I decided to have a little lap swim, and Tot and Doug went to the gym. They also explored which inspired my honey. I love this about him in that he sees some type of architecture and has a vision of homeyness. This was on the Poco Diablo property.
He also spotted a heron? in their adventures. We long to find more birds as we learn about this together. I can’t wait to get a fancy camera. He’ll be a PRO day 1! Tot will too I’m sure.
Ok, so we hit the golf course for the final HOORAH.
Tot, you look mahhhhhvelous. Stay focused on that ball!
She doesn’t need to stay in the cart! She wants to HIT IT! Go Tot!
My honey is up and he is ready.
Wow! He is looking so good out there. I look forward to our golfing more often. TOGETHER. Now, do you think I want to golf because I love that little ball? NO WAY! It’s because it provides a way for us to enjoy each other in SLO-MO. Golf is NEVER fast, right? You see character out there on the course. Patience. Endurance. Encouragement.
My turn. I do my best, and I know I need MUCH more practice. Well, Honey captures me in action. Good thing you don’t see the result. It goes straight but not too far.
All I know is we will keep on practicing.
We finish up, and we decide to head out.
Cooper is crying out for us to come and get him! So, we decide to head out and pick the little guy up.
We are pretty excited. Cooper has no idea as we spot him.
Reunited!!! I have the feels all over me.
Ok, Tot…. you can have him too.
She is so happy to see him.
Doug was pretty excited too but he is taking the pics.
All I can say is that it was wonderful being all together. I know we might get on each others’ nerves here and there, sure. But, that is FAMILY. We love each other so very much that we can let it out and be ourselves.
I can’t wait until the 3rd HAA. What I do know is that I adore my daughter, I love my husband to pieces, and my little puppy? He’s the bees knees! My little cuddle bag.
We decided to hit the Broken Arrow trail and head to Chicken Point. It was going to be a bit hot, so we got started around 9:30. (Yes, we were hoping Sedona would be cooler, but it was in the 90’s…oye!)
Tot had the BEST attitude yesterday. Would it be the same? As we began, she found many reasons to notsee the beauty. A bug bugging on her here; a twitch there; a scratch up on her here, a flying something on her there, etc etc etc. I told her to focus on the majesty of our environment gosh doodle! Sheesh! Good lesson in life. If you focus on the obstacles along the path, you’ll never see the destination and you won’t embrace the journey. You’ll see the problems. Ok, I’ll stop waxing eloquent. Let’s get on with this view!
I gave her a job: Look for the rock monuments which are along the path. It means we are going the right way.
Pressing on, we kept hearing, are we there yet??The consistent answer: ALMOST!!!
Almost is such a great term. It can mean almost in an hour or almost in a second. Covers our bases.
We see the sign for heading to Chicken Point, and we hear the 4-Wheel Jeeps trudging on the rocks. They better know what they are doing!
As we were walking past the jeep, a few passerbys mentioned that we were very close to that panoramic view. Oh, Glory be!
Now as we approach, I’m awestruck with the thought of who could possibly not believe in a Creator? I mean, you see this amazing beautiful red terrain and the glorious mountains surrounding you. What draws people here? Why go through this arduous climb to just go back down? It’s HIM inside of us which we FEEL when we are in the presence of these mountains. Can you explain this to a 6-year old? NOPE. Not until you reach the top.
Very similar to us trusting HIM and our kids trusting us. IT’S ALL WORTH THE HARD WORK of PRESSING ON THROUGH THE PAIN AND SWEAT.
We arrive and I lose my breath. I gain goosebumps all over my tired and hot body. Well, Tot? What do you think?
We get the full panorama and then decide we better head back. Tatum is in awe.
We definitely were ready to get back to the car when we see a little lizard sunning himself. He sure was doing some major pushups; I’m sure he was paralyzed with the beauty of the view.
Upon arriving to our car for a long water break, we decided to head to the Chapel of the Holy Cross which is such a treat to see. It was built into the rocks about 75 years ago.
We got some great pics along with the rest of the tourists. I love this one because we are all together; a rarity with us since my love is always snapping away.
We got pics from all the views. This one was from the front of the Chapel, and here is Tot and me behind it.
Inside, we lit a candle and prayed. Tatum wanted to know why Jesus was hanging there and I mentioned that as believers we don’t focus on his death, but we focus on his resurrection (the cross that is bare) and the empty tomb. I know Catholics like to have the image of Christ on the cross. It is a good reminder of his sacrifice however.
Ok, now we are hungry, but we figured we’d walk around the downtown area and search out free samples. Haha. Buffalo jerky was first.
