Our Sedona, Arizona Trip

So, we got back yesterday from our "family vacation". Kyle had a PA Conference, and the rest of us just went a long for the ride. It was a fun trip. Here are some pictures:

They had some really nice swimming pools. This is Carly sunbathing.

Spencer went swimming, whether it was cold or not... we'd ask him if he was cold, he'd shiver, say yes, and then say he wanted to swim some more.

Cute Carly even went swimming (on the warmer day)

Proof that I even went swimming...

We took a day and went down to Phoenix. We went to the Mesa Temple Easter Pageant while we were there. It was REALLY neat! This is Spencer waiting for the pageant to start.

Quick story: The characters come out before the pageant and walk around the crowds. Spencer saw this Roman Soldier and wanted to get his picture taken with him. Spencer was kind of timid and nervous, so Kyle went with him to ask for a picture. This is the picture he got... Then a while later, the man who plays Jesus came out (he looked like Jesus too!) Spencer got really excited and said that he wanted to go talk to Jesus. Well, he was quite a ways away still, so I asked Spencer what he would tell Jesus. He said, "that I love Him, and that I want him to come to my new house". Well, Jesus got a little closer, so we told him to go ahead and go talk to him. Spencer immediately ran up the aisle and talked to Jesus. I got a little teary, it was so neat! When Spencer came back I asked him what he told Jesus. "That I am 4 years old and that I'm big!" Anyway, it was kind of a cool moment for a mom to see him SO excited to talk to Jesus and that there was no hesitation at all to run up to him. It was a really neat experience. And the pageant was way awesome too! Spencer was enthralled by it all!

Spencer at the fountains by the temple

After the pageant, we snapped a few more pictures.

Waiting for the pageant.

While in Phoenix, we went to a Chicago Cubs vs Arizona Diamondbacks baseball game. (Spring training) It was pretty fun.

The game

Us at the game

Mesa Arizona temple

Kyle and Carly in front of the temple. More pictures are below...

Sedona, Arizona : Some scenery

Here are some pictures of Sedona

Spencer at Slide Rock State Park. It was really cold when we went, but in the summer, it is supposedly like a water slide and people go swimming in it. It looked like it would be fun.

Pretty mountains and cute kids.

This is the hotel we stayed at. It was the Hilton Resort and Spa. It was really nice, but

maybe the next time we go, we can afford to take advantage of the spa part...

The kids at Slide Rock State park again.

Kids......the real reason parents get older.(but they are so cute.)

Spencer is 4 years old now and Carly will be 1 on April 4th.
Carly just never would pitch a smile, usually she does good but was having a bad day.
Spencer on the other hand would gladly give a smile.

Happy Birthday Spencer!

Well, Spencer is a whopping 4 years old today. It has been a fun day. Started by us waking him up this morning and singing Happy Birthday to him. He was pretty sad that he wasn't 3 anymore, but when we told him that there were presents waiting for him, he decided that it would be okay if today was his birthday. So, he opened up his presents, then we had a couple friends over for a party. Then we took him to Chuck E. Cheese for lunch. It's been a good day and I think we're all pretty exhausted.

Spence riding his new bike that he got.

Kyle at Chuck E Cheese.

Carly at the birthday party.

Spencer this morning with his presents

Getting ready to blow out the candles on his birthday cake that I made for him.

(It's a race track if you can't tell :) )

The party-goers

Spence at Chuckies

Me and Carly having fun.

New Sunglasses and Couches...

Carly looking pretty cute in her new sunglasses...

Spencer also looking pretty cute...

And here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for... oh wait, it's what

WE'VE been waiting for, and waiting for, and waiting for.... the couches finally arrived!!

So, after a long 6 weeks, our new couches FINALLY came. Yep, Kyle is

still waiting on the recliner to come... maybe someday.

Don't let this picture fool you, Kyle actually only sat on the couches for

like 20 minutes total the first few days they were here. He's been SO busy

at work. I sometimes forget that I have a husband. What a nice surprise when

he comes home and I remember!

Fun times

The last couple of weeks have been pretty fun. Kyle was able to go skiing for the first time in a few years. We went to Explora (a kids museum), and Kyle's family was able to come down and visit. Here are some pictures...

We played a pretty intense game of Disney Trivial Pursuit. This is Kyle and Katie putting their heads together to try and get the answers... it didn't work because they lost :)

Us at Old Town.

Kyle's dad trying on Kyle's white coat.

Self-portrait of Kyle skiing

Spencer fingerpainting

The kids at Explora. This is the elevator. There are also 2 couches and another chair in it, so you can imagine how big it is. Spencer thought it was pretty cool.

Spencer and bubbles.

Cute picture of Katie, Carly, and Julie

Valentine's surprises: Cookies & Snow.....wait....those two don't go together....or do they?

We awoke on valentine's day to 4 more inches in our backyard. I think this is the 26th snowstorm of the year. (it's getting old...I'm ready for shorts and flip-flops). I asked Michelle for some help with the snowman you see in the background and after helping she decided to take it upon herself to attack me with a wet, slushy snowball. In this picture, Michelle is running for her life. She attacked first and knew that revenge was coming. (spencer is a great camera-man).

I am proud to say that I won the battle, although it depends on who you talk to. This was an intense battle. Good thing the neighbors weren't watching over the fence, it probably looked a lot worse than it really was.
Eventhough we plastered each other with snowballs and I white-washed her pretty good, we still enjoyed the Valentine's day together on good terms.
Spencer loved the Valentine's cookies that Mom made. I wonder how many he really ate. All throughout the day he would ask to have more and when we weren't looking he would grab another and polish it off before we could stop him.
Wife and Mother x 2.....Our mighty cookie chef.
I really liked this picture because I imagine I will be getting this look quite a bit in about 15 years. She is almost saying: "Dad, you are such a dork." (notice the 2 new teeth.)
This picture is near the beginning of the 'Holy War'. Spencer got a great mid-flight snowball photo. Good job spencer.
Michelle on the attack again. She is relentless in her pursuit of smothering snow in my face. She never gives up eventhough she knows that I'm going to get her back. If you couldn't tell, I kinda like the girl. I guess I'll keep her around for future snowball fighting. If anybody want to start a snowball war, she is on my team......

Finally another posting...

So, obviously nothing too exciting has been happening here in New Mexico, thus the no postings for quite a while. Well, we finally have some pictures to blog...

Grandpa gave Spencer these binoculars when they came to visit, and Spencer hasn't parted with them. This is Spencer looking at some monkeys at the zoo.

So, we finally did something to our new house... Kyle installed a new kitchen faucet. He's quite the handy-man. (That is the old faucet in the picture)

Just another pic of Carly. She finally has two teeth on the bottom. Sorry you can't see them in this pic. Maybe she'll cooperate sometime and let me snap a photo of them.

Spencer after a hard day at church.

(Any ideas on how to help him like Primary would be greatly appreciated!)

The parents came down this week and we had a lot of fun being together. Carly loved the extra attention.

Us at the zoo

So I didn't believe in evolution until I snapped this picture...

Spencer just loves the grandparents! So, THAT'S where he got those crazy genes...