APPLES ANYONE?

Here are a few more pix of our trip to Safford last weekend. These came from Kamarin's I-phone....jealous? One of the many gifts of the mountain is the orchard. It is a toss up, year to year, whether or not it will bear any fruit. This year we won the toss!! The orchard has all kinds of apples: red delicious, Arkansas black, gala, golden delicious, etc. Our favorite was the Arkansas blacks!! Besides being spooked by the guy that worked there, (sharing with me that the orchard had rattle snakes)...a good time was had by all. THEN---I somehow managed to lock the keys in the car. Yep, the other set was 3 hours to the West all safe and sound in our cozy house. We were 30 minutes up the mountain & as hard as our fearless men tried, the dang car would NOT open. Three hours later, a local locksmith, $50 & scratches to the tint on the passenger side window...the doors were unlocked. Thank goodness my husband did not strangle me.
As showcased by these photos, you can see that my kids love the great outdoors.

MT GRAHAM

This weekend we went down to Safford to visit Branden's parents. The kids just love to go to the mountains. Parker continually tells me that he is a country boy, & we are in some way stunting his growth by making him live in the city. At Grandma's & Grandpa's the kids get to eat whatever they want....lots & lots of bacon, make forts out of blankets, & go to the cabin.
Kamarin loves to spend the weekend, doing teenager stuff with her sweet cousin Shaine. (I think the girls even text one another while sitting side-by-side on the couch. * wink *)
The little boys got to shoot their BB guns & according to Parker he got 11 lizards & Everett scored only 5. They weren't sure whether I was serious or not about bringing back the catch, so we could roast them for dinner.

A TRIATHLETE?

My purpose in sharing this post with all of you, is to make me accountable. If I actually say "out loud" that I am going to do this, then I REALLY have to. That being said, some girlfriends & I decided to start training for an upcoming triathlon. Most triathlons include a section of swimming, biking & running. We started taking a swimming class to help us with the strokes & breathing technique. I have also been taking a spinning class on Monday & Wednesday mornings. After, the spinning class, I try to swim for 30 - 45 minutes, then I fit in running whenever I can.



There has been a bit of a road bump in my goal...I just tore my right hamstring. I wish I could say, that it was from biking up Camelback Mountain, or running a million miles or something...but, I can't! I realize what a goof this makes me out to be, but I will share the story anyway. Pack meeting was on Wednesday evening, & this darling 3 year old girl comes up to me and says, "I can do the splits." So, what do I say to her?...."Well, I can do the splits too!" We proceed to share our talent with each other. She does the straddles & I do the regular splits. Suddenly, as I am down on the floor, I feel a *POP*!! Ouch...that kinda hurt. I got up very gingerly & hobbled around the rest of the night. I earned my self, an X-ray & some physical therapy the next day. No, I don't know what I was thinking! No, I am not sure why I was showing off for a 3 year old. Never the less, I am recovering for the next 2 weeks...with strict orders--NO BIKING, NO RUNNING! So I guess I will swim until I get the go ahead. Stupid, stupid me!

HE SCORES!!

Everett & Parker are playing soccer again this year & both of their teams won last weekend. Everett had an especially good game on Saturday. He scored three goals. I wanted to share with you his star qualities!!

CREEPIES ON PARADE

I don't know why boys, big & small, seem to like anything that creeps, slithers or crawls. I wanted to share a cute conversation that I had with Everett & Parker, before school last week.

Everett, "Mom, I am afraid of snakes."
Mom, "I am too son."
E- "What if you stepped on a snakes tail?"
M- "Well, it might try & bite you or try and get away."
E- "What if you stepped on its head?"
M- "It would prabably hurt the snake."
E- "What about if you stepped on it, behind its head?"
M- "Well, it would probably still hurt the snake."
E- "Oh, well how do you get a snake to fight with you?"
M- "I don't know, we just dont try to pick up or step on wild animals."
E- "A snake is a wild animal?!!!"
M- "Yes."
E- "Where do they live?"
M- "In the desert & mountains, under rocks & logs."
E- "What about tarantulas?"
Parker, "They eat humans!"
M- "No they don't...they might be poisonous, but they don't eat humans."
P- "Yes they do, we read a book about it in school....Tarantulas, bite you & then they suck out all of the goo & only leave crispy bones!!"
E- "I don't think I like wild animals."

After they got dressed, they pulled out our bucket of creepies. I guess the plastic version of these creatures don't qualify as WILD ANIMALS. I just love these boys & their imaginations!!