Todd, Catherine, and Family

Father N Sons Campout

In May, our ward held the annual Father n Sons Camping Trip. This was Weston's first year to go. The boys and Todd all had a great time. Wes talked about how he slept under the stars with Zane and Dad. (Lance hid out in the truck). Wes loved going on a hike with his Dad....probably cause he didn't come home with any bug bites even though his Dad did. :) It was a fun trip for our men. (sorry, no pics....they wouldn't let me come up and be the photographer...and you know Todd doesn't do that stuff very well)

Here's an "after" the campout shot. You see when Todd and Weston went on their little hike on the Father n Sons Campout, they picked Mom some flowers. How thoughtful! Love my guys!

the MAC

Way back in May:), Zane's second grade went on a field trip to the MAC. No, that's not where Big Macs are made, but it's the Maricopa Agricultural Center in Maricopa, AZ. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. I followed behind the bus in my car so that I could bring Wes along with me.

In their first station, they planted seeds and talked about what seeds need in order to grow. We brought these home and they really did grow. In fact, I was sure to take a picture of their plants, but now I can't seem to find the picture on my computer. Where did it go?

Zane was such a good helper to his little brother, Wes. It was so cute to watch.

Next, the boys learned about conserving water.

And, so a relay game was played after the lesson. Each team tried to conserve water by not spilling and getting their trash bin filled up the quickest. Go Zane go.

After that, we learned about eating healthy vegetables and fruit. We were even served a healthy snack.

Then, it was time for lunch. ...Can't beat a yummy lunchable either. I think the boys were hungry.

When they were done eating, they could "play" on the equipment, go through a hay bale maze, pump some water, and just have fun!

After our lunch/plau break, we went to three more stations. The first one was a tractor ride out to the radish fields.

The boys were so excited. They got to dig up their own radishes!! They even got to keep their radishes!!! (we won't mention how gross they tasted when we got home though)

Both Wes and Zane said this was their favorite part. How cool is that?!

Do those radishes look appetizing to you? Well, if you think so, looks can be very decieving.

Then, we went inside and made a cool bracelet with beads that represented everything that a plant needs in order to grow.

Here's all of Zane's group showing off their cool bracelets. Last of all, was a movie station. The field trip was a great success. The kids loved it. I loved it how they had such a variety of activities...and so "hands on". I would highly recommend it.

More Birthday Celebrating?!

Since I was busy taking pictures on my actual birthday, we waited until the following weekend to celebrate it our tradtitional way. And, by tradition, I mean that the last couple of years Todd takes me out of town for some great horseback riding. The first year we went to Sedona. The second year was spent in Pine. This year, we went to Rimrock...just south of Sedona. Above, is my favorite ride, Cherokee. Lots of energy. Lots of spunk. I love riding him....even if he gives me a playful buck every once in a while when we start loping. It was a nice overcast day....I think we were sprinkled on just a bit.

I set my camera on the side of the truck bed so that we could get a "us" photo. Me and my favorite man....even if neither of us look too pleased. What's up with that anyways?! Todd's trusty steed, Trigger, behind us.

I wanted a photo of us together on our horses. So, I tried to set up the camera and start the timer...and then rush to get on my horse and get ready for the picture...all in eight seconds....or whatever it is. My horse wouldn't stand still very well. oops.

Try again. Well, at least, this time you can see my face. So, we left it at this and went to enjoy a trail ride.

We got down to a beautiful creek.

Todd's horse is the dominant horse, so most of the time, I ride behind him. So, what was I to do but take pics:).

Yes, he's leaving me behind. That's okay. I made sure it wasn't too deep. I wasn't swimming with my horse that day. Isn't it breathtaking scenery though?!

Trigger, not so very conviently, lost both of his front shoes. We only had one boot, so we had to go buy another. Then, he even lost a boot in the creek. Here Todd is putting once back on.

What is he thinking? Look at the cheesy, but still cute:), smile. Do you think he is getting tired of me taking pics of him? (Believe me, I have even more pics than this that I am not posting). But, no, he didn't complain. Because it was my birthday trip. He let me take lots of pictures ....cause he loves me, right?! Even if his expression says something else...Like "I am going to ring her neck if she take another picture."

