Christmas and New Year's 2008/2009

We picked Dylan up from the airport in Las Vegas on December 20th. He came to spend his 2 week vacation with us. It was his first time ever in Vegas so we took him down to the strip to see the different casinos.

Snow in Las Vegas!!!!

We tried to do a lot with him while he was here so this post may have a TON of pictures in it.

Derrick and my dad caught a huge scorpion in the yard back in October and have been saving it for Dylan to see. He was not thrilled with it at all!! He was so scared it was going to get out of the container.

We took him on quite a few quad rides in the dessert. He really enjoyed the different rides we took.

For New Year's we went to Lake Havasu City to camp with my parent's and my aunta & uncle. We were there just about a week.

My dad and Derrick sitting by the fire talking

Rion (my dad) and Riona sitting by the fire

We took a short drive over to Oatman on old Route 66. The town has wild burros that come down out of the hills. You can feed them carrots and apples. Michaela and Riona went last year and Michaela loves the burros. Riona wants no part of them. Dylan just was not too sure about them. They get a little aggressive over the carrots and Dylan was skeptical of feeding them. They do not bite just push each other trying to get close to you.

In Oatman we met a lady that invited the kids to look at some tortoises. Michaela was too scared to feed them so Dylan gave it a shot. The tortoises were VERY aggressive with each other. They kept trying to flip each other over. And they run super fast.

Before Dylan had to head back home we took im to see the London Bridge. Yes, the ral London Bridge (that was falling down) is now in Lake Havasu. It has been since the 70's.

Tombstone/Tucson

As a Christmas present Derrick took us to southern Az to visit the Tombstone area. We camped at Parker Canyon Lake for a few days while sight-seeing Tombstone.

The lake is VERY close to the Mexican border.

She earned another Jr Ranger Badge
We toured the town of Tombstone on an authentic stagecoach.

After Tombstone we headed to Bisbee. We camped on a ranch owned by Belle Star (relative of the infamous outlaw Belle Starr). She owns 40 acres and invites campers to come stay with her. She has a variety of animals on the ranch that you can pet. Horses, mini donkeys, peacocks, chickens, dogs, birds, and more.

Petting one of the horses

We spent a day in the town of Bisbee. The museum there was very nicely done and we learned a lot there. We also did the Queen Mine Tour. It is a very large copper mine. They suit you up in hard hats, rain slickers, and lights then take you into the mine on a narrow mine train. Well worth the time and money to see.

The next day was spent in Douglas, then exploring area ghost towns such as Gleeson and Pearce.16 miles east of Douglas is the ranch of Texas John Slaughter. We drove out there and spent a few hours walking around. The historical society has done a great job of preserving the ranch. The house is full of antiques, toys, clothing, and more that belonged to John and his family as well as tons of old photographs from his life in Douglas.

From the property you can see the Mexican border clearly. At one time 75% of his ranch was in Mexico.

From there we headed north to Tucson. We went to the visitor center and bought a Tucson Passport for $15. It was well worth it!! It is loaded with 2 for 1 admissions to all major attractions in the area. We saw so much!!

On the first day we visited Old Tucson Studios and the Titan II Missile Museum. No pics from the missile sorry, but it was one of the best places we have been. We got to go down in the missile silo and see the missile, see the equipment, and even simulate a launch (Michaela was the lucky one to get to do it!).

Tucson Studios was a blast!! It is still used as a movie studio where tons of western films are filmed each year. Most of John Wayne's movies were filmed there as well as the tv show High Chapperal We rode the mini train several times as well as the merry go round. We saw a few shows in the Saloon, a gunshow outside and a really good comedy stunt show at the mission (the mission was in the movie Tombstone).

Michaela and daddy on the merry-go-round

Michaela

We saw a Christmas musical in the Saloon. "Trixie" came and danced with Derrick. The girls really got a kick out of it.The next few days were spent at the Arizona-Sonora Dessert Museum (a must see!!), the San Xavier Mission, The International Wildlife Museum (headquarters for Safari Club Internnational), the postage history museum (where they gave stamps and stamp albums to the girls), the Reid Zoo (for holiday lights), and the T-Rex Museum.

