Heavenly Hoedown

Joshua getting lassoed without dropping his precious plate of chips.

Hannah on a very cool tire swing & loving it!

Hannah & snake.

Hannah & chick.

Hannah & bunny. Awwwww.


Last Sunday we got to go to a Hoedown at the house of one of our church family. This the 1st year we were able to go & unfortunately we had to leave early so we didn't get to do everything. Next year though we will block out the day.

I'd guess there were over 300 people there. Everyone brought food to share for a potluck. Some of the things we did get to do were ping pong,volleyball,bounce house,face painting,kids fishing (for candy),petting zoo, lassoing,& the tire swing. Our awesome praise band played too.
But there was so much more we had to miss like bingo, a cupcake walk,pinata,wagon rides,a talent show, & a campfire service. Hopefully we can enjoy it all next year.

Phoenix Zoo Visit

Flamingo impressions

With Grandma & Grandpa

You can't see it too well in this picture but there's a small owl behind the kids.


We went to the Phoenix Zoo today before taking Todd's parents to the airport. It was drizzling a little bit when we got there but it turned sunny & a little warm soon after. I wish the rain & gray skies stuck around longer.

I got some good pictures of the otters & monkeys. We even got a good one of a lion-awake! They are never awake when we go.

We had to get to the airport which is always heartbreaking for Hannah. She gave hugs goodbye but quickly got into the very back of the van so she could cry by herself. Very sad. She has now just come in to the office to admit she cried herself to sleep last night because she knew they were leaving today. Geesh:(

It's been a busy week. My mom visits next week.

Mini Golf

Have to add a picture of the goofball.

We went to Castles & Coasters to play miniature golf on Thursday while Todd's parents were in town. I came in 1st out of 6 people. Yes, you read that right-me! I should have saved the score cards as that may never happen again. We had fun & then went to Swensen's for dinner. Actually, we had ice cream for dinner as we had a late lunch. Yummy! You can't get away with ice cream for dinner unless Grandma's in town.

Arizona Museum of Natural History

Panning for gold.

Really big meteorite.

On Tuesday we went on a field trip to the museum with HEofS. It's in Mesa & I was able to get there all by myself without getting lost. Well, I had my mapquest printout but I still did it. The kids had fun although we have been here before about 3 years ago (I think). They both bought some more rocks for their collections. Hannah mostly enjoyed panning for gold & said she could do it all day. We still have their "gold" nuggets from last visit.

After we left the museum we stopped by the fairgrounds to pick up their artwork & ribbons.

Arizona State Fair 2009

Enjoying the reading program freebie rides .

One of Hannah's pieces of art.

#2 of Hannah's pieces of art.

Joshua's art that earned a 2nd place ribbon. Now he's gung ho for entering lots of art next year.

We went to the State Fair with HEofS again this year. It was just the 3 of us as Todd couldn't take another day off after the recent vacation. We saw a Mad Science presentation about farming. Joshua was paying attention to the fact that cows not only give us milk but since they eat so much they give us another commodity:fertilizer. Now when he needs to go to the bathroom he tells us he's going to "fertilize". He thinks he is hilarious. Oh joy!

Anyway, we also checked out the animals,a few rides,& the art displays. I spent all of $5 (on funnel cake) for the whole field trip. Entrance & parking were free for homeschool groups & the kids each had 3 free rides from a reading program. It was really too hot for November. We left around 2pm. It wasn't as fun without Todd plus Hannah & I were not really feeling all that great. I'd rather have stayed home but I know the kids were dying to see their artwork.

Next field trip is a Museum on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday Grandma & Grandpa visit-hope it cools off for them:) Hope it cools off for me too!!

Beach Visit-October 2009

I attempted another slideshow (See below). Someday I might get this right. Sadly, today is not that day. I now know how I messed up getting the sparkles in the Disneyland slideshow but I don't feel like doing it over.
Some pictures are from Huntington Beach & others are from Seal Beach. I like the slideshows for when I have a bunch of pictures I want to share. What do you think? Enjoy!

Hannah's 10th Birthday Party

Not the 1st picture I wanted to come up but oh well. It's a close up of Hannah at the Jedi Training Academy fighting Darth Maul.

Close up of Hannah & Joshua on Splash Mountain. They are in a Twix bar "log".

After the party.

The Disneyland cake!


Hannah's 10th birthday party was on Sunday afternoon at the park by our house. With help from my mom we hid 112 Mickey heads around the park for the kids to find. Some were green to blend with trees,grass, or bushes. Some were brown to blend with the wood chips. Some were red or yellow to blend with the playground equipment. You get the idea. The kids got to pick prizes. Hannah opened her gifts & then everyone had to come to the house to sing because I could not move that cake down to the park! The kids got served cake & ice cream in Mickey head shaped plates I have saved from Disneyland kids meals over several trips. Two kinds of ice cream-one in each "ear" & the cake in his "head". I even put the napkins in the "dead man's chest" from Pirate's. Kept them from blowing away too!

The rides represented on the cake were: Matterhorn, Nemo's Subs,Astro Orbitor,the train,the monorail,Jungle Cruise,Splash Mountain, the Teacups, & Pirate's of the Caribbean. Shows included Fantasmic & Jedi Training Academy. Characters represented were: Tinkerbell, Aurora,Snow White, & Cinderella with the castle, Buzz & Woody, Mickey 2x,Minnie,Mater & McQueen,Donald,Goofy,Pluto,Chip & Dale, Jack Sparrow, & Darth Maul. Whew!

The kids had fun playing with their friends. After the party the kids got cleaned up (because it was pretty warm for Nov 1st) and we watched the new Tinkerbell movie Hannah got as a gift.

Halloween & Fashion Show

Hannah & Alysa
Or
Queen Lucy (Narnia) & Dorothy

King Peter & Queen Lucy of Narnia
Yes, we re-used costumes from last year's History & Geography Fair on C.S.Lewis.

On the runway.

Showing off some casual wear.

She got some makeup done before the show.

Yesterday Hannah was in her 2nd fashion show at the base. She got makeup done & was less nervous this time around. She's becoming a real pro! Joshua wanted to go home before we even got to the base-rotten little brother:(
She had fun & then we had to get home for dinner before tricking & treating with the Fletchers & Humphreys. The kids buckets were getting pretty full early on so we dumped them & went back out. I was impressed with all the good candy they got-not just cheap stuff.
Hannah originally said she was going to be Ariel. At one point it was Jasmine. Finally she was Queen Lucy. Same issues with Joshua. At first he was going to be Boba Fett,then maybe Obi Wan,then Jack Sparrow but since he did that for the grocery store trip he decided to be King Peter. I'll post some birthday party pictures from today later this week. It's been a busy weekend & we still have the State Fair field trip on Tuesday so maybe I'll get to that Wednesday. We'll see.

Theater Performance

The kids dressed up as Jack Sparrow & Elizabeth Swann to get candy & decorate a cookie at Fry's on the Thursday before Halloween. I needed things for the party so why not? There's no sense in having all these costumes around if we don't get some use out of them!

Hannah after her theater performance. I could get a clear picture once all the lights were on but nothing good during the performance (except video).

Joshua eating an "ice cream cone" cupcake at the cast party afterward. We brought the cupcakes.

Hannah's theater performance was on Wednesday. She had so much fun & did great at memorizing her lines. She was nervous for the monologue but she remembered it all. Surprisingly she was the loudest one. I was afraid she'd mumble but I could her her better than most of the other kids. Todd couldn't get off work but we taped it for him. Thanks to both our moms who gave Hannah this class as a birthday gift. She loved it!!!