Swimming with Papa!

The kids went for a swim today with Papa...and it was so fun to see him teaching them how to be better swimmers! They all had fun, splashing and playing around. Paris has learned to stop plugging her nose and actually "blow" out of her nose after this "lesson"! I don't know...I was on the "West Side Stingrays" swim team when I was young...plugging your nose...just wasn't an option! I've tried to teach my kids some of my "sweet" moves and strokes...but it just isn't as cool and exciting when it's your mom teaching you, I guess:)

"Mommy, Daughter Brunch"

The Achievement Day girls and their leaders have been working hard this month to get ready for their "Mommy, Daughter Brunch"! Brooklyn made sure she was back from camping in time for this! It was so cute. They had tables decorated with "flowers" that they made, some yummy treats and fruit, and a few "surprises" for all of the mothers!

They sang a couple of really beautiful songs to us and then presented us with cards and the "flowers" made from kisses that they made! Aww, it was really sweet:) It was fun to hang out, just the two of us spending time with each other.


I'm saving the card and pictures...because I know someday...she probably won't ALWAYS think I'm the greatest:) Most of the time...but not ALWAYS:)

Camping with "Pops"

My dad promised the kids he would take them camping...and this is the weekend it worked out! Since the campgrounds in Sedona were full, they were only accepting "walk-ins". I guess that means you have to be at the campgrounds by around 7 or so to see if you can get a spot. Sooo my parents surprised us by getting here a day early! It was so much fun! We were able to pick up all the "necessities" for the camping trip and get the kids to bed by 9 or so...so they'd all be ready to leave at 4am!

Brooklyn, complaining that the mattress was 'too heavy'

Having fun at camp!

My dad said they had a blast and Paris came up with the new name of "Pops" for him! (she has a way of coming up with names for people...he happens to think this name is A-OK, but she usually doesn't care if you like it or not) Since I wasn't there, I have some commentary from my dad that I'll put in for the pictures:) Oh I wish I had a video camera of them! I'll bet that more than just the conversations were classic! I have a bunch of memories when I was younger...camping with dad...while mom was safetly away at BYU Education week or something. Oh we must have been a sight! The kids were playing follow the leader.

My dad was able to catch this last video of Boston going down the rock slide! When Paris went down, she somehow did a somersault...so my dad had to go and grab her. I guess she wasn't really phased by it though...she was just a little upset that she got water up her nose!

The rocks were VERY slippery, so everyone had to be careful when walking around. Paris fell more than a few times:)

The water was FREEZING...so it took them a little while to warm up to the idea of swimming around!
The kids had soo much fun and I'm sure they had a trip they'll remember forever! Thanks dad for taking them, because Phil and I weren't signing up anytime soon! Although, that rockslide looks really fun...and my dad said Sedona is definetly worth taking a trip to go see. So maybe we'll take a day trip or an overnight in a HOTEL sometime soon!

Love My Big Sister!

Oh I hear the stories of all the parents out there that are having a "hard" time getting rid of the pacifier aka "passy", (in our house), but getting rid of Madison's passy was the easy part...she left hers at "Manny's" which is a restaurant we went to a while back. The PROBLEM is that Seattle still has a passy...that Madison has now decided to take now and then! Soooo even though HER passy's are gone...she knows there's always one close by:) Oh well, there are worse things in life...so I'm going to enjoy the pictures...for now:)
Seattle just adores Madison! It's so cute. Today I caught them walking around "talking" to each other...mostly Madison chatting about anything and everything, while Seattle mimicked her sounds and expressions! It was so cute...I had to snap a few pictures!

Coca~Cola Store

We decided to take the kids over to the Coke store for a little fun and refreshment! We decided to try our luck with their "Tastes of the World" selection. It was like $7.00 and you get to try 16 flavors that other countries have available in their "coke" fountains. WE were a little scared...so we ordered a normal cherry coke and an Icee for the kids...just in case:)

WE had a good thing going. Phil and I did the initial test and then passed the cups on to the little ones.

They were pretty much all tolerable...I don't think there were ANY that I just wished we had available here. Some were good, some were okay...but there was one..."BEVERLY" to be exact...from ITALY...oh my gosh...if I would have been outside I would have spewed it!

This is "Beverly"...she looks innocent...but tastes like POISON!!

Seriously...I about gagged. Phil thought I was over reacting...until he tried it and gagged too! Now THAT was funny! We watched as each one of the kids then tried it...and thought it was disgusting too! Even though they saw each of us get grossed out...and then each person in front of them...they all still wanted to try it! It was fun to try them all out, but we were pretty glad that we had our "normal" coke around to clear the palate!

We kept Seattle safetly away from Beverly!

On our way out...we captured a pic with Madison and "peanut m&m"! Sweet:)

Shark Reef

After we showered and got refreshed, we all went down to the Shark Reef for some aquatic sight seeing! I had no idea the place was a flipping Mile away! These hotels are SOOO flipping big! I was a little scared that I was going to go into labor...seriously! I couldn't shake the thought that A. my baby would be born in Vegas...and B. I would have a 5 hour drive home after! Luckily, I was "hooked" up with a "scooter" when I arrived at the Shark Reef! Thanks to our new friend Colin, the rest of my trip...really was relaxing! We do have a few pics of me on this thing of beauty...I'll have to see if I can steal one!

The kids LOVED seeing all the fish and animals. We each had these little remote controls, which Madison kept calling phones, that you could punch in the # of the exhibits and it would tell you all about the fish/wild life that lived in that section.

I think the kids favorite was getting to touch the rays in a shallow pool. For some reason some of my pictures were coming out sooo blurry:(

My favorite was the tunnels you could walk into and see sharks, turtles, and fish swim all around you! It even had glass panels in the floors so you could see things swimming below you! It was fun, the kids had a blast, so way worth it!