Roosevelt Lake

My kids are on a modified year round school schedule. I absolutely love this. They have a 2 week vacation every nine weeks. As a former teacher, this is an amazing concept and a much needed break. As a mother, I look forward to having the kids all to myself for a couple of weeks. No homework, no set schedule, no bedtime (okay, we do try to stick to our bed routine or else I am the one to pay the next day!).

This intersession was quite a bit different for us. We usually stay close to home and spend time with friends and family and maybe go to the zoo or somewhere close by. The first week we went to see my sister in Safford and had a great time. Last week, we headed over to Roosevelt Lake and spent a few days enjoying the weather, the views, and the great company. We had a blast!

Travis' sisters and 3 cousins came along with us. We stayed in a house just off the lake. One day we rented a pontoon boat and went fishing. No one got even a bite!!! We saw several fish peek out of the water, teasing us. But, the kids loved being on the lake and driving the boat fast. It was such a beautiful day. Maybe next year we will get in the water!

One of the funniest parts of the day was the worms! We bought some worms to fish with and Natalie became a little possessive, maybe even obsessive. She didn't want us to put any on a hook and she wanted to keep them as pets. She convinced everyone to hold them (I don't think Tyler and Elaina enjoyed it very much.) TJ was in his element though. I can't believe how LONG those worms were. The kids definitely liked the worms more than the fish did!

I am so glad we went. Even with the setbacks: sleepless nights with a restless baby, hard beds, bedding forgotten at home, Africanized bees, tarantulas, and rattlesnakes. It was worth it!

Several days after we got home, Natalie asked when we can go again. Mission accomplished : )

A Weekend with the Cousins

Because we have finished the first nine weeks of school and are now enjoying intersession, I decided to take the kids on a little trip to visit my sister in Safford.

Alissa was so sweet to take us all on. We added six to her household of 8! Between us we have eleven kids ages 12, 9, 9, 7, 7, 5, 5, 3, 3, 1, and 4 months. We have a great time together, but wow, that is a lot of kiddos!

Thursday night, we stayed at home and Alissa made us a very yummy dinner and the kids settled in.


Friday we went to a parade. We got there a little late, but the kids saw some a couple of bands, some horses, the fire truck, and just enough to have a great time and not get bored.

After that, we went to the duck pond and had a picnic. I think they could have spent a lot of time there, but we had other plans!

After filling our bellies we headed over to the county fair. We had a great time together. I don't know if Alissa would agree because I ended up getting a ride bracelet so that Carolyn and Tyler could go on some rides, but she stayed with the babies on the ground.

I had a fun time on the kiddie rides with the little cousins and then riding on the scary rides with the big kids.

TJ and Brian jumped on the upside down ride called "The Ring of Fire". I watched with Lydia from the ground.






I was surprised at TJ's bravery. Maybe it helped to have his cousin encouraging him. During the ride, I think his bravery abandoned him because he looked terrified! I felt bad for him because I know that scary feeling, but I still laughed the whole time! When he got off, he declared the Ring of Fire the worst ride he had ever been on!! He still did choose to go on a couple other big kid rides, but no more upside down ones!

After the rides, we went to look at the animals. The kids really loved that and I am sure they would have loved to stay longer, but we were all tired and ready to go home and relax.


Saturday, the kids spent most of the day outside jumping on the trampoline, having a great time being together. Here are some fun trampoline pictures:




Natalie practicing her russian!
Take a look at Alissa's back yard. Peace and quiet at it's best (well, as quiet as it can be with 11 kids running around!)





T.J. is so fun!




I had to get in on the action with my back flip!




Elaina and Allen teaming up.




Cami. What can I say? She is too funny and such a character. Love her! This picture captures her personality quite well!!




And here is Brian. Impressive!



What a memorable time we had. I know I will be hearing about it for weeks from the kids. They didn't want to leave : )

Thanks for having us Alissa and Joe. We love you guys!!!

Witch's Brew

We have been brewing up some good times at our house this week. Halloween is such a fun time of the year. As long as we don't let things get too scary, the kids have a great time!

We spent part of Family Home Evening talking about general conference. What a great conference!!! Some of my favorite talks were Elder Scott on seeking the spirit, President Uchtdorf on love, and Elder Holland (incredible!).

After that, we spent some time decorating for the season.

Both of these ideas came from the blog of a super fun mom in Colorado.

This is the scene out of our front room window. It is a fun witch silhouette. It is made with black poster board. While I worked on the witches, the kids made bats and spun spider webs.

These are some spooky snapshots of the kids. Come closer my dear...


I had fun playing with pictures and Photoshop. I had to make a moustache on Tyler! He's my little man & it makes him look suspicious!




Elaina was mad that I would even think about altering her face. I guess she was a little embarrassed. I tried to make it as sweet as I could. I think the spider adds just the right touch!

I thought Natalie turned out really cute. Wish I could catch a ride!

TJ has a wild elf look. He loved it!

I hope to give the kids a new look each year. It was such a fun thing to do and very personal and inexpensive.

One of our favorite Halloween books is "Big Pumpkin". It is a fun story with great illustrations. The truth is, we read it all year round!

I have been wanting to watch "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" with the kids. It has been so long since I have seen it though. Is it really as scary as I remeber it? I will have to rent it and preview it or we may have nightmares in our future!