Spring Break in Sedona!

So this year we decided to head to Arizona in the RV and it turned out to be an excellent choice. We started our trip out with a stop at Jacobs Lake for lunch which was still pretty chilly with snow still on the ground. The kids didn't seem to mind and went out and played frisbee while I made lunch.

We continued on to the Grand Canyon and stayed at Mather Campground which was completely full. I was amazed at how many people were staying in tents - it was still really cold at night. We did a couple of hikes at the Grand Canyon and continued on towards Flagstaff.

We stopped at Red Mountain which is about 30 miles out of Flagstaff to do another hike which was awesome. The kids played at this cinder cone area for about an hour. On our hike back we were told that a group with 10 kids had lost one little boy. Well the search and rescue began... Sean and Jake went back out searching for this 7 year old boy, after checking in at the trailhead they headed back out with McKenzie and they searched for a couple more hours. Jordan, Hudson and I stayed to talk to the police and be at the trailhead in case he wandered that way. Well, helicopters were brought in and search and rescue people started showing up at dusk, they sent us on our way and told us they would notify us. They did not find this little boy until the next day around noon. He had spent the night out there alone in below 0 temperatures and was just fine. We were all just sick with worry until we got that call. Pheww we are so happy he was found and safe.

We spent the night in Flagstaff at an RV park that was right next to the railroad tracks, so besides being worried about the little boy we were constantly awakened by the trains. Next morning we headed to Meteorite Crater. This was a big dusty hole in the ground that was way overpriced and not that exciting. We were a little upset that we had spent so much money to see this.

We headed down Oak Creek Canyon which is so beautiful down into Sedona. We stayed at a beautiful RV park in Sedona and did lots of hiking, exploring and eating. We went to Slide Rock State Park and Jake and Jordan slid down the rocks even though the water was only 43 degrees. Crazy cold - but they had to give it a try.

We also went and saw Montezuma's Castle which was really cool and free because of our State Park Pass. Much better than the Crater.

We had such a good time and really loved Sedona. I hate being back to the daily grind of cooking and cleaning. So I better start planning our next trip!

Soccer season has began. Saturday we got to attend 5 games. Kenzie had 2 and the others all had 1. It was a cold day - but I was the only one who seemed to mind. This is my favorite time of year - spring is in the air and my kids are all playing soccer. Such good times!

Kenzie

Jake

"Beckham"

Jordan

Hudson scoring a goal!!!

6,210 days later

Isn't it amazing that for the last 6,210 days I have been waking up to the same person, and I still really dig him! 17 years of marriage and 4 kids later - I couldn't have dreamed of a better life. I love Sean and all he does for our family (which is so dang much)! The best way for me to sum up what a great husband and father he is would simply be "LIFE IS GOOD!"

Here we are way up high in the sky. Sean loves to fly and for once it looks like I am pretty comfortable up there too!

Well - we are back from our weekend in Santa Barbara. We had such a good time.

Our first stop was in Yermo, California at Silver Valley High School. This was the school Sean graduated from. Sean's family got transfered there his Senior year - what a bummer! Here we are in front of the gymnasium and school where he strutted his stuff!

Onto Santa Barbara!!! This bus the "Solstice" has been in Santa Barbara everytime we have been. Last year while we were playing at one of the parks we met the boy that lives in it. David stayed and played with us and told us about living on the "Solstice"! His bedroom is the upstairs section of the bus.

Here I am on the American Riviera! Beautiful isn't it?

Our main reason for going was to watch the "Tour of California". The timed trial was being held in Solvang and we met up with our good friends, Chip and Jen and Paul and Micci. It was a beautiful warm day and we had a good time watching all the riders and hanging out with friends.

The boys even had some eye candy for them. It was a good thing because we were surrounded by men in spandex.




Here is Lance Armstrong!

And here is Levi Leipheimer the winner of the Tour of California!

Oh the things that come out of 5 year olds mouths!

Hudson walks in the other day and tells me this. "Mom, did you know that people have hair on their privates and none on their bodies and dogs have hair all over their bodies but none on their privates. Cool huh?"
What am I to think? How does my 5 year old make such keen observations that I just seem to never notice. He is always making me giggle =)

Get To Know Me...

My friend Jan'L had this on her blog and I found it quite interesting. I whittled it down a bit, I am just not that interesting.... anywho here we go -

1. What time did you get up this morning? At 7, I got to sleep in, it's Sunday!
2. Diamond or Pearls? Diamonds
3. What was the last show you saw at the cinema? Twilight, which my girls and I loved.
4. What is your favorite TV show? King of Queens
5. What do you eat for breakfast? I take my vitamins and drink a glass of water.
6. What is your middle name? Lou
7. What food do you dislike? Sushi
8. What is your favorite CD at this moment? Katy Perry
9. What kind of car do you drive? Range Rover
10. Favorite sandwich? Philly steak sandwich
11. What characteristic do you despise? Dishonesty
12. Favorite item of clothing? jeans
13. If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go? Europe
14. Favorite brand of clothing? True Religion Jeans
15. Where would you retire to? Santa Barbara, California
16. Favorite sport to watch? whatever the kids are doing - soccer or basketball
17. When is your birthday? August 28
18. Morning or night person? morning
19. What is your shoe size? 8
20. Pets? Maggie a chorkie, a fish and 2 birds.
21. What did you want to be when you were little? A solid gold dancer!!!
22. Favorite candy? Hot tamales and Mike and Ike
23. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Feb. 19-21 Hubby and I going to
Santa Barbara!
24. What was the last thing you ate? Deep dish apple cobbler
25. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? yellow
26. Favorite restaurant? Claim Jumper
27. Real hair color? Dish water blond
28. Favorite toy as a child? paper dolls
29. Summer or Winter? Summer
30. Hugs or Kisses? Hugs
31. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate
32. What did you do last night? Went to dinner with our friends and celebrated his birthday!
33. Salty or Sweet? both
34. Favorite day of the week? Sunday, because we are all home together
35. Do you make friends easily? yes

our favorite pet ever

As I was browsing through our pictures online, I came across these of Roxy! We found Roxy while we were 4 wheeling and honestly thought that she had been ran over and was on the brink of death. The kids of course wanted to give her a fighting chance so we agreed that we would take her to our house in Richfield and see what happened.

Upon arrival, I ran over to the family dollar and bought an eye dropper and kitten milk, while Sean was deciding where to dig the hole to bury her in the backyard. Well, after dropping a little milk in her mouth she started looking a little more lively. By that evening, she took her 1st steps and we were all in love!
We brought her home and she was with us for 6 months! She was the best. I potty trained her in a litter box which she caught onto the 1st day. Her little hands were just fascinating, how she would clean her food, and how very soft they were. She was only nice to us, other people made her very nervous and she would run and hide and sometimes put out this awful smelling musk defense scent. YUCK!

We let her go over by my mom's house in Bloomington and she made friends with some other racoons, whom were probably very jealous of her shiny well maintained hair. We still see her every so often and are proud to say that she now has 3 little babies of her own.

I know you are thinking how racoons carry diseases, so where we. We had a vet come and check her out and she was only a few weeks old when we found her and the only food she had was from her mothers teet. So the vet said she was no different than a dog or cat, because she hadn't been exposed to anything.