The Big 6 !!!

This kid turns 6 on Sunday!

How did that happen so fast?

(Well, I am glad he is not 3 anymore.

One 3-year-old is plenty!)

We celebrated his Birthday today,

knowing that he would not appreciate

going to church for 3 hours on his special day.

Thanks to very generous grandparents on both sides,

he got a new bike!

The first kids' bike that we did not inherit or

pull out of the dumpster.

He is thrilled to have hand brakes and 6 gears!

He has been asking questions about

which gear to use when for weeks now.

So I am sure he will be a Pro at it in no-time!

The kids slept in until 7 am,

opened presents,

we had hash browns and eggs,

and were ready to go by 8 am.

So off they went early and in freezing temperatures.

Notice something wrong with this picture?

In his excitement,

Noah left his backpack at home.

We did not even notice until we were at school.

After school,

we brought his friend, Owen, home with us

and

the boys played while I was getting

a few last things ready for the Birthday Bash.

our home-made Pinata

I would say the Party was a success.

It certainly did not go according to 'plan', but

Noah loved it and the kids had fun!

That's what matters.

Noah and good friend, Cash

PS: Karl and I were slightly busy. Hence the complete lack of photos. Next year I am either hiring my sister (party planner) or Jamie (photographer). Ideally, both!

Conference Sunday

Our Beloved Prophet

I love General Conference.

I always have.

(Except for my very first time

when I had no idea why

my host family was sitting in front of the TV all weekend

listening to old guys in suits.)

It is a weekend of inspiration, renewal, amazing talks,

family time, and good food.

We started our morning with

whole-wheat crepes, berries, and whipped cream.

Noah is now obsessed with whipped cream.

Maybe I shouldn't have waited 6 years to introduce him...

After 2 wonderful (and sunny) hours filled with

inspired words from church leaders,

crafts, and lego,

we headed into the woods for some fresh air.

Our plan to go up into the mountains was spoiled

by threatening thunder clouds,

so we cut our drive short and tried out a new hike.

The minute we got out of the car,

it started raining.

Max was less than thrilled (again),

so we bribed him with some fruit snacks...

As usual, he joined the fun

after a few minutes on Papa's back.

Pit stop:

The sun came out and warmed us up.

I love hiking with my boys.

Sure, I wouldn't mind a serious all-day hike

but it's great to just explore and see what they find.

During the afternoon session,

I baked some whole-wheat

Apple-Walnut Muffins.

Yumm!

Noah is quite the skilled lego builder.

It's not easy with Max around but,

come to think of it,

we did not have any major crises today.

Chilling on the Couch

The kids got really restless the last 20 minutes

and we could not wait to get them outside

and enjoy the beautiful afternoon.

Well, wouldn't you know it,

by the time we headed out the door,

it was ... raining!

Pretty hard.

I was extremely irritated!

I just felt like we deserved better than that

after spending 4 hours in front of the TV.

(Looks like I still have a lot to learn...)

It poured. We got soaked.

The kids were cold. They complained.

Good times!

The good new is that

Max is now riding the trail-a-bike!

Sweet!

Everyone is now pedaling and going (somewhat) fast!

Fun and freedom for all!

Looks like I will have to get a fender.

Water and mud all over Max and his bike.

The sun did come out, of course.

But we were still wet and cold,

and the boys were dreaming of hot chocolate

(with whipped cream).

So we went home earlier than I had hoped.

We did manage to drag them out of the house again

to play some frisbee and check out the exercise room.

Noah:

"I don't want to be outside all day!"

Me (simultaneously):

"I don't want to be stuck inside all day!"

It's all relative...

We finished the day off with some

soy Burgers and Veggies.

So grateful to be a member of the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!

I love our prophet and his apostles.

Fieldtrip Time

lunch by Buddha Beach

This week we have a total of 3 field trips.

School field trips.

(Not including family field trips.)

Monday,

Max and his preschool class took the public bus

to the local library for some playing

and reading fun.

He loved it.

Today,

Max and I got to join Noah and his Kindergarten class

for a super fun hike down in Sedona.

We marched for about 1 mile discussing wildlife and nature,

picnicked in the shade by the creek,

had a blast playing in the water and on rocks,

and then marched back to the cars.

It was fantastic!

What a treat for the kids.

Great memories and class bonding!

Have I mentioned that I love Noah's teacher???

Tomorrow,

Max will hopefully be joining his friends

on a little hike to the park close to his preschool.

