Aunt Katie + Uncle Adam

I realize this is a little late, but here's more from our trip back east:)

Our first stop on our trip back east was Katie and Adam's house. This was my second visit and Peter and the kids' first. Samantha brought her key that Aunt Katie mailed her and let us in and that's when the fun began! Samantha and Cole were both really enamored with their pets; Julius the cat, Mia the cat and Nona the dog. They really didn't need tv, toys or activities. All they wanted to do was pet the animals and play angry birds on Adam's IPad. We had such a great time!

Nana's

We loved getting to spend time with Nana and Grandpa Francis on our trip back east. We always have a good time when we're together.
Here are a few highlights....
Thanks Nana and Gpa for your generosity, hospitality, and love. We love you!


Swimming at Nana's friend's house. They have an AWESOME
pool!

Chillin.

He knows how to relax!

Playing Uno...our newest "thing". Wearing her USMC
shirt that Gpa bought her!

Samantha asked Nana if she would teach her how
to knit...:)

Bedtime stories.

Salon day with Nana and Aunt Katie! Hair, nails and makeup.
sometimes it's fun to be a girly girl.

Playing a game of baseball on Nana's hill.

Tobagoning up and down the hill. Thanks Uncle

Adam!

Who neeeds snow?

A visit with the Wests

The last stop on our trip back east was to Catonsville, MD. Our good friends, the Wests, moved to MD last fall. We've missed them so much! I still can't believe that they moved just hours from my mom and sister's houses!
Melissa and the girls picked us up at the airport and took us to my sister's house. It was so cute, the kids were so excited to see eachother and the reunion couldn't have gone better. After a couple days at my sisters and a couple days at my mom's we went to stay with the Wests for a night before heading back to AZ. The kids filled their time with fun, we didn't really have to entertain them much-it was great. They played in the basement/playroom for hours, put on "circus shows", "fashion shows", played in the pool, water ballon fights/toss, played house, colored, played uno and just loved "hanging out" together.
AND we got to meet Libby! Maura and Maggie's new little sister. She is so sweet and just such a sweet baby. I didn't hear 1 fuss come out of her sweet self. And watching the kids adore her was so adorable.
Favorite Memories:
~The sleep over portion! Melissa set up a giant air matress in the front rooma nd ALL four kids slept together. It was Sammie and Cole's first official sleep over! They did great. Then Melissa was so sweet to make Cole a special number three pancake for his birthday! IT was fun celebrating together.
~Going to "Opie's" for ice cream and snowballs. So fun sitting outside with cool treats watching the kids run around and play.
~My mom found these cute Best Friends Forever TShits and we took one with us so the girls could wear them. It was SO adorable!
It was such a great visit. Thanks Melissa and Rob for your hospitality! We miss you!

Haircuts

Today was back to school haircut day. I usually cut Cole's hair but today he decided to man up and get it cut with Samantha. I was expecting a little bit of a mind change once we got there but he was excited and ready to roll. He did great and looks so handsome.
Samantha also got a trim, complete with purple flower and "princess glitter spray". I obviously need to go in to the kids hair cutting business, there is serious money to be made in that industry! Wow. :)
Now they are all trimmed and looking great for school!

Ribs

I forgot to mention Peter's favorite part of going to the cabin...my dad got a smoker!

Walker

Samantha has been in summer camps all summer and her last one ended last week so we were finally free to go up to the cabin. It was great to get out of the heat and be with family. We were surprised at how cool and overcast it was. We even got some rain. There was lots of family, lots of food, lots of walks and lots of just realxing. We love having such a special place to retreat to. My dad has memories of Walker from when he was a little boy, I have memories from when I was little and my kids will also have memories. I love that! I hope that they treasure their memories of weekends at the cabin as much as I do. Here's what we were up to...I went a bit crazy with the camera this trip!

~Cousins~

Maddy, Vivi and Sammie.

Walking the road between the cabins.

Samantha and Vivian. Serious concentration.

Cousins.

~The Cabin~

Our cabin.

The mama bird. Her nest was on the porch

with baby birds in it. We had fun watching her all

weekend.

Side of cabin.

The garden.

Arching trees.

My happy girl.

Getting so big.

~Friends~
On Sunday Aaron, Christina, Camille and Diego drove up to escape the mad heat and play in the woods. It was great! Our kids play so well together. We loved having you guys up Avilas!

All of these pictures were taken by Samantha!

Diego saying hi to Wayne's huge dog Con. He is so

friendly.

Christina.

Camille. (This is her "diva pose")

Diego tire swinging like a man (without his shirt-ha!)

~More Tire swinging~

He needs some practice.

Cole loves to swing!

Last summer she wouldn't try it, this year it's

all she wants to do. Funny how things change.

~The Courthouse~

Go up to Prescott for any holiday and you will see the arts festival at the courthouse. It's this big, beautiful square. There are tents with everything imaginable. Food, art, clothing, music, crafts, etc. It's always fun to walk around, shop and people watch.

The Courthouse.

Copper drinking fountains!

Love this.

Picnic on the lawn, first a smooch!

I heart them.

~Fireworks~

We haven't gone to fireowrks for three years and this year we really wanted to go. My dad's friends found this awesome spot in Prescott where we could see the fireworks from afar and not have to brave the crowds. It was great. We had this huge field 'mostly' to ourselves and it was a great show. Staight ahead of us we saw fireworks and all to the right of us there was an amazing lightening storm happening. "Nature's fireworks" as we kept calling them!

Cole loved the fireworks. Samantha, not so much. Maybe next year....sigh.

Grandpa & Grandma.

Waiting for the show to begin.

~Nature~

Hunting for acorns. Samantha wanted to plant

the perfect tree.

This is what time out looks like in the woods...throwing

sticks at your sister's head is a big no no in our family!

~Silly Cole~

~Pink Car Hill~

On the road to our cabin there is a hill called Pink Car Hill. It's pretty obvious why it's named this!