The Flagstaff Lifestyle

We are so fortunate to have friends who were willing to let us house sit for them in July and through August in Flagstaff. Thanks Val and Kim! It's been a great couple weeks so far, with the opportunity to do so many things. New playgrounds, farmer's markets, hiking, the open gym on Saturdays, swim lessons Monday through Thursday each week, the library, etc. etc. Daniel and I have gotten a good routine going and Richard comes in at the end of each week to enjoy the fun, too.

In the pit with Daddy at the open gym.

Checking out the cab of a fire truck when emergency vehicles and heavy machinery were on display in town.

Dinosaur rodeo at one of the playgrounds in town. 

Even trees at the playground are great for climbing!

Swim lessons have been going good. It was a slow start with Daniel having to learn that it was OK for me not to be in the water with him, that he needs to listen to his instructor, and that it can be really fun, too! We are finishing our first 2 weeks now but are doing it all again over the next couple weeks. The redundancy will be good. He loves the water, it's just getting him to listen to instructions that is the hard part. The boy just wants to have fun!

Last weekend we did a great hike called the Fatman's Loop. It's on Mt. Elden and just over 2 miles, with quite a bit of elevation gain. It winds through ponderosa pine and alligator juniper forest, gambel oak groves, and more exposed areas with scrubby bushes and trees. It also has quite a few rocks that Daniel loved climbing on! Daniel did so well that we'll be doing this trail again!

Grand Canyon, Home Depot, and Jumping

July has started with a bang. We did a 3 day trip to Grand Canyon to visit with Amanda, Frank, and Yuki, as well as Jack. Daniel and Yuki only stopped playing when Daniel was napping!

Richard reading a bedtime book.

Yuki's fishing pole was fun!

Naptime!

This past Saturday we went to the Show Low Home Depot for the free Kids Workshop. It's every first Saturday at every Home Depot, for those who have kids and don't know! We did one once before in Flagstaff, building a money box. This time it was a way cool car. Daniel helped me a little with hammering but mostly enjoyed painting. Lots of paint.

Hammering!

Double brushing!

Studying the pictures on the instructions.

The almost finished product. I did add the wheels later. Works great!

The trampoline has been a real hit lately. Maybe not in the middle of the day when it's so hot our feet get burned, but definitely in the late afternoon. These are pictures Richard took of Daniel and our neighbor Grace jumping tonight. A storm was brewing and the sun was setting. It was perfect for an evening jump. Daniel can really jump high!

Sitting In Things and Glenwood in June

June was the month for sitting in things! Daniel has always enjoyed occasionally emptying a container or basket and then getting into it. But now? At 3 years old? The pictures are the proof.

Yes, he has 2 wooden knives on a tool with a red handle sticking out of his shorts. Not only did he get into the bowl, he was putting things up his pant legs. I don't ask anymore.

Here are some blasts from the past:

Daniel climbed right in without bothering to empty the container! 

Daniel actually got into this same cooler the other  day. Needless to say, he didn't have nearly as much room as he did when he was 6 months old!

 

Daniel loved riding around in the laundry basket! I could even just put him in there at 9 months (left pic) and he would play for a while. At 1 year (right pic) he was getting a bit heavier but still loved flying around the house.

This basket was the first one he actually emptied out and climbed into all by himself.

The end of June we went to Glenwood, NM to visit the Evans family. It has been so much fun for Daniel now that he's older to visit with Garrett, Brett, and Wyatt. The boys patiently play with him, inside and outside, though they have learned that they can take turns now.

They did play outside, but it was terribly hot. This was where the boys usually were, unless they had a million toys spread out on the floor (Daniel emptying boxes of course), then at least one might be on the floor with Daniel.

Myself, Megan, and the boys went to Mogollon for the day - an old mining town up in the hills - while Richard and Chris went on a backcountry hike. We hit every business in town - the museum, the wood worker shop, the junk shop, the art gallery, and the restaurant. We would have gone into the inn, but the doors were locked.

This was the sign at the bottom of the road. I like how it was tampered with! But the road was NARROW and STEEP and had more blind turns than I could count. Thank goodness I was driving or I would've gotten car sick. Not sure I'm going back up anytime soon, though it WAS really beautiful.

Main street. The only street.

The museum had lots of junk - I mean historic stuff that was really cool to see. Actually quite a bit was pretty cool.  Daniel had a field day seeing all the tools!

 Daniel's first jack hammer! Then he showed me how a jackhammer works. Very funny.

The boys at the back of the mine inside the museum. What a great group!

Mom Visits in June

This is a little late, but the pictures are still fun to share. My Mom came out to visit for a week in June while Richard went to DC for work. We did runs to Phoenix for pick up/drop off two weekends in a row. Richard got great rates on hotels because it is SO HOT in June! But the pool was what really mattered, well, besides the airport.

It's almost 4 hours to drive down from Holbrook to Phoenix, so we try to find stops along the way that provide food and stretch breaks for Daniel and Walnut. A good one is in Heber at a county park where there are sheltered picnic tables, a playground, and lots of trees and space for a walk with Walnut. AND it's almost 7,000 feet in elevation there, so significantly cooler than either Holbrook or Phoenix! The playground pictures below are at this park.

Thanks Granny for the wonderful visit! We look forward to seeing you AND Grandpa in November!

We love the burgers at La Grande Orange!

Daniel loves his books! He's starting to ask what words "say", so before too long, he'll be doing this on his own!

Richard's Dad and nephew Matthew joined us the second weekend in Phoenix.

Squirty bath toys were a big hit in the pool! And a night swim was extra refreshing.

Traveling sure tires Daniel out. I'm so thankful he still naps - in the car and at home!