San Diego

Well I don't have many pictures yet so this will mostly be journaling for now. Our camera broke while we were gone. I was so sad. I hope we can just get it fixed or exchanged and not have to buy a new one. So I took some pictures of half of the trip and Marlee took them for me on her camera the remainder. San Diego was lots of fun though. So any hoot for Christmas Garet gave me a family trip to San Diego. I was so excited but was even more excited when I found out that Spencer also gave Marlee the same thing. So we got a hotel together, traveled together and split the bill. It ended up not being to expensive. It was a fun trip. Here is the rundown:
Wednesday late afternoon Paige and I went back to Sierra Vista with mom. Garet came a couple hours later after he got off work. Justin came by for a little while and so did Allison. It was good to see and visit with them even if it was just a short visit.
Thursday morning got up at 440 am. Was down at Marlee and Spencers by ten after 5 and we were on the road by 540. It was fun traveling with them. The little girls (Paige and Madison) did really good in the car. Our first stop was in Yuma. We stopped at a little Mexican restaurant recommended by Justin and Landon. We got gas and were on our way again. Out truck was full. Every seat belt taken.:) We pulled into our hotel about 1230ish California time and 130ish Arizona time. Out Hotel was nice. Spencer got it for us off price line. It was right off the beach/Boating dock. the beach was on both side of the Hotel. We stayed off the San Diego bay, near the airport. We quickly freshened up at the hotel and went straight to Sea World. It was so much fun! There weren't a lot of people there at all so it made it really nice. We hit all the shows and the major exhibits. For dinner that night we ate at a yummy place right on the pier. (thanks aunt Jan for the recommendation)After Dinner, Marlee and I put the girls to bed while our Hubbies went and got cold stone for us.
Friday morning we woke up went on a run...Yes we went running on our vacation. My sister Marlee was there. Do you think she would have had us miss out on a day to exercise...NOPE! It was fun though. We ran on a path, on the beach by the hotel. While we were running there were sea otters that were swimming along the side of us. After the run we went to the ZOO. For those of you that haven't been there its HUGE!! Paige was so excited to see all the animals. When we got there we first rode the little bus/train thing to find out where things were and what we all wanted to see. Then we started our hike. Paige did so good. I was worried about her and her nap but when she got tired she said," Mommy I want to take a nap." so I gave her her favorite blanket and she curled up in the stroller and slept a couple hours. It made the day so much better b/c I had a happy child. It got pretty tiring even for the adults at the zoo but after our lunch we got rejuvenated and continued on. It was a good day. Our favorites animals were the Bears: Panda & Sun bear; the Monkeys, elephants and giraffes. We were sad the polar bear exhibit was closed but we got to see those at sea world. But our all time favorite were the Gorillas. There were amazing to watch. After the Zoo we went to a Yummy pizza place requested by Marlee and then went to the beach. The water was so pretty. I wanted to get a closer look with Paige...and ended up getting really wet. It was so so so cold. But made it for a good laugh. Everyone had fun making fun of me. We also got Frozen Yogurt that night again...yummy! I think eating is one of Garets and mine favorite things to do on vacation. We love trying new things and eating our hearts out!:) When we got back tot the hotel that night it was still really nice so we got in the hot tub. The weather was beautiful all weekend. We were so lucky!
Saturday morning we got up and went out to eat breakfast. We decided to go back to the restaurant on the Pier. Again...Delicious!! We also got to watch some surfers that morning for some entertainment. It was neat. We then headed back to Sea World. This day was busier then when we came before b/c it was a weekend but we still had fun. Paige again had fun and took another good nap. It was really just amazing to watch all the animals interact with humans. I had to remind myself that they are animals...and somewhat wild. At Seaworld my favorite thing was of course was the Shamu show. This also was Paige's. To this day if you mention Shamu Paige puts her hands together and starts yelling, "Shamu Shamu Shamu" while raising her hands up and down. Its so funny!" She also carries our tickets around still and says they are her shamu cards. I am glad she had fun. We all had a blast. After Sea World we went over to see the Temple. It was so beautiful. We really wanted to do a session and had actually planned on doing one while we were there but, the temple was closed the week we were there. Not good timing on our part. I am glad that we got to see it though. Paige has this fascination with temples but wasn't as excited to see it as I thought she would be. I think she was pretty worn out from all the other weekend events. For dinner that night we ate at a Mexican restaurant that was again recommended by aunt Jan. Again...so yummy!
Sunday morning we woke up and went to church ate lunch and then headed home. We had a great time! It was a long trip home. The girls again did really good. It was nice to sleep in our own bed that night when we got home. We had a wonderful time. Thanks Marlee and Spencer for playing with us all weekend, and thanks Garet for making it possible!!
K now here's the pictures:

Marlee, Madison, Paige and Spencer on the Balcony of the Hotel. Poor Spencer could take a break from work but couldn't take a break from his school. He is such a good sport!