For $17, we figured we’d eat a whole buffalo. We tried fudge, olive oils, vinegars, and more chocolates. We also happened upon some musical interludes by Tot.
Time to eat our arms we are so hungry. So we finally hit Chipotle for a nice change, and then we’d head back to our hotel for a round of golf. Did I mention we’d hit McDonald’s AGAIN for some ice cream? Yes, it was a must. Delicioso and not too huge. I think Doug probably could have opted for a larger one. Anyway…back to the hotel!
So, the clouds did look ominous, but we powered through. Yesterday, the few sprinkles didn’t phase us much, so today wouldn’t be so bad.
And then…… Holy cow, it started to not just rain but HAIL! Yes, this is not our golf ball, but a piece of the stuff coming down on our heads.
We started to move a bit faster, and then we booked it back to our room to get under cover. Honey had to carry the clubs. Tot got %$#%& because she fell in the mud. We took a moment outside our room and just watched in awe the beauty of the storm!
We never did make it to the pool because it didn’t ease up, so we had Plan B of game and Shark Tank. It was an amazing day. Absolutely breathtakingly amazingly wonderful.
We found more and more critters to appreciate in the day.
At one point, I squirreled, and it was for not. My randomness was for real.
This little guy welcomed us outside our room.
Another wonderful dinner outside. I love this part! Why? Because we get to evaluate the day, talk about nothing in particular, and be ourselves. T.O.G.E.T.H.E.R.
We are on our second Arizona Adventure. Sedona is so incredibly majestic, so this would be our next plan. Sadly, we had to leave Cooper with Boulder Falls Pet Resort.
Tot held him all the way to the Resort. He doesn’t know what is coming. Sad face.
We got extra hugs before we left. There he is wondering what has happened. We had to leave fast because it was H.A.R.D. I told Tot that is how I felt when I had to leave her with a caregiver when she was young. Tatum understood the pain!
We are off! Podcasts, Winnie The Pooh audiobooks, and fun conversation.
We arrived at West Fork hike about 11am. Wow. Just wow.
Trail here we come! Thank goodness it’s cool today. The clouds helped a lot.
Along the way, Doug apparently liked my backside.
Ha! We passed many tourists and enjoyed casual conversations. Then it happened. We spotted a …
He just looked right at us!
We had to cross the creek many times, and this was a great opportunity for Daddy and Tot to hold hands. Tatum found a nice little walking stick. The beauty is overwhelming.
Finally after about 2 hours and a ton of magical scenery, we headed back and crossed the final bridge.
Doug caught some incredible pics along the way. This butterfly fluttered for a while and held the pose for Doug. Exquisite!
He also found these beautiful flowers just growing wild.
His photographing is spectacular; I look forward to more of this and maybe some more birds!
The apple/pears are not quite ripe yet, but we did test them.
Where you going, girl? I’m ready to be sedentary. I AM SO AMAZED AT THIS GIRL’S ATTITUDE; she was happy, funny, and just plain brave. No complaints from her little mouth; she sure is growing up.
Daddy and Tot were ready for a nice snack. We did it, Hays! I think they are done for the day. It’s only 1:00!
We joyfully got into the car and drank a gallon of water and wolfed down some snacks. It was time to check into our hotel and get some lunch. Golf in the afternoon. Our hotel is right on a 9-hole course. I wanted our room to be right on the course so we could just mosey out. The clouds began to move in, so we had our hats on.
Ok, here it comes, but it didn’t phase the Tot. She was ready to rally!
We only played a few holes because it was pretty wet. We decided to stay wet and get in the pool and then go get dinner.
Game and snacks first; Snakes and Ladders kept us being silly. I also researched a trail for tomorrow.
On the way to dinner, this is the view…..
aaaaahhhhh….
We got back to our hotel and had a sunset dinner on the course. Can you even!!??
The time with our family was priceless. We enjoyed funny conversation, reminiscing of the beauty of the hike, and discussion of the next day’s adventures.
Winding down with some reading and playing. Can’t wait for tomorrow.
It’s all coming to an end with a joyful noise. The noise is coming from me rejoicing in how proud I am of my girl.
First, we had a plan of all kinds of activities to fill our summer.
We were overly successful. We accomplished pretty much everything on this list.
Crafts, planting, Brain Quest, library/reading, swimming class, piano lessons, lots of games, Phx Theater camp, many lego fun times, Sedona, Prescott, cookies for policemen, book donations, water/granola for homeless, St. Vincent’s donations, journaling daily…and LOTS OF LOVE. Oh, and did I mention Cooper?
