What Makes for an Amazing Road Trip?

Getting an early start...

Driving under beautiful skies...

Appreciating the little things-like petrified wood in the middle of what used to be a volcanic fall out and what is now barren desert.

Falling asleep to the sound of gentle rain and waking to a crisp but sunny morning.

Exploring ancient civilizations.

...and arriving at your next destination just in time for an evening hike.

Picking the sunrise hike less travelled

and experiencing a little desert solitaire with just our little family

and never taking ourselves too seriously...

Experiencing new things

becoming a pro at overcoming adversity
and finding hidden treasure

Campfires!

and WILDLIFE!!!

Realizing the earth below is a lot more unpredictable and volatile than the world above.

Always stop to smell/pick/(photograph naked babies in), the wildflowers.

My cousins 1st and 2nd

Party with the Greens....get your picture taken. :)

Malea's little Sami got heart surgery a few weeks ago. The surgery went great and Sami's recovery has been speedy and without complication. We had James and Sadie stay with us for a week and then they were at thier aunts house the week after. We had so much fun having them. Malea and Morris with Sam and Lucy made a trip out to AZ to pick up the kids. Morris' family came out that evening so they could get some family pictures taken. They were late getting here so our time outside was limited-but my lens did fairly well in low light-but I did have to get the flash out and eventually we moved the party inside. Then the fun really began.

Swim

The summer is winding down. We began our summer with a fun trip to Georgia and we are ending our summer with a road/camping trip through AZ, UT and WY. We have filled our time in between with lot's of swimming, cub scout activities, and friends. I love the Marana Park and Rec swim program. The team is $20.00 for the entire summer. Practice is in the morning at 7:45-9:00am and evenings from 5:00-6:00pm meets on Saturdays(only have to participate in two to qualify for championships). The kids have loved it. I have enjoyed the structure of our summer mornings. The meets are long and I don't think I could bear more than the three we went to, although I love the energy that's there. So many people from church and school cheering one another on. Bradeigh seems to have also enjoyed the meets despite the average time we are there is 5 hours,(I'd like to pause here and give two whoot whoot's to the makers of the pack n play-thank goodness Bradeigh likes having her own special place to play). I LOVE the sense of community that is there. Each year that passes I feel more rooted and have really grown to love and appreciate our community.