January 5Th we went for a hike in the white tank mountains. We decided on the waterfall trail due to the ease for Reed. I really wanted to watch him climb around on the boulders back near the waterfall. Reed started out on my back in the backpack carrier. I was glad that the trail is only 1.6 miles. Barbi and I snapped a few photos as we walked and the weather couldn't have been better. I let Reed down when we arrived at the waterfall and he went straight to the pool of water. I think he tossed about 100 rocks into that cold pool of water. His hands were freezing from picking up the rocks at the edge of the pool. He then climbed on the boulders only falling once when he tried to jump off one of them. We sat to eat some trail mix and hydrate. Reed was having a great time dancing for other hikers while he ate raisins. We made our way back to the car for the short drive back home. A great hike in the great Arizona weather. God Bless you all.

Randy

January 4Th the three of us headed to the phoenix zoo for zoo lights. When we arrived in the parking lot we were immediately greeted by a woman that was definitely alive during the time of the dinosaurs. She asked me if I would like free tickets to zoo lights and of course I accepted them. We loaded the stroller with Reed, snacks, drinks, and a rifle, because you never know when a hunting opportunity may arise. Animals do escape! We went straight to the person that takes the tickets and were then told that our gracious granny had given us tickets that were already used! EMBARASSING! Barbi made her way back to the ticket booth to purchase the tickets and I hid behind Reed like it was all his fault. The rest of the evening was uneventful. The lights were fantastic. Some were timed to music, but most were just displayed on trees and bushes. There were zoo animal shapes and non zoo animal shapes. We let Reed run wild like the monkey he is. He ran around hootin and hollerin and we heard people remark that there was a monkey loose. He is such a happy little kid. God blessed Barbi and I with the best little boy anyone could ask for. On the ride home Barbi and I expected Reed to fall asleep, but he couldn't stop talking about all the fun stuff he saw and did. The weather was perfect with a slight chill in the air. What a great time with the family.

Randy

A boy and his dog...

All little boys should have a dog, they just go together.

.

Timmy & Lassie, Travis & Yeller, Charlie Brown & Snoopy...there is so much a boy can learn from having a dog.

.

At Reed's age they learn to be gentle - don't pull her ears, grabbing fists full of fur will get a growl, don't sit your granola bar on the floor to check out a toy, once you hand the dog your cookie it becomes theirs...

.

But one of my favorite lessons that Reed has learned from Daisy is that no matter how hard you hold on to her tail, she cant pull you through the doggie door behind her - nor was she trying too!

.

You may not be able to tell by her face in this picture, but I saw how she leaned into the hug...she loves her little boy. While Bogie steers completely clear of Reed, Daisy ALWAYS goes back for more...she knows that just because he's knocking your head with a block with one hand, doesn't mean he wont share his hot dog from the other!

Tres Rios Festival

Last Saturday We went to the Tres Rios festival here in Avondale. It is a Preserve that is about 4 miles south of us near the Phoenix International Raceway. Reed loved it! This kid is not afraid of any animals and he wanted to touch them all. Fish and Game brought quite a few birds and reptiles. They also had a section of the river netted off and filled with Bluegills of all sizes. The Bluegill fishing area was a popular spot for most of the kids. Although Reed didn't wet a line (mostly because I didn't feel like extracting a hook out of another kid), he enjoyed watching them catch them.

Some volunteers went out and gathered walking sticks for the kids and they had set up a station to wrap your stick with wire with the option of adding beads to the wire. (Seemed kind of girly to me, but Reed got his stick wrapped with wire and beads and we started off to the hiking path. I was holding him at the time and I proceeded to set him down so he could walk. Well, the stick got to the ground before Reed did and he pulled it toward his face as he was being lowered and stick met face right at the eye. Yep you guessed it....crying like you wouldn't believe. Me being me I told him to stop crying and suck it up. He told me WAAAA!!!!!! Barbi told me....Well, I can't repeat what Barbi told me, so 30 minutes later we hit the trail.

All in all it was a great day out with the family. The weather was just about perfect and the location is a place we like to spend a lot of time at. Barbi is home sick, but I just can't get enough of the Arizona outdoors. Talk to you all later......

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on you own understanding.” Prvrbs (3:5)

Randy

Bougainvillea

If it were up to me, this colorful flower would be growing ALL OVER our brick walls! All the way around the house!

Beautiful fuchsia everywhere!!But since Randy has to do the yard work ...

it means I have a decent sized bush in the front yard. I know they can be messy and they have thorns but they remind me of home!

Since my 2 favorites (roses & tulips) don't seem to do well in the desert, I'll be happy with my bougainvillea. Don't tell Randy but I trim it back less & less every year! And maybe this spring I can talk him into a Jacaranda!

Oooo ...

for colorful photo ops of course!

Daisy

Don't let Daisy fool you...this dog gets a lot of attention. She is Reed's best friend when he has food in his hand, she sleeps on the bed, she rough-houses with Randy & Reed, she cuddles with her brother Bogie, she gets all of Reed's leftovers, she knows Reed will get her a treat if she follows him to the pantry...


So why the long face? Its what she does, if you aren't talking to her then she's the saddest dog in the world - we remind her severals times a day...
"every one loves you Daisy, good girl"

Angel of Mine

I liked the last Willow Tree picture so much that I decided to try another, this one is called Angel of Mine. Randy got me this when I was pregnant with Reed.

.

.

Blues are my favorite so I was really pleased with this picture. So sweet, almost like you can hear her humming to the baby - love it!