We kept track of her Piano, Reading and Brain Questing. Cooper got tallies too for being so still while we played our piano and journaled.
Just look at this improvement in her handwriting!! I gave her a happy emoji and a load of balloons on the top.
Cooper was “down” the whole time. Good little puppy!
She finished up her Brain Quest (8 levels!). (only 3 more pages and she’ll do that on Friday)
I don’t think Mrs. Finman (her new 1st grade teacher) will see that SLIDE that usually occurs with the kiddos over the summer.
Tatum and I also made our own storybooks.
It needs some color. Which one is me? Only the readers get to know. heehee
Daddy also joined us on Sunday for our verse practice. We are up to about 60 verses. It’s been a fun tradition now for 2 years.
Cooper is learning too.
I can’t even describe the party in my heart that is going on. I have had the best time with her. I’ve seen tremendous maturity in my little gal. She is turning into a lovely, kind, Jesus-loving young lady.
I’m going to miss you while you are in school, my sweet girl. Thank you for making my summer so special.
I could have. Yep. I could have swept in and fixed the whole thing in one shot. But, I decided to let her experience a bit of life today.
Let me back up. We were having a great day! After the gym and Einstein’s, she wanted to go to Target. Baby came with us today because he just got a new binky. (He has been MIA in the daytime because now he’s just a “nighttime teddy.” Yikes! …another sign of her maturity). I sewed him a little binky to cover his bitten, worn nose, and now he can come with us in his car seat.
Ok, back to the story. So she wanted some new glasses (with clear lenses that look “real”). She won’t let me say they are fake. Nope, they are real, so I acknowledge this to people and I say, yes, they are really on her face. They are not imagined. This way, I’m not fibbing. Target has some for about $5, and she wanted to use her allowance. She had $4 in her spend envelope and she’d pay me $2 from next week’s allowance. Perfect.
We picked some cute heart glasses out. Well, she did. I liked a different pair, but she is buying them! She does look ADORable in them.
When we got home, she played with them for a while and then I heard crying; A lot of crying in her bedroom. Apparently she was putting them away, they dropped, and she stepped on them. She showed me:
I held her tight and had loads of compassion for her. I told her stories of glasses I had saved money for and then stepped on them; mine were more than $100, but still. It’s a lot of sadness to lose or break something you just got. It’s what we call A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT.
Do you know how badly I wanted to go back to Target and just buy her a new pair!? It would have been SO EASY to fix it and help her stop crying. But that would have been the worst thing I could have done. This teaches her such a strong lesson.
She noted how sad she was that she’d have to save all over again to buy a new pair. I agreed. She also noted how unfair it all was. I agreed. It really is, but I told Tot, this is part of life. It’s so hard, but she is learning such valuable lessons. She even told me she learned to be more careful. She said she also learned to not buy something so quickly without thinking about it first.
Well, I love this. We got home from some errands, and she decided to try to mend them.
She said, “Mommy, this will be perfect until I can save for a new pair.” Now that is what I call making the BEST of a situation and also a sure sign of maturity.
Every day I’m knocked over by her heart and her growth. Tatum, I’m so proud of you.
Yep. We had to do it. We celebrated his 4-month birthday on Sunday. He was born on March 25th, 2019, so actually, Thursday was his b-day. But we wanted Mama to come over and join the fun, so we did it right after church.
Tatum and I got him a card and a new toy.
And we gave him some hugs before church. We told him we’d be home soon. Lotsa hugs for our four-legged cutie!
Mama came after church and we took some necessary pics of course. My honey looked so handsome and Mama looked beautiful. She thinks he looks pretty fine.
Ok, back to Coopy. He loves MAMA!!
So much lovin’ goin’ on.
Mama got him a cute little squeak dog.
He immediately took it to his little cove under his place.
Then it was time for his card and…
HOT FUDGE. Yes, I think he’s ready for the sweet treat. I know we were! We put a little whipped cream on a spoon (not chocolate since that would be a NO-NO for him), and we probably ruined him for life. Dog food will not have the same appeal I fear.
More, Mama!
Ok, our turn to lick the bowls. (And we did BTW).
One more toy for the cutie pie.
A squeaky ninja which is hopefully indestructible.
All I know is that it was pure joy spending time with my favorite people and animal. FAMILY: Hot fudge, fellowship, and fun. Perfect.
I love you all and COOPER, you bring us so much joy.
We haven’t forgotten you Coti! He and his giraffe send his love.
