Vacation Part 1

This past weekend we took a trip up to visit Grammy and Papa in Prescott before they move.  We've been wanting to do the Grand Canyon for a while so thought we had better not miss our chance!   We weren't sure what the kids would think about it, but Mikayla's first comment was "Wow!  It's even better than I ever thought!"  Mikayla says her favorite part of the Grand Canyon was having a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on our picnic.  It's the little things, right?!  Daxton was ready to go mountain climbing over every edge and railing he could find. 

 On our last shuttle ride Maylee ended up sitting next to a random lady because there weren't enough seats for us to all sit.  I looked back and she had totally fallen asleep on the lady!  Luckily the lady didn't seem to mind and Maylee enjoyed her little power nap!

After the Grand Canyon we decided last minute to go to Bearizona.  It ended up being super fun and all the kids loved it.  The animals would come right up to our car and Daxton would get so excited.  I'm really glad we decided to go!

Dustin's Day

Dustin had a birthday yesterday!  Since it was on a Sunday it was a pretty chill day.  Mikayla showered him with gifts of things she didn't want anymore all day, along with an awesome colander and pipe cleaner hat, Maylee wanted to take a nap with him, we cooked lots of yummy food (except for his cake, which was a Pinterest fail!), and played some games.  It was a fun day to celebrate an amazing guy!

The cake was supposed to be a raspberry Zinger cake, but it was a flop (literally).  Luckily it tasted okay!

Sunny Days

The weather has been gorgeous lately.  We have been trying to take advantage by spending lots of time outside playing, going on picnics, taking lots of walks, and helping Dustin in the yard.  The kids are back to their Summer attire-diapers and undies-and they couldn't be happier about it!

All that playing makes for some VERY dirty kids and whole lotta baths!

This boy...

...is keeping us on our toes!  In the last few weeks he's learned to climb up everything (trampoline, play set, chairs, tables, bunk beds, etc.), been to the ER, had a nasty cold for weeks on end, learned how to throw himself on the floor for tantrums, is into EVERYTHING, puts everything under the sun in his mouth, gotten really good at running away from Mom when she calls him, mastered the art of extremely picky eating, become even stronger so he's hard to contain when he wants down (especially in church!), and is getting really good at stealing his sisters' things and running off with them.  But, he is also amazing at entertaining himself, cuddles at all the right times, loves to read books, tries to be a really good helper (he watches so closely and tries to mimic exactly what we're doing, especially when working outside shoveling, pulling weeds, etc.), is pretty tough and doesn't mind taking a fall, and is happy most of the time.

Princess Tea Party

Mikayla invited Maylee and I to a princess tea party.  Maylee was informed she must be dressed in fancy clothes to attend.  Surprsingly, Maylee obliged and put on a dress up outfit.  After that Mikayla insisted Maylee put on fancy shoes to go with it and Maylee went and put on her fanciest shoes.  Her cowgirl boots.  Mikayla about had a meltdown over the level of fanciness that was not present, but once I explained fancy means something different to everyone we were good to go.  Luckily, I was the waitress and in charge of making a butterfly snack so I escaped the fancy dress requirement.

Maylee escaped the "castle" and took off for the forest.  I couldn't get enough of her dress-up and boots.  Totally Maylee in a nutshell.

Then the queen came to rescue the lost princess and take her back to the castle...

And they lived happily ever after.