4th of July 2009 in Arizona

This year for 4th of July, we went to see my sister in Arizona. Why do we always pick the hottest time of the year to go there??

We really had fun. The kids are a blast. Atticus is 6 and Harper is 2 and they were both very excited to see us.
We can't go to Arizona and not bring something from Grandma. Harper shows off her new tinkerbell jammies.
Atticus is going to be toothless. He's got ANOTHER loose tooth!
Tres & John just hanging out.
Harper seems to have remembered me from the last visit. She came over to me immediately and climbed up on the couch to draw on etch-a-sketch with me.
They boys watching tv.

Later that night, Brad made us a wonderful dinner of trout on the grill and arugala & beans. That was better than a lot of meals I've had out at supposedly "fancy" restaurants. While it was a light meal, we were all so full that we went for a walk.
Not sure what that tug of war is but initially, the kids were full of energy. They were running way ahead of us. The adults were still stuffed and logey and just trying not to fall over. It was a really nice walk.
At the end, we all wanted to be carried. The two lightest, Harper and Simon, won out. The rest of us had to finish the walk.

When we got home, Atticus and John wanted to play on the wii. So, Atticus made Uncle John a mii (an avatar) to represent him in the games. I think Atticus liked doing this more than the actual games. He was very precise. This was the final version.
Not bad...
Meanwhile, Miss Harper has gotten ready for bed and is now wearing her new princess jammies.
Let the games begin! They start out with Tennis. They went through the entire list (golf, boxing, baseball, tennis and bowling). Then someone pooped out.

The next day, everyone went to the movies. The Doan's went to see Ice Age 3 and the Chaney's went to see the Hangover. When we met up after the movie, we all went for an ice cream treat. Brad stayed home for a little Brad time. It's probably not often he has the house to himself.

The rest of us got an ice cream treat at 31 flavors. I tried convince Atticus that there was only one flavor left but he didn't believe me.
Harper is very focused on her chocolate chip.
Atticus got some sort of Sundae.
Even mom & Uncle John got a treat.
Harper wanted to make sure she didn't leave any in the cup.

Later than night, we went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant called Macayo's. I almost choked to death on a chip. That was unpleasant but the dinner itself was very good.
Tres & Harper.
Brad & Atticus. That's Atticus' "confused" look. I think it looks more "pensive" than confused.
Harper was sharing her salsa with mom.
Uncle John was celebrating with a little adult beverage.
The last day we got up a little early. Miss Harper is still a little sleepy.
We played with the etch-a-sketch almost the whole weekend. She really liked drawing the hearts.
Atticus just hanging out.
Harper playing with her mama's hair. It's kind of funny. Her mama didn't have much hair when she was little either.
The game of choice this time around was "airplane". The kids wanted me to lift them into the air on my feet. Talk about a workout! They both waited patiently until the other "crashed".
Atticus & Uncle John watching Tom & Jerry.
Harper giving Elmo some hugs.

It was a very short trip but we had a lot of fun. It's always a treat to visit.

Below are a couple of videos. One is of Harper dancing. She takes a bit to get going but she's dancing to Journey. The other is of Uncle John & Atticus playing on the wii. It's a little dark but you can tell what's going on. Atticus is really getting into it.