Dance Concert!

Jacqueline & Danika had their dance concert on Friday.  They did a great job!  They already had their costumes off here- (I love this dance studio because they always have the girls wear a leotard under their costume- not many dance places keep it modest!) 

Bubbie & Grandpa came too- which was nice because Ryan didn't get to come because he had a scout campout.  :(

They were such a huge help with the kids- Bubbie even sat in the back of the auditorium with Harrison the entire time so I could videotape the girls' dances for Ryan.   Thank you, Mom & Dad!

(--I'm going to try to post video of the concert later so you can watch them, too!)

Crazy Kids...

 Cameron wanted to do one of his requirements for Cub Scouts- and it involved swimming!  I told him he was crazy & thought for sure he'd change his mind once he felt the water- but he did the whole thing!  (I'm cold enough OUT of the water!)  This was taken the end of October- but the water was already FREEZING.

Last week, I saw Jacqueline sitting at breakfast, eating a bowl of Shredded Mini-Wheats cereal.  Then I saw another bowl of Shredded Mini-Wheets poured on the table, just sitting there-- I was confused because noone other than Jacqueline & myself eat that cereal.  So I asked Jacqueline why she poured another bowl, & she said she didn't!   ? 

Then all the sudden, Harrison walks over from behind the counter... he had been getting a spoon out of the drawer!  HE had gotten a bowl out of the dishwasher, put it on the table, & poured his own bowl of cereal!  (I am SO glad that he hadn't tried pouring the milk!)

And of course, after all his hard work, he didn't even like the cereal anyway!

Jacqueline went to a friend's party on Saturday.  She definitely had fun.

I think her picture's a little more cute than crazy, but I still had to add it! :)

We have more pictures to come (they're on the other camera).  They're a little less 'crazy' and more 'messy'... like Harrison getting into the toothpaste...

U2 Concert!

Ryan & I went to the U2 concert in their "U2 360" tour- it was so fun!  I'll warn you- all these pictures were taken on our camera phone - Ryan's camera lens wasn't allowed because it's too big.  But these work!  That's the stage behind us- before the concert started.  Black Eyed Peas opened for them.

  In the picture above you can see the huge round screen up above everyone- that thing was so cool- it's like a giant version of those little collapsible balls that you can stretch out huge or collapse it down to a small ball- except this was a round screen version!  Towards the end of the concert it 'turned into' a big space ship, because it was all streched out, & the lights were spinning all over it, etc- hard to describe, but anyway, weird!

They had these bridges that moved all over- it was cool watching him (Bono of course!) walk above all the people! 

It was of course PACKED

  We couldn't believe how late it went- we left right when it ended (I think it was midnight!  And then exiting the parking lot took a LONG time )  so weren't home 'til 1:00 a.m.!!!  HUGE thanks to Debbie's mom for babysitting- especially so late when she was leaving on an early morning flight the next day- I think she said she had an hour of sleep!  We owe you, Mom! :)  We were so glad we went though- we had a great time!  U2 is AWESOME!!!!

Camping at Oak Creek Canyon

We took advantage of the kids' October Break from school & went camping last weekend.  It was beautiful, and the weather was perfect- much better than the record-setting triple digits that was goin' on at home!

We stayed at a campground in Oak Creek Canyon

called 'Manzanita'.  I'm pretty sure' it's because of these -

Manzanita Trees, right? They were all over,

so it makes sense!

I had the kids each set out their tennis shoes for the trip, but my mistake was that I didn't notice that Danika didn't set hers out.  So... since she had only worn flip flops there, this is what she ended up wearing the whole time camping:

Jacqueline's sandals with socks!  Beautiful, huh! 

Last time it was the coats, this time Danika's shoes...

I can't imagine what we'll forget next time!

And THIS is what Danika looked like after playing a while.  She really enjoyed the dirt.

We decided to go for a hike.  We actually hiked pretty far, especially for Danika!  But the kids all did well & enjoyed it.