We're finally in Arizona!!

We made it to Az just before Halloween. We stayed at my parent's place for a few weeks before heading out to Quartzsite. While at their house Michaela and my dad celebrated their birthdays.

Grabbing candy from their pinata

After their birthdays we headed out to Quartzsite where we spent 2 weeks. Then we headed back to their house for Thanksgiving.

Riona making yummy pumpkin cookies

Thanksgiving dinner

Hunting for rabbits after dinner

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Back to Nevada!!

We camped in Nevada at Lake Mead for a few days before heading into Arizona (our winter destination). While there we made a trip over to the Hoover Dam and also into Vegas. Michaela loved seeing all the lights on the strip. Her favorite was the Statue of Liberty with the dancing waters a close second. We took them down to Fremont Street to see the Fremont Experience. They really enjoyed seeing the show on the ceiling.

After Zion

After Zion National Park my parents headed south to Arizona. We followed but took longer. We stopped off at a very unique gift shop a few mils from Zion called Fort Zion. They sell gifts, homemade ice cream (I had prickly pear cactus coconut ... it was so good!), and candy. They also have a small collection of animals that they allow you to feed carrots to (llamas, a pony, and a donkey).

The owner was a arcitect in California and has built several small cartoon style buildings that you can walk through.

Next stop: Nevada!!!!! (as close to home as we will be since May, 2008)

Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks

Wow!! I did not realize how long it had been since I came on here and posted. I m so sorry. i will do my best to catch everyone up on where we have been and what we are doing.

After leaving Salt Lake City, Ut we headed south and caught up with my parent's at Bryce Canyon National Park.

Bryce Canyon is absolutely grogeous. If you have never been I highly reccomend going. It is a huge canyon filled with "hoodoos" that are formed by freezing and thawing that happens daily there.

Her 2nd Jr Ranger Badge

Derrick talking to a raven.

After a few days at Bryce we headed over to Zion National Park.

Zion was just as beautiful as Bryce. The canyon was formed by water.

The Junior Ranger program has been real good for Michaela. It helps to her focus more on what the parks have to offer and the history of them. It also teaches her to respect nature and to help preserve the parks.

Me and Derrick at Checkerboard Mesa


My mom and Riona on the tour bus

My dad and Derrick

Montana/Utah Update

It has been a while since I posted on here and really need to catch up.
After Glacier we went to Ulm, Mt and Derrick taught the Bible study and the Sunday sermon. It was awesome and the people were great!! We had dinner with the pastor and his wife as well as their neighbors. It was a delicous homecooked meal!! Thank you Pastor Joe and Colleen. Ulm is a cute country town and I look forward to visiting again next year.
After Ulm we headed south to Helena, Mt. We had a interesting but great dinner with the pastor's family. We were introduced to "chicken slop". They have kids the same age as ours and the girls really loved being able to relax and play. Thank you Pastor Toby and Barb for a great evening and great fellowship.
After Montana we headed yet south again to Ogden/Salt Lake City, Ut. God took us to a Spanish speaking church to teach at. Derrick taught the morning Bible study and did the evening service. We had to have a translator, but God provided!! It is awesome where God takes us when we trust in Him. Thank you Pastor Jorge for having us and thank you for lunch/fellowship.
While we were in the Ogden ara we got to visit my step brother and his family. I finally got to meet my "new" nephew that is now 9 mths old. He is the cutest baby ever!!! We enjoyed a great visit and my step brother bbq'ed for us. It was such a treat.

A few days after that visit his girlfriend, Sidona met us at the children's museum with Ian (the baby) for a fun visit and outing. Thank you so much Sidona for meeting us there. I am glad I had this opportunity to get to know you.

Derrick and Riona playing with blocks.

Me and the girls playing a game on the huge map.

Our backyard next week will be Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks!!!