One afternoon we took off for South Mountain Park and Preserve for a little hiking. Since we weren’t feeling very ambitious, and the Buick’s low fuel light had just come on, we picked a short hike near the park entrance. Although it didn’t seem like we had climbed much in elevation, after just a bit of hiking, we had a nice view of the valley and downtown Phoenix.

Silas and Jon took advantage of a lot of nephew/uncle time together. Jon gave him piano and drum lessons. We even had a cookout (in January!) Jon’s last night here.

On Friday, the guys toured the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson. Nothing like a bunch of planes, jets, and rockets to entertain them. Dad—via Jon’s suggestion—found a Vietnamese restaurant to try for supper. The previous night Jon had introduced all of us to Boba tea (creamy tea with tapioca pearls mixed in), so Dad was up for a supper of Vietnamese food. My favorite part was the spring roll appetizer with peanut sauce. Fish sauce was a new sensation for our American palettes. I think we all agreed that Vietnamese food was a success.

Afterwards we explored the adjacent Lee Lee Oriental Suparmarket which was filled with strange and wonderful (and some unappetizing) cuisine choices. In the meat section we found chicken legs, pig snouts, blood, hearts, pig ears, eels, squid, and octopus! As we shopped Dad commented, “One thing about it, you get to know your animals.” To which Stephen replied, “It’s like a dead zoo, Dad.” Thankfully we came home with relatively normal purchases like a pineapple orange, pomelo, sesame snacks, mango, etc. and left the balut, anchovies, and tongue in Tucson.

Our week was filled with enjoying Christmas presents. Tammy gave Stephen the popular game Settlers of Catan, and Tim, Ben, Stephen & I became immediately addicted. We even rang in the New Year playing Settlers. My family gave me Rummikub and Buzzword which made for a game-filled week. I instantly used my beautiful platter from Jon for our Christmas brunch. Best of all, Mom and Dad bought us some porch furniture which means we can enjoy being outside finally. Can’t wait to use it!

The days were warm and clear and perfect for visits to the park. At Arizona Mills mall Silas rode the carousel with Grammy and Daddy and visited the pet shop.We had plenty of help around the house. The dishes “magically” disappeared after each meal. Stephen even had help installing his radiator hose.

Holidays are still holidays without family, but oh, how glad we are they came!

A lot of the cities ship in snow for their Christmas festivals, and I was hoping Silas would have a chance to experience it. I imagined a large pile of snow where kids and babies could play at their own pace. Instead, we found a fenced in area under a lighted tent that contained, what looked like, very icy snow. The adult supervisor would let in a few rowdy kids at a time who would immediately begin pelting each other with snow. Too bad there wasn’t a baby/toddler section. I guess Bitty Boy will just have to wait for an authentic snow encounter.

We did manage to squeeze onto the last horse drawn hayride of the night. It was a tight fit, but a very Christmas-y activity.The next weekend we watched Buckeye’s Electric Parade. What a great choice for Silas’s first parade. He was wide-eyed the entire time! Everything in the parade—people, four wheelers, semis, tractors, garbage trucks, fire engines, carriages pulled by miniature horses—everything was decorated with Christmas lights. Stephen and I tried to get Silas to wave at the floats. He did wave, but I’m not sure if he was saying “hello” or directing music. Somebody gave Silas a glow stick and we realized it was the perfect toy for him—a combination of a stick and a light—two of Baby’s favorites.

What fun to see the lights, hear the carols, and wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

I’ve been surprised at how many animals I’ve seen from my window. Hawks soar high in the sky, and doves walk the roof of my neighbor’s house. Lizards scamper along the walls in the spring. Cats, domestic and feral, walk the concrete walls. I love to see the moon make his nightly ascent.

Recently I’ve concluded something. Airplanes make me happy. With the Goodyear Airport just five minutes from us, and the Sky Harbor Airport downtown, I can almost always see a commercial airliner or private cessna out my kitchen window. And it makes me happy. I guess I just like to know that there are people up there, and I’m happy that there’s something to see. Seeing an airplane so far above me gives me kind of a wistful feeling. Weird, huh? I think too much sometimes.

