These last few days have been a little crazy...Ali and Katie have both been sick so we've stayed home for the week. I'm hoping no one else will catch this bug...give me some time to get all the laundry done... and we can finally get back outdoors to enjoy this weather! It's been in the 80's all week! I'll update photos this weekend...

Link to see Ali's pictures

If you'd like to see pictures of some of the little creatures that Ali found on our mountain hike you can check out his blog!
www.alisworldofadventures.blogspot.com

Our slithering neighbours

As with most days, the kids spent the majority of their day outdoors looking for lizards, geckos and scorpions. When Josh knocked on my door to announce that they had found a snake and needed Ali's reptile book to identify it I wasn't really surprised. I jokingly said to him "well don't go near it if it's red and black I think those are poisonous". Josh looked at me with wide eyes and said "it is black and red"....and took off running. I gathered Katie and decided to check out this snake myself. Maddy suddenly appears and tells me that Ali inquired at the park office as to what kind of snake it was and the office was now calling the fire department. Goodness, what have these kids gotten into now...I arrived at the scene minutes before the fire dept. to see a small striped snake in their white bin. After a brief discussion with the firefighters, I was relieved to find out that it is normal procedure here to call them when any snake is found. It turns out that the snake was a nonvenomous king snake...similar looking to the coral snake which is venomous. Ali enjoyed quizzing the firefighters on their local snakes and reptiles, and they were genuinely interested in all the little critters the kids had been finding. They encouraged the kids to explore, but agreed with my advice that we just don't touch the snakes we find since we are unfamiliar with the area. They told us about coming to the same spot last month to remove a snake under the same bush and ended up finding three big rattlesnakes. As they jumped in the truck they waved to the kids and told them to have fun. So much excitement in one day!

A Valentine's Day to Remember

Saturday found us experiencing an ultimate high. Our first stop on our day trip was the city of Florence. After researching the destination I was looking forward to seeing some authentic, historical adobe buildings that the area is known for. Unfortunately, we soon learned this was not to be. Perhaps a case of false advertising or some wishful thinking on their part...either way I was disappointed to find out that there was maybe one adobe building and I finally saw it on my way out of the city in the car. After filling up at a local dinner (hmm...definitely some authenticity there!) the goodman-caines clan and our family decided to head to Lost Dutchman State Park. Upon arrival we all decided to do the 2.4 km trail...piece of cake after the hikes we'd done already right? I guess I should have read further because I would have seen the words "elevation change of 500 ft". It was rocky terrain so poor Bill had to carry Katie in his arms up the mountain and back down! Thank goodness the views and the exhilarating feeling of actually climbing a mountain outweighed everything else! It was definitely on the kids list of things to do...and I'm extremely thankful that I was able to do it with them...well...behind them! ( So i wasn't the first one to reach the top... it was a great accomplishment!) The looks on the kids faces at the top was priceless. Maddy has unbelievable stamina and was running up and down with what seemed like unlimited energy! Ali stuck with mom and dad and I was so happy he did, or I would have missed all the little reptiles he found! I'd love to tell you more but I promised not to give away any of the details. I will post a link to his blog later so you can all check out his pictures from the day!

Friday night we hung out with our travelling partners at the McDowell Ranch. It was a relaxing night under the stars with good friends. The kids had a blast playing in the tequila bus, going on a horse drawn wagon ride, roasting hot dogs and listening to native american stories by the fire. The band played music just to Katie's liking and she danced the night away!

Fountain Park

Desert Walk

We've been busy since i've last posted! Thursday found the kids and I going for our first desert hike in McDowell Mountain Regional Park. I had planned for us to do a 2km walk so that Katie could easily do the whole thing, however Ali and Maddy persuaded me to do the 5km educational hike instead. I'm so happy the kids picked this particular trail. Although our one hour walk turned into a three hour walk it was so much fun exploring and learning about the desert plants. It was nice to put some names to the familiar plants. Katie had a great time and managed to walk half of the hike by herself! And I was lucky to have the carrier to cuddle with her for the other half! I will admit, my back was happy to see the end of that trail though...she sure has gotten big!

Play...

Our New Backyard!

Yeah! We are officially settled in in Arizona. We are staying about thirty minutes outside of Phoenix, on the eastern edge of Scottsdale. The resort is in the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Indian Reservation, and the scenery is spectacular! All I can say is WOW! Our site backs onto the Verde River , and every window in our motorhome has a mountain view. I really couldn't ask for anything more. It is quiet, peaceful and really majestic. In the short time we have been here we have seen more rain than our entire trip already, periods of beautiful sunshine, and even some hail! And lets not forget the wind! Here are some pictures of our new backyard!

This weekend was a time of change. We had spent most of the week slowly packing and preparing to move to Arizona; and on Friday Bill returned home after being gone for over three weeks! The kids and I were so excited to have him back...it's all we talked about all day while waiting for him. On Saturday morning it was time to move on. Although it was not a long drive for us, it still takes the whole day to move, drive, stop a number of times!, and set up again. The kids definitely helped keep the drive entertaining...singing as loud as we could, taking tic tac breaks and trying to keep up with Daddy! It was night when we arrived and we are all looking forward to seeing our new place in the daylight!

The best of times....

Our favorite photos of how we enjoyed our time in California. It's no surprise that all of them focus on the three things that are important and special to us all: family, fun and of course the beach!!

Saying Good-bye

Our time in California is almost over. Although we have been here for three months the time really has gone by quickly. It is interesting how you can really "settle" in such a sort time. While on the one hand we all feel ready to move on to Arizona, some part of me is sad to leave a place that I have called home, a place that really is special to me. After all, it was where we chose to begin this journey. So stay tuned for our top ten photos that reflect the best of our times here in California!

Rolling around with friends...

Thanks to our neighbor Kyle for letting the kids play with her and her equipment the other day! Her little pugs look like they had fun too!!