Weekend in Flagstaff

We planned a little weekend trip to Flagstaff to get away from the heat and try our hand at family "camping." On the way to the campsite we took the "scenic route" to Flagstaff through Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon. It was a beautiful drive and we stopped at Slide Rock on our way for a few hours. We had a picnic lunch and spent about an hour at the water. Although there were small pool that the kids could play in, they just wanted to go down the "slides". I attempted a slide, but didn't feel too comfortable going down so far pregnant, so Bill spent most of the time taking the kids down the slides. We all had a fun time. The only problem we had was Spencer fell at the picnic tables and cut his head on a rock. At first it seemed like a big deal, but the bleeding stopped quickly, so we felt like he was ok. (This little injury explains all the blood on Bill's shirt.)

We have never taken the kids camping--little kids and camping sounds a bit daunting when Bill and I aren't big campers ourselves. I had heard of the KOA campgrounds that had little camping cabins. I thought that might be a good way to ease ourselves into camping. The cabins had electricity, a small fridge and microwave, and beds. The campgrounds had bathrooms, laundry facilities, a playground, and a big kids center that had a bouncy house, mini-golf, video games, snack bar, pool and Foosball tables. They usually have a family movie night on a bigscreen but it was too windy the night we were there.The kids spent most of their time playing on the playground and at the kids' center, but we did a bit of bike riding, played baseball, and took a little hike. The kids had a lot of fun and loved our "new house."

On the way home the next day we stopped at the Flagstaff Arboretum. It wasn't anything spectacular but we saw a small animal show and got to walk around forest paths in the nice weather for an hour.

Overall we had a great trip. It was nice to get away from everyday life and the crazy 100+ degree Phoenix weather. Maybe next year we will try camping in a tent. Maybe.

Slide Rock

 Campground

 Arboretum

Daddy/Daughter Date to the A's Game

The A's were in town playing the Diamondbacks. Aftin didn't feel like sitting for four hours (it was fireworks night) at 32 weeks pregnant and so it was a good chance for Aliyah to go see a game and spend time with Bill.  She was so excited for the whole week leading up to the game. She even had a cute pink A's shirt and hat. They had a great time. They spent some of the middle of the game at the kids area where there was a playground and a little mini-baseball field where she got to bat. She even hit 3 of the 5 pitches. After the game, they stayed for the fireworks show. They didn't get home until 11pm!

Swim Lessons

Every summer we have done swimming lessons at the community pool. I have always done swim lessons there because they have mommy and me classes (so I can be in the water, too), Aliyah and Spencer can have their lesson at the same time, there are four 2-week sessions, and they are really inexpensive. The negative side is that there are lots of kids in each class and so they learn at a VERY slow pace, and the public pool is always a crazy place.

There is a lady in our ward who teaches swim lessons. I decided that I really wanted Aliyah and Spencer to learn to swim and I didn't feel like dealing with the kids at the public pool so we went for the private lessons. Spencer was in a class with two other 2 year olds, and Aliyah in a class of 3 other little kids. Spencer cried the first day or two in the lessons. It was a bit sad as he would grab onto the pool fence bars from the inside, crying for me to come get him. He quickly got over his hesitancy and then he began to love lessons.

Everyday he would talk about swimming. "Teacher help me swim" and "swim pool". He would act out all sorts of things he would do, like diving down for rings and swimming across the water. His little actions are soooo adorable. (Since a lot of the time we can't understand what he is saying, he has resorted a lot to acting out what he is trying to say.)

Spencer learned how to "monkey"--pulling himself around the edge of the pool by his arms, how to hold his breath to put his head under the water, how to float on his back, and the beginnings of swimming.

Aliyah, of course, was not nervous at all. In fact, the teacher had to often tell her to just sit and wait and not try to swim around all on her own. She greatly improved her swimming skills--she can now swim the length of the pool by turning over to float on her back every time she needs a breath. She also learned the backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly.

 

A cute story about Spencer

A few of my friends came over with their kids to help me with a project. There were six kids running around the house for an hour. Spencer was with the kids most of the time. At some point toward the end Spencer ventured off on his own. After everyone had left I found him sitting on the laundry room floor holding a bag of candy with a sucker in his mouth. I didn't see any other wrappers around so I assumed I had just caught him just at the beginning of his sneakiness. The next day however, I went to get the laundry out of the dryer (and yes, the clean clothes had been in there for a day or two). I found the following in the dryer:

Four Dum-Dum sticks, a big Tootsie Roll wrapper, and an empty candy bag. Apparently he had been in there for a while since he was on his sixth piece of candy. What a sneaky little guy!!! :)

Aliyah's Dance "Recital"

 Aliyah did another dance class at the community center. She really enjoyed it. The last 15 minutes of the last class they had a little recital of a dance they had been practicing each week. It was very cute. The class was an evening class and so Bill and Grandma and Grandpa Willman were able to attend. We even went out to Dairy Queen afterwards to celebrate her performance.

Preschool Graduation

Aliyah graduated from preschool on May 22nd. Bill, Spencer, and I all attended the graduation "ceremony." It was about 15 minutes long. They had a little procession into the room. They gave us a little presentation of songs, and then each child got their diploma and told us a few things about them. Aliyah said she wanted to be a vet when she grows up. Then Miss Carrie (the teacher) sprinkled magic Kindergarten glitter on the kids and they threw their little hats in the air. It was cute. Aliyah actually fell went to sleep with her graduation cap on for three or four days after graduation. It was sweet.

Spencer's New Hair

 Spencer's hair was getting a bit shaggy again. Aftin likes the long look and Bill wanted to a more short, clean-cut look. Aftin finally gave in and went for a short cut. It makes Spencer look more like a "big boy." (Sidenote: Spencer has been sticking his tongue out for most pictures lately.)