Exploring Phoenix

Date Shake at Hadley Fruit Orchards

James had a conference to attend in Phoenix this past month.  He decided to drive rather than fly so we could all go with him.  I signed Ethan up for Independent study and pulled him out of school for the week,  but Brielle decided she wanted to stay.  She had an exciting week staying with Ian and Annie, getting to do movie night and ice-cream sundaes, and loved that she didn’t have to miss out on volleyball, student council and activity girls.

Preston, Ethan and I had a lot of adventures exploring the Phoenix area while James sat in his classes all day.  He did get out in the evenings early enough we were able to do fun dinners and activities together.

Hole in the Rock

Wednesday-Papago park for a hike to 'hole in the rock' and some other geocaching.  Ethan and I are not very thoughtful in our plans to get to geocaches and just follow a straight-line, which took us on some pretty serious mountain climbs.  We discovered after a couple of cache finds, we could have easily walked a nice paved trail around the mountain we had just climbed.  

After Preston had had enough hiking (he told me he was scared of the alligators), we went to Stuffington Bear Factory for a tour of how they make stuffed animals.  

It was a small family owned and operated facility, but was really interesting to see.  We were the only ones there that day for the tour, so Ethan was able to get all of his questions answered and loved it.

We went back to the hotel so Preston could nap while Ethan and I worked on his schooling.  Then James joined us for a fun evening.  We went to Rustler’s Rooste-a restaurant James remembered from his childhood.  

There is a slide to go down from where you walk in to get to the tables. 

They also had a balloon animal artist that came to the tables to make animals for the kids, and cotton candy for the kids-meal dessert.  

After dinner we took the boys miniature golfing, since Ethan has been asking to go since his birthday last year.  He was so excited he couldn’t contain himself and was bouncing around the whole evening.  

Preston just loved running over the bumps in the course.

Thursday-We checked out McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park and ended up staying almost all day.  

The boys loved the model trains, and the train ride, and the train museum they had there in addition to the 2 train-themed playgrounds.  

They LOVED the tunnel on the train ride through the park

Preston would not pull his face away from the glass the whole time they were there.  Ethan especially loved that he could complete the electric circuits by pushing a button to get the trains moving.

The velocipede at the train museum

I pulled them away so we could do nap and school work again.  That evening we had another fun dinner out at Carrabbas where the boys got to play with pizza dough while waiting for their food.

Friday-We all went swimming before breakfast and then when James went off to conference some more the boys and I explored the Bajada Nature trail at the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.  

There was discovery stations along the way so Ethan and I could learn more about the desert.  

Smelling the creosote bush-named because it smells like creosote oil

The huge Saguaro cactus-grow more arms the older they are

We then went to try a chocolate factory tour.  

The boys mostly loved that they gave so many samples a long the way as we learned how they made different kinds of candy.  

We then did some geocaching while we waited for James to finish up and then made the drive back home.

Fly-on-the-Wall: Sunday

I have also never tracked a Sunday for a fly-on-the-wall post.  I'm not really sure why, but figured it was about time. Here is a fairly typical Sunday for our family.  I went ahead and tracked on the half hour marks.  This was Sunday, October 11th.

6:30-In bed-reviewing plans for the day
Sunday is a sleep-in day!!  James is up getting ready to head out to Ward Council.

7:30-Doing Ellie's Hair

Kids were all up by 6:45 or so.  Everyone is in various stages of getting ready for church.  Mostly the kids are just being silly-playing with a slinky and a wand.

8:30-Breakfast

James gets home about 8:20 and we eat breakfast as soon as he walks in.  This Sunday it is cinnamon breakfast cake and scrambled eggs.

Breakfast is quick as we have to be out of the house by 8:45 to walk to church.

9:30-Church-Sacrament Meeting
It was the Primary Program, where both Brielle and Ethan had multiple parts and talks to give.  They did a great job.

