A favorite place in Prescott

Part of our Weekend-o-fun in Prescott was a quick trip to the Sharlot Hall Museum. It sits near the square in Prescott, and is a beautifully maintained museum of Frontier life. The school room is especially interesting- the kids were amazed that they all would have been taught together. Hayden was especially amazed when I told him 10 year old boys wouldn't spend much time in school because they were helping out on the farm or in the mines. The no school part sounded good to him, but not the working part.

The grounds at the museum are gorgeous- lots of grass and roses and trees and wonderful shade. Next time I'll take the time to take some great pictures of the kids there, but this trip I had to settle for a quick shot of my every willing model!

See, I tried, but 10 year old boys are extremely goofy. This is a pretty common theme in my photos lately. Chloe is trying, Ellie is amazed by her brother and Hayden is ... that.

Hiking Thumb Butte

We went to Prescott for a weekend in June. We of course had to climb Thumb Butte. Hayden especially likes this hike, because he and dad always go to the tippy top of the butte. I like this hike because it is a good workout yet not so challenging that the girls (and I include myself here) struggle and don't enjoy themselves. Ellie is only five, so she usually gets carried by AC part of the way still. I know the time is coming when instead of me saying, "I'll go slowly so the girls can keep up" THEY will be saying, "We need to slow down so MOM can keep up!" But we ain't there yet!

We need to pause here for a second, and really focus on something important in the picture of Ellie above. For those of you who know her, you may already be grasping the importance of this photo. 1. Ellie is wearing shorts. Bike shorts, yes, but shorts nonetheless. That is pretty rare- she's a skirt and dress girl. 2. Ellie is wearing . . . tie shoes. Yes, the girl has gone most of her life without wearing closed toe lace up shoes. She wore a pair of velcro Dora tennis shoes exactly 10 times last year- once for each soccer game, and each time tears were involved. I won't tell if they were hers or mine. The girl has very definitive opinions on what belongs on her body. These twinkle toes are Chloe's hand me downs, and Ellie agreed to wear them when I told her she couldn't hike otherwise. And she put them on. Smiling. And said she'll wear them again. Angels are weeping for joy.

Back to the hike. Hayden and AC were thwarted from going to the tippy top by mating Eagles or something, so they had to stay down with the rest of us weaklings. It was a great hike anyway- and a fun family tradition!

Hayden's Book Drawing

In May, Hadyen's drawing of the cover of his favorite book was chosen to be displayed at Barnes and Noble at Desert Ridge. A few from each grade were chosen, and we were so proud of Hayden! They had Lone Mountain Night and lots of kids, parents and teachers were there and we got to see all of the great artwork. Hayden was pretty proud of himself, as well. Thank goodness he did the drawing BEFORE he broke his arm!

COUSINS!

Just going through some pitures and came across this- from January at a park wayyyyyyy on the west side! So fun!

The Big Break

Ellie's Birthday started with this: And ended with this:

Hayden broke his arm while playing soccer at school. He broke his forearm in two places, and it was a pretty bad break. The ortho on call at the emegency room came in, put Hayden under then reset it and loaded it into a huge plaster cast. That thing was heavy! Thankfully, it set well and he only had to wear the plaster cast for 3 weeks, then a fiberglass cast for another three weeks. It could have been much worse!

Its awful to see your child in pain, but Hayden was such a trooper, and hardly complained at all- especially after given pain meds. The children's emergency room at Scottsdale Healthcare Shea was great- the nurses were so patient and great with Hayden, and made the experience as good as could be expected. As great as it was, I don't need to visit that emergency room again!

birthday girl!

Ellie turned 5 in April. As per our family tradition, we opened family presents in the morning before school. All 3 kids get so excited no matter who's birthday it actually is! Ellie opened presents then headed to school.

Ellie's birthday fun was interrupted mid afternoon by Hayden breaking his arm at school. We had to push her birthday fun back a day, but that just made her birthday last that much longer!

Father Daughter dance

AC took Chloe to the father daughter dance again this year. Chloe looks forward to it- she is such a daddy's girl, and this night is a chance for her to have him all to herself! Ellie snuck in during the photo shoot to get her kisses, too. Next year AC will take both girls since Ellie will be old enough.

Daddy and his Sweetums- ready for their special date!