Weekend at Mimi's and Grandpa's House

The last weekend of October proved to be a special weekend in many ways.  My parents celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary, and Mike and Corissa celebrated their 6th wedding anniversary.  Mike and Corissa escaped to the mountains for a "retreat" at Mom and Dad's Strawberry home, and we were able to keep Cailyn and Landon for the weekend! Wow!  (We also kept their car and carseats!)

Needless to say, it was a busy weekend from morning until night...the children arrived on Friday evening for dinner...Grandpa made Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast on Saturday.  We walked to the new playground near our home...

After lunch and naps, we dressed the children up for a Halloween Party at their great Aunt Terry and Uncle Ken's house at 5:00...

It was a great chance to see their 2nd cousins all dressed up for the festive party!

Aiden led the way, followed by

 Garret, Ethan and Bode (who wasn't keen on dressing up this year!) And last, but not least...

the cutest little "crab" at the party, Brock in his Mama's arms!
Aunt Alissa and Aunt Jen also came to the party, and Great Grandpa and Grandma Janne were in attendance as well.

Jen helped out with "entertaining the troops" as she was off work that weekend.  It was great having an extra pair of hands...Mimi surprised the children with a couple of new toys to play with at our house

And later on Sunday morning we took the children to the Pumpkin Patch to pick a pumpkin for Mimi's house

and then on to McDonald's for a lunch-out treat for everyone! ;-)

Of course, there was more "playing" than eating going on...Cailyn was so cute helping her little brother in the toddler play area!  After naptime, we played in the backyard...the children really enjoyed rides in the "new" refurbished little red wagon...the one their daddy used to ride in too!

Landon really liked pulling the wagon and swinging...Cailyn loved helping Grandpa feed the fish in the pond!

Grandpa caught some Mosquito fish and put them in the bucket so Cailyn could see them more easily...

It was a very special weekend, and we feel blessed to have had the opportunity to enjoy the extra time with Cailyn and Landon!  And their mommy and daddy enjoyed a well-deserved weekend alone!

FAMILY WEEKEND in Strawberry, Arizona

Before the end of October, I'm determined to blog about our great family weekend in the mountains!  It took some planning, but most of our family were able to gather together with my folks at their cabin in Strawberry, AZ on October 6-7.  Unfortunately, Alissa and Alan had planned to join in on the fun, but their kitty Sancho had emergency surgery on October 5, which naturally cancelled out any travel plans they may have had.

We met at IHOP early on Saturday morning....

And after a short 90-minute drive north, we arrived to a warm welcome from Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Janne.  They have worked hard over the years to make their second home in the mountains a very welcoming and comfortable place.

 One of the first things Cailyn wanted to do was "dig in the dirt"!  Why not?

And Landon wanted to "explore" the grounds with Grandpa!

We enjoyed most of our meals on their beautiful deck...

and on our first lunch together outdoors we had a surprise visit from two young deer that wandered up to their chain link fence...it was AMAZING to see them so close!  I think they were as fascinated in looking at us, as we were in looking at them!

We went for a walk in their neighborhood,

 and drove into Pine, AZ (3 miles away) for the Apple Festival.  We took time to play on the playground and Cailyn made a bar of soap in the kids' crafts area.  Vince ran into an old customer from the camera store days too.  Small world sometimes!  Then we took the "scenic drive" around the area when Landon fell asleep, as the extra time in the car sleeping helped him get through the day!

Jen helped Grandpa work on a puzzle for a short while, and we ordered in pizza for dinner from "Mama Joe's"...delicious, by the way!

 On Sunday morning, Cailyn and Great Grandma played on the deck....Cailyn and Landon really liked the building blocks and plastic animals.  But most of all, they enjoyed wandering around their yard...and Landon liked to run "up and down" the hills!

  We took a ride over to the Fossil Creek Goat Farm on Sunday so the children could see the goats.

 It was a beautiful weather weekend...and we made some special memories together!

We hope next time that Alissa and Alan will be able to join in on the fun too!  Thanks for your hospitality Mom and Dad, aka Grandma & Grandpa Janne!!  We love you!!!

Special Little Visitors at Skyline High School

To my delight, Corissa arranged to bring Cailyn and Landon to see me at the Media Center at Skyline High School on Monday morning.  One of my coworkers Colleen agreed to "trade" lunch hours so we were able to have a picnic outdoors together on a table near the office.  There were a lot of distractions, between students walking by, security officers driving around on their golfcarts, a few planes flying over, and the classroom bells ringing! 

Once we finished our picnic, we walked to the Library...where Landon immediately discovered the steps,

and Cailyn wanted to see the books!  We found the "E-asy" books and read a story...then I showed Landon & Cailyn "the ramp" which was great exercise and fun to run "up and down." 

Fortunately, there were no classes in the library during their visit, so my assistant Jill even showed the children how to make the front door security alarm ring --Landon was totally mesmerized with the flashing red lights and siren sound...kept saying "again...again"!  Cailyn liked this too, so after we decided to stop, she took it upon herself to find a different book, and set off the alarm again! 

Cailyn also wanted to use crayons and paper, and made Mimi a picture; Landon was busy running on the ramp some more and reaching for the computer mice and tower buttons!  What a boy!!

It is no easy task for a busy mommy to pack up lunches and kids into the car, to make the 40-minute drive "way out east" to see Mimi...but I REALLY appreciated their visit, and many of my peers enjoyed the opportunity to see the children! Thanks again, Corissa!