Our good friends Jason and Shelley moved up to Payson a few months ago, and we finally made a trip up to see them over the weekend. Neither Tommy or I have ever been to Payson so it was a real treat to hang out in this adorable, small town for 2 days. The weather was gorgeous and it was so fun to just relax and hang out with our good friends. The boys had a great time also and we are excited to try and make it back later in the fall to see the change in seasons. Hope everyone is well out there! Love you all!
The boys crashed in the car on the way up…Spence and Shelley’s adorable little chateau…Hangin’ out on the porchHenry snaked one of Nolan’s phone toys…I ended up having Shelley hide it because he was obsessed.A bomb went off…Look how adorable these guys are…Us girls…Me and my sweetie…Playing on a tire swing at the park…
This was a famous guy in town…Look at those arms!Jason and his lil’ stinkerWe went to a lake on Saturday and Henry had a meltdown…Mid-tantrum…HAHAHAHAHA!!! I’m keeping this picture to show to his future girlfriends…The happy familySTILL throwing a tantrum…(down in the corner)William was an angel and just rolled with us…Finally down at the water…We decided to go a little further up the trail so the boys could throw rocks in the waterGetting a rideThis little chipmunk was munching on a cheese ballFinally finding a good spotStriking a poseSpence teaching the boys how to skip rocksLook at this view! This was off the road by the lake…
Shelley was SO sweet and bought a surprise cake for Tommy’s birthday. Awwww!Blow it out!The gang!Stopping by the bridge over Roosevelt LakeThe boys taking it in…Roosevelt damThe cutest turds ever
We threw a big party for Will and Grandpa today and had a BLAST! We rented a huge water slide and the kids loved it, of course. We’ve been dying for rain out here…and as luck would have it, the one day we didn’t want it, it decided to rain buckets! It didn’t phase the kids though and they went right back out as soon as the storm passed and continued romping around, so that was good. It was awesome to catch up with friends again and see all the little kids running around. And as always, the cake was beautiful and delicious and topped off a great day of family and fun. Stay tuned…Disneyland is just around the corner!! =)
Look at this thing! 14 ft tall and 2 slides! Wooo!Will had so much fun…it took the mickey out of him trying to climb out of that pool though…Our adopted little brothers from the gym…Mike and GustavoMatty and MichelleRocky and Melissa – Tommy works with Rocky and that’s how we met these guys…Ok…look at this storm about to dump on us…what the heck!!?Jack, Grandpa, Dianne and Moe hanging out…Getting their grub on…Williams lips were purple but he refused to go inside…Look at that cloud! Good grief…Missy and Chad…next door neighborsMichelle, Bailey and Blanka – Blanka was one of Ann’s good friends and we haven’t seen her in a couple years…Moe and Dianne – LOVE these two…So adorable and sweet…Me and Mama MissyI decorated the kitchen with pictures of Grandpa and Will – it turned out really beautiful…
Getting ready for the cake…
Here I am explaining to everyone how we met Grandpa and why he’s so important to us…Ok, look at this cake…It’s the house from the movie UP. Isn’t it beautiful!!? I couldn’t believe how good it turned out =)We didn’t put too many candles on it…84 would be WAY too much. Haha.Happy Birthday!!William blew out the candles early…turd.
Birthday boys with their cake…Tommy did a fabulous job cutting it…I didn’t think we’d have enough, but we ended up having a ton!! Oh darn. =)
Look at this cutie…And this one too!! =)Grandpa enjoying his cake…This thing had to weigh a good 25 pounds…crazy!
Eric describing a boulder problem…Jack and Grandpa are sad they can’t fit more cake in their bellies…After the storm…Willow getting some walking sessions in…This is Shelley’s little boy, Nolan. He’s so cute…The Henry Monster!!He had so much fun…Getting ready to go airborne…
Kiddie pool!
Nolan getting used to the water…Trudging up the ladder…Look at that crazy kid!Me, Gus and MikeTommy and the boys…Me and JosieBlanka, Grandpa and Jerry…Opening presents!
Grandpa got Will an adorable Wildcat hat…We love you Grandpa!
We decided it was time to get William to the ocean so we booked a trip a couple months ago to visit our favorite beach in California – Coronado. The island is absolutely beautiful and the array of native trees growing everywhere is amazing! I wish I would have taken pictures of them all! We had a wonderful time and the boys had a blast, of course. =) The weather was no hotter than 85 degrees which is obviously a huge change from the 106 degrees we drove back to. The good news is that monsoon season is here and we got a little rain today. Hooray! Hope all is well with everyone and you’re enjoying your summer wherever you are. Love ya’s!
Driving past the red sands right after the border. This place is so cool and vast.Got there around 3pm and took the kids to the inlet and chased birds! It was hilarious!
First morning up…we got upgraded to a suite with a living room and a kitchen. It was awesome!Tommy drinking his coffeeOur bedroomOur cute little kitchenWilliam making his way to our beach spot…
Getting ready to run to the water!!Will was a little scared at first…he wasn’t sure what the heck to think!Even though Henry’s already been to the ocean, he was a little hesitant as well…Baby steps…Will insisted I hold his hand…And would NOT move when I tried to coax him out…Henry meanwhile kept running away…And Will decided to join himWaiting for me to come get him…And haul him out to get wet!
Look at that cheeser!He loves it!
