Memorial day adventures...Exploring Arizona

I am too lazy to make collages so you get all the pics in their big glory...sorry about that)

 

 For Memorial Day the weather was incredible...mid 80's for May is CRAZY talk. Doug is getting quite fed up with all this dreamy weather us Arizonain's have been having, but I secretly love it. So when Doug didn't have to work I said, "We need to do something outside!!" Facebook to the rescue. I asked my lovely friends on Fb for suggestions, and many said that the Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior was a fun thing to do. I have drove past this place a million times and always wanted to stop and I am so glad we did! It was like a beautiful Garden of Eden in our desert.

We saw jackrabbits, butterflies, and many lizards. The kids were in heaven....

I thought that it would just be desert plants, but there were so many different types of plant life. All labeled and beautiful!

They had a little childrens area that we spent some time in...really pretty...

Boyce Thompson bought the property in the 1930's and some of the original buildings were standing still...

 Spring blooms

Here are the sweeties next to the garden...

They had an amazing herb garden. The mint leaves and lemon leaves were so divine...makes me wish I was domestic and had a garden...

Ahh....what a cool place to explore! And almost right in our backyard.
We headed on the down the road a few miles to another place we have heard about for years. They make some dang good tortillas, fresh daily with no preservatives.

The place was a little shady..I'm sure many health code violations weren't adhered too, but oh man....that was some good eats! Beans with lard yeah buddy....and chips and salsa.... The girls also had to go the bathroom in the "Lounge" and that was quite an adventure. There were some folks already getting their drink on at 12:30 in the afternoon.

We came home happy and tired and fed our ward missionaries and called it a day. What a happy day indeed!

End of May-Preschool Grads, SUPER man, and swim fun

Happy DAY! The girls are growing up...we sure do love Mrs. Katie's preschool and the girls have passed a milestone and graduated from preschool....tada!! The girls said recited some poems, sang some songs and got their diploma's...awww.

We sure do love Katie....

These little girls were a little to close to their friend Brennan...poor guy..also can you tell the Caps for Sale in the bottom 2 pics?

Ok...here's a cute Mommy moment. 

One day Clark came to me and said ..."SUPER-Maaan!" He brought me a blanket and wanted me to put it on. We have never even watched anything Superman related...but little boys with be boys. So we had a superman morning. We jumped off the couch and piano bench in capes and I had to snap a few.

And doesn't this just scream summer fun? Cousins eating watermelon after a swim...ah....how lucky we are to have cousins around.

Beautiful People...

For Mother's Day this year I wanted just one thing...(and a nap) a photoshoot of me and my children. Unfortunately on that day, things didn't pan out so we did the shoot a few weeks after Mothers day. It's crazy how much photography envelops so much of my thoughts...I lay awake at night dreaming about my recent shoot, what I could have improved on, my next shoot, what I want to do. etc. My Dougers bought me this couch and is such a trooper to go along with all my crazy dreaming. My dream was this couch in a wheat field, but when we got there the field was mowed...boo. Onto the next best thing, a corn field as high as an elephants eye. The sun was beating down on us, so some of these shots are a little hazier than I would like, but honestly what treasures!! I am going to make a collage or something fabulous with these images.

Ok..so there's the back story on these images. 

Just a few Mommy thoughts...I bought this book at Desert the other day and have been reading it.

These are the folks that started Joy School and Linda Eyre also has an amazing Mothering book that I read last year that changed me.(come to think of it, I need to read it again)

Anyways, I am only a few chapters in but this spoke to me. The first Chapter talks about our children's true identity. Our spiritual brothers and sisters. 

"We are not their creators, or their makers, or their owners, nor are we fully responsible for all that they are. They are unique children of God with their own destinies.

Children are likened into seedlings in a nursery. You know how all the little plants look the same when they are just little green shoots? But until you stop to read the little label on each one, you don't know if it's an oak tree, a fir tree, or a lilac bush."

This book has inspired me to commit to be a better more patient Mother and has helped my perspective.

Ok...enough ramblings, onto my favorite people in the world

Down on the Farm....Preschool Field Trip

 Preschool just ended today...what a bittersweet day. The girls started preschool 2 years ago right after the boys were born, it has been the best money I have EVER spent. As a Mom I felt guilty that I have an early childhood degree, and yet I was paying someone else to help me with their education. But can I just say that having my girls in a structured program, and having a someone else there for me to help nurture, love and be patient with my girls has been priceless. (Also the break every other day has been perfect for my sanity;)

The girls teacher Mrs. Katie plans so many fun things for the kids. Our last field trip of the year was down to Superstition Springs Farm. It was fun drive to around a "Real" farm. Pet some animals and drink some yummy milk. All with our fun preschool friends...Moo

 Sweet old horse...let us feed him carrots.

Audree DESPERATELY wants a bunny...maybe someday

Olivia now wants to be a farmer

More to come of preschool graduation, and pictures in a corn field!