Meredith's Birthday Party

Meredith is 11 years old! Where did the time go?!

We rolled out the red carpet!

This was a Hollywood party! So there were stars everywhere!

Here is Meredith's cake:

Meredith is blowing out her candles. Actually, I think she is enjoying everyone singing to her!

We put a log in the firepit and they sat around and talked...one of them is boy crazy and so the big topic of conversation was boys! NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!


Poor kitties...they wanted to come out and play...but they had to stay inside.
Meredith and her friends had a good time. After they were done with the fire pit they went inside to play video games and eventually they went to sleep.

Stephen and I survived Meredith's first slumber party.

First Days of School...

Meredith started school Tuesday...here are some pictures of her on her first day. I can't believe she is in Middle School!!! They have a strict dress code. Pants and a collard shirt.
Here is one with her and Devin...Devin still had another day before he started school.
Here is a fun picture of the kids' shadows...

Devin started school the next day. He is in the second grade. Here he is on his first day:

They both seem to like their teachers. Devin's teacher has a lot of energy, and that is important when dealing with Devin. He can exhaust you he has so much energy!!!

The Children's Museum...

...is one of the coolest places EVER!!! The weather was stormy outside...so we decided to play inside. Here is a picture of the clouds coming in:

Here are Meredith and Devin making sand dunes by taking wind and moving it in different directions:

Here are some more pictures of the kids having fun:


Here is a map of the Rio Grande River. It runs right through Albuquerque.
Aiden hung out in the stroller and enjoyed watching all the people...


But he got tuckered out and fell asleep...

Meredith defied gravity and went for a ride on a bicycle in the air...



This is so cool...this is the elevator! Please forgive the blur...

We had fun with colors...in the following pictures are shadows of the stroller and Meredith:


Devin was having great fun playing with shapes and patterns on the computer:
There was so much to do, and so much to see...we had so much fun. I think this might be a regular place for us to play!

Our Trip to Arizona and the Grand Canyon

Finally! I finally have a moment...

So, last Thursday Stephen, Aiden and I went to Flagstaff, AZ to get Meredith and Devin from my parents. It was so nice to see the kids, and I didn't want to let them go! I swear they grew a couple of inches while they were away.

We had dinner at a great restaurant/ brewery called Beaver Street Brewery and Whistle Stop Cafe: http://www.beaverstreetbrewery.com/ . If you are in the Flagstaff area, I highly recommend it!

The next morning we got up early, said goodbye to my parents and went off to the Grand Canyon. Here is what we saw first:



The other side of the canyon is five to eight miles across, and the depth is about a mile down. It is incredible!

Aiden got hungry, so he, Devin and I raced back to the car so I could feed him. Stephen and Meredith took their time. Here is a picture of Meredith with the canyon behind her. She said standing so close made her nervous. I think I might have been nervous too...

Here is a fun little picture of Devin's beautiful eyes (sorry, just a little biased, right?!):

Here are a couple more pictures of the Canyon:

You can see the Colorado River in this picture. It was taken through glass at the Yavapai Overlook.

After a couple of hours it was time to head home. We had a great time, though, and next time we visit (we are about six hours away) I want to go hiking.

For lunch we went back to Flagstaff and ate at the Beaver Street Brewery again...yum! But when we got there, Meredith was asleep and we had to wake her up.



The drive was pretty uneventful until we hit New Mexico and the afternoon showers were starting. We went through one that produced thunder, lightning, and a lot of hail.

We finally got into Albuquerque after nine p.m. It was very nice to be home and have the family complete again.

The Zoo!

Wow, was it hot today! However, I decided Aiden and I needed to go to the zoo. I am glad we did. It wasn't too crowded, just right, and some of the animals were active earlier on the in the day.

Aiden decided he was hungry right away, so before we started looking at the animals he needed to eat his carrots:


The guerrillas were active this morning chasing each other around. But the Orangutans were quiet and sitting in the shade. I wonder if we were watching this one, or if he was watching us...they aren't the best pictures, but his facial expression was great and he loved the camera. He looked right at me when I put the camera to my face:

Here, Aiden wants to give you a hug...
There are two baby giraffes at the zoo...they are trying to keep cool:
Aiden got tired and decided it was time to nap:

I think the mountain lion had the same idea:

But the African Lions were really relaxed:


The polar bears were trying to keep cool:


By the time we left it was very hot and Aiden was ready to go...I hope you enjoyed the pictures of our zoo trip!