Cool Weather Adventures!

We spent Thursday, Friday, and most of Saturday in the area around Payson. Our boys were true adventurers and little sister kept up with all the fun. We definitely made some great memories and have some new pictures for the frames around our house. Perfect!

Here is my top ten list of favorite things . . .

10. Picked berries at Kehl Springs.

9. Found Geodes near Clints Wells (and found a letterbox stamp).

8. Fed fish at the Tonto Creek Fish Hatchery.

7. Played in Tonto Creek (found stamp #2 and #3).





6. Hiked around Woods Canyon Lake.





5. Hiked the 260 Trailhead (got a stamp too).



4. Visited Paleo Ruins (found stamp #5).



3. Picnicked at Green Valley Park.



2. Hiked to Wild Bill's Spring in Pine (another stamp!).





1. Played at Fossil Creek.



Anderson . . . the one I had to promise that there were new shoes waiting for him at home before he would get into the creek with his tennies on. Our rule follower!


Connor . . . our daredevil.


Kyndall . . . the one that wouldn't wait for her swimsuit to get into the water. Ha!


What a great three days!!

Field Trip!

I am on a quest to finish checking off the things on my list for Summer 2009 Fun! Getting to Cabela's was a must, since we hadn't made it to the local store yet. I can't believe it has taken us so long to get there! I grew up with their catalogs around the house and spent lots of time looking at them with my dad . . . I think I was the go-to girl for his Christmas wish list from there and know that we all pitched in for several must-have items from Cabela's!

Well, we got to see it all in person this weekend and Papa Hart came to show us around. A perfect tour guide!

Checking out the fish in the aquarium . . . fun!

Virtual target practice. Oh my!

Hanging out in the dog house.

Bunkbed cots. Awesome!!!

Papa and a little sweet Kyndall Crockett!

Little Campers . . . Lots O' Fun!

We spent two days with Dad at junior high camp! What a blast! We came home with fun memories, one bad scabbing boo-boo, and a bunch of dirty clothes.

Our favorite memories!

• Our room was smaller than any room in our house . . . bathrooms included probably. We even had to move around furniture to get the pack-n-play to fit in the floor space. The bathroom was in a separate building a little walk away which presented it own challenges. However, when talking about it, the boys referred to it as our "cabin house" and used terms like "great", "awesome", and "so nice!". It just made me smile.
• Connor and Anderson learned this funny imaginary blow dart game from the kids. Now, they expect me to play all the time. Really?!?! Dropping what I am doing and falling to the floor to wait for them to rescue me does not work in real life . . . only at camp. Sorry, boys! I told them that Dad would LOVE to play when he gets home. Ha ha ha!
• A tarantula found in our cabin on Andy's and my bed . . . thankfully I am not scared of them, so I got him out and on his way okay. Although I was terrified to think that something may crawl on one of the babes through the night so I kept checking them with my flashlight and didn't sleep much.
• Kyndall took a terrible tumble down a sloped gravely walkway. She did a face plant and seriously scraped up the left side of her sweet face. There was a collective gasp as a large group was heading to the dining hall and witnessed it. I don't know how it missed her eye because there were bad gashes all around it. Thankfully it has healed so well and quick!!! Yay! My pleading prayers were answered!!!
• All the junior high kids played duck, duck, goose with Connor. Seriously, all of them! He had so much fun and seriously thinks he is faster than all of them since they never caught him. Gotta love it!
• The boys got to ride a bus with Jon home from the lake . . . this may be the top event of their summer. They were so excited!!!! It cracked me up.
• Kyndall was so wild that the kids and I had to leave the service when the speaker came out. Connor was so bummed because he wanted "to hear what the guy had to say about Jesus". Yes, my heart smiled!
• But, my number one, was seeing Jon hanging out with the kids (the junior high ones and even ours) and doing what he does. I was so spoiled to be able to go to camp all the time with a school schedule before kids. So, to get these glimpses now is so sweet to me . . . and reminds me of what a great guy I have.

I would have pictures, but I left my memory card attached to my computer. Good thing I brought the camera and the battery charger! Ha! However, there are pics on Jon's site. http://www.azhillsyouth.com/

He comes home in just two more sleeps!!! Yay!

Family Campfire

Our family time tonight was spent making a fire and cooking hotdogs and eating smores. So fun! The kiddos loved the eats, and we loved the funny expressions and great memories.



Yum!











And, of course, when it is 1000 degrees outside, you have to run through the sprinklers when it is all done. More fun!

The NEW Justice League!

If you hang around our boys for a little while, you would come to know that they have a super-hero obsession. Usually for the Marvel ones. In an instant, they could beam you with Cyclops' laser or grow imaginary claws and scratch you like Wolverine. I know far too much about super-heroes. More than I could have ever thought I would learn. Oh my!

Lately, however, we have moved over to the Justice League (not exclusively, but quite often). Today we had a Batman and a Superman . . . but they needed another sidekick.

THE INSPIRATION


But since the outfit of Wonder Woman is a little (or maybe A LOT) risque, we improvised.


Although, it is not perfect, it was a great improvement on the SuperCOW she had to be last time (Andy was a cow for his first Halloween, and they found the costume in Kyndall's closet. It fits Kyndall now . . . and she must ALWAYS be a superhero, so therefore, she was SuperCOW. Yes, they are really obsessed.).


She LOVED the boots! A great find in a hand-me-down box! All day she kept wanting them back on. Too fun!




Wonder Woman must keep Superman and Batman in check, right?!?! She has a light saber and a drum stick, and she is not afraid to use them!!!

Night at the BIG TOP!

We gave Connor tickets to the circus (and a chain for counting down to the night of the big event) for his 5th birthday. We got a great deal on opening night, so Jon, Connor, Anderson, and I headed out for some fun. Kyndall had a date with Grandma Hart, and she came with circus toys in hand. Much more fun for her . . . and us!

We started off with McDonald's! Thanks to Aunt Regina and Uncle Phillip, Connor got to use his special giftcard and even got to choose a Happy Meal with a toy . . . a treat for sure!





We had great seats and a great time! The boys can't decide between the elephants, tigers, and clowns as their favorite. I guess that is a good sign! It was fun to do something different and exciting together. What a great time and a great memory for all of us!!


Loving my "boy time"!


Three happy kids . . . yes, I count Jon in the kid category! He is too much fun!!!


I loved the elephants too!! It is just amazing how they get those HUGE animals to do all those stunts.


A happy kid . . .


and a sleepy one too!!!

June loving!

There has been a lot of loving at our house . . . and some that I managed to catch with my camera! Yay! I love capturing sweet moments . . . they get me through the "not so sweet" ones that seem to happen just as often. Oh my.

VBS (Vacation Bible School) love! The boys LOVED their classes at VBS. Connor was with the Kindergarten kids and part of the main group this year. Anderson loved his preschool class . . . especially because he got to hang out with his cousin Tyler! FUN!


Connor pushing Kyndall at the Children's museum. She was so happy, and Connor stuck with it for quite awhile since he knew she was having so much fun. Love it!

Anderson and Kyndall in the back of a "rick shaw". Cousin Jared somehow got the unfortunate job of pedaling. Aren't they funny snugglers?

A bedtime hug from Kyndall. Those are so sweet . . . and really tight too!

Book love! Kyndall LOVES books! I guess she is with the right family! Yay! She will bring a book to be read to anyone she thinks will read it to her. This day she found Connor. What a sport!