Field Trip to Meteor Crater

Today I got to go with Emerie's class on their field trip to Meteor Crater!! It was only a short 45 minute bus trip. Emerie was so excited because this was the first field trip I have ever gone on with her! I realized again why I could never be a teacher! The bus ride was very LOUD! And their are a few naughty ones in her class that keep her teacher on her toes!! Thanks to Elisa for watching Payton for almost 5 hours so I could go!! :)

I think I am getting better at taking a picture of ourselves! :)

We ate lunch first and then went to a movie about craters!


Then we went outside and walked along the edge which, thankfully with first graders, had a RAILING!!


The kids were so enthralled with something under the deck??!! I am not sure what it was?!

This small piece of the crater weighs about 1406 lbs.!


The crater is almost one mile wide!


Inside the building they have a museum. Emerie LOVES having her picture taken!! :)

Arizona Diamondbacks Game!

Friday night we headed to the Diamondbacks game! We were late because Kerby had a golf tournament--company sponsored--that was supposed to end at 5:00pm but Kerby didn't even get home till 6:00pm! I thought the game started at 7:00pm so I knew we would be late but then we found out it started at 6:40pm!! We are about 2 hours away!!



What little hams!! They love their picture taken!!

Anyway--we got there at the bottom of the 4th inning which was probably good because I don't think the kids would have lasted the whole game! I'm sorry but I have always thought baseball was a boring sport! You know, it is just not fast-paced like football or basketball! The kids did just right with half a game and loaded up on nachos and popcorn and hotdogs!! We then stayed after for the fireworks show!!

It's too bad but the Diamondbacks didn't even make it to the playoffs!! :(

Maddie is off to Camp Colton!

Madison was excited but still a little nervous about leaving this morning! They had to be at the school by 8:30am or they would get left behind!! Maddie made me drive them all to school--rather than take the bus because of all the stuff she had to lug! There was a big pile of all the kids' stuff lined up in the hallway!! The kids were excited not to have to wear their normal uniform approved clothing this week!! You can tell Maddie loves to have her picture taken!! ;)



I am so glad Maddie has her friend, Hannah! That made all the difference in Maddie wanting to go because they are going to be 'bunk-mates'!! :)

I hope you have a great time Maddie!! We will miss you!!

AVP Crocs Tour Glendale, AZ!!

If I do say so myself, I took the BEST picture of Jake Gibb serving!! With the digital cameras these days you have to time it just right! He was playing with Phil Dalhausser--who was the Gold Medalist at the Olympics--on this particular game. The tournament was the 'King of the Beach!' Which means you play with different people to see which ONE single person is the best!


I finally got a picture of my kids with the Olympian, Jake Gibb!!

When Jake and Jane Gibb found out we were going to the AVP Crocs Volleyball Tour in Glendale, AZ they offered us tickets to get in FREE!! We were so excited to be able to see Jake play in person! We were already going to be in Phoenix because of the Diamondbacks game we went to on Friday night so it was going to work out perfect!

We had forgotten how HOT it is in Phoenix even in September!! We have been having 73 to 77 degree days here in Flagstaff. So I knew we would be able to wear shorts and short sleeve shirts but it was 100 degrees!! Even with shorts and short sleeve shirts it is so dang HOT!! Luckily I found a sunscreen stick in the bottom of the diaper bag so we could at least protect our faces!

If you look closely you can see sweat dripping off of all of us!! ;)



Jake did so great and had been winning ALL his preliminary games!! So we decided to stick around for the FINALS that evening! It was so much cooler without the sun beating down on us!

We had so much fun!! Kerby caught a free shirt--it says 'Bud Light' but it is really cute anyway!! Madison got a mini volleyball and I ALMOST caught a second one but hey--I am not left handed and couldn't catch it in my left hand!! (I was holding Payton in my right arm!)

We bought 3 small volleyballs for the kids and Jake was so great helping the kids get them signed by the players! He even took them back into the player's tent!! Nice guy!!



Between the morning and the evening sessions we took a break and headed over to the shopping district next door. They had a splash center for the kids! They got soaked!! It was good though because we had been so HOT!!


Taylor is in the black tank. Emerie is in the pink skorts--SOAKED!!


Maddie and Payton both have light blue shorts on!



We got a bunch of pictures and a bunch of signatures on their volleyballs! We got Stein Metzger (Jake's old partner from a few years ago) who Jake got to chose to play with in the finals!



We got a picture of Phil Dalhausser right before Jake pulled him aside to get him to sign the girls' volleyballs!



We never did get Kerri Walsh's signature--she was busy most of the night and when we did catch her she was always on the move and not signing autographs! But we got a side picture!



