Saturday, July 11, 2009

Alex and Ashley's Wedding

Congratulations to the bride and groom, married July 6, 2009. After the wedding was a yummy dinner and dancing. We all had a great time dancing, but unfortunately, I only have shots of the kids. Adults dancing would have been way funnier. In fact, I realized after I got home that I didn't take half of the shots I would have liked to. I wonder if it had anything to do with that 17 month old boy that I am always chasing after.
Wyatt and Teamon seemed especially into the dancing, especially during Michael Jackson's Thriller.
We tried and tried to get all the cousins to pose for pictures, but Adam was super uncooperative. He was actually screaming in every single one I took, which you can't see in this one below because his head is down. Too bad my camera doesn't do video/audio, although maybe that's not something I actually want to remember.
We love our family and love spending time all together. We are grateful for the opportunities we have to make these memories.

Sedona

Sedona, Arizona is a really beautiful place. The scenery is just amazing. I am not a fabulous photographer by any means, so my pictures don't really do it justice.

Monday morning before the wedding we went to Slide Rock State Park. You would sit on the rocks in the creek and the water would push you down, like a natural water slide. Here's Claire on the slide.
Megan was so hesitant to try the slides, but once she tried it she didn't stop! The water was shockingly cold, so most of the adults only tried it once or twice.
Ashlyn is the brave one. She did the slide first of anyone, and jumped off the cliffs with Aunt Allison first, too.
Craig took Carly down. I think she was glad she tried it afterwards, but she wasn't too happy during. By the end she was clinging on to Craig's neck with what looked like a death grip. I think her reaction was more related to the water temperature than anything else. She even insisted on jumping off the cliff with Craig, too. She just has to do whatever her big sisters do.
My camera battery died while at the park, so I didn't get any pictures of the cliff jumping. We had a great time.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Grand Canyon

On our way down to Arizona for Alex and Ashley's wedding, we stopped at the Grand Canyon with Todd, Lisa, and the boys. We went to a few different viewpoints for pictures and saw the sunset on the first day. We were there on the 4th of July, and it just happened that we ended up at a good old fashioned barbecue/4th celebration at the local trailer park/campground. We had a great time, and it sure beat McDonald's.
We hiked along the rim on the second day for about 2 miles, which was about all the kids could do, even with strollers. Thank goodness for the free shuttle buses that go all over inside the park. After a picnic lunch and some Navajo Indian jewelry shopping, we headed on down to Sedona.


June Catch-Up: Florida Reunion

We spent a week at the end of June on Florida's Gulf Coast with the Hoffman/Henderson family. Craig's grandparents live in Bonita Springs on the beach. The girls had a fabulous time all week with cousin Mariela, who lives in Arizona.

Quite a bit of time was spent on the beach, as opposed to in the water, because the water was uncharacteristically rough. Grandpa Clawson said he had rarely ever seen the waves that big.





































We worked on a 1,500 piece puzzle all week, which we glued, mounted, and gave to Nana Clawson. We stayed up until 1:30 am our last night there to finish it. Of course, Craig hid the last piece so he could be the one to put it in!


The kids had fun seeing the ventriloquist perform at Mel's Diner.



One of the week's highlights was a "talent show" put on by all the cousins. The girls did a dance, Mariela sang with Carly, and Wyatt and Teamon even had parts. They set up an "auditorium" on the lanai, complete with assigned seats, tickets, and reminders to "Please turn off all cell phones, and no flash photography." Aunt Lorie helped out as the music technician/stage hand.



Even though the water wasn't great for swimming, the waves made for excellent boogie boarding. In all, I think at least 6 pairs of sunglasses were swallowed up by the rough water, never to be found again.

I didn't get my camera out too often because Buzz always had his out. I'm sure he'll send me a disc with all his photos. It was definitely a memorable week.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

June Catch-Up: Dance Recital













I have posted before about Ashlyn's dance, so now it's Carly's turn! Both of the girls had a recital June 9th. Carly just danced in this recital since she is too young for competition. Her number was called "Strawberry Shortcake." The little ones are so cute dancing, and Carly has a lot of personality when she performs.