Just a taste??

Mom I'm kind of tired of this thing....

I have an idea...how about I have a little drink of this...just a little one...because I'm cute...sound good?

No? Are you sure?

I'll go ask Daddy!

Carter and Kyra

Kyra and Carter have always been best buddies since the day he was born! He recently realized that if he makes this silly noise, that is like a high pitched intake of air, Kyra will laugh and laugh!

Also, since Kyra has started Kindergarten, and Carter has really started to actually play Kyle and Carter have become best buddies. Much to Kyle excitement it seems like Carter has taken a fancy to his cars and trains!


I think this will be the first of many pictures like this.

Hiking with Grandma and Grandpa!

This past weekend we went up to a hiking area near Sierra Vista with my mom and dad. It was fantastic to get out of the +100 degree weather! All three kids LOVED it! Here is Kyle “helping”Grandma with her walking stick. Poor Grandma, I don't think she used her walking stick the entire time.

Grandma and Grandpa also brought along a magnifying glass, which was such a great idea. My mom found some sort of blue beetle near a tree, and when they stopped to inspect it Kyle slightly moved this rock he was standing on, and found a gold mine of interesting bugs!

Here is my cutie patootie! I swear I feel like she has matured so much, just in the 1 week she has been in kindergarten!

Here is my buddy, who quite proudly picked out his own outfit that day!

And my three boyz!

There was the cool tree with huge roots, and limbs that had fallen over. Grandpa lifted Kyle up to sit on top of the tree, and was a little unsure about the situation, but was able to squeak out a smile.

I forgot the baby backpack at home, but Karl was a trooper and held babycakes for the entire hike.

Carter has been so happy lately, and I just LOVE seeing his personality! This day was no exception, especially since Daddy held him the whole time!

This area had some quite a few cute little bridges.

But they also had an area called "Kid spash zone"! The water was a little bit cold! The kiddos and grandpa are all standing on this one little rock trying to prevent getting wet!

Near the splash zone was the walkway that was covered in butterflies all over the ground. At one point there were about 30 butterflies flying around the kiddos heads.



We also saw about 4 deer, and one of them had no problem getting close...really close, and kept following us down the trail.





At the end of the walk they had this area with humming bird feeders set up, with rocking chairs and benches to lounge on. Daddy and Carter took a little nap while Kyra and Kyle stole grandma and grandpa's hats and walking sticks, and draw a map in the gravel for the next hikers!

It was such a fun day!!

Going....going....

going....private. I hate, hate, HATE to do it, but I guess its the world we live in. UGH! But because of a couple things we have to. If you would like to still see some updates of our family, just leave a comment with your email address and I will send you an invite. Thanks!!

The Amlicites lived in Mordor?

So we have been trying to really read scriptures together as a family every night. Some weeks are better than others. But I kept wondering if they were really getting it? Well the other morning, Kyle was running through the house (yes, naked...is there really any other way) with a lightsaber. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was fighting Sherem. Okaaaay....I will take what I can get.

Well for family scripture study tonight we were reading from Alma Chapter 3, and I knew that the kids probably wouldn't be able to follow who was fighting who, and why, and where they went etc...

So I was trying to figure out a way we could act it out....arming the kids with weapons, ummm....NO.
Making one of them the Nephites, one of them the Lamanites, and one of us the Amlicites...uh yeah I could see the therapy session twenty years from now...

Therapist: So why did you chose to do that?

Kyra or Kyle: Well remember Mommy made be act like the Lamanites 20 years ago, well....

So that is a no go idea.

Then my husband says "Why don't you just use the game RISK?" BRILLANT!!

We have two versions...regualar, and Lord of the Rings Risk. The normal risk had cannons, and people with guns. Knowing Kyra, she usually checks each story for historical accuracy, so I went with Lord of the Ring risk.

Alma the Younger was a solider, leading the people, while atop a horse. Amlici was an Orc. I thought it was appropriate.

Well it worked FANTASTICALLY. The kids totally got. They could follow each group of people. I was able to demonstrate how outnumbed the Nephites were..how they drove them back into the woods. Then the kiddos reenacted the story a couple times more. I love when a plan comes together!