Reavis Falls Hiking/Backpacking Trip

On the road to our destination...

Of course no hike of ours would be complete without a snake! Thank you Mike for taking care of it.

Logan, Carlee and I hiking the trail. Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho!

Small waterfall into a pool

Part of the Reavis Falls (too big to get all of it up close)

Beautiful scenery on our way home (again the pictures got out of order, sorry)

Some how the rest of these got out of order but this is us at the END of the hike celebrating that

WE MADE IT! YAY!

Beautiful scenery on our hike

Looking up out of the canyon where we camped

Our family

(a little rough but having fun)

For part of October break we took the kids on an overnight hike/backpacking trip up in the Superstition Mountains to Reavis Falls/Canyon. We went with some friends, The Davis Family. It was 5.5 miles in and 5.5 miles out. The kids did really well packing their gear and had a great time with their friends. We saw some beautiful scenery, lots of cactus, played in the creek and made some fun family memories. I felt like I was 100 years old the day after and could barely move but it was worth it!

Logan's First Wrestling Medal

Logan received his first wrestling/grappling medal this past weekend. He went 2 rounds and had to go into overtime by take down to determine the winner. The other kid took Logan down in OT but Logan still got the 2nd place medal.

He did REALLY well for his first tournament, we are so proud of him! YAY Logan!

(sorry for the crazy eyes, didn't have the regular camera w/ us)

Back to School - Hooray!

The kids started school this week! I know, crazy Arizona! It's still 112 degrees outside but they have to start school here and I don't consider summer over until September, all well. Carlee is in 2nd grade and Logan is in 4th this year. They both love their teachers, thank goodness. Carlee has the same teacher that Logan had in 2nd grade, so we know what to expect and we are very happy with her. Logan has a teacher that came recommended by other moms and she seems to be great so far. I'm happy to get our "routine and schedule" back. I'm also grateful to be able to get things done in a matter of hours instead of days and that there is nobody complaining about how many errands there are or how long it's taking to get them done! OH HAPPY DAYS!! :)

Here's to another fun-filled, action packed, pencil marking, homework doing, after school activities, backpack dragging, high drama, new & old friends, let the craziness resume school year!

Beach & Seaworld

Carlee, Logan & Sara boogie boarding (uncle Scott keeping watch).

Carlee being silly...

Logan & Mike boogie boarding.

Mike catching a wave.

Killer whales @ the Shamu Show

Carlee and I

Dolphins @ the Blue Horizons Show

Logan, Carlee & Sara feeding the seals.

Wild Rapids ride that Carlee BEGGED to go on ALL day because she was hot and wanted to get wet. So, she went w/ dad, Logan and the grandparents. She got the MOST wet and was upset because she had to then walk around SOAKED the rest of the day. I tried to tell her but she didn't want to listen to me! :)

Logan, Sara and Carlee @ Fletcher's Cove

Celebrating Logan's birthday @ Anthony's Fish Grotto

My nephew, Ryan, after eating a bite of his birthday dessert and clapping his hands because it was YUMMY!

Us @ the Pier outside of Anthony's Fish Grotto in San Diego.

We took a trip to Solana Beach (north of La Jolla ) and to Seaworld with Mike's family this summer. We also celebrated Logan's birthday (and my nephew who turned 1). It was really fun! We spent 3 days on the beach doing NOTHING! Okay, well that was me and it was heaven! The kids played in the sand, boogie boarded, swam and snorkeled. Mike, his brother, Logan and grandpa all went snorkeling at La Jolla Cove and got to swim with and see a bunch of Leopard Sharks, they are breeding right now. 40-50 of them were surrounding them and swimming with them along with a bunch of sting rays. They said it was neat, I passed. Logan got to experience it but after a couple minutes (and being able to say he did it) he was done. Our trip to Seaworld was really fun too and we all had a long, fun day. We celebrated the boys birthdays at Anthony's Fish Grotto on the Pier in San Diego. It was delicious!

