Desert Highlights

I fell in love with the desert this June.  The saguaros, the red rocky hills, the condors flying overhead, the crickets at night. 

We visited Phoenix and stayed at my sister-in-law's house (with pool!)  Yes, it was HOT.  But I loved it!  II loved waking up at 6 AM and it was already 80 degrees.  I could step outside and soak it up while I sipped some coffee.  By 7 AM we were in the pool.  By 10 AM we had to get out for fear of heat stroke, but you bet we were back in that pool in the late afternoon.

Staying in a house as opposed to a hotel with a family is like night and day.  It was so much more relaxing and enjoyable to stay in a house with a kitchen and barbeque.  We could have our own personal space and didn't spend all our money on expensive meals or amenities.

The highlights of my trip were Rawhide and Goldfield.  As a kid, I loved nothing more than the Old West.

Rawhide is an Old West re-creation town complete with gun fights in the street.  There's little shops inside the town, restaurants and attractions for the little ones like burro rides (they were really donkeys), a petting zoo and a horse drawn coach.  We went on Father's Day, so Shawn got a free prime rib dinner!  We were bummed they were out of rattlesnake that night, but we enjoyed the live band of ol' timers playing country hits from the 70's.

Goldfield is a restored mining town just outside of Phoenix.  It was a little hokey/touristy, but also amazing to think that it looked pretty much the same as 100 years ago.  You can take a little train ride around the perimeter, go through the museum and learn about the Lost Dutchman Mines, or check out the little shops full of desert kitsch.  It's an actual historical site, whereas Rawhide was built not too long ago for entertainment.

Generally, I don't love flying.  This last time, airport security and the flight attendants were particularly unpleasant.  But it was nice to get away to somewhere warm that didn't cost us an arm and a leg.  I'll be back again for sure!

This is what makes summer the best season of all.

Friends, Family, Food and Fireworks.  And beer.  That about sums up what's so great about 4th of July weekend. 

 

It was also my 13th wedding anniversary yesterday!  Lucky 13.  We married young and they never thought we'd make it this far.  Still married to the handsome man who stole my heart and swept me off my feet.  Love you Shawn!

A Quiet Morning to catch up...

I love the sound of kids laughing and playing first thing in the morning (not so much the bickering and yelling) but to wake up before anyone else and get a quiet cup of coffee and check my email is a rare treat.

This Thanksgiving I'm thankful for the gift of family and friends.  Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in life and it feels like you can hardly stop to catch your breath.  The past few months have been joyful, but kinda crazy at times (especially this week with the sale in my shop!)  I haven't seen a lot of my friends and I hope they're not feeling too neglected.  It's nice when you can actually slow down, share a glass of wine and catch up like hardly any time has passed at all.

Thanksgiving week has been great.  We had snow!!!  It rarely snows in Tacoma, and when it does, it never sticks around for very long.  Monday started out with snow and a big windstorm Monday night.  The kids got out of school early and stayed out all week.  We sledded down the alley, made bread, visited with neighbors all week.  Love snow days.

We went to Nana's for Thanksgiving dinner and I got to wake up at 6 to perform turkey surgery.  My mom had accidentally sliced through the breast while opening the package, so knowing my incredible handsewing skills, she decided to gently (ahem) shake me awake to do the job.  So there I was without of drop of coffee in me, sewing up a turkey.  It looked pretty good when all was said and done.  (Pictures to come.)

We ate, we laughed, we sledded.  It was pretty great all around.

The rest of the weekend we got to spend time with new friends and old which felt great.  I feel pretty lucky to know the people we do.  Tacoma has been a great town to build friendships in.  We hope to continue to do so as our roots here grow!

I hope your Thanksgiving was equally awesome and that you enjoy your last day!