Thatcher

Last week was spring break for the kids, so I decided to take advantage and go to Thatcher for a few days to see Grandma and Grandpa K! Joel started his new quarter on the 14th, so he had to stay home and miss out on all the fun.

None of us had been to Thatcher so it was great to finally be able to go and see where my Mom and Bill live for part of the year. We got there Sunday evening and had dinner, and the kids even got some Wii time. They were certainly pleased!

On Monday we headed out and did a little tour of Thatcher. We drove by the EAC campus where Bill taught for years. We also got to stop and see the house that Spencer W. Kimball grew up in...

Then we stopped at an old building that my Mom has always wanted to stop at. We found out that it was build to be a home for orphans and the elderly, then later became a place for social gatherings (I think); next it was a library, and now it is some kind of annex building.

Will had fun climbing the flag pole...

Grandpa explained to the kids how a sundial works.

Next we headed out to Roper Lake for a picnic. The weather was beautiful and we quite enjoyed ourselves. Will made a banana holder out of the picnic table.

No mess for your hands! :)

This is the view of the mountains that were Southwest of the lake. Bill told me what they were called, but of course I forgot.

After lunch the kids got to feed some ducks!

Once we started actually throwing out food there were quite a few ducks (and some other kind of bird) that came to enjoy the easy snacks.

After we ran out of food the kids just played for a bit.

We went for a little hike on a trail right there by the lake. Jenna and Will kept running ahead and Adam was getting VERY frustrated (MAD) that they weren't waiting for him. He just couldn't keep up with them. But we was a trooper and he made it to the end. There were some nice views on the hike. This was looking out over the Gila Valley.

Here is another view of that other mountain.

After the hike we headed home, but in the evening after dinner we went to walk around the new Gila Temple. I forgot my iPod (which is what I used for all the other pictures), so I didn't get any photos of the temple. It's a beautiful temple, though, with beautiful grounds.

Tuesday was pretty low key; the kids played the Wii for most of the morning, and after lunch we headed home. We had a great time visiting Thatcher! Thank you, Mom, for letting us come and stay with you!

The rest of Spring Break was spent here at home. On Wednesday we went to Mary's house for a good portion of the day. The kids played and Mary and I tried out a few new recipes.

On Friday I was lucky enough to be able to go to the new Jane Eyre movie with Laura, Rachel, Mary, and Mary's friend Lauren. I have been looking forward to this movie for months now! It hasn't been released in very many theaters, and we had to drive up to Scottsdale to see it. But it was totally worth it! I thought it was a very good adaptation of the novel for a two hour version. After the movie we got some gelato and talked (about the movie and of course other subjects as well). It was a great night, and I can't wait to see the movie again. It will definitely be added to my personal collection.

The kids are back to school today and I am very happy to be back to the routine. Speaking of the routine, I need to go and get myself to Costco! :)

Friends!

Last week was Joel's Spring Break, and we had the great fortune to have our wonderful friends, the Bades, come and visit us! They spent a few days with some other friends of theirs, and on Tuesday we got to finally meet up. :) As you can see, Sarah and I were very happy to see each other!

Tuesday afternoon us gals went out to lunch and the boys went to a Cubs vs. Rockies spring training game.

They had pretty great seats.

Adam got to join the boys (Jenna and Will were in school)

We spent a lot of time just hanging out...

And playing games. We played this game called "Curses" and it was so crazy hilarious! Chad had to profess his undying love to Joel more than once, and Joel sure was soaking it in. :)

I made Chad laugh harder than I've ever seen him laugh before. Who knows what I said, probably something about Cops. ;)

Demonstrating how to remove an appendix (with an invisible golf ball in my mouth. Joel was impersonating me)

On Wednesday the guys went to play some indoor virtual golf and spend some time at Bass Pro Shop. Sarah and I soaked up some sun! (We did this many times while they were here; it was great!)

On Thursday Sarah and I did some shopping, and in the evening we went to Laura's house for dinner so the Bades could meet some of my sisters. We had some great dinner and conversation! We were quite tired from staying up late the previous nights, so the plan was to go to bed early after watching a little Friends.

The men headed to bed a little after midnight, perhaps hoping that we would follow their good example. However, after some loopiness and lots of laughing on our part, we got a second wind and stayed up until 3 talking. You might think that we would have covered all topics in the many hours we spent talking over the two days previous, but you would we wrong. There is ALWAYS something for us to talk about.

On Friday Joel and Chad went to Giant Hamburger for lunch, and brought back some fries to share. So nice! Then Sarah and I got all dolled up for our hot date. :)

After going by our library for a quick stop, we headed to Wildflower Bread Co. for a delicious dinner of salads. My salad was good, but Sarah's salad was delicious, and I will be heading back there (hopefully soon!) to have one of my own!

After dinner it was on to Beastly. The acting really wasn't anything impressive, but I liked the story, and the soundtrack alone made it worth it. Afterwards we went to Bahama Bucks for some shaved ice and, yes, more talking. We were also nice enough to bring some shaved ice back to our husbands because we're good like that.

Saturday involved a small photo shoot in the back yard. Don't the boys look great?

(I told them to hug; this was the best they would do) ;)

We took them to the airport Saturday afternoon. I tried not to pout too much on the way, and I think I was mildly but not wildly successful. It's always so hard to say goodbye to loved ones, especially after having such a wonderful time together. Sarah, you know I miss you already. And I don't have to say anymore because we've said it all already, and I know you know what I mean and how much I love you. Thank you, Bades, for coming! We had a wonderful time!

Usery Mountain Regional Park

Joel had a few days off of school this week, so we decided to take advantage and do some hiking. We decided to go to Usery Park, and we hiked the Wind Cave trail. We took lots of pictures! Things kind of started off badly with Adam tripping on the road before we even hit the trail head. He scraped up his hand and was very upset for quite awhile. He did eventually cheer up, but it took awhile.

The weather was beautiful; sunny and mild. It's great to be able to hike in January. :) The trail was pretty nice, especially at the bottom. It got steep for awhile, and there were some rocks to climb over. I will admit that I was sweating and breathing hard for a little bit. It was great! Joel was awesome and carried Adam on his shoulders for most of the hike up (and down, for that matter).

Here's a view from the bottom of the large hill we climbed.

The big Phoenix sign...

There were some large cacti.

The view from the top...

And another...

And another...

Eating some snacks at the top.
The Phoenix sign again, from the top of the hill.
Just sittin' in a little alcove.

After we were done we ate a little picnic and headed home. It was a great morning, and I think we'll go again with the other kids. It was so nice to get a little distance from the city and breath some fresh air. And it was great that this park is only 15 minutes from our house; very convenient.

New toy

For the last few weeks Adam has had a new favorite "toy". It works great as a bat or golf club to hit balls with. It is also a pretty great gun.

We are back to the routine at our house. New years was a lot of fun. Joel and I stayed home and played Trivial Pursuit while eating goodies, then watched a movie until midnight. It was great! The rest of our vacation was spent being lazier than anyone has a right to be. But it was just what the doctor ordered.

Monday everyone was back to school and life went back to "normal". It's nice to get back to a schedule. We are also trying to be a little healthier; you know, it being the new year and all. So there is no more candy or goodies around the house, and the fridge is full of fruits and veggies. I've also been getting up early to work out; I can tell it's been nearly two months since I've done any sort of exercise. But it's feeling good! 2011 is going to be a great year!