Moist, Mossy, Mushrooms

It has been a wet month here on the northeast side of Tucson. We have all sorts of evidence of moisture that we usually associate with humid climates.

I thought I took more pictures of the mushrooms in the lawn, but these were the cute little ones in the drive.

Moss. On my trees. Where did this come from? Isn't this the Sonoran Desert?

All the mesquite pods we were supposed to rake up, every weekend for the last two months, have started sprouting. I don't think I need that many mesquites in my drive. We already have a ton of them.

Bubble Trouble

Maeve took her first bubble bath this week.

She was thrilled, but unsure of what she should do with all that white stuff. Eat it? Splash it?

No worries! Big sister to the rescue. She knows exactly what to do with bubbles.

Upcycled Tutu

We are all happy to be home! Except Maeve, who is wishing for more people to smile at and dance with. She is quite the extrovert.

Eva made this skirt at the conference and was showing it off today. You can tell she is still a bit worn out from the trip.

Prepared

My kids crack me up. She is ready for rain...Provided it isn't cold out, rough terrain, or public space.

Pot of Gold

The rain typically rolls in from the east...the direction all our fabulous windows face!  Today we had an even better storm than normal.  We watched it roll in, pour, and then roll out leaving us with golden light and a rainbow.  The rainbow ended in our yard.  Not kidding, it was a beautiful, breath taking view and I am happy with my mediocre attempt to capture it.

Hanging Out

Eva NEEDS to hang. She has since she was old enough to crawl. She does it everyday and when she has had a stressful time, needs to do it even more. When we are on a trip, one of the first things she does is find a spot that will work for hanging. We have found that couches tend to work the best.

I keep hoping I can get her to try a trapeze class. She used to hang off the car, in a full pike, through an entire TV show. She outgrew the car last year and it was with sadness she moved to the couch to hang. A bar doesn't work as she likes to brace herself, not just hang down. I love watching her face get calmer as she holds herself up!

Oh, Brother...

I ordered a sewing machine last week. I had an old one that was a difficult to use. If there was a project I wanted to sew, the excuse that it was a pain would put the idea on the back burner and it would fail to get done.

Eva and I have numerous projects planned (tank top dresses, blanket pillows, wings). Elias was talking about making costumes and bags for some of his "gear". I also have ideas floating around in my head. Now I just need to find the time to acquaint myself with this machine so I can then teach the kids. This hasn't happened in the last, busy week and might not happen this week either. I'm hoping!

Oasis

This is a little bit of our paradise. We have clocked numerous hours in this pool during the few months of living here. The sunlight streams through the windows at 6 am, making mornings golden. We have yet to water that green lawn. The kids will spend lots of time on the play set during the winter months and with the addition of a zip line and trampoline in the future, I can't think of why you wouldn't want to hang out here.

Oh, and let's not forget the great people watching!

Glow Memo

Eva discovered the glow-in-the-dark letters yesterday and after we found a black light she spent part of today closed in the laundry room. We figured out we could open the closet door over the kitchen opening and make it dark. It also has what a closet doesn't, a metal washer and dryer to stick magnets to. I left some messages when she left the room and she would go "glow" them. I love the learning fun!

Pond Pursuits

My koi pond is looking better and better. We still need a pump to send the water through a filter, but the plants have been helping with the algae problem and you can see the koi a bit more clearly. They love the new plants and are becoming a bit less skittish since they have places to hide.
The water hyacinths were pretty, but it is hard to beat that perfectly formed lily pad flower!

You Have to Crawl

Elias pulled out the tunnel today and had it immediately usurped by his baby sister. I don't think she had seen it since learning to crawl/walk. She was thrilled by the rolling structure and kept picking up an end and looking down it. She didn't want to go in it because that involved crawling! After several demonstrations by Eva and some encouragement from the camera, she decide to give it a go. She made sure to stop and give me a good picture. She then came over to the camera to take a look at herself. What a ham!

Country Club Living

We live right near the 8th tee of a golf course. Being so near the tee means we only see a few golf balls in our yard. However, they do happen. The kids love finding them, I hate wondering if we will ever have a broken window or knotted head. According to a friend, the only golf balls we should get are from left handed, bad golfers... Here's hoping there aren't many of them!

Home From Afar

While on a camp trip at Whitetail Campground, at the top of Mt. Lemmon, we walked up to look out at our home city. This isn't the best view of Tucson, we saw a better one, but it is a view of our house. We are now living right where the long road towards the right goes through the green belt. It is awesome to be so close to the base of the mountain!

Critter Corner

This new home has brought us numerous new adventures. Living in a more riparian landscape has brought encounters of all sorts. When we moved in there were a family of raccoon's living in the crawl space. Monsoons have brought out the tarantulas, tarantula hawks and desert toads. We have javelina, scorpions, birds of all sorts and lots and lots of insects.

This morning Eva rescued a toad from the pool and I pulled out this guy, or more likely a gal given the 1.5" length. This is a Great Black Wasp. They are similar to a Tarantula Hawk in that they lay their eggs in a paralyzed host; they use crickets and katydids instead.

Unexpected Blooms

The koi pond outside my front window and our first showing of water hyacinths. These were a gift from a friend who was thinning out her pond. I had no idea they bloomed!