Saturday, February 24, 2018

Family Visit


My dear brother Mark, his wife Jillian, 
and their two gorgeous and smart daughters, Cora & Esme,
came to Arizona to visit!
They stayed with my parents, who are about three miles away 
from us during the winter months (yay!)

Their first evening, we met at Barro's for PIZZA!


There was much silliness.


My Dad watched over his flock with a happy smirk.


Here's my vegan gluten-free pizza!!!


One of our pizzas got made wrong, so we got a free pazookie -
it's a cookie in a pan with ice cream.


Cora and I were doing some snuggling with Grandma.


And some crazy cuddles that were too amazing for a clear photo!
It may be blurry, but I love this photo.



Grandpa took them to the play area, where they built this tall tower!




Later that evening we hung out for awhile at my parents' house.
The girls played wild games and we laughed a lot.



Sneaking . . . 



Of course, eventually bedtime came.
I got to cuddle while listening to Grandma read books.



Once again, slightly blurry, but really sweet. 



The next morning (not TOO early), we took some family photos by the lake.
Here's my favorite:


The other background was pretty with the lake and the palm trees, 
but the SUN was getting in our eyes and making us cry.

Most of us are squinting our eyes closed in this funny one.


Greg and I both have ours closed in this one, too.
My pained expression makes me giggle.


And sometimes Mark's SelfieStick gets overzealous and takes unexpected photos
such as this one . . . where I'm trying to get my eyes to stop watering
and it looks as if my face is melting.
  

This one is pretty cute, too, especially of Mark & Jillian and the girls.
It looks as if I'm trying to hide due to the angle, though.





After photos, we went to Chipotle for lunch - yum! 



I had my usual bowl with black beans, fajitas, corn, pico de gallo, and lettuce.
It was very tasty!




Esme quickly developed a special fondness for Greg 
(or "Greggie," as she decided to call him).



Of course we needed to walk down to Yogurtland to get some frozen treats
after lunch!



SOME of us walked, anyway . . . 


This place even has cold treats for dogs!




They had one vegan gluten-free option: raspberry lemonade sorbet.
Very tasty and tart.










It was a chilly day, but sitting in the sun felt nice.








What a fun first day with wonderful family!
There's more fun to come . . . 

Friday, February 23, 2018

Five Days Of Style: Winter In The Desert


Check out my latest style video!
Obviously I'm feeling pretty well, and I'm happy to say it.
More soon!

xo


Saturday, February 17, 2018

Solo Hike In The Fog




I had a mysterious and glorious walk in the fog yesterday!!!






If you know me well, you know I LIKE THE RAIN.
This is probably mostly because I live in the Arizona desert and we don't get much rain.
When it does rain here, it seems like a miracle. 
 It seems crazy that WATER can come out of the SKY!!!




The clouds and rain for a couple of days made me very excited,
so I headed out into it to have an adventure.

Get ready for a bunch of gorgeous photos of the clouds in the mountains
among the saguaros!


I shipped off a couple of curriculum binders (one to the UK - hooray for overseas clients!)
and then headed right out.

There are the famous Four Peaks!




 These dudes were fixing on a faux palm tree that's actually a cell phone tower.




It was only 56!


This little birdie was shaking the rain drops off as I drove by.


Of course, the drive is long enough that I need a restroom before I arrive at the trail head.


This pretty church with the clouds drooping down behind it was beautiful.




The name of the road at the end of this road is Cloudview.
Very appropriate!!!






I arrived at the trail head parking lot and was excited to see how 
the clouds looked from up in the hills a bit.
I had lots of layers, mittens, and alternative hats in case it was very cold.



I always take the hieroglyphic trail because it has a nice finish: a canyon with really super old petroglyphs on the rocks!!!

hieroglyph = picture drawn on a surface
petroglyph = picture carved into rock


Each of these little bobbles had a water droplet on it.







I don't know what these things are, but I'm guessing maybe the count the number of people who go in each trail?  I think cameras for sure.  Maybe they watch wildlife!




These little cholla ("CHOY-uh") appreciated the moisture!
See? - They're raising their arms with joy!




 Ever wonder how the inside of a cactus pad looks?
It looks like this!!!
(I didn't break it - it was already broken.  I just took a photo.)




This gate keeps in/out cattle!


I didn't see any cattle.











I headed up into that fog.
The trail leads right into that canyon between the hills.



This is looking back at where I started. 




Usually this bright green lichen is yellow or brown.
As soon as we get a little bit of rain, it perks right up!




Look at the pretty pink of this cactus!!!
We have one of these in our backyard, but it isn't this brilliant yet. 










Getting closer to the top, I saw puddles!




I got a little mud on my shoes, but not much.


There are the petroglyphs.



This little friend found me because I was having a snack and he wanted some.



I felt like a happy little girl because I found a sucker in my backpack!

The desert has many interesting plants and textures.







 Time to head down . . . 




My thermometer said it was under 60, but I was still sweating due to exertion and humidity.




There's the parking lot.
You can see the tushie end of the Cubie if you look carefully.





As I got closer to the end, it began to rain!


Everything was polka-dotted.



The clouds dipped a bit lower and got darker.





On the way home, I passed Silly Mountain Road.



And then I had a lovely afternoon editing YouTube videos
and a great evening watching the Olympics.
I was pretty sleepy very early, though, and I slept HARD after such a busy day.

Enjoy the nature around you wherever you are!