A Visit from Arizona

Jamie called and asked if we were up for company and of course we said YES! A few days later she arrived with Blake and Kaylee for the week while Ben worked on a paper for his class.  Melissa's boys weren't out of school until Wednesday, and on Tuesday I had already planned to watch Austin while Melissa helped in Dylan's class.  So we decided to go to the Disney Store for a quick adventure.  Austin wanted Aunt Jamie to spike his hair too!

 Blake is just 6 months older than Austin. They had so much fun together.  I love it that they are cousins and have the exact opposite coloring.  Such sweet boys!

As soon as we walked into the mall, eagle-eyed Blake spotted the train on the 2nd level, and he remembered we went for a train ride when they were here in December.  Of course, we had to take another trip so Austin could join them.

The conductor was dressed appropriately and was cute with the
 kids taking their tickets and using all the fun train lingo.

 

Jamie got to be the responsible adult this time, so I got to take pictures.



Blake LOVES trains, so he was in heaven. 

Kaylee was so sweet with Austin.  All the Gargalis boys' wanted her all for themselves. At one point Luke slammed his bedroom door as he shouted " I'm having some alone time with Kaylee!"

The one picture we got of all 5 cute cousins. The boys had matching iron man shirts and Kaylee had worn her new Disney Store shirt the day before.  It is getting a lot trickier to find matching sizes for everyone.

On Friday we took the kids to see the new movie "epic".  It was really cute and the kids were great.  Blake lasted almost the entire movie.   Blake ate4 an impressive amount of popcorn and Kaylee enjoyed her slurpee and Grampa's soda.

 We arrived at the movie an hour early (the theater changed times for the weekend). We killed time at Target and then took a few pictures and let the kids play and get their wiggles out.

 

 The Theater at Corona Crossings has the most gorgeous fountains. I want one at my next house. Maybe a little smaller.  It is so pretty and it was such a lovely day, it made me want to just stay and sit and read a book. . .

 

 

crazy faces
 

We've been having daily visits from the Gargalis boys since their move in April, so now that school is out and Jamie and the kids are back home in Arizona, it is VERY quiet here!

 

Captain Ben Rogers

Ben made Captain on March 1, 2013 and so we made a quick trip to Aizona to celebrate with them.  It is wonderful to have them back out west this year.  Ben will be in class through September at the least and possibly through December.  He is taking the Captain's Career Course in Military Intelligence. 

 

 





Blake just turned 4 in February.
 He is a sweet, happy, boy - almost as tall as Kaylee. 
He is usually on the move and singing a song as he goes. Before the ceremony, Blake said, "My Daddy has a #1 on his hat!" (The emblem for captain is 2 bars and the emblem for Lieutenant is 1 bar. )

It is always a treat to spend time with Ben and Jamie, but our visits are never long enough.  The drive is 7-8 hours, but it is such a nice drive without all the random traffic and craziness of the drive to Utah. Even though it is the same length, the distance seems shorter.  And the Arizona roads are definitely better.  We listened to almost a whole audio book each way.  I'm still working on my hexies.  I'll have to post my progress soon. 

THE GIRLS REMAIN TRIUMPHANT IN SEQUENCE : )

Fun With Blake and Kaylee

We got to spend a fun day with Blake and Kaylee while Ben, Jamie, Greg and Melissa went out to lunch and a movie. We finally got the chance to take them to Buid-A-Bear. 

Kaylee picked the same kitty that Paige and Claire have.

 

Blake picked a cute little bear with ears that light up and picked Lightning McQueen clothes.

They were very serious about fluffing up the fur and finding just the right outfit.

 

Kaylee picked a Tinkerbelle outfit and named her kitty "Princess"

To add to the excitement of our day there was a little train ride that went around the upper level of the mall.

Blake loves trains so this was a big thrill for him.  Afterwards we had lunch at Red Robin and did a little grocery shopping and the kids were darling.  It was so much fun to have them all to ourselves for a few hours.  It is going to be so nice having them"close by" in Sierra Vista, Arizona instead of clear across the country in Louisiana. 

 

 

 

 

 

Fun Kaylee and Blake

While Ben and Jamie went to the movies and Lunch with Greg,

Melissa, Josh and Krista, we got to spend New Year's Day

with Blake and Kaylee. 

Our first stop was Build-A-Bear at the Tyler Mall in Riverside. 

They were very serious about following all the instructions and fluffing up their new friends.

 





 Kaylee chose a calico cat just like Paige and Claire's. She named her Princess.

Blake picked a cute bear with light up ears and Lightning McQueen

clothes.  Kaylee picked a Tinkerbell outfit for her kitty.



 Next stop, a train ride.  Blake LOVES trains, so we were in luck that there was a train ride around the upper level of the mall. 

It just doesn't get much better than this!  After lunch at Red Robin we did a little grocery shopping and headed home.  Blake and Kaylee were angels.  We are so glad they "live closer" now that they have moved to Sierra Vista, Arizona, instead of clear across the country in Louisiana.