Talent in the mountains!

Family camp talent show. My favorite night. Still laughing!!

 

Arizona in the Summer

Yes I tend to get a little salty and bitter when the Arizona summer temperatures creep up to the + 110's.

But when those beautiful, loud monsoon storms hit in August, there is nothing like it anywhere else in the US.

My son was actually inside playing on the computer, and I demanded that he put on his suit and get outside and enjoy the storm.

He gave me the " Ahh Mom" bit, but I would have none of it.

He was going to play in the rain and that was that.  I am such a mean mom!

It's these sweet moments that make the summer's bearable.  It's these sweet moments that make motherhood so fun!

Happy Memories

Jeff get's tired of Disneyland after a while.  Not me!  I love it!

It's probably because he has a weak stomach when it comes to roller coasters.
 I could ride on them all day and never get sick.

California Screamin is my favorite!  I love the anticipation when the rides is about to blast you off!  Good times!

Zoot and Junie

Grandpa Carl and Grandma Junie turned 90 this year!

Shari threw a fabulous party in their honor.

Of course I couldn't wait to do the cake!

Shari decorated in checks and I made the cake to match.

My "not so little anymore" athlete.

This past December Allison and Jeff competed in a triathlon.    I sat this one out this time, but honestly I had just as much fun watching Allison compete.  She is ultra competitive (don't know where that comes from).

 Here she is hanging by the pool with the boys (which she beat by the way).

 She is all fired up coming out of the pool.

 She transitioned well and took off on my bike.  It's a little big for her, but she did pretty good on it.

 Here she comes into the final transition.

She place 3rd overall and 1st in the girls division.  She is still so mad those 2 boys beat her!

I am one proud mama!

Date Night with the "Beloved"

Nathan, (also known as the beloved by his 2 older sisters) got to spend a night out with mom and dad this weekend.  On the agenda - Suns game!!!

He was pretty excited to get to go out with us all by himself.  

We had some pretty sweet seats.  One of the suns cheerleaders stood right in front of us periodically and shook her stuff not wearing much stuff.  Lovely.  When she wasn't disrupting my view and distracting my dates I realized that Steve Nash really isn't that short - the other guys are just freakishly tall.

We had a great time munching on junk food and cheering with the crowd.  I sure love these two guys!

Oh Santa!

Nathan thinks he is to big to sit on Santa's lap.  So some of his friends decided that he indeed needed to sit on his lap, and forced him there.  Look at the grip Santa has on his wrist just to keep him still for the picture.  

 Allison and and her friend Cameron had no trouble at all posing with the big guy!  

Oh how I miss the good ole days when my kids were little and slightly scared of the man in red.

A Cold Thanksgiving

So we made it to Utah for the holiday, just in time for the cold temperatures to set in.  As we sat around Thanksgiving morning, we decided to give the Y mountain a try. After all, it's ONLY 16 degrees outside - how bad can it be?

 Actually, it really wasn't that bad.  Once you got movin that is.

 Yes, that's me in my ASU sweatshirt.  Go Devils!

 Allison and Randi were so hot from the hike, the steam was coming off their backs.

 On Friday we checked out the LDS Church History Museum in Salt Lake.  Pretty cool.  Did I mention it was cold outside?

 We headed indoors for a bit to warm up - loaded the kids with hot chocolate - then made our way outdoors again to see the Christmas lights on temple square.  Very pretty.

After that, we took them all to a hot dinner at the Blue Iguana in Salt Lake.  (It's official!  I can never move to Utah!  I would die without good mexican food.) 

Thanksgiving Madness

Cleaning, packing, studying, and running around like crazy!  We are headed out of town to see the fam for the holiday.  Sheez, I am pooped!  Can't wait for some relaxing time with the gang cuddled around the fire cause it's going to be cold where we are headed!  Hope your holiday is a good one!!!

Cousin Camp

It's that time of year again. The kids are getting ready to head to San Diego to spend the week with their cousins! They are crazy with excitement. The hubby and I don't know what we will do with ourselves. Oh yeah - scratch that! We are headed to Seattle for a fun filled week doing whatever we feel like! WhooHooo!

Tri In The Pines

My friend found this picture on her friends blog.  There's Jeff and I in the pool warming up before the race begins.

I didn't get any pictures during the race, but here I come - headed for the finish line 2 minutes ahead of my hubby!!  Yippee!!1

I was so glad to be done!

Big smiles!

Jeff and I had so much fun we are signed up for another one in October!!

Good Days Remembered

Our good friend Todd just found me on facebook and posted a bunch of pictures of he and Jeff when we were river guides back in the early 90's. (Eeek that makes me sound old).   These pictures were too much fun that I had to post them as well.   If you look hard you might see me in a couple.  Wasn't Jeff such a cutie?  (In a hairy smelly sort of way)









Now days Jeff isn't quite so hairy and he smells better than he did back then - but man oh man - I still LOVE him!  

Warm Summer Day

It's freezing cold outside today (I am always cold) and a friend just emailed pictures they took of us wake boarding for the first time last summer.   Oh I long for some AZ heat and a few more freckles.
My hubby caught on right away and landed a few jumps.  I got up - but didn't quite get the "jumping the wake" thing down.  Maybe next time (hint hint Ryan and Lena).

The kids just enjoyed the ride!