Halloween 2010

This year we had our first Halloween in our "new" neighborhood (we've been here 6 months now). It was quite a different experience than our previous Halloweens. We had a block party with our neighbors! It was so much fun. Tons of food and treats and even a DJ and dancing. All the trick-or-treaters that came by loved it. The kids went to a trunk or treat last night (it was held by the local LDS ward that our neighbors go to) and hit up just our street tonight. They got so much candy! But, our tradition is that they pick 14 pieces of candy each (enough for one a day, for two weeks) and the rest goes to the children's hospital and to Peter's work. (And of course, we stash a little for ourselves!) The kids don't mind this tradition at all. We had a great Halloween! We hope you did too!

Ninja Boy


Our Beautiful "Belle"


The Fam


There are SOOOO many pictures from all the fun that I had to make a slideshow of them. Some of these photos were posted on FB, but I wanted to have something here too for the (few) people that aren't on FB.

Student of the Week

Alayna was student of the week in her class this past week. She was so excited! It really is a big deal for these kindergartners. She got a special certificate, she got a coupon for a free ice cream at Dairy Queen, she got to bring something for show and tell every day (usually they go once a week), and she got her name announced over the loud speaker by the principal (and it will be in the weekly newsletter that is sent home). Her teacher raved about her at conferences last week. She is "conscientious" and "helpful". She also described her as "soft spoken" and "courteous", but we don't see that side of her at home too often (lol). We are so proud of our little girl. She just makes my heart smile! Congrats Alayna!

Randoms

Just some fun photos from the past month.

Swingin'


Ridin'


HUGE caterpillar we found in our garage


Climbin'


More climbin'

Fall Break Camping

So I (Peter) wanted to try out 'desert camping' and thought Lake Pleasant, AZ would be a good place to go during the kid's fall break. At only 1700 feet elevation (Phoenix is at 1100 ft) we wouldn't quite escape the heat but being October I didn't think it would be too bad so off we went!

The kids and I did a little one night deal and it was only an hour away from home. Big thanks to our awesome neighbors who let us borrow some gear for the second time!

Lake Pleasant, AZ

Alayna loves her binoculars. She still calls the chipmunks with her little claps. Super cute. It's on a 1,2,3,4...1,2 clap count.

Swimmin' in the lake. They were warned not to drink the water but I think it will boost their immune system greatly.

Swimming and kayaking.

Always the ham. He had fun hanging on to the kayak as I gruelingly paddled forward.

Jeremiah rode his scooter down a little hill and had his first good case of road rash! At first he didn't want me to take the picture but later said it was good that I did.

Our view of Lake Pleasant, AZ




Lake fun!

June Camping 2010

Sorry I'm a slacker and it took me four months to post this, but here's what we were up to in June (this is Peter, by the way)! To escape the deathly heat of the greater Phoenix valley Uncle Eric and I took the kids up to the Mogollon (pronounced 'muggy-own') Rim area - 7500 ft. elevation - near Payson, AZ for some camptastic fun! This was Alayna's first official camping trip so I was interested to see how she would handle it.

Beautiful view from Forest Road 300. You know you're out there when roads are just labeled with numbers.

It was your basic car camping, as I call it. Find a spot, park the car, pitch your tent. We had fun hiking, exploring, and getting good and dirty. It's a beautiful region of the state and only a couple hours of a drive northeast of Phoenix. Jeremiah and I have camped near here before.

Sinkhole campground near Willow Springs Lake, AZ. Yes, there are real trees in Arizona!

On the edge of the Mogollon Rim.

Little explorers at Willow Springs Lake, AZ. Alayna got a bit cranky on our short hike to the lake but once we were there she enjoyed playing around. Keeping Jeremiah out of the water proved impossible. So why fight it, right?

Overlook at Mogollon Rim visitor center.

Boulderin' boy. This was on a remote trail where we looked for an abandoned train tunnel in the mountainside. I misread the directions and we never found the tunnel. Sorry, Eric. You were such a good sport. Man oh man, that was a grueling trail, especially with a little boy on my shoulders for 1/2 the time. Eric had the lighter load of the girl.

Gotta keep movin' before the sun goes down!

Jeremiah first spotted this Arizona Black Rattlesnake as it slithered under a rock to curl up. We decided to enjoy it from a distance and carry on our merry way.

All in all, the kids did great. They played with some other kids in the campground, didn't wet their sleeping bags at night (some of you might relate), we roasted marshmallows, and my brother and I had the longest consversation I think we've ever had about life and it's complexities. Fun fun!

Alayna, the chipmunk whisperer:

Skater Boy