday that said, "She has such great manners and is always saying "please" and "thank you." She's just the kind of kid that makes teaching FUN!" So proud of my little girl!

Olympic Fever

Have you caught it?! We are spending every moment we can watching the Olympics. The kids love it! Tonight as we watched tandem diving, Maya said, "I want to grow up to be a girl and jump like that!" Then she was practicing by jumping from the coffee table to the couch. Kenyon joined in, but he couldn't quite make the jump and gave us no warning that he was about to jump. Crazy boy!

I am especially enjoying the scenery they show from China because I was there just 3 years ago and saw "The Nest," The Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and so much more. What a neat experience that was!

It also reminds me of how much fun it was to have the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah when we lived there. We were able to attend several events and a medal ceremony. Awesome!

Go USA!!!

Cute, cute pictures!

Here are the pictures that my good friend Mel took while in Utah. Of course, I couldn't pick just a couple so here are a bunch!!! Her photography blog is: http://pitterpatphotography.blogspot.com/.
Thanks Mel for some amazing shots!