Our silly family on the beach

Amanda, Garet, Marlee, Paige, Spencer and Madison, waiting for a show at Sea World

My favorite show!

Garet, Paige, Amanda, Marlee, Madison, and Spencer. ( Just before going on the bus tour and the Zoo. ) This is a picture of a picture that the Zoo took. Garet and Spencer were so embarrassed that I took this picture of a picture instead of buying it from them. :)

Paige and Mom looking at the fish...love that grin!

Paige doing her best to make monkey sounds. FYI it helps if you get your hands by your mouth

Some weird animal. This zoo really had all kinds. It was very interesting.

Paige on the baby elephant. Of course this is fake but she sure loved watching the real ones.

Our traveling clan: Amanda, Paige, Garet, Marlee, Madison and Spencer.

snow

For the past couple months the people in the Gila Valley have been praying and fasting for snow and rain. Well Heavenly Father answers prayers. It did snow and its still raining. I love the rain in Arizona. Nothing smells better then after the rain in Arizona. Its so refreshing. Well when it snowed we took a day to go up to the mountains with the kids. It was so much fun. Next time we go we'll make sure we have warmer clothes for Paige but it was fun while it lasted.


Isn't it pretty


The girls!


The cute little girls! (Katie, Kylee, and Paige)



Renee and I stayed with the little girls and went down "little hills' here is Renee getting ready to slide down with Katie


Paige and I...Paige not sure sure about this.


Yeah Paige didn't like it to much! (I think she was cold) :)



The boys decided to make snow angels and bury themselves after tubing down some hills. (Jacob, Reed, and Carson)


Kylee after she made it to the bottom.


Paige and Katie liked drinking their hot chocolate much better in the car once they got to cold.


Renee, Garet and Jared enjoying some hot chocolate. It was so yummy!


Jared like the hot chocolate too.


Jacob, Carson and Reed


Garet and I

Hello Again!

I can't believe it has been over two months since my last post. Very over due...Sorry! So much has gone on, and I want to be able to post all of if for journal purposes. So if you don't want to look at ever thing I understand. We had a good holiday season. I am sorry that we didn't get any Christmas cards out this year but, we really do love you all and hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. But not only did we miss the Christmas Holidays..we also missed Thanksgiving so again I hope you had a good Thanksgiving.



Thanksgiving was spent in thatcher. We had a great time with family and enjoyed lots and lots of food food.



These are just random pictures before Christmas. Paige loved Santa and got tired of waitingy in line and cut everyone. She went right up to him gave him a big hug and sat on his lap. It's a good thing all the older kids were the kids she cut. She also did so good with our Christmas decorations. She never ever played with anything. She was fasinated though with baby Jesus and loved looking at him.




These are pictures from the little Goodman Christmas party we had. Almost everyone was there. We of course had great food, and a fun program. Most of the kids took part in the program doing some kind of talent. They all did a good job. It was really fun being together.




Now we have Christmas eve. Again great food. It cant be the holidays if you don't have awesome food. We also had a very cute program/nativity. Paige was very proud of her role and did a good job. I was surprised that she was so still and played the role. We also had to take pictures in our Christmas jammies.



Next Christmas morning. Paige was so much fun. She loved her kitchen from Santa and loved opening presents. It was a good day.



Then between Christmas and new years we got to go to duncan where my mom grew up. It was my favorite place to visit when I was younger. I loved playing on the farm and loved being with all the family. Grandmas was the place to be. Paige loved the cows and tractors. She wasn't so sure about the cotton seed. It was so much fun having paige relive some of my memories.

Its Autumn Time, Its Autumn Time, the Leaves are falling down!

I love the changes of seasons. I love the spring, the summer, the winter and the Fall. I love the fall because it gets a little cooler outside. Not to cold that you have to wear a huge jacket but cool enough that you aren't hot if you wear pants. (at least this is how the falls are in AZ) What I really really love the most about fall is the changes in the leaves. Here in Arizona we don't get all the cool color changes in the leaves like we saw in Texas...but we'll take what we can get! :) Anyways we have a nice Apricot tree in our front yard and it is starting to loose its leaves. We also have a huge tree in the back...don't know what kind and it is starting to loose some of its leaves. The back yard...not that impressive but still fun!

