Last day @ St Mark's ECC

Brandon and Mrs Teri on his last day at St Mark's Preschool/Daycare.  I know he will miss spending his afternoons with Mrs Teri (his crafting buddy) and his mornings with Ms. Virginia.  All the staff at the school always compliment Brandon on his big smile and kind attitude.  Brandon is excited for kindergarten..."because they don't take naps"!

Return to home via New Mexico

Notice all the bracelets on his wrist?  We had lots of time to craft and thankfully a gonga find (rainbow loom) helped occupy Brandon.

Still Momma's little guy

Today we packed up and headed back home.  At Brandon's request, we returned home via the New Mexico route.  It is still a long drive, taking about the same amount of time as going through the Salt but it is beautiful and we enjoyed the new scenery.  We packed a picnic lunch and Kevin found us a great little stream to play by.  The kids, dogs, and I all enjoyed getting our feet wet. 
It's always sad to end our trips but we will be back again in a month....

Day 3: storms then sun

 After raining all Saturday evening and all through the night, the clouds finally started to lift.  This was the view as we drove into Alpine to get a hot breakfast!  Thank goodness for our camper, first time we stayed dry and had a little extra room to stretch and play while it poured outside!  As a side note, our camper is water tight! 

the creek by our camp

Another smile!

 Finally, the sun is out and the view of the meadow from our campsite is beautiful.  Thankful, again, for all the grass, little mud to deal with!  Yes, I am still OCD even when camping.

"Mommy, I found a flower!"

 The boys and I hung back at camp for most of the day.  The weather looked a little questionable, so we played by the creek, looked for ladybugs, and went on a nature walk.  There is nothing better than being with the boys.

Playing at the creek-Day 2

 I once again had to bribe the boys to sit still, look at me, and both smile.....it's no wonder they get annoyed with me and the camera!!!!  So handsome, my boys!

Today we spent the morning playing at one of favorite creeks, while Daddy checked a trail cam.  This time, since the weather was warmer, the kids spent most of their time playing in the water.  It's amazing how much fun they have with just water and an empty water bottle!  Mason lead us on an adventure both up and down the creek.  He is DEFINITELY going to be Daddy's little hunter.  He practically runs everywhere he goes, loves to find bugs, and can't stand that he is not big enough to follow Daddy up the mountain. 

Camping, a perfect end to our summer!

still obsessed with his tractors

relaxing after getting our camper set up!

Snapped a pic of Brandon smiling!!! These moments are few and far between since he hates it when I pull out the camera.

In anticipation of Brandon starting Kindergarten this year, we decided to take a long weekend and make the most out of it!  Of course, we were close to our usual camping spot next to the creek but in a meadow with more grass (which is perfect this time of year with the monsoons.
The boys LOVE our "camping house" and I have to say (again) that I may never return to "tent" camping again.  We are spoiled....being dry and happy during the monsoons....

Peach Picking 2014 @ Apple Annies

teamwork...until they fought over the wagon

pouty-faced Brandon....someone does not like his picture being taken!

Looking for the perfect peach

Tricked him into taking a pic with Momma

I made peach salsa and....

Waiting, not so patiently, for our ice cream

Handsome boys, post haircut

...homemade ice cream

We started our adventure off by arriving early to Apple Annies Orchard to eat our fill of the yummy pancake breakfast, then it was off to pick some peaches!  My goal was to pick one bucket of peaches but Kevin and the boys had other intentions....so two bucket were filled.
The boys love to pick the fruit and are more than happy sampling the peaches.  Mason was thrilled to ride the tractor back and Brandon was more impressed with the windmill other technical items around the orchard. 
So fifty pounds later, I was on a mission to not waste a single peach.  We had peach salsa and homemade peach ice cream that night, and it was all delicious. 
Can't wait to go back next year!

Happy 4th!!!!

What a great night at the Thome 4th BBQ!!!!  The kids and adults all had a blast and the evening could not have been better.  We even got to see some fire works from their backyard.  (in the pic: Mason, John, Ally, Brandon, Luke, Owen, and Chloe).