Arizona in May

So this year we finally got smart and vacationed in Arizona at the end of May.  It was a great time with family and we had so much fun in the nice weather.  We went swimming a ton, played on the slip-n-slide, and picked peaches.  Ellie had so much fun with her cousins, it was so fun to see her interact more with them now that they are all older and talking.  So cute.  She also got to spend some good time with Grandma and Grandpa Hurst every evening.  Spending time in the sun was also great, as Laramie had a pretty dreary spring and much cooler weather when we left.  Going to Arizona during the holidays is fun, but we've decided that we like going when everyone, including ourselves :), is less stressed, roads are great, and illnesses are few.  Thanks to all my family for hosting us and just letting us hang and socialize.  And thanks Samantha for letting us come and visit you and your family at the cabin!  It was so good to see you again!

Lots of pictures!  Enjoy :)

I love Ellie's facial expression as Grant slid towards her.  He broke her in well to what slip-n-slide was all about :)

This was by far the best slip-n-slide I have ever been on.  Super fun to have races.  And the cushiony water sleds were amazing!  Suddenly an adult can slip-n-slide again!

My parents, siblings and spouses.  We were just missing Annie and Keefe and we would have been complete.  We ate at LGO in Phoenix.  Super good food.  I love places that have unique flavor combinations that taste good.  Yum yum.

Pickin Peaches with Dad!

"This is a peach", "A What?", "A peach", "A What?", "A peach","Oh, a peach!"  SQUISH!

In search of big peaches with my Mom.  Found a couple.

Here's our family "Peach Pose".  Ellie never managed a light touch in this whole process.  Poor peaches, but they were yummy!

Ellie with cousins Grant and Brett with Grandma Corinne.  It was soooo hot by this time, just look at Ellie's cheeks!  She was beat by the heat, fragile Northerner!  

I love this picture of my sister Courtney, my Mom, and me.

I couldn't choose a picture I liked best of Ellie playing croquette.  So you get them all!

I love her face here.

She looks like she is ready to do a volleyball serve.  What technique!  Hehe.

Snacks with Brett!  Peek-a-boo!  They were adorable hanging out on the fireplace munching and being totally silly.  Love.

Oh man is Michael's hair long!   I don't think I realized just how long it was till now.  Ellie is so squirmy!

Tickles and Giggles!  Good times. :)

Fruit Loops

So Fruit Loops were a craving and still are at times with this pregnancy.  I have so many more cravings than I did with Ellie.  Michael thinks I'm pretty ridiculous and had to document, not like this is how I eat them.

Ellie has been experimenting with her clothing combinations.  This fun outfit was in May, which around these parts, boots are still an option some days.  She looks like an elf to me.

We had a bucket of dirt for a while till it got mixed in with the garden dirt.  We've decided we should buy her some real sand cuz she really misses it.  Poor girl :)

And again, more Fruit Loops!  This time Ellie's showing us how its done.  I love her head band hair.  So funny!

Grandpa and Grandma Hurst!

I'm loving this picture today!  Hugs :)

A Few Thoughts

Drought.  I know.  It happens.  My computer burned up and for a while we didn't know if my hard drive was intact, but hallelujah it lives on.  I was prepared for the great sorrow it would've been to lose a whole years worth of family pictures.  What a horrible thought that I am glad I can put to rest.

No pictures yet as I still have to download my camera's software onto my new computer.

So, some random thoughts brought on by the events of our summer:

1.  I don't think I ever want to have chickens.  I took care of my friend's daughter's 4H chickens last week while they were away camping.  I found the chickens dumb and sort of crabby.  I felt like they were going to attack me at any moment, but I was the human here, so I put on my game face and walked among them to change out the water and shake down the feed.  It's really not hard at all to care for them.  I just decided I don't like them.  Maybe if I designed a coup that didn't require me to walk among them, but got the chores done....na.  We'll see.  Ellie was not fond of them at all up close.  Can't blame her :)

2.  Girls camp was really fun...when I was a girl.  Not that I didn't have fun, cuz I did.  But going as a leader, camp has too many responsibilities to be truly fun.  I felt like the mother of 16 teenager girls.  I felt like I was constantly cleaning up after them, because I was.  I kept thinking to myself, "don't they want to keep track of their stuff?"  We constantly had a pile of stuff on our picnic table, but by the end after many threats, girls finally claimed their stuff.  Also I found it interesting how little they wanted to help out, because they were so focused on having fun.  Was I like this when I was a young woman?  Is this what I should expect when my girls become teenagers?  But I'm glad they could have a fun experience like I had when I was a girl.  And we did have some good times and made some memories.  It could have been worse.  We didn't have much drama and for that I am very grateful to my awesome young women for being so inclusive, caring, and positive.

3.  Getting your child to sleep in a big bed is difficult when it turns out they are super attached to their crib.  Obviously, I didn't know this was the case at such a degree until we tried.  Oh well.  I have given up on the idea for a good while now.  I think she will potty train before she switches beds.  Hopefully she will get excited about being a big girl and decide on her own that she should sleep in the big bed.  She is so long that the crib looks super uncomfortable to me.  Oh well.  On this topic I will let her lead the way.