Fall tiptoed into the Valley Monday night and made a dramatic appearance this week. Temperatures on Tuesday were still in the high 90s, but we had a furious thunderstorm and downpour. The neighborhood kids were running back and forth across the street through the rushing water near the curbs.

Yesterday and today, the sun is hot, but the air is cool with temps in the 60s and 70s. Autumn is here! AND we have cold water flowing from our faucets! Silas and I took a walk yesterday morning and met our neighbors across the street who come down from Winnipeg, Manitoba for a few weeks/months out of the year.

Hopefully we’ll get to know more of our neighbors now that the weather is so beautiful. It’s weather like this that draws so many people to retire here.

According to ABC 15 news, “monsoon 2011 will go down in the record books as the hottest ever in the Valley of the Sun.”

Two years ago, we moved to Arizona in September. As we hunted for an apartment, I noticed fall decorations in the offices of apartment complexes. There were scarecrows, autumn leaves and hay bales. I thought it was crazy to decorate for fall when it was still scorching hot outside! Now I realize that if you want autumn in Arizona, you have to make it happen yourself. Decorate, bake, and wear short-sleeved sweaters even when it feels like an oven outside.

Here’s hoping the weather forecast is right and cooler weather is waiting in the wings.

• the “cold” tap water is too hot for hand washing (in the afternoons)


• you hibernate in your house and don’t come out till November


• the weeds stop growing


• you nearly burn your arm on the car door when trying to make a deposit at the ATM


• bottled water is a must EVERY time you get in the car—even if it’s to run a quick errand


• it seems like it will be hot for the rest of your life


• water sprinklers adorn the eaves of public stores (and even though you’re standing directly beneath the sprinklers, you still can’t feel any water, but it is a few degrees cooler)


• lawns only survive if they’re watered (this is pretty much true year round)


• the thermometer reads in the triple digits through the end of October


• door handles to public buildings are covered in cloth or rubber to prevent burning clients’ hands


• you start to wonder why you have sweaters in your closet


• schools issue heat warnings limiting the amount of time kids can play outside


• the news announces a recent epidemic of scorpion stings due to a spike in outside temps


• any temperature in the 90’s sounds heavenly


• your electricity bill easily doubles in the “hotter” season (when we first moved here, I was told Phoenix has 2 seasons: hot and hotter)


• you take a mini-vacation to San Diego to reward yourself for surviving the summer(These sunsets are actually from several months ago, because—as you now know—I’ve been hibernating in my house for a while.)

Now, I’m admittedly a newbie when it comes to desert summers, so leave me a comment to add your take on the “hotter” season in the Valley of the Sun.

»Now I am officially certified to have a son named Silas Clark since I’ve recently finished reading Silas Marner and tasted a Clark bar for the first time. (It’s basically a Butterfinger.)

»Stephen and I had a very happy anniversary date thanks to our friend Becky who graciously spent her evening playing with Silas. Stephen took me to Pappadeaux’s a restaurant well-known for their fresh seafood. Our meal began with an alligator appetizer. Yes, you read that right—alligator! Of course with all that yummy batter, it tasted like chicken, but with a hint of “wild” to it. After gumbo, lobster, and filet mignon for dinner, we ended our date with carrot cake cheesecake. I’d never heard of such a thing before, but it was a hit!

»Last Saturday some Indiana friends were in town and met us for dinner at Garcia’s. During dinner Jamie had the unique privilege of giving Silas his first lemon slice. Silas looked worried, gave a delayed shudder, and then promptly decided he liked lemon and wanted more.»I’m constantly amazed at how far Baby can reach and how tall he can be when he’s grabbing at something. The other day he figured out how to play the piano on his own. He’s now starting to stand without holding onto anything, but only for a few seconds at a time. He now crawls on all fours (usually one knee, one foot and both hands). We’ve discovered that the little punkin’ belly boy LOVES cheese (yet again, taking after his father). The first time he tried it, he immediately began stuffing more cheese in his mouth than he could hold. Once we rescued the cheese cubes left on his tray, we realized he had cheese held tightly in both fists.

