The Arizona Sea Life Aquarium

Geoff recently took the Arizona bar exam.  We are all happy that it is over.  He has another test coming up this weekend and then hopefully he will be able to relax.  In between tests we decided to make a little family time.  We took the kids to the Arizona Sea Life Aquarium and to see the new Smurf movie.  The Aquarium didn't compare to the one in Baltimore but the kids still enjoyed it. Here are some pictures I took.

 

A Visit to the Arizona Museum for Youth

A few weeks ago I took the kids and our next door neighbors, Sean and Anna to the Arizona Museum for Youth. 

They all loved this giant version of a lite bright toy.

They were able to create music by putting their arms and hands through laser lights.

There was a Peanuts exhibit.  The kids loved trying on the characters' clothes.

Kaylee loved playing on the little piano.

Can you tell whose idea this was to dress up as Snoopy and Woodstock?  Kaden went along with it but only because his friend, Sean begged him to. :)

The boys were excited to see a Wii game there.

The girls were pretending to sell hot dogs.  I am not sure why Kaylee was pulling that face. :)

There were lots of arts and craft projects for them to make throughout the museum.

This might have been their favorite part of the museum.  They were making up their own version of the show Wipe Out. :)

I almost forgot to post this picture.  This was in the Peanuts exhibit. The kids loved taking turns being the psychiatrist.  When it was Kaylee's turn Kaden asked her what he should do if his psychiatrist wasn't doing a good job.  She told him he should tell his psychiatrist to wise up!  He then told her to wise up.   We all got a good laugh from it and Kaylee learned what a psychiatrist is. :) 

4th of July

Our 4th of July was a little calmer this year.  Geoff was in the middle of studying for the Arizona bar so we were stuck at home.  We went to IHOP for breakfast, Geoff studied, then that evening we had a BBQ, went swimming, and then went to see the Gilbert fireworks.

While we were waiting for the fireworks a dust storm rolled in.  Some people got up and left but we decided to stick it out.  The first half of the fireworks show wasn't very clear but it cleared up by the end.   It wasn't the best show we have seen but it was still fun.

The Best Part of Summer

To me the BEST part of Summer is swimming, soaking up the sun, and eating popsicles.  We love having our own swimming pool and go swimming just about every day, sometimes even twice a day.  Here are some action shots I took of the kids and their friends this week.

Summer Time!!

We found a fun park that is not very far from where we live.  We decided to pack a picnic lunch and go check it out.

 The kids took a miniature train ride around the park.

We all got a treat from the concession stand.  Kaylee ended up with hers all over her face. :)

 There were some kiddie rides and a playground.  Due to the hot weather the rides will be closed from June to August so we will have to wait and go back this fall.

We also found this fun splash park in Tempe.  We packed some snacks and met up with our good friends, the Browns.  The kids had a blast and the best part about the park is that it is free.

Our boys took over the ? (sprayers) and had fun spraying/attacking the other kids.

Kaylee and Marlie

The kids all went down this slide several times.  It was the perfect water slide for Kaylee since there wasn't a pool of water at the bottom.  It was a fun park and I am sure we will be going back again.

Annual Attorney's Retreat

  

Two weeks ago we attended Geoff's Annual Attorney's Retreat.  It was at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa.

 We spent Saturday afternoon at the pool.  They had 10 pools, a man made beach area and a three story water slide. 

Kaden playing in the sand.  The water slide is behind him in the clock tower.

The kids both had fun playing in the sand and building sand castles.

Geoff's firm provided free drinks and snacks for us.  We had strawberry daiquiris, chips and guacamole, caramel popcorn, and ice cream bars.  I felt like I was in heaven.

Geoff and the kids overlooking the gondola rides.

The firm paid for the kids to go to Camp Hyatt while Geoff and I attended dinner.  The kids had fun and our food was amazing!  Sunday morning we had brunch before leaving.  There was an omelet bar, a waffle bar, fruit, muffins, drinks, and breakfast pizzas. The food was to die for.  We all had a lot of fun and are already looking forward to next year's retreat.

The day after we got home Kaylee came in dressed up in Geoff's clothes and name tag.  She was pretending to be him.  It was pretty funny.  I should have video recorded it.

Move Number Nine

 

This was the ninth time we have moved since we have been married and the seventh time we have moved since the kids were born.  Kaylee just turned 7 and she has already lived in five different states. We have loved everywhere we have lived and are thankful for all of the wonderful friends we have made but we are also excited to finally settle down somewhere, especially somewhere with warm weather year round.  The kids had mixed emotions about moving.  They were excited to get a longer summer vacation and to be with their Dad again but also sad to leave their new best friends. 

We stayed in Kanab, UT on our way to Arizona.  Right before Kanab we saw signs for Moqui Cave.  We decided to pull  off and check it out.  That was the fun part of traveling alone, Geoff will NEVER pull off the road for anything.

Inside there was glow in the dark paint and...

glow in the dark minerals.

There were also dinosaur tracks.  Kaden had to go to the bathroom and I made him pose for this picture first, can you tell by the look on his face? :)

We stopped by this Movie set museum in Kanab.

The kids in jail, don't you love the expressions on their faces?

In front of an old movie set.

Another old movie set.

That evening we had dinner at the Rewind Diner.  It had a fun atmosphere and the food was really good.

Can you tell the kids were excited? :)

We stayed at the Holiday Inn and had the swimming pool all to ourselves that night.

When we drove over the Arizona border Kaylee said, "Oh, Arizona is so beautiful, I can already tell I am going to LOVE living here!"  This was in the middle of the desert. :) After we drove over the state border Kaden switched his Utah Jazz hat for his Arizona Suns hat.

The first night we arrived we stayed in the condo that Geoff had been renting.  Our good friends, the Browns surprised us with posters, balloons and a gift basket.  The kids were so EXCITED to see the posters and balloons when we pulled up.  THANKS AGAIN, ESTHER!!!

Here is a picture of the gift basket.  That evening we took the kids to see our new house and found a fruit basket and card from our realtor.  Needless to say, it was a fun day full of surprises!!

The next morning the movers arrived.  Kaylee loved the blue carpet that they put down the stairs.  She put on her new sunglasses and pretended she was a fashion model. :)

We had A LOT of newspaper and packing paper.  The kids filled 10 large black garbage bags full.  

We also had A LOT of boxes.  Some of them have been through the last three moves. It felt nice to finally be able to get rid of them.  So far we LOVE it here.  Our new neighbors are very friendly, we love our new ward, and we especially love hanging out with the Browns again.