Campfire At Mandy's

We all went to Mandy's house tonight for swimming, a cookout and a campfire!

North Carolina

We made it! Early Sunday morning we got the kids up and on the road for a 3 hour drive to Phoenix. It was a great drive and we made it to the airport right on time. Our flight was fast and easy and before we knew it, we were standing in the airport with Shannon and the kids. Here are a few pics of the kids playing in the back yard and a few with Grammy and Aunt Frances.

I thought Avery's little foot was adorable!

Uncle Chris taught Emi to ride a bike!!!!! She still needs a little help getting started, but I bet she'll learn that part quickly!

Aunt Frances, Zoe and Nick

The kids are thrilled to see Grammy!

Delaney

Delaney was baptized May 9, 2009 by her Sunday School teacher Mrs. Lindsey.

Graduation

Well, my little Zoe is already finished with Kindergarten.  Seems kinda crazy since she just started, but I suppose the year has gone by quickly.

Zoe and Mrs. Harney, her Teacher's Assistant

Zoe and Mrs. Silver, her Teacher

Zoe and McKinley, her best friend

Zoe and Daddy

Coronado Cave

Whew. We are back from a mile and a half round trip to Coronado Cave. I have been wanting to get the family out hiking, but we have had activities going on so far this spring that left little time for anything else. Finally, we made it out to our first hike. The hike up to the cave was pretty rough in places and I was concerned about taking Annie and Zoe. They surprised me! Annie had me on pins and needles the whole time BECAUSE of her confidence. Nothing was too big, no rock to hard to climb over, no steep winding trail too scary. She would have made the trek in half the time had she not had to wait for me! Nick led the way on our trip and did a great job warning us of upcoming hazards. He was followed closely by Delaney and then Zoe. Zoe seemed to think it was a run up the trail. That girl has two speeds, fast and asleep. I tried to keep Annie close to me. Rick and Emi brought up the rear and made sure no one was left behind. At one point we passed a couple and their ten year old daughter who told us they were turning back because it was too tough for them. We weren't swayed from our resolve and made it to the mouth of the cave. Then, the real fun began as we started the 25 feet descent into the cave. It was challenging to manuever rocks and ledges that dropped further than Annie was tall. Not to worry, though, she didn't mind. We lowered her to the next level each time and she kept right on going. Here is a link to the National Park Service website with more information about the cave.  Coronado Cave

Here I am taking a break as we make our way up the mountain.

Nick is King of the World!!

Here we are inside the cave. The flash on the camera illuminates the cave, but we were completely in the dark using our flashlights to see the next step we took.

My little spelunker.

You can see the mouth of the cave where we are heading to leave the cave.

Here we are on our way back down the trail.  The kids wanted to bring back every rock they found.  If you look closely, that was a lot.  We did limit it to one each.