Walk at UofA

Carrie and I went to a UofA walk tonight-it was a march to protect Women. We had our kids with us and they got to hear lots of strange chants. There favorite part was getting free whistles and snow cones.


Here the wildcat is sucking it's thumb to mimic Marlee:


Carrie & her boys:

I''ll take my egg hard boiled...

Finally, now that Easter has come and gone, I got out the hard boiled eggs for the boys to dye.

People have often asked me how Porter holds a pen since he has "Turley hands." First off, this is how Clayton holds it:

And now...for Porter{different than the typical way, but hey, it works}:

They now feel like their Easter holiday is complete.

Happy Easter!

Marlee was all about the Easter treats. After her nap she went straight for the chocolate.


Peeps on a stick anyone?


Easter egg hunt:



On the run:

She was so excited when she found eggs and even tried snagging eggs out of her brother's bucket. Whatever works, right?


The kids with their loot:



I made some braided bread tonight

Sara Lee made some Key Lime Pie

And Jonathan and Darleen made lemon bars.
Enough sugar already...give me some real food.

Easter morning…

The Easter bunny brought pillow pets for Port & Boo, but not for Clay because he thinks they’re for little kids. He got the “chetto” pillow, as he likes to call it.

The fun mallows were a big hit-green apple & peach flavored with filling & vanilla flavored ice-cream cones.

Marlee was so excited about her cow pillow, cabbage patch doll & chocolate egg.

I taught sharing time today and of course it was about the true meaning of Easter. I showed lots of pictures of Jesus and talked about His sacrifice for all of us. I am so thankful for this holiday & the chance that we have to all reflect on what Jesus Christ has done for us. Happy Easter!

pump, pump, pump it up

We love when someone has a birthday party at Pump It Up. It is this massive room full of inflatable bouncy castles, slides, obstacle courses, etc. And the best part is that the parents can join in on the fun, too. Marlee was in heaven and I got in a good work out since I followed her everywhere.

Marlee thought she was such a big girl-sitting with all the big kids, eating pizza.


love that face

Oh Clayton...

When Clayton came home from school today, this is what he said,"All these girls have a crush on me...why do I have to be the hot one?" Seriously, should I even respond to that? What a rough life he has. It isn't his fault that he is so good looking just like his daddy. I hope he'll survive.

she made the cut....

Last night we had girls night. Sabra, Carrie, and I all got together with our little ones. We had dinner and Sabra cut our hair. I just got a trim and sweep bangs, but Marlee got the whole shebang! We went for the bob haircut and Sabra did an amazing job. I love the way it turned out!

Marlee did pretty good, she was entertained with candy, singing, and looking at pictures on my camera. There was some tears welling up in her eyes, but she did great. I was a little nervous how she would react since this was her first big haircut (Laun trimmed her hair once when she was a little baby). She stayed pretty still...for a 2 year old.

Her hair was pretty long, but it was getting too stringy, so a lot was cut off.

Marlee with a cheek full of candy:

When we got home I had Marlee look in the mirror to see how she liked her haircut. She liked it and kept saying, "haircut."

Today I took some photos of her with the new do:

Beech would not leave her alone-maybe he just wanted to be in a picture?

Stacked in the back:

She looks a little older to me now. I love the way it turned out-perfect for the hot weather.

Sabino Canyon

This is only the second time I have been here, the first time was four years ago. Clayton was only four & I was so proud that he hiked two miles. Porter was real little & got a ride in the stroller. Time flies!

The proud hikers at the 1 mile mark:

My fav people in a row & Marlee swinging like a monkey.

A cardinal bird & the shuttle (you can take that if you don’t want to hike or only want to hike 1 way. We just hiked around 3 miles total & stopped half way through for a nice dip in the water.

The water felt great & there was lots of fishes to see.

The boys enjoyed jumping into the water-love Clayton’s foot sticking out:

Our kids are amazing…they walk on water & they fly;)

Whenever the boys would jump in, Marlee would yell,”My turn, My turn!” This girl never wants to be left out of a good time.

Marlee didn’t want to get out of the water, even though she was shivering. Clayton or “T T” as Marlee calls him, took Marlee into the water. If you look closely, Marlee has lots of fish near her-the kids loved the fish.

Me with my makeshift shorts & Marbar:

There are several swimming holes to stop at:

Our water babies:

Laun & Marlee splashing........................ The boys in their “bath”

Clayton & Laun were laughing about something…maybe being cold or trying to balance on the rock?

Marlee kickin’ it…Clayton swam clear out & chilled on a rock…Laun with his mini twin:

I love Oatmeal Creme Pies because they remind me of when Laun & I were dating. We were both attending NAU at the time & we used to buy them when we would go out for drives. Now our kids get to enjoy them occasionally…

The desert hike was beautiful…

Marlee got to walk for a bit, but mainly she rode in her stroller or got a lift.

We definitely want to visit Sabino Canyon again. I love that you can hike-cool off-and hike again.