Camping on the Rim

This weekend we went camping up on the Rim (as we call it here in Arizona) with Eric's parents and sister and brother-in-law. We were just a few miles from the town of Forest Lakes, Arizona. Our campsite was literally feet away from the actual RIM! Here are some pics.

Picture at sunset looking out over the rim. (Mike (Grandpa or "Papa" as Graham would say) is taking the picture)

Eric and Adam went on an 8-mile bike ride before lunch on Saturday.

Some trees growing out of a rock. As Eric would say, "They're friends!"

Our view from the campsite. Graham was not allowed in this area. It was a big campsite, so it was actually easier than you might think to keep him from falling off the cliff.

"They're friends!" Two squirrels hanging out enjoying the view.

This was Graham's favorite thing to do while we were there....put dirt all over himself. He also enjoyed the rocks and sticks.

Here's our little camper. I love you, Graham!

Aunt Olivia and Uncle Adam enjoying the weather by Willow Springs Lake not too far from the campsite.

Here is Graham playing with Grandpa and the water.

This place was heaven to Graham. The last morning we were there, Graham walked out of the tent and gasped, then gave a great big smile....as if to say, "We're still here!! I love this place!"

Enjoying the lake. We also did some geocaching around this lake.

This is me "romping" in the Jeep. I got to drive out of our campsite on our way out on Sunday. It was a fun road (or not so much a road) to drive. :)

We had a wonderful time with our family! Looking forward to many more memories with them!!

Toys, Toys, Toys

So Graham is getting older and therefore is liking "older" toys. The other day I put away a lot of his "baby" toys and went to Savers, Goodwill, and IKEA for some good deals on fun toys for our growing little boy. I found two large floor puzzles and a toy toolbox full of tools all for $7 at Savers. Nothing at Goodwill. And at IKEA, I found a train set and a truck with a magnetic crane that picks up shapes. So.....Eric mentioned to his sister, Olivia, that I had gone out to get some toys for Graham to keep his mind learning and growing. (By the way....never thought I would actually go out and buy toys for my son.....there are a lot of things I never thought I would do before I became a mom) Well, if you know Olivia, that's the signal to do some shopping!! She and Uncle Adam came back with a trunk full of gifts. Lots of blocks and puzzles and an aquadoodle! Thank you Aunt Olivia and Uncle Adam! Graham has been having so much fun with his new toys. It's been like Christmas in June for him. (and for me too.....Graham has been able to occupy himself while Mama does some things around the house when necessary)

This is Graham working out with his new foam blocks. (This picture makes him look really skinny....but believe me.....this kid eats!!)

Graham loves his "choo choo". He loves to put the track together and then stick the trains together. It's fun to see how much he can do all by himself!

Uncle Adam and Aunt Olivia.... you have been so generous to us! Thank you and we love you!

Food 101

Lessons about food from Graham....



Vegetables are ok as long as they are fun to eat.


Ketchup is NOT for dipping....it's for eating.

Oatmeal should be eaten with hands....much more efficient than using a spoon.

Stay tuned for more.....I'm sure there will be more.

~Natalie

Vacation in NJ

Over the past week we were in Princeton, NJ visiting our outstanding friends, Angel and John Beeson. Due to a few work circumstances for me, we had to leave on Friday night on an 11:00 flight. As expected, Graham was an angel on the flight to Atlanta because he slept for the entire flight. This was great! He slept in my arms (which he hasn't done in a long time). This made it a bit hard for me to get any sleep because Graham sweats like a pig, and it was cold on the plane so I had all of these little frozen sweat spots all over me where the boy's head was before he would shift around on me. Anyhow, it was great because he was sweetly sleeping and that made the flight much nicer.

When we got to Philadelphia John and their two kids Camille (4.6) and Soren (2.8) picked us up and took us to their house in beautiful Princeton. John is a pastor at Westerly Road Church and they live in a house on the church campus. It is a very nice setup for them, with lots of space and a very short commute to the office (45 second walk). We pretty much dropped our stuff and drove to Staten Island for a BBQ with some other area pastors. Staten Island was pretty nondescript, well, at least the part we saw, which wasn't too much. The adventure came on the ride home when we mistakenly took the Garden State Parkway instead of the NJ Turnpike. It wasn't a big mistake at first because the two freeways are nearly parallel for a few miles until they separate and the Turnpike runs down the west side of NJ (where Princeton is) and the GSP runs down the East side of the state (Atlantic Ocean). After nodding off for a few minutes I was awoken to John saying "Oh, hun you were right, I'm on the wrong freeway". (Angel had asked him 30 minutes ago if he was sure he was on the right road.) In typical Beeson fashion they both reacted with much more humility and compassion than I would likely have done. We found a route across the state and got home in 45 minutes (NJ ain't Texas). A nice tour to finish the day.

We finished the night off in style by playing a board game called Settlers of Catan. An awesome game! Many nights were spent up playing this game, even Natalie (not a game player) was enticed and excited to play every night. Highly recommended.

Monday and Tuesday were unbearably hot- 95-97 with high humidity, so we spent one day at Sesame Place- a water park with a Sesame Street theme with rides and shows for the kiddos. The kids loved it and so did the adults. Tuesday we hung out in Princeton, did the tourist thing around downtown and spent some time wading with the kids in the fountain by the college..... Yes, hippies we were.

Wednesday was beautiful so we went to Philadelphia and made the rounds of all the 18th century churches and burial grounds and saw Ben Franklin's grave and Betsy Ross's house. Great times.

Thursday afternoon we hit NYC for a brief time. We had the most monstrous sandwiches ever at the Carnegie Deli. Then we hoofed it across Manhattan to take a boat cruise from the Hudson over to the east river and back. Beautiful scenery and a pretty funny tourguide too. Highly recommended.

Friday was travel day home, racing through Atlanta airport because of a 70 minute layover being spent on the tarmac at Philly instead of the terminal at Atlanta. We got home around 11pm to a busted AC unit and a 97 degree house. Good times. Amazing how a 6 month old ac unit can be destroyed simply because the circuit board was wired backwards.....

Many great lessons learned from our vacation and subsequent excitement with a hot house, many great times had by all.

-Eric

This newfangled box on the desk

Wow. We're stepping into the information age with a blog! We'll try to keep it updated with some pictures, some stories and news. Not that there's a lot of news out here in the sticks. Anyway, to get everyone on the same page- Graham is now 19 months and is a rambunctious little boy who loves water, cars and his parents. Natalie is finished teaching reading for this school year and has started her relaxing summer by organizing our pictures and frames for me to hang on the naked walls of our house. (Hey we've only been there for 6 months!) Eric is still busy saving water for the Town of Gilbert, and installing the landscape for the backyard. Fun fun.
We'll be heading out to the east coast this week for a nice weeklong vacation in Princeton to visit Angel and John Beeson and the kids. We're hoping the plane ride with Grambo won't be unbearable, but he's pretty flexible so it has a chance to be ok, but its his first plane ride so we'll see. Check back every so often to see what the good word is from us out here in the boonies.