The start of a GREAT summer...

The last week has been a full one and I am just now able to catch up on it! Whew...first week of summer break around here and we have already had some fun! 

First off was the long holiday weekend...3 days of fun (and a little work for me!) We worked a little in the backyard and in my little garden.

Or should I say my not-so-little-anymore garden. He's the munchkin with our first bounty of the season! Some jalapeños, strawberries and a big zucchini. Next up we hit up the park for some fun...

On Sunday we relaxed a little and took an early nap...or at least Roxy did!

I had to work a little on Sunday...

Ok, Ok...so it wasn't so much "work" as it was spending time cuddling with this adorable little 11 day old newbie, Jaxson! I just love it when I get to photograph newborns...they are just so sweet and cuddly and boy oh boy did I start to get baby fever after spending time with this sweetie! (just don't tell my hubby!)
On Monday I did a little grocery shopping, a little napping, a little swimming and we went to a a BBQ with some awesome friends! (Love me some Hatch's & Delorio's!)
As I mentioned in an earlier post Caleb is attending summer camp this year while on summer break and he is having so much fun so far! He gets to go on field trips 3 times a week and they have fun activities planned for the other 2. This week was a short one with Memorial day on Monday, so he only went on 2 field trips...first to the batting cages on Tuesday and then to the movies on Thursday. Needless to say...the boy is super excited to get to go everyday! 
So I think we've started out Summer out right, don't you? I can't wait for everything else this summer will bring...we've got some fun friends coming in this weekend and through the middle of next week (Holla Harding clan!) then my high school Bestest Bestie in the World Suzie and her family are coming for their yearly visit later in the month. (Check out the post from their visit last year...I want to top it this year. Think we can do it?) I think we may make a quick trip to Vegas or the PNW and definitely a trip up to the high country to get away from the ever-present 110+ heat. This summer is going to be one for the books I tell ya...yes it will be!!

Just keep swimming

This summer has been full of lots of sunshine and LOTS of swimming! Caleb has been in swimming lessons for the last few months and he is getting really good. He can swim the backstroke, the breaststroke and freestyle. (He’s still got some work on the butterfly!)

Caleb & swim lesson friend Joey doing the backstroke

Having a pool means that we HAVE to make sure that Caleb can swim, so he’s been in swim lessons since he was 18 months old! Now for me I learned how to swim the old fashioned way…with my dad throwing me in the river and expecting me to find my way to the surface and back to the bank. My husband on the other hand, also grew up with a pool and took swim lessons as a kid, and after watching me swim (I look like I’m having a seizure when I freestyle) he knew that REAL swim lessons would be needed for Caleb. Since school starts next week for the kids in our neighborhood, swim lessons are over for the summer but here are some photos from the last session!

Preparing to dive

Joey showing Caleb how it's done!

My little diver boy!

Taking off for the backstroke!

And as Dory in Finding Nemo says…”Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming!”

I'm a big baby

Ok...it's confession time...

A confession about what a big baby I am...

I have a pool. And, I'm not gonna lie…I absolutely love having one. When my husband and I were originally talking about moving down to Arizona about 7 years ago, I made him promise me that our house would have a pool. I knew, especially since I had never lived anywhere except Washington State, that I would not be able to handle the heat of summer in the desert without one. Also, since I grew up in a climate where it rains 7-8 months of the year, almost no one had a pool and it was such a novelty to even imagine being able to have one...especially one in my own backyard! For us swimming was something that you did in a lake or a river…and that water was COLD!

But now I that I lived in Arizona for over six years, I have completely adjusted to the temperature down here and I get cold so, so easily...I can’t even imagine swimming in anything except a pool that has water that is at least 85 degrees.

I know…what a freakin’ baby I’ve turned out to be! But, at least I can say that I don’t ever complain about the heat anymore. Just the cold…and yes, my idea of cold is completely differernt than most of the country’s idea of it. I don’t like anything under 50 degrees…and even then it’s pushing it for me! When my friends back in Washington talk about swimming, I know that it is in ice cold water and I can't even comtemplate how that water would feel on my Arizona-acclimated tushie!

So, yes...I'm a big baby about the cold...

But I think that I am meant to live in the desert with the heat and I wouldn't have it any other way!

On that note I will leave you with a couple of photos of my son playing in the pool yesterday.

A running jump...

...followed up with a ninja kick!

 Happy, happy Monday!!

Viva Las Vegas

So we are getting ready to set off for our first trip of the summer…hubby and I are taking a childfree weekend and heading on over to Las Vegas.

The little one is spending some time with grandma and papadaka and we are driving from one desert to another desert. Yes, I know that Vegas in July isn’t anyone’s idea of getting away, but heck, I'm on a budget and it’s way cheaper in the summer!

This trip isn’t going to be anything fancy, just a short break from reality. It will include a lot of sleeping in (‘cause anyone that is a parent to a toddler knows that sleeping in NEVER happens anymore), some photo taking, a little bit of gambling,


Definitely some time spent in a lounge chair next to this pool.
(With wonderful, yummy, drinks in hand and possibly some poolside gambling.)


And a special appearance by one of my favorite artists of all time…


Yep, Garth Brooks! My hubby scored us some of the hardest to get tickets in Vegas and our seats are awesome. We are only 10 rows back in the center. I can’t wait…

Summers are "Indoor Fun" times in Arizona

It is getting so hot here in the Valley of the Sun…by the time I pulled into the parking lot at work this morning it was already 94 degrees out. Yep, that’s right…94 degrees at 8:00 am. Yuck!

By the end of the week it’s supposed to get over 115 degrees outside for the highs, and the 90s for our lows. Yowza! Definitely a drawback of living in the desert!

This is the time of year that you notice that no one is outside that doesn’t have to be. No children playing outside (unless you hear splashing from a backyard pool), no one out for walks with their dogs, and the local parks are like ghost towns. We all know better…we just sit inside in front of vents that are blowing air-conditioned comfort or underneath a ceiling fan going so fast, you would think it was going to just take off into flight by itself.

So hats off to everyone that braves the Arizona summers…we definitely have to pay for our wonderful weather for the other 9 months of the year, but getting through the heat of the summer is worth it!