New Year's Day

Today we got up and did a little house work, then headed out for a little outdoor fun. We wanted to do a picnic and hike, so we went to the newest Maricopa County Park--Spur Cross out in Carefree/Cave Creek. We ate first, then headed out on a hike. The first stretch was so pretty--we had to cross over rocks several times over the creek. The girls really enjoyed doing that. But we saw desert--lots of cactus, but also lots of green. The last part was harder as it was really just desert and the girls were worn out. So Brian and I traded off carrying Ellie and Hattie. Overall we hiked about 3.7 miles, so I was happy that the girls were troopers and did it! The weather couldn't have been any better either!

Hattie found a rock pile to play in on the way back to the car.

The trees had such beautiful leaves on them.

Eliza--our photographer! I got stuck carrying backpacks about midway through the hike.



We were imitating the cactus' arms.

So proud after crossing the river!

We crossed that!











After the hike!

We came home and tried to rest for a little bit. The girls and Brian went out front for a bit--I was inside making dinner. After dinner, we popped in one of the movies we got from Jared and Chrystalyn for Christmas--Tinkerbell. I loved it! (So did everyone else). It is a really cute movie with a great message. They brought in some great poeple for the voices, too. It was interesting though as we were watching the credits--thre wasn't nary an American name on there! About 99% of the people who worked on the animation were from a far, far away country. Must be cheaper labor?

Brian is working tomorrow, then it's the weekend! I love these midweek holidays.