Red Rock Canyon

This is one of my favorite things to do as a family.  Luke is always asking when we can go hiking next, and unlike the dreaded Chuck-E-Cheese, we are happy to go to Red Rock as often as we can!  There are so many trails, and something for everyone to do!  Here are some pictures from our hike last weekend.  

Ella kept running in front of me and then plopping on the ground to yell "Cheezzzze!"

She was trying to figure out why Luke thought the binoculars were so cool. 

Got a few sticks for the road... ready to go!

A Happy Week

This past week has been great.   It began with finding out we're moving to England (Woo hoo!!), we've had surprise visitors and fun with friends, the weather has been awesome, I finally have been able to run without my toe hurting (got in about 12 miles Saturday!... nevermind the fact that my legs felt super heavy and
jell-Oish when I was done) and Luke decided to pick up the pace at swimming lessons.  Not to mention Jake getting home at normal times almost every day.  Hopefully it doesn't mean this week will be bad to even things out a little! 

So, first up:  Grandpa John, Grandma Fran, Uncle Eldon, Mel, and the kids!  I wasn't expecting to see them last week, so it was fun when they made a pit stop on their way home from Disneyland.  I miss living by all of them!  Living so close to my grandparents and aunts and uncles was so much fun as a kid.  I wouldn't trade it for anything.  Luke and my cousin Kaylee are super close in age, and Ella and my cute little cousin Chace are within a couple months of each other too, so it was fun to watch them all play together!  Luke had a great time running around with Kaylee (sorry if I'm not spelling that right!?) and Ashley.
Grandma with the kiddos!

Eldon & Melanie, Grandpa & Grandma, and Crazy Kids!

 

These two play so well together.  I wish they could do it more often!

My cute friend Bahar was in town for her brother's birthday and we met up at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill (Delicious!!!) to catch up on life.  Wasn't planning on seeing her either last week!  I love surprises.  Fun to see you Bahar!  No pictures from Friday night, but I found this gem:  ha ha.


My 12th birthday party.  Bahar is the one in the black & white swim suit. 
Check out how cute and tiny Dak was! 

Saturday we went hiking as a family.  Red Rock Canyon has been one of our favorite places since we've been here.  The mountains are gorgeous.  I finally remembered to take my camera this time.  Took a bunch of pictures, but this post is taking longer then I thought it would, so those will have to wait until later!

Last night we played Settlers of Zarahemla with a cute family in our ward.  Played and munched on Oreo cake until way too late.  Good times!  Last time Jake and I played Settlers was with Aaron and Kristen like five years ago.  I had never played before, so I was totally lost when we played way back then!  This time I think I got it down.  I want to play some more!  Also noteworthy, Luke is getting pretty good at Uno!  We've been playing while Ella takes her naps. 

Castles and Crumpets, 2012 Olympics, Cool Accents, and Rain.

Just a few things that come to mind when I think of where we're going next.  So, England it is!  We'll be going to RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk England this August.  I found out last night after waiting so anxiously all day!  Jake's boss was teasing everyone and wouldn't tell the residents where they were going until the day was over.  Pure torture!  I talked to Kristen in the morning and found out their next stop is Japan, so I was just dying to find out where we would be.  I pictured us being stationed in Arizona, Utah, or some other place in the states, so it was a bit surprising for me to hear!  My heart was pounding when Jake told me and I had the jitters all night thinking about the move.  Haha.  We are pretty excited though.  It will be a little weird being so far away from family, but a fun adventure.  When else would we be able to live in Europe if it wasn't while in the military?  Probably never.  Pretty cool.        

I've been scouring the internet to find info on our new spot since I have stereotypical English images and silly Monte Python skits rolling around in my head.  To copy and paste what one person wrote about the area surrounding Lakenheath: 

"About 80 miles from London, RAF Lakenheath is located in East Anglia, a rural area, comprised of four counties: Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire. East Anglia, steeped in medieval history, boasts a unique heritage and fascinating character. It is an area of quiet, unspoiled villages and a varied landscape: dense pine forests, rich farmlands, rivers, and marshes that stretch east to the North Sea. Historical points of interest include Ely Cathedral, Cambridge and the medieval town of Bury St. Edmunds. Abbey and castle ruins from the Middle Ages dot the landscape, and village churches allow visitors a look into the past."