I had a wonderful trip with Todd. We stayed in a Bed and Breakfast called Luna Vista. The food was delicious and the hosts were great. I loved my horseback riding and I loved spending the one on one time with Todd. Thanks to all who took our little ones so that we could "bond." I can't wait to do it next year for my 39th Birthday!!!

Life on the Street....Sesame Street, that is

So, back in May, my friend, Shala, and I took our two toddlers to see Sesame Street up on stage. I was excited. But, I wasn't sure what Wes would think of it since he is deathly scared of costumed characters. We walked in as the show was starting. I felt a little hesitation when he eyed the stage, but I pulled him along. As he sat to watch the show, I think he felt safe since those characters were a good distance away up on stage.

Here's Wes and Macey during the break. He was being a little silly and not holding still very well.

When I tried again for a better pic, he had to roll his eyes. OH, he's a goofball just like his brother, Zane. Or is he doing the teenager eye roll from his brother Lance? Hmmmm.

I know....he doesn't look too thrilled here, but he did seem to like to wave hi to the characters. The characters would sometimes come down into the audience....just to the first few rows, thankfully.

He's getting a bit more enthusiastic in his wave.

And, again.

I had to get a close up here. He kind of has that pagent wave.

Anyways. We had a great Mom n Wes morning out. Loved the show. It was probably a good thing to do with him to help get rid of that fear of his. Maybe next time, we'll see Diego or Bob. Hopefully, Shala and Macey will be up for it too. We had a great time with them!

It's Gotta Go

Here Wes goes again. I had put a new shirt on him in the morning. Not long after, I see him outside on the back porch. It's like a light bulb goes off in his head. He quickly starts reaching for the offending tag. I guess some tags are "soft" and therefore are okay. While others are not and have to be taken care of.

This one is the offending type, I guess.

And, off it goes.

Although, he then forgot to put the shirt back on. He looks a little distracted by morning cartoons:).

Never a Dull Moment

As any mother of boys would tell you, there's never a dull moment. I had my laurels (girls from church) over one night. Zane comes in from outside. He simply states, "Mom, I caught two grasshoppers, but one of them got loose in the house." nice. Hopefully, the cat with catch it.

Here's the one he managed to keep in hand:).

Celebrating My Birthday

Okay, so here it is over a month after my birthday, and I am jsut barely getting around to finishing telling about it. I shared the story of my cute little hunt for my new mac computer, but I didn't finish. Somehow, I have gotten very behind on my posting. Tonight I will try to catch up some. So, back to my birthday. That afternoon, I met my whole family for a huge family photo. My mom had been wanting one for a long time now. And, since my younger sister and her family now moved to the valley, this was the first open weekend we found that everyone could make it. So, on my birthday, I got to take photos of some of my very favorite people. We took shots quickly, trying to keep all the kids around. Above, are my parents, the wonderful people that started it all.

Here is our adult shot. My parents, my siblings, and their spouses. What a great group of people. I am so lucky to have them all living within 20 minutes. This is what life is all about. Sometimes when I tease about moving to a small town, Todd always replies that I'd never do it and leave my family behind. He is so right. I'd have to get them all to come too.:)

I thought I'd share the photos of my nieces and nephews cause these are the kids that will grow and change too quickly. These are the kids that my children love to play with. Above are Kathleen and Rachel...out of order cause when I did the initial uploading I forgot them. oops. What can I say?! There's a lot of little kids in our family. We opted to do small group photos of the grandkids. There's just way too many to get a good group shot of all of them together. Yes, I can admit my photography skills have some limitations:).

Theses are the older girls in our family - McKenna, Sierra, Hannah, and Maddie.

The Middle kids - Zane, Paige, Jordan, and Tim.

We used to call these guys the four little boys....but now there are two little boys younger than them. What do we call them now? Just the four boys?! Jackson, Weston, Justin, and Jonathan. Should Weston have been names with a "J" name?

And, then our four little girls - Charlotte, Grace, Kennedy, and Rebekah.

And since Lance is off on his own (he was the first grandkid born followed by all those girls), we grouped him with our little boys - Conover and Grant.