Justin was in need of a weekend out of town and away from the company so we decided to spend the long weekend in Pinetop. A decision we would not regret. There is something about getting physically away from the business and the stress of running it that just isn't the same as being here in Pima/Safford.
We enjoyed a walk with the kids!
Such beautiful scenery! My dream is to rent a house for a month during the summer and spend that month just with my kids. Justin could come up on the weekends, we don't see him such during the week anyway.
Justin says he doesn't think my idea sounds that good.......he doesn't want us gone all week. But one of these summers it will happen!
Justin was being so silly about these Ginormous daffodils!
But at least I talked him in to taking a picture of his cute, silly self!
The kids thought these huge daffodils were AMAZING!
Not sure all the neighbors enjoyed our kids climbing the trees but our kids sure did and that's all that matters!
We ate most meals at the cabin we had rented but one night we treated ourselves to The Pasta House. It was pricier then I expected but it was yummy!
Of course after our dinner we decided we needed to try at least 3 desserts.
The kids thought that was fun to get to try so many different things.
The was Hunter's birthday weekend. What he really wanted for his birthday was to be put in from deer hunting. Justin didn't get things organized to allow Hunter to be ready to put in for deer. Hunter was bummed but was a really good sport about it. I asked him if a day at the law jet skiing with just his family would be okay. He was thrilled. We had just recently gotten two jet skis from Rick and Ramona Lines just before they were leaving on their mission. Rick kept asking Justin about buying his jet skis and in the end it worked out.
Justin was a happy guy! He was excited for the Cluff family to be "Lake People" again! It was one thing we had really enjoyed doing when we were first married, but it's been years since owning some.
I just love this little guy!
He was pretty happy that mom bought ring pops!
We had been thinking of going to San Diego for Labor day and because of that we had just bought all the kids wet suits. This was prior to getting the jet skis, so it actually worked out great. I think we'll get plenty of use out of them!
The kids were super excited about them and all the cool accessories that the jet skis came with……..like these sweet goggles!
The only lake we could find close to Pinetop that allowed jet skis was Lyman Lake. It was about 45 minutes away. It ended up being a very dirty and very small lake. But as this was our kids first lake trip, with our own toys, they didn't seem to mind one bit!
We let the kids each have a turn driving the jet skis, except for Grant of course.
It was perfect weather and the water wasn't too cold which was great!
The kids each impressed us with how cautious they were driving the skis. I guess all their years of riding quads and dirt bikes have paid off.
In fact I tried to talk Logan into making the ski go at least 10 mph. He did his best but soon told me, "Mom is it okay if I make it go 6 (mph)……..I like it that fast!"
And so we tootled around at 6 mph.
On Sunday we didn't go to the lake, of course so we just hung out at the cabin. The kids got creative and made up a restaurant for Justin and I to come to.
They even had made a centerpiece for the table!
Isn't it adorable?
Everything they brought us actually looked yummy! Even though it was made from weeds, grass, flowers, wild mushrooms, etc.
So fun to be away as a family, if even for a few days.
The kids knew enough to give us a little caffeine on top of all their creations!
While up enjoying the white mountains we did a little Geocaching.
Notice the little green box hidden under the logs….that's the "treasure".
The kids all love the adventure in finding a cache.
They especially like it when the cache has little prizes to trade for.
We had to really pry information out of Justin though. He is like a little kid when it comes to finding the caches. He likes to find them first and then give clues to the rest of us so we can find it. He often doesn't tell us every bit of information that is posted about the cache. It drives me crazy and makes me laugh all at the same time. It's just the little boy coming out in him!
There sure were some gorgeous views on one of our hikes while Geocaching!
Hunter even caught a little baby horny toad! We couldn't believe how tiny it was!
It was so tiny even Kiersten would hold it!
We decided it would be best to leave it there close to where we found it. It was a hard thing to do cause it was so cute but the kids agreed they wouldn't want to risk taking it and having it die.
Justin got all silly on us one evening on our walk around the neighborhood. The kids (and myself) really love it when Justin lets down his guard so to speak and just gets silly.
They kids were in heaven!
To help celebrate Hunter's birthday we made it to some dwarf car races.
He was THRILLED!!!!
It was great weather to be outside watching some racing!
The boys loved that we let them stay til it was all the way over so they could check out some of the cars. It was probably close to midnight! And they are still all smiles!
Of course after seeing these races, dwarf cars is all Hunter can talk about.
This was Hunter's absolute favorite!
I totally love that Hunter is holding a hug stuffed animal that we brought from home. I'll be so sad when he outgrows that!!!
Before the sad drive home, we stopped at Darbis Cafe! It was the #1 recommended restaurant by all my friends.
WOW, they did not disappoint!
It as so delicious! I honestly can't wait to go back to Pinetop just to eat there again!
Come on look at my homemade potpie!
Never had better!!!
So if your up that way, Darbis is a MUST!!!
One last hike before the drive and what happens? Hunter catches a lizard! Man this kid can catch pretty much anything I think!
It was a wonderful weekend away!
I sure love my Hunter boy and am so glad we could celebrate his birthday all weekend long!!!
