Pinetop, Arizona

July 7-12, 2009

This year we were able to go on a family trip with Grandpa Dave and Grandma Patti. A wonderful family and long time friends of theirs were gracious enough to let us use their cabin in Pinetop. We were all very excited to escape the summer's heat and enjoy the outdoors with cooler weather. We did many fun things while we were there, but most of all enjoyed just being with the entire family.

Meagan and I drove up together since both our husbands had to work during the week. They joined us on the weekend. Here are the kids jammed into the backseat. I'm surprised they even fit in the car. You would have thought we were moving by the amount of stuff each of us had packed. But, you know me, I never want to forget anything. And, of course, I always bring the "what ifs".
The drive is supposed to take about 4.5 hours, but somehow it took us like 6!!! And, Jacey only slept for about 1 hour the entire trip. Oh, well. Thank goodness for the portable DVD.

But we finally arrived and the rest of the cousins were happy to see us.

The rest are pics of some of our fun adventures!

Grandpa teaching Kylie how to fish. Daddy hadn't yet arrived, otherwise, she would have had double the education.

Once she learned, her and grandma chatted while they waited patiently for a bite. Unfortunately, one never came.

The rest of us enjoyed the freezing cold water of the river. Jacey was the first to get wet and the rest followed.

The wonderful firefighters of Pinetop guided us on a tour of the station and the kids thought it was a blast. Kylie did not want to dress up, but she was happy to pose with Karsten and Brecken.

They even gave the kids pretend fire hats.

Kylie standing next to one of the firetrucks. Look at how big the tires are!

Grandma Patti and Jacey and Cullen.

Gotta love the Leapster!

Dancing on the deck waiting for everyone to go on a walk.

Sweet Jacey

The kids made their own binoculars with help from Aunt Meagan. They used them to search for creatures and nature on their "hike".

We found a hula hoop in the closet, and Kylie insisted on trying it out. By the end of the week, she was pretty good at it. Everyone tried it out, including Grandma, Natalie, Meagan, and I. It was hilarious!! I wasn't quite as good as I thought I was. Infact, I could barely keep it goin for more than a few turns. :)

Of course, we had to take the bath shot.

By the end of each day, the kids were a mess and were in desperate need of a good clean up.

Uncle Tom knew of a cool conservatory place. (Not sure of the name) We walked around and learned some interesting history of the area and found some neat nature wonders.

Kylie learned about how bark can smell like ice cream and tried it out herself.

Uncle Tom taking a teaching moment. The kids enjoyed the learning opportunities.

We are so happy to have such wonderful cousins that are our best friends too!

Kylie showing off her cute self.

After our little hike, we took the kids to McDonalds to get ice-cream cones. Each of us ordered and Tom was last. Not knowing the different size cones, he ordered Brecken a kiddy size. This is what the rest of us got.....

Needless to say, Tom had to order a new one for Brecken. His reaction was priceless though. We all had a good laugh.

Then we enjoyed the go-carts at the local family fun park.

The guys had a race of their own.

And, of course, us girls had to also. My cart was way slower than the rest. I got jipped. Natalie won. Better luck next time, I guess.

Jacey enjoyed the old, stationary karts. They were just as fun as the real thing for her.

The race is on!!!

We had a wonderful trip and can't wait for next summer to hopefully enjoy another family adventure.