Sedona

Ben had a medical conference to attend in Sedona, so we went along and played :)  While Ben was busy at his conference each morning, the kids and I were easily entertained at our hotel and surroundings - We stayed at L'Auberge - it wasn't the typical hotel or resort - it had individual cabins - each with a wood burning fireplace and beautiful accommodations.  It was a treat to stay there for sure!  The grounds of the hotel are gorgeous and it's all tucked in a shaded area by a river.  Each morning we would explore, feed ducks, float sticks, and climb rocks :)

The squirrels were friendly!

One evening we got take out for dinner and ate it by the river...

The pool area was fun!  Thankfully it was heated, because it was really too cold for swimming - but the kids loved it anyway...

We used the fireplace daily and worked on a rather large puzzle on way too small of a table...

One afternoon, we wandered downtown Sedona and explored the shops - we made a stop at the chocolate shop and got some treats...

This was the kids first taste of cold weather for the season - Phoenix in October is still hot - but Sedona was very chilly!

Tlaqupaque is a beautiful artsy shopping area - We shopped a little and ate dinner there...

Becca showing off her fancy notebook she bought...

Getting hot chocolate after a fun full day of playing...

One of the days we hiked at Red Rock State Park - the scenery is amazing!

After Ben's workshop classes on the last full day in Sedona, we drove to Jerome to explore - it's only about 45 minutes away from Sedona.  Ben had been to Jerome before with his family, but I had never been before - I LOVED it!!  It was small, but crammed full of cool buildings and delicious food - I didn't get a good picture of how this old mining town is so awkwardly positioned on the side of a hill - all the streets are slanted - it kind of made me think of San Francisco in that way....  The first thing we stopped at was a glass blowing shop - as you can see, not much of the building remains, but the guy blowing glass still does!  :)  We watched him do a very cool demonstration and then we bought a small glass blown orange pumpkin to add to our fall decorations at home - it's fun because we got to talk to the guy who made it!

There are a lot of unique things to see in Jerome...

Sitting on the curb eating ice cream  :)

That night we enjoyed dessert and a show courtesy of the Mayo Clinic who put on the medical conference...

A Native American family entertained us with their traditional singing and dancing - I know mom will appreciate these videos!

After checking out of the hotel on the last morning, we went over to a nearby resort that had mini golf...

We found a little visitor on the putting green...

Next to the mini golf, they had a giant chess set!  Ben and Emma especially loved this.  We called it Wizards Chess.  :)

Girls Weekend in Vegas!

When Ben was in medical school, I made some amazing friends - as med student wives we were able to support each other while our husbands were so busy with classes, studying, rotations, etc.  We arranged a long overdue girls weekend so we could see each other and play!  :)  We met in Vegas and stayed at a hotel there for a couple of nights - we did a lot of eating out, shopping, and pampering ourselves (including some awesome sleeping in)  And we laughed like crazy :)

Taya recommended this Thai restaurant... the curry dish I got was sooooo good!  Heather's soup she ordered came in a flaming pot!

Liora recommeded Max Brenner as a fun eating spot - so we went for brunch the next day - "brunch" ended up being around 1:00 so we were starving!!  Look at some of these menu items!  I felt like I had died and gone to heaven...

These sugared biscuits with butter and chocolate sauce were soooo delicious - I helped out Heather by licking her chocolate bowl - we wouldn't want anything to go to waste...

In the bathroom at Max Brenner, I was so nicely complimented by the mirror!

So, I had chocolate biscuits for an appetizer and chocolate pancakes for my meal... and then we of course needed chocolate pizza for dessert!!

Shopping at the outlets was very entertaining!

After shopping, we got mani/pedi's!  Aubree met up with us after shopping - she had just ran the St. George marathon that morning!!  Then she hopped in her car and drove to Vegas to play with us.  How awesome is she?!

That evening we exchanged our favorite things with each other - Taya gave us some fun beauty products, Heather made us some darling necklaces, and Liora spoiled us with more chocolate!  Haha - these cupcakes were amazing...

Left to Right: Liora, Taya, Me!, Heather, Aubree

The next morning we went out to breakfast before all heading our separate ways - Taya and Liora both live in Vegas, Heather is in Arkansas, and Aubree is in Michigan...

I sure love these girls!  It was really awesome to see them - There were other great friends that weren't able to come this time - but we plan to do this again next year!  It was beyond fun to reminisce with old friends, and spoil ourselves for a day...

September Randoms

Claire loves to do what I do - I was ironing some clothes one morning and she brought her little ironing board and iron and set it up right next to mine.  She's such a fun little friend :)

Emma recently discovered the joys of Scrabble - this entertained her and her friend Maryn for a long time - I love that my Emma loves reading and playing scrabble.  :)  I should sign her up for the chess team next (she would actually love that)

Ben took Emma and Becca golfing on a Saturday morning - Ben sent me this video... I think it's so cute watching the girls golf.  :)  They love golfing with dad - and Ben loves to take them!  Win Win

September was full of painting projects - one of which was painting our coffee table a boisterous blue... we've been trying our best to bring more color into our very brownish home.  :)  I'll post pictures soon of the completed room - we love it!

Emma requested getting her hair cut short - I really love it!

Jake decided to take matters into his own hands and cut his own hair - he took out a large chunk of his precious spike...

Thankfully, with boys, this was easily remedied with a buzz cut - but I was sad to see his cute hair go :(  To add to this, he also banged up his face again, this time falling off of a stool - poor kid.  For a while there, he was looking like a felon.

But even without his awesome hair and with a banged up eye, he's still the same old Jake.  Here's evidence...

Family Outings

I love when we go on fun outings as a family.  Ben and I have such a great time with our crazy kids - they are all so unique and entertaining... and sometimes a little wild.  :)  

In September we took the kids to the Phoenix art museum - beforehand we went to Potbelly's for dinner...

I told Jake to smile for the camera and he opted to shoot me with his finger guns instead :)

We went to the museum for the main purpose of seeing the video game exhibit - it was really cool!  And it brought back memories of playing games with my siblings on the old Playstation :)

We took the kids to see the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movie - we had a gift card from Ben's parents and free kids combo coupons for all the kids... so they felt spoiled and we didn't have to spend a dime.  :)

The last couple of weeks that the water park was open, Jake was finally tall enough to ride some of the big slides!  He was very excited!  After coming off of Mammoth Falls, he came running up to me to tell me it was "awesome!!"

We went to the waterpark the last weekend it would be open for the season, so they all got some ice cream to celebrate the end of an awesome summer.  :)