Hike in the Desert

I love the times when I reminded how beautiful Arizona really is - those times come most often when I am either driving in my air conditioned car or going for a hike/walk in the early morning before the sweltering heat takes over. Today was the latter. Jared enjoys going to the archery range and walking the "hunting route" with burlap prints of different animals to aim for. Garrett has accompanied Jared before but Brexton and I had never been. It was beautiful.

Excited for our early morning adventure...


Next stop, get in line for chapstick


Constantly be reminded that Dad goes first to lead the way and to be careful - the slopes are slippery. Both boys ended up with some fabulously scraped up knees.

Reid Park Zoo

I'm pretty sure I've said this before but I really, really like the Tucson zoo. This visit was no disappointment. After we'd walked half of the zoo we decided it was time for a snack break. The four of us had only two chocolate covered chex bars (a rare treat... and yes, I admit I was terribly unprepared for a real snack break). Brexton wasn't a fan of the thought of sharing his bar and proceeded to have a meltdown. We were approached by a passing-by zoo worker who gave pity for little Brexton. She kindly asked if he'd like to go feed the giraffes. Sounded fun and after she mentioned it I did recall that they allow the public to pay $2 to feed the giraffes one biscuit. She had something else in mind though. The worked unlocked a padlocked gate that read "For Giraffes and Zoo Employees Only." We walked through the giraffes house where they sleep for the night and around to the back gate of their enclosure. She "called" the giraffes over by clunking a bucket full of biscuits.



That's where we got to take over and feed the giraffes to our hearts content. I don't know that the boys were ever brave enough to hand-feed a biscuit to them but that's okay - those foot long slimy tongues probably turn off a few toddlers. I LOVED it though!






Notice Garrett against the back wall in his green shirt - he was ready for some space from those tall giraffes!



Absoluetly no zoom-action going on here.




After all that fun we went to the neighboring park and fed the ducks some seriously hard bread. We literally jumped on the loaf (aka ROCK) of bread, finally resigning to throwing in a big hunk to soften and sog up in the water :)

The boys' first (but not last) Shooting Adventure

On the way to Tucson one afternoon Jared had a grand idea to host the first Shooting Adventure for our boys. I'm pretty sure that all Strawberry soda is good for anyway is shooting them and watching them explode. After some gun safety talk Jared set up some cans and helped the boys aim, pull, and fire! While they did think the spewing cans of soda was pretty neat they were understandably a little aprehensive about the loud noises. They were kind enough to let Jared and I finish off the case of soda - but only after we saved two cans to enjoy at Grandma's house.

Childhood memories...

I'm pretty sure this is one of the best parts of being a kid. As an adult I've tried to duplicate this joy of swinging on your stomach... and believe me, it's not the same.

Happy Valentine's Day

For our Valentine's date we doubled with our fabulously dependable friends Jared and Andrea. The guys took care of the plans and reservations. It took me by surprise when they informed me that it would be Japanese cuisine. I can now say that I've tried it and enjoyed everything that was served cooked. The raw sushi items that we ordered I was not a fan of. But just like I tell my kids, you'll never know unless you try. The soup looked deceptively tasteless but was really, really delicious - it pretty much looked like chicken broth with 5 or 6 green onion slices, but it was super flavorful and yum!

We finished our night off with 5 games of bowling each. I pleasantly struck a short "lucky streak," but a lucky one regardless. I bowled a 165 the first game which proved to be the high score for our group. (Let's not mention that I don't even think I broke 100 on the last game :)

Lastly we indulged in some (FREE) frozen yogurt from a new shop that just opened - "Yodippity." While it's not quite "Mesa Frozen Yogurt" it was still super tasty and we got to enjoy some serious toppings. Mmmm... I'm craving frozen yogurt now :)


For a little family fun we made sugar cookies. The boys loved frosting their own cookies and sneaking handfuls of the conversation hearts.

March already?

Time sure flies - too fast for me sometimes. After 6 weeks of no blogging and several requests for an update allow me to attempt to do such. This could take a while (unless I condense and simplify A LOT)

Nearly a year ago I was out garage-sale-ing when I drove by a house with a lonely solid wood door leaning against the side of the house. After some seriously inspiring blog posts featuring the uses of an old door I couldn't keep it off my mind. I let an entire week go by frequently driving by to see if it was still there. Finally I got up the gumption and knocked on the door just to see if someone was home. A man answered the door clearly not expecting any visitors by his clothing (but really, that's me most days too - so don't come over expecting anything but pajamas). Anyway, I asked about the door and he said that he was planning on chopping it up and putting in the trash that very day. I asked I might save him the trouble by taking it home with me. He tried to help me put it in the Tahoe but quickly determined that it wouldn't fit. So he offered to put it in his truck and follow me home! We did just that :) My original plan was to make a coffee table but it turned out to serve a much different purpose...
















A visit to Thatcher while Jared went hunting turned out to be even better when my sister Mindy and her kids took an impromptu trip to AZ. It was pretty frigidly cold and windy but we still managed to play outside, go to the park, watch movies, play games, bake cookies, etc.



























I'm trying to grow another garden this year. Last year wasn't too successful so we're hoping that by planting a little earlier that things improve. I just really can't tell if I'm starving the plants of water or if I'm drowning them. Any suggestions on how to know?

Thinking outside the Box...

A great trade...

Jared's Aunt Amy is so gracious to be my "Free Hairdresser" so I thought it was a great trade when she asked if I'd take her family pictures again this year - I'm pretty sure I'm getting the sweet end of the deal because she's a trained beautician (sp?) and I hardly have the slightest clue with photography. Regardless I think we got some marvelous pictures even with the blaring sunlight...