The front yard!

Aren't the leaves pretty?
Well that led to....

This...

And this...

And this! The girls had a good time!

(girls= Paige, Kylee-my niece..and me -I had fun watching them.)

This all reminds me of a song we sang last year in primary... (sing Popcorn Popping)

"I looked out the window and what did I see?
Leaves are falling off the apricot tree!
Fall has brought me such a nice surprise,
leaves are falling right before my eyes.
I could take an armful and make a bed,
a big leaf pile just to rest my head.
The wind begins to blow, and I begin to see—
leaves are falling off the apricot tree!"

Halloween Fun!

We had a great time this halloween! Paige loved her version of carving the pumkin, and loved getting dressed up, and loved the concept of Trick or treating! I actually felt like this year was for her and not just for us...yes I know I still had a blast showing her off in her costume...Come on though..she is just to dang cute!

Cookie decorating with the Haymore Family. Girls and kids decorated, all the boys went to College football game! We all had a blast!

These were the kids that were interested in the decorating! They did a good job as you could tell from the picture above!

Pumpkin Carving with the Goodman family! It was so much fun. After the carving we ate carmel apples...and had more apples than we could eat. It was great!

Even after watching everyone else carve their pumpkins, Paige just wanted to color hers!

Paige playing at the Halloween Library Reading Day

Katie and Paige with the Library Ghost. Paige wasn't feeling good that day but she still had fun.

Paige..pre sugar high! She was being silly playing on grandma Haymores hay pile! :)

Our little family...Garet and I were lame. No costumes....NEXT YEAR!!!

Aunt Megan with all the grandkids and their costumes.. We have "Men in Black, 70's chick, super girl, a poodle, a skunk, a ladybug and a workerman." (we were missing one ladybug)

Paige and her Ladybug twin Madison...aren't they so cute!!!

Big 2 Year Old

On October 13 my little girl turned two years old. She loves birthdays and was so excited that it was going to be her birthday. She got the biggest smile on her face when ever we told her happy birthday. I was happy for her b/c she was so happy but a little part of me was a little sad. I couldn't believe and still can't that my little girl is two years old. When a baby is born you start off by saying, "my baby is 1 week old, 3 weeks old..and so on." Then you reach a point than you say "my baby is one month, two months, 6 months, 18 months old and so on." I got really sad the night before Paige's birthday as I realized that she will just be 2 years old now. She is officially no longer a baby. She is my little toddler, my little girl!
I think Heavenly Father makes each age so much fun though, to make it easier on us mommies. If Paige wasn't so much fun I really would be bawling that she is growing so fast. Silly thought I know. Paige is so much fun though and she makes me so happy!

Paige wanted pancakes for her birthday breakfast...her favorite!

Present time..I was surprised, she opened them all by her self.

Paige and her cake

Enjoying ice cream and cake with her cousins!

4 post in one!!

Well it's been about a month since I last made a post and I am happy to report that we are doing good. We still get sad when we think about our little girl Aubrey but we are doing better. We have really tried to keep busy, and I think we have done a good job at that. Here is what we have been up to!! Warning...I have a lot of pictures so if my computer does what I want there will be a lot!!

Garets Birthday

Garets Birthday was last Saturday, conference weekend. We got to go to the Cabin listen to conference and celebrate his birthday. It was so fun to get away! It was so pretty. The weather was great, the company was great, the activities were great and the food was delicious!! What more can you ask for?

It rained on Saturday, and then was really foggy. It was so pretty! Sunday the weather was beautiful!!!

Garet opening up his presents with the help of Paige.

Paige loves birthdays and was so excited it was her Daddy's birthday!

Garet blowing out 28 candles!

Paige enjoying the yummy food!

Mom brought a craft for us to do while the guys were at priesthood session!

Paige playing in the dirt!! She got soo soo dirty! But who cares right??

Paige stopping and smelling the flowers while on a walk.

Kasey drew this picture of the temple in about 5 min on the sidewalk. Paige was amazed! Doesn't it look awesome.

I told Paige that these were pine cones..and she kept calling them pineapples. It was kinda funny!!

Little miss Madi...all comfy for our hike! (doesn't it look like she is saying a little prayer)My Grandpa always says, "Everything taste better when eaten at the cabin." I think that's true but..we also grill out a lot and what is yummier then that? Isn't that a ton of meat?

The gang...minus dad our photographer!

Garet we love you and hope you had a good birthday/weekend. Thanks for all you do. You are a wonderful husband, and father!