How I Spent My Summer Vacation

We could really name this post "Elliot comes to visit" because he is in just about every picture!  In anticipation of his visit (his parents came too) we acquired a little car for him to drive.  This one was in the form of Mater from the movie - Cars.  His uncles, Bryce and Adam, each had a similar car when they were his age, except it was in the form of a fire truck.  This version has a much more tolerable sound system - no sirens.  It even has a hidden compartment under the seat.

Bryce hid a stuffed animal in the hidden compartment.  It was a sheep and Luna really wanted to claim it as hers.

 We took our new Polaris RZR4 up to Pinetop since the weather is so much nicer in the mountains than the desert this time of year.  This is a picture of it going out on its first spin for our vacation.  Take a good look because it didn't come back in one piece.  Everyone took a turn driving, but when Morgan took the wheel, she was ready to show she could DRIVE!  A few jumps later the crankcase had a puncture and the RZR was on its way to the shop.  We wouldn't see it again for about three weeks.

Both Adam and Dan celebrated their birthdays on the young men's encampment trip.  So we added in a few celebrations during our week in Pinetop.  This celebration featured Guadalupe Pie (it has other names, but this is the name we know it by) and presents.  Lindsay and Boyd had also driven up to join us, so the whole family was there to celebrate!

Since the RZR was out of commission, we were on to the next mode of travel for recreation - mountain bikes.  After loading the bikes in the truck, we sent a crew off to ride some great trails.  This was one of several rides during the week.  At the end of our visit we were down one bike - a broken frame we would later discover.  We were not easy on our equipment this trip!

Elliot was the focus of many pictures.  He is just too cute - so we follow him around with a camera frequently (very frequently).

There was lots of good food - and it took many hands to get it on the table.

We brought the boys' Chevron car collection for Elliot to enjoy.

Before Jamie headed for Seattle, and Lindsay & Boyd hit the road for Tucson, we took a picture of the whole family.  Lindsay told us we could NOT use it on our Christmas card, but it actually turned out very well (What do you think, Lindsay??)

These pictures are a little out of order, oops.  Jamie and Morgan brought a new card game that hooked us all.  It is called Bohnanza - we call it the bean game.  It was so much fun - quite addicting.  Here we are playing one last hand before the first group left.

Everyone got in on the bean game!

Well, I guess Elliot didn't.  But he is contemplating how to grab some of those cards.

This was a tasty cherry pie that Morgan whipped up for us one afternoon.  I have a shot of her making the pie, but it somehow didn't download.  I will add it at the end since I have yet to master inserting pictures after everything has been downloaded.

We brought up baby-gates to put on the outside doors so that Elliot and Luna would not escape.  This was a frequent sight at the door.

Such a cutie.

See, I told you we followed him around with a camera.

Adam introduced Elliot to Cocoa Puffs (sorry, Morgan).  During one snack time Adam poured out a cupful of the cereal and spelled out Elliot's name on the tray.  Does Elliot look impressed?  I think he is wondering why Adam is playing with such a tasty treat when he could be eating them.

We were lucky to get one shot of Adam's finished creation before Elliot began consuming the Cocoa Puffs.

Another post-birthday celebration.  This one included Boston Cream cupcakes at Adam's request.

With the RZR out of commission, it prompted Dan and Bryce to pull out the motorcycles and take a nice ride up to the Apache Forest closure.  While we were in Pinetop the Wallow fire was just getting started.   On days when the air was still, we could smell the smoke and see a general haze in the air.  On other days the wind blew hard - not good for fire fighting.  We watched the progress carefully.  Thankfully the fire is slowly coming under control, but sadly many many acres of beautiful forest and also many homes have been lost.

Here are those faces under the helmets.

One afternoon Elliot climbed up on the sofa next to Luna and sat there petting her.  Luna was very patient with Elliot.  She was actually pretty good with him - only trying to steal his food when he was walking around with a tempting morsel.  Who knew dogs liked graham crackers.

For Dan's birthday Morgan game him a box of chocolate.  Not just any chocolate, but handpicked from a specialty shop in Seattle.  Dan shared and it was delicious!

Three boys on the porch.

Close up of the youngest boy on the porch.

One activity Elliot loved was throwing his stuffed sheep off the balcony (always with close supervision - I promise).  Then someone down below would throw it back up to the loft.  Sometimes it would get stuck in the railing (as pictured above).  Elliot thought that was great fun.

This shot is back in Gilbert after we headed back to the heat of the desert.  Can you tell Elliot likes berries?  This was a mix of blackberries and blueberries.  Oh, what a mess!

The heat of the summer always calls us to the pool.  Sue and Brittany came over with Crew and Macey to swim and visit.  Elliot loved the water and stayed in the water for hours.

The boys.

Elliot trying to put his head under water while Adam tickled his belly.

I have a cute belly so I am showing it off!

We sure miss this cute guy.  We had a fun week with him (and his parents too).

And as promised - our very own pie maker, Morgan.