clouds

The clouds have been blowing in and billowing up, teasing us with the hopes of more rain.

A few drops here and there, but mostly we are getting sky shows like this:

Although a little rain would be nice...

you can't complain when you see a great sunset.

a quick moment

It rained most of the day on Saturday.

Along with the rain was a sky that kept changing. From thick soggy clouds that slowly lifted for the sun to shine for awhile, to big black rolling clouds that really meant business. Rainy business. As the sun was just going down, one of the girls' friends rang the doorbell. When we opened the door for him the first thing he said was "do you have shoes on?" then "you have to come look at this!" So, I slipped on my shoes and by then I heard "Mom, get your camera!" I did and by the time I got outside there was a sky show worthy of our favorite family phrase..."sunset alert"!

It was more like a video clip being played right before our eyes. And it literally lasted about a minute. The few pictures I took all look different. It was changing that quickly, the sun dropping in record speed. And it was one for our memory only, as the camera was not able to capture the beauty of it. The sky was bright pink and there were puffs of steamy clouds hovering over the mountain. Behind us the sky was dark black with the bits of sun still able to make a small rainbow. The rain was starting to fall in a quick burst again, only giving me time to say "wow, look at that". Just as quickly as I put my shoes on and grabbed my camera, it was all over.

I'll gladly take any moment in any day when I can say..."wow, look at that!"

sunset ride

The sunset friday night was a nice one. Remember this sneak peek photo that I put up earlier?

No, the picture above that I posted the other day (as a sneak peek) is not my unruly hair.

In fact, it is this guys wild bangs!
We went on a sunset horseback ride. I was reminded of the proper way to handle the reigns before we set out on our ride.
The scenery was very nice. We saw a few interesting things like a big pack rat den, lots of saguaro, a coyote, and even a far off view of Julio Iglesias' home.
Also, an old entrance to a mining cave.
Here we are at the top of the mountain. The sun was just about to set. Notice the horse in the middle. People who knew our old guy Racer should see a resemblance. From left to right, the horses names were; Tux, Paint, Destiny, Tiana (or Big Girl as our guide called her) and Jester.
Here they were getting a little run up the hill. Hold on nnnn...
A nice view.
As we were coming down the mountain the moon was already up. Now that is a pretty site to see.

The saguaro's standing tall as the sun was going down.
And the sun was setting just perfectly. Notice a faint silhouette of our cowboy guide in the left hand corner. You know, sometimes it is just amazing the coincidences in life. He spends his winters here and then heads to Ouray,Ridgway, Silverton and Durango, Colorado for the summers. He dines at a couple of our favorite restaurants, in our home town, when he is in the area. So, friends back there in Colorado, he is a cowboy with our names and plans to say he took us on a trail ride. Don't be surprised if someone hears about it!
Just another nice view of the setting sun and the tall saguaro's.
And back at the corral, we were all able to feed these guys a few carrots. They knew they get a treat after a big ride.
All smiles back at the livery stable.
See, it was a beautiful evening in the neigh borhood!

************************************************************************************

Note: The basketball girl is having surgery on her wrist tomorrow (tuesday). She will turn in her brace that she has been wearing for a cast. It will be on for 6 weeks. Then therapy. Her accessory for prom will be a little out of the ordinary this year. Ughh.