Painting, Ranger Rides, An elk, and more...

We just returned from spending the last 5 days at my parent's cabin in Northern Arizona. I LOVE going up to the cabin. My grandparents used to live in their cabin during the summer. I have very fond memories of going up there for a week at a time to stay with my grandparents--playing games, playing outside all day, going for walks with my Grandma. I hope that Carter will grow up with these same kinds of memories. When we left the cabin it was 77 degrees. When we arrived home 2 hours later, it was 112 degrees! What a difference 2 hours makes...I want to go back already.


I had put Carter down for a nap and decided to paint some furniture for my mom. Of course Carter decided to only take an hour nap that day (must have been because I told him that after his nap he could go on a Ranger Ride. *see comments below* He was too excited--I guess I didn't specify how long his nap had to be!). When he woke up I was in the middle of painting. I thought (thought being the key word here) that he would sit outside and watch me paint. Uhh, when has my kid ever sat for more than 2 seconds?!? Needless to say, he ended up "helping" me paint. It took me twice as long to finish paining but he sure did have fun--and isn't that what it is all about anyways--or so I kept telling myself during the whole ordeal!! (I didn't bring any "old" clothes for him so he painted in his diaper)
Fun times with cheese and crackers and Dad. Who knew Sean was so creative?
On Sunday afternoon we were taking a drive and as we looked to the side of the road, here is what we saw...An Elk. It was crazy! The pictures look fake to me--but it is real! There were tons of people pulled over. Some people were even trying to pet it and feed it. All I could picture was it suddenly flipping out and attacking someone! (we had just seen an Episode of "world's most shocking moments caught on tape" the night before and saw several shots of "calm" animals going crazy without a moment's notice). Sean did get out with Carter and Cameron to take a picture.



My parents bought a Ranger for the cabin and Carter loved it. Everyday when he woke up he said, "Ranger Ride!" Even tonight as I was putting him to bed he asked to go on a Ranger Ride.I called Shotgun, but apparently Nana doesn't play that game. We packed a picnic and loaded into the Ranger for a ride into the forest. We found a great spot and had our lunch and the kids played ball. It was so much fun.