***News Bulletin***

We interrupt this travelogue to bring you some very important news. Aaron has finally purchased a new car. Yes, we will have to sell the 1991 Lexus whose passenger door no longer opens from the outside, whose radio has to be wedged into place with an ice scraper, whose key refuses to open the trunk, who is missing half the door panel, and that looks like it has cancer. Yes, I will be very, very, very sad to see it go. When we were dating, we'd get to the car and Aaron would run quickly to the driver's side, hop in, and open my door from the inside, while I would be standing outside in the snow. I'm afraid I assumed that he just didn't get the whole "open the door for your date" thing. I didn't realize that it wasn't possible to open the door. Ah, the memories. It was a relief when I learned he wasn't just a sweet oaf. So we will be replacing his car with this: A 2009 Hyundai Sonata Limited. Used, but with only 9k miles. Check out the swanky leather interior with heated seats. Now that's luxury. Yes, my friends, your eyes are not deceiving you. That is an open passenger door. It even comes with an owners manual. Talk about deluxe. This is how we change it into the Batmobile. For date nights.

What we did in Flagstaff...Part II

Wednesday: Slide Rock State Park and birthday party I think that this was probably my favorite activity. We could have spent all day here. Slide Rock is located in Oak Creek Canyon just outside of Flagstaff, and the setting couldn't be prettier. It's a fun place to go for all ages: kids can wade in the shallow pools formed by the rocks and adults (or more adventurous kids) can swim in the deeper water, jump off the rocks, or go down the natural water chutes which are as good as any water park. As one person I overheard put it, "This isn't Disneyland. It's REAL!" We ate a picnic next to the creek and completely wore ourselves out swimming. Chelsey, Matt, Jake, Kerry. Katie and her Grammy. See how deep parts of the creek are? I love how Kerry is jumping completely flat-footed. He looks like he was pushed off the rock. The aftermath of Paul's cherry-eating frenzy. Katie and Paul with Grampy. Chelsey jumping off. Boy, was that water cold! Aaron, also jumping. Katie wanted to jump as well, but she decided to stick with something smaller. These little shallow areas were perfect for Averi. She was as happy as a lark. So much fun! Averi was so exhausted by the end of the afternoon that she fell asleep on Matt's shoulders on the way back to the car. I think it was one of the cutest things I've ever seen and I have about a million pictures of it. That evening we had a little birthday party for Katie and the July birthdays (and a little bit for Paul as well, since his birthday is only a month away and we didn't want him to feel left out). Connie got them dressup costumes, and they were beyond thrilled. I can't even think of a way to describe how happy Katie looked. It was absolutely adorable. This is the face. The "you just gave me a pony and he talks too" face. The face again. King Paul knighting Mom. Did you know they made Nerf swords? Neither did I. They're perfect for a naturally violent boy like Paul. Cinderella dancing with the prince. Can you tell that she's seen WAY too many princess movies? She even does the twirl out thing. The prince and Sleeping Beauty. Look, I'm Woody! Howdy howdy howdy! Paul making his pirate growl. Paul narrated all his actions for us that evening. "This pirate will play with you." "This pirate will tie you up." "This knight will dance with you." "This knight will kill you." It was like he was reading stage directions out loud. The little mermaid, but much more modest.

What we did in Flagstaff...Part I

I was skeptical about the idea of spending an entire week (Sunday to Sunday) in Flagstaff. After all, it's quite a small town, so how were we to occupy our time? Fortunately, we came up with plenty to do. Sunday: Drive. Monday: Arizona Snow Bowl and golfing. The Snow Bowl is the local ski resort. They keep one of their lifts running through the summer, so you can ride to the top and picnic up there and hike around. It was SLOW, but very pretty. The kids were thrilled to death! Poor Averi was allergic to something up on that mountain. Her eyes and nose ran the entire time we were there. But she does look adorable in her carrier. Paul waiting to ride the lift. Katie with Uncle Adam and Aunt Julie. Paul with Uncle Jake and Aunt Abby. Eating our picnic. I love Jake and Adam "fighting" over the sandwich in the background. Abby and Julie. Paul looking handsome. In the afternoon the boys went golfing, I stayed home with the kids while they napped and then got completely lost trying to find a grocery store, and the other girls got pedicures. Tuesday: Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monument Sunset Crater is the remains of a volcano that erupted almost 1000 years ago. It's left a lot of very cool lava trails and is a fun little hike for kids. Those two hills are the actual crater. The terrain around here is so cool. It's full of black sand and lava flows. There's a kind of flower (a penstemon, if you care) that's adapted to live here, and it's so well adapted that it can't live anywhere else. Cool, in an extremely nerdy sort of way. Averi's monotooth grin. Aww, look at those cute chubby legs! Paul with Grandpa. Averi's learned to smile for the camera. This isn't her usual smile; she reserves it for photos. Katie in a little lava crevice. Paul and Grandma. This was a little crater full of volcanic rock. Only after we passed this did we see a sign asking people not to play in here. You'd think they'd post it before you got here. I don't feel guilty. Posing. Paul is also posing. Look at those muscles! Don't ask me where his shirt went. I have no clue. Julie, Averi, Adam, Abby, Katie. Katie worn out. After Sunset Crater Kerry and Connie took the kids back for naps and the rest of us went on to Wupatki. Wupatki was the largest pueblo in the area about 1000 years ago (similar time to the volcano eruption; in fact, they found offerings of corn around the volcano, which they assume were meant to please the gods). It's very different from a pueblo such as Acoma, which is still inhabited. It reminded me very much of Urquhart Castle in Scotland. Stay tuned for more of our trip!