tucson, pt.2

Yeah, this one would be the part with the photos.

Sedona, modeling the leggings that Steph and I whipped up. She got the "I'm a good big sister" award. She really is, too.

On the other hand, I had no idea I was in such danger of being crushed, just like that!

Then there was the swimming. Steph has a pool. It gets used. A lot. The kids had a blast swimming together, and Raine is really improving her swimming, even without formal lessons this year. She would probably trade places with one of Steph's girls, at least during swimming season.

tucson

Raine and I have had a really good time, here in Tucson this week. It has gone by so fast, and I can hardly believe that it will be Friday tomorrow, and time for us to return home.

We've visited, and laughed, and swam, and shopped and sewed and crafted. I took the girls to pick beads, and then they made some really beautiful necklaces. Really beautiful. Steph and I made a pair of tights for Sedona that have zippers at the ankles. Fun! Steph finished a dress for her younger daughter that is really cute and has Tinkerbell all over it. She did a nice job on it. I showed Steph how easy it is to use the Serger. I had to learn it, and now I must pass it along. I should - of course - interject "then the girls swam" between each of these projects. Really.

We did other stuff too, though. Bowling was a good sollution to the Tucson heat one afternoon. Dispicable Me was, too, another afternoon. Really enjoyed that movie, and recommend it. I saw a few movies that I hadn't seen before, like Julie and Julia, which was good (and then Iron Chefs did the butter challenge today...). The Hangover was one I hadn't made any effort to see, but it was more entertaining than I thought it would be. Oh, yeah, then the girls swam. Raine, also got to ride a horse a couple of times, too. And we played spades one evening, and had a blast with that, even though Steph & I lost.

With good friends around, it doesn't take much for a good time to ensue. I wish Ron could have come to partake, but he was doing the responsible thing, and I respect him for that. Of course I will be punished for having fun without him... ahhhh, but hopefully that will make him want to come too, next visit. More regular blogging should resume shortly.

going places

Well, at least one place: Tucson. Raine and I are going to go visit my friend Steph and her family. We'll be gone a week, so if you don't hear from us, that's why. I am taking my little portable laptop jr. Don't know if I'll get online much with it, or have the patience to do much once I'm there. Still, I might manage a blog entry or two. Might not.

I've taken the day to prepare for the trip, getting the other two new tires that I didn't get in February, when one went flat overnight, got the air compressor treatment (with requisite cussing) in the morning, and went Psssssst, pssssst, pssssssst all the way to Big O. Yeah.

Now I'm counting on good tires and $3000 worth of transmission work to get us there and back, oh yeah, along with a couple of tanks of gas. Steph and I will visit and gossip and solve the problems of the world, then head out to the pool for a leisurely swim. Her girls and mine will be playing and running, and playing and screeching, and playing and splashing, and wearing each other out, for the most part... Yep, definitely a good part of summer.

john's birthday

We took Shelbi home today. She would have stayed longer, she really would have. We had a blast. By we, I mean of course, Raine, Shelbi, and I. Ron and Carl, not so involved, although I know Carl appreciated seeing his niece, too. I would have kept her longer, but as the summer draws closer to its close, there are some other things I want to do, still. That, and I really, really, ascribe to the philosophy of "leave 'em wanting more" when it comes to visiting. If you still want to stay, you've had a good time, and you have a reason to return, and a positive feeling about returning as well. If you do all you could possibly do, then boredom - or worse - can set in. Finally, it was her dad's birthday today.

John is the one of us who always loved being on the receiving end of any gift giving.... not so much of a giver himself. Carl and I will call him or maybe I will remember to get a card in the mail or something. This year, we decided to all hop in the car and take John out for a birthday dinner, and visit a bit. We had a nice dinner in Truth or Consequences, then visited for a bit while Shelbi showed Raine around her turf. Shelbi got to show off some of her spoils, and then we came home. The possibility of Raine visiting Shelbi for a few days was even arranged.

Again, the "leave 'em wanting more" philosophy was attempted. (don't know how much more of us John ever wants, but, eh) Still, one more successful chapter in my book of this summer.

even when bored

Kids can have a good time even when boredom sends them to.... bubbles! The girls climbed in the back of their uncle's truck and blew a ton of bubbles. Of course when I got out the camera, they hammed it up.

They sure are cute, and I think its a good thing I don't have to buy film and pay for developing it to enjoy photographing them as much as they enjoy being photographed...

Make stuff, pass it on

One of the activities I wanted to do with the girls was for them to get to do some beading. I picked out some in anticipation, and some necessities for making necklaces. Then took the girls so they could pick out some beads and a charm for their necklaces. Personal tastes and all.

This morning the beading began, and it didn't take too long until we all three had nice, new necklaces! The girls both did a great job with their beading, and their necklaces both looked great, and very different from one another. Come on, no surprise there...

Silly faces were made, and then the hairstyling began. Raine got a pony tail, thanks to the efforts of her cousin...

white sands, no rain this time

We made it to White Sands Monument again today. We didn't get rained on this time, and we had a really good time. We had kids galore having a grand time, and from oldest to youngest there was sand, sand, sand.

Last week when we went, I gave Raine the brochure that you get at the gate, so she could look through it and practice her reading. She was fascinated by the bleached earless lizard. We had to discuss whether or not it really has ears. (yes, but the openings are very small.) No, you can't just call it a white lizard, you have to say the WHOLE thing... sigh... bleached earless lizard (and try it with no front teeth...)

So, today we were walking to the restroom, and Raine was walking on the sand dunes while I walked at the edge of the road. She - of course - did not have her shoes on, and the sand was softer on the dune of course. She told me she wanted to see one of those bleached earless lizards, as if I could just point somewhere and there it would be. I told her we would have more luck finding one where there were more plants, and she pointed between some dunes to an area that hadn't been graded and remarked that there were plants over there.

Needless to say, we walked that way back towards the car, looking for little white lizards. Would you believe it? In about the third or fourth little clump of grass, there was a little white lizard. Well, how cool was that? Of COURSE it was a bleached earless lizard, what else could it have possibly been? Take a picture of it Mama. Well, sweety, I didn't bring the camera to the bathroom, silly me. We walked to the car, got the camera, and a lot of followers, but the lizard was nowhere to be found. Smart lizard. Still, she saw it, and it was one of the high points of the evening for her.