Life Moves Pretty Fast.

If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Oh Ferris, you were right.  This past weekend, Eric and I took a little break from our oh-so-busy lives, and took the boys camping.  It was a break from the routine, a break from housework, a break from work-work, a break from studying, and a break from the heat!  We headed up to Payson, AZ and found a nice little campground about 15 miles outside of town, secluded enough for camping, but close enough for an emergency McDonald's trip.
I can't tell you how glad I am that we didn't go all the way up to the mogollon rim to camp.  It would have been freezing!  As it was, we stayed around 5000ft, and I was still so cold while we slept.  The boys didn't seem to take notice.  I however, thought my nose was going to fall off it as so cold!
Daytime temps were perfect!  The boys spent hours playing soccer, chasing Molly, going for walks, and just being boys in the woods.  So fun.

Caleb and Noah helping Dad pitch the tent.

 The scenery was perfect and it smelled like Christmas trees!

 He's thinking this camping stuff isn't all that bad.

 All smiles in the morning!

 And a few tired boys too...

 Morning soccer game.

 Putting on their very best bear impression.

 Drove up to the rim Sunday morning.

 And of course threw a few rocks in the lake.

The Grand Canyon

Like mentioned previously, we started Noah's birthday celebration EARLY Saturday morning by driving north to the Grand Canyon. It was the first time the four of us had been there together, and Noah's first time ever. We had been talking it up all week so he was super excited to go...and to camp!

After taking in a quick sneak preview, Eric and Noah headed to their reservations with a bicycle tour along the rim. During this time Caleb, Molly Cookie-Thomas, and I found a shady spot with a view, and parked it on a blanket for a picnic.

After setting up our campsite, we headed to Tusayan for the worst Mexican food in the history of Arizona.

Noah spilling his drink EVERYWHERE, pretty much summed up that experience.

Then we headed to the IMAX theatre for a history lesson. And stepped outside to the most amazing weather!

The boys all humored me by heading back to the rim to watch the sunset. And I proceeded to take 1300 pictures. (Bushia...I've got some good ones for your room. Perfect colors.)

But not to worry, Eric got in his fair share of car pics too.

On our way back to the campsite, we encountered a new friend. He was chilling in the campsite just eating some dinner.

Speaking of dinner, we had grilled hot-dogs, which tasted like Christmas trees, steamed veggies, and LOTS of s'mores.

Glow sticks for the boys were key in knowing where they were at all times.

It was a cold night...perfect for camping. And the coyotes were loud! Breakfast in the morning included a few cupcakes and a little chess!

Then Dad had to pack up the tent. Getting it to fit back into the carry case that it came in is always a challenge! Haha!

Father's Day Weekend

This past weekend we took the kids camping. Our first hope was to get a spot along Oak Creek Canyon for the cooler temps, the shade, and the water. Unfortunately, we did not make it up there early enough on Friday and ended up camping in the desert. We were at Dead Horse Ranch State Park....nice name, huh? But not too far from the water. It doesn't look too hot, does it?




Nothing says camping like McDonald's chicken nuggets and Panda Express. :)

We spent the day Saturday out and about as there was NO shade at our campsite. We started with breakfast at McDonald's with a play land, then headed to Slide Rock State Park to cool off in the water.




We followed up our swimming with a late lunch in Sedona and ice cream, then headed back to the campsite for hot dogs and smores. The kids had a blast.

There are SO many differences between camping in the midwest and camping in the southwest. The midwest has too many bugs but plenty of shade. The desert has minimal bugs (flying in the air, at least) and NO shade. But the one thing we were not lacking in was DUST. Holy, out of control! Dry dirt was caked on everything! We were lucky to miss out on any snakes, scorpions, and coyotes. However, we did see two jackrabbits and a hot air balloon. That's my kind of wildlife. :)