So, there you have it!  I'm glad we finally know where we're going. Kind of sad thinking of how far away we'll be, but super excited for all the adventures that lie ahead!     

Just tell me already.

We were told that we'd know on the 12th (yesterday) where we'd be moving this summer. 

But, we still don't know.  Now they say by the end of the week.   I. CAN'T. WAIT. TO. FIND. OUT.  It's driving me crazy not knowing.  Kristen and I decided it's pure torture to keep pushing it back.  The wives of these dental guys are way more anxious to find out then the hubbies!  Haha.  Here's to hoping for a place in our top 15!  :)     

Some stuff we're digging lately!

*  Leapfrog DVDs.  They are awesome!  I can work on my school stuff and plop one of these on for the kids without feeling too guilty.  Luke and Ella both love them.  We also have the math one and a few other reading ones.  Luke has started reading short words and Ella can identify pretty much all her letters and is even making letter sounds.  One of the best purchases we've made in a while!   

* Since we're talking DVDs, I have to mention Astro Boy.  Luke's fav at the moment!  We got it from Red Box a while ago, and he was so sad when we had to take it back.  Luckily the Easter Bunny brought it for him.

* These popcicles are pretty gross in my opinion, but the kids love them.  I love them because they are little and don't make a mess.  Pretty cool.  Give them a try if you don't want to clean up popcicle puddles.

* We all like Frosted Mini Wheats Little Bites.  All flavors.  Chocolate is my favorite though!

* Jake won the chili cook-off at work!  He won a gift certificate to eat at Outback and a big plaque to hang in his office.  Kind of fun!  Here's his famous recipe.  It's quite tasty.

Jake's "Daddy Like" Chile

4 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 lg. onions, chopped
4 lg. garlic cloves, minced
4 lbs. lean stew meat, cut in sm. cubes
3 lbs. bulk pork sausage
2 (1 lb. 12 oz.) cans whole tomatoes
2 (6 oz.) cans tomato paste
6 tbsp. chili powder
3 tsp. cumin
1 tbsp. oregano
2 (1 lb.) cans baked beans
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. sugar
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 (15 oz.) cans kidney beans, drained
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained
1 tsp. vanilla


In a large heavy saucepan, heat oil. Saute onion and garlic until soft but not brown. Add beef and sausage. Cook until brown; drain off fat. Add liquid from tomatoes. Chop tomatoes and add to meat mixture with tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, oregano, baked beans, salt, sugar, vanilla and cocoa powder. Simmer partially covered for 2 hours stirring often.


If too dry add a little water. Stir in kidney and pinto beans. Cook 30 minutes longer or until meat is very tender. May be refrigerated or frozen. Before serving remove any excess fat.


**Serves about 15 people (One large crock-pot full plus a little more!)

* Crocs.  Great for busted toes/hurting feet, playing in the sand, awesome that the kids can put them on all by themselves, and you never have to look for socks!  Aahh, perfect.  Luke picked some out like these a couple weeks ago.   

* Matchy matchy shirts.  It's not very often that I can completely match Luke and Ella, but we love their new matching star shirts.  My cute college buddy, Jules, has a fun etsy shop (http://www.limabeankids.etsy.com/).  They have tons of fun designs you can pick from for personalized T's, waterbottles, and other things.  I took advantage of a sale they had going on last month.  Check them out :) 
The lighting was weird in these pics, so they looked better in black and white, but I love the bold colors in lima bean designs!   The kids love that their names are on them too.

*  Luke has been into making stuff lately.  We've made a big rocket out of cardboard, a rain stick (you can see part of it in the pic above), and some bird feeders, just to name a few things.  This boy can't wait to start preschool.  See that Se7en + 1 link on my sidebar?  They have lots of fun ideas... stuff to make at home with kids.

*  Melissa, one of my San Antonio buddies, designed a super cute fabric line with her sister.  I got my box of it in the mail and can't wait to make a fun quilt!  I made a few quilts in high school, but haven't really done any sewing since.  Well, other then on paper and scrappy things.  So, I'm pretty excited to bust out my sewing machine and get going on it.  You can check out the fabric by clicking here.  Isn't it fun!? 

Easter Weekend

We made another quick trip to Mesa for Easter!  Don't know where we'll be a few months from now so we're trying to take advantage of being relatively close!  Abby & Chris and Josh & Jenni were visiting too, so it was fun hanging out with even more fam this time around. 

