Rawhide!

We had the BEST time at Rawhide last weekend!  My mother-in-law invited us to stay with her in a FREE hotel room around the corner from Rawhide.  The boys had fun on the train, stagecoach ride, rock wall, petting zoo, panning for gold, burro rides, gun fighting show, etc.  Brody's favorite activity was riding the bull!  Wyatt wasn't tall enough to do that, but he got to pan for GOLD!  This boys loves money and he knows that gold = $.  Jerry and I even got hitched again (11 year vow renewal)!  The judge who married us was as drunk as a skunk!  CRAZY!  YEE HAW!

After dinner, Brody loved roasting his marshmallow for his smore at our table. Cool!

Great job Brody!

Cute cowboy!

Everyone there went to watch the gun show and we had the whole place to ourselves!!!  No lines...YAY!

I love this picture and I'm so surprised that it even turned out.  I took it with my phone and the stagecoach was a VERY bumpy ride!

I see GOLD!

Here we are with our wedding certificate after our ceremony.  The judge said for Wyatt to hold the gun on me so I didn't try to run away before the ceremony.  Brody was in charge of the rings.  I'll get you back for this one Linda!!!  

 

 

Staying Cool!

We are having such a wonderful summer so far!  The boys love going to Wet-n-Wild with their cousins, swimming at Grandma and Papa's house, and going to the local public pools.  Stay cool!!

I love this picture of the cousins at my mom's house!

I like this one even more!!!

Wyatt loves the new Jr. area at Wet-n-Wild!  The rides are perfect for his age!!!

Brody looks up to his cousin Nick soooo much!

Hi Wy!

We spend a lot of time in the pool at my mom and dad's during the summer!

Fun summertime memories!

Happy Father's Day!

God took the STRENGTH of a mountain, the NOBILITY of a tree, the a GENEROUS soul of nature, the COMFORTING arm of night, the WISDOM of the ages, the JOY of a fresh morning, the FAITH of a mustard seed, the PATIENCE of eternity, and added ENDURING LOVE to create FATHERS.

The poem above was handed out at church yesterday.  I loved it!  My two little boys are so blessed to have such a hands on dad!  Jerry loves them more than ANYTHING!  I also feel very lucky to have my dad who is such an AMAZING example of what a father should be.  He is a fantastic role model for us all.  I've never seen anyone care for his wife, children, and grandchildren like he does.

The boys helped me make Jerry an egg white omelet with spinach, peppers, and jalapenos for breakfast yesterday.  Then we headed to church, lunch at Macayo's, and then to my mom and dad's for swimming and a BBQ.  What a fantastic day!  Happy Father's Day Jerry!!!

Wyatt made these for Jerry at VBS (Vacation Bible School).  Cute!

In the book that Brody made for Jerry it said: If you could buy your dad one thing, what would it be?  Brody wrote... a rhino!  He knows his dad!

I love this picture that Brody drew of Jerry taking Brody for a golf cart ride!  Wee!

Papa loved the card and stepping stone the boys made for him.

In addition to Father's Day, we also had my dad's 74th birthday to celebrate!

 

Happy 74th B-Day Papa! Happy 8th B-Day Brody!

We were all up bright and early today for my dad and Brody's birthday balloon ride!  We're really into enjoying an"experience" for birthday gifts these days (instead of toys).  Brody said it was "AMAZING"!  He loved looking at the pools in the backyards below.  My dad has been ballooning before, but he said this ride was much longer (almost 1 1/2 hours).  What a memorable experience for them both!

The boys loved watching the balloon inflate.

Papa helped!

Happy Birthday!!!!!

That fire is loud and hot!

We have lift off!!!!

Brody wasn't scared one bit!  See ya!

The weather was perfect for a balloon ride!

This is right before the pilot landed the balloon.  Wyatt said he can't wait to go for a balloon ride on his 7th birthday!

   

Where's Wyatt???

This little guy LOVES his stuffed animals!!!  We have sooo many!!  He has a hard time deciding which ones will stay with him on his bed and which ones need to take a nap in the closet.

Wyatt's Tee Ball Season

Wyatt had a wonderful tee ball season this past spring.  A few of his best friends were on his team and our good friend Lucas was the coach.  We had so much fun cheering on the Cardinals!!!

This picture was taken at Wyatt's last practice of the season.

Go Wy Wy!

Taking a quick drink break...it's HOT!

Wacking water balloons off of the tee is so FUN!!!

Here's Wy with his two best buddies from preschool!

Run!!!!

Cutie pie!

Here's Wy in his "ready position".

Go Cardinals!

Wyatt with Coach Lucas (who is his best friend Connor's dad).

Wyatt couldn't wait to get his hands on his trophy!!!

Wyatt is very lucky to have such a large cheering section!

We're so proud of you!!!

Great season Wyatt!!!

   

Camping Trip

Last week we headed up north to Woods Canyon Lake for a camping trip with my mom and dad.  We had the BEST time!  The weather was gorgeous, we were allowed to have a campfire at night, and we caught more than 3 dozen fish!!!  The boys loved fishing, hiking, making smores, riding their bikes, collecting little bugs, playing with worms, seeing an elk/eagle, going for golf cart rides down to the store, and sleeping in our tent at night.  What an AMAZING way to start summer vacation!

These boys love their Grandma and Papa sooo much!!!

Brody caught the first fish of the day!!!  He said, "Wow, fishing is easy!".  He reeled this baby in within the first 5 minutes of us being on the boat.  We kept it and Jerry showed him how to clean it.  The boys want Papa to cook their fish so they can taste trout.

Wyatt loved helping Papa drive the boat.

Brody was in his glory fishing!  I asked him if he'd rather be up in the mountains fishing or by the ocean at the beach...he said it's a tie.  He loves them both...me too!!!

Wyatt was so happy when he caught a fish too!  We couldn't believe how good the fishing was.  We caught more than 3 dozen fish!  It was so exciting!!

Wyatt kept his first fish too!  He can't wait to taste it!

Jerry loved fly fishing!  He taught both of the boys how to fly fish.

I love the serious look on their determined faces in this shot.

Hiking in the meadow was fun for all!  The boys loved using their walking sticks that Jerry bought them.

We love going camping with my mom and dad!  They are so easy going and fun to be around.  They made us breakfast every morning....yummy!

Here's our camping spot.  Mom and dad slept in their truck camper and we slept in our tent.  It was 33 degrees at night, so we were snuggled up with our beanies on, gloves, layers of clothes and blankets.   

The boys caught critters in their jars and then studied them like scientists.  So cute!

We had a picnic in this beautiful spot.  Here's Brody driving his remote control boat. 

Besides troll fishing, we loved bobber and bottom fishing too.  I think everyone caught a fish in this sneaky spot.

Bobber fishing was exciting for the boys.  They got a kick out of seeing the bobber go under the water when they caught a fish.

This is the biggest fish any of us have EVER caught at this lake.  My mom caught this 18 inch trout while bobber fishing with a worm!  We couldn't believe our eyes!!!  Besides the few fish we kept to cook, we gave away the other big ones to a man that donates them to an assisted living home in Phoenix. 

Wyatt begged us to let him take home this little caterpillar named Wormie.  In the end, we decided it was best for Wormie to stay in the woods which is his home.

Isn't the Mogollon Rim beautiful?  I love this family of mine!

Thank you for such a memorable trip Grandma and Papa!  We love you more than you'll ever know!!!

It's our family tradition to stop and eat at the Creekside Restaurant in Christopher Creek on our way back to town.  We love sitting by the window and watching the hummingbirds.  The homemade ranch dressing is awesome too!