Snow to swimming in February

Just a week and a half ago we drove up to snow, and today my kids braved the unheated pool in our yard. Hard to believe there is so much to do in Arizona in February!

I know it looks warm, but the water was freezing. I thought they were crazy! Andrea and Jason were the only ones who actually immersed themselves in the water. I thought Jason said it all when he said: "Once my feet went numb, the water didn't feel so cold."

Ashley liked it, especially when Jason took her to the deep end, but her skin was cold to the touch when I got her out!

I know they are smiling, but they are also shivering.

Here's just a couple pictures of the snow in Pinedale, AZ. The kids were SO excited to play in the snow again. We also stopped to see Jason's mom's grave. It was a nice day trip away from the heat of the valley and we enjoyed the day together.

Sandra Day O'Connor

The first graders at Andrea's school did "Tea at the White House" today. Each kid had to pick someone in American history, alive or dead. There was a lot of creativity! Andrea was Sandra Day O'Connor. Here she is with her teacher, who was Betsy Ross.

The 1st graders did a big presentation with memorized parts and lots of patriotic songs, including "God Bless America" and "Yankee Doodle". It was really amazing!

This is Andrea with her best friend McKenna, who was Abigail Adams.

This is her with her class being introduced.

And this was the picture we took before we left for school.

Our little Tyler

So on Sunday as we were getting ready for our 8 a.m. church, I got my scriptures in the case and put them by the stairs to take down. When it was time to go, I could not find them anywhere. So I went without them. When we got home, we had a conversation with the kids that went like this:

Mom: Do any of you know where my scriptures are?
3 kids in unison: No. I didn't take them.
Kara: Maybe Ashley took them. (She thinks Ashley does everything bad that happens in our
house--I know, she is just an easy scapegoat.)
Mom: I have a dollar for anyone that can find my scriptures.
Andrea and Kara as they fun up the stairs: OK!!
Tyler (also running up the stairs): I am looking under Kara's bed!
Dad: I am betting that they are under Kara's bed.

Don't we just love our kids? Tyler didn't get the dollar, but he did manage to make his hiding my scriptures Ashley's fault. Amazing, isn't it?

Daddy Daughter Dinner and Dance

The girls' school had a daddy daughter dinner and dance. The girls were SO excited about. They got all dressed up and had me curl their hair and wore their favorite dresses. Dad even got them some tulips--that made their day even more. They had a great time--they each won a raffle prize that they were excited about. They are already talking about next year.

We did a little photo shoot while we waited for dad to get home!

Recent kid pics

I finally took some photos of my kids. Here is Andrea and Ashley hanging out on the couch.

Tyler wanted to go to school with the girls. He wasn't ready, so this was his compromise. He didn't realize that his preschool doesn't start until the fall.

Kara had a rodeo day at school. The kindergartners really loved it. I think she liked dressing up for the day more than anything--she wore that hat for days afterwards.

Thinking about Arizona

I have been thinking a lot about some of the things I have observed in Arizona. I hope you don't mind my musing!!

1. I have never been in a place with so many personalized license plates! I thought perhaps they were free, but Jason said no way, since they have photo radar everywhere in attempts to raise money!

2. It is actually possible to have a Costco TOO close to your house. I think we have learned that the past few weeks (I feel like I have a love-hate relationship with that store!).

3. Warm winters are actually a really nice thing. I used to think winter grass and summer grass were the dumbest things ever, now I am all in favor of winter grass! My kids are outside every day, some days for hours. I am interested to see how the summer goes though...

4. I wonder who thought it was a good idea to landscape yards with cactus. We walk the girls to school everyday and I am a little tired of telling Tyler "Don't touch that!" Whoever had the idea, obviously didn't have multiple children under 5.

5. There is something to be said about multiple freeways! I love having options when driving across town! We can get to Mesa at least three different ways. I just remember hating the drive to Colorado Springs when we lived in Denver and to Salt Lake when we were at BYU.

I think that is all my musings for now. We really are enjoying Arizona, though we miss Denver a lot! There's an open invitation for friends and family to come stay with us! We'd love to see you!

Our girls

Ashley enjoying some ice cream that her sister shared with her. She actually looks like this with most anything that she eats these days. (Oh we love this stage, don't we?)

This is Andrea and Kara on their first day at their new school!!! They both got haircuts from their cousin Ashley (another Ashley Judd). Kara LOVED her haircut, but they are enjoying school here now (except all day kindergarten, though I am enjoying that).