Time to be buried!
This was the next day – they were freezing cold and so we completely buried them to warm them up
Wills turn…
Loving itMorning we left…we were snuggled up watching SpongeBob. Haha!
Well, believe it or not, we got to spend another day at the walls before I leave tomorrow and hang out in NM for a week with mom and the boys. I was supposed to go today but Tommy had the day off and I thought we should have one more day of couple time before I bring the boys back in a week. =) It was awesome – went up to a place we’ve never been to before. It’s called Raycreation and the guy who founded it is a really good friend of my boss. So we went out and got on some climbs and they were amazing! Juggy and overhung so our forearms are a little dead, but still so good. No one else was there either and the weather was beautiful! I took kind of a bad fall at the end of the day and boogered up my hip, so I thought we were going to have to leave some gear on the wall, but Tommy saved the day as usual and got it down for us. It was hysterical and I was crying from laughing so hard. We ARE NOT sport climbers anymore! Hahaha. Thank God no one was around to see our antics.
We have a lot of fun stuff coming up soon so stay tuned for more pictures! Hope everyone is well! xoxo
About a 10 minute approach – lots of cool cabins aroundVery green up here and lots of vegetationThis was the first wall we came to…Nice area and always in the shadeBut this is where we were going – upper wall where we could actually climb some stuff =)How cool is this tree?Figuring out which line I’m getting on. It turned out to be the hardest one on the wall and I only made it half way up and took an ugly fall. After that I couldn’t get my head back on. Now I have a nemesis…With one of our draws still on the wall, Tommy came to save the day!Finding a stick for his squid tool. Hahaha!Ok, this could not have gotten any funnier. I didn’t get any pictures because I was dying! Needless to say Tommy was glad I wasn’t able to. =)
So since Henry is out of school for the next month or so, we decided to send the boys up to visit their Oma in NM for a couple weeks. I met my mom and bro in Lordsburg last Friday and then drove back to spend a week all alone with my wonderful husband. Let me tell you, people… what a WONDERFUL idea that was. Now don’t get me wrong, I love my children to DEATH, but they are both at the age where we are constantly nagging them…ALL. THE. TIME. Pick up your toys! Eat over your plate! Get your hands out of your pants! Put your shoes on! William, what’s in your mouth!? Henry, what the hell are you doing in the bathroom!!? Seriously. It never ends. The house always looks like a bomb went off, there are crumbs from something everywhere they go, everything they touch is destroyed and nothing stays clean. Ok, that’s a little dramatic, but STILL. It’s a never ending cycle. So after they left on Friday, I couldn’t believe how quiet it was here. I could hear the clock ticking…the birds chirping…the wind blowing. Wow. It. was. awesome. =) Soooo, Tommy and I decided we had to take advantage of being childless and do something we can never do with the boys (well at this age at least)…head up the mountain and get on a wall!! We haven’t been sport climbing since I can remember! However, we are a little out of practice climbing wise, because we’ve taken a roughly 3 month hiatus from bouldering. BUT…I just had an itch I needed to scratch.
Tommy wasn’t as jonesed as I was to get out to the crags, but I had a specific route in mind that I wanted to try again. It’s a 5.10 at a place called Troll Wall. Really cool area and a perfect place to climb on a hot afternoon. Not only was it wonderfully cool, but it was shaded as well – sooo nice. We got there about 2pm after a good 30 minute hike in. Not too bad actually. What I was blown away by was the size of the wall – after bouldering for so long, you kind of forget the massiveness of the walls. They’re huge and imposing. And we were going to the top! So we got on all our old gear (I actually had to borrow a harness from my good friend – I think I lost my old one!! Boo) and got back to our roots. If any of you are new to our lives, you may not know that Tommy and I fell in love sport climbing together. =) Awwwww. We talked a lot about our memories of first meeting, some of the climbs we did together and how we eventually decided that we were the only ones for each other. How romantic, right!? Yeah, I know. It’s funny how when you have children, you kind of forget how much you love your spouse. Or maybe you don’t? Hahaha! Maybe it’s just me. But we had so much fun yesterday and really enjoyed each others company. It was also lovely not having to worry if one of our kids was falling down the mountain or drowning in the stream. =) Coming home to a house that was CLEAN and QUIET…and then snuggling up and watching a movie together. Awwwwww! I know, I know…some of you are probably barfing right now. Haha! Ok, ok…enough lovey dovey stuff.
I will say that I have been thinking of my boys today…and of course I miss them like crazy. But, I know they are having a great time with their Oma and Uncle Joe, so that makes me happy. But I’m also happy that I got to spend some quality time with my amazing, charming, funny and wonderful husband. I’m the luckiest girl ever!
All of our old climbing gear…a lot more crap than just a pair of shoes and a padIt took us a good while to find our old parking lot up on the hill – we used to make this hike all the timeRose Canyon LakeAll the jabronies come up to fish and hang out hereTroll WallIf you follow the bottom of the cliff, you can see a guy down there belaying his partner…that will give you a sense of the enormity of this wallAnother angleThis is our rope, Charlie. We got him as a wedding day present 10 years ago. =)Tommy getting ready to climb our warm upSee him up there?Getting ready to head up my route – I’m following the crack through that roof above my head – SO funMe and my sweetieDriving home past the Indian in the MountainSee his profile?
