Snowflake Temple

Before we headed home from being up in Show Low for the 4Th...we drove up to Snowflake to see the new Temple. I think it's a few years old now but it's new to us since we haven't seen it. It was so beautiful and up at the top of a hill. We loved all the red rock waterfalls...sooo pretty.

I take so many dang pictures that the kids know just what to do...it's great!

Ashlynn with her cousin Kylee

Ty with his cousin Brandon

4th of July in Show Low, AZ

We decided to pack up and hit the road to get out of this heat so we could enjoy the 4Th! Every year my parents go up to the White Mountains and now I understand why. There was so much to do and so much to see. It was absolutely gorgeous up there and the weather was perfect. We stayed up at a cabin and loved smelling that pine air...so yummy:)We saw a festival at this park by the cabin and stopped to play and eat some dinner.

We heard there was a Rodeo going on and decided to go. We had no clue what a HUGE deal it was and it was so much fun! It was the kids first time and they were eating it all up! People watching was quite entertaining too!

Woohoo!!!! We love John Deere...reminds us of Iowa:)

Here we are at the parade and Ashlynn in her festive dress that Aunt Kirstin got her.

This is what the kids looked like before the fireworks....and then after...love that! What a long and fun day:)

Welcome Home

Today has finally come!!!! My sister Tifani has moved home after all of these years! Jake and her are finished with his dental endeavors and are now going to be working in the real world. Scary I know, but I think they are more than ready to get going. We all went to the airport to surprise them coming off the plane. It was so fun to see her and the kids! Jake is on his way driving back with the moving truck with his dad. Tif and I have been the only ones that have been away from home for years and years due to our sweet hubbies and school:). You can't even explain the feeling of finally being done and being able to move back home. There is nothing like it! It's seriously been over 10 years since my sisters and I have lived in the same state. We are so proud of them and all their accomplishments. We love you Johnson clan and are so happy to have you back!

Memorial Weekend

So I'm finally getting around to posting about Memorial Weekend. Once you get through all of this post you will understand why it took me so long to get it done. I think this takes the prize for my longest post ever! We planned this little trip once we found out that Dave had this weekend off. We went about a couple hours north up to Prescott and it was amazing! We went with Dave's sister and family and our good friends the Bybee's. One afternoon we drove up to Sedona and had lunch. We completely fell in love with the scenery and the view!

The next pics are from Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well. These Indians built their homes up in this mountain so many years ago. A few miles away was where they built this irrigation system from this well to get water. It was amazing how these people lived back then. The well was beautiful and we were able to hike all the way to the bottom with the kids.

We went to Out of Africa one day and left there feeling like we had really been there. It was totally rugged and dirty. It had so many animals it was crazy! We got to go on a safari ride and giraffes would come right up to us and we fed them! I even held a biscuit in my mouth and fed this cute giraffe twice. The first time I didn't feel anything when he grabbed the biscuit. The second time it felt like he licked my face off. I couldn't even open my eyes. I don't have the pics of that yet but I will, thank goodness for Spencer and his camera shots! We had so much fun though! The kids helped carry a python snake and we saw a tiger slash show. It's like sea world's version of Shamu but with tigers. I know, crazy huh! They were jumping all over the place! It was fun!

These kids are so cute together...you can't break them apart!

This was Dave and Spencer the whole time pretty much...taking pics and filming:) I couldn't resist taking this of Dave is front of that sign...so funny!

My new BIG friend that I got to know really well!

It was such a great weekend and we can't wait to go back up there. It was gorgeous and so quiet. Good times!

An afternoon Surprise

Things around our place have been a bit hectic...chaotic...crazy...insane...stressful...you name it we've felt it. It got to a point with Dave and I that something had to be done. So I planned this little surprise night away with out him even knowing. A big thanks to Kirsten and Brian...they watched the kids for us while we went away! Dave got home from work and he was totally drained, sitting on the couch catching up on some ESPN. I asked him to go with me to run some errands for Ashlynn's bday party. That did not excited him one bit and he didn't understand why I needed him to come. Dave was really making it hard to surprise him and he didn't stop there. We got in the car and I told him I wanted to drive because he always drives...he didn't like that. He started asking questions and said I was acting really strange and I probably was. He basically wouldn't be quiet about the whole drive. I told him we had to go to this special party store for some things. I'm a bad liar, he could see right through me but still didn't have a clue what I was doing. I got lost so I had to pull over and let him drive to our destination with out him knowing what it was. He made this so hard for me! Finally when we got there we pulled up to this hotel in Scottsdale and he was really puzzled. He thought we were parking to go to dinner or something. I told him to pop the trunk and he saw our bags and it clicked that we were staying there for the night! Oh I swear...I love this man but sometimes he can make things so much harder than they need to be. You should have seen the look on his face...he was so incredibly happy to get away and be with only me. It was great!

We walked around Scottsdale, went through art galleries, went to the botanical gardens, and enjoyed a yummy dinner at a Italian place that we love. Basically went to places that we wouldn't take our kids to because they would be touching everything! There was a "Chihuly Glass" showing there at the botanical gardens. It was amazing to see all of this colorful blown glass. It was hotter than sin that day but we dealt with it and had a great time. It was a much needed getaway and something we need to do more often to keep us sane. You gotta love priceline when you can get a really nice hotel and bid your own price for peanuts! It was so fun keeping this from him, I knew we were going about a couple weeks before and I didn't say a word...so proud of myself! I told him that it's his turn to surprise me now and whisk me away somewhere. Hopefully it won't be too long...we will see:).