April Family Weekend: Cabin trip to Pine

April was an especially fun month...not because we did our taxes, but because we celebrated our big tax refund by going to the mountains for the weekend! Our old neighbors/friends, Paul and Mindy Pickett let us use their cabin in Pine on the weekend he ran the Boston Marathon. I've always been to Woods Canyon Lake and Christopher Creek for my White Mountain camping experiences, but this was really great. It was much closer to Phoenix (saved about an hour) and was just as beautiful. They have a nice big cabin with lots of room and a great view!


This is the view from the deck of their cabin.


We had so much fun we didn't take too many pictures, but here's a pic of Bryce and Paige playing on their papasan chair.


Here's a pic of Paige waving to the camera in the chair.


And finally, a pic of Bryce with his cute morning look smile.

On the way home, we hiked at Tonto Bridges State Park. It was a beautiful excursion as we hiked through the park, saw the waterfalls, and enjoyed the sunny weather. The kids were a little tired, so the pics of them aren't totally stellar. But what do you expect after a long fun weekend in the mountains? I used to be so rigged about my kids getting naps and planning my whole trips around that, and now, I think, eh, we're on vacation, and I want to go to this state park, so we're going and they can deal. That's why every parent should have 2 kids or more so they can lower their expectations of life and their children. Anyway, I digress...


Here is a pic of us at the bridge.


This is one of us after we hiked down to the bottom near the waterfall. I could've sworn we had a waterfall pic, but maybe not...