My Little Fishes

This is what we've been doing all summer.....

4th of July Weekend

Where do I even start?! We went up to my parents cabin for the weekend and had a great time. 4 out of my 7 siblings were there- and that always makes for a good time. I really enjoy spending time with my family and being able to just hang out and talk and laugh with them. There is just something about being with your own family that brings you back to who you really are and the feeling of home. It's also fun to get to know my nieces and nephews who are turning into adults! (That makes you feel old) But I just loved sitting on the porch during the rain storm and listening to my Dad, my brother Rob and nephew Zack play guitars while we all sang along. The weather was beautiful and rained every afternoon and dropped the temperature down to about 60 degrees!

Kate and Clark had a great time playing with their cousins- especially Jacob, who is just a year older than them. The older girl cousins had fun playing with Kate and wanted her to tag along to whatever they were doing. But most of all they loved being with Nana and Paco. Clark just loves my dad and if he was around, Clark was his sidekick! Clark also got to sleep with my sister Heather and her husband the first night we were there- thanks Heather for helping me get two kids asleep by myself!

We also went up to Heber on Saturday for their annual fireworks show. It is AMAZING! For those of you who dont know about it- it's the best kept secret in Arizona. It' s a pretty small gathering- compared to anything in the valley- so you dont have to fight the crowds and traffic too much. It's held right at the high school, and the were setting the fireworks off about 500ft from where we sat! You have to lay down to see the fireworks- because they are right on top of you! My niece Nicki even got some ashes that fell at her feet!

So heres some pics!

Kate going for a ride on the tractor with Daddy

Clark found this empty cooler and climbed in with is blankey

Got to love Arizona sunsets!

Clark, Jacob and Kate at the fireworks show

What a cute boy!

Lake Trip

This post is a bit late- but I finally got some time to download my pictures and make a post! We went to Canyon Lake 2 weeks ago with some friends. We had a great time riding the jet- ski's and the kids had fun playing on the beach. Kate and Clark wanted to go in the water, but as soon as the waves rolled in- they didnt like it so much. Kate lost her footing and fell in a few times, but Clark never got in far enough! I think I was the only one who didnt wear 50SPF sunscreen, and the only one to come back without a sunburn! Thanks Airan and Kelly for inviting us!

We Love to Swim!

I started teaching swim lessons the beginning of June and have been teaching Kate and Clark how to swim along with all my other students. They have taken really well to the water and love to go in the pool. Last week my sister Nancy brought over this little blow up pool, and they have had a blast playing in it. Clark's favorite part is holding the hose while the pool fills up, and getting the leaves or "yukies" out of the water. Kate loves to pick up the pool toys and get in and out of the pool! So I took a few pictures of them playing around, and hopefully I can get some of them really swimming and post those too!

Pedicures

My niece Hannah has been staying at my house this summer and babysitting my kids while I teach swim lessons, and yesterday afternoon she decided to give me a little pedicure. So she got all my stuff out and was doing a very good job of making my toes look better! Well Kate and Clark were in the kitchen with us and wanted to be a part of the fun. So they would take the nail file or whatever they could get their hands on and mimic what we were doing. Clark lost interest pretty quickly, but Kate managed to sit long enough for me to tak a picture. So cute!

Nana and Paco's House

So just about everyday, Kate and Clark ask for Nana and Caco (Paco), and I have to tell them, "No we're not going to Nana's today". Well this week was my first week of teaching swim lessons and I found myself wanting to go to my mom's house. Now I love my parents and I love visiting them, but on this of all weeks, when I had no time because of the 4 hour chunk of time I was missing everyday to swim lessons everyday, but why did I feel the need to go over there? I couldn't quite figure out why, but I kept thinking of excuses to go. So Wednesday afternoon I had to fill up water bottles at Water and Ice and decided to stop by my moms on the way back. Needless to say the kids loved playing on the swing, picking blackberries, apricots, figs and apples, looking for the cats with Paco and going for a ride in the 'Paco Mobile'. It wasn't till after we left that I realized why I love going over there- I can't do a dang thing but play with my kids. I can't do laundry, clean up the kitchen, or any of the other million reasons I put off playing with my kids at home. All I can do there is enjoy being with my kids and giving them experiences that they couldn't have anywhere else. For those of you haven't been to my parents house, their yard is amazing. My dad has a beautiful garden, lots of trees, a huge pool and lots of grass! (We have no grass at our house) So I appreciate my parents giving me such a wonderful place to take my kids and just play. I have also realized how much I miss being with my kids all day long. Even though I only teach for a few hours, and they are taking their naps for most of it- I still feel like I'm missing out. I miss putting them down for their naps everyday, and appreciate it more now. I am also so grateful for a wonderful husband who works so hard to provide for us so that I can stay at home. I can honestly say that I love being a mom and there is NOTHING in this world that I'd rather do. So here's a few pics of Kate and Clark playing in the irrigation and with the hose at Nana and Paco's......

Happy Anniversary

Last week Ryan and I hit our 4 year anniversary, so to celebrate we got a room for the weekend at the Legacy Golf Resort in Phoenix. It was quite the room- it had a FULL kitchen with stove, oven, microwave, fridge, appliances(toaster, blender, mixer) and all the cupboards in the kitchen had bowls, cups and all the kitchen utensils you'd need! It also had a sitting room with couches and TV and the bathroom took up 2 rooms! One with shower, toilet and vanity, the other a HUGE jetted tub and another vanity! So needless to say we enjoyed our weekend away. We didnt do much- went to the mall, went to a movie, out to eat and wasted our time watching movies on cable( since we dont have cable at home!) We have made going to a hotel and leaving for the weekend our anniversary tradition, but decided after this year it needs to be in a different city. Phoenix just wasn't far enough away. So next year will be Sedona or Flagstaff. But overall- we had a good time and I know the kids had an even better time with Grandma and Aunt Nancy!