Road Trip

This last weekend I had a three day weekend because I have Canadian holidays. I decided that I definitely needed to go somewhere with my kiddos while they were still out of school. I haven't been on any overnight trips with them since the divorce. I wanted to go to Pine. I begged my mom to make the arrangements and come with me. My mom brought my neice Shalyn with us.

We had a blast! We headed up Saturday. We took the kids to the swimming hole at East Verde River. Logan begged me to catch a crawdad for him and I did with my bare hands. Didn't know I still had that talent. I guess some things never leave you :). We stayed the night in Payson at a hotel. I must say that 4 kids in one room was enough to drive me and especially my mom a little batty!

Sunday we hiked the Tonto Natural Bridge. Logan and Shalyn had a great time climbing all around inside of the bridge. Megan and Katie had a great time climbing around as well and searching for lava rocks. We were all exhausted by the end of that with the exception of Logan. That child has so much endurance. He was running all the way back up the trail and was like come on guys. We then headed to Pine to stay the night. When we got there we had a nice visit with Aunt Ruby and Jack before they headed out later that night. Logan loved hearing all of Jack's hunting stories. He was completely enthralled by them. I took the kids down to the creek for a bit before night fall. It was so fun to share one of my favorite childhood places with my kiddos.

Monday morning mom made pancakes with blackberries on top. The kids loved it. Then we picked some blackberries and headed down to the creek again. I showed the kids where my cousins and siblings used to have our swimming hole. Then we headed down to Nifty Fifties for lunch. The kids loved it there. We headed back packed everything up and cleaned the house before taking off. The kids wanted to stop at the East Verde River to swim again for a bit. It was hard to drag them back to the car. We didn't end up getting home until almost 8 at night. It was a very enjoyable trip and also very exhausting. The kids definitely took it out of me and my mom. But as always just being at the Pine house has a way of renewing my spirits and was just what the Dr ordered. I am so glad that we got to go. I so loved sharing that with my kiddos.

I came home to my a/c not working. Luckily I have a small window unit in my room that keeps it nice and cool. I don't have money to get it fixed right now. So we will just hang out in here for a bit. I am so glad to have a King size bed that we can all sleep in. It is 103 degrees in the rest of my house right now.

School starts next week and that will be a whole new adventure.
:(.

Is the Summer over yet?

Hello all...I am ready for the summer to be over in a lot of ways but not in others. The kids being cooped up all summer long and with each other all the time makes them very irritable. The only thing they can really do is swim. Thank goodness Grandma takes care of them and has a pool. She really has been my life saver this summer.

She just recently redid the girls room. Her and I painted it pink and then she finished it off by putting up the cutest border and decals. So very cute! The girls are excited and so am I.

Today we went to pioneer day with my mom at her stake breakfast thing. I didn't go to my own because I hate going alone. It was so fun. After we went to my mom's for a "safari hunt" for her birthday. The kids had such a great time and loved their alligator hats. So much fun but now I can't wait for the kids to go to bed. They are tired and grouchy.

I am single again too :). I plan to stay that way for awhile. Right now I want to foucs on myself and my kiddos. Unless of course something really miraculous happens. LOl. After dating John for a year and then us deciding to go our separate ways because our current situations don't work together I want a break from dating ;).



Love to you all!

One year already???

So on Sunday June 21st John and I celebrated our one year dating anniversary. It was a year ago that he took me out on our first day. It was Father's Day and I felt bad but he had me and my kiddos come over for dinner. His kiddos were there too. It was fun. He made us Steak, Lobster, and shrimp with baked potatoes and corn on the cobb. Super yummy! I brought chocolate lush for dessert.

The pic is of our date on Wed. We had fun. Can't believe how fast time flies by!

It has been a long time

Hello everybody. I have been in my own world. Sorry about that :). Life has been can we say kicking my booty ;). Being a single mom is a lot of hard work and when you add all of the other drama to it I find it to be overwhelming at times. I keep going though. I am grateful for the tender mercies of my Savior. He blesses me so much and when I think I can't go on anymore he picks up the slack for me. I am so very greatful for my blessings today.

I have been very blessed to have my mom coming to help with my kiddos this Summer. They are loving having Grandma take care of them. This has been so nice. She has been fixing things in my house and doing deep cleaning that I don't find myself having the motivation to do lately. She does fun projects with the kids and they love to go swimming at her house.

My kiddos grow and grow and continue to amaze me every day. They are truly a blessing in my life. Their smiles can light up my day. Logan gives me the sweetest hugs when I am down and he is such a goof ball that he makes me laugh and laugh. I try not to show my kids when I am down but sometimes it can't be helped. Katie is just funny. She makes me laugh all the time too. She loves to talk. Megan is my little cuddle bunny and loves to have me hold her.

Davyd'd deployment has been put on hold due to him breaking his foot. So hopefully he won't have to go until at least the Summer is over. I know it will be a huge impact on my kids and it kills me to think about. I hate to say it but I was praying that he wouldn't deploy until at least the summer is over and the kids are back in school and then he broke his foot? An answer to me prayer??? Who knows!!

I cut my hair in March and went on a trip to the Grand Canyon and to Prescott with my sweet sisters. Melissa, Lynnessa and I had a great time. Lynnessa moved out here last week and is staying with Melissa. It is truly a blessing to be able to bond with my little sister that I didn't get to grow up with. She is so much like Melissa and I despite having different mom's and not being raised together. It is amazing.

I am also so blessed to be in a ward that loves me and goes above and beyond to serve me and my kiddos. I love this ward. Hard to believe I have been here for 10 yrs now.

Wow this is getting long...I have many many other things I am grateful for. I will stop here though. Love to you all!!!!

Aunt Melanie is on Vacation and the kiddos are on Spring Break

It has been so long since I have blogged. Life has been crazy. I survived my kiddos going to Texas for a week with their Dad. It was hard but I kept myself busy.

My kiddos are on Spring Break right now and so I took the time off that I have them this week to be with them. We have gotten lots done and have been having so much fun. Cody is a huge helper and gets Logan motivated. We got the backyard cleaned up pretty good today! Thanks Bear! :)

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the day....The kids loved their pizza time. Logan and Cody have enjoyed playing video games today. The girls all made lip gloss and face masks with Katelyn's Spa factory kit.

Tomorrow we will be going to the Rain Forest Cafe and the Zoo. We went last year for Saint Patrick's Day too. The kids are all excited. I will have to post pics of that later.

Love having time off to spend with my kiddos!!!!

Love to everyone....I am on facebook a lot so if you want to keep more updated with me get a facebook account and look me up. A lot of my relatives are on there as well. It has been lots of fun.

My baby isn't a baby anymore :(

Today was Megan's first day in Primary. I can't believe that she is so big and is no longer in nursery. She didn't cry or anything. She was so excited and had a great time. She loves to sing and was very happy to sing with all of the other children. I can't believe my baby is not a baby anymore. It sure goes by fast. Yet another reminder to savor every moment.

Happy New Year!!!!!

As you can tell we all had a wonderful time ringing in the New Year! Clint and Kimberly got there later on and we had a blast. Melissa ordered a sub and we had all kinds of chips and goodies. The kids all stayed up past midnight even. They so loved celebrating with their cousins. It was great to be surrounded by family to ring in the New Year and great to have John there with us!

My kiddos crashed as soon as we got home a little after 12:30. What a wonderful way to start the New Year!