Arizona Trip -- Day 7

Our last full day at the condos. After some interesting family photos (I believe the adults grew more frustrated than the children) we pretty much hung out for the day, did a little shopping with Becca, and enjoyed one last round of swimming and relaxation.

Arizona Trip -- Day 6

We went to the local "Family Fun Park" which was basically go-carts and miniture golf. We pretty much spent the rest of our vacation money on the go-carts but had a blast. Even Olivia got to drive her own go-cart. The kids decided miniature golf wasn't their cup of tea after discovering how fun the go-carts were. I didn't blame them.

Arizona Trip -- Day 5

We went to Snowflake Arizona today to tour the local church history sites. There are several homes the pioneers built and the local chamber of commerce led us on a tour of all of them. We also drove to the Snowflake Temple (We discovered our long-lost Uncle Harry in the family picture at the temple above us -- Hello Uncle Harry -- thanks for ruining our family picture!!!)and then ate lunch at the park. Grandma Strong treated us to ice cream after lunch. We went back to the condos and then out to Pizza in Show Low. (Only 1 u-turn for us today.) Swimming and Ping-Pong followed...of course.

Arizona Trip -- Day 4

Wow. The big 30 for me today. Spent the day relaxing at the condos. Olivia went on a horse ride while JJ took a nap. We had dinner, cake, presents and then swimming of course!

Arizona Trip -- Day 3

We woke up this morning (a little later than yesterday) and drove to the Petrified Forest National Park. It was about a 1 1/2 hours drive (a little longer since we had to stop for Rachel & Baby) from Pinetop. We toured the visitor's center, watched a video, and then proceeded into the park. Here's some really nice photos from the day. We returned to the condos after eating some Wendy's for dinner and then went swimming (of course). Olivia is doing really well learning to swim on her back.

Arizona Trip -- Day 2

I woke up early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep. So I decided to start making omelettes for the family. Lisa was appreciative of breakfast in bed but didn't count on it being so early. The same pretty much went for Aunt Marina and Aunt Julia when I woke them up with their breakfast. I still get some flak over it but it was a pretty good breakfast. We hung out for the day and ate dinner at Nana & Papa's condo followed by some swimming and Ping-Pong at the clubhouse.

Arizona Trip -- Day 1

No pictures from this day...Sorry. We woke up early in the morning and finished loading everything in the car. Lucky for us we had the room we needed and took just about everything we wanted. We left at 5 a.m. and met at Nana & Papa's house. We managed to leave there around 5:30 a.m. and met the rest of the caravan in Orem. We stopped off at the cheese factory in Beaver (to buy cheese curds) and then made our way towards Panguitch, Kanab, and into Arizona. We had lunch at McDonalds in Page, AZ and then pushed on. Just as we left Snowflake, AZ we about kissed a deer on the hood of our new car but Lisa's quick reactions and some really good brakes stopped us in time. Olivia managed to sleep through the whole ordeal. We finally arrived in Pinetop, Arizona around 7 p.m. I think we only made one U-turn and that's because construction signs really confused us. All in all the kids did really well for all that drive time. I was pretty proud of them. I even think they complained less than me.

It's a New Car

We didn't win it on the Price is Right. However, we did manage to scoop a new car up up from the dealer in North Salt Lake. We've been wanting something that will "fit" us as we work on expanding our family (NO -- NO NEWS TO REPORT) and we started noticing issues with the Mercedes. After a lot of research, we decided on the GMC Acadia. Lisa and I shopped around and got it just in time for our trip to Arizona. It has seating for seven (we're not having that many kids...but this way Gma & Gpa King can ride with us when they come to visit). We bought the charcoal color. Ahhh. Finally some space.

4th of July Parade

Our friends (Eldon & Margy Richter) have a house right on the Centerville 4th of July parade route. They invite all their family and friends over for a breakfast potluck followed by the parade in front of their house. It was an incredibly hot morning. Thanks to Eldo and Margy, we kept our cool in the misters they installed in the trees. The kids collected a fair share of candy.

Swim Class Graduation

Olivia attended swim class for two weeks and at graduation the instructor (our neighbor Becky Wall) let the parents come and see what they learned. I know I'm partial, but Olivia really was the best swimmer and was almost always the first one to attempt anything. She can almost float on her back and does really well opening her eyes under water and swimming. Though she has to stop to take a breath while swimming the crawl stroke, I don't think it will be long before she turns into a fish.

Blackmail Photo?

Need I really say more? My guess is this one will show up in the most opportune time and place.

Boy's Bathtime

The Laws (Cousins Doug, Diane, Kara, Josh, Trent) came to visit us on their way from Denver to Idaho. After Pizza, a tour of Kelly's work, ice-cream and the playland at Arctic Circle, it was bath time. The boys did a fairly good job keeping the water in the tub.

Our Dancing Princess

After a YEAR of weekly dance classes, we finally got to see our Princess dance to "Sugar, Sugar" with her class. She was of course the best and prettiest one there!

Olivia has taken dance for two years and she has loved it. She really is our little princess.

Mother's Day

We went to Nana and Papa's house for a little Mother's Day fiesta. This picture was harder to take than it looks. At least Nana is smiling.

Happy Together

Despite the nasty rumors...I think they still love each other.

LHM Race Track

A general contractor that I work with suggested that I take the kids to the race track to see his car and a little racing. With the help of Uncle Nate and Aunt Rachel, Ammon and Olivia joined me for half a day.

Our Little Moose

JJ was up every two hours throughout the entire night last night. In an effort to fill his little tummy so mommy can sleep, Lisa mixed sugar (she's desperate) with the cereal that he refuses to eat and BINGO -- He loves it. He ate three servings. We will keep you posted on the results tomorrow. Cross your fingers.

Happy Halloween

Here's some pictures of our little Fairy Princess and her brave Lion friend. We filled a whole pumpkin bucket to the top with candy. Now it's the showdown of who gets their favorite candy eaten before it's snatched up by others.

Livi's Preschool Halloween Parade

Livi's preschool had a parade up and down her teacher's street. Parents were invited to take the pictures. Isn't she a doll?