A New Cut

Last night at YW's, the Laurels visited Sis. Ortiz's salon. She cuts my hair and always does a fabulous job. Last night she was teaching the girls how to take care of their hair, and even gave some of the girls a haircut. 

Leigh got her bangs done. Very CUTE Leigh!

TRAINS

A typical afternoon with Jace.

Playing trains.

BYUH vs. GCU

 BYUH Basketball men and women's team came into town. Being so far aware from home, we wanted to go see some familiar faces. 

 Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go, but Randy definitely took the kids. The game was held at the GCU's arena. The kids were in awe of the huge arena. 

Randy and the kids were able to say "hi" to Bro. Akina. He happens to be the BYUH Women's Basketball team. He is in the bishopric in our Kahuku 1st ward back in Hawaii. 

It sounded like everyone had fun, even though BYUH lost. Wished I had been able to go, but glad the kids and Randy were able to enjoy themselves. 

GO SEASIDERS!!

Wildlife Encounter

Turns out, you don't need to be out in the wild to encounter wildlife. Came to a stop sign, turned my head to the right, and this is what I saw. 

Crazy huh!

President's Day - A Geocache Hike

We weren't sure what to do for President's Day. We didn't have any plans, but wanted to do something. We headed back out to the White Tanks again, but this time, we decided we would try to do some geocaching while we were out there.

The kids were game. We grabbed our water bottles and headed out. We picked a trail different than the last. 

 We found the first geocache pretty quickly. Leigh was the one that found this one.

It wasn't a strenuous hike. It was more of a hot walk.  

 Along this trail, they do have these posts that list the wildlife that are in the area. Isn't this comforting?

Good thing it's still not warm enough.

Still choosing not to walk. Still choosing to carry him. 

Here's another post. Mountain Lions. Lovely. The kids were actually hoping for an animal encounter. I need to remind them that this is not animal planet.

Desert landscape. I imagine this whenever I read about the wilderness in the scriptures. LOL! 

 We took a different trail for our second geocache. This hike was a little more fun and scenic. When we reached the spot for the geocache, it was kind of hard to find. Micah, with his geocache talent, was able to find this one. 

Here's there animal encounter. Along with the geocache, the kids found a lizard. I think they were more exciting about that. 

Micah and I on the way back down from our geocache-hike.

 A view from our trail.

The older ones ran ahead of us. Crazy kids. They loved the hike by the way. It was followed by a nice relaxing evening at home with ice-cream cones for dessert. I heart my family!

Happy LOVE Day!!

We try to celebrate all the holidays around our home. Some we do better than others. Some years, we do better than others. This year's Valentine's was a good one.

I had gotten treats for the younger ones to prep and take to school for their friends while I was at work. I came home to find a Valentine save for me in the fridge from them. 

So sweet.

 Randy was good this year. I actually got my gift a few days before Valentines. Some cute jammies to keep me warm at night.

I wasn't as on it this year (ashamedly). I just got him a card.

After getting into my Valentine jammies, I took a nice post-work nap. When I woke up, these had arrived. My mom had sent me some (much needed) chocolate to congratulate me on completing my training at work. 

 I quickly scarffed down a couple of chocolates and headed out the door with Jace for some Valentine's fun for him. We got together with some ladies from church for a little Valentine exchange for the littles.

It was cute.

It's fun watching Jace learn all the fun holiday traditions.

Finally, the evening came and my Valentine and I got to go out. I wasn't feeling to well, so we went for something light and hit the Japanese restaurant in town. It wasn't the same as the food we get in Hawaii, but it wasn't bad at all. 
Unfortunately, my Valentine's Day did not end well. Turns out, I had caught the stomach bug that had been plaguing Jace a couple of days earlier and all my Japanese cuisine made a reappearance. Hopefully, your Valentine's did not end up as "unexpected" as mine.

Willow Canyon Ward Blue and Gold Banquet 2013

Tonight was the Blue and Gold Banquet for our Willow Canyon Ward. 

 We had a sick baby, and other kids who had homework, so tonight it was just Randy and I accompanying Micah for the night.

Micah and Randy trying to solve the puzzles. Micah loves puzzles, so he actually worked on that and didn't mind going last to get his food.

The Bear Den after receiving their awards.



Tonight Micah earned his Reading and Writing Belt Loop and two progress beads. He's been working hard on his Cub Scout handbook.

At the end of the night, guess what they handed out?

Pinewood Derby Cars!! 

Here we go again.

Air Hockey Anyone?

Our family here in AZ, the Griffins, bequeathed their air hockey table to our family. We were more than happy to accept it. It was used and needed a little love, but nothing Dad couldn't fix.  In fact, this has been his project all week. I'm just sad I didn't take pictures of him and the kids working on it.

 

As you can see it is being enjoyed by all. Jace doesn't let height stop him at all. He just adjusts.

Look at the shot! He's a natural. Let's take a closer look.

Such great form. I wouldn't want to be on the opposite side of him. LOL! He loves this game. It's simple enough for him to play.

Micah being a good brother and humoring Jace with a game before school.

Thanks Griffin family!!