Out West! July 13, 2022

 Out west day 2:  Grand Canyon 

Upon a suggestion from a friend we took the Grand Canyon railway from Williams to the park.  The day started with a Wild West show, the train ride, and getting serenaded by cowboys.  

The canyon was amazing!  We hiked just a bit of the southern rim trail.

On the way home on the train, the cowboy actors rode up beside the train and pretended to rob the train.  It was so funny and fun!

Sarsaparilla floats are also amazing.

We explored Route 66.  We made sure to watch Cars before we left, who knew that we would find the characters there.

Grace with the cowboy and his horse before the show.

The cowboys also serenaded us while we were on the train going to the Grand Canyon.

The Wild West marshal caught the kids.

We were tired!  But it was worth it.

Relaxing on the train back to our hotel.

Out West! July 12, 2022

Out west, day 1:  arrival to Williams, AZ

Our flights went pretty well.  The only really stressful things was that one of our flights was supposed to arrive at the same time that our next flight was supposed to start boarding (who planned this?  Oh it was me…).  And all this required a long run through the Chicago O’Hare airport.  Our first flight landed 15 minutes early, I limped/ran and we made it 10 minutes before boarding started!

Once in Las Vegas we had a 3 hour drive that was filled with Disney’s Robin Hood, audiobooks, and pot holes.

We are here, let the adventure begin!

My flight buddy

We found a cute bunny statue in the Las Vegas Airport

Grace's Baptism June 19, 2022

For a long time, Grace has had questions about religion, church, teachings in the Bible.

Around January or February she started to talk about wanting to be baptised.

So she went to baptism classes at church.

She also wrote a faith statement.

Then at our campout with the church at Highland Retreat, she was baptised in the creek.

It was cold!  Here she is in her special towel and in a sunbeam trying to warm up.

Her towel has her name and the date of her baptism on it.  We were able to celebrate with grandparents, aunts, cousins, and lots of church family.  What a special day!
 

Reading June 13-14

 It is the beginning of summer vacation, and the kids still have to read.

However, that does not mean that they can not make reading a little more interesting than it usually is.

The first day they wanted to read outside so they got a blanket, pillows, and umbrella for shade.

The next day they decided to convert the back of our car to a little reading nook with blanket, pillows, and snacks.

I like how creative they are being.

Picnic At The Park June 12, 2022

Great day for a picnic at the park (and a lovely picture opportunity).

 

June Jam June 8, 2022

Fourth Grade June Jam for Glen.

There was lots of dancing.

Such a great day to celebrate the end of the school year with him.

 

Middle School Dance June 3, 2022

Grace was so excited to be able to go to her very first middle school dance.  It was held during the school day as a celebration of 6th grade almost being over.  She had a great time and I was glad that I got to peek into the gym to see her dancing like crazy with her friends.