Summer Fun with Friends

This summer we had to say goodbye to the Khatir family. This was really hard for us because they were an amazing family that we had grown to love dearly and Derek and Ryan had become best buddies after spending 2 years in preschool together. Ryan was Derek's 1st friend he chose on his own. The boys had so much in common together and were so sweet to watch play together. They would play Legos, talk Star Wars, bike ride, play soccer, explore the woods for nerf gun bullets and just laugh. Some of my most favorite memories of the 2 boys were when Derek would laugh uncontrollably at something Ryan said. The two boys were always having a great time together and it was very hard to watch them move to Michigan. 

Before they left, we had a going away party for Laura, Collin and Ryan. We got together at Christina's house and made Lego letters. 

Before Laura left we did a girls night out at Lucky Strike bowling downtown PHX. It was a great night of laughter and memories. Laura, Christina, Lisa and I were Bootcamp buddies for about 5 months. It was so fun to workout together.

 

Milania and Rylie

 Light Saber fights with Derek and Ryan

Greyson and Derek playing hockey

Children's Museum with Bella and Caden

Dress up with Charlie

Rylie and Grace

Forest Houses Resort, Sedona

This summer our family spent 4 days in Sedona. It was an awesome time for our family to get out of the summer heat and regroup before the school year started. We had no Internet or TV where we were and we spent lots of times playing board games, doing puzzles, playing outside in the grass and talking, laughing and exploring. I am grateful for this time that we took to slow down and enjoy life away from the hustle and bustle. It was a wonderful vacation as a family,

Slide Rock:
Derek LOVED Slide Rock. He and Matt went down the slide multiple times until he was shivering cold. The water was very cold, but refreshing for the hot AZ summer.

Rylie was not a big fan of the cold water! She had much more fun hanging out with me and watching Daddy and Derek slide down the rock.

 Rylie spotted this beautiful butterfly.

Devil's Arch:
We hiked Devil's Arch, which was a six mile hike. It was really hot and Rylie was not thrilled about walking the whole time, so I carried her on my back in the Ergo. It was a great workout and we all had a super hike because no one was complaining and there were no stragglers. :) The view at the top was awesome.

 The kids watched Star Wars #6 one afternoon...before we went fishing for our dinner.

Fishery:
We took the kids to a fishery and caught some fish for dinner. The kids had to roll the homemade bait and put it on the hook at the end of the line. Then we waited patiently for the fish to get caught on the hook and then we pulled them in. The kids thought the process of catching a fish was neat, but were not too thrilled about the taste of the fish. We payed to have the fish gutted and cleaned and prepped so we could cook them for dinner. The guy who cleaned the fish was crazy...he ate the heart that was still beating....disgusting....the kids thought it was so cool to see the hear that was still beating be removed from the fish.

Hiking:
 Another hike we did in Sedona. The views are just incredible and the scenery is stunning.

 The sun was SO bright and Rylie had a hard time opening her eyes (must be her baby blue eyes).

Rattlesnake:

 Eating rattlesnake sausages at a restaurant....they were pretty good.

Woods Canyon Lake Camping Trip

We went camping at Woods Canyon Lake with the Lopez Family. The Lopez family had never gone before and it was an adventure as we dodged the rain which took place each day for a couple hours. At one point it rained so badly for so long, that we spent 4 hours in our tent watching movies on the tablet and playing games. The tent the Lopez family borrowed leaked so badly that they had to leave and spend the night in a hotel. They were troopers though and came back the next morning to hang out. We had a great time hiking, playing all sorts of made up games, boating on the lake, spotting eagles, cooking meals, roasting marshmallows, laughing and exploring. Can't wait to camp next year too!