Faces

Sabrina: 10 months old

Happy   Curious   Hungry   Inquisitive   Chill

Sophie: 4 years old

Thoughtful   Silly   Mischievous   Kind  Imaginative

Summer Vacation #3: Family Reunion in Kaibab Forest

Annual Hancock Family Reunion. Most of us all gathered together in a giant cabin.


Me (while snuggling on the veranda under the moonlight): "I love being out here in the forest, but at night it's kind of creepy. In the horror movies, there's always some freak emerging out of the woods heading towards a house."

Dave: "Well, I think that this time all the freaks are inside the house."

Sometimes it takes an outsider to see us how we really are.
And sometimes not.

The little kids:

 Cherece took some fake engagement photos for us. Thanks, Cherece!

Dave is so handsome.

The quad. Probably Sophie's favorite part.

Weston, Miles, Sophie

 Weston and Miles doing what they're doing.

Laura took this one on my camera and I love it.

You see that little speck in the window?

That is a water balloon on target on getting my brother-in-law David who was reading just inside that window.

Good stuff.

The Sleeping Pose.

Stephanie, Brayden, Kiersten

 And a sleepy Sabrina.

Little Sabrina slept a lot on this trip.
She had a slight teething fever accompanied with a lot of drool and bit of a runny nose.

But who doesn't love them some sleepy eyes?

Father's Day Interview

Sophie's thoughts on her Dad

What do you like about Daddy?

When I play with him. I like to play Barbies with him.

What does Daddy look like?

He looks nice.

What does Daddy do at work?

He works on buildings.

What is Daddy's favorite show to watch?

He likes watching Star Trek. He likes watching it with me.

What does Daddy like to do?

Well, maybe he likes going to the park with me?

What do you like to do with Daddy?

Sometimes he takes me to the park.

Fill in the blank:

Daddy is: happy!

Daddy smells like: clean!

I love my Daddy because: he is nice.

*****

I often tell Dave that I'm the luckiest woman in the world, and a lot of people say stuff like that. But I really, really, really believe it. Every woman should be intensely jealous of me because I seriously have the best husband in the whole world. 

He gives me back massages and (my favorite) foot massages. He makes me laugh. He lets me get away with a lot! Is that even a good thing? I dunno....

Sophie and Sabrina are two lucky girls as well. Dave will take his girls to movies in the park, on ice cream dates, and trips to the Home Depot! 

He is my life saver at the end of the day when I am tired and when my patience is running thin. Dave will spend time with the girls and will have more compassion on them when I am losing mine.

You are awesome, Dave.

Summer Vacation #2: GFR 2013 in Oceanside, CA

These are my friends from childhood (except for Nicole. I met her in middle school). Most of them live far away, but I get to see them every year. I never realized how unusual it was to keep up friendships since elementary school until a few people told me so. I am very lucky blessed.

Brityn: AKA "Mother Brityn"

Jael: World Traveler

Lecia: Pam from The Office.

Nicole: The Photogenic One.

I look forward to this each year! I stress out about it before hand with arranging babysitting and what-not, but it is always worth it. Plus, I honestly believe I come back a better Mom. And that's because I am hanging with some very wise, funny, and beautiful women! I think we should rename it The Better Mother's Convention since we pretty much talk about our kids the whole time.

Speaking of kids, I thought I was going to return home with Sophie and Sabrina clinging to me saying "Never leave me again, Mommy!!!" But much to my surprise and pleasure, I returned home and it was as if nothing had happened. They were like, "Hey, Mom." and then went on with their business. That means, they must have been very well cared for while I was away.

My favorite moment of this GFR is this: I woke up one morning and saw that Brityn and Nicole were already up. I wave to them and then head for the obligatory bathroom, but Brityn stops me. "Don't wake up Lecia! She is sleeping on the bathroom floor."
Then I hear a groggy Lecia voice, "I'm awake."
I open the bathroom door and sure enough, Lecia is lying in a blanket heap with her sunburned legs outstretched on the tile. Lecia got a sever sunburn and was cooling her legs off by sleeping on the tile.

And here are a few photos just to prove that I actually was there myself:

 (Above photo credit: Jael)

 (Above Photo Credit: Lecia)

Now I have to think of a way to repay both my mother and mother-in-law for watching Sophie and Sabrina (and feeding Dave) while I was away. Thanks to the both of you for caring and loving my little girls!

Summer Vacation #1: Show Low

Grandma and Grandpa Hancock always like to go "camping" at Fool Hollow Lake in Show Low. It was good to get out of the city and not be surrounded by asphalt for once. Vacationing with kids comes with it's own stresses, but we all had some fun.

Here's a recap of what we did in pictures:

At the lake:



Hanging with Grandpa and Grandma:

 



Playing Telephone:

Potty Dance?

Tire Swing:



And my favorite game that I just invented. The rules are as follows: Do not smile back at Sabrina. I think Sabrina won. :)




Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa for the invitation! And thank you to Joe and Tiffany for letting us stay in your cabin!