We were ALL worn out by the time we made it back to our campsite though!

And once again... Danika wasn't so happy about the potties, except this time I got pictures!

I didn't capture any of her tears on camera, but you get the jist of her trips to the potty.  She would make sure her nose was plugged before going into the bathroom, & then she kept it plugged the entire time.  We knew when she needed to use the bathroom, because she'd say "I want to go home!" She didn't want to say 'I need to go potty' like she normally would have, because then she'd have to use the potty there!  I tried explaining to her how this is easier than digging a hole like we've done sometimes on prior camping trips, but she was too busy being miserable whining about these camp potties!

Ryan researched beforehand on the internet, & before heading home drove us to "Oak Creek Vista", not too far from our campground.  It was really pretty- I even thought it was almost like the Grand Canyon but with lots of green trees!

It didn't take long for Danika & Harrison to find a spot to sit & play with the dirt & rocks again.  That was deifinitely a high point for them on this trip!

  It was my first time trying tinfoil dinners; very yummy!  And our first time having skunks as regulars at our campground!  -they always stayed away when Ryan's camera was out, of course! 
It was a nice, cool get-away weekend!  Wish we could do that more often!

New Blog for Deals/Freebies

You'll probably be glad to hear we started a new blog to post deals & freebies on.  I think it looked kinda crazy mixing all that in here on our family's blog.  So now, if you want to check for any local deals, you can go to:

http://eastvalleydeals.blogspot.com/

Now I will leave this blog alone to just the stuff that belongs here!

(I figured I'd better add a picture since I told Liz that she can't do postings without pictures!  This is the kids on top of Falcon Hill in Mesa- that fits in with east valley stuff- you can see some of the e.v. behind them!) :)

Our New Pet - Tarantula!

We had a pet tarantula when I was younger, & have always been on the lookout for one on any of our camping/hiking excursions, but without luck. I was so excited when my sister Liz called me last week to tell me she rescued a tarantula from her pool & thought I might want it! We got a little cage set up for her- with a screened lid and added 2 locks, just in case! But up until Saturday, noone had held her yet. I wanted to wait 'til I had fed her, and until she had 'settled in' to her new home. Plus, it had been lots of years since I've held a tarantula, and I've got to admit I don't know if I would've even yet if it hadn't been for my EXTREMELY brave niece & nephew! They REALLY wanted to hold her- she was sitting in the container that's inside her cage- so I just lifted the container out- & as I sat there with the container, trying to get the guts to tip it into my hand, he's coaching me!!! "You can do it, Aunt Bee!" "Just lift it up more" "Tap it!"

And I was very excited that we held her! Me, Porter & Katie. Now it's not so scary, but I am SOO impressed by my little niece & nephew! Porter & Katie didn't seem even the tiniest bit afraid to hold her! She went fast too- ran up from Porter's hand so fast that we didn't know where she was a for a minute! But we found her on the back of his shirt- Ryan said it would've been great to get a picture of it on Porter's shirt too, but I put her back in the cage as soon as we found her- it scared me that she ran so fast that we didn't even know where she was! Plus, we'll have lots of chances for fun tarantula pictures! So I'm sure we'll have more to come! (Thank you, Liz!!!) :)

Ward Campout

We went to our ward campout on Sept. 11th. It was up by Payson, so a little cooler out. (it's still over 100 degrees here in Mesa, so it was nice for a mini break from the heat!) We were just there one night, but it was still plenty of time for the kids to pack in lots of playing & exploring!

As we're setting up camp, we notice this bright 'thing' in the sky. I was stumped- it was nothing like the shape of the moon, or even partial-moon, it was too early for a star (& way brighter than a star), it was like a little mystery! Then comes my hero with his trusty camera, snaps a photo & zooms in to this picture- now we're guessing a weather balloon. I never really knew what they look like, or that they glow bright white! But it was up way too high for a normal hot-air balloon. What do you think? Hm...I think I'm getting good at posting mystery pictures! Seems like one on each trip!

