Arizona Roadtrip-Mt. Graham

On our roadtrip, we stayed in Thatcher for a day or so with Wes and Brittany.  We had fun visiting with them and our kids loved visiting and playing with their kids.  Then we took off to go camping on Mount Graham.  We drove to the top of the mountain.  It was so beautiful up there!  We went up at the beginning of the week, so no one else was up there!

Ben took the boys shooting and we had a fun lunch.  But the closer it got to the evening, the colder it got!  Pretty soon all the kids were in the van just to keep warm with blankets.  It really wouldn't have been so bad, but it was a "no burn" weekend.  Ben and I discussed what we should do because it wasn't even dark yet.  So Ben, being the A/C guy that he is and never leaves home without his tools, took out his thermometer.  It was in the high 30's!  So no wonder why we were so cold!  That was too cold, especially with a baby!  So we took down the tents and loaded up everything as quick as we could before the sun went down.  We barely made it!  

We had to change plans and quick!  This is probably why Ben and I don't plan very often, it's because the plans don't go as planned!  This was definitely one of those times.  No one could have predicted what would come next...but that is for another day.  (How's that for a cliffhanger!)

The following pictures are courtesy of Caleb.

The boy's BB guns. Apparently two of them are missing.

We had a lot to load back up into the van and fast!

We had to put our jackets before starting.

Daisy stayed nice and warm in the van, bundled in blankets.

We barely made it before nightfall, and it was COLD! (For an Arizonan family)

Arizona Roadtrip-Day 1

Towards the end of May, we decided to take a road trip to some places around southern Arizona.  We started out by heading towards Thatcher, AZ.  For those of you who don't know, we love stopping by old cemeteries.  There are so many stories left untold and histories waiting to be read.  So we stopped by the little town of Eden.  They have a little cemetery there and we didn't realize the relatives that we would find there!

We first found Ben's Grandpa Richardson's brother.  Ben was able to call Grandpa Richardson and he told us that his brother died of diphtheria.  

This is Great-Grandpa Richardson's brother.  I believe he died of diphtheria.

Outside of Old Church in Eden, AZ.

There were a few old buildings in Eden that we stopped by and took a few pictures of.  So while Ben was on the phone, he asked Grandpa about the history of the buildings.  The biggest of the buildings was an old LDS Church building.  Grandpa lived there and said that it was brand new when he was a boy.  Right by the Church building is a round building that I never took a picture of, but it says MerryLand on the front of it.  Grandpa said that was the building that they had church dances and parties in.

Old Church

Inside of Church. Half of the ceiling has fallen.

Eden Store.

These two buildings are right across the street from each other and Grandpa Richardson's Uncle ran both of the stores.  The Eden Store is easy to spot, but we almost missed the General Store.  Luckily Ben was on the phone with Grandpa and he told us about it.

General Store across from the Eden Store.

This is Calvin Reed's brother-in-law, Moses Curtis.  Calvin married Moses' sister, Mary. If I have my story right.

We found some more family names.

Long Days

Lacey and one of her many babies.

Haven't we all had one of those days.  The kind of day where you can't keep your eyes open one more second.   I'm sure that's how Ben feels everyday.  

Welcome to the life of OB/GYN Resident.  Poor guy works about 13 to 14 hours a day.  Although, he is so excited because he gets this weekend off. He hasn't had a day off for 2 weeks!  He doesn't even have time for a lunch break! 

Some people will ask me how I like being a single mom.  I don't feel like that in any way.  Ben and I are very much a team.  We always have been.  He is such a great father and husband and I feel very blessed!

Calvin's Birthday

In May, Calvin celebrated his 9th birthday!  He is a wonderful boy and we are so glad that he is a part of our family!  His favorite toy was a sling shot.

Calvin's Treasure

As many of you know, we love going to yard sale.  If fact, our kids save their money and find their own little treasures to buy.  Calvin found this k'nex roller coaster set and bought it for a couple bucks.  He worked diligently and followed all the instructions, and before we knew it...a huge roller coaster was sitting on the kitchen table!  He can really put those things together!

The roller coaster was about 3 feet high!

Super job Calvin!

April Accidents

WARNING:  The following pictures may not be suitable for those who may have a weak stomach.

In April, we had to major accidents happen to our family within 6 days of each other.

