Catching up on posts is fun to do, to do, to do, to do...

I will try to get caught up on our last couple weeks of adventures....

Oh, a camping we will go!! Last weekend, we went to Fossil Creek and camped there for a few days in our new pop-up trailer. It was a lot of fun and I am singing the praises of being up off the ground and on a bed while camping. I am not singing the praises of misquitos right now though! I think Sarah and I got bit by about 300 misquitos while we were there and we are still trying not to scratch our arms and face all day long. I was very religious about spraying bug spray on everyone and the bugs were very religious about not caring when it came to Sarah and I. We must have some really great blood is all I have to say!! Here is a view from right near our campsite... beautiful Arizona!!!
Will getting dirty as usual.... that's why he loves camping!

Cassidy got brave and would jump off the small cliffs as long as her dad was waiting patiently in the (freezing) water.

You could look down and see all the fish there below you in the water... Kind of a creepy feeling so I kept shoes on my feet so they wouldn't nibble off my toes.

Lund and Dad decided to jump off the cliffs together as a pair... it was really cute!!! Of course my boys are really cute always!!!!!

Morgan posed with the brave two who didn't mind the cold water...

Me, Sarah, and Lund

The boys were the first ones to jump into the freezing water.... wow! they are a tougher breed than I...

Cassidy loved the water, but as you can see.. Sarah wasn't quite so sure!

I got brave right before we left and decided to dive off a high cliff... not too high of course, I am not crazy brave or anything!!!

Monica, watch out, I am hosting now!!!!

I decided to take a break from my story of this weekend to give you a small update about something else.... As it turns out.... I love to host!!!!!

This past Thursday I hosted the Book Club in our ward that I recently started and I really enjoyed hosting the ladies at our house. We had a wonderful turn out with 10 ladies and 1 sweet gal from Young Women's. It was brain stimulating and delicious to boot (this must be my new saying becuase I have now used it twice in the past two entries, maybe I am part Pirate, I will do my Family History and find out!!!)

We read The Giver this past month and this next month I let our wonderful Young Woman attendee pick and we will be reading Bright Blue Miracle. I will let you know how it goes....

I want you to pay special attention to the two bundt cakes I made for the Book Club. Both of the recipes came from my great friend, Destiny, who is a baker extrodinaire and they were soooo yummy! One was a Death by Chocolate variety and the other was an orange bundt cake that is very delish if I do say so myself! Thanks Destiny for letting me pick your brain and your recipes!

Father's and Sons Campout and Heat Stroke and these two things don't even go together...

This weekend our ward had our father's and son's campout at Burro Creek between Bagdad and Wikeup, and yes, Wikeup is a real place, and so is Nothing, Arizona which they did pass on the way back home. True story, no lies here! And I do fully intend to tell you all about father's and son's at least the stories I have been told second hand, but I think I will start off on a more selfish note... So let's talk about me.... and Heat stroke!
On Friday I decided that I really wanted to go on a bike ride with this awesome lady in the ward, laura Phelps, who is like a million times more in shape than me and did I mention awesome?! So, being that it was a totally spontaneous thing and being that I had to figure out where all four of my kids were going to go, we didn't end up leaving until 11am. That should have been my first clue, but I wasn't really looking at clues, I was flying down the road over to the Phelps home and ready for adventure. (and thank you jenni Davenport for watching the kids on such short notice).
Laura, as her usual spunky self, was up for anything so I helped her cramm the two bikes in the back of my Pilot and we were on our way. She said that she knew a trail that went all the way around Coor's Lake that she and her husband soemtimes rode. Clue 2: Her husband Carl, is an even more insanely awesome bike rider than, well anyone I know, and I know a lot of people. Well, truth be told, I don't know that many people over the age of 10, but trust me on this one. Carl Phelps= insane mountain bike rider, and a very quiet soul to boot and Laura Phelps = not much less insane and spunky as all get out!
Back to the story about one in-shape lady on a bike that knew what she was doing in the middle of the hot day and one not in-shape at all lady on a borrowed bike in the middle of the desert with no water! O.K. I made the last part up, of course I had water- I borrowed Lund's hydropack that had a leaky valve and I had to keep the end in my mouth the whole time else it shall leak all over me..... not a bad idea to let it leak all over considering how hot I got.
Else you shall fall asleep, let me finish my lovely story. Pretty much, we took a two hour bike ride in really hot weather and I just happen to be out of shape and tired and anything else that makes me look as pitiful as I probably looked. We rode a little over three miles through very insane conditions, like uphill (not my favorite) and downhill (really not my favorite) dirt roads. Laura put up with me like a champ and needs a medal for going the extra mile... and I truly mean the extra mile... We got almost finished and I just couldn't go on anymore and I knew that puking was in my very near future and I abhore puking! So I lay against a rock in the only shade I could find and she had to ride the rest of the way by herself and then bring back my car to pick me up..... It was either that or call the Ambulance and I didn't feel like listening to them laugh....
So, I got home (after picking up some lunch for Laura and myself at the Cafe, which was my treat for all she had to put up with) and the kids commented about how red in the face I was and how big my teeth were... (oh wait that is Little Red Riding Hood). I was SICK the rest of the day. I felt like I had the flu and I could hardly move at all...... I spent lots of time in the bedroom laying down and cursing the sun.... And then I got the phone call that Morgan threw his back out at work......
So, stay tuned for chapter two of this entry becuase this has been long enough and I haven't even gotten to the part about boys camping or husbands hurting their backs and all that followed.....

p.s. don't worry Laura, of course I am going to want to go riding again, because that is just the torturous kind of person I am!!! Torture for me and you, I am multitasking! He! He!

