Desert Museum

For my birthday this year we went to the Desert Museum here in Tucson. I like to think of it as a desert zoo. Instead of elephants and zebras we saw desert animals like coyotes and bobcats. It was a really neat place to explore.

We started out with seeing some raptors take flight. We saw hawks, falcons, and owls. Jordan was totally focused on where the birds where. It's hard to tell, but there is a falcon perched on top of this canopy that Jordan and Preston are looking at.

They even got out the binoculars to check out the raptors. Jordan loves Daddy's binoculars and will always look for animals with them... at a zoo or in his bedroom. He is developing quite the imagination, he has even found deer in his room before with Daddy's binoculars. It's really cute.

Here is a view of what the desert looks like here in Tucson. Going left to right: Prickly Pear Cactus, Palo Verde (the tree), Barrel Cactus, Ocotillo Cactus. If you look hard you can see a coyote on the right side of this photo.

Here is a collage of some of the many animals we saw at the desert zoo. Left to right starting from the top: Gray Wolf, Javelina, Turkey, White Tale Deer, and a Black Bear. It was pretty awesome to see all of these animals so close up. 

Here is Jordan sitting on a little coyote statue. He thought it was so fun!

There were some sweet elderly folks at the zoo who said that our little girl was the cutest thing there. I have to agree... She's pretty darn adorable. 

More animals... Left to right starting from the top: Bobcat, Bobcat (again), Ocelot, Red Fox, and Desert Big Horn Sheep. In case you were wondering, yes the Fox sleeping on a blanket. We all need our blank'eys when we sleep. 

Preston and Jordan checking out the Ocelot.

Jordan is riding a big horn sheep statue... Mommy's just making sure he doesn't fall off. What a happy boy! He was loving the zoo. 

We saw a little shop in the zoo that had ice cream and we couldn't walk by without getting some. It was cold and yummy. 

Jordan is very much like his Dad in that he LOVES ice cream. 

A desert view. This is one of the tallest Saguaro cactus I've ever seen. 

When we came home after the fun time at the Desert Museum/Zoo it was time for some dinner. I wanted homemade pizza for dinner. Preston cooked the pizza's on the grill out back. They were delicious. Later we had my traditional Cherry Chip birthday cake with Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. It was a wonderful birthday spent making new memories with my sweet family. What a great day!

Fun With Organizing

It was time for Jordan's room to get more organized. Here are some pictures of the fun we all had organizing his room. Here is a picture of Jordan and Natalie looking so cute together. The sibling fun is just beginning.

 

Here are Natalie and Jordan playing is the bins we got for his bedrooms organizer. When Jordan saw me put Natalie in one of the bins he was more than happy to jump right in too. 

Here is Daddy and Jordan getting ready to put the organizer together. 

Jordan got out his tools from Christmas to help Daddy with the project.

Jordan also tried the organizer out for good measure.

Here is a before and after picture. I am very happy with how it turned out. I love organization and how it makes everything look so nice.

Our cute kids. I like how Natalie is looking at Jordan like, "What are you doing?"

Here is a fun picture of Jordan next to his new organizer. (In case you are wondering yes, he's wearing a pirate hat.) It's these simple projects that are done together as a family that make life fun each and every day!

Christmas 2012

 

We spent Christmas this year with the family in Utah. We had a great visit and made a lot of great memories together. Here are some pictures of us on Christmas day. Natalie received some BYU Cougar onesies from Grandma and Grandpa. You gotta start your kids young on the right path. Go Cougs!

 

Here is Daddy and Jordan opening some presents. Jordan was really into the present opening this year. It's fun to see him understanding more and more.

Jared and Shaylee got creative and gave all the guys in the family a fun present. They were shirts that say, "I ate some pie and it tasted good" in math symbols. The shirts were lots of fun!

Jordan got a tool set from Grandma and Grandpa. He loved it so much he walked around all day long holding the tools and he even slept with some of them. Great present G and G!

