Cabin Time!

We were able to spend a weekend up the canyon in a family members cabin. It's been a tradition ever since I was a little girl and something I've always looked forward to. And now my own kids get to look forward to the very same thing! It's just fun to spend time with family, play with the cousins, eat, enjoy nature... hikes, fishing, and even snowmobiling (if we happen to go during the winter).

Brynne was brave enough to teach the kids how to do friendship bracelets. They LOVED it!

One of the things that is most fun for me is seeing how much the kids love being together. They always have a BLAST!

~*~ Cousins... Sisters... Best Friends Forever ~*~

The kids had a great time fishing

But we didn't catch a thing =(

We celebrated Gabbi's Birthday while we were all at the cabin. It was great having everyone there to wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

And I finally finished her quilt! And gave it to her for her birthday =>

We also passed the time playing catch and frisby

And kickball is always a favorite!!!

But I think the kids love JEEP RIDES the best!

Especially when Brad's driving... the kids are lucky to still be in the truck when they get back! But that's what makes it so much FUN!

We all had so much fun! On my Facebook page I posted videos of the kids doing their glow stick dance. You'll have to check it out... it's really CUTE!

Love Those 80's!

During Red Ribbon Week at school, they always have a different "theme" for the kids to dress up in for each day of the week. One day was "Wear Red Day" and "Crazy Hair Day" then "Pajama Day"... and one of the days was "80's Day". My girls came home from school and asked what "80's Day" was. How sad... an era that I GREW UP IN is now a dress-up day!!!

At least I had fun dressing them up. And some of the stuff is actually back in style (or at least is similar) like the BRIGHT colors and we even found the jelly bracelets that we use to wear up our arms. I even crimped their hair... they LOVED it!

Isn't it funny how fads come and go... and come back in style again? It got me thinking of how much I really LOVE the 80's... ok, so the big poofy bangs and punk mohawks weren't that great, but there are some things that I really loved. Like the cartoons...

Yes, even the BOY cartoons... I have brothers, so I had to watch those too.

I know they've re-done a lot of these cartoons now, but they just aren't the same. Then there were the TV shows... "Punky Brewster", "Family Ties", "Charles In Charge"... Yep, I grew up on those too. Oh the GOOD OL' DAYS... when things were simpler, and we didn't have a care in the world. Maybe that's why I miss it???

Christmas on The Rez

Christmas came early to the Dawg House this year!!! The day we were leaving for Arizona, (Sat. the 23rd) the kids woke up to Santa's presents under the tree and a note from him saying the elves told him we wouldn't be home for Christmas so he brought presents early. They were so happy! Don't ya just love those elves? :)

We haven't spent Christmas with Duane's family since BEFORE we had kids! So, it was nice to be with them for the holidays. And the kids were out of school for a few days so we took advantage of that and stayed til the New Year.

Derek and Deion were "joined at the hip" the whole time we were there. Wrestling, playing games, playing outside, even just watching TV they were RIGHT by each other.

The kids absolutely LOVED being with their cousins. We didn't even here from them most of the time we were down there... they were all entertaining themselves together. And it was warm enough outside that they were working on their treehouse a lot of the time.

Tamia, Gabbi, Gracee, Halle

Mia, Gabbi, Jocelyn, Halle

On Christmas Day we drove around visiting family we haven't seen in a while. It was good to catch up and see how much all their kids have grown. "Elephants Feet" is only a couple miles from Duane's moms house... I've always wanted to stop and take pictures there, but never did til now. The kids thought it was pretty cool.

One of the days, on our way to Flagstaff, we stopped at Wupatki Pueblo National Monument. Pretty cool!

Derek's lookin for Bucks

We also stopped to see Sunset Crater Volcano. Gabbi was pretty excited about this because in her school class they had just learned all about volcanoes.

The day we left was a sad, sad day. Kids were cryin, not wanting to leave. I was crying because of the long drive ahead. =) But, we made it, safe and sound... thanks to Duane's safe driving, Derek's CD Mix (ACDC-Back in Black, Michael Jackson-Bad, Lady Gaga-Poker Face, Kung Fu Fighting & more) and the girls' Justin Beiber CD. We stopped at Cabela's on the way home too.

We had such a WONDERFUL time. I'm blessed to have married into such a great family.