Family Field Trip: Boyce Thompson Arboretum

We took a family field trip to Boyce Thompson Arboretum, about an hour east of Phoenix.  We got to hear a live concert, chase butterflies and lizards, and hike through beauty only God could create.  Here is a photo diary of our visit.

The moment we walked in, we were greeted by a hungry butterfly

As I stood on the bridge looking down this now-dry rivulet, I felt the spirit of its living days flowing past me like a ghost

I didn't find the sign for these trees, but they were huge, white, and oh, so cool

These little lizards were all over the place - this one was flipping his tail from side to side, probably telling the preschooler to back off...

This tree, especially this knot, spoke to me...it said, "'O' is for 'Owl'"

Note the knotty "elbow" up at the right - love it!

These saguaros had to be 12 feet tall - we wondered how old they must be

Standing on a suspension bridge over Queen Creek (so that's where the city name comes from!)

I fell in love with all the paths of footprints in the creek

A little hideaway...

View from the top

The suspension bridge is that tiny thing in the middle of the picture

I named this one "Ginger Rock"

Ellie: "Does the rock have ketchup on it?"

I'm pretty sure this one speaks for itself

The depth perception is lost in 2D, but I took this because it made me think of Calvary

Oasis

Furry century plant?

Even the drive home was fantastical

Thankful Thursday

First real experience with rain

Three generations playing together

First jalapenos... and hopes for future farming

Homegrown abundance

Successful ventures of creativity

Mistakes made marvelous

Learning a new skill

Gifts from young artists

Wordless Wednesday

Quickie Mikey Update 9/21/10

His leg is broken.  He has a "minimal fracture" that is causing discomfort, so the orthopedic surgeon put a cast on.  He will have it three weeks.  The week after that, he gets his helmet off!  Our visit with the geneticist isn't until next week; I was confused.  I have no idea how I could have gotten my dozens of appointments mixed up...

SCL Week 1 Day 4

I've noticed a couple of important patterns.  First, my self esteem has dropped every day at 11am and 9pm.  Could that be due to something in my routine, or is it physiological?  Second, my self esteem is based greatly on Ellie's attitude.  I seem to blame myself entirely for her crankiness.  Sure, sometimes I screw up the routine or don't give her enough attention, but sometimes she's just cranky!  I need to a) make sure I'm doing my best and b) learn to let it go, even when I haven't done my best.

Days 3, 4, 5 & 6

FAIL.

I am a master of deception...of myself.

I convinced myself, after spotting 19 Kids and Counting in the list of recorded programs, that I'm actually uplifted after watching this show, so I should allow myself to watch this one show each week.  Then I set the recording for Joyce Meyer using the same excuse.

I'd been really good about turning off the television when Mike wasn't watching and not turning it on at all when Ellie's up.  Then I watched the show.  As expected, that opened the floodgates.  I started watching Pride and Prejudice for just a few minutes while Mike's doing yard work or while I'm pumping.  Then I started leaving the television on when Mike left the room.  Then I started turning it on during Ellie's nap.  Then I let Ellie watch Cars over the weekend.  Then I argued with Ellie that she'd watched her show; now it was my turn.

Then I was embarrassed to write this update.

Molly the Mommy

I had the priviledge, thanks to my wonderful mommy friends, of watching the birth of an owlet today live on the internet.  (Fast forward to 1:20 to see the birth.  At 1:21, the baby is wearing an eggshell hat!)

Molly and McGee are second-time parents.  Carlos and Donna Royal built an owl box in their backyard, equipped it with a camera and now give lots of their time educating and entertaining the public with the world's most famous barn owls.

I've been watching the live feed of Molly taking care of her clutch, or clutch-to-be, as it was when I first started watching her with her four eggs.  I wasn't lucky enough to see McGee or any of the feedings, as some of my friends did, but her exotic eyes and maternal instinct, and even her preening were the source of hours of enjoyment for Ellie, Mikey and me.  As a bonus, Carlos frequently came online to talk about Molly and McGee and owls in general.  I only caught a few of his talks, but I learned a lot.  I'm very grateful that I learned about this wonderful 'project' that I can share with my children.

I took two screen shots, one right before the birth, when Molly lifted up the egg to dump out the chick, and one right after, as Molly cleaned the chick.  (According to Carlos, this hatch was a very rare site we were all infinitely lucky to observe.)