We're Back!

I know, I know...it's been entirely too long since I've posted. It's been so long I even forgot my email and password to sign in. Luckily I was able to sweep out the cobwebs so I could actually post something on our blog.

Where to start...hmmm...since I posted last a lot has happened. I'll start from the beginning and catch up all in one post. Then I will try to keep caught up so I don't let down my avid followers...haha!

In September we took another camping trip to the rim. Here are some pictures of us hanging out.

Then we had Halloween. Lora dressed up as a clown, Elijio was a vampire, and Jayda was a ballerina. They had a blast bobbing for apples, playing with their friends, and trick or treating. Here are some pictures.

Jayda also turned 1 in November. She was such a big girl at her party!

Jayda just loves to swing. She can swing all day.

Grandma, Lora, and Jayda, riding on the bumble bee!

Jayda had a blast on the slide. She loves to play at the park.

Such a big girl riding the quad.

Jayda and her yummy cupcake.

Bedtime fun!

This is this Miss Trouble playing in her crib after her nap. She heard me come in but couldn't find me for awhile. She finally peeked over the top and saw me.

She always wakes up happy and ready to play. Waking up from naps are my favorite times.

Peekaboo Jayda!

Summer BBQ

We had our friends, The Penrose's, over for a summer BBQ. We had a wonderful dinner and some fun in the pool.

All the kids and big kids jumped in at the same time. They wanted to see how much water they could splash out.

Poor Jayda was clueless. She just rode the tidal wave.

After spending some time swimming. They decided to relax in the spa.

Jayda just loves being in the pool. She just floated around in her raft and enjoyed the show.

We love having our friends over to enjoy the pool. The more the merrier...that's our philosphy!

My hero!

A picture of Elijio and I. We are enjoying our time outdoors.

Thanks babe for everything you do for our family!

Mogollon Rim

Getting away from the heat is a hard task to do right now. It has been so hot. We took a short road trip up North to the Mogollon Rim. It was much cooler and we really enjoyed our time. Here are some pictures of our trip.

The kids had a fun time building forts.

Jayda enjoyed hanging out. She loves being outdoors.

After a little fun on our way out we saw a herd of elk grazing near the road.

We hope to take another trip soon to go camping. We'll keep you posted.

Fossil Creek Springs

I took all 3 kids hiking to Fossil Creek Springs. It was a beautiful hike to a swimming hole and waterfall. The kids had a great time swimming but the hike was soooo long. It turned out to be 8 miles round trip. Wow...it was long. It took us all day and I thought I was going to die carrying Jayda out of that canyon. We made it and here are some pictures.

The kids swinging from a rope swing!

Jayda chillin' after swimming in the water hole. The kids and I hanging out!

I hope to go back there some day, but I think I'll wait until Jayda can walk herself! I've learned my lesson.

Super Girl!

Jayda will be entering the Womens Body Building Championship...in about 20 years. She decided to start working on pull-ups now. Hahaha!

Saguaro Lake!

We took the kids to the lake on Monday since it was about 150 degrees outside. Elijio had some fun trying out his new wake board...well not so new since he got it for Christmas but new since he hasn't used it before. We had a ghetto rope since it got chopped up in the motor last time I skied, so he was only able to get up for a second. We did however take care of that problem so we can have some fun next time.

The kids also went out on the tube and rode around for a bit. They tend to get nervous when they ride the tube. They don't like to fall off.

Jayda went with us too. As you can see the boat is very calming. She always falls asleep no matter what on the boat. It makes for an easier time for us but she misses out on all the fun.

Jayda

Jayda is getting so big. She is now officially 20 lbs. She has 6 teeth on top and 2 on the bottom. She isn't crawling yet but loves to scoot across the floor. She has become a mama's girl since I've been home all summer. She just won't let me out of her sight. I'm feeling extrememly happy that I have been able to spend my summer with her. I don't know how I will ever leave her to return to work. I wish she could come with me...ha,ha,ha!

We haven't done much since school got out except for vacation but here are some pictures of us hanging out this summer.

Summer is so much fun!

Vacation!

We just got back from vacation on Sunday. We had an absolute blast. We started off with a short 7 hour drive to California to visit Magic Mountain. The kids are finally big enough and old enough to actually enjoy the rides. We had so much fun riding roller coasters and goofing around. Here are some pictures.

Then we headed north for Oregon. We traveled 16 hours with 6 people in our truck, while pulling a trailer with 2 motorcycles. It was a long day but we finally reached beautiful 70 degree Oregon to spend the rest of the week.

We headed to the beach one day. The kids loved the sand and water and wished we could stay all day.

We also hiked a couple different waterfalls and saw some beautiful countryside. I really can't tell you what keeps me here in this boring, hot desert. It feels like an oven most of the time and yuck, it is soooooo brown.

We picked strawberries. I think the kids ate more than they picked. Jayda had her first taste of strawberries and couldn't get enough. She ruined an outfit eating so many strawberries. We ate strawberries for days. Yummy!

Elijio and I went on a few motorcycle rides with our dear friends, Chuck, Jo Ann, Ron and Wendy. We saw a really neat waterfall, some great countryside, and Washington right on the other side of the river. I didn't ride my bike but it was still a great ride.

We were sad to leave but all good things must come to an end. We headed back home for the 24 hour drive. We DID NOT do it in one day. We split it up so we wouldn't go insane.