Arizona!

For the past 2 years, we have been unable to make the trip to Arizona; so as soon as we made our reservations for this trip, it couldn't come fast enough for me! We stayed for a week at my parent's house and got to enjoy sunshine, pool time, family time, good food and even experienced our first dust storm which forced us to find some new indoor activities.  Overall, it was a great relaxing trip!

Thanks to Arizona Grandma and Grandpa for putting up with our loud, sometimes rambunctious, busy family of five :)

This picture cracks me up...we are on the plane, headed to Arizona.  Josh is sleeping while holding Nattie who is "chewing" on his headphones.  I didn't dare disrupt things since it kept her quiet for a good while :)

Arizona Grandma treated Abi and I to manicures and pedicures - one of our favorite activities. 

Meanwhile, Grandpa, Josh and B headed to Cabellas to check out all the cool "boy stuff"...

Over the next few days it was pretty hot out so we spent a good part of our days at the pool.  The kids had a blast!

Here are a few pictures of Nattie trying on her swimsuits before we left for Arizona. Such a cutie! (Thanks to Ferryboat Grandma for the adorable suits!)

I LOVE her expression in this picture :)

(Sorry about my thumbprint in this picture but it's too cute not to post.)

One of Brady's favorite things to do during pool time was jumping in - often without someone to catch him in the deep end. We had a keep a careful eye on him as he has no fear of the water!

The kids took swimming lessons before our trip to Arizona and it definitely paid off for Abi because she was a much more confident swimmer. I am so proud of her - Good job, Sis!

By the end of our trip, Abi was spending hours in the pool playing with the dive sticks. She would throw them down in the deep end then dive under to retrieve them.

Our Bathing Beauty

Of course, we took TONS of pictures of our baby girl.  Here's just a little sample.

Nattie's first bite of frozen yogurt.  She was a big fan to say the least!

On one of our days, we headed to a local train park, where we met up with Uncle Mike, Aunt Cynth, Colby and Paige who were also visiting family in Arizona. The kids had a blast playing together and watching and riding the trains! 

"All Aboard"

Learning how to become a conductor of one of these little trains.

On the day of the dust storm, we were forced to stay away from the pool so we headed to the Arizona Science Center which had some really fun hands-on exhibits.

Josh and Abi participating in a wheelchair race. 

Laying on a bed of nails.

We spent a good amount of time playing around and laughing at each other at this exhibit...  

We ended the night by eating some yummy BBQ at a near-by zoo/aquarium. The fish and sharks swimming next to us definitely kept the kids entertained during dinner. 

Hope we can make it back to Arizona again soon and create more awesome memories!