Thanksgiving 2007

Just pretend the date on this post isn't really December because I'm still on Thanksgiving. We had a really great weekend. We love spending time with all of our family and doing so many fun things. This year we didn't have as big of a group as usual from my dad's side but it was still crowded and fun. If I'm counting right, there were 26 people.

After dinner we went for a short walk and played at the park.

On Friday we had a second Thanksgiving with Rob's family at our house. We had 17 people and it was so much fun. We don't see them as much, probably because they don't live 2 miles away like all of my family. Rob makes the best cheesecake I've ever had. Well, nothing beats Godiva Chocolate cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory, but he makes the best plain cheesecake! And I love his mom's homemade rolls. YUMMY!! The kids chased and climbed all over Grandpa Poundstone the whole night.

My goal that day was to get a picture of my kids with their grandparents because I have lots with my parents but almost none with Rob's parents.

Grandparents of seven

My parents really enjoy being grandparents. They always have at least one of their seven at the house. All of them live within two miles right now so they are very lucky. Here's a recent picture of my dad with all the grandkids.

And one more funny one of my niece Peyton.

Keyton's Birthday and Halloween

October was pretty busy with lots of fun stuff to do. For Keyton's 4th birthday we went to Out of Africa Wildlife Park in Camp Verde, AZ. Keyton and Joslyn fed the tiger and Rob kissed the giraffe. This is a real up-close-and-personal zoo that doesn't spend money on making the displays "pretty". It's basically desert with fences. But you get really close to all the animals and there's a lot of one on one opportunities with all the workers or trainers. We liked the tiger splash, the snake show, and the hyenas. They're a lot bigger than they look on tv.






We spent the night in Flagstaff at a hotel with an indoor pool so the kids had fun swimming. We also had a little birthday party in the room.

We had a small family party on Saturday and then went to the church Trunk-or-Treat that night.

On Sunday I took the kids to Kirkland for our friend Dylan's birthday party. They always have so much fun at the ranch. They painted pumpkins while we were waiting for dinner. So cute!

On Wednesday we had a chili tasting party with the neighbors and did a little trick-or-treating.

Weekend Warrior

This last Saturday Rob ran a 3 mile race. It was his first race probably since high school. He did so good! I was so proud of him! He ran it in 22:00 and placed 12th. He was beat by one 46 year old but everyone else in front of him was 15-24 years old. Not bad for a 31 year old! (He'll be 32 in three more months.)

Guess Where I Am

I took this a few months ago, in May I think, but I just came across it and realized I didn't get to share it with anyone. I wish I could have gotten a better angle but my kids were with me so I was trying to avoid getting one of them run over by a car. This is the drive-thru at Arby's. In Sun City, of course.

Labor Day Weekend Camping Trip

The hardest part about keeping this blog up to date is picking which pictures to post. My kids are too cute! Ok, so over Labor Day weekend we went camping near Payson. Overall it was a good experience. The kids loved it and can't wait to go camping again soon. I say 'overall' because of the really rude campers that rolled in loudly at 1:30am the first night. But we're trying to forget their really loud music that played the rest of the night and even louder four-wheelers that started at 6:30am. We're going to focus on the positive. I'm sure the kids won't ever remember the "bad guys" we murderously referenced throughout the rest of the weekend.

We camped with Rob's cousin and her husband. Joslyn liked the baby, the baby liked the dog.

Softballs Aren't Soft

Good Movie, Good Quote

I just saw a movie called "Akeelah and the Bee." I'm surprised when I enjoy a movie because I feel like I've seen every story line out there over and over. While the basic plot was like every sports team hardship and triumph movie it was funny and entertaining. It's about a girl trying to make it to the national spelling bee. I'm bringing it up here because the quote that I love that I posted on Feb 21st is in this movie. I found the quote on another blog and they didn't mention this movie. Maybe that's why I liked the movie so much.

Joslyn's Hair

Joslyn's hair is really curly; except for the top layer which is, at best, a little wavy. I keep thinking the curls will grow out as she gets older but it hasn't happened yet. She's never had a haircut and now I'm afraid to cut any of it because I don't want to lose the curl! It's so cute! Here's a series of photos I took after a bath of her hair drying. Sounds exciting doesn't it? I actually sat and watched her hair dry. I combed it out so it looks kind of straight and then she sat and watched a movie while I took a picture about every ten minutes.

Catch Up

So, it turns out that I'm not a very good blogger. We've been pretty busy the last two months and I haven't posted anything. We've done a lot of swimming; I hiked for three days in Yosemite with my dad, my uncle, and my cousin; my brother got married; we went to Payson; we visited the AZ Science Center; me and Keyton went to a baseball game; we went to the Phoenix Zoo...and who knows what I'm forgetting. Here come a bunch of pictures!

Joslyn's 2nd birthday party

Yes, the local beauty salon does birthday parties! Who-da thunk? It was actually very fun. Joslyn had all her girl cousins come to get their hair done and be princesses. They got goody bags and glitter eyeshadow and pictures taken. She's a very pampered two year old!

A Very Busy Week

Saturday - my neice Kailee's birthday party

Sunday - Oceanside Beach in CA

Even though the water was cold, Keyton ran in and out until he was soaking wet. Joslyn didn't like the feel of the sand and wanted to be carried the whole time. They were opposite last year when we went to the beach.

Monday - Legoland

He got a driver's license! (that blue car in the background is made of legos!)

Tuesday - Seaworld

We weren't very impressed with the killer whale show. It didn't hold the kids' attention and they tried to make it really dramatic and serious. We liked the dolphin show better.

Keyton got a shark t-shirt and Joslyn got a "dolphin shish-ee" shirt. (fishy)

5:00pm after the whale show, Joslyn zonked!

Thursday - Wildlife World Zoo in AZ

My mom feeding a baby giraffe

Joslyn riding the train

Saturday - Y4 Ranch near Prescott

Joslyn was our entertainment at dinner

Sunday - Ride Jorge the Horse

Our friends live on a ranch near Prescott that is so beautiful. We had so much fun the short two days we were there. We can't wait to go back. This is Dylan and Josh with our kids. Keyton already asked me if we could go back and ride the horse a lot a lot a lot.