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!

Fancy 7th!

Chloe had a Fancy Nancy themed birthday party this year, and invited 15 little girls! Each girl was to dress As Fancy as she wished, then they completed the look in the "salon" (aka playroom). Chloe created stations: make-up (lipgloss only, thank you very much) hair and accessories. Grandma contributed to the melee with 2 boxes of old costume jewelry from great grandmas and aunts. The girls had a blast! The Fancy Birthday Girl . . .

strutting some moves!

Her Fancy sister (I'm not sure cheerleading outfits count as Fancy, but at least there are sequins) . . .

And even some Fancy Older Brothers! Someday, this picture will be my tool for torture . . . I hold onto it with glee.

Some of the Fancy Girls in all of their finery.

After the Fashion Parade, everyone got to decorate extra-large cupcakes with all sorts of goodies. They didn't turn out Fancy as much as, well, crazy. The kids enjoyed them.

Ellie showing off her creation... yum, I think.

The girls enjoyed a lovely picnic out on the (dead) grass. Chloe made some fun, fancy food for the party, like Fairy Snacks and fruit salad.

And nothing says Fancy like a peace sign pinata! Right? No? Oh, well.

Chloe had a great party, and has some really fun, FANCY friends!

Chloe's 7th birthday!

Darling Chloe turned 7 in January! She had her cousins over for ice cream cake and dinner (with no burning hair- always a bonus.) Squinkies were a HUGE hit! Thanks Auntie N, Uncle T and the best cousins ever.

Seven?? How in the world did she turn 7????

And I had to include a glimpse of Abigail in her fabulous faux fur coat, enjoying her lovely dessert. Abi + fur coat + zebra stripes + ice cream cake = perfection. That girl loves that coat!

Christmas Programs

I love when the kids have Christmas programs- or, Holiday programs I should say- at school. Chloe and the first grade sang a variety of holiday songs. I would have taken better pictures, except I was stuck a few rows back. Lone Mountain has some moms who tend to arrive a good 30 minutes early to get the front row seats- its a cutthroat world in the elementary school multi-purpose room.

Ellie's school put on a Christmas play. Specifically, the story of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Ellie was a singing cow. We won't get into historical innacuracies because the kids were just too cute for words.

Have you ever seen a cuter cow? Accesorized and everything.

I look forward to many more school performances- they are the highlights of my year!

We Heart Soccer!

From August until December, Soccer makes up a very big portion of our lives. In fact, we were so busy with soccer that I didn't have time to update my blog all fall! That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. Ellie played for the first time this year. AC was her coach, of course, and she loved that part of it. She did not enjoy the socks, cleats, shin guards and running part of it. We compromised and allowed her to wear Dora shoes instead of cleats.

Hayden was AC's "assistant", which he took very seriously, both for Ellie's team . . .

and Chloe's, for which AC was ALSO the coach.

This was Chloe's 3rd year playing, and the first year with actual referees, and rules, and other girls who were really good. Our team was made up of all of Chloe's friends that requested to be on our team, so the focus was more on giggling, holding hands and having fun than actually winning. We did manage to score 2 goals- the entire season. And, as shocking as it is to anyone who knows Chloe, she is not an aggressive player. Cute, yes. Avid competitor, not so much. She was just happy to be on the field with all of her friends and her daddy.

We had a few friends on the other team as well- here's Ryder. He and Ellie have been friends since in utero, so it was fun. AC and I have learned, with the many teams we've headed already, that its not so much the talent of the players that's important on a team, but instead having good parents- ones that are fun to have around, willing to help out and not into yelling at coach.

Yes, Ellie wore hot pink leggings underneath her soccer shorts and shin guards. Along with a big hair bow and usually about 50 silly bands. Quite the fashion statement.

This was Hayden's 5th year playing soccer, and this spring he was on a competitive team. The boy loves soccer, and I'm sure he'll want to keep playing for a long time. I'm glad that he's found something he truly loves- he's going to try out for another competitive team this summer, and if it works out soccer will become an even bigger part of our lives.


Look at that form! And those white legs! He really does take after me in many ways, poor kid.

So, now in the off season, I can look back on our time on the field with enjoyment. Then I look forward to next season (kind of) because I heart soccer (not really, but my kids do, so I have to as well!)

Happy Halloween!

I know, it was just Christmas, but I'm still trying to catch up on my blogging. In an effort to be quick, I'm not even going to fix these pictures! I snapped them before school on the 30th, and didn't check my settings so the color is wayyyyy off. But, I'm not letting it bother me. REally, here I go, putting up not-so-good pictures. La, la, la, la, la, it doesn't bother me! Okay, its really bothering me, but I'm ignoring it.

Hayden dressed up as Pele this year. He is all about soccer, so it was very appropriate.

Chloe was my little bumble bee. I'm not sure why she wanted to be a bumble bee, but she is very cute, and I found her costume on E-bay and it was a very good deal! I love it when wants and needs combine together in harmony.

2-4-6-8, Who do we appreciate?

Elleanor the Cheerleader! Hooray!!

This costume cost me nada. nothing. not a red cent. My favorite kind. Ellie really wanted to be a cheerleader, and she was the cutest one around.

Happy halloween from Cave Creek!