Prescott with Friends

While the Daddies went deer hunting in Kaibab, Jaclyn and I decided to take the kids to a cabin in Prescott for a few days.  We all had such a great time, even though it was raining almost the entire two days we were there!  

It cleared up as we went hiking at Watson Lake, and the kids found all kinds of animals that day!

The cabin had two hammocks in the front yard, so that was a favorite of all the kids!

Jaclyn tried SO hard to build a fire, since the children really though we needed one - but it was just too wet out for it to get any bigger than this!

This just cracks me up!

Paige gets pretty grumpy when she is sleep deprived.  It is either this face, or loony-bin laughter.

Porter is one of Jaelyn's favorite people!

We had such a nice time, it was a great break in the middle of daddy being gone for a week!  

Oak Creek Canyon

Well, fast forward a month and we were on a day hike at the West Fork of Oak Creek.  This has to be one of my favorite places in Arizona! Maybe because I spent time there as a kid, but I just find it so lush and beautiful!  I smile watching my kids play in the water and explore the different plants and critters along the way.  This was a perfect day for it, the trail wasn't as crowded as I've seen it before, we had some cloud cover but perfect temperatures, and no one had to be carried from being too tired!  =)

As we were hiking in to the big pool, the girls tromped through the mud - so much so that their boots and socks were soaked.  I was genuinely surprised that they actually didn't complain too much about that on the rest of the way in.

Once we got to the pool, the big girls set off to try and catch minnows and bugs, while Jaelyn plopped herself down in this flowing spot of the stream and stayed there!  The water just seemed to fascinate her.

Our wet-rat of a schnauzer!

Then I plopped down next to Jaelyn and put my camera away to enjoy the beautiful moment.

On the way out, there was much complaining about the shoe situation.  I had brought crocs, so we switched to those and appeased them somewhat. Toward the end of the trail Daddy spotted a stealthy snake in the high grasses and then picked the girls some wild blackberries - so all was right with the world again.

When we arrived home, this was the view from our driveway, and I was so happy to have my camera out to capture it!  

All around a simply beautiful day!

Jaelyn's Third Birthday Party

Okay - so this was about two months ago.

Don't judge.

=)

Just love, love, love this little sweetie!  She keeps me on my toes, but has so much joy and a love for doing everything!

We has a small family party at home - and she was so thrilled.  Her only request was a "pretty cake with lots of frosting", because almost all cake has milk in it this girl very rarely has any.  I thought that was a do-able birthday wish!

Here she is practicing with her twirly birthday dress!

She can run super fast!  ;)

And then she dug in!

Those of us who know what regular cake tastes like didn't appreciate the vegan version... but she loved it! And she had it for dessert for a week!  Even better, right?!?

Love you, my sweet J! You are an awesome little three year old! 

Mormon Lake Archery

We took the girls up to the Mormon Lake Archery Shoot at the beginning of the summer, and it was such a fun experience!  Now, being honest here - our kids complained through the entire adult shoot, even though they were shooting.  Really, by the time we were done I thought maybe my ears were bleeding!  ;) Lest you ever think the stories and pictures on this site make our kids look well-behaved.  

BUT, after the adult shoot and eating lunch, we took them to the kid shoot area and they had a really great time.  The guy who ran it was awesome, and had all these little prizes for them!  I think we will be making the trip for this event again!