As I was typing this, he just threw up in his bed!

Craptastic!

It is now all cleaned up and I hope

he/we will sleep well and be fit come morning.

Maybe just a little too much creek water in his belly...

Late Summer Afternoon

The weather here in Flagstaff is absolutely perfect right now! Temps in the mid-70s and very little rain. (When it does rain, it usually stops after an hour or so, and then we are treated to beautiful rainbows!) Knowing that it is going to get cold very soon, we wanted to take advantage of the warmth and drive down the canyon to play in the creek. We packed up the bags, changed into our swimsuits, and jumped into the car full of anticipation of a fun family adventure.

Pulling out of our parking lot, it hit us! We totally forgot! We are not supposed to drive our Subaru more than 5 miles right now. Ugh! It's been having issues since our trip to Vegas and we are waiting for some parts (radiator+thermostat) to replace the old ones. (Just what we need. A $500 car bill!) Being grumpy and frustrated does not help a thing, so we quickly came up with Plan B:

Hike/bike some beautiful trails that I have been meaning to show to my family for a while. Then go to the Bear Paw Pool to cool off and relax. Max did not like that plan one bit! Surprise! He was not interested in any sort of hiking and wanted to go to the pool right away. He made sure we did not happen to forget his opinion by screaming and crying to no end. Knowing that 3-year-olds can change their mind rather quickly, we just kept calm and carried on. Sure enough: Eventually we found a great single-track trail going up a long, gradual hill and Max decided to have fun. We ran/biked up and down the hill more than a couple of times and were glad we had not given in to our little tyrant earlier.

Time for some water play!

It was a great afternoon

and we all enjoyed ourselves very much.

PS: We have all been sick with the cold since then (9 days and counting...) but I don't blame the pool. Who knows where we caught it.

Grand Canyon Adventures

What a view!

Of course, we had to show Oma and Opa this natural wonder!

They were pretty excited:

What do you do at the Grand Canyon?

You look and you hike.

So we did lots of looking and even more hiking.

The boys were not happy with just walking along the rim.

They wanted to hike down. A bit.

So off we went:

We actually made it further down than expected

and all the way back up.

Nice job, guys!

Sometimes Noah and oftentimes Max

got a little

hot,

tired,

and grouchy.

So we gave them food.

Provided distractions.

And bribed with ice cream.

Sometimes it worked.

Sometimes it did not.

We did do a few things besides hiking.

The boys are able to find big mud puddles

even in the desert.

Lots of dirt for off-road biking.

Getting creative...

One evening we found a nice spot at the rim

and settled down to watch an amazing sunset.

We shared the view with about 200 other tourists.

Quote of the trip provided by Noah:

"There are too many Germans here."

Thank you, Oma and Opa, for a great trip!

We are ready!

"Mama! We are ready for school!

You are not?

Fine. I guess we'll play animals

and read a book."

Since Max is our alarm clock that goes off anytime between 6 and 6:30 we usually have plenty of time to get ready for school.

Thanks, Max!

Afternoon activity:

Building and painting a house

for all their beloved stuffed animals.

With Papa, of course.

I am the designated pretend-player.

Karl and I are a good team.

(You've got to love the sky up here in Flagstaff. It is beautiful!)

Under Water Fun

These two pictures are not quite under water

but I still think they are fun!

Notice that in each picture the other kid

is warming up in the sun on the towel.

Good thing the pool water was quite a bit warmer.

We love the public outdoor pool in Sedona.

Nothing fancy but

fun and clean and sunny!

While staying at a hotel in Vegas last weekend,

we got to enjoy their hot tub and pool.

Mostly hot tub because the pool was a little cold

and the hot tub just nice and warm.

We had a fantastic time!

Looks like my kids might have inherited

my genes for bad swimming form.

Sorry, guys!

But, hey, I am just happy that they love

playing in and under the water

as much as I do.

We will worry about a proper stroke later.

My sister and I basically lived in the water

all growing up whether swimming or just playing.

I want to pass that passion on.

See?

Karl is not quite as at home in the water.

But that is ok.

He just feels more comfortable

running through the woods

collecting bugs.

Typical.

Maybe I should mention though

that neither of my kids can actually swim.

They both think they can

but ... well, they can't.

Not more than a few feet at a time.

But Noah is getting there.

I love the following little video because

- Max is such a dare devil

- Noah is always eager to help Max

- Max is a pretty grateful kid