Ashton's happened first.  We were at Grandma and Grandpa Reed's house on a Sunday and he fell off the trampoline.  Ben rushed us to the hospital.  Thank goodness there was no one in the waiting room.   We knew it was broken just by looking at it.  His arm looked like rubber!  The doctor brought the xray machine into his room, put him into a light sleep and move the bones around until they were straight and then they cast it.  Ashton didn't cry once in the hospital.  He was so brave!

Ashton's xray

Ashton's soft cast

The famous broken arm!

Six days later, we were at Grandma and Grandpa Reed's house again and Lacey was trying to open a child's folding chair.  She almost had it opened when it folded up and she fell, landing on it with her finger inside it.  My brother James was there and had to help me open up the chair to get her finger out of it.  We rushed her to the same hospital and saw the same doctors.  On the way to the hospital, it just broke my heart because she never cried.  She just hummed to herself and every once in a while she would say "Ouch" or "Mommy, it hurts."  They did an amazing job sewing it up.  She didn't even cry.  They numbed her finger and I held her as they stitched her up. She watched the entire time while I sang primary songs to her.  Her finger is healing up and the nail has grown back. It is truly a miracle.

The strange thing is that Grandpa Reed did the exact same thing when he was 5 years old, except his finger came completely off!  Luckily the doctors were able to sew his finger on as well.

Lacey's finger

It didn't stop her from playing.

The stitches

Almost every week I had to take both kids to the same orthopedic surgeon.  Ashton's arm has healed beautifully.  In fact, he was able to get his cast off sooner than expected!  However, the tip of Lacey bone broke off in the accident and is just floating in there.  We are hoping that in the next few months there will be new bone growth.  Otherwise, they will have to remove the little piece of bone.

Preschool Graduation!

Patyon, Kailey, Devin, Lindy, Brooklyn and RyAnne

After 2 years of going to Preschool with this crew, they all graduated!  These are some great kids and we are going to miss them and their moms!  Devin had so much fun and looked forward to Preschool everyday.  Now we are off to Kindergarten...

1st Annual Reed Rodeo

We had our First Annual Reed Rodeo on April 23, the day before Easter.  We started the day off with a yummy breakfast.  And then the festivities began.  We had a whole line up of fun stuff to do.  

Dummy Roping

3 Legged Race

Wheelbarrow Race

Water Balloon Toss

Egg Toss

Rawhide Race 

and the Chicken Chase to name a few.

Everyone had so much fun and the weather was perfect!  After the morning events, we had lunch and then a Easter Egg hunt.  The whole day was so much fun and we are glad that Aunt Sharla's family joined in on all the fun!

Carson, Briley, Caleb and Devin reading the line up of events.

Ashton broke his arm the week before and was sad he couldn't participate in everything.

Lacey loved that little stick horse!

But it is kind of hard to ride it the right way, but a whole lot easier to carry it!

What a cute line up of a bunch a little cowgirls!

Ashton was able to do the dummy roping.

He has it down pretty good...

And caught the steer on the first throw!

Off to the Wheelbarrow racing...

You had to run to the other side of the field and back to the other side.

Lacey had to go and get her brother's hat that flew off in the race.

On your mark, get set, GOOOO!

The funnest part was watching the adults do the Wheelbarrow race!  We were all laughing so hard!  The sisters pushed the brothers in the wheelbarrow.  (On a side note, James will attempt to reach his hand out of the wheelbarrow and grab the person next to him to pull them over!)  We also had husbands and wives compete!  We can't wait to do it again next year!

Easter Egg Hunt

The Town of Queen Creek has a giant Easter Egg Hunt every year.  So we decided to attend!  Everyone had so much fun and gathered a TON of eggs!

Everyone waiting for the festivities to begin.  The baseball field was full of eggs!

Lacey munching on candy before the hunt begins.

To this day, Lacey is still scared of the Easter Bunny because he made an appearance here.

Daisy was a trooper, but by this time, she had enough!

Lacey wanted to open every egg before putting it in the basket.

She was finally getting the hang of it.

On your mark, get set, GOOO!

I guess it isn't much of a hunt when there are this many eggs!

Devin loved it!

Is Calvin to cool to pick up the eggs?

Almost, but not quite.  :)

Ashton collected a lot of eggs too!

Caleb and Carson were too old to participate in the egg hunt.  But they enjoyed all the other activities and the other boys shared their eggs with them.  We have loved going the the QC Egg Hunt every year and had to do it one last time before the big move to Texas!