Another Hike!

It was a gorgeous Saturday morning in the Superstition Mountains.

In preparation for our Stake Pioneer Trek, our ward organized a hike for the YM and YW and I decided to tag along!

Before the sun came up it was a little chilly. Spencer wore two coats and brought a blanket. Not just any blanket, mind you, but our little Kung Fu panda blanket. Skadoosh.

It was a four mile hike and the kids just took off! We didn't see most of them the entire length of the hike.

Except from a distance.

We had a ton of fun with these tremendous youth.

Until we took a wrong turn and kind of got lost. When we made our way back to the main trail, we noticed that the only one still missing was Kaleb ("Big Red"), our nearly 7-foot-tall, red-haired young man. We couldn't believe he was the one we misplaced. But pretty soon we watched him slowly make his way up out of the river bottom.

Hooray! We're almost done! This is Sister Moore, our fearless YW leader who was the mastermind of the hike.

Of course there was food. Bagels, muffins, orange juice. A great reward for a great group of kids.

Just look at them!

Awesome.

Science

On the last day of Christmas break, I took the boys to the Science Museum. It is getting harder to take my kids anywhere together because the older two are just "in" to different things than the younger two. But we have found that the Science Museum consistently offers fun for both age groups. On this trip, the microscopes were new and Jacob enjoyed trying them out.

Isaac put on oven gloves and tried to assemble a lego house to learn about fine-motor skills.

Spencer and I found this great art exhibit. "Photomicrography" is photography through a microscope. We were amazed at how beautiful our microscopic world can be!

We always love this centrifugal force experience:

First, Spencer.

Isaac (he's having a great time!).

And Noah.

The bed of nails is a great attraction, too. Jacob thinks he could sleep like this.

Although this exhibit was not meant to be used in this way, Isaac enjoyed the climb.

All of my smart boys. I'm glad they love science.

Wind Cave

On the day after New Year's day we decided to hike to Wind Cave in Usery Park as a family.

It was a beautiful day. Perfect weather!

Spencer, Noah, and Jacob took off fast and got way ahead of the rest of us slowpokes. We found them resting and waiting for us in this heart-shaped alcove.

It was a tough climb at the end, but we all made it to the top!

Isaac was so proud of himself for walking the whole way up. It was really hard in some places as he was climbing over boulders and going up steep inclines, but he did it!

A tribute to Uncle Jon.

Spencer took some really cool panoramic shots from the top of the cave.

Noah wanted a picture of himself hugging a cactus. Ouch!

It took us about 2 hours for the 3.2 mile round trip and we were starving by the end. Jeremy treated us to all-you-can-eat at the Oriental Buffet for FHE. Thanks, honey!

Countdown to a New Year

We usually just stay home and be together as a family on New Year's Eve. This year we copied Aunt Kami and did a "countdown" to midnight. I prepared a paper sack for each hour of the countdown. Each sack had an activity for us to do as a family (minus Spencer who went to the 5-Stake youth dance). At 7 pm the sack contained a bottle of canola oil, which kicked off our hour of fondue dinner yumminess. At 8, there was a copy of the movie "Iron Man 2" (we've been re-watching all the Marvel superheroes movies in anticipation of the Avengers movie this summer). At 9, we paused the movie because there was a bar of soap in our sack. All the kids had to take showers and get their PJ's on before we finished the movie. At 10:00 we started the white chocolate fondue. At 11, we got out the hats and streamers and noisemakers so we would be ready to count down at 12:00. 10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1..Happy New Year!!  The 12:00 bag had our fireworks in it so everyone ran outside to light them off.  So. Much. Fun! Thanks, Kami!

Just Dance

An afternoon of "Just Dance" is always worth a laugh. I just giggle watching the boys play, especially when Richy is over. The pictures will never do it justice. You just have to be there.

Christmas Morning

Christmas was pretty simple at our house this year. We tried to limit the gifts and focus on the three gifts of the Wise Men: something useful, something meaningful, and something joyous.

 

 

Isaac loved that he got the Lego Star Wars III for Wii and Build-a-Bear stuff for his "Anakin" bear.

 

 

Jacob was happy with his Troy Polamalu jersey and Diamondbacks baseball hat.

 

Noah had been waiting for a new hoodie and a SpyGear video/audio watch. He also got to pick out a nice CTR ring.

 

Spencer got a video game called Skyward Sword but I think his favorite was the visible laser (it's amazingly powerful and we had to learn some safety rules!).

 

 

It was a beautiful Sabbath Christmas. After church, we (actually, Spencer) drove to Emily and Jared's for a stunning turkey dinner with all the gourmet trimmings. So much fun to be with family on such a special day.

Christmas Village

A few weeks before Christmas, Wendi and I had a garage sale. One guy who stopped by was looking for Christmas village houses. We didn't have any for sale but got talking to him and he said he had a display in front of his house with over 500 pieces. Just before Christmas, I took my family to go check it out. It was amazing! The boys loved trying to look inside the houses and watching the ones that had movable parts, lights, and music. The guy was there, too. He was so cute and made sure all of us got a candy cane before we left.

 

A Christ-Centered Christmas

For our ward Relief Society's Christmas meeting, Jeremy and I were asked to portray Mary and Joseph. I laughed a little and said we were too old but that we'd be more than happy to do it. It ended up being a beautiful evening, with each member of the Nativity speaking on a quality that person showed.  Jeremy gave such a sweet message about Joseph and his service, while I spoke about Mary and how she pondered. We were blessed to have Jeremy's parents attend the evening with us. And check this out: peppermint cheesecake for dessert. Must. Have. Recipe.