Parker Canyon

Jeff and I took the day off to go canyoneering. We got an all-day sitter and headed east with our friends Brian and Erica Farr to Parker Canyon.



Entering the canyon





Time for the wet suits.




Erica and I didn't want to jump into the freezing water.... my body just doesn't cope well with drastic temperature changes. So, after checking out the jump, we went back and dipped ourselves into the water before taking the unavoidable plunge.

You can see that Erica was NOT enjoying herself at this moment.


Left: Jeff after jumping into the water. Right: Me sliding down the rock.


We repelled the next drop.

Hiking in the warm sun's rays felt soooo good after being in that frigid water.

We saw a few of these frogs along the way.

Back on top of the plateau.

Erica and Brian Farr-- our adventurous friends.

Headed back to the car to get some lunch.

The BFG

Jeff and I took our oldest two to see the play "The Big Friendly Giant". They loved it-- and were completely entertained the entire time! It was fun to go on a "date" with the "big girls".

Kate: The Wild One

She can do this in a matter of minutes.....

If nothing else, she has taught us to promptly clear the table.

The Gila Valley Arizona Temple

I picked Aubree up from school early on a Thursday afternoon, and headed east on a two-hour-journey to the Gila Valley Temple open house. It was to be dedicated on the coming Sunday, and I really thought the girls would enjoy walking through the inside of the temple. The experience was well worth the spontaneous trip!

Here we are in front of the temple.

The girls were pretty good, but we did run into a few hang-ups. At the temple entrance, you have to put footies on your feet to help keep the temple floors clean. This set Ella and Kate off. They wanted nothing to do with them. I finally figured it out and got them calmed down, and we made it into the temple!

Inside the temple, Maya only climbed on one alter and Kate only screamed in the last room of the tour... the sealing room, which was perfectly placed near the exit for a quick escape!

They devoured the cookies (more than their share, I'm sure), then we spent some time on the temple grass and bleacher/grass area before heading back to the car. I'm really glad we went. The girls especially loved the Celestial Room, even baby Kate loved that chandelier! All in all, for a spontaneous trip... it turned out pretty good.

I love how this picture of Kate turned out.

Zoo Zoo Zoo

To take advantage of the last stretch of cool weather, I took the three youngest girls to the zoo twice durring the last week of school. Every year when I feel the summer coming on, I get the urge to spend as much time outside as I possible can. We had a great time.

This was the first zoo trip that Kate (20 months) actually realized we were surrounded by animals. Here, she is pointing out the Coati's on the Arizona Trail. I also let her walk the WHOLE time on both trips and she loved it! She was quite a trooper.

Ella sitting on a red toad; Maya got trapped in a cage.

As we were viewing the two baby zebras that were recently born at the zoo, I heard a familar voice behind me. Adam, Sage and Grace were there! What a surprise! I didn't expect to run into my brother at the Phoenix Zoo. The girls were happy to be with their cousins.

Kate-- Mommy look at meeeeeee!

Kate and Ella in the tunnel.