12 hour camping

Friday night we went camping up by Payson. There was a 40% chance of rain but we went anyway. We got there at 6 pm and realized we forgot flashlights and it was kinda chilly, so we ran to WalMart and got jackets for the kids and flashlights. We got back to the campsite at almost 7 pm and set up camp. The kids had fun running around and I was so happy we were able to have a campfire!

We roasted hot dogs, marshamallows, and made some delicious hot schmoes! Jaxon was kinda crazy! He would run towards the fire and then start climbing in the tent so we would take his shoes off. 2 minutes later he would climb out of the tent so we would put his shoes back on and then he would take off for the fire and start all over again!

After about 1/2 hour of enjoying our campfire, it started sprinkling... we stayed out for a while longer and then figured we better start making our way to the tent. We finished our dinner in the tent and not much longer the girls went right to sleep...

Jaxon on the other hand...

apparently needed some more time to wind down. He was climbing all over us and flopping over Jonas then flopping over me and trying to get to the girls. It was pretty funny and we couldn't stop laughing at him. The plan was to sneak out and enjoy the fire after the kids were all asleep but I guess we didn't make it! We're old like that. :)

I was surprised we actually got some sleep. Kyla had a mental breakdown sometime in the middle of the night and Jaxon crawled all over us everytime he woke up... In the morning it started pouring and we enjoyed it for quite a while and we stayed surprisingly dry for the most part. I love the sound of rain on the tent! It was awesome! But it was starting to get a little annoying because it wouldn't stop and we hadn't had time to get out and enjoy the outdoors yet. We waited it out for a while, hoping it would stop. But our tent was really starting to get wet so we decided it was time to go. Jonas made several quick trips running stuff out to the car and then we ran the kids out and jumped in the car and drove back home. It was 6:30 am!!! We musta been up early! Anyway, it was fun but next time we're going without the rain!

BLAST OFF

Jonas' first rocket launched on Tuesday night from Virgina. He has worked on several different rockets, but this is the first one that he worked on that launched since rockets take about 2 years to complete. It's pretty cool to see this rocket launch that Jonas helped to design. It's a few minutes long, the cool part is just the first 30 seconds of it. He might get mad at me for posting this, but I think it's pretty cool! This rocket carried a satellite into space. Way to go Jonas!

dance pix

Maelie and Kyla have been in a dance class since February and yesterday was picture day.

Their cousins Kailin and Anna are also in the class - this is the costume for their ballet dance - Minnie Mouse Birthday Party and their tap dance is You are a Pirate!

And here's the whole group!

Maelie

Kyla

cute sisters

Arizona Science Center

We finally tested out the culture pass and it really works! We got free tickets to the Arizona Science Center on Saturday, altho we still had to pay $12 for parking! The librarian said you can go to each place as many times as you want and they have an agreement thru 2010. I think we'll try out the Children's museum next and we'll definitely hit the zoo much later in the year! It's getting a little too hot these days. If you haven't already, go to your library and check out a culture pass!

doing the pully thingy, it's actually pretty hard...

the kids had fun with this but definitely liked the falling down part the best...

Kyla and Jaxon exploring the sun, earth, and moon

the kids having a picnic

Kiddy Kickers

Maelie has been taking a community soccer class every Tuesday morning since the end of February. This week was her last time and also a makeup week so the only kids there were Maelie, her cousin Kailin, and another little boy. So Coach Cook threw a bunch of balls out into the gym for a fun day! I tell ya, give kids a big room and a bunch of balls and they are HAPPY!!! It was great, because Jaxon, Kyla and Karsyn also got to play. The pictures didn't turn out that great because of the large room, but you get the idea. They sure had a ball!! =)

Jaxon and Karsyn had fun pushing the ball cart around! At one point Karsyn ran over Jaxon.

Jaxon had so much fun!

So did Kyla!

Maelie "stopping" the ball... I was impressed with how much she enjoyed that. Sometimes I think she tires easily, but she kept going and going that whole 45 minutes and finished with a red face but enough energy to play at the park afterwards.

going in for a kick and almost kicking Grandma (who came to watch that day)

cute soccer stars - Maelie and Kailin, they sure had fun taking this class together!

6th Anniversary and Mother's Day

This year our anniversary fell on Mother's Day. We celebrated on Saturday by hiking in the mountains that we see everyday that are near our house. Mother's day was great, the highlights were definitely breakfast in bed and Maelie singing to me in sarcrament meeting. I am blessed with an amazing mother, an amazing mother in law, and my cute family who made me feel special on mother's day.

the beginning of our hike in the hot desert :)

Jaxon helping me make mother's day dessert

The view of Phoenix from the top

Rub a Dub Dub

3 kids in a tub! Today I was getting the bath water ready for Jaxon and ran to get some shampoo and the girls had stripped down and jumped in. I said, "Hey that was Jaxon's bath." and they said they were taking a bath with Jaxon so I went a head and threw him in with them. Next time we'll use the big tub!

pool fun

Friday night we bought a baby pool and on Saturday we filled it up and the kids had a blast! Jaxon was splashing like crazy in the water and once he figured out the slide he kept going around and around. It was so cute, he would get to the top of the stairs and stand there all proud and then he looked like he was trying to figure out what to do and he couldn't so he just started walking down the slide until Jonas grabbed him and sat him down. It was pretty entertaining for Jonas and I. I know I talk a lot about Jaxon because he was pretty funny, but yes we love the girls too and they also had fun! :) I think I will get the kids suited up and head out there in a bit, and maybe me too so I can get some sun on my white skin!

dinner at our house :)

fun times