White Elephant Parade

In Green Valley there is a local thrift shop run entirely by volunteers called the White Elephant.  Each year the store sponsors a parade and donates 100% of the store's yearly profits to local schools and charities.  The store is only open 3 hours a day and is always packed.  We've had some great luck picking up beautiful furniture pieces for a fraction of the cost and refinishing them.

 Becca, Joey and Carlee watched the parade from the sidelines.

This year Jake and Sara played in the parade for their school's jazz band.  It's always fun to hear them play.  I am really proud at how far both kids have come with their instruments.  Jake has improved tremendously and Sara is just awesome.  She ended up leading out all the numbers with her drum sticks.  Way to go kiddos.

The Halloween Festivities Begin

On Friday night Cindy kicked off our Halloween season with a Holiday craft party at her house.  There were lots of kids, treats, and games to play.  Carlee, after patiently waiting for weeks to wear her Rapunzel costume, was so excited to get dressed up.  

 When we first bought her costume she went into our closet every day to look at it.  One day she pulled off the braid and thought she had ruined her hair piece.  She came out of the closet crying and was banished from visiting the costume until Halloween.  Now she just doesn't want to take it off and wait for the next event.  It's so hard when you can't be your princess of choice 24/7.

 The Huber kids made all of their own costumes.  I love their creativity and sewing skills.  Nate came as mustard and his brother Matt (not pictured) was ketchup.  I loved it.

Even the big girls got dressed up and helped out with the party.  Rebecca and Shannon have decided to wear as many costumes as they can come up with.  They went low key for Cindy's party because they were helping with games, but then on Saturday night they went all out for the their Halloween dance.  We still have our church's trunk or treat and Halloween night.  I wonder what they will come up with next.

Fall Break 2014

I thought that Fall Break would signify a successful potty training effort, but since Carlee, after 4 days, still showed no interest in going along with my plan, we decided to do more than stay at home and play with friends.  

So. . . On Thursday we met up with the Smith Family at the zoo.  

 Thanks to Lara, we were able to feed the giraffes and feel their incredibly long/large tongues.  Kinda gross, but Carlee thought it was really funny.

The giraffe even came over to camera bomb our family/friend photo.  Awesome!!!

A few months ago a baby elephant was born at the zoo and on Thursday she made her debut.  Baby elephants are adorable.

On Saturday we took the kids and my cousin's two girls (Shannon and Natalya) on a hike up Sabino Canyon.  The kids like Sabino because there is a river they get to wade through.  Hiking is not my children's favorite thing to do, but if you add water, they will go.

I am always amazed by how beautiful the mountains in Arizona are.  The trees and rocks are stunning and I love that as you increase in elevation, everything around you changes.  My kid's may not enjoy hiking, but I love when we are able to convince them to go.

 Eventually we came to a dam and had the kids all sit along the side for a photo.  Both of the little girls had fallen and scratched their hands up and so if you look closely you can see their matching red bandages.  (Go dad!! At least he came prepared)

I made Chad take one picture with me in it so that I could prove that I was there too.  What a beautiful day! We are truly blessed to live in such a magnificent world.

Kid's Birthdays

Rebecca and Joey both decided to have another birthday.  I keep telling them to stop getting older, but they just won't listen.  So instead, I will post a few birthday photos to document their failure to "Obey their Mother!!!"

The good news with regards to Rebecca is that she still likes to play dress up and opted for an Anastasia costume over a party.  She may be getting older, but the birthday wish list has remained about the same.

 Joey decided to have his 9th birthday at a Trampoline place in Tucson.  The kids could jump, flip, run up walls, fly into foam pits, and play dodge ball.  Joey had a blast and I think his friends did too.

The Old Man Turned 40!

This year Chad turned 40!  It's crazy to think that I still remember when my mom and dad turned 40.  I thought they were so old.  Now here we are and I can testify that we may look old, but we are just as crazy as ever.  

To celebrate, we started the evening at Pinnacle Peak.  It's a fun old western themed restaurant in Tucson.  If you show up wearing a tie they will cut it off and make you vow never to wear one again. The entire room is covered in ties.  

After dinner we went to see "Ghost Blasters" at the Gaslight Theater.  It's a small theater company that pokes fun at popular movies and turns them into musical melodramas.  They are hilarious, and we love finding an excuse to go.

We may be getting older, but it was sure fun spending time with friends and celebrating.  In two more years it will be my turn.  I think we may need to reserve a spot at "Pump it Up" and have some husband wife obstacle course competitions.  So Fun!!!!!

4th of July Fun

I realized that I never posted anything about our 4th of July festivities.  This year we decided to have a few friends over for a BBQ and fireworks.

 The fireworks displays on the 4th are somewhat lacking around here and so our little show in the street was really cool.

My brother in law read a section from the Declaration of Independence and we listened to patriotic music.  Even Carlee was't afraid of the loud noises this year and enjoyed all the colors and flashing lights.