Jacqueline's dressed for the day, Sept. 11th

I love this picture, I know it's dark, but it's totally Cameron being the sweet big brother!Cameron always wants to be so careful to make sure Harrison's not hurt. Even yesterday Harrison was trying to get into the piano keys, lifting the heavy wooden cover on them, so Cameron stood there so long holding it down! I told him he didn't have to, but he told me he didn't mind standing there forever holding it, because he was afraid Harrison would squish his fingers if he did lift it up. He's so sweet!

In this picture, it was Harrison's first time seeing the horse that was there (it's not in the picture,

but the boys are looking at it)... it totally shows so much of Cameron's relationship with Harrison...

The next morning, Harrison wasn't quite as hesitant.
This is how Harrison greets everyone... er... everything... "Hi!"

Just ignore the fact that he's wearing his jammies on top of his jeans! I had a crazy busy couple days before the campout, so I spent a whole 5ish minutes packing. Needless to say we didn't have any coats with us, or any long sleeves! So, jammies worked, even as a layer on top of jeans! Hey, there's a first time for everything! Maybe Harrison's fashion will start a new trend!

Harrison having a conversation with... a horse.

Danika liked searching for pretty flowers. ...I should've gotten a picture of her crying at the port-a-potty- that was a new thing for her that she definitely didn't like!!! Daddy giving Harrison a lift during our walk

The timing for this kiddie train was perfect- they started right when Ryan & I were beginning to pack up the tent & everything- so it was nice that the kids were entertained! (too bad Harrison was scared of riding it.)

I feel very lucky that Ryan's into photography- Call me biased, but I think he takes some great pictures!

Beach Bums!

We just got back from a week-long Rogers' Family Reunion in Oceanside, CA on Friday. I think a good way to sum it up would be with Danika's question she asked during our drive home,
Danika: "Where are we going now?"
Mom: "Home."
Danika: "Then in the morning can we go to the beach again?" :)

I think we'd all love to go back. And to Debbie's parents- a big THANK YOU! We had a lot of fun at the beachhouse- being at the ocean & with family-- although I still expect to keep my siblings up all night talking sometime soon, since I didn't get to there (you old fogies go to sleep too early!)!! he he he!
But we still had fun together during the day... Here's a sample of our fun...

(Danika & cousin Isaac)

Harrison played in the sand a lot- He even did 'sand angels'- laying on his tummy - because he loved the feel of the smooth sand so much! He just kept laying down to feel it!

3 Sisters boogie boarding together!
(left to right: Liz, Kathy & Debbie)
Boogie boarding's especially fun when 2 sisters aim at the 3rd sister trapped inbetween them-- Kathy almost got nailed by my board! If you can see Liz & I close up- we were laughing SO hard! LOL Forever!!!!

Jacqueline & Danika helping Cameron search for sand crabs (Cameron found lots, the girls made sure they never did! They made some cute mud cookies though!)

Who's that hunk boogie boardin'?!

Ryan, of course! :) He enjoyed having time to grow his goatee during the time off work- Debbie enjoyed it, too! (The night before returning to work, he shaved it off in parts- I'm gladhe doesn't keep a moustache! I should've taken pictures... next time!)

We had a great view from the beachhouse, and had fun watching the different pods of dolphins & orca whales that swam by. I don't even know which this is- I'll make you figure it out! The kids even found a pirate treasure map in a bottle that had washed up on the beach with the waves. (Can you believe they found one 2 years ago, too?! What are the chances?!) :)

They had a blast running up & down the beach, searching for the next clue-

- and of course looting the treasure box after they dug it up!

Yep, lots of fun!

Harrison liked picking up the rocks on the beach, then throwing them into the ocean. We liked seeing the cute baby footprints he left behind...