Jake did not end up taking home the title of King of the Beach but we still had a great time!!




We were there most of the day and night but the kids actually did pretty well!! They were troopers!! I think the yellow bang sticks they passed out during the finals helped keep them occupied!! :)

Madison's Immunization Adventure

When we first enrolled the kids in school they, of course, ask for the kids' immunization records. It is now required in Arizona for 6th graders to have the Meningitis shot. Madison had not had that shot so they gave us a certain amount of time to get it done. The first time we went they already had their afternoon full so we would have to go back another day. The kids have early out on Fridays so we decided that this Friday would work. I picked up the kids from school and we headed out. My Tom Tom was having issues so I kind of got lost on the way. Thanks goes out to Mom and Alli for helping me getting it working again!!

Finally we arrived and signed in. Madison was so nervous--threatening to hide when they called her name! She just kept saying she was going to cry and didn't want the other kids to see her! So I made Taylor watch Emerie and Payton in the waiting room (there was a little kiddie play area).

Maddie and I went back to the room with the nurse. She kept pulling her arm away and getting teary! The nurse said I would have to hold her arms. She ended up getting 3 shots! The Meningitis vaccine, the 2nd Chicken Pox vaccine, and a Tetanus vaccine. After the shots the nurse told Maddie she was good for 10 years!! Small consolation! She then asked the nurse if you were supposed to get light-headed. The nurse said that was possible. They stopped the bleeding, put band-aids on (crayon shaped) and let her pick a pencil.

She struggled as she walked out of the room and asked if I could help her walk. I did but by the time we hit the door to leave she had passed out! I had to drag her back in! She came around and sat on a chair in the waiting room (I am sure it was a great show to the people waiting!) She laid her head back and closed her eyes for a few minutes while sweat gathered on her forehead. Then--all of a sudden she said she felt better and we got up to leave. We made it all the way to the car, got everyone buckled up and drove about 10 feet and Maddie said, "Hold on a sec!" She jumped out and began dry-heaving. Then after a few of those she actually threw up! She threw up about 3 times.

Great Food but Horrible Name!!

Kerby and I went to this great Mexican food restaurant for lunch yesterday! It was called, "La Fonda"! I couldn't stop laughing! Kerby asked what was so funny? I said, "You are kidding, right?!" I asked what came to his mind when he heard the name La Fonda? I had to coax him along by saying, "Napoleon Dynamite..." OOOOHHHHHH! Then it hit him!! Yes--THAT LaFonda!!

The food was great! It is a popular place!! We went at 11:00am and by the time we got done at almost noon the parking lot was full and people were parking on the street!! I will definitely go there again but the name will probably still get me going everytime!! ;)

CAMP COLTON

Maddie gets to go to Camp Colton next week! All sixth graders in Flagstaff get to attend this week long came in the wilderness of Arizona for Project LIFE (Life in the Flagstaff Environment)!! I am so excited for her! I don't know what we will do without her for a week--it was hard enough for 3 days when she went to Sea Camp in San Diego last year!!

It will be a great experience for her! She has met a few good friends so they hope to bunk together!! It is only about an hour away from Flagstaff on the lower slopes of the San Francisco Peaks near Hart Prairie.

I feel bad because this will only be her second time actually camping!! Her first time was 2 years ago to a friends birthday party in Tucson, AZ! I guess I am just not a camper! But I loved camping when I was young so I think I need to buck up and take the family camping!! --Maybe next summer when it is warm!! ;)

Frustrating!

1) I was awakened AGAIN by barking and moaning by our next door neighbor's dog! There are NAU students renting the house next door. One of the student's parents is the owner. They put their dog out between 5 and 6 am I guess when they are leaving for class. The dang thing barks and moans--I am assuming because it wants to go back inside where it is warm--for a good long 30 minutes straight! I can't believe they just chain him up outside and leave knowing he is barking and moaning that early! I am not, and never have been, an early riser! If it was 7 or 8 am it was barking that is no big deal! But my kids all go to elementary school so they don't have to get up till about 7:30am. Okay--I am going on and on. Don't get me wrong, I do like dogs! Just not the kind that bark and wake me up in the morning!! ;)

2) I feel like we go to Basha's (Arizona's version of Harmon's) everyday! I go to the cupboard and find something not there that should be! We chucked a bunch of stuff before we moved. We also tried to use what we had so we didn't have to move as much. So, hence the need to restock our cupboards! We got the necessities written on the list and then I remembered we were low on diapers. I grabbed two packages and was about to put them in the cart and Kerby said, "Do we really need TWO?" I think deep down he feels Payton is close to potty training! I think not! I ask her each day if she wants to go on the potty and she says NO! Grandma even got a cute hot pink one and Payton won't even go near it yet! She is not quite 2 1/2 yet so we still have some time. So I put one of the packages back--mostly to satisfy Kerby knowing full well I would be back soon to buy another package or two. It wasn't until I got home and opened the package that I realized I had bought size 6 diapers!! Wow those things are HUGE!! Of course, now that the package is open I can't return it--so now what do I do with those huge things? I don't think any of my kids ever even got to a size 5 let alone a size 6!! I guess I could use them as nighttime diapers...?

