Palo Duro Canyon Camping 10/6-10/8

The canyon flooded earlier this summer, and there's still a lot of sand in the creek bed. It was nice to walk on, but every now and then it was kind of creepy for Blaine and I because we would sink pretty deep in the mud underneath. At each of the water crossings there are culverts under the road for the water. They used to be mostly above the water, but now they are "deep" whirlpools surrounded by sand and mud. I dreamed that night that Ava walked into one of the whirlpools and was sucked under the road. I have bad dreams all the time, but even I considered that a nightmare. Blaine told me he dreamed Ava was eaten by a mountain lion the same night. We would hate for anything to happen to our "Little Munch".

Here are my three mountain goats. They are really good climbers, but you know the hardest thing is coming back down.

We're trying to get the most use we can out of our travel trailer! We spent a couple of nights down at Palo Duro Canyon last week. I "thought" we would get to enjoy Fall weather, but it was still Summer. We didn't even wear our jackets.

Cheerio Kabobs

This has to be the most tedious way to eat Cheerios.

Our Lastest Camping Adventure

Our last good bye to baby.

Ava thought hiking was great!

Blaine got a little scared, so Jonathan had to catch him.

Morgan's first hiking trip!!

That's my little mountain goat.

I've always loved hiking and climbing at the Garden of the Gods. This was our "reaching our destination" picture. I think I have one daughter who is part mountain goat.

Helen's family at the baby blessing

Sam and Helen with 3 week old Morgan. I got to hold her all during sacrament meeting, and she was perfect.

Saturday night we went to "Mr. Biggs". We played miniature golf (sort of), rode bumper cars and go carts, and played laser tag three times. I tell you Alyssa is an aggressive player. She came in 10th out of 24 people one time. Ashlyn and Alyssa crack me up running around with their laser tag gear that is almost as big as they are. Ava was a determined little miniature golf player. She kept putting her ball right next to the hole and trying to putt it in, but she kept hitting it away from the hole on accident. She kept on trying though until she finally was able to get it in the hole.

Ashlyn and Alyssa love it when they can do it by themselves. Especially driving!

I think hippos are pretty cool especially when you get to see them up close, out of the water.

Ashlyn and Alyssa befriended this peacock. We let it through a double gate, and it kept walking with us for a couple of exhibits.

We went to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo on Saturday. It was a beautiful day, and a really cool zoo. First exhibit is the giraffes. We bought to feed and pet them. Ashlyn and Alyssa were a little timid about feeding them, but Ava wasn't. She let the giraffe get the cracker from her hand, and she almost got licked in the face.

Ashlyn wanted her picture taken on every piece of playground equipment. This is her in the blue slide.

September 24th we loaded down our camper and headed to Colorado Springs to visit Helen, Sam and baby Morgan. They blessed Morgan on Sunday before Sam had to head back to Afghanistan. We had a wonderful time. Alyssa loved the playground giraffe, and we all loved using our camper and visiting with family.

Waiting To Go To Grandma's

It was Ashlyn's turn to spend the night at Grandma's. She was so anxious to go that she waited outside with her bag on her shoulder, while it sprinkled, for almost an hour and a half. What a sweetie.

Our Big Purchase

We took breaks to play in the sand. This is just one of Alyssa's monuments.

We saw hundreds(?) of turkeys roosting in the trees Friday night. The girls had fun hunting for the feathers they dropped.

This is how Ava started out the hike and Ashlyn and Alyssa were complaining, too. I didn't think we'd make it very far, but then they got warmed up. We ended up hiking for about an hour-and-a-half but a few stops to play in the sand.

Granddaddy came to visit Friday evening. Ava made his night by wanting him all evening. She kept pointing out things to him on our night hike and saying "ook" (Look).

Ashlyn and Alyssa are getting better all the time at riding their bikes. Lyssa in particular loves to ride. This was a great campsite for riding with open places for me to see them and only small hills.

I took the girls swimming suits, but I didn't really plan right because I didn't bring floaties of any kind and I didn't pack Blaine or I a swimsuit. So I'll plan better next time. Ashlyn and Alyssa pretty much just waded in the water and gathered shells. Ava on the other hand, we had to keep a tight grip on because she was willing to drink some lake water and go out into the deep.

Daddy's girl

We bought a camper two weeks ago. I didn't take any pictures our first trip out on Labor Day weekend. I was having too much fun enjoying Palo Duro Canyon. It was 80 degrees and perfect. This Friday we decided to head to Lake McClellan (about 50 miles east of Amarillo). I think I enjoyed this trip even more because we were a little more relaxed. Now all we need are some 4 wheelers to ride at the lake!!

Colton Cousins

Ashlyn and Alyssa helping build lego houses.

Ava warmed up to her cousins as the day went on. They were so good with my little girls. My girls didn't want to leave.

This is Ava returning the favor.

It looks like Zach is trying to pick Ava's nose in the picture, but it's just the weird angle.

We had lots of fun getting to play and talk with Angela and her children when they came for a visit the second week of August. We don't get the opportunity to spend much time with them, so this was wonderful. They're such fun, good people to be around. My girl's absolutely loved them playing with them. You can tell they have a niece the same age as Ava.

What Do You Do in the Summertime?

When we aren't swimming, the girls play so good together. Most of the time, Ashlyn and Alyssa are really good at including Ava when they play. Ava built this tower by herself while Ashlyn and Alyssa were also building. Then they let Ava knock down their houses after they were done.

One of our favorite book series are the "Fancy Nancy" books. This is our version of Fancy Nancy hair. Then of course we have to take pictures.

Ava colored her hands, arms, legs, and feet with dry erase marker. What was funny about it was that she thought they were "ouchies". She got all teary eyed until I started washing them off, then she laughed.

I decided to get us a membership at the Amarillo Town Club this July, so I could get some exercises and the girls could go swimming. It's been great. My neighbor and I go workout 3 or 4 times a week at 11 AM and then we take the kids swimming afterwards. We've all gotten pretty good tans, even Ava (I didn't think she would tan). This picture is Ava showing off her tan and the fact that she's at the "I like to be nude stage". She won't wear a swimming suit, so she just has a swim diaper tan line. Also, Ashlyn and Alyssa have learned how to swim under water pretty good. Then Ashlyn just yesterday started pushing off the side and floating on her back. She floated all over the pool. We couldn't believe how good she could float. She looked like she could just lay on top of the water. Alyssa and Ashlyn both went down the big water slides by themselves yesterday. They had to be able to swim by themselves to do it. We were so proud of them. Ava also likes to "swim" under the water. She goes under and floats around then stands back up and poses, hoping someone is watching her. And someone always is!