Mountain Memories

We just got back from another great trip to "Grandma's Mountain" (a.k.a. Pinetop/Lakeside). We had so much fun! The boys loved being able to spend the days outside with their cousins. And Derek and I got some much needed R&R.

Here is the re-cap with pictures:

Isaac and cousin Kade
making "breakfast" in the dirt.

The tree house-built by Grandpa

Handsome Daddy and Trev

It rained almost every day we were there.
On this day, it actually hailed, too.
Trevor LOVED the rain.

Here he is showing me how "yummy" the hail is.

The back patio, covered in hail.

Isaac didn't love the rain/hail quite so much.

As is usually the case,
we spent Derek's birthday at the mountain.
The boys and I created a treasure hunt for him to find his present.
Isaac loved watching Derek try to figure out our clues. :)

Looking for the next clue...

Almost there...

He found it!
We got him the Kinect for his X-Box.
He was really excited and
we're having lots of fun playing it together.

Derek's birthday dinner

Derek's favorite...texas sheet cake

Not sure it's a great idea
to show this boy how to use the lighter!
Yikes! :)

We went to the Annual 4th of July parade
in Show Low. The kids love it!
(My boys just weren't used to the loud fire engines.) :)

Cute cousins

Trevor really got into the parade this year.
He was so fun to watch!

My boys

Isaac mostly hung back by the grown-ups.
He's such a nervous little boy. :)

Otter pops!

Trevor waved at everyone who went by.

Seriously...how did I get such cuties! :)

Making homemade root beer
with Grandma & Grandpa.

Trevor's reaction to the dry ice...total amazement.

More rain!

Isaac and Trev with cousin Carson.
They have so much fun together!

Daddy and Isaac

Trevor loved wearing rain boots.

Staying dry...sorta.

The Show Low fireworks show was canceled,
so we did our own show out back with sparklers.

Isaac was too scared to try holding one,
but Trevor thought it was pretty awesome.

He was so proud of himself for "being brave." :)

A little snuggling to finish off a great night.

Such a fun trip.

Goodbye...Again

Well, the last 4 months with my parents home have flown by and now they are headed back to Africa. We were not ready to let them go yet, but we know they are doing a great thing and we couldn't be more proud of them. We had one last family party with them the night before they left.

Papa and some of my adorable nieces

Grammy measured each child one more time.

They're excited to see how much they grow in the next 2 years.

The grandkids (minus 10 more who weren't there)
sang a little song for Grammy and Papa.
(I can't get the video onto my blog right now,
but I may add it later, so my parents can watch it.)

The kids just piled around Grammy and Papa.
(Can you see Klint trying to get in on the action? Ha ha.)

Grammy entrusting Isaac with the Woody doll.
(He "babysat" this Woody toy last time they left,
so Grammy asked him to take care of him again.
And he takes this responsibility very seriously.) :)

One more hug for Papa.

Special moments together.

Can you tell they love each other? :)

Hugs for the big boy, too.

We love you so much, Grammy and Papa.
It sure is hard to say "goodbye" to you (again),
but we are grateful for your examples of
dedication, sacrifice, service, and love.

We love you and miss you already.

We Love Summer!

We are having such a great summer! It's so nice to have a more flexible schedule and we're finding lots of fun things to do. We haven't even been bored yet! :) Here are a few random pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Isaac is really into sounding-out words lately.
This was the very first "love note" he wrote me.
He did it all by himself and was pretty proud.
(It says "I love Mommy"...and some other stuff.) :)

Isaac and Trevor are doing swim lessons
(with the Webb boys, of course!)
at our neighborhood pool.
The teachers are fabulous and
they are all doing really well!

Here are all the boys,
just lounging around after a good swim!

I just had another birthday,
which is so much fun with little kids.
Derek took them to the store and
they picked out Elmo cupcakes for me. :)

Love these guys.

San Diego Fun (Photo Book)

We just got back from our fabulous trip to San Diego and I have WAY TOO many pictures! We had the best time
and the boys want to look at the pictures all day long,
so I ordered this little photo book for them.
Here's a little glimpse of all the fun we had!

Click here to view this photo book larger