Hole in the rock.

We decided to be adventurous and I had heard of a cool place where you could see wild horses. I had Chris look up the destination and off we went. We must have had a little bit of a miscommunication because when we got to the "nature trail" (that should have tipped me off right away) we were still basically in downtown Phoenix. What?! It was called a "Restoration bird habitat". Basically it used to be a junkyard that they cleaned up and now its like a dirt road. Weird. I think we saw 1 bird. Not exactly the wild horses I was dreaming of-I will find it one of these days! Anyways, after our miserable fail, we decided to head over to this other place we had heard about at Papago Park called Hole in the Rock. It was number 23 on Trip Advisers "Things to do in Phoenix" so I thought it was a safe bet. We were pleasantly surprised! And luckily we were able to redeem ourselves after the first "hike" with our kids.



It's just as it sounds, a giant hole in a giant rock, that has some nice stairs up to the top and an amazing view from there.


It was just perfect for young kids and the cave is nice and cool with a great breeze that comes through when you get to the top. And of course some amazing views! I couldn't get over the oasis just below us, the water was so beautiful and the palms were just awesome.


Oh this kid is growing up way too fast.


We cooled off with some Fro Yo and a matinee. Just livin it up!

The zoo.

We've been trying to figure out what people do here in the desert summers. We got ready early one day and headed over to the zoo. Because of the heat the zoo closes by the afternoon, and I think it was around 110 degrees by the time we left.

It's so fun to be right up close to them.

We loved seeing all the big animals we don't get to see at our old zoo, but by the end of the day we were hot and exhausted. Luckily our zoo has a splash pad, so I bought six dollar hot dogs and we relaxed and enjoyed a good sweat-out and went for a nice swim when we got home!

Desert Bound.

This whirlwind we've been on for the last 2 months is coming to an end as we finally made it out here to the desert. We have our lives somewhat unpacked and are starting to understand this heat everyone has been telling us about. Yes, it is stinking hot. And as someone told me at the pool today, it isn't even summer yet. What?! But I'm loving it. I was made for heat I think. There are so many nuances with desert living. For instance, we have already inspected our cars and confiscated all of the crayons. They don't last a second. Also, there is no cold water. Anywhere. I'm not even sure our hot water heater is even on. It comes out of the tap hot. You don't leave the house without drinking water. If your car broke down, you'd be vapor in minutes. And instead of leaving for church 15 minutes early to get a good seat, you go early to get a good parking spot in the shade.

But I'm loving the mountains all around us, the red rock, and the palm trees everywhere. I live in a vacation. We go to the pool every. single. day. sometimes twice. The sun is out everyday. SUNSHINE. How I've missed you. There are so many opportunities here for us and I just can't wait. I'm not waiting, I'm taking in every minute, every blazing hot minute and loving it.

I'm even loving all the different kinds of cactus (cacti??).

They are their own kind of beautiful.

And the palm trees that adorn these beautiful temples out here in the desert. That was tops on our list of things to do and we got to see the temples the first Sunday we were in town. Each, so beautiful.

Yes, we are loving it here, way out in the desert.

Claire's homemade doll

Claire has been wanting to make a doll for a long time and we finally finished it this weekend. It was a pretty quick little project and Claire is in love with "Nellie". 

I've been robbed.

I needed this quote today: 

Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to just be people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey…delays…sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling burst of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.

Gordon B. Hinckley

Claire's pink team

Claire was on another basketball team again this year but with all her friends so it was much more fun. They even got to wear pink for the games. 

She did great this year! She is getting really good at handling the ball and being aggressive. We were really proud of her growth in her skills this year. 

Love day 2014

Just realized I had a picture of each of my loves on love day so I thought I would share. Those kids are my joy. Didn't get a picture of my valentine though which is funny. But he was there and we had a nice quiet valentines together. 

We made heart pancakes for breakfast, I went and helped with Claire and Jakes school parties. Chris took me out to lunch and Sam tagged along. We got yummy cupcakes afterwards. 

Then I finished up the kids traditional big heart cookies. 

I also got a cute heart backdrop that Sam helped me try out.