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Here is a fun picture of our niece Clara sitting on my lap. She loves babies and she looked at Natalie as if she was a little doll for her to play with. Clara always wanted to be close to Natalie. It was super cute.

Here is a sweet picture of Natalie after all of the Christmas morning unwrapping. She is by far our greatest gift we have been given this year. xoxo

While in Utah we got to see some extended family and friends. Here are pictures of us with Grandma Murray and Grandma Webb. We also got to see Kevin and Whitney Banner. We met their adorable little newborn girl Kylie. It was fun times!

Here is a boy who loves the snow! We weren't sure if he'd like it since we've been living in such a hot place this past year. But since he was born in Utah, it must be a part of him. He had a blast throwing snowballs and walking around in the snow... he liked hearing the crunch under his feet. 

Jordan has always associated his Grandpa Murray with horses. He is beginning to expect a ride each time we visit. Luckily Grandpa is more than happy to take his little grandson for a ride whenever he wants. Here he is becoming reacquainted with Mariah.

Grandpa and Jordan having a good time together. 

Grandpa also took the time to read some Dr. Seuss stories to Jordan and Clara. What a sweet Grandpa.

Here is a picture of Uncle Bart and Aunt Gayleen taking turns holding Natalie. We got to visit them at their first apartment. They've been married now for about a month. We are so happy for them in their eternal marriage together. 

Here is Clara looking at her cousin Natalie. Someday Natalie will be old enough to play with her.

Jordan and his cousin Clara hanging out together. Clara is being nice enough to let Jordan saw her coloring book. That boy and his tools... 

 

While in Utah we thought it would be a great opportunity to give Natalie her baby blessing. Here is all the family that was there for the blessing. We really appreciated the support and love we felt in having everyone there. 

 

Here is little Natalie in her cute dress for the blessing. 

Here is Grandma Suzie taking every opportunity to hold one of her granddaughters. We are so happy she could be in Utah at this time. 

Here is the proud father holding his little girl. 

We had a wonderful visit over the Christmas break. Family is what makes the holiday special.

Murray Mini Christmas 2012

This is our most current Murray family picture of the four of us. This is the best picture we got after trying for half an hour. Jordan is really good at huge cheesy smiles and not so good at holding still. Funny times.

For the holidays we thought it would be fun to make some goodies and drop them off to some friends. We made cookies, fudge, and added red and green candy canes to the plates. Jordan is helping himself to a candy cane in this picture. 

 Here we are ready to drop off the treats to our neighbors.

Before we headed out to Utah for Christmas this year we had our own mini Christmas at home. Here is a cute picture of Natalie and Jordan cuddling on the bed in their pajamas. How sweet.

Jordan really understood how to open presents this year. He wasn't shy about it either... he tore right into his presents.

Here is a present from Grandma Suzie. Jordan was too excited about the book to look up for the picture. 

Jordan got the book Peter Pan! He loves it! Thanks Grandma Suzie! This book will be well loved. 

Jordan always wants to be like his Daddy who goes hunting for deer and so we got him a toy bow and arrow set. Does he looked thrilled or what?

Here is Preston trying to show Jordan how to use the bow and arrow. It's tricky for a two and a half year old, but Jordan is determined.

Jordan also got a little pirate ship with Captain Hook on it. It has a cannon that shoots cannon balls. He thought is was great. It was fun to be all together with our little fam. It is wonderful to be starting Christmas memories and traditions together.

Natalie 2 Months Old

Natalie is two months old.

Here are her stats from her check up: 

Length 23.5 in. 75th-90th percentile

Head Circumference 40 cm 75th percentile 

Weight 12 lbs. 4 oz. 75th-90th percentile 

Natalie is a big smiler. She melts our hearts every time she smiles at us. She is also a big talker and coos often. She makes various sounds and talks to us for a while. We make sounds back to her and feel like we are having a little conversation with her. If only we could understand the secrets of the universe she is trying to tell us.

Another one of our little ladies skills is she has found her thumb. I'm quite impressed that she found it so early. Sucking on her thumb has been a nice way for her to calm herself down. But mostly, we just think it's really cute.