Bull Pen at the Verde River

In an effort for one last family outing, we decided to drive up to Campe Verde today and try to find the cliffs on the Verde River-known as the Bull Pen.  The pictures online looked amazing, and with the help of the GPS, we were on our way.  We didn't realize we would have to travel on an extremely bumpy, narrow dirt road for 5 miles, but we survived that and arrived at our destination.  Bull Pen is fairly big, and we weren't sure which way to go to get to the cliffs.  We picked a route, hiked about a mile down the road, and came to a gorgeous water hole.  A few other families were there, and honestly, it looked like the perfect swimming spot, complete with a rope swing.  We decided to stop there since the kids were dying to get in-and there we stayed for several hours, just playing and splashing in the water, which went to 10-12 feet deep at a few points, partiuclarly under the rope swing.  The kids had an absolute blast, as did Jared and I.  At some point, Jared and JD took off down the trail to try and find the cliffs.  They were gone for about 45 minutes, and I started to get worried they had gotten lost, to the point where I was praying and trying to devise a contingency plan.  Thankfully, they came trudging back up the trail to report lots of beautiful spots down the road, even more heavily populated than ours, but no cliffs.  After arriving home and investigating more, if they had gone another half mile, they would have gotten to the cliffs!  We will go back and do that at some point.  

Regardless, we had a blast-so many good memories made.  Jackson was just as active in he water as the other kids-he had his puddle jumper, as did James, and that made it so Jared and I could relax and just enjoy the kids.  They all flew off the rope swing, swam down the few rapids that carried James, at one point, nearly 200 feet or so down the river....he thought it was awesome!  We found some cool bugs, and survived the hike back despite crazy huge ants that kept trying to attack us.  Jackson got covered in mud, but he took a standing bath on the log next to our car, buck naked-it was adorable!  We didn't get home until late.  What a great last-ditch getaway before school starts, and a new adventure for our family that stretched us and our day trip skills! I'm just including a huge reel of pictures-some of these probably aren't worth keeping, but I'm not going to bother editing at this point.  

I'm SWIMMING in the Rain!

 We were enjoying a nice swim in the pool when the rain started to pour down-and I mean pour!  We haven't had a lot of good actual rain storms this summer-lots of wind, dust, and even a good chunk of thunder/lightning, but not a ton of rain.  As such-we stayed in the pool and enjoyed it.

 Once the lightning started appearing, we hustled the kids out of course, and watched from the patio.  The kids just ran back out once the electrical part had passed.

 James was pretty scared of the lightning, especially when it returned-he thought it was gone for good  So, I had him throw rocks out the door while yelling, "You can't scare me, lightning!"  It was adorable, and I think it actually made him feel quite empowered!

 I wouldn't mind a couple more of these fantastic downpours.....

Still Little

 Things like this picture remind me that my older kids are still kids, and they still retain a child-like innocence that is just mind-blowing to me.  I have a tendency, I think, to view my older kids as so grown up.  Our conversations captivate me, their sensitivity calms me, and their sense of responsibility with their siblings massively helps me.  Perhaps my expectations are much too high for these mini adults who are still children-a time frame that passes by like a stain of breath on a mirror (yes, I am borrowing a phrase from Jekyll and Hyde).  I have to remind myself all the time to appreciate these moments before they pass me by.  This is one such moment-JD has pets.  They are stuffed animals, of course, but he calls them his pets, just like Jordan does.  They don't ever leave his bed, but he sleeps with them every night.  On this particular evening, he hung them upside down from the underside of the bunk bed.  He told me the next morning they were doing pull ups by their ankles.

 Thanks for staying little a tad bit longer, JD.  Love this boy!

The Kids Get to Meet Dallin

Kristen and Steven brought their kids over tonight so our kids could take turns holding Dallin.  The kids love babies, ESPECIALLY Jackson. He is enthralled with babies, and is extremely gentle with them.  He plays house with babies nearly every day with Sara and James. It was super sweet to see each child gently handle a newborn baby!

Sara's Organizational Strategies

One of Sara's jobs today was to organize the bows.  She did a stellar job, obviously!

 I loved her rationale for the placement of the ladybug bow:  "I put the ladybug bow next to the flower bows since ladybugs love flowers, and so I thought they would like to be close to those bows."  LOL!