Spring Break

March was a busy month! I will start with spring break.  We were able to stay here for a few nights with the kids……

SEDONA!

Sedona is so beautiful! Jeff and I visited Sedona often when we were in college and we also spent our honeymoon weekend here.  During this family trip we played in Sedona, went to Out of Africa Wild Animal Park, visited Flagstaff Aquatic Center and other sites around Flagstaff. Jeff and I had to take the kids around NAU campus to show them were we lived and went to school.  The kids loved swimming as much as we would let them in the heated pool where we stayed. We met a family that had 4 kids too, which was great- instant friends! While the trip had some rough moments of kids fighting, whining, and not feeling great (seems to be a trend on trips) we had some great times!

We found a fun park to play at in Sedona. It was one of the coolest parks we have visited! All sorts of fun for everyone.

  

Checking out Lake Mary in Flagstaff!

 

Next, some pictures of our adventure to Out of Africa. It was a fun experience. The kids loved it! First you get to ride a bus up close to many animals. Then walk around another part and see lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! If you are looking for a trip for your kids, I would say it is worth it! 

Jace feeding a giraffe. It just sticks his head right in the bus. Pretty cool!

Hello zebra!

This was Lincoln the whole bus ride. He loved seeing all the animals.

 

My mom and little sis  drove up to visit the park with us.  

One night, we drove up to the sunset point and enjoyed the beautiful view, with a 100 other people, but it was still enjoyable!

February

 

In February, Hayley’s school had a Father Daughter Dance. She was so excited to go with her dad! I couldn’t get a picture of just them due to 2 brothers wanting their daddy too,  so this was the best we could do. They had a fun night!

We also took our first trip to Rawhide. We met up with Jeff’s brother and his family. The kids had a great time riding burros, petting animals, going on the train over and over (mainly Jace), panning for gold, and riding a stagecoach. My kids were a little scared of the pretend shootouts in the street, so we had to skip the gun show. Next time maybe we get crazy and ride the mechanical bull!

Elyse, Kiki, Ben, and Hayley

Real or fake, if there is a horse Kyrsten will be there! 

Our niece Elyse, she is so cute!

Jace hiding in the stroller during the street shootout.

Hayley, such a cute silly cowgirl! She takes after her dad in the funny department…

Now for a showcase of Lincoln. He loves animals, especially being up close. He cracks me up with his faces.

Hayley, Elyse, and Kiki

Jace was not tall enough to ride the burros so he made up for it with lots of train rides, right up front every time!

Till next time partner!

January 2012

 

I am on a mission to put some pictures up from the first few months of 2012! It is hard to find time to ever get to work on the blog. Four kids has kept us busier than we could have ever imagined! So the dishes, laundry, and messy house will have to wait a little longer while I do some updating.  For those wanting to spend time away from there daily tasks also, stay tuned over the next couple days and catch up with the Mitchells!

In January, we finally came through on a promise to the kids, and took them up to Pinetop to play in the snow.  Which was a first for the boys, and the first time the girls will probably remember.  I do recall that this trip was filled with pink eye, vomit, and frequent whining, but I am glad I have pictures to just remind me off the fun time that make up for all the rest! That’s how life with kids seems to be, many hard times all made up in one sweet moment.

All bundled up and ready to go!

Starting out on the front porch. As you will see in the pictures they slowly build their way to real sledding.

Lincoln waiting for his turn to play. He ended up not loving the snow since he does not like to wear gloves or hats.

So excited to get playing, they started with snow angels and sledding  in the driveway.

Progressing to a small hill near the cabin. Good place to practice before the real hills.   

Beautiful Kiki!

As you will be able to tell, Jeff was the photographer of this trip so you get to see more of me and none of him.  Sorry to all the Jeff lovers!

One of the fun parts of this trip for me was to see Hayley’s fearless side come out. It doesn’t happen too often yet, but on the hills she was climbing higher than I was and going backyards, forward, and even hands free! I love seeing the kids have fun.

It took Kyrsten a little while to get comfortable with bigger hills and spinning around, but by the end she was having fun too!

I even got a few rides in with the kiddos.

A survival of a day playing in the snow with kids!

 

Also in January:

Jeff’s Grandma came to visit. The kids enjoyed getting to play with their Great Grandma! I hope I will be able to healthy and strong enough to play with my great grand kids one day! 

I also celebrated my 31st birthday! I have to say, when I turned 30 I was excited. 31…now I feel old. Having a cookie cake drowns out those worries!