Arizona Trip Part 2

We had a great time going to an aquarium on Saturday with Nancy, Angie, Preston, Callie, Amy, Ray, Noah, Heath, Ethan and Ivy. The kids bonded right away with their second cousins.

Hailee and Callie were inseparable from the moment they met!
Noah and Bennett were fast buddies. Bennett liked having an older "brother" that didn't beat up on him.
Touching the starfish and shrimp.

We got to go to an outdoor mall with Amy and Ashley and their kids. We actually walked outside without jackets in the middle of February!!! The kids went in a hurricane simulator that got up to 80 mph. They got a kick out of it! The boys enjoyed some golf in the perfect weather.


If you ask the kids, they will say the best part of the trip was when we went to an outside restaurant where they had fire pits to roast marshmallows. Amy took us to the best place! There was a big stage where the kids could go and dance and there were fire pits everywhere so they could roast marshmallows. We all had a blast!


Braden's highlight of the trip was when he shoveled wood pieces into boxes and someone noticed his hard work and gave him a dollar. He hasn't stopped talking about his dollar ever since.
Ashley and her sweet Ivy.
Amy and cute little Heath with Ethan in the background.
Dane, Bennett, Noah, and Braden.
Hailee - The Master Roaster. She loved doing the roasting and sharing her perfect creations with everyone!
The girls - Ashley, Ivy, Amy, Hailee, Natalie
The Boys - Ray, Noah, Dane, Braden, Bennett, Joe, Ethan.

Arizona Trip Part 3

We all loved the cool cactus all over in Arizona. What a cute, silly girl!
We told Braden to pretend he was sitting on a cactus. What he heard..."blah, blah, make a weird face, blah, blah."
We had to remember our ride down when there was a huge accident and we got stopped and stuck for 2 hours between Vegas and Arizona. Luckily we had plenty of gas, plenty of food, and plenty of cups that doubled as toilets (disgusting, I know...desperate times).

One of the few pictures you will see of me...30 weeks pregnant.


We stopped at the Circus Circus again on our way home. Only this time it was better because we got to see some of our best friends, The Thomas Family - Chris, Tiffany, Trey, Hailey, and Tanner. We got some dinner and played games and saw a circus show. And as an added bonus, Hailee and Dane got sick and threw up during dinner.
Our classy breakfast before we headed home. We NEVER go out to breakfast so our kids thought this McDonalds breakfast was a special treat!

Baby Sanford #4

We were debating on finding out what this baby was going to be. But when it came down to the ultra sound, I just couldn't do it. Sorry Dane, I am just not that spontaneous. We came up with a little compromise... the Ultra Sound Tech suggested that she take the pictures and put the pictures with the sex in an envelope and we can open it with our family.

We opened it for Christmas with our kids and this is what we saw...



It doesn't leave a lot to the imagination. If you can't tell from the picture, it is another little boy. Hailee was a little disappointed at first. She was convinced that she was going to get a little sister. But after some explaining that she would always be the only girl - that means she will always have her own room, a special connection with her mom, and all "girly" things in our house. She is warming up to the idea now. All of them are excited for a little baby in the house.

Hailee - Christmas Dance Recital

Hailee performed in her first dance recital this winter. She had so much fun doing a Christmas dance and was the cutest girl up there. She did an excellent job!



She was the most excited about the flowers she got after the performance.

Braden...Soccer Star

Braden has LOVED soccer! He is pretty good, too (I might be a little partial). He loves to get in the middle of the pack and go after the ball. He developed a signature move this season. It is the "run forward and kick the ball backwards". I don't quite know how he does it but it is a pretty sweet move. His biggest accomplishment this season was scoring 5 goals in one game. He has proud parents who love watching him!



That's one determined boy.








The second best part of soccer - the awesome trophy. The first best part is the treat after the game.

First Day of School - Braden

I have not been blogging anything lately. Hopefully one of these days I will get a whole year done. But until then, I have to start with today and work backwards.



Braden started school today. He is SOOOOOO ready to go to school. Yesterday I couldn't wait for him to go to school but I found myself a little emotional as I dropped him off today. I know it's the best thing for him and heaven knows I need a break. I guess it's just the idea of him growing up and I can never turn back time. It just gets faster from here.

I was so proud of him standing in that line. He was trying so hard to listen to what the teacher was saying and obey all the rules.

He made a cute little flower to describe himself for his class. There were some really "pretty" flowers that I know the parents made but I am proud to say he did most of it by himself. He wrote a description of himself for each letter of his name. Here is what he said:
B-Baseball, R- Riding Bikes, A- Appendix, D- Dessert, E- Energy, N- Nice.


Braden and his little neighborhood buddies who are in his class. Dillon, Braden, Jaden.


He loved the idea of picking out his own backpack this year. It is a Star Wars "Stormtrooper" backpack.

I can't wait to see what the school year brings. We are a little nervous about a few things. Hailee has always been one who naturally obeys all the rules and gets nothing but perfect behavior marks. It is a little more challenging for Braden. Maybe he'll surprise us...who knows!!

First Day of School - Hailee

There is no way it is coming this fast. She started 4th grade...already!!!

We had a little battle over backpacks this year. She wanted a $70 rolling bag - no way. So the next best thing is a "bag" not a backpack. We'll see how long it lasts...those things get uncomfortable when you start putting lots of books in there.

Hailee was hoping for a "young" teacher this year. I don't know why...I guess that she had a bad experience with an older teacher so young means good.

I couldn't be more proud of my sweet Hailee.