AZ summers - not for the faint of heart...

2 very young grandparents and 4 crazy "grand" girls!!
Tim and the girls getting some R and R in the pool!!
The water slides...
Grandma - looking like a beauty queen (she did not want to mess her hair or make up) going down the tamer of the two slides.
A. the dare devil was the first grand child to brave the fast slide - it does not look that fast but it caused many an injury in the adults.



We just returned from a weeks stay in sunny AZ where temperatures ranged around 115 to 117 degrees. Yozaaa!!! It was smoking hot, but we did not mind as we lived in the pools down there. We have been nicknamed the Fish Family!! It was a great time and we had a blast with our cousins!!

AZ trip - other highlights

The four cousins tried to convince Tim and I that they would be a fun addition to our special evening out - it did not work!!
Corny... I know...
In addition to all the water sports in AZ, we took time out to do some other fun things. Tim and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary with a NO-KIDS evening out to dinner. It was fun to be in the company of our family as we celebrated such a great day in our life!! We also took all the girls to a great play - Beauty and the Beast! It was a hit for kids and adults.

The fun just keeps on coming...

Ignore the date stamp - my camera was off at the repair shop so I pulled my old one out as I did not want to miss some special photo ops that happened this weekend...
A little pool action... at times it looked like World War III with these four crazy girls and Tim right in the middle of all the fun!!
Second generation of friendship... it warms my heart that my daughter has found such an amazing friend in the daughter of one of my dearest friends!! To quote a line from Hope Floats - "My cup runneth over..."
We had the most fun this weekend with some friends who drove all the way from Sandpoint, ID to see us! The weather was great and allowed us the chance to play on the trampoline, walk through the MK nature center, play in the park, and we even snuck in some pool time. It was a special treat to see these Sandpoint friends - we feel so very blessed by them!!

Disneyland Highlights

The girls gearing up for our 15 hour drive. We took our longest road trip ever last week to Disneyland, and had the time of our lives!! We were blessed with great roads, amazingly patient children, and good health the entire time. We made the drive in two days going down, and we drove all the way home in one day coming back (crazy - but the girls did not complain once about it)!!
Our family shot in front of a fun ride in Toon Town. The lines did get a little crazy at times - it was packed with wall to wall people - but we had some fun family time during out wait times. This ride we waited 30 minutes for a 40 second roller coaster ride (T. figured this out and informed us all as we were standing in line)! See we even made it educational time...
Grandma and Grandpa posing in a teacup!! We were lucky to have our AZ grandparents join in on the fun with us.
Is it just me or does my mom look more like she could be my sister in this picture??? I sure hope I have those good aging genes - I don't think I do but one can hope. I guess there is no doubt we are related either is there - I see a little family resemblance in this picture!!

You can't go to Disneyland without doing this...

Riding the tea cups...
Posing with a princess...
Posing with your sister...
Posing with minnie ears on...
While we had the best time on this trip I have to admit I was a little disenchanted with how expensive Disneyland was, and so I have to also admit we did not buy any of these hats (they were all $20 just for the mouse ears even). T. did decide to buy the traditional "ears" for herself but those even were $14!! I won't get on my soap box too much, but I did have to make that disclaimer.

More shots from Disneyland!

Taking a "sugar" break - because the Disney "high" was not enough....
Grandma and T. riding the Jumping Jellyfish ride - I liked this shot I thought the colors were fun.
Our family's all-time favorite ride - California Screamin'!! We rode on it 6 times while we were there. The first few times T. stayed on the ground and A. only came with us, but after she saw her little sis on it she had to join in. It was not for the faint of heart with its 100 ft drops and it even went upside down!!! I have to admit I got a little queasy after the 6th ride! If you are trying to figure out who that is sitting by me - don't I was riding single - Tim and A. were back behind me on the ride if you can't tell.
When you get off the ride they try to hit you up for buying a picture of you on it. We never bought the picture (we took a picture of the picture - clever clever I know), but thought this one was funny of Tim purposely making a funny face. A. is sitting right behind him but she is so small you can't see her, and my hair is flying in my face!!

Beach Bums

Collecting sea shells was one of her favorite things to do at the beach!
A. shows off her new smile - she lost another tooth while we were in California. Luckily, this did not get in the way of her eating her licorice. You may notice the hat and T-shirt on the beach - alas she did not get my "tans easily" skin - she is a fair haired maiden for sure!!
I love this one!!
A few of the days on our trip we had to detox from the Disneyland frenzy and the beach was a great place to do that! We had a great time playing in the waves, and taking family beach naps. There is nothing better than a beach nap in my book.