Last day of school to AZ trip

Owen came home with a gift, the cups game! He plays it very well.

After getting off the bus for the last time this year, Payton immediatley shows off his report card and says he's been "promoted to second grade". He is so proud! Good job buddy!

Noah makes a mustache with his big stick of candy that he got from his end of year party!

Soon after unloading their school supplies, we set up a new slip-n-slide to celebrate their last day of school and invited the neighbors. It was fabulous fun for 30 minutes until it ripped! Then they took turns spraying the slide with the hose. (Yes, I took back the slip-n-slide to Target for a full refund! )

Alot has happenened since school let out on June 12th.

We had 5 days to play around with friends in our neighborhood and then we took off to AZ. (The day we flew out, we had a morning breakfast pancake party to celebrate Kelsey's birthday. She turned 3.)

The boys and I had 3 full weeks in AZ. Greg joined us after one week and he had two weeks there with us; we flew back together. It was a busy 3 weeks. We had fun and our time went by so fast it was sad to say goodbye!

My dear sister Sara, 11 months older than I, has been battling illnesses and so we helped her out. Then her husband, Neil, who was tired of hospitals and doctor visits, took us on a couple boating trips to Saguaro Lake and later to hike the Grand Canyon and Humphrey's Peak in Flagstaff. (The hikes weren't that long. Thank goodness. Even though I am a runner, I am not used to hiking.) Plus we had the children with us. I was freaked out a couple of times during the Grand Canyon hike at the south rim to Cedar Point. I had virtigo and was so scared someone would slip and fall. We had a group of 13; 4 adults and 9 children. The youngest in our group were 2, 4 year olds. (Joe Joe and Daniella, but they were super troopers. They are used to hiking with their dad.) At Mt. Humphrey's we got caught in a big storm full of hail, lightning and thunder. Unfortunatley, we were not equipped to handle the cooling temperatures and so we never made it past the tree line... there was too much lightning to go more than 1/2 way up. I'm glad my brother, Al, came on this trip to help with the young ones- they can be a handful. (Now that my baby is 7 years old, I forget how vigilant you need to be with the young ones.)

We had fun at a new pool, the Basha pool, off Val Vista and Riggs in Chandler. This pool is close to my sister, Susan's house, so we did that a few times with her and then on our own. Greg had an opportunity to go golfing in the AZ heat with Susan's husband, Rhett. Those die hards make it out once whenever we visit.

Greg and I had three dates without kids! THANKS MOM AND DAD! Once with Sara and Neil eating out at Baja Fresh; next, with Meloney and Kelsey and their new baby Bentley, eating out at a Japanse restaraunt; and lastly, out to the temple with my sister Cristy and Sara's husband, Neil.

Our last weekend we enjoyed going to Lake Canyon with Kelsey, Meloney's husband, and their daughter Kambria. Meloney stayed home with their new baby, Bentley. We were able to be together the last Sunday for his blessing.

The children took turns spending nights at grandma and papa Fuller's, or at Aunt Sara's or Aunt Susan's house. Also, during the day, the boys played video games, went to the high school in the a.m. to play football, went shopping with us at malls, saw a movie at the dollar theatre, and even did some reading from books we got at the library.

We all had a wonderful time with family! It would have been complete if we had the chance to meet up with Greg's brother, Neal. We hope we can do that next time. Happy Summer!