A weekend in Flagstaff...

Fun with friends, the kids and most importantly, it was 30 degrees cooler!!! I had to pack pants and sweatshirts for the kids. Luckily they still had some that fit since they havent worn them in months!!!!

The best part of camping...SMORES!!!!

Reese wasnt a smore fan...so she went for a chips ahoy cookie...she is her daddys girl!!!!

Reese loved this tree.

Our children LOVE rocks. Needless to say they were in HEAVEN here. At home they play in the landscape rocks. For fun in Flagstaff they made rock piles. And I took toys...silly me:)

My lil mountain climber!!!!

I cant get this pic to turn the right way...but it was too cute not to share. Reese is such a big girl!!!

She kept telling us she was tall

These two are TROUBLE!!!!

My big guy!!!! And by big I mean a few inches taller and one pound heavier than his baby sister. They look like twins now and EVERYONE thinks that they are. I have even had people challenge me when I say that they are not!!!!

HILARIOUS!!!!

On a hike through the woods.

Camping is pretty tough work!!!!

Exhausted after spending all day outside...something we dont do in PXH this time of year!!!

The view from our cabin. I can not even explain how amazing it was to have a giant playground nearby...and the San Francisco Peaks right behind. Keegan cried when we left and said he wanted to live in Flagstaff. He has told me this EVERY day all week too. The kids had soooo much fun!!!

new digs...

Here are a few pics of Keegans new bedroom. He is sooooo excited to have big boy stuff:) We got a great deal on Pottery Barn Kids furniture on Craigslist. You would be amazed how many rich people out there spend thousands of dollars on furniture for their children and redo their rooms every few years!!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!!

We started off the morning with the children's bicycle parade in our neighborhood. The last 2 years we have only been spectators...but in now that we have 2 avide tricyclers we thought we should particpate since this will be our last 4th of July in AZ. All the proceeds of the event went to the Fighter Country Partnership which is an organization that does amazing things for military familes. Even at 8am it was REALLY hot, and since it rained last night there was an added treat of humidity. So, the dry heat was gone and it was just GROSS!!!! The kids didnt seem to mind and we decorated their bikes and then the fire truck (some of you know Kurts feelings about our local fire fighters:) A story for another blog post!!!) lead the way. It was soooo cute and there were tons of kids this year. Bikes, scooters, wagons, strollers etc. The kids rode a really long way...and at the end we stopped into the local market and got red white and blue dougnuts. It was a very cute and fun way to start of the morning.

This evening we will drop Kurt off at work and head to a friends for a BBQ. Kurt is doing 4 flyovers today. At first I washed he was home with us the entire day, but I cant think of anything more patriotic than a a jet streaking across the sky. This morning we were talking to a friend from the base, and a man overheard them talking about Kurt being a pilot. The man was sooooo excited to meet Kurt. He shook Kurts hand and said he always wanted to meet a jet pilot and proceeded to go and get his entire family to tell them all about Kurt. So sweet...and made me realize that we all to often take Kurt's career for granted. I see Kurt in his flight suit every day, and we see dozens of F-16s fly by our house each day also. We are very blessed to live the life we do, and are very humbled by the fact that so many people are so supportive and proud of our military men and women. I am even more proud that tonight before fireworks that Keegan and Reese get to see a flyover and it is thier daddy in the cockpit:)

We hope that everyone has a great 4th of July...and please dont forget to remember those who serve in our armed forces and make our freedom possible.

Two little monkeys....

Keegan and Reese's favorite song is one they learned at the base library...it goes like this...

Two little monkeys swingin from the tree,

Teasing Mr Alligator,

Cant get me...

Along came Mr Alligator,

Hungry as can be,

and he SNAPPED those monkeys right out of that tree.

They sing this soooo much it is annoying...but of course cute at the same time. There are motions thhat go with it so I will have to get some video soon...

Anyway...we finally found a tree in AZ that they can sit in:) Just ask my mom why this was a mission of mine. When I was little I spent most of my free time in the tree in my front yard. My poor kids think giant cactus all around is normal...and the other day when it started rain Reese asked me what was coming from the sky and bonking her on the head:) Just to maintain a realitic persepctive on life we may need to make sure our next assignment is not in the desert southwest!!!!

Enjoy the pics...

Fantasy Land...

This week the kids have been in costume more than regular clothes:)

Here are a few pics of their adventures:)

My lil studmuffin in his flight suit. Keegan has told me that when he is 4 is is going to learn to fly F16's....and when he is 5 he is going to be a Thunderbird. Overachiever just like his daddy:)

Reese looks soooo cute in her flight suit too...but somehow I didnt end up getting a picture of her. whoops:(

I think we might need to head to TX next...not just because we have great friends there but also b.c Reese loves to accessorize any outfit with cowgirl boots!!!!

This is also one of those pics that whispers "daddy is in trouble" in my ear:)

Keegan and one of his ladies:) Sweet Grace is always so welcoming of Keegans affection!!!!

Yes...and wand is a good addition for a fighter pilot:) And yes, I am aware that they are starting to look like twins!!!!!

Once again...DADDY IS IN TROUBLE!!!! This girl can work a pair of heels. She can run in them, ride a tricycle, dance. She did NOT get that gene from her mom who can carely walk like a normal person in flip flops!!!!

My little jedis in training. Amazingly, the light sabers fun did not come to a screaching halt due to tears or injury:) Keegan would tell you that he is dressed up like "Darth Mater" The kiddo loves CARS and he refuses to say Vader!!!!

ACTION SHOT!!!!

FISH FACE:)

So cute. The kids play sooooo well together!!!! The idea of moving makes me sooooo sad...so I have decided to propose to the AF that if they are going to make us move that we get to take all of our friends with us. According to facebook that is just over 300 people:)

UH OH daddy...you are seriously in trouble!!!!! Not good when your little girl can rock a pimp hat!!!!

A little video of the action. This is Keegan and his friend Andrew. Keegan calls him "Annew" which actually kinda sounds like a Star Wars name to me:) He has so much friend with his older, wiser buddy:)

Sadly, Kurt and I have to take full credit for passing on these dance moves (if you can even call them that!!!!) to our poor, poor children:)

more airplanes....

So you would think that a pilots kids would not get excited about airplanes...but our kiddos are still in awe of them. Keegan was begging to go see Uncle Nate's plane the second that he found out that Nate flew a jet here from TX for the weekend.

I feel TERRIBLE that these are the only pics I took of Keegan and his Godfather...but I honestly just enjoyed the weekend and the good company and let go of all ODC tendancies temporarily:)

So, this morning we went to Mesa to say goodbye as Uncle Nate headed back to TX. Keegan learned a new airplane and can now identify the T-38 Talon. I hope he thought the airplane was cool b/c there is a really good chance that daddy might be going to fly this plane in about a year. Not quite our beloved F-16...but it is still pretty cool. There was a students parents there taking pics of their "little boy" taking off and I couldnt help but think back to Kurts first flight in this plane 6 years ago. I thought he was the coolest guy on the planet!!!! As much as we hate to possibly take a break (at least we hope it is just a break) from the Viper, I am thankful that Kurt gets to fly and do what he loves!!!!

It was a nice way to spend Memorial Day morning...going back to our roots and remembering all the people that we have met along the way. Some of those people are not here with us anymore. We are honored to have such amazing and brave friends...and we pray that all the familes left behind find peace in the heroism of their loved ones!!!!

Happy Memorial Day...and we love you Uncle Nate!!!