Missouri Trip

Back June the girls & I went to MO with my parents. We drove their new Subaru Outback for 24 hours there & then 24 hours back. I sat in between the girls the entire way. They did an amazing job....they were almost perfect the whole trip. It was so great to visit MO under better times than last year when we went to say good bye to my grandma. Enjoy all the pictures of the great time we had.
Sometimes I wished that my very talkative 4 year old would have done this more Our first hotel room that we were only in for like 6 hours was super nice

Lunch at McDonald's....only we ate our own food. We ate so much McDonald's I still feel sick when I think about eating there

My Grandma always made banana pudding for every family event and it was my favorite. I would always tell her when she was gone I wanted her bowl. She tried to give it to me a year before she passed away & I told her she was still alive so I couldn't take it. When she passed away my aunts couldn't find the bowl......it's been almost a year & the day we were driving Sheila texted me that she had found it. So here she is passing the bowl & banana pudding bowl off to me

I have to say it turned out just like Grandma's. I felt her with me that day

We always play croquet when we get together & here is Dad teaching Zhara how to play because he is the championAlyssa picked strawberries

Zhara found a bird's nest

The girls loved Jordan

My dad & his siblingsI wasn't able to attend my Grandmother's funeral & we went to visit her grave site. It was closure for me & it was sweet to see the girls. They picked flowers & placed them on top of the grave site. Then a few days later Zhara asked me if she could go back & give some more flowers on Grandma Mary's grave

We were able to spend a day with my oldest friend Tara...oldest in the fact that we have been friends since the 5th grade & actually stayed in touch all these years. The girls loved playing with her little girl & in all the grass. They kept picking huge piles of it

Here they are with their friend Anna

Tara & I.....her daughter Anna, 4 years old, took this picture

My girls are obsessed with the mannequin's at Old Navy & always want a picture with them

We played at the mall for a bit

We all met at Ihop for a breakfast dinner with my grandparents

Zhara & her chocolate chip pancake she devoured

I have my eyes closed but the photographer had her finger over the lens on the one with eyes open & you couldn't see my grandpa

The best part about MO is the fire flies....or lightening bugs. We caught them almost every night & used it as our "nightlight" at night. Aunt Charlotte had lots of bugs crawling around her house...she was a good sport :)They have this really cool splash park that is set up like a waterfall that the kids can climb up & down. The girls loved it!

Koolaide party with Aunt Charlotte

For some reason the mosquito's LOVED me & Zhara. Alyssa could go out with no bug spray & be fine. I could spray my whole body & they would still eat me alive. This is 12 bites just on my calf

what family night is complete without a little Rock Bank?Playing at the library

We did some work out at my parent's place. The girls "painted" with water & had a blast

We went to the mall & I came around the corner to this:

Aunt Sheila had a dog that was almost bigger than the girlsMy angels

You must stop at the McDonald's over the roadNothing more fun than riding on the cart at the hotel

Swimming with Grandma

We had been away from David for 12 days and we still had a few more days to go when he drove all the way up to Page to spend the weekend with us. The girls were so excited (and so was I)Daddy is always more fun than mom

Moving & A Trip to Tucson

The time came for the Gould's to move from The Regent's apartments. Our lease was up at the end of March but we did a month to month until Zhara was finished with school..so when the end of May came it was time to box it up & put it in storage....in order for the Gould family to be homeless for who knows how long???? We moved little by little all of the last week of May so that we wouldn't need to bother other people for help on the little stuff, although it almost killed us by the end of the week. The girls thought this was a great adventure...the beginning of our summer long "Adventure of 2010" These girls could carry some boxes!

They thought these carts for our storage unit were great. We would push them on it & then David had them push us one time. Alyssa could actually push me really fast...kind of scared me :)

You never realize how much stuff you have until you pack it. Bless the men who helped us move our very very very heavy piano down the flight of stairs. David hurt for at least 3 days

Alyssa helping Dad clean the walls

Zhara coloring on her "table"

We turned our keys in Sunday night May 30 & drove town to Tucson to see if this is really a town we want to live in for the next 20 years. I have to say I really liked it. We spent Memorial day at the Children's Museum at their bubble extravaganza

blowing bubbles from their newly made wands

Alyssa in the biggest bubble ever!

We got to play inside for free. This spider web was David's favorite

If Alyssa doesn't end up somewhere in medicine in her future I will be surprised. She was totally loving the microscope

We had some icee's at the end. We were really hot even though it was only like 100

Tired out from a day of the Museum, driving around & having dinner with the potential new boss at Peter Piper PizzaI just love this picture