Crazy Cousin Adventures

Remember you can click on any picture to see a close up view!

Our Crazy Cousins, the Harringtons, came for a visit last week for their spring break 

March 23-27

and what a great time we had!

Camille, Lucy, Claire, Katie and Olivia 

getting warm after a COLD dip in the pool.

Lucy and Claire live close by but we hadn't seen them in a while either

Cousin May and Chloe having fun with the underwater camera. 

It still works!

On Saturday we decided to hike the Superstition Mountains.

We went on a trail at the Lost Dutchman State Park. Because of all the rain we had this spring there were lush green grasses and wild flowers everywhere! 

We had a yummy lunch before we headed out.

Mark did NOT believe us that Jumping Cactus (Cholla) really do jump at you when you pester them. Tess's friend Kira learned this the hard way on a campout and got a bunch stuck in her chest after hitting one with a stick. So Mark went up and threw a rock at one. He was so proud when he returned from his daring adventure unscathed, UNTIL May pointed down at his shoe and we saw that the Cholla had managed to jump at him after all!

Claire, Katie, Emily, Camille, Olivia, Lucy, Chloe, May and Kenny

Rich, Luke and Mark in the back.

Can you tell Kenny doesn't like getting his picture taken?

Off we go!

Kings of the mountian

Don't fall Liv!

Camileeeeoo

Chloe and May are only 4 months apart in age and have lots of fun when we get together

Olivia enjoying a break in the beautiful spring flowers

So thoughtful.

Cousins Claire and Katie 

Newest cousin, Peter. See his red cast on his arm? He broke it when his stroller dumped him out and then landed on top of him last week. 

Poor baby!

All the youngins' got tired and went home but the two eldest cousins wanted to hike UP to the top of the trail, so we did.

It only took us about another 20 minutes and we reached the top!

Totally worth it!

There were bees swarming around that hole above their heads so we didn't stay there long.

It was WINDY!

I couldn't resist the flowers

They found another rock to climb but didn't make it to the top of this one. 

Can you see them about 1/3 of the way up on the left side?

Do you love this big Saguaro or what?

I was calling Chloe "Goldilocks" by the end of the hike because she had to sit on every rock and lay down on every bench. If there was porridge somewhere along the trail, I'm sure she would have eaten it too!

May and Chloe showing the barrell cactus how much they love it.

We fell in love with this little Horny Toad when we saw it. It is SUPER tiny! I had my camera right up in its face!

Cakes and Parties

Chloe made this cake (that is a camera strap on the right side dangling down) for her friend's birthday party. Hannah's parents were not going to throw her a friend party this year and Chloe and others couldn't stand the idea so they threw one for her! They divided up assignments and had cake, games, decorations and everything. Good job girls!

Tess's friend, Hailey, got this giant cupcake baking set. The bottom is on the left. Each half took about 2 or more cake mixes to fill!

Tess and Hailey had ton's of fun making cute frosting decorations all over the top! 

Colorado Springs for Valentine's Day

For a combined Valentine's Day and 17th Wedding Anniversary trip, Russ and I spent 4 days in this giant house in Colorado Springs.

It was the smallest cabin he could find. It was new and gorgeous but we only ever used the kitchen and master suite.

Our first night we had dinner at the Craftwood Inn. It came highly recommended and was probably the nicest place, with the yummiest food I have even eaten. I love how the word Craftwood at first glance looks like Crawford. 

We had the most requested seat in the place, right in front of the fireplace and it was a chilly night!

I like the "SC" design above the fireplace. (Sarah Crawford- get it?)

On our last romantic get-away I was in charge of the gifts. This time Russ was and he did a great job! He got several fun new games like this one, Godiva chocolates and other things I can't mention.

This was the view from the front of our house

On Saturday we went snowmobiling. It was so stinkin' fun and even colder than that! About 10-15 degrees! This is Russ tearing up the snow.

This is me. Can you see how deep the powder is? We were blasting through 6 foot drifts that would send tons of snow flying over our heads!

Can you see all the snow frozen into my hair?! Trying to brush it out later that day took an hour!

We lasted a few hours and would have lasted longer but the snow was coming down SO hard that we could barely see where we were. It was white everywhere. Plus my hands were soooo cold that they took forever to thaw out on the drive back. They tingled and burned the rest of the day like I'd burned them on a curling iron or something. Frostbite anyone?

On Sunday we took a beautiful drive to a place called the "Garden of the Gods." I had never heard of it before. It was kind of like Sedona just sticking straight out of the ground. They call it the Garden of the Gods because when the first settlers came and found it one of them said, "We should make this place a beer garden!" Then fortunately the other guy said, "A beer garden? This place is the Garden of the Gods!" 

Beeeeautiful!

Handsome!

I love this one! You can drive your car right between these outcroppings.

Ahhh, how cute.

We knew something was up before we came home because Rustin kept texting us while we were on the plane wondering EXACTLY when we were going to get home.

Then we saw this on the inside garage door. Hmmmm...

Do you see the silly string? We got ambushed! It was war and we had no weapons!

It's good to be home with these crazies!