Day 75 - Fun in the sun!

We spent a few hours today ATVing with the kids. We found a really nice spot with some trails, a few hills and lots of sand. A great time was had by all!

Guess who?! :)

Megan's happy place.

Sarah's becoming a very good little driver.

Joshua rippin' up the sand!

Picnic time.

Day 74 - A day of rest & play. Good food for the soul.

We went to the Baptist Church across the road from our subdivision and really enjoyed the service. The pastor was from West Texas and the kids got a kick out of his "y'all" and calling Sarah "sugar" :) The people were very friendly & welcoming. After lunch we went out ATVing and the kids had a blast. At dusk some really dark clouds showed up and we got a little sand storm. It even rained for about 60 seconds! It was a great day and the kids are asking if we can get up at 6am so we can get out again. Could this classify as a "field trip"?

Megan enjoyed kicking up the sand and practicing donuts around the tires. She wanted to know if she was going as fast as it felt :)

Sarah who's always ready to pose for a picture. She is digging that new helmet!! (It has pink stripes on the side!!)

Just making sure it runs OK. ;)

Riding off into the sunset.

Sarah taking a turn trying to drive. She actually did quite well. We may have finally found her sport!

Day 73 - A Big Day For Josh & Megan

We had a big surprise for Megan & Joshua today as we were finally able to replace the quad we sold over 3 years ago. The economic situation down here has resulted in some fantastic pricing which was a real blessing for us. It's so fun to see how excited they are!

These grins aren't coming off any time soon.

I'm not too sure who is more excited.

I had heard Sarah mention a couple times that she had a list in her room that she went through each morning. Tonight as I was helping her get ready I spotted the precious note and knew I had to take a photo of it. Here's her "to-do" list each morning :)

Day 72 - Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree.......

Today we were able to take advantage of some Black Friday shopping sales. In the afternoon, while Megan & I went grocery shopping, David took the kids (and the new neighborhood friend, Marcus) to the park to chip golfballs. After supper we set up our (Charlie Brown) Christmas tree. It is small, sparse and we have no decorations, but hey, it's a Christmas tree! We hung some candy canes & the kids will make some decorations next week.

Picture quality is poor (Chad you must be shaking your head!!) but I was too lazy to get my good camera out, and apparently had this camera on the wrong setting!! It at least gives you a glimpse into our day.

Apache Megan.

We need a few decorations to fill in the gaps. We didn't fluff it too much as it all has to get squished back into the box to travel back to Alberta. BRRR!!!

A little hot cocoa by the Christmas tree. We had to keep with tradition even if it's not chilly outside.

Day 71 - School, Sun & a trip to Wal-Mart

It was another beautiful, sunny day. It was 28C in the afternoon so after school we went to the park to play football & do some bike-riding. It's so nice out, it's hard to believe it's the end of November. After the park David & I went to Wal-Mart to pick up a Christmas tree. We had to laugh (and take a picture) because the tree display was right beside all the annuals & perennials in bloom. You can set up your Christmas tree & plant pansies in the front garden... all on the same day!!

Cooling off.

Daddy was very impressed with how well Megan can throw a football.

Merry Christmas...

... May flowers!!! (and no April showers☂)

Day 70 - Arizona Science Center

Another fantastic field trip today as we drove into Phoenix to visit the Arizona Science Center. We had a great time looking at the exhibits, took in an IMAX 3D Movie about Sharks, and saw "Journey Through the Planets" in the Planetarium. Joshua really enjoyed "Forces of Nature" which was a journey through different weather conditions. We felt the hot rays of a blistering sun, the gusts of a tornado, the ground tremors of an earthquake, and even the rains of a hurricane! Megan enjoyed all the puzzles and brain teasers & Sarah thought laying on a bed of nails was quite something, but did NOT like the huge nose exhibit that sneezed on her!!

It was a very full day!

Human Anatomy 101

Joshua learning about mechanical advantage via pulleys.

Laying on a bed of nails!!!!!

Getting ready for the IMAX 3D movie - now THOSE are glasses!

Megan & Joshua on the tug of war demonstrating the principles of levers.

Sarah enjoyed the garden in the Going Green area of the center. It was really cool, CLEAN "dirt" :) She loved planting her garden and harvesting moments later. ☺

On U.S. Airways, ready for take-off!

The largest scorpion we've seen so far!

Day 69 - Back to the books

Today's focus was bookwork for school, funny how that doesn't bring the same excitement as the zoo! :) David & Megan went out for a date in the afternoon while Joshua & Sarah played here at the house with me.

Sarah & I went for a little walk as she loves to ride her bike through the paved trails in the nearby park. It was such a beautiful day....

...one month until Christmas Eve!

Day 68 - The Phoenix Zoo

We had a wonderful day at the zoo. The weather was perfect; it wasn't over-crowded & there was a lot to see! The kids enjoyed their first taste of snowcones (I think slurpees win) and a huge highlight for Megan was feeding a giraffe named Sam. Joshua was really excited to see the cougars as they weren't at the Calgary Zoo when we were there and Sarah's favorite was the Cheetah. It was neat to see the desert animals in their natural habitat and we were particularly amazed at the size of the tortoises.

We took so many photos and it was hard to select which ones to blog - so here's a slideshow of a few of our favorites:

These prairie dogs were adorable. They were hugging & loving on each other until they finally raced down one of their digging tunnels together ♡

Megan had the special opportunity to get up-close & personal with a giraffe at the zoo. The zoo keeper gave her all kinds of information about the giraffe she was feeding too. I think this was a real highlight for Megan :)

Joshua took some time to see how it would feel to BE a tree ☺

Day 67 - Our new surroundings.

We had a very relaxing day today. There's a great park with biking/jogging/walking trails and several playgrounds near our house. We're not exactly sure how big it is as we went for a long walk/bikeride and never found the end of it. It was a beautiful 27 degrees out and of course, sunny, so it was a perfect afternoon to spend at the park.

There's actually real grass here and a lot of trees & flowers.

It's very beautiful.

Day 66 - Saying goodbye to Havasu

Today we had to leave Havasu, we were sad to leave, but at least we were heading to Phoenix. We got to our new "home" in Goodyear at about 4:30pm and got ourselves settled in.

Can't wait to see this sign again.

Near Parker, AZ

We found these cattle "barns" very interesting. As you can see there are no walls just a roof for shade and hundreds of fans to help keep the cows cool.

Near Vicksburg, AZ.

Our new "home" in Goodyear, AZ. Please excuse the poor picture quality, it's the only photo we have.

ODE TO HAVASU

Desert Sun

Rugged Mountains

Pristine Lake

Spectacular Sunsets

8 WEEKS WITHOUT A DROP OF RAIN

...Priceless

Day 64 & 65 - Back Home

Our last two full days in Lake Havasu were spent doing school, swimming and riding bikes. We also went for a walk downtown & noticed they had started to put Christmas lights on the palm trees. It's going to be very hard to leave this place!

David's favorite place to do devotions.

November 20th, 27 degrees, playing in the pool.

Megan getting her work done - she typically sets up on the table, Joshua took the floor (not sure why he liked it there so much?!) and Sarah took the counter.

Sarah working hard on her school work - the pool is waiting for her!!

Joshua & Sarah enjoying their bikes!

We love this cactus - HANDS UP!!!