This weekend was a fun, busy weekend for us. On Friday we packed up and headed to Mt.Graham for a camp-out with all of Randy's family. We had a blast just enjoying the mountain and spending time with family. The kids were non-stop busy with their cousins. We got home today dirty and exhausted, but so glad that we went and made so many memories. Here are a few pics of our trip:

Hallie attempting to chop wood (notice the hand helping her hold the ax!)

Some of the kids hunting for worms (notice Anna in the background NOT hunting for worms, instead she is striking a pose). My cute nieces & nephews collected worm after worm all weekend...my girls watched from a safe distance.

Linc wearing his cowboy shirt and cowboy boots

The cousins

Our family

We let the kids decorate t-shirts. This is Lincoln in his "Cowboy Linc" shirt

Lincoln learned that his new sneakers are velcro, so all weekend he was trying to take them off.

Run baby run

The last few days it has been quite stormy and raining a lot here in the Phoenix desert....which has been a much needed break from the HOT summer that we are in the middle of. It started pouring this afternoon and the girls quickly decided that they would die of heartbreak if they didn't get to play in it. So of course, I sent them out front and watched from the dry doorway! Lincoln was watching and wanted to get in on the action and before I could stop him he was out in it.

I wasn't really expecting him to like the rain, but he loved it. We put his shoes on and next thing I knew he was down our driveway and trucking it down the sidewalk. I did what any great mom would do...sent Randy out in the rain to go get him (but I snapped a quick picture of his getaway first!).
After Randy brought him back, he was very intrigued with catching raindrops in his hand.

Here is attempt #2 of catching an elusive raindrop for the Lincolnator.

Rain in Phoenix is a big family event, we all ended up wet but with big smiles on our faces!

I also wanted to give a little shout-out to my sweet Randy...his birthday is today! I love you honey and am so grateful for all that you do for us!

Rain, Hail, and chubby feet!!

I have been reading everyone one else's holiday posts, and figured it was time to get on the ball with my own. We had a fabulous Fourth of July weekend. We went to my parents cabin and loved every minute of just being there with our own little family. On the drive up it started raining, and then to our amazement it started to hail. The hail was piled up all over like snow, it was beautiful. I wish I had taken pictures.

The kids looked super cute in their 4th outfits and all of the little old ladies at the Pine craft fair made a fuss over them. We were planning on going to Payson for the fireworks, but it started pouring and we were worried about hauling all of our little guys out in the rain. They watched fireworks on TV and thought it was great (thank goodness).

So handsome

I love this little girl...she is the perfect combination of sweet and sass!

Our little actress

Randy and the girls just relaxing...and eating Peanut Butter M&M's!

It was so great just to hang out without much to do. We went on a few great walks (and learned that Anna doesnt like to walk, she likes to RUN, and has to beat Hallie...she will finish up her little race by jumping up and down yelling "I won, I won!"). We took the kids to the Pine park, which is full of old school teeter-totters that we had to teach our kids how to use.

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was that everytime we drove anywhere Linc put is chubby little feet in his mouth. The kid is almost 14 months old and he has discovered his feet again.

Yummy!


It was hard to come home (and back to the heat!).

Moving on up.....

So yesterday we met my longtime girlfriends Liz, Meghan, & Karla for lunch. Liz and her husband are moving to LA for his job. We are extremely sad to lose Liz...her feisty jokes add much color to my life! Liz...I will hold you to your promise to post pics of all of your adventures in the wild world of LA on your blog. If you dont, Meghan and I will rent a VW bus and come steal you away in the middle of the night. You think I am kidding don't you?

On the way home from our girls lunch, the kids and I stopped at our favorite dollar store (is it bad to admit that we have a favorite dollar store?). Hallie has been very smitten by doing puzzles lately, so I got her a few new ones. She works her little puzzles over and over for hours on end, and is extremely good at them. She must get her patience from Randy. Anna would like to like puzzles I think, but she must get her patience from me. Enough said.

Yesterday Anna took this pic of Randy and I before he left for work. I love you Honey!

Summer reading

I am a girl who loves organized activities for my children that I don't have to organize (following me here?). So naturally, my children are enrolled every year in the local summer reading program. It suits us well....they get little chintzy prizes, I don't have to organize it, and in the end they win tickets to a Diamondbacks game, which makes Randy as happy as a clam. This year, however, the reading program is starting to drive me bonkers. Here is how it goes:

Tuesday Morning- We pack up, head to the library with mounds of books. Turn them in while Anna and Hallie fight over who gets to put what book in the little slot. Trudge around the library shushing my very loud kids, trying to find books that are not too babyish, but definitely not too long (yes, I am a bad mom who doesn't want to read to my kids for hours on end). Check out, continue to shush kids. Head to the HOT car, continue to shush kids. Get through the door with kids, baby, and books....immediately the girls start bugging me to read to them.

Tuesday Afternoon- By now, I have read them all of their books (which is a feat, as they ask questions the whole way through. Why is she doing that? Whats that? Where is she going? Why is she wearing socks? Where is her mommy?....the amazing thing is that I rarely have answers to these crazy questions). They immediately want to fill out their forms, which requires my to write in the names of the books we read and them to color in some circles. I politely decline.

Wednesday morning- I have politely declined their request for me to help them fill out their reading forms about 157 times now, I finally give in to the peer pressure and fill out the dang forms. They realize that they now qualify to get a sticker....amidst their jumping up and down with glee, they decide that we must go to the library right this very second to collect our fabulous stickers....and start the whole process again.

Veggie Tales.....

So one of the things I have looked forward to after finally getting a house was having a vegetable garden. Back in February we started planting in our dirt backyard (yes, we have a garden but still no grass! Someday...). We planted watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers, zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes, radishes, and one mystery plant (the verdict is still out on that one, I will keep you posted). It has truly been the best family project. The kids love to be out there poking around and Randy is reliving his childhood growing up on a farm. I find a lot of happiness knowing that we are growing cheap, organic, healthy snacks for all of the little munchkins running underfoot! Here are some pics of our successes:

My cute little gardeners

My cute big gardener


Watermelon....this one was picked a little too early but we are still proud of it!

Did you know that green bell peppers turn red when left too long on the plant? Yum!

Birthday Guy....

Last weekend our little Linc turned 1!! Lincoln has been a huge joy to our life. Some of the things that I love about Lincoln are:

• The huge smile that he has....hello cheeseball!


• That he lets his big sisters carry him around the house, poor kid


• He sleeps for 12-13 hours straight every night (thank heavens)


• He is so ticklish....its great


• He is a big Mamma's boy!

Truly, I can not imagine our family without Linc. I can't believe how fast the year has gone. I just can't manage to hold on to these little babies for long before they start getting big. Here are some pics of him growing up...a tribute to Linc!!