Sedona, Arizona

Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you had a fantastic weekend, and ate lots of great food. It was fun for Scott to catch up with some of you!! We took a trip to Sedona, AZ this weekend. (it is about 1 1/2 hrs south of the Grand Canyon) Sedona is an interesting place. The scenery is amazing! (Notice Scott the outdoorsman hiking in his sandals....he realized he had forgotten his shoes and socks JUST after he was making fun of some 'tourists' outfit. :) Law hiked the whole way, about 4 miles. Evidently, he has hit the point of having excess amounts of energy. The hike didn't seem to phase him. Maisy lasted almost 2 miles. That's all her little legs could do...then she slept like a newborn in the backpack!!!

Goodbye friends!

We roughed it this week on Coronado! Scott worked, the kids and I had a long walk out the door to the beach. (one of the perks of a navy base)

Sadly, we parted with our great friends, Eric, Shelly, Madison, Drew and Justin. They move to Hawaii on Monday. We will miss them. The kids ran around like crazy one last time, and we spent some time in museums with Uncle Jake, the biggest kid of all! Justin has recently broke the 11 pound mark. Praise God he is a healthy, happy infant!

The kids and I got to meet the son of our neighbors in SD, Anderson! (I forgot the camera) He was born to Matt and Leslie 2 weeks ago, healthy and happy!!! All of us made the trip up to 'Uncle Mutt's' house! Our prayers were answered. His house made it through the fires! Hope and the kids had a fun time playing! She is doing fantastic!

Scott dragged me out of SD, back to reality, but not before we spent a fun day at Sea World! We're thankful for a relaxing week!

Maisy doesn't love the constant flow of aircraft on base!

We can't leave the beach without having a fire!

Scott smirks because I can't get the camera to work....

Harvest Festival Fun!

Last night we had some fun at a harvest festival at our church. Scott and Bart were the grillers...the kids ran around playing games and eating 'junk'. We all cringed while Madison was devouring an ENORMOUS piece of pie in the pie eating contest! I'm sure she was feeling fabulous afterwards!!

Law's 1st (4th) birthday party!!!

Grandad and Bibi came to Yuma to celebrate Law and Maison's 4th and 2nd birthdays. (Law's first ever bday party) The kids have been spoiled rotten for a few days, but they've had the most fun just playing with their grandparents!!! Barb so GRACIOUSLY baked the kids the train cake and prepared most of the food for the birthday party with the Haynes family! Thank you Barb, I couldn't have done it without you!! All the kids had a fun time with the pinata, although after one smack from Clara, it was on the ground! Maison ate about 4 servings of brisket...it has been an interesting day in the bathroom for us!!! (after a surprise visit from Uncle Jake and Aunt Shelly, the kids were whooped....see the previous post) Thank you all for making the kids' birthdays so special!!!

Big JUSTIN!!!

Uncle Jake and Aunt Shelly surprised Law and Maison with a visit to Yuma before their move to Hawaii. (Scott and Eric have been together since 1997...this will be our first separation other than the Yuma, San Diego one) They head out in a few weeks! We are SO excited to report Justin is weighing in at 9 pounds and is doing FANTASTIC...what a difference from 2 pounds! THANK GOD! Madison and Law were having a blast playing and Drew was happy to see a train set since his has been packed away for the move! We love you J family and will miss you!!!

Law's first day of school!!

Last week Law attended his first day of 'school', a co-op at our church. My camera was experiencing some technical difficulties, and I had only allotted 30 seconds for picture taking...so, that's all I have!!! Nonetheless, we spent about 5 hours at our church where Law had science (creation), music and art. I was in one of the classes as the teacher's aide, which was helpful because it is a long day. Maisy spends her day in the nursery with a few other children and LOTS of people who think she is just the cutest thing ever. She and I get an hour together in the nursery and she enjoys not having to compete with Law for my attention. I do get the joy of teaching a 4th-6th grade earth science class. Law is excited to be at school with the other kids, although lunch and recess seem to be the highlights for him!!! (that and his backpack!)

THAT's NEW JERSEY????

We had a fabulous week in NJ. The weather was great...I wore my favorite jeans just about every day! It was raining the day before we left and 58 the morning we headed home to Mars...I mean Yuma. Summers in NJ are beautiful and we spent lots of time on big kid toys...boat, jet ski, wake board and inner tube, not to mention the beach and boardwalk. We spent most of our time with Niki's Mom and bro Ryan, but also visited with Aunt Renee, Uncle Bob and Aunt Beth, Brent & Jennifer (Nik's 1st cousins) and their daughter Riley, who was a joy! Scott and Nik visited Nik's Dad several times. Thank God the hip surgery was successful and he is up and around! We also got to catch up with Travis and A, Nik's high school friend and meet their daughter Abigail! All in all, it was a busy, but fun filled week. We were sad to leave everyone, but SO thankful for our visit!


Maisy in the inner tube!



Grandma, Uncle Ryan and the kids on the boardwalk!



Great scenery from the boat!



Uncle Ryan on the wake board!



Crazy Scott!



Uncle Bob, Aunt Beth, Brent, Jen and Riley!



Dad and Law on the jet ski!

Happy 4th of July!!!

We've had a fun 4th of July week!!! Aunt Ang met us in San Diego for a few days where we savored every moment of the FABULOUS weather! What a break from the 121 degrees we left in Yuma. While we were there we spent some good time with Uncle Jake, Aunt Shelly, Madison and Drew, including watching the fireworks on Coronado island. (If we could just figure out how to get a few million to buy a house there!) Niki had the JOY of visiting Justin in the NICU one afternoon with Shel. We're excited to report he's weighing in at 4 pounds, 8 ounces and was moved to the 'lesser' nicu...one step closer to home. PRAISE GOD! Eric returned back to deployment this morning, so your continued prayers for their family are welcomed! The kids had a FUN time with Ang and were sad to see her leave this morning...especially because she fed them ice cream for lunch! :)

Test Post--baby girl on board!

Just trying to make things a little more user friendly!!!

Abigail was born to Addy, Nik's high school friend from NJ! (she was in our wedding and walked with Steve S) She weighed in at a mere 9lbs 10 oz...what a blessing to A and Travis!--

Summer in Yuma!

One of the benefits of the Yuma is MANY months of pool use! Although it is reaching temps of 110, the pool is great right now! We had to drag the kids out to eat after about 2 1/2 hours the other day! Maisy doesn't want to be held and thinks she's 20 months going on 5 in the pool!

Fun at the San Diego zoo!!

Last week, the kids and I hopped in the car with Jackie, Jillian and Jenevieve P. We were stationed together in Beaufort some years back before we were Moms...we were once running partners, now more like speed walkers! :) We piled in and spent the day at the zoo! All in all, the kids did amazingly well for a long day!!

Fun with family!

We've had a FUN month with lots of family visiting. Niki's Mom and Uncle Bob were here in early May. We spent lots of time in the pool and at the camel farm, of course! Grandad and Bibi came to visit over Memorial Day weekend! We had lots of fun swimming, baking and shopping!

Bibi and Maisy in her new dress!

Grandad and Law!

Fun with Grandma at the tree park!

Uncle Bob was a big hit with the kids!