On our 1st day of our fall break vacation
we decided to stop first at Pink's to see what all
the hype was about. We were excited and waited
in line for 30 mins. Out of the 9 of us only 1 enjoyed
their hot dog. It seems Pink's is all hype. We are
Ted's Hot Dog fans all the way!!!
This says it all!
Ryan and Erik got pocketknives while we were in Colorado. Oh my did they think they were grown up! Right away they started whittling branches
and no one lost a finger. We also helped Nana and Pop pop clean up a grove of scrub oak into a thing of beauty and they boys got to use the wood chipper. Scary but effective!
It is so beautiful and peaceful up there. It rained off and on and we had such a great relaxing time.
Now I want to go back!!
Nick and Trevor worked on Scout merit badges even while we were on vacation. Nana and Pop pops' neighbors raise horses and board them for a living. Marcie was kind enough to teach the boys how to saddle and properly ride a horse among other things. She has let the boys ride before but this was more hands on. They even tried to talk me into buying a pony she had. I fall for puppies but ponies are another thing!
We did our annual 4th of July trip to the cabin this year. We had 2 newbies this year with us. Dash and Dodge did great on the ride up and kept the boys entertained.
We spent time shooting cans with arrows, guns,
and even a sling shot.
Nana drove the kiddos around in her new wagon and Cole taught Erik to shoot the gun.
Well it's official. We are crazy. I know many of you who
have known that for a long time but now it's in print. We now have 3 dogs. All boys of course. The newest member is Dodge a Shiz-shu. We got him the first of May.The story is Cole and Nick went home teaching where there were puppies and within a day Nick had a deposit down on one. I was not excited because my puppy Dash was only 6 months old at the time but Dash and I love that little guy.
Here he is with Ryan. Dodge is super mellow. They hold him like a baby all the time. 
After going to the temple with Leslie and the gang we travel ALL the way up Mt. Graham to see the ledgendary Quinn Cabin. Donelle drove Jason's car and told me all there was to know on the way up. Randy was with Cole and the kids in the Yukon.
We got to stay up there for an hour or so and see all the other cabins. 
Our dearest friend Leslie and her sister Karrie went thru the temple for the first time. We all traveled down to Safford for the big day. We had been down with the whole family two weeks earlier for the temple tour but now we got to go in after it was dedicated. What a difference in the Spirit!
Leslie
and her posse! Donelle was getting pulled in front of Alene hence the weird pose and face. Sorry Donelle but this was my only shot of us girls. Leslie then got to pose with Randy and Cole, some of her favorite men besides her dad! The night be fore Leslie, Alene, Jenn, Cole, and I went out to eat at steak house. Cole ordered the 24oz. porterhouse as the 23oz. was the "princess cut" he said. I'm glad to say he could not finish it. We had a great time in Safford with everyone and we love you Les and are so proud of you!
We are old! We will have 2 in high school next year. *Sigh* Nick graduated and I made all the kids attend this year. Jason put up a fight but I told him, " They had to sit thru yours so you have to sit thru all of theirs". Erik wanted to look his best so wore a suit and when he sat on Jason's lap it he looked like a ventriloquist doll. We all had a good laugh as they tried out a routine. I know, we are real mature. So back to Nick, he got top honors in Band and got an award for that. He also got dragged to Lenny's so we could celebrate but we had to end it early as he had a friend party to get to. At midnight, Nick and I boarded a bus with all the other 8th graders and chaperone's to head off for Disneyland. What a blast that was! (pictures to follow when I get then from Kelly.)
I love some of the parties that come out of this group. We should write a book! Chrissy had Donelle's party this year and did a 50's themed murder mystery dinner. We all had parts to play. I was Chubby Cheddar so please take note that even though I have packed on some pounds lately, I did stuff myself with pillows for the part! Donelle was the Beauty Queen, Alene a Russian rocket scientist, Jenn a Detective and so forth. Everyone put great effort into the costumes and I think we looked great. Donelle's BF from Texas, Cindy, even flew in for a suprise.
Chrissy made a delicious jello that reminded me of headcheese but man was it good.
We also had pulled pork, potato salad, beans, and bottled soda from our favorite soda pop store for dinner.
Happy Birthday Donelle!
Ryan and Erik found my tea set in my bedroom where it has sat since on a shelf bemoaning the fact no little girl has played with it for.....years. So Melody, Erik and Ryan decided to have a tea party one night. The day arrived and Donelle needed me to watch her kids so the tea set stayed up on the shelf and we called it "fancy night". My boys took it all to heart and did their darnest to look fancy. ( please ignore Erik's hair! ) We had strawberries with cream, little shortbread cookies, and I can't even remember what else. Got to blog it right away or I lose it. The kids took it in stride but I think they rather have had hot dogs!
We have a group of friends that are from the Safford area and for the last few years we have reaped the benefits of this small town and all the storiesand wonders it holds. So we felt that we had to go down/over there to go thru the new temple. It was a spirtual experience and it is so beautiful inside. Alene , Melody, Leslie, and her nephew went with us.
We then ventured to the best Mexican food this town offers, or so we were told. It was late and crowded with all the out of towners but we did think it was great food. Thanks Leslie for the hook up.
Then we went on to Alene's parents house where the kids went wild in the backyard. Just deleted that picture on accident and too tired to figure out how to retrieve it. It was a wonderful experience and I hope that my kids felt that too.
