Alora the Ballerina

Alora attended a 4th Birthday/Halloween Party for her friend Halle today. They had to dress up and since I didn't want her to ruin her real Halloween costume, we bought her another costume that she could probably reuse later on. She was so freaking cute and even let me put her hair in a bun!

Noah Is A Wolf!

Last night Noah received his Cub Scout wolf patch as well as a gold arrow point and two silver arrow points. Way to go Noah!!!

Arizona State Fair

Today was the opening day of the Arizona State Fair so we decided to check it out since it was only a buck admission to get in. Too bad the rides were a major rip- the kids would have loved to go on more.

They pretty much deep fried everything, even balls of garlic butter!

Jeremy trying the deep fried twinkie.

Aunt Jen and her deep fried twinkie.

You can't go to the fair and not eat a funnel cake (f.y.i., mine are much better). Yum!

Picking Pumpkins in the mid-90s

The past couple of years when we've visited the pumpkin patch, we've had to wear jackets. This year, now living in Arizona, we didn't even have to consider jackets. We needed sunscreen! Despite being a little hot, the kids still got to try the corn maze (we gave up after 20 minutes or so), pet the farm animals, and find their perfect pumpkin.

Noah in the corn maze.

Poor baby chicken! Some kid told Alora it was really an ostrich.

Here is an actual ostrich. This animal was NOT friendly in the least!

Aunt Jen petting the horses. She's visiting for a week from Florida. At least she's used to the heat!

Max thought he had found a giant ball, his favorite thing.

Alora with the pumpkins. Can our kids pick any bigger ones?

Jackson picked the hugest pumpkin. He couldn't even carry it.

Here We Go Again

Today at Noah's yearly hip exam (he had major hip dysplasia surgery when he was 4 1/2) the surgeon said the socket has flattened out and his leg doesn't properly rotate. What that means is he'll have to have surgery again to correct how it healed from the first surgery. Poor Noah had the hugest meltdown at the doctors office... and who could blame him? This is not something to look forward to. After some research, the following is what I found that sounds like what the surgeon explained today.

In children older than 18 months, the problem may require additional surgery to change the acetabulum (socket) in addition to the femur (thighbone). The problem has been present longer and the anatomy has grown more distorted over the longer period of time. Your doctor may recommend surgery to change the way that the acetablum is aligned in this situation. There are many different types of pelvic osteotomies that have been designed and are still used.

Next up is a 3-D cat scan at Phoenix Chidrens Hospital and then we'll know when his surgery will be.

The Ole' Grand Canyon

This past weekend we went camping in the Grand Canyon with my parents and older brother. It's been several years since we last went camping, so this was something the kids were looking forward to. The weather was much cooler than here in Phoenix, so that was a nice change. We even got to experience a couple of thunderstorms!

Jeremy and Jackson preparing the fire the first night.

Alora, Jeremy, and Jackson at Kaihab Point (no guardrails!).

One of the park's residents. These chipmunks sure weren't shy.

Another resident of the park, the mule deer.

More mule deer just hanging out.

Jack and Noah.

Grandma and Grandpa Frye.

Me and Alora.

Noah.

Views of the Grand Canyon...

Me and Jeremy.

Noah and me at the campsite.

Jack, Alora, and me at our campsite.

Max, the little stinker. This cute face only slept about 1 1/2 hrs the first night. No wonder the coyotes kept howling near us, they could hear Mr. Max crying all night!

Noah tending dinner. This camping trip put him closer to another arrow point for Cub Scouts.

Who wouldn't want this "little" guy and his buddies running through their camp? Talk about creepy!!!