Hot Time in Tuscon

We thought we'd beat the heat (104 degrees today) and go for an early morning walk in the area around Tom and Tina's house. We ended up walking almost 7 miles before we got home. We enjoyed seeing the desert flora and fauna (a coyote eating a rabbit) close up!

In the afternoon we went to the Evergreen Cemetery where Ed's parents were buried. This tree was very small 23 years ago!

We also stopped at the baby land section of the cemetery where Lydia Joy (Melissa and Steve's baby) was buried last year.

Afterwards we went to downtown Tuscon where we rode the light rail. It was so nice and air conditioned that we didn't want to get off!

The street car dropped us off on a 4th Avenue, a cute little shopping street downtown.

There was a real mix of stores and restaurants, but in general it was a bit like a trip to Nogales, Mexico, with lots of Mexican artisanry.

We capped off our Mexican day with a delicious dinner at La Hacienda, back in Oro Valley. It specializes in food from the Yucatan, and we enjoyed the Cochinita Pibil, which reminded us our our trip to the Yucatan!

Tuscon Temple

We took Tom, Tina and Melissa, as well as their friend Joanna, to the Tuscon Temple open house today. It is the only LDS temple with a dome on the top, which gave it a totally different look!

This photograph of the outside gave you a better idea of what the temple looks like at the foot of the mountain.

We enjoyed walking around the back and seeing the beautiful native landscaping. I love Saguaro cacti! And I love this picture of the Bush brothers!

We enjoyed a great Italian meal at Guiseppe's, where everyone knows Tom's name! Not just the wait staff, but everyone in the kitchen as well! It was like going to Cheers!

We had a little time to relax when we got home. I watched Tina show Melissa how to bind a quilt.

Ed showed Tom and Hector our Alpine Nature Center website. Hector has been helping Tom out since Tina hurt her shoulders. It is nice to have someone they trust to help get Tom to bed at night and up in the morning. It is also fun, because Hector brings fresh bread from the bakery he works at! The marbled rye alone is worth the trip to Tuscon!

Happy Birthday Ed!

Ed turned a decade older today, and was able to celebrate with his brother for the first time in many years! Tom surprised him with a clown bundt cake! Fortunately, Ed was not afraid of it!

We arrived in Tuscon just in time to enjoy dinner with the Arizona Bush family. It was fun that Melissa dropped by, as well!

It is nice having a blog so I can see how long it has been since we've been here. We came to Melissa's wedding in 2014! Now that we live in the west maybe we can visit more often.

We drove 5 hours from Page, AZ to get to Tuscon. We dropped by the Glen Canyon dam in the morning to take a tour, but the dam tour was cancelled due to high winds! Those same winds followed us all the way to Tuscon! We're hoping for calm weather from here on out!

Dam bridge Shadow

Ed and I are on our way to Tuscon, and are spending the night in Page, AZ. We got here in time to see the sun going down and casting a beautiful shadow of the dam bridge on the side canyon wall.

We were excited to see our own shadow as we walked across the bridge!

We're hoping to get a tour of Glen Canyon Dam tomorrow morning before we resume our journey.

In a fit of madness we opted for fajitas for dinner tonight. We're both so full we don't know how we'll be able to digest it before we hit the road tomorrow!

Choir BBQ on a Beautiful Evening

It cooled off and the wind stopped blowing tonight, which made it the perfect evening for a choir BBQ!

We had a number of people out of town, which was sad, but we had a good enough showing to make it a fun party. It was fun to have time just to visit!

And, then, because I can't stop myself, I asked our little Alpine Slow Jam group to play a few numbers for the choir. It was our first public gig, and we were down a few members, but we were a tremendous success, because it looked like so much fun that we recruited a few new members to the group!

Pinyan Rat Weekend

The Pinyan Rats practiced last night, which means we got to play with Mabel today! She is getting more used to our big swing set and actually asked to go down the slide!

This morning we went for a hike, and she found a big stick that she carried on her dad's back!

She also had great fun playing with rocks in the water at the diversion up Box Elder Canyon.

The hike is only about a mile one way, but Brittany pointed out that it was steeper than I had billed it! Everything is steeper when you're carrying a baby!

I took some plant pictures, including my first mullein! It was so pretty with the yellow flowers in bloom.

I also got a beautiful picture of a pale tiger swallowtail butterfly. Brittany and John were both helpful in identifying these specimens! They're not just good singers, but they are also good biologists!

P.S. Let's not forget poor little overlooked Clementine who is turning into a delightful smiler! She is now 4 months old!

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Alpine Splash Pad

We took Mabel and Clementine to the Alpine splash pad yesterday. We are amazed that such a small town has such a nice amenity!

Mabel was timid at first, but seemed to enjoy the water (in small doses) after she got used to it! Grandpa got a little wetter than he had planned on!

Grandma really enjoyed the towel cuddling in between forays back into the water.

This stream of water was just Mabel's size!