Today our little princess turned 4 "ears" (as Ava says) old! This morning she awoke to find a pile of gifts on the art desk in the loft area. She quickly ran into our bedroom and as loud as possible shouted "It's my birthday!" Next she came over to my side of the bed and whispered "Mommy are those presents out there for me?" Needless to say the entire house was awake at this point. The morning went on as any other Saturday morning does. Breakfast, baths/showers (for those in need of them), cleaning before company was due over, and the curling of Ava's hair! She decided since she was having a princess birthday, she would wear her pretty princess dress. She just HAD to have her hair curled since "all princesses have curls"!
Around noontime the family began to arrive. We had a delicious lunch and then if was time to show Ava her special princess cake, made just for her. Her eyes lit up. She was in princess heaven. Its moments like these I cherish the most. She counted as I inserted 4 candles and then her "good luck candle", the number 4. We all sang as she sat there with the BIGGEST dimpled smile on her little face. She blew the candles out and could hardly contain the excitement as she waited for her piece of cake! As soon as her piece of cake was gone, she jumped out of her chair and asked "Can I open my presents yet?!" 
Present time...
She was happy and thankful for all she received but 1 particular gift stood out. Her "puppy Barbie". (Its a barbie that came with a puppy). Out of the package the barbie and puppy came. Into the bathroom Ava and Liliana went with barbie and puppy. Soon I had a small plastic puppy peeing on my table! All I will say is "Thank you Aunt Donna"!! =P
All in all it was a very fun day. She enjoyed her "family, party, food, cake, and presents"!
All in all it was a very fun day. She enjoyed her "family, party, food, cake, and presents"!
Hieroglyphic Canyon is where we found ourselves one warm Saturday morning. Last year Marc and I bought a book that listed over 200 places to visit when in Arizona. Its mainly national parks and historic landmarks. Since owning this book we decided it would be fun to try and visit all of these places over the next few years. One of these historic places listed in this book was only 45 minutes away from our home. We had never heard of it before, so we packed a lunch, loaded the kids, and off we went. As we pulled into the parking area, a dead end dirt road half way up the Gold Canyon mountain area, I quickly realized it wasn't a park and see type place. I opened our book to read "Enjoy a scenic hike through the Gold Canyon mountain area to Hieroglyphic Canyon, approximately 1 3/4 miles one way." At this point, I was a little worried we had traveled 45 minutes for nothing. Our kids enjoy nice SHORT hikes through the local mountain areas but a 1 3/4 mile one way trip up and down the rocky trails wasn't something my children were accustomed too! To make the situation worse, I didn't bring my sling. Without my sling, its tiring, draining, and just plain hard to carry Garrison. These days Garrison is 18 lbs in weight which doesn't seem like all that much weight until you carry him in your arms for long periods of time! After discussing our options, Marc and I decided we didn't drive all this way to not even attempt this awesome adventure. Digital Camera on Marc's back, "survival" backpack on my back, Garrison in my arms, and the other 3 hiking on foot, off we went! It took us a little over an hour to hike to the hieroglyphics. I must admit, I was a little worried at the beginning but 10 minutes into the hike I kept telling myself this isn't so bad until... not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 sets of hikers asked if we planned to hike all the way to the hieroglyphics with all 4 kids "especially with a baby in my arms". Despite, the 4 sets of hikers lack of confidence in my family, we made it to the hieroglyphics!
The children can NEVER get enough of their favorite uncle. An uncle which can NOT beat Ava in a simple sword fighting game!! I am glad to see that Marc's awesome game playing skills have been passed down to the children! (Yes I am being sarcastic!)
He wasn't feeling the photo shoot as much as the rest of us were but we managed to get a few smiles out of him. Along with a few pouts, but I would say all in all it was a good day!