Birthday Boy

Celebrating his b-day at Anthony's Fish Grotto in San Diego.

Standing in front of the Shamu car at Seaworld.

Logan turned 9 last week! Where has the time gone? He is growing up way too fast and is proud of the fact that he's almost as tall as I am! Here are a couple of quick pics of my "not so little" boy.

Lake, Friends & Fun

Family Picture

All the boys, cliff jumping

Logan on the ski trainer. After one pass he had it. Then he fell and got back on it with

NO help and off he went for a second pass. He loved it!

Logan on the wakeboard

Mike wakeboarding

Mike helping Carlee try to wakeboard. She did not like it and only tried twice, but she tried.

Mike and Greg

Cameron, Logan, Carlee and Karissa getting ready to go tubing!

The kids and I

Mike wakesurfing

Our friends, The Shorts - from California, came for a visit and hauled their boat out. We went to the lake for 2 1/2 days and had a blast! Kids and adults all had a fantastic time and loved every minute of it! Logan learned how to ski (with the help of the ski trainer) and wakeboard. We all wakeboarded, wakesurfed, swam, fishing, the boys went cliff jumping and the kids went tubing. Thank you Short Family for coming to visit!

Carlee's Dance Recital

Backstage getting ready to go on...

On our way to the recital

At dress rehearsal, the end of her second number (second in from the right)

At dress rehearsal, in the front, second in from the right

Carlee had her Dance Recital and LOVED it! She did really well and knew all the moves. She also helped keep the other girls going on stage. Carlee doesn't seem to get shy or have stage fright, thank goodness! Now we're on to tumbling...

Logan as Zeus

Logan had to do a project at school at learn about Zeus. Then, they did a Living Museum where they dressed up as their character and had to tell about them as the parents went room to room and walked through the Museum. It was really neat and Logan, dad and a neighbor

(who helped make the costume) did a great job!

Hiking

Us

Mike and the kids heading down the wash to check out the water and a "cave"

Checking out the "cave"

Carlee

Logan

Rattlesnake

We took the kids hiking this past Friday since they were out of school for Good Friday. It was a BEAUTIFUL day! The kids carried their own backpacks for the first time (snacks and drinks included)! Everything is so green, lots of things in bloom and the rain has done us a lot of good here. However, we did meet an unexpected visitor on our last .50 mile of the hike out. It was a VERY exciting way to end our hike! Carlee was hiking first and thought it was a stick, then saw it move so she jumped, screamed and ran. Logan was scared, so he pushed Carlee back towards the SNAKE! They were like two stooges! I immediately grabbed the kids to "take cover" and let Mike handle the situation. The rattler was spooked by us, after all he was just sunning himself and trying to enjoy the day, like us. By this time he was off the trail but he was coiled and rattling. He was very bothered by all that was happening (Carlee screaming, trembling and crying. No matter what I said to her I couldn't calm her down.) Mike threw a rock at the snake to get him to move along and the snake struck at him. So, now it was "game on". After a long battle, and more people that had joined in because they too were hiking on the trail, the snake lost. We didn't want him attacking anyone else after we had gone off since he had already struck at Mike. It was exciting, scary and and a good family memory. All in all, it turned out to be a good day.

1st Pinewood Derby

Logan at the weigh-ins. He's legal and ready to race!

After the races with his picture frame/car holder, certificate (most aerodynamic) and ribbon.

Logan's car, ready to race in one of the heats. It's the blue one w/ the lightening bolt.

Logan w/ his car getting ready to race!

This year was Logan's first Pinewood Derby. He had a lot of fun and I think he liked having me there as the Asst. Cubmaster. It was definitely an adventure w/ a lot of Drama (not on our part, some parents get carried away and forget the true meaning of the race - THE BOYS and FUN)! Logan and his dad had a great time and are looking forward to next year and they are already making plans for their (I mean Logan's) next car! BOYS!