I have a super cute family.....at least in photos.

I've been with them all day by myself, so they aren't so super cute anymore. But I digress.....

As you can see from my header, we did some spring photos. Why, why, why would I add this stress to my life during recital time? I have 2 year old pics of all my kids, except Macy. She is 2 1/2 and time is ticking away. Plus I'm a sucker for tulips. There was major stress before. It was pouring rain most the day, even on the drive to Thanksgiving Point. We were lucky that it cleared up enough for us to do it, though it was really cold! The photographers camera battery died, and it took a bit to get the new one, but we survived without getting too ugly. I loved the photographer. So crazy and good for the kids. 

Let's start with the individuals:

(she should be a model, don't you think? This is the same little angel who ran full force into Quinn's soccer game today, donning her "Super Macy" cape)

 And the  groups.....

What do you think? ( I could use some love and gushing today about my family and their cuteness)

Spring Break....the Arizona experience

So after Bryce Canyon, we drove to Arizona. We stopped at a Pizza Hut on the way and sat by 2 guys in Raiders shirts. I wonder who these cars belong to? Really, I don't love anything the wayRaider fans love their team.

But then to the warm and wonderful Arizona heat. We had several pools at our disposal (including a super-splash pool), air hockey, ping pong, giant checkers, playgrounds, lazy river, and a waterslide. We hardly ever left the property. So BEAUTIFUL. And the best part? Bill's parents met us there and we loved spending time with them.

The wildlife in the area was so fun. My kids went on several bunny hunts. We fed quails, bunnies, and the occasional lizard from our balcony. The lady giving me my pedicure did tell me to beware because the hawks often scoop up the bunnies. She always worries about her little puppy. Really glad we didn't have a "circle of life" moment on this trip.

My kids were like fish. They hardly got out of the water. Which made for this tired trio. (Quinn, grandpa, and Li-Li)

Easter is always tricky when you are away, but the Easter bunny was smart enough to find us. And what a novel idea to have eggs outside that weren't buried in snow? I could get used to this.

Macy loved the lazy river. I was hoping she would decide to nap there so I could just float around with her and not have to watch 3 other kids.

(in case you are wondering, my husband has no leg hair for reasons that have to do with his biking. Yes, it is strange, but I love him anyway. I once didn't go on a second date with a guy who did the same thing....for that reason.)

Instead, she napped like this.

Quinn was quite accident-prone this trip and I'm seriously amazed he never rolled into a cactus or anything. Loved this one on our LONG drive home. It wasn't too bad, except Macy lost her breakfast an hour into the drive. 9 more hours of the smell. But we survived and I want to go back!

Back to reality.

Spring Break, part 1

So, we didn't use the entire full week of our spring break to travel, but took off on Tuesday afternoon for Bryce Canyon. We'd always wanted to do that with the kids, and I'm so glad we did.

We stopped quick for this pic of the Manti Temple....or the "pretty castle" and Macy refers to it.

We ate at the local greasy spoon. Not so yummy.

We stayed at Ruby's Inn...great place, but I had a HORRIBLE night sleeping. The 6 of us should never sleep in one space. Bill snores, Macy woke everyone up at one point, and Parker never fully got back to sleep.

But look. We are still happy the next day.

I mean, seriously. How gorgeous is this? Hard to believe we are just a few hours away.

I have super hikers for kids. Even during the last bit up, which is quite steep, they pushed through it. Quinn even got to the top and said, "I like hiking!".

Giving them their own camelbacks was not such a great idea. Yes, I wasn't carrying their water bottles, but they loved to drink. And then they all really, really had to go. At the bottom of the canyon. That took some creativity. Enough said.

Macy was not thrilled to be confined to the "pack-pack" as she calls it.

There were sections that had all sorts of rock stacks. My kids tried some to, but we all kind of sucked at it.

Happy Hikers!

We unstrapped Macy and finally let her run free before our drive to Arizona. She was so happy. Can you imagine this energy on the trail? I'm sure she would be dead. Gotta love toddler-hood.

This was Macy's favorite part.....mine was finding that the little general store served fountain diet cokes. I needed one.

Onto Arizona!