Lunch Time

Papa Craig, or as my boys lovingly refer to him as "Papa Crank", had a 4 hour layover while traveling for business. We picked him up from the airport and hit one of our favorite restaurants here, Oregano's. The kids love this place because not only is the pizza AWESOME but they get to play with pizza dough. I am not sure who had more fun, Craig or the kids but as you can clearly see from the pictures, he is not a cranky guy...he really is the most jovial person we know! Logan just had a hard time saying his name when he was younger and the name has stuck. We look forward to our next visit soon!

Our Litltle Backyardigans

It is always a challenge during the summers living in Arizona to stay cool. We don't have a pool so we find other ways to "get wet". The boys had hours of fun in the backyard with a slip-n-slide and using their bodies to bowl. Here are a few shots of the fun our little backyardigans had this summer.

Bike Fun!

I found the boys outside riding their bikes one day coming home from errands. They were so cute, especially with their helmets on (my favorite piece of equipment). It was Ethan's first time on a bike, and he has inherited Logan's old Hot Wheels bike, which he thought was "a cool one"! I immediately had to run inside and grab my camera to capture a few pics. I am trying hard to remember to take as many pictures of Ethan when he does something for the first time as I did with Logan...not sure if I am keeping up that goal but at least trying. I am sure once it cools off around here that you might just see a Jaffie boy cruisin by! Watch Out!

Swimming

Ethan took a few weeks of swim lessons this summer and really improved his swimming abilities. While he is not proficient yet swimming, he made great strides in his own confidence and fun in the water. I am sure if we had our own pool at home, he would be a "fish" by now, just like Logan! But I am sure by next summer he will be an expert with his kick, kick, kicks and swimming to the wall etc. I am so proud of him, and the smile on his face shows how much fun he had!

More Camping Pages...

Here are a few more pages from our camping adventure! There was a lake at our campground, but I think it was the ONLY lake on Mt. Lemmon because it was quite crowded and noisy with people...not such great fishing conditions to catch many fish. The kids still had fun, Ethan was "fishing" with just a rod, no line and he didn't even know the difference. The only thing we caught were some very large crawfish! The bigger kids had more fun with the live worms we had, and even made a habitat for them after we got back to our campsite. I remember doing that as a kid when I went camping...but not so much anymore! After lunch time that day, the kids all went on a rock hunt to find their perfect rock and then they painted them to bring home as souvenirs (and in Bryce's case, his boyscout project-a door stop). We finished our day with more exploring and a traditional campfire, love those sm'ores!

Our 1st Camping Trip!

We finally made our first camping trip this summer! We stayed two nights up on Mt. Lemmon above Tucson with our dear friends, The Ferins. We managed to survive with 2 adults, five children, and 1 one...and lived to tell about it! We had super fun and the kids just loved it, but it was not exactly relaxing. Eddie and I have not been camping since college days, have never camped with small children or be responsible in the wilderness for anyone else other than ourselves. Gone are the days of lounging in the hammock and reading a book all day...aaahhh, someday! The kids had so much fun that they are asking to go again soon, thank you Ferin Family for a fun and memorable first time camping!