Memorial Day Campout

 Our first REAL camping trip as a whole family.  Matt had to put down some salt blocks, so we decided to tag along with him.  We invited the Haymore family to come too and they accepted the invitation.  We stayed at a campground called KP Sieniga with one outhouse and a little pond.  We had SO much fun up in God's country.

 Chase was like he had been in a cage his whole life and he was finally let free.  He ran and played the entire time.  We were secluded and by ourselves so we just let him roam.  Dirt, sticks, rocks and his imagination is all he needed and he was HAPPY.

Audrey went airsofting for the first time and actually loved it!  

 It was nice and cool, so the extra layers helped!

The boys of course took a turn as well hiding out in the forrest, shooting at each other.

 Of course we went hiking!

They boys stayed with us in our tent...

 and all the girls stayed in their own tent.  Audrey got a little glimpse of what Girls Camp is like... 

she loved it!

 Sadly this is the day that we saw the smoke of the "Wallow" Fire.  It had started Sat. by two men camping and not properly putting out their fire.  It ended up burning the exact spot we were camping along with more than 538,000 acres in Eastern Arizona.  Arizona's largest wildlife fire ever.  It took 6 weeks and 79 million dollars to get it under control.  We went to church in Eager that Sunday not realizing that their town would nearly be destroyed in a couple of weeks.

 

 Matt went back after the fire had ended and got what was left of his cameras.  He got the coolest pictures that showed the progression of the fire.

 Memorial Day we went fishing at Luna Lake.  

It was a typical day fishing...slow.  But we did catch a few.

Oscar Night

 Audrey's favorite teacher EVER... Mrs. Ronnie did an Oscar night for her class, where each student received an award.

 A big thanks to Mrs. Ronnie for making Audrey's Fourth Grade year Amazing.  She loved learning with her and wants to be like her someday.

 We all dressed up for the Oscars and had a special dinner.

 Audrey won "Most Creative"

 Chase fell asleep during the class slide show.

On the walk home we found a little lost quail baby.  It was night and her mother was no where to be found so we took her in.  Audrey named her Butterscotch and they quickly bonded.  Butterscotch would only eat out of Audrey's hand.  When we left on our camping trip, Butterscotch died and Audrey was heartbroken.  Yet another little creature waiting in heaven to reunite with Audrey.

Track 2011

 Blake ran on the Coronado Track Team this year.  He did the mile, the 400, the 4x 400, and the 4X 100.  They did great.

 Look at the determination in that face!  Don't let him catch you Blake.

 He's kind of the runt but he has a lot of heart!

 Blake finishing strong.

Grandpa came to watch Blake run and then had a little sleepover in our playroom.  Night, night!

"Mega" President

 Audrey wanted to follow in Blake's footsteps so she decided to run for President at Painted Sky.

 Using the MEGAMIND theme, she used a MEGA PRESIDENT campaign slogan.

 She did awesome on her skit as she acted like MegaMind... tapping the camera and asking if it's on to start and then, "Olo Painted Sky shool!... My name's Audrey and I'm Mega responsible, Mega caring, Mega spirited... and want to be your Mega President!  Oh... and what's the difference between a Pres. candidate and a Mega Pres. candidate?  PRESENTATION!"  (Welcome to the Jungle then starts to play and Audrey does a cute little dance). 

She passed out stickers with a picture of her with a "MegaMind" on it.  Sadly, Audrey did not win but was a very good sport and congratulated the winner.  She got voted in as a Senator, so she is still on Student Council and loving it. Way to go Audrey!

Youth Temple Trip

Blake's first Youth Temple Trip to the Mesa Temple to do baptisms.  It was like pulling teeth to get this picture and I got really grumpy right before entering the temple.  Nice one Satan!  We ended having a great experience and yummy "temple tapioca" pudding!

Spring Fling at Coronado

The Giant velcro wall.  Audrey was

Jackson VS. Chase

WHEEEE!!

Emily VS. Audrey

Ian VS. Blake

Time for a train ride!

Round 2

Audrey's Field Trips

Julia and Lorraina Para 1885.  Sisters and best friends, sadly Lorraina died of small pox.

Audrey got to go to Tubac, Arizona after studying about what life was like in the 1800's.  Grandma Jones sent us some dresses for her and Emily to wear and Audrey LOVED pretending to be a little pioneer girl.  At school that day they were attacked by Apache Indians but survived to tell the story.

Another Field trip to the Old Pueblo Dig!  They got to dig for Indian artifacts and bones.

Mrs. Ronnie's 4th grade class. Audrey's favorite teacher EVER!

I got to help dig on this one.  I made up a song about it and we sang in on the bus ride home... covered in dirt!

Look what Audrey dug up!

Jackson at Preschool

After two years of Joy School, Jackson got to go to St. Andrews Preschool just like Blake and Audrey.  His favorite part was riding the tricycles at recess and painting.

He made me this flower pot for Mother's Day and drew a picture of me.  Thanks Jackson!!

Helen, Henry and Hermoine

This is Helen.  She is a hummingbird that made her nest in a tree in our backyard.  The tree happened to be right up next to our kitchen window.  We were amazed as we saw her make her nest and then sit on her eggs from a foot away with just a glass window between us.  Every day we would anxiously watch as she sat on 2 little eggs the size of jelly beans.  One night it was really cold and rainy so I got a styrofoam plate and covered her nest to help keep her dry.  She seemed to be shivering so I took our space heater out in the rain and held it up over my head pointing toward her.  Matt came home and gave me grief.  He said, "things happen for a reason and if she doesn't make it through a rain storm then she wasn't smart enough to build her nest in the right place".  I replied, "Yes, things do happen for a reason, and that's why she chose to make her nest right next to our window so I could see that she needed a little help:)"

We had fun researching and learning about hummingbirds, what they eat and how long it takes for their eggs to hatch.  My parents were visiting and they bought a hummingbird feeder to hang near by to help Helen out.  My dad was so taken by it, he sat and watched the nest for hours.  Well, maybe not hours... but long periods of time.  Finally, out popped two little heads as we watched Helen leave the nest and come back to feed them.  Audrey named Helen's new babies Henry and Hermoine.

Then something terrible happened.  The birds were growing and developing great.  Henry was bigger than Hermoine and I noticed him starting to practice flapping his wings. Hermoine just sat in the nest.  One day we found the nest was empty, there were a few feathers scattered around and we found Hermoine dead on the ground right underneath the tree.  Audrey was heartbroken and decided she wanted to hold a ceremony and bury Hermoine.

She made snacks and everything and invited our next door neighbors over who had also enjoyed watching our hummingbird family.

It was a sweet little ceremony.  Hermoine didn't make it but we were glad that Henry did.  Whenever we see a hummingbird we wonder if it is Helen or Henry.