The Grand Canyon!!!!!!!

From Flagstaff we drove up to Williams on Tuesday June 28 to catch the train to the Grand Canyon. They had an old steam engine out near the train depot that they use to use. While we waited for the train to leave there was this band dressed up in old western clothes that played for us and they had a western shoot out show. When we told Luke what was going to happen at the show he was scared at first, but once they got started he had a great time. The kids were great on the train the whole time.

 

Getting ready to board the train.

 The Cowboys saying goodbye.

 The Fiddler and the Banjo player both came on during our train ride and played for us.

The Grand Canyon was just amazing. It was bigger then I ever imagined. We arrived at the south rim and had about 3and a half hours to look around. We walked up the path that goes along  the edge for a little bit, just looking at all the different viewing spots. There are parts of the trail that don't have a railing along the edge, so we were very careful to make sue the kids walked on the other side and many people kept on reminding us to do so. We had a great lunch and we looked at the visitor center. It was so beautiful, I hope to take the kids back again when they're older so they can remember it.

First stop Arizona

10 years ago Alan served his mission to Phoenix, Arizona. He hadn't been back since then and we thought it would be fun to go and visit. We split the driving between 2 days, but in total we drove 15 hrs to get to Arizona and boy were we shocked by the heat. It may be humid in San Antonio, and actually alot of the time I don't even notice it, but it never gets up to 115 degrees. As mush as I complain about the heat in San Antonio I would take that, over Arizona heat any day. We stayed in Phoenix for 2 days where Alan showed us the areas he served in and some of the apartments he lived in. One of the big highlights was going up to see the Mesa Temple.

After we were done in Phoenix we drove up to Flagstaff, which is about 2 hrs. north of Phoenix and in the mountains. We finally got a break from the heat. Alan served in Flagstaff with one of his favorite companions, Aaron Newman. On our way up to flagstaff we stopped at Montezuma Castle. Other then the cliff dwellings we also saw many lizards and some trees that had camouflage bark.

 That's all for now. I'll share the most exciting part of Arizona in the next post.

Where, Where, Where?

This was Samantha's little mantra every time we pointed out something for the kids to look at while we were driving. By the time she would bother to look up and see what we had pointed at we had already passed it. We spent many hours in the car this vacation. Most of the time it was just our family of 4, but for parts of the trip we had a few of Alan's brothers with us. Where did we go? I'll tell ya next post, but for now you can enjoy the picture of us in the car.

Luke Turns 5!

This is way over due. Luke turned 5 in may! My baby starts school in August. We didn't have a party for him because 2 of his friends had birthday party's right around his birthday. We took him to his favorite restaurant, Red Robin and then we had cake and ice cream at our house with just the 4 of us. He had very specific requirements for his cake that him and his little girlfriend from preschool came up with. It had to be pink and orange with basketballs, I didn't get the basketballs, but I got the colors right. It was another store bought cake. Hopefully I can get my act together by next year and we'll have big homemade cakes for Sammy's 3rd and Luke's 6th birthdays.

He had his yearly check up yesterday. He weighs 42.6 pounds and is in the 50% for weight. He is a little over 4ft tall and off the charts for the percent. He had to get the last of his shots and was very scared, but ended up doing very well. Here are some pictures of him and some friends at a party and then some of him opening presents at home.

Going back home

On Wednesday April 20, I received a call after Young Women's from my mom telling me that after being in and out of the hospital for the past couple of years my Grandpa Ray, my moms dad, was reaching the end of his life and if I wanted to say good bye I needed to come now. My mom and sisters were driving there and would arrive on Friday, so after much debate Alan bought a plane ticket for me to fly to Washington Friday morning. My Aunt Stephanie, my dads sister, Uncle Cal and cousin Ashley were kind enough to let us all stay with them. It was hard being away from my kids and the reason for the whole trip was sad, but I enjoyed getting to see all my family and being back in the northwest.

It was the first time I've been back to Washington since Alan and I went back shortly after we were married for an U2 concert. I love being a Northwestern girl and love telling people I'm from Washington state. If I could move back I would. Since this was Rachel's kids spring break she did want them to have a little bit of fun while they were there so we took all the kids to the Seattle science center for a Star Wars exhibit. It was kind of fun to watch my sisters chase after their kids while I got to just walk around by my self and look at ever thing. We also went to church in my old ward that I grew up in. It was fun to see every one and here about what all every one was up to.

We visited my grandpa a couple of times in the hospital while we were there and even though he was doing really bad he did recognize us, we even got a wave. I have a hard time with death it brings up all the old pain of losing loved once from before and I hate goodbyes. I flew back home Monday night and received a call the next day that my grandpa had passed away in his sleep Tuesday morning. I know my grandpa is in a better place with no more pain. I love my grandpa, he was a wonderful grandpa.

 

This picture was taken at Luke's baby blessing 5 years ago.

 

My Nieces and Nephews. Hannah, Kaleb, Keagan and Kale are Rachels and Cara in the green shirt is Meri's.

 

Meri, the third, Leah the oldest, me and Rachel the second.

 

 

The Seattle Space Needle