»Our piano is tuned! We had a missionary speak at church last Sunday, and he is also a piano tuner. He graciously spent hours and hours on two different days working on our piano. It took two tunings and a lot of adjustments to get the piano where it should be.»Friday night we attended a Diamondbacks game with a group from church. It was the second baseball game I’d ever been to. Silas was sporting his D-backs gear.»One of Bitty Boy’s new favorite toys is an orange baseball bat. Since the bat is so rounded, it looks like Silas is carrying around a caveman’s club ready to beat someone over the head!

So there you have it—little bits of life.

Mystery Drive Destination: Slide Rock at Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona

After a two hour drive, we arrived in Sedona. Although we had visited Sedona right after Silas was born, we somehow managed to miss the main drag with all the interesting shops! Oak Creek Canyon was beautiful and surprisingly green. Since Slide Rock is so popular—especially in the summer—the parking lot was full when we got there. So, we drove down the road and found a picnic area. Jen had packed a yummy lunch, which we ate by the creek with a view of some gorgeous mountains.Stephen strapped Silas into his baby carrier for our hike, and declared, “Adventure is out there!”* And an adventure it was. The unmarked trail was so steep and rocky that we had to take it very slowly and help each other down an especially tricky spot. Oak Creek had formed a pretty deep swimming hole where we were, but we wanted to see Slide Rock, so we picked our way along the creek bed. The steep slope was covered in large wobbly boulders that made for unstable footing and slow going. We kept hiking, and hiking, and hiking.Finally, after much balancing, careful stepping, and only one fall, we reached the smooth red rock walls of Oak Creek. It was beautiful! The kids, Jen and I waded in the creek while the guys scouted out an exit strategy for us. The water was ice cold at first, but it was a welcome change since the sunny day was so hot. Silas liked the water, and Elizabeth and Ben loved it.Stephen and Ryan came back, and we hung out in the creek for a bit. What a pretty spot!

We never did make it to Slide Rock but picked our way a little further down the creek and then, with much help from the guys, we climbed straight up the rock cliff to a small parking pull-out alongside the highway. At that point I had Silas strapped to me as Stephen pulled me up the huge boulder. We rested at the pull-out while Ryan retrieved the car. Unexpected adventures make the best memories.

The rest of the afternoon was spent browsing the many colorful shops of Sedona. Gemstone jewelry, petrified wood, dulcimers, picture frames made out of old motherboards and computer keys, and fudge were just a few of the things that caught our interest. I managed to find a case for my dulcimer for just $5!

Stephen chose steak for his birthday dinner entrée, so that took us to Relics, the oldest restaurant in Sedona. This was the first “glass-goblet-and-cloth-napkin restaurant” we’ve visited with Silas, so I found myself shoving Cheerios in his mouth to ward off baby squeals and screams. Bitty Boy actually did pretty well. Stephen topped off his steak dinner with free ice cream and a chocolate lava brownie (which he graciously shared with me because he loves me and knows all too well my obsession with brownies). After the meal, we were given a private tour of the restaurant. The place was beautiful!

Before heading back to Phoenix, we stopped at Coldstone Creamery for ice cream for the rest of the gang. What a great day—what great friends!

*p.s. I’m sure Stephen will be embarrassed once he discovers that I announced to the world that he quoted from the movie Up, but in all honesty, Doug the talking dog is one of Stephen’s favorites. We bought the DVD solely for Silas’s enjoyment though. {{wink}}

Today our good friends the Horkavys are taking us on an all day Mystery Drive! They’re super excited about it (surprises have to be one of their most favorite things in the whole world), and their enthusiasm is rubbing off on me. Stephen has the day off, so I can’t wait for our adventure today. Here are the clues we’ve been given:

Clue #1: Wear good walking shoes.

Clue #2: You might want to bring a jacket.

Clue #3: Wear something you don’t mind getting really wet and bring a change of clothes.

Clue #4: Plan to be with us the whole day. We’re not staying in Phoenix.

Clue #5: Bring Silas’s Moby wrap.

So…....any ideas? Sounds to me like we’re headed north for a hike in a riverbed or a hike to a waterfall. Guess I’d better go pack my things for this awesome adventure!