A day at the MVD

Yes, Arizona calls the dept. of motor vehicles the MVD instead of the DMV! Go figure! It sounds like a disease to me?! I am now officially registered, titled and licensed in Arizona!

It took just about an hour--so it wasn't too bad! The 'holding' room only holds about 30 people! When I got registered in Las Vegas that DMV holding room probably held about 200-250 people!! Quite a difference! And the people here in Flagstaff are so friendly!! Yes, even the MVD workers were so friendly! They gave Payton a little coloring book to occupy her and laughed and giggled with her! They even let me leave to get Kerby's signature and come back to the front of the line! Again, quite a change from Vegas! It is such small town here! Which fits me good--I am such a small town girl!

Kerby never got his license changed from Arizona a year ago so all he had to do was update his address!! Lucky!!

Today the weather was around 73 degrees! It is so nice to leave open the windows and blinds! The kids are even wearing long pants and long sleeved shirts!! We'll see how they do when the snow flies!! ;)

Emerie Loses her First Tooth!!

Emerie had her first loose tooth a little while ago! I haven't even had time to post about it yet and it fell out this morning during breakfast! She had to call everyone again--this time saying the tooth fell out not just that it was loose! Grandma was upset because she was going to make a tooth fairy pillow for Emerie but just hasn't completed it yet! That is okay! Emerie called Grandma, after she called her Dad, and let her know the tooth fell out!! Grandma said she would send the pillow as soon as she could! Thanks Grandma!! :)

(**Bottom right side front tooth.)

First Day of School 2008!!

The kids were excited but mostly scared to start the new school in Flagstaff! This school they attend requires a uniform! That is okay and all but I wish I would have known BEFORE I went school shopping! They have to wear solid light blue, white or forest green shirts. Crew neck, collared, sweatshirt, or hoodies are fine. They have to wear khaki or jean pants, capris, shorts (to their knee) or skirts.

I was glad to find out that 6th grade is still in Elementary school but, of course, Maddie wasn't! She was ready to start middle school! Oh well--one more year as the oldest could be kind of neat! It will give her a chance to meet some more kids before venturing off to her next milestone!

Taylor starts 4th grade! She got a male teacher so I told her that when I was in 4th and in 6th grade I had male teachers! She felt a little better after that! She didn't act that nervous to start a new school but tells me each day she has butterflies!

Emerie started first grade! They have all day Kindergarten in Arizona but, of course, the one year we live OUT of Arizona is the year she started Kindergarten! In Las Vegas she had half-day. She was so ready to be in school but their full-day program was full and it was tuition based! So this will be her first year of full-day school!

And best of all--they get to ride the bus!! Maddie hates riding the bus but I love it! It drops off and picks up only about a half of a block down the street!! :)

They're Home from Beijing!!

I completely forgot I took this great movie of John and Alli getting home from Beijing! They hadn't seen their kids in almost 3 weeks!! What an experience they had! I am still bummed I didn't get a picture of my kids with the Olympic athlete, Jake Gibb!! :(

They brought so many fun goodies home from Beijing!! Thanks Alli! I love 'em!! In fact, I am wearing them right now!! ;)

As a footnote, I had asked Chandler if he missed his parents and couldn't wait to see them. His response, "Well, we needed a little break from each other." What a character!! Chan, you are too funny!! :)

Our New Home!!

Well it happened quite fast but we are now in Flagstaff, AZ!! An opportunity came up and we jumped at it! We made the move Friday, August 29th! Yes, it was a crazy month of August! Traveling to Flagstaff, AZ for a house hunting trip, coming back and heading to Huntington Beach, CA for a week, and then packing up and moving to Flagstaff, AZ 5 days later!

It was so hot when we were loading the trucks on Thursday, August 28th! I think it was like 105 degrees! The men were dripping sweat! But we were so thankful for all their help! When we unloaded in Flagstaff, AZ it was around 82 degrees! It was so nice to get away from the heat! I love the sun but the heat does get to me sometimes! The summers here in Flagstaff rarely reach the 90 degree mark! Yes--we will have snow--but the kids are ecstatic about that!

But off to unpacking... more info to come!!