I think we made the most of our two days there!  Saturday we hung out with the Gift side flying kites, watching conference, playing games, and eating too much food. We spent Sunday with the Smith side of the fam.  Watched some conference at Daniel's house, egg hunting at Ross and Mareen's, and playing at Grandma and Grandpa Smith's.  Luke was pretty upset when we had to come home.  He loves playing with grandparents and cousins!  Aunts and uncles too.  

Some Saturday fun!...   My dad is awesome at flying kites so he gave Luke some pointers. Abby and Todd helped out too.

Nice work Todd ;)  He was doing pretty good until the tree grabbed the kite from him!

 Dak.  Seems like just a few weeks ago I was babysitting this kid.  Now he's graduating from high school next month, working at Discount Tire, and driving girls crazy.  I thought he was looking pretty cute in his work uniform so I got some pics.  What a stud.

Ella was loving picking lemons.  She picked and ate the only 2 ripe strawberries while we were there too!

When I grow up I want my yard to look like mom and dad's.  I'm hoping that the next house we're in has a yard so that I can learn how to keep things alive!  Haha. 
The past few times we've gotten together Todd has entertained us with his computer and weird face warping program.  haha  

Chris is always so cute with the kids too.  He was the only one crazy enough to play in the freezing pool water with Luke.  And no, I wouldn't buy my son a Speedo.  Those are his underwear!  He wanted to get in nude, but we convinced him to cover himself a little.  Next time I'll remember his swim suit!

Baby Amy.  Check out those eyes!  Such a cutie.

Dad and Mom. 

Enjoying some time in the clubhouse without her brother...

Easter morning!

She had her candy and was ready to find some eggs.

  Egg hunt!

Cute Austin!

All the kids were a little envious of Ross.  He found the "Golden Egg."  The looks on the other kid's faces when they saw him with it were so funny. 

Good times!

Almost Easter

The kids had been looking forward to the egg drop this morning!  A helicopter flew by the park and dropped loads of eggs for everyone to pick up.  There were so many other kids there, I was just happy that both of mine managed to grab some.  Luke filled up his basket.  Cutie Ella was a little hesitant about picking them up with so much going on, so she ended up with two in hers.

Checking out each other's loot...  he wasn't too happy about sharing the wealth!

Shark Reef Acquarium: Check.

The list of attractions for kids in this city isn't super long, but the acquarium at Mandalay Bay seems to be on every tourist guide of things to do with the fam.  So, yesterday I took the kiddos to see what the fuss is all about.  Since we spent so much time at Sea World in San Antonio I was expecting a huge letdown, but I was pleasantly surprised.  They have some cool things that we never saw at Sea World.  Plus, 4 years and under get in free and I get the local discount.  Can't beat that!
The kids were really digging this crocodile.  He was swimming around and climbing all over stuff.

Ella is out of focus on this pic, but I think her expression is funny.  She didn't like me asking her to stand there for a picture. 

It's fun taking pictures of animals and fish.  Their colors and shapes are so interesting.  Here were some of our favorites.   They had a cool variety of Jellyfish.  Some were huge.  The kids liked running through the shark tunnel thing too.  There's a shallow pool with a bunch of rays swimming around in it.  I guess they used to let people pet them, but now the signs say you can't.  When Jake and I went to Sea World San Diego they let us pet them there.  I wonder if they still do?   

Piranhas!  I don't think I had seen a Piranha before.

Sat and watched the manta rays for quite a while...  Ella kept saying "Hi shish!  Hi shishees!."  Cutie.  When we left the acquarium, she kept saying "bye bye shishees" until we got to the car. 

Octopus! This guy was moving around everywhere too.

Some sort of huge fish that sicked me out..

 So, we give the acquarium two thumbs up.  It's small enough to get through without kids becoming tired and grumpy and big enough to have some cool stuff.  I had fun going with these two!  The world is so much more exciting when I see it through their eyes.  Love that.

"It's okay mom, I just gave her a tattoo."

  Luke decided to give Ella some sweet letter tats while I was distracted and on the phone a couple of weeks ago.   It was pretty funny.  She had some on her forehead, other arm, and belly too.  I wish I had thought to take a picture of Ella before most of them had washed off in the tub.  Oh well.  Here's one arm!  Thank heavens he used a washable Crayola marker.  Could have been worse! 

Luke's naughty faces crack me up.  It's hard to stay mad at him too long.  Little stinker.