sweet ending

We ended the holiday weekend with a cherry on top. Literally.

Our last stop, before driving my favorite son and one of my favorite sisters to the airport, was to get a cool treat at the Cherry on Top yogurt shop. Yummy. It is a great concept. You fill the cup yourself with your choice from about 12 different flavors of yogurts. And then you get to sprinkle on toppings from about 50 different delicious choices. Then you put it on the scale and weigh it. You pay by the weight.

Cool. Delicious. Tasty.

Ummm... anyone notice who picked the jumbo size cup to fill? I'll give you a hint. She is sitting to my right. Ha! That made us laugh. We all got the regular size and she picked up the biggie size. Well, she said she didn't notice, but I'm not so sure! That's ok. She gets home pretty late tonight so that will probably be her dinner.

While I type, they are both on an airplane flying home. One back to Colorado, one back to Texas. As I was tearful when the four of us drove away from the airport, Leah said...

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."(quoting Dr. Seuss)

Well, my tears have dried and I am smiling.

And I will smile a lot this week when I show highlights of our time together.

4 today

July fourth

4th of July

Independence Day

How ever you say it.

I hope it is a happy one!

speed happens

it's just a number

shake, rattle and roll

Or should I say snake, rattle and roll?

No, shake is probably what best describes me. Screaming and shaking. Running.

Holy rattlesnake! R.a.t.t.l.e.s.n.a.k.e!! Snake. Rattler.

Slithering.

Here is what happened. Because I know you want to know.

Last night. Still light out. I walked to the studio with clean sheets to prepare the bed for my sisters visit. Walked back to the house to get my phone to call said sister to confirm flight time. Walked back to the studio dialing my phone, listening to it ring. Looked down. See snake all stretched out, presumably crossing walkway in front of me. See it 3 inches from my foot. Not exaggerating a bit. Scream into phone (good thing sister hadn't answered). Jumped probably 4 feet to the left and ran. Yelled "IT'S A SNAKE!" ....."I THINK A RATTLESNAKE!" Stayed way back.

Thanked my lucky stars the..."Reptile Wrangler" was home. He saved me with his hoe. I couldn't hear if he muttered any of those newly acquired reptile expletive's. The girls came out to see. Rachel heard my snake scream from inside the house. She is her mother's daughter and had my camera with her when she arrived. Well trained.

My next house? A high rise penthouse suite.

looking for cinderella

Have you ever wondered what would happen to your rubber flip flops if you leave them out in the hot Arizona sun too long? Me either. But if I did... ever wonder... I now know the answer.

They shrink.

Quite a bit.

They no longer fit either sister. Or the mother. And if Cinderella would come knocking on my door, I'd let her try them on.

Then I would politely ask her to help me clean my house.

sunset hike

Recently, the four of us went on a hike. To the Black Mountain. It sits above the town of Cave Creek. Interestingly, when we lived in Colorado, we were just minutes away from the Black Canyon and enjoyed going there many time's during the years that we lived there. Now, we live near the Black Mountain, and perhaps we will frequent this spot during the time we are living here. We will have to work towards conquering it, a task I may never accomplish. It is a pretty steep climb. So steep in fact, that this particular night I could not make it. My knees failed me.

The goal was to get to the top so we could watch the sunset. I turned off the path at a spot that I could still see the setting sun, just not from the top. Rachel decided to stay with me as the other two went on. The ol' dad lost steam too, and because he was concerned that we wouldn't be able to make it back to the car while there was still some light, the two of them almost made it to the top. The two of us had a pretty good view of the setting sun. We just didn't have the camera. The two of them had a pretty great view from higher up and did have the camera. These pictures are from their view. Leah asked that I be sure to give credit where credit is due. So I will. Because I'm the Mom and I like to tell my kids they are awesome.

Photos by Leah.

awesome!

those bloomin' cacti

I've been collecting picture's of cacti during the last couple of months. In different stages of bloom. Some are in our yard and neighborhood, others are just here and there and... everywhere. Today seemed like a good day for a cactus display. I don't really know the names of most of them, and I am sure that there are many, many varieties that I didn't get a picture of. These are just a few.

The great saguaro.

The end.