Can you still remember the day you discovered how awesome water is????......

Do you remember the first day that you discovered the power and majesty of water? It helps when it comes out of a sprinkler or slippy slide because that just makes it that much better...

The first thing you do of course, is try to figure it out and you keep your distance a bit because it is new and different...

And you just keep doing "hands on" research and loving it even more....

Then you get brave and get closer to the source and you are really impressed...

... and then you just give into the impulse and drink it all in!!! What a wonderful experience, I wish more of us would treat life this way... just drink it in baby!!!!!

p.s. thank you Brooklyn for being a wonderful model for me as you discovered water yesterday and inspired me through your curiosity. What a beautiful girl you are!!!!

p.s.s. I wish we all looked so great in a bathing suit!!! I just love those toddler thighs!! but, seriously, when are my toddler thighs going to go away!!!????

Did I say "zoo" I meant to say "3D Monsters vs. Aliens" I always get those two mixed up...

Aren't we cool cats!!!!

Alright, I know I told everyone that we were going to the Phoenix Zoo this last weekend for Sarah's birthday and we truly were. We were about a half hour away and we called to get some additional information and found out that the zoo was going to close in less than an hour. Oops! Plan B: we asked Sarah what she wanted to do and she said that instead we could go to Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D. Guess what? for a family of six to go to the movie theater, it cost 60.00!!!!! Hey, I thought we were in a recession!!!!!

It was fun and I took some wonderful pictures afterwards in our sexy 3D glasses!

On Saturday, we had a wonderful time going to the temple and enjoyed Aunt Becky and Uncle Jeff and Brody and Grandma and Grandpa Wiemer. We also got to see the Newman kids a bit and that was great too!!! We had a wonderful time in the Valley and we are also glad to be back in quiet Bagdad, "Where everybody knows your name, and their always glad you came (so that you can sub for them in Sunbeams, etc... we stole that theme straight from the Cheers song, minus the Sunbeam part!)

We have a very full week ahead of us and we are happy for all our blessings...

p.s. we lost Will TWICE in Phoenix, maybe we should invest in a leash for the kiddo!!!!

My beautiful sister, Becky, and her handsome son, Brody!

Thanks for letting us stay at your house Becky!!!!

"A family that can watch 3D movies together in dorky glasses, stays together!" Isn't that how the quote goes???!!

Look how crazy she is in her 3D glasses!

It's Raining Stuffed Animals!!!! (At least they are soft)

Here she is contemplating her birthday...... Do I really want to turn six????!!!

Sarah turns six on Saturday so for her birthday this year I got a little bit creative.... I remembered that when we went to a friend's house she loved that her friend had about a million stuffed animals all lined up on her bed. She was in heaven trying to see them all and comment on each one. She just adores stuffed animals because they are related to real animals in her mind. Plus, I told her that they come alive when you aren't looking or when you are gone. I know this would scare any adult who has ever seen horror films, but for a child with a big imagination, it is a wonderful thing!

Alright, I will get back to the point. For her birthday this year I had a great idea. I went to the Goodwill in Prescott and bought up all the good looking stuffed animals. Then I washed them all up and got them ready for Sarah to love them. I went to Lowe's and bought material to make a shelf for her room so they would have a place to live. So I will now show you the end result and let me just say that Sarah is very much in heaven playing constantly with different ones, finding new favorites constantly. I think that Six will be a fun year!

p.s. the other half of her birthday adventure is that today we are going to the Phoenix Zoo as a family to see some of her animal buddies up close and personal. I will post pictures later....

Watch out here comes the Blue Fairy!

Yesterday Will wanted to be a "Blue Fairy" or a "Blue Butterfly" (he used both terms interchangably.), and so he got some of Sarah's dress up wings and shoes and asked Morgan to put them on him. Morgan didn't want to comply because he didn't want his son in wings and fairy shoes. I, on the other hand, was happy to turn him into the Blue Fairy. I think he makes an adorable fairy!!!!

I love that he has fairy wings on and his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles underwear. What a combination!!!

He kept bending over for the pictures to "be like a fairy". I am not quite sure why... Do fairies have back problems or something???????

Here's my little fairy flying off to his next adventure!

Later that night while watching "Batman Meets Scooby Doo" he said he was now a "Blue Bat"