Memorial Day

So it's been a while since I've done any new posts. We were having problems getting the pictures from our camera to our computer.  We finally figured it out so some of these posts will be from a ways back.  

On Memorial Day, we went to a BBQ/swim party with Jeff's family.   Jaxon and I got in the pool, but Claire wasn't too excited about it.  All of Jaxon's cousins are really good swimmers and love the water.  I'm hopeful our kids will pick up on it someday!  We had a great time--it's always nice to have an extra day to play!  

Our niece Kate has no fear--she's a cutie! 

Claire was content sitting with Grandma and watching all the kids.  
Jaxon clinging to me for dear life.  I'm thinking it's time to go back to Arizona to get him comfortable in the pool again!  

Day at the Temple

Jeff wanted to take some pictures of the new Draper Temple, so we took the kiddos and walked around the temple.  It was a beautiful day and we had a nice time just being together.  Here are some of our favorite pictures:  

Arizona- Jeff's perspective

For me, the Diamondbacks game was one of, if not the highlight of the trip. We made the 1 1/2 hour trip up to Phoenix, had $50 seats, which were made all the better because I only paid $10 each, and saw the Diamondbacks get a rare win. We got to see a great pitcher's duel, which is what I prefer and a possible future hall-of-famer Todd Helton. For me this is the pinnacle of the Father-Son relationship, enjoying a baseball game together.

I really enjoy taking pictures, they may not be good ones, but it is something that I like doing. Plus I love capturing our little family on camera. Here are some of my favorites from the trip.

You know those times that you go to a place expecting to enjoy it solely on the fact that your kids will enjoy it. This was my feeling going in to Old Tucson and then it ended up being one of the highlights. It didn't hurt that one of my favorite films, Tombstone, was filmed there.

This was a wonderful trip and we had a great time catching up with Amy's parents. They are wonderful, generous people who made sure Amy, the kids, and my needs were met every second that we were down there. They even put up with my six drink runs per day.  I am looking forward to our continued trips to Tucson.

Arizona--Amy's Perspective

The Arizona trip for me was everything a vacation should be.  It was a great balance between seeing the sights and doing fun things and relaxing at home.  It was fun to see my parent's new home--I love the way my parent's house always feels like home even though I've never lived there. 

Some of my favorite things about Arizona were: eating wonderful meals outside every night, going to lunch and shopping with my mom, hot tubbing every night and talking with my parents, watching Jaxon and Claire as they discovered every new thing we did, going for a Sunday drive and seeing the cactus (which I grew to really like), and watching amazing sunsets.  It was truly a dream vacation and I am glad I was able to experience it with Jeff, Jaxon, and Claire. We made so many great memories and look forward to our next trip. Thanks to my parents for being so amazing and making our trip so wonderful and being the best grandparents two kids could ask for.  We love you!!  

 

It was fun to take pictures of the different kinds of plants they have there.  Different, but really beautiful!  

Arizona--Claire's Perspective

If Claire would have started talking in Arizona, she would have learned two words, "pool and outside".  Every morning when we would wake up she would go to the back door and grunt till we let her out. Then, she would go to the gate by the pool and grunt till we would let her in the pool.  She wanted to be outside every possible second and in the water even more. 

She loved drinking the pool water as well as trying to dump as much water as possible from the pool to the side of the pool.

It was fun to watch her as she got more and more daring in the water.  Half the time we couldn't get her in a swimming suit fast enough.  

One of the days that I remember Claire being the happiest was at the Tucson Butterfly Gardens. You walked into a greenhouse and there were hundreds of butterflies.  They were really neat and we got some great pics.  

Claire and Jaxon got along especially well this day and had so much fun together.

The butterflies didn't seem too afraid of us...especially Claire. 


She also loved playing in the sandbox with Jaxon.  

It was fun for my parents to get to know Claire better.  They loved her spunky attitude and her great laugh.   Grandpa figured out her ticklish spots and her favorite food--french fries. Grandma was great about taking her outside over and over and over.  :)  There are just a few more pictures that I couldn't leave out...

She loved the zoo as much as Jaxon and pointed at just about everything that caught her eye.  

She enjoyed the merry-go-round at Old Tucson.

And watching the popcorn.

There were a few nights where Claire was so tired, she would cuddle up to me in the pool and fall asleep...I loved those moments!  The kids were incredibly good on this trip and made it perfect!  

Arizona--Jaxon's Perspective

Jeff had a great idea for our Arizona blog.  We are going to do a post from each of our perspectives.  I decided to start with Jaxon's since he was in heaven down there.   What could be better then spending time with his Grandma who he adores and his Grandpa who he wants to be just like.  I have asked Jaxon multiple times what his favorite part of our trip was and he has given me a pretty consistent answer--the train, the cars, and the merry-go-round.  These were all at Old Tucson which is an old western town with shows and different activities.  

The first picture below is my favorite picture of Jaxon--he had fallen asleep in the car and was still trying to wake up, but I think it turned out perfect.

He had fun on his pony "Buck", but was pretty cautious.  Maybe he was remembering the last time he was on a pony and fell off and broke his arm.  :)  

That's a perfect picture of the relationship between those two. Jaxon asking how something works and my dad explaining it to him.   
These were the cars that Jaxon loved to drive.  He loved trying to hit the cactus and scaring whoever was with him.   

This was with the cast from one of the shows.  The guy next to Jaxon was named Deputy.  He remembered Jaxon's name and anytime we would see him, he would say "Hey Jaxon".  We didn't think Jaxon really noticed or cared since he wouldn't talk to him, but by the end of the day he kept asking where his friend was.  It was pretty cute.  

We don't have pictures from the Tucson Children's Museum, but that was definitely one of his favorite places.  We spent over two hours there and had to drag him out. He also loved the zoo. His favorite animal to watch was the monkeys.  The zoo also had a train. Whenever the driver would ring the bell, we would have to say "all aboard".  Jaxon thought that was pretty cool.  

Jaxon, like the rest of us, also enjoyed the days were we hung out at Grandma's and made all kinds of fun memories including: 

Making popcorn in my dad's big popcorn machine...

Having a tea party with Grandma...

Making cupcakes with Grandpa...

And swimming in the pool everyday.  He was bummed that it was closed on Sunday and tried to convince my mom it was actually Friday.  He also enjoyed counting down for Jeff to do cannonballs.  

Jaxon had a wonderful time and asks me everyday how many days till we go back to Arizona.  I don't have the heart to tell him that it may be awhile!