10:30-Church-Sunday School

Preston runs off for Nursery as soon as the closing prayer is said.  Usually after every song during sacrament meeting he announces loudly "now it's time to go play!"

11:30-Relief Society

Got pictures during the break of missionary calendar, RS activity project samples and upcoming service sign up sheets for the RS newsletter.

12:30-Getting Home from church
I took this picture when we got home to re-create this morning.  On our way to walk to church Preston and I went out to the garage.  I opened the garage door and turned to grab to stroller when I heard Preston's voice calling for help.  He had grabbed hold of the garage door on it's way up and was being lifted up.  I couldn't get a picture then, but wanted to remember it.  So when we got home I had him hold on again.  He wasn't too happy about it.

1:30-Getting Preston down for nap 
Got everyone some lunch.  Everyone ready for some quiet time.

2:30-Journaling
Ethan is next to me working on his FHE lesson while I work on family journal.  Brielle is upstairs reading, James working on Elder's Quorum responsibilities and Preston still napping.

3:30-Prepping Dinner
Heading to Rim Road for Sunday dinner with extended family.

4:30-Family Home Evening Lesson

Just finishing up so we can head to dinner.

5:30-Family Dinner Prep
Everyone working together to get things ready.

6:30-Dessert Time!
Finished up dinner (Steak, Salmon, Salad, Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts and Cheese Bread).  Celebrating birthdays with multiple dessert tonight.

7:30-Headed Home
Gotta get kids to bed before we all turn into pumpkins.  Reading family scriptures on the way home to get a start on the night routines.

8:30-Prepping Lunches
Packing salad for James to take and sandwiches for kids lunches so we're ready for the morning rush.

9:30-Planning for next week

Looking over upcoming activities to make plans for the week.

10:30-Headed to bed
Brielle didn't cooperate for her journal time, so we'll have to do that tomorrow.  Got everything else done today though.  Off to sleep.

Camping on Santa Cruz Island

Our family had a great trip camping on Santa Cruz island.  Brad and Margaret encouraged us to get out of our comfort zone of over-night car camping and try a new experience.  We were really glad we did.  We  all loved it!  James read The Island of the Blue Dolphins to the big kids before we went to teach a bit of history about the channel islands.

The campground we went to had water spigots available, but all gear had to be brought over by boat and then hauled to the campsite.  Here we are at the harbor getting ready to load the boat.

It is a little over an hour ride to get from Ventura Harbor out to Santa Cruz island.

We enjoyed the pod of dolphins that were playing in the wake of the boat.

Our campsite was about 1/2 a mile from where the boat let us off.  We hauled our gear over and set up camp.  There were eucalyptus trees everywhere so it smelled amazing.

We saw these island foxes all over the place. They wandered around our tents and lived in the bushes right next to our tent.

Each site had a fox proof box-to keep all food locked up. There is also no trash service on the island, so all trash had to be kept locked up safely from the foxes and ravens and then taken back with us on the boat.

We weren't sure what to expect with the weather, going out in the middle of October-but we got lucky with an absolutely beautiful weekend.  It was cool enough for hiking and exploring and warm enough to enjoy time at the beach.  So-we spend a lot of time doing both.

The kids were very excited to try out snorkeling.

The water was a bit cold without a wet suit, but they didn't want to quit.

James took them around to explore.

They were able to see quite a bit of various sea-life and loved it.

We all also had the chance to do some Kayaking.

There were tunnels and sea caves to explore close.  Some of the caves had small beaches.  Ethan was able to jump off to pick up a lobster shell on one of the beaches.

The water was clear enough to see the bottom from the kayak.  

The kids loved the chance to explore around the campsite.  Mountains to climb, caves to check out, and hills to push each other down in the stroller kept them very busy and happy.

The time went by quickly and it was time to catch the boat home after our 3 days/2 nights of exploring.  We had 6-8 feet waves